I suspect it was only a matter of time...
A crossover, as cobbled together via a few itsproductivity prompts: In which I compare timelines and realise there has to be a Meeting of the Boy Geniuses.
Business as Usual
They leave the black-box chip alone, for the most part - well, after having a little bit of fun with the Republican Party (none of them can quite resist that one). It's not the sort of power that should be abused, which is part of why they've still got it in the first place.
But eventually, an equally strong temptation to do the world a little good presents itself, in the form of Stark Industries. No one needs that kind of money, especially if they're only going to put it toward excess and destruction - or excessive destruction, sometimes - and the company's not likely to miss a comparatively tiny amount of their profit.
(Clearly, some of the guys' old habits die hard, but at least they can resist the temptation 99 percent of the time. After all, this is only the second time in three years they've felt the need to break out the chip.)
Carl's not entirely convinced they won't be noticed, even with the guaranteed back door past the encryption. Only time will tell on that front, though, and they at least feel like they've some something productive.
***
One week after that, the office gets a visit from none other than Tony Stark.
Carl's not really surprised; as Tony himself points out, they left enough of a trace that someone who knows their way around computers could find the source. And of course, they all forgot in their rush to play Robin Hood that Stark's being run by about the best computer whiz kid out there, these days.
"I'm not pissed," Tony says, after hearing out the guys' explanation. "I mean, really, couple million dollars..." He shrugs. "It's nothing, in the long run. But it does raise a good point."
Bishop raises an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"Cheat sheet or not, my company's security clearly leaves something to be desired. Not that I'm surprised, it doesn't seem to be on top of Obie's priorities - anyway. If you guys are good enough to pull this off, how about you have a crack at my Los Angeles plant?"
"And what's in it for us?" Whistler asks.
"Good press. No fuss over this little incident." Tony grins. "And a couple million to call your own."
This is a little surreal, for Carl, considering Tony's his age and running this entire damn show despite that. Still, he can tell everyone's intrigued by the possibilities of this offer, whether it's for the money or the (probable) lack of government intervention or something else entirely.
...Like the chance to see what kind of computer system Tony Stark's got holding his company together.
Bishop looks around the table, smiles a little, and says, "All right. I think we're in. You looking for anything in particular out of this?"
***
They do the computer end of the sneak first, for a change. It's good practice, for the potential online-only jobs that are starting to surface, and it's partly necessary to set up the physical end: Slip some parts out and 'deliver' them, and see if anyone reports the missing goods in the meantime.
They can't do as much once they get into the computer system, this time; none of them feel comfortable using the black-box chip on actual jobs, since it's not the kind of advantage just anyone has. Still, they can trace some of the unencrypted stuff, and they do. After all, it's the sort of thing most people trying to get into Stark would do.
Carl doesn't find anything so interesting as invoices or packing slips; he would guess that's behind the encryption (and that, at least, isn't laughably easy to break), which really is the best place for it. But the shipping labels aren't so well guarded, for whatever reason, and it's one of those that gives him pause.
"Guys? Any reason you can think of why something got shipped to Rwanda from here?"
There's a chorus of 'no's from three of the four of them, but Mother doesn't answer. When Carl looks away from the computer, Mother's got that look of dawning horror that usually means one of his conspiracy theories is closer to the mark than he'd hoped.
"There a date on that?"
"Not an obvious one. Let me check." Carl digs a little deeper on the file that came up; from there, it's pretty obvious why Mother's worried. "Last year. And there's no telling how much or what went there without cheating."
Mother blanches. "I... really hope that wasn't an official order. There's no American presence there to speak of, at least that I've heard--"
"There isn't," Crease confirms.
"Right. Anyway, the only other option wouldn't exactly say much about American goodwill."
The room goes quiet. Carl eyes the shipping label's data, but there's really nothing else he can find out about it, running solely on the unencrypted information.
"Official or not, I don't think it was Tony Stark's idea," Bishop finally says. "The order might've been in the pipes before he had any say in the matter, depending on when last year it got placed."
"That, and he sounded a little too earnest for double-dealing," Whistler adds. "Cocky, sure, but he's still new to the business. I don't know if he'd believe us if we told him."
