Location: Stark Malibu Mansion
Time: One Day After Squirtle's Evolution
POV: Pepper Potts
Pepper Potts had dealt with a lot in her years working for Tony Stark.
She'd managed his calendar when he double-booked himself for three different continents in one day. She'd negotiated with board members who thought they could intimidate her. She'd even talked down a weapons dealer in Prague while Tony was too busy flirting with a duchess to notice the deal was going south.
But this?
"I am Iron Man," she muttered to herself, pacing through Tony's living room with her tablet clutched in one hand and her phone in the other. "Four words. Four words that sent every lawyer at Stark Industries into cardiac arrest."
The fallout from Tony's press conference had been spectacular. The Department of Defense wanted hearings. The board wanted emergency meetings. The media wanted everything. And Tony? Tony had promptly disappeared into his workshop to—
She stopped mid-stride, staring at the massive glass structure taking up half of the living room.
An aquarium. A very large aquarium. With what looked like a filtration system that could probably purify the Pacific Ocean.
"Great," Pepper said to the empty room. "He's taken up marine biology now. That's exactly what we need right now."
Her phone buzzed with another email from Legal. She closed her eyes and counted to five.
"Pep?"
Tony's voice came from the hallway. Pepper turned, already preparing her lecture about responsibility and public relations and how billionaire playboy philanthropists can't just say whatever they want at press conferences—
The words died in her throat.
Tony stood in the doorway, and he wasn't alone.
Next to him—holding his hand, actually holding his hand while Tony slouched awkwardly to accommodate the height difference—was a creature that made Pepper's brain stutter to a halt.
It was… turtle-like? Maybe? But not like any turtle she'd ever seen. It stood upright on two legs, about three feet tall, with blue skin that seemed to shimmer slightly in the afternoon light. Its shell was a rich brown, ridged and solid-looking, with two fin-like extensions curving from either side that gave it an almost regal bearing. Large, expressive eyes—deep purple, like the ocean at twilight—stared at her with an intensity that was startling.
The creature's ears were long and furry, twitching slightly as it watched her. Its tail, thick and covered in that same blue coloration, swayed behind it with barely contained nervous energy.
It was… adorable. There was no other word for it. The way it gripped Tony's hand with its three-fingered paw, the slight hunch of its shoulders, the nervous set of its mouth.
But there was something else too. Something in the way it held itself, in the steadiness of its gaze despite the obvious nerves. A sense of strength. Of capability. Those purple eyes didn't waver when they met hers, and Pepper had the sudden, inexplicable feeling that this creature—this somehow adorable yet undeniably fierce-looking being—had seen combat. Had won combat.
"Pep," Tony said, and there was something in his voice she almost never heard. Softness. Pride. "I want you to meet someone. This is Wartortle."
Wartortle said nothing. Just stood there, holding Tony's hand, watching her with those deep eyes.
Pepper realized she was staring. She also realized her mouth was open.
She closed it.
"Hi," she managed. Then, because apparently stress made her default to manners, she added, "It's… it's very nice to meet you, Wartortle."
The creature's ears perked up slightly. Its tail gave a small, cautious wag.
Tony grinned—that boyish, excited grin that meant he was about to explain something he found absolutely fascinating.
"So," he said. "About that aquarium."
Pepper looked at Wartortle. Looked at Tony. Looked at the massive tank taking up half the living room.
"I'm going to need coffee," she said. "A lot of coffee. And then you're going to explain everything."
Wartortle's grip on Tony's hand tightened slightly. Tony squeezed back, reassuring.
"Fair," Tony said. "But Pep? He's one of the good guys. I promise."
Pepper met those purple eyes again. Saw the nervousness there, yes, but also… sincerity. Trust. The same expression she sometimes saw when Tony looked at Rhodey or Happy.
When Tony looked at her.
She set down her tablet and phone.
"Okay," she said softly. "Let's start with the aquarium."
Wartortle's shoulders relaxed just a fraction. Tony's grin widened.
And Pepper Potts added "manage Tony's relationship with interdimensional turtle creatures" to her ever-growing job description.
Somehow, it didn't even crack the top ten strangest things she'd done this month.