On The Nature Of Firebirds - Ringshadow (2024)

“Excuse me sir, I think I’ve found something that will interest you.”

“I’m a little busy, JARVIS.” Tony grunted, hauling a section of particle accelerator and putting it on a hand cart, leaning there a moment after.

“It fits several of your key word searches, sir.”

He kept the lean but looked up, wiping sweat with one forearm. “Which website?”

“Reddit.”

“Fine, on a screen.” The image popped up, and he stared at it for several long seconds. A set of boards barely in a case, wires barely clinging to what might have been drives. The design was completely alien, and the outside of the case had the barest suggestion of a Knight chess piece, a few lights on the board lit. The caption remarked that they’d found it in the middle of nowhere, doing a land survey for a future subdivision. “Reply, my official account. I’m interested. Name your price. Send.”

And he went back to work, promptly forgetting about it.

Three days later, Tony had paid off some random Redditor’s student loans, and was opening a box in his workshop. It was full of bubble wrap and foam, and he discarded it, laying the board out on his worktable and considering for a long moment.

“JARVIS. Thoughts?”

“Based on the connectors, that is a Knight Industries proprietary design from the early to mid-1980s. They moved to standardized connectors starting in 1989. I’m afraid we don’t have any of the matching connectors on hand.”

“Order some for me, express delivery.” He rubbed a thumb over the logo, feeling how worn the metal was, and moved to get his supplies for cleaning electronics.

It’s meditative. After the chaos of the Expo, and slowly putting his house back together, he’s realized that he’s in worse shape than he thought. Replacing the reactor hadn’t magically reversed all the damage. He’d been at the brink of death, whether he liked to think about it or not, and hit the ground running at a dead sprint as soon as he’d solved the problem, more or less. He’s exhausted, and he’d spent the last days making up for a deficit in water and calories, and of course he’d not helped by disassembling the particle accelerator by hand.

This, though. He’s able to sink into it and let his mind clear, not really hearing the music he’s listening to, just focused on the task of getting this assemblage of strange parts clean without doing further damage. Because he’s curious, now. He’s always curious when he sees something he’s never seen, let alone something this old. Pre-1989, and in spite of having some awareness of Knight Industries, he’s never seen anything like this.

It’s hours later and he’s sat back, drinking cold coffee and just staring at what he’s seeing.

Knight Industries Roving Robot. K.A.R.R. 1982.

And the lights, dim as they are, aren’t only glowing now.

They’ve started blinking slowly in morse. Slowly, oh so slowly, but it’s consistent.

S.O.S.

“JARVIS?” He rubbed his burning eyes, thumb rubbing over the chess piece mark again slowly. “Did you have any luck finding those connectors? Because we have a new project. Also, do me a favor, round up an overview of Knight Industries for me. I know they still exist.”

“Of course sir. I have ordered an array of connectors for next day delivery, they should be here by noon tomorrow. I’ve also spent some processing cycles looking for anything online to match the design of that motherboard. Nothing.”

“Well. We have a genuine mystery. And I think it’s … I can’t say it’s alive. But there’s something in there.” He scrubbed both hands over his face. “And I have no way to get input into it without risking burning it out entirely. Okay. Let’s hope it can hold on another…” He stared at the clock. “Less than thirteen hours. I’m going to make Pepper happy and get a bunch of R&D authorized and signed off, then I’m going to take a few days. Weeks, maybe.”

“I daresay you deserve to rest, sir.”

“Well. I’m not dying anymore and SHIELD isn’t looming over me. I’ve got a house to get together.” He stood slowly. “I’m going to sleep. Set an alarm for 0600.”

“Of course. Rest well, sir.”

When the boxes of connectors were put into his hands by a courier, he’d already sent out a flurry of paperwork to Stark Industries. Three R&D projects moving forward, a stack of others told what sh*t to straighten out. He had a list of products he was shoving to market that he’d been ignoring, doing what he was supposed to do and even lobbing some new things to them to keep them busy.

It’d let him work, and be left alone.

He even got another done before he sat back down at his work desk, sorting out the connectors and getting everything neatly arranged into an organizer before lacing his fingers and turning them, staring at the board, still stubbornly blinking morse. “Okay, mystery motherboard. Let’s see what I can cobble together.”

It goes without saying he has computer parts on hand, but no way he’s attaching this thing to JARVIS. So standalone it is, no ability to connect to the internet… for now. And as bare bone basic as he has, except for hard drive space, he loads that up. 1982. DOS was brand new, when this thing was made. Everything he owns is light years past that, and he’s taking a huge risk, connecting practically antique electronics to new if basic gear. But, his gut feeling says it’s going to work and he trusts it.

Given he can’t shut this thing down, he makes the connections while the computer build is off, then turns it on and sits back to wait. Hell he didn’t even give the build an OS, trusting the Knight Industries board to take over.

And it does. Five seconds after he put power to the bare bones PC, a display screen overtakes the monitor. Knight Industries. Knight Automated Roving Robot. Boot date, then specs start scrolling and he leaned in, staring wide eyed at what seemed like a long list of impossibilities.

Then an even longer list of errors, a litany of equipment the board was seeking and was no longer connected to, and he felt himself fall through a mirror, down a rabbit hole, felt the world change around him as a computer board nearly as old as he was lamented no engine, no cameras, no sensors, no tires.

What the f*ck did some rando on Reddit find?

He reached out and tapped the keyboard, the spacebar, once, and the display jolted then cleared, everything disappearing in a flash to a blinking cursor. He stared at it, then put both hands to the keyboard, typing slowly.

Hello.

He hit enter, staring at the cursor, which stayed still for several seconds before starting to move.

Good afternoon. I am what remains of the Knight Automated Roving Robot, and you seem to have found me in an extremely disadvantaged state.