Carl sighs. "That's the big problem here. It's the kind of thing he should know about, but we don't have enough backup. For all we know, someone just wanted a satellite or something."
That's not very likely, though, and they all know it.
***
The physical end of the sneak, at least, goes off without a hitch; when they check back with the computer, they find that someone did report the missing parts, just barely before Carl 'delivered' them. The door security could stand to be a little more polite, but the people inside the plant are at least paying attention to what's going on around them.
Unfortunately, they can't find enough information about that Rwanda shipping label to confirm or deny the feeling that something really, really bad came of it. They all agree that without that, there's not much point in mentioning the label at all - a decision that sits well with exactly none of the guys, but war profiteering's a serious accusation to make, without very substantive proof. For all they know it'd be making a fuss about nothing.
Bishop gives the main report, which Tony takes in stride. The factory actually checked out pretty well, on the whole - better than most of the places they've investigated, though nowhere's without its problems.
But Carl reserved the right to bring up the biggest one himself, since it's his area of expertise; after Bishop's done with his part, Carl heads into the conference room.
Tony looks up, smirks, and says, "So what's this, part two?"
"Sort of. It's also... kind of a programmer-to-programmer point."
"Okay. Hit me."
"About your computer network." Carl considers putting this politely, but decides there's not really much point in that. "Why the fuck are you using Windows for your business security?"
"...You weren't kidding when you said this was programmer-to-programmer, were you."
"Of course not. I pay attention to this stuff. You're a goddamn genius, you were designing circuit boards before you were in school - well, before I was in school, anyway. I was expecting a challenge, not a cake walk."
Tony raises an eyebrow. "You mean Bill Gates hasn't challenged you enough?"
"I had that figured out five years ago, and nothing much has changed since then."
"Fair enough. As for the why, for one thing, I haven't had much time to work on it, since I took over the company. If I can get someone else to run my life, I'll have a lot more free time to work on it."
"And before that?"
"I was... busy."
Carl snorts. "Busy partying as hard as you could, right?"
Tony grins, completely unashamed. "Some things take priority. Anyway, you did actually hit on something I've been meaning to get to for a while now. I mean, Windows will probably hold for now, but it's hardly ideal. Thanks for pointing that out."
"No problem. Seemed like the kind of thing you should know." There's the practical concern, sure, but really, it's only fair to give anyone who tries to get in a good challenge, when you can build your own.
***
Tony calls Carl every now and then, after he starts working on the computer problem. He'd offered Carl a job, on his way out the door, but he likes what he's doing now a little too much to just drop it. Anyway, he'd rather not pick up and move to New York, even if he could afford it, now.
He can tell Tony's got a personal assistant pretty much as soon as it happens; he starts complaining about her giving him a hard time nearly as often as he's talking shop about programming. Carl thinks it'll be good for him, to have someone questioning his every move. Maybe it'll build some of the character that got lost in the limelight.
(He's not holding his breath, but. One never knows.)
And then there's the night, a year or so later, that Carl answers the phone only to hear, "So I'm moving to California," first thing.
"...Are you. LA, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah. Got tired of New York. Pepper's pissed because I'm making her break her lease, but... nothing I can't afford. You'll have to come visit, once I get the house built."
"You don't do anything halfway, do you?"
Tony laughs. "What would be the fun in that? Anyway, I mostly mentioned since I've got a little project you might be interested in, as part of this."
"Oh?"
"Well, you're the one who was ragging on my lack of custom computer systems, so I thought you might want to help make sure the one I'm designing for my house doesn't go HAL 9000 on me."
"See previous comments about not doing things halfway." Carl's intrigued, flippant remark aside; how could he not be, when his specialty's at the heart of this? "You have any more plans than that?"
"I was thinking virtual butler, but I haven't gotten much farther than 'British accent,' on that front. Pepper doesn't understand why I'm even trying."
"Well, from what you've said, computers aren't her thing - and given the fictional track record, I can't entirely blame her. I'm totally in, though. Keep me posted."
"Will do. Got any feedback on the last stuff I sent you?"
They talk shop for a while, nothing out of the ordinary on the surface - but there's a sense of promise underneath it all that isn't usually there. Carl's known he was in for an interesting time since Tony first offered the guys a job, but now, it's really coming through.
