I Am Ironman (MHA)

[Third Person's PoV] 

A little while later, Melissa heard the doorbell ring. She sighed, glancing up from her work, "Were we expecting any visitors, Friday?"

"It's the boss's intern. She's arrived early," Friday responded, pulling up a video feed of Mei Hatsume standing by the door. She was bouncing on her tiptoes with her hands clasped behind her back, her usual excited energy on full display.

"Let her in. Tell her to meet us down here," Melissa instructed, exhaling softly.

Moments later, Mei came bounding down the stairs with her typical enthusiasm, her boots thudding lightly against the steps. She landed with a small jump and gave an exaggerated salute, grinning ear to ear. "Mei Hatsume reporting for duty!"

"You're early," Melissa observed, raising an eyebrow, her tone neutral but curious.

"Yup!" Mei replied cheerfully. "Tony said since you guys didn't have to go to the internship anymore, I could swing by and help out."

"Ah, I see…" Melissa nodded, processing the explanation. "I suppose that makes sense."

Meanwhile, Mei's gaze drifted toward Tony, who was seated at his workbench. He sat still, visor on, staring into space as if lost in his thoughts. In front of him, on the table, was something unexpected—a mouse. But not just any mouse. The small creature sat upright next to a plate of cheese and salami, casually grabbing a chunk of cheese with its tiny paws. As it began to eat, its jaw unhinged unnaturally wide, revealing sharp teeth that tore through the cheese in a single, alarming bite.

"What the heck is that?!" Mei exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.

Melissa rubbed her temples, already feeling the day's exhaustion despite it just beginning. "That… is Tony's new pet. He decided to name it 'Master Splinter,'" she explained, her voice flat, clearly not sharing Tony's enthusiasm for the creature.

Before Melissa could stop her, Mei had vanished from where she was standing, now crouching next to the mouse, eagerly shaking its tail. "Mice to meet ya, Master Splinter! Hehe, get it?" Mei smirked, clearly proud of her pun.

Melissa's eye twitched at the sight. "Great… If one Tony wasn't enough, now I've got to deal with two of them," she muttered under her breath.

Just then, Tony lifted his visor, cracking his neck from side to side as he came out of his focused trance. "Alright, I think I've got it. Oh, hey Mei."

"Hiya, bossman!" Mei greeted him with a playful two-fingered salute.

"You feel like helping me out with a project?" Tony asked, though he already knew what her answer would be.

Mei's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Don't I ever! What are we making?" she asked, practically bouncing on the spot.

Tony clenched his fist, causing his ring to glow. A hologram materialized above the workbench, showcasing several disassembled pieces. The parts floated together, forming a collar with a small name tag that read: Master Splinter. "We're building a translator for our friend here," Tony said, gesturing to the mouse.

Mei's grin widened. "Sounds like fun! Let's get started!"

---

A while later, Mei was carefully connecting tiny wires with two tweezers, using her quirk to zoom in and focus on the delicate task. Sparks flickered as the circuit came to life, and she beamed with pride. "Got it!" she exclaimed, snapping the name tag shut.

Excitedly, she rushed over to Tony. "It's finished!"

"Nice work," Tony smirked, taking the collar from her and placing it around Master Splinter's neck. Mei grabbed a nearby control panel, which had two dials, one for pitch and one for modulation.

"Alright, speak up, boy," Tony said with a grin, talking to the mouse as if it were a dog.

To their surprise, the mouse's voice came through the speaker in a smooth, deep tone, the kind of voice that might belong to a radio host. "Heyyy, baby," Master Splinter purred.

Tony and Mei looked at each other, bursting into laughter. Mei quickly twisted the dials, causing the pitch to rise to an absurdly high tone. "Hi! How are ya!!" Master Splinter squeaked, now sounding like a cartoon character, sending them into another fit of giggles.

Mei couldn't resist messing around with the settings, spinning the dial rapidly. The voice alternated between high and low pitches, with Master Splinter's words stretching and shrinking hilariously. "So… CaN wE gO bAcK tO tHe sExY vOiCe?" the mouse asked, voice distorted beyond recognition.

Still laughing, Mei adjusted the dials back to the original deep tone. "Much better~ Thank you kindly," Master Splinter purred, nodding with satisfaction.

Tony wiped away a tear of laughter and turned to Mei with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Wanna show Melissa?"

Mei grinned. "Is that even a question? Let's do it."

---

Tony carefully picked up Master Splinter and, along with Mei, made their way out of the lab. Melissa was sitting on the couch, engrossed in a book, but she looked up when she noticed them approaching. Tony stood in front of her, hands hidden behind his back, an innocent look on his face.

Melissa raised an eyebrow, eyeing them both suspiciously. "What is it this time?"

With a flourish, Tony revealed Master Splinter, now sporting his new collar. The mouse nodded his head politely. "Hope you're having a blessed day, ma'am," he said in his deep, charismatic voice.

Melissa's eyes widened, then she burst out laughing. "Oh my God! You guys are ridiculous. You even gave him an accent!"

She leaned forward, rubbing Master Splinter's cheeks affectionately. "I can see why you wanted to keep him, Tony. He's adorable."

"Thank you kindly," Master Splinter responded, puffing out his chest proudly.

Melissa shook her head, still chuckling. "I'm sorry, I just can't take him seriously with that voice."

Tony shrugged, his grin unrepentant. "He liked it."

---

After having their fun with Master Splinter, Tony returned to the workbench, focusing on the reason they had started the project in the first place. He left Mei and Master Splinter to their own devices and slipped back into the virtual reality interface.

"Alright, Friday, you there?" he asked, his mind shifting gears back to his main project.

"I am wherever you are, boss," Friday responded smoothly.

"That sounded weird, but okay I suppose," Tony muttered. "Now that we've got the right symbiote sample, let's configure it to integrate with technological elements. And let's give it a proper name…" He paused, the gears in his mind turning. "Let's call it Project: Malware."

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