A debonair man wearing a crisp tan suit sat at a table in the Hoopy Frood. He sipped from a drink filled with bright fruit, and a colour as luminous as the walls, while he scanned the room. His gaze sought out the ladies of the establishment, but today he needed to meet one woman in particular. This was indeed Howard Stark, industrialist, genius, weapons manufacturer, womanizer and part time media mogul. The latter mostly as an excuse to jet around the world in the company of beautiful actresses, while writing it off as a tax expense. Sitting beside him with a decidedly more nervous demeanour was his similarly well dressed companion and butler, Edwin Jarvis. Jarvis wrung his hands in mild frustration while glancing repeatedly at his watch. It was unlikely Ms Carter to be late, and the waiter at the bar had absolutely no idea of the correct method of pouring wine. He was about to go and instruct him as to his shortcomings when Howard leapt to his feet.
"Peg! It's been some time, so good to see you again! Glad you could join us." Howard extended his hand to shake the hand of the approaching figure, before pulling her closer into a light embrace.
"I'm glad to see that no matter how much times change, you remain as constant and immutable as ever." responded the female figure, smiling at her old friend. Agent Peggy Carter, founder of SHIELD, had worked closely with Howard during WW2 and beyond. Although since the war, she had mostly be cleaning up his messes after his "toys" ended up in the wrong hands. Peggy wore a striking blue coat, with a large, wide-brimmed scarlet hat covering her immaculate hair.
The trio returned to sit at the table again.
Agent Carter was the first to speak.
"Mr. Jarvis, my old friend. It's such a joy to meet you again."
"The feeling is mutual, Ms. Carter, believe me. My life has been somewhat less exciting since our last adventure."
"For which I'm sure your wife is pleased. How is Anna?"
"She is quite well, Ms. Carter. Somewhat overworked and stressed of late, but in good health."
"Jarvis here has something of a new career at present. Go on, tell Peg your news." interjected Howard, with a knowing wink.
"You mean to say you're no longer an eternal butler to the eternal man-child? Howard, how do you cope?" questioned Peggy, displaying uncharacteristic suprise.
Jarvis blushed a deep crimson, before responding.
"I've taken more of an advisory role in Howard's affairs, except for significant occasions. Otherwise I'm just a manager for Mr Stark's new team of manservants. I've needed to take a step back and spend more time with my darling Anna."
"Is everything all right Mr. Jarvis?" asked Peggy.
"Dont worry, Ms. Carter. It's for the best of resasons, really. She, er, we, um... We have a daughter."
Peggy's eyes widened in shock.
"But, I thought..."
"Oh no, it's not our biological child. We decided to adopt, given Anna's condition."
"Oh, Edwin! My sincerest congratulations, send my love to Anna! How long have you kept this from me? What's her name?"
Jarvis blushed an even deeper red before continuing.
"Well, given the circumstances, there was only one name that came to mind." He removed a photograph from his wallet and passed it to Peggy.
"Her name is Margaret. Named after our dearest friend and ally."
"Oh Mr. Jarvis!"
"In fact, we should very much like you to be her Godmother, if you'd oblige."
"Of course, Mr. Jarvis. Of course I will! Howard, is this why you summoned me here?"
Howard's smile fell slightly.
"Honestly Peg, no, it's not. There is a more serious matter that requires your attention."
"Oh for goodness sake, Howard, what have you lost this time?"
"Nothing, nothing at all! Well.... A prototype device. But it doesn't work! I hadn't finished it."
"Yes, but knowing our luck, that just makes it more dangerous. What if the function of this device, anyway?"
"It was designed for crowd control, non-lethal subduing of combatants, via the manipulation of carefully modulated sonic projections."
"In other words, Ms Carter, a sound gun."
"So, anything else you can tell me about this thing?"
Suddenly, the glass front of the bar shattered inwards, accompanied by a high pitched warbling noise.
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