Business as Usual
They leave the black-box chip alone, for the most part - well, after having a little bit of fun with the Republican Party (none of them can quite resist that one). It's not the sort of power that should be abused, which is part of why they've still got it in the first place.
But eventually, an equally strong temptation to do the world a little good presents itself, in the form of Stark Industries. No one needs that kind of money, especially if they're only going to put it toward excess and destruction - or excessive destruction, sometimes - and the company's not likely to miss a comparatively tiny amount of their profit.
(Clearly, some of the guys' old habits die hard, but at least they can resist the temptation 99 percent of the time. After all, this is only the second time in three years they've felt the need to break out the chip.)
Carl's not entirely convinced they won't be noticed, even with the guaranteed back door past the encryption. Only time will tell on that front, though, and they at least feel like they've some something productive.
***
One week after that, the office gets a visit from none other than Tony Stark.
Carl's not really surprised; as Tony himself points out, they left enough of a trace that someone who knows their way around computers could find the source. And of course, they all forgot in their rush to play Robin Hood that Stark's being run by about the best computer whiz kid out there, these days.
"I'm not pissed," Tony says, after hearing out the guys' explanation. "I mean, really, couple million dollars..." He shrugs. "It's nothing, in the long run. But it does raise a good point."
Bishop raises an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"Cheat sheet or not, my company's security clearly leaves something to be desired. Not that I'm surprised, it doesn't seem to be on top of Obie's priorities - anyway. If you guys are good enough to pull this off, how about you have a crack at my Los Angeles plant?"
"And what's in it for us?" Whistler asks.
"Good press. No fuss over this little incident." Tony grins. "And a couple million to call your own."
This is a little surreal, for Carl, considering Tony's his age and running this entire damn show despite that. Still, he can tell everyone's intrigued by the possibilities of this offer, whether it's for the money or the (probable) lack of government intervention or something else entirely.
...Like the chance to see what kind of computer system Tony Stark's got holding his company together.
Bishop looks around the table, smiles a little, and says, "All right. I think we're in. You looking for anything in particular out of this?"
***
They do the computer end of the sneak first, for a change. It's good practice, for the potential online-only jobs that are starting to surface, and it's partly necessary to set up the physical end: Slip some parts out and 'deliver' them, and see if anyone reports the missing goods in the meantime.
They can't do as much once they get into the computer system, this time; none of them feel comfortable using the black-box chip on actual jobs, since it's not the kind of advantage just anyone has. Still, they can trace some of the unencrypted stuff, and they do. After all, it's the sort of thing most people trying to get into Stark would do.
Carl doesn't find anything so interesting as invoices or packing slips; he would guess that's behind the encryption (and that, at least, isn't laughably easy to break), which really is the best place for it. But the shipping labels aren't so well guarded, for whatever reason, and it's one of those that gives him pause.
"Guys? Any reason you can think of why something got shipped to Rwanda from here?"
There's a chorus of 'no's from three of the four of them, but Mother doesn't answer. When Carl looks away from the computer, Mother's got that look of dawning horror that usually means one of his conspiracy theories is closer to the mark than he'd hoped.
"There a date on that?"
"Not an obvious one. Let me check." Carl digs a little deeper on the file that came up; from there, it's pretty obvious why Mother's worried. "Last year. And there's no telling how much or what went there without cheating."
Mother blanches. "I... really hope that wasn't an official order. There's no American presence there to speak of, at least that I've heard--"
"There isn't," Crease confirms.
"Right. Anyway, the only other option wouldn't exactly say much about American goodwill."
The room goes quiet. Carl eyes the shipping label's data, but there's really nothing else he can find out about it, running solely on the unencrypted information.
"Official or not, I don't think it was Tony Stark's idea," Bishop finally says. "The order might've been in the pipes before he had any say in the matter, depending on when last year it got placed."
"That, and he sounded a little too earnest for double-dealing," Whistler adds. "Cocky, sure, but he's still new to the business. I don't know if he'd believe us if we told him."
Carl sighs. "That's the big problem here. It's the kind of thing he should know about, but we don't have enough backup. For all we know, someone just wanted a satellite or something."
That's not very likely, though, and they all know it.
***
The physical end of the sneak, at least, goes off without a hitch; when they check back with the computer, they find that someone did report the missing parts, just barely before Carl 'delivered' them. The door security could stand to be a little more polite, but the people inside the plant are at least paying attention to what's going on around them.
Unfortunately, they can't find enough information about that Rwanda shipping label to confirm or deny the feeling that something really, really bad came of it. They all agree that without that, there's not much point in mentioning the label at all - a decision that sits well with exactly none of the guys, but war profiteering's a serious accusation to make, without very substantive proof. For all they know it'd be making a fuss about nothing.
Bishop gives the main report, which Tony takes in stride. The factory actually checked out pretty well, on the whole - better than most of the places they've investigated, though nowhere's without its problems.
But Carl reserved the right to bring up the biggest one himself, since it's his area of expertise; after Bishop's done with his part, Carl heads into the conference room.
Tony looks up, smirks, and says, "So what's this, part two?"
"Sort of. It's also... kind of a programmer-to-programmer point."
"Okay. Hit me."
"About your computer network." Carl considers putting this politely, but decides there's not really much point in that. "Why the fuck are you using Windows for your business security?"
"...You weren't kidding when you said this was programmer-to-programmer, were you."
"Of course not. I pay attention to this stuff. You're a goddamn genius, you were designing circuit boards before you were in school - well, before I was in school, anyway. I was expecting a challenge, not a cake walk."
Tony raises an eyebrow. "You mean Bill Gates hasn't challenged you enough?"
"I had that figured out five years ago, and nothing much has changed since then."
"Fair enough. As for the why, for one thing, I haven't had much time to work on it, since I took over the company. If I can get someone else to run my life, I'll have a lot more free time to work on it."
"And before that?"
"I was... busy."
Carl snorts. "Busy partying as hard as you could, right?"
Tony grins, completely unashamed. "Some things take priority. Anyway, you did actually hit on something I've been meaning to get to for a while now. I mean, Windows will probably hold for now, but it's hardly ideal. Thanks for pointing that out."
"No problem. Seemed like the kind of thing you should know." There's the practical concern, sure, but really, it's only fair to give anyone who tries to get in a good challenge, when you can build your own.
***
Tony calls Carl every now and then, after he starts working on the computer problem. He'd offered Carl a job, on his way out the door, but he likes what he's doing now a little too much to just drop it. Anyway, he'd rather not pick up and move to New York, even if he could afford it, now.
He can tell Tony's got a personal assistant pretty much as soon as it happens; he starts complaining about her giving him a hard time nearly as often as he's talking shop about programming. Carl thinks it'll be good for him, to have someone questioning his every move. Maybe it'll build some of the character that got lost in the limelight.
(He's not holding his breath, but. One never knows.)
And then there's the night, a year or so later, that Carl answers the phone only to hear, "So I'm moving to California," first thing.
"...Are you. LA, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah. Got tired of New York. Pepper's pissed because I'm making her break her lease, but... nothing I can't afford. You'll have to come visit, once I get the house built."
"You don't do anything halfway, do you?"
Tony laughs. "What would be the fun in that? Anyway, I mostly mentioned since I've got a little project you might be interested in, as part of this."
"Oh?"
"Well, you're the one who was ragging on my lack of custom computer systems, so I thought you might want to help make sure the one I'm designing for my house doesn't go HAL 9000 on me."
"See previous comments about not doing things halfway." Carl's intrigued, flippant remark aside; how could he not be, when his specialty's at the heart of this? "You have any more plans than that?"
"I was thinking virtual butler, but I haven't gotten much farther than 'British accent,' on that front. Pepper doesn't understand why I'm even trying."
"Well, from what you've said, computers aren't her thing - and given the fictional track record, I can't entirely blame her. I'm totally in, though. Keep me posted."
"Will do. Got any feedback on the last stuff I sent you?"
They talk shop for a while, nothing out of the ordinary on the surface - but there's a sense of promise underneath it all that isn't usually there. Carl's known he was in for an interesting time since Tony first offered the guys a job, but now, it's really coming through.