“Holy sh*t!” He shouted, sitting back and just staring. “Holy sh*t. Holy f*ck it’s AI.”

“Sir?” JARVIS sounded dumbfounded, which was impressive.

“I know, I know. This thing is a goddamn impossibility. Wow. Okay, yeah. Clear my calendar we have a project.” His hands went back to the keys. I was able to read your identifier on your board. My name is Tony Stark.

I do not recognize that name, but my memory has been severely damaged by time and the elements. I currently have 34.7% of my memory functional, and that is rapidly corrupting. I have had to make unpleasant decisions as to what memories to keep, and discard.

Offload your memories into the hard drives in the computer you’re attached to for now. I can keep this computer on until we figure out something better. Do you have design specifications? Blueprints?

There was a long pause, though Tony can hear the drives working. KARR is doing as suggested, moving his memory into a more stable location. Nothing comprehensive. I was intended to have a support crew. That never happened.

Give me what you have, and I’ll reach out to Knight Industries as well.

You wish to restore me?

Yes.

You do not know what I am, or what led me to this situation.

I’m not worried about it right now. You can tell me all about it later. What year were you last fully operational?

1984.

Tony stared at that date for several long seconds. Two years. Two years, at most, of whatever counted as operation for what’s clearly an artificial intelligence, an advanced one, only to be locked into the dark with no input for decades. Do you know what year it is?

My clock is indicating 2011. Does it remain accurate?

Yes.

Well. If nothing else, I do hope technology has improved.

That made him smile a little. You’re in good hands. Now show me what specs you have and tell me what you need in the short term.

KARR’s voice is an utter shock.

Like, Tony jumps out of his f*cking skin.

He hadn’t thought to hook a printer to the dummy machine so he read the specs off to JARVIS as they were on the screen and took pictures with his phone, then set about rounding up some hardware. KARR wanted a camera, good speakers, a microphone. Tony has those, somewhere. He’s sure he does, it’s just he lives on a Star Trek set of his own design and basic consumer computer equipment is in strangely short supply in his home.

He finds what he needs. Lord knows why he even owns any of it. He even has proper adapters and is able to plug everything in, typing an apology for how basic the camera is, and leaves it alone, stepping away and pulling holographs around himself, doing several things at once. More R&D for Stark Industries, skimming the prospectus of Knight Industries (f*ck it, he might just buy Knight Industries, he sends his lawyers an email asking about if there would be any legal issues doing that), a spec build that he and JARVIS are working on together to try to stabilize KARR further. They’re probably going to need to get him out of those boards, but-

“Ah. Well, that’s better.”

Tony jumped so hard he spilled his coffee before slowly turning in place to stare at his work desk, and the camera that was mostly pointed in his direction. That was a man’s voice, hell he sounded almost middle aged, dry and full of casual authority, a voice he’d hear in a board room or maybe at a Casino whale table. “Uh. Hi? That was you? Holy sh*t.”

“Of course. I believe I am beginning to understand what you meant when you said I am in good hands, given the extremely advanced technology you seem surrounded by.”

“Who the f*ck gave you that voice of all things.” He shook off a bit and walked over, coffee still in hand. Not every day it sounded like a cast member of the Transformers was in his personal workshop after all. Wild voice choice, truly, and that was coming from him, with his AI that sounded like a British butler.

“Wilton Knight.” KARR’s voice went dark, enough so that it gave Tony pause, because that was a lot of emotion in those two words, and none of it was good emotion. “Though who he sampled to give me this voice, well. That is a mystery to me.”

“Knight Industries founder. I’m reading about the company. Might buy it, actually.”

Another long pause. “You might buy Knight Industries?”

“Thinking about it. They’re still around, pretty small. Would be pretty easy to acquire, not that much money, and that would in theory give me immediate access to any and all design documentation they still have on file regarding you. Which would make things so, so much easier. What’s your problem with Wilton Knight?”

Silence. Silence long enough Tony tipped his head a bit, glancing upwards at JARVIS then at the boards sitting next to the computer. No, lights still on and in fact bright now.

“Well. This is difficult to explain. I have learned, the hard way, about saying too much to the wrong people.” KARR said after multiple minutes of silence. “I am programmed to survive. To protect myself. And I am in the position of needing to explain myself to you, in hopes of furthering my survival and restoration, but also, if I tell you the truth, that you may choose not to do so and finish what others started years ago.”

“Hell of a catch-22.” Tony agreed. “Okay, bottom line it for me. What terrible thing did you possibly do? Try to nuke the USSR?”

“Hm. Well it could be argued… Kidnapping, larceny, theft, robbery, attempted manslaughter, and traffic violations.”

He stood there a moment then burst into laughter, setting his mug down on a corner of a work table away from anything that could be damaged by coffee, before leaning there and continuing to laugh. After the drama of the expo and nearly dying it was like a pressure valve. Tears genuinely came to his eyes and it was multiple minutes before he got ahold of himself, trailing into gigglesnorts, face propped on one hand.

“That is not the reaction I expected.” KARR said in the relative silence, nearly setting Tony off again.

“No no. Just. Give me a moment.” He got himself together and straightened up, wiping his eyes. “I needed that. First of all, none of that is good obviously, but I think I’m f*cking impressed. You managed to commit high crimes and misdemeanors before DOS had its first f*cking birthday.”

“Desperation prompts one to do strange things.”

“True facts spoken. Trust me, I understand that.” He sat onto a rolling chair, pushing it with one foot so he rolled over to the desk and stopped there, looking at the camera sitting on top of the monitor. “You’re programmed to survive. A support crew that never happened. You were trying to self-fund in the absence of company support you needed.”

“That is accurate.” KARR sounded surprised, now. “It certainly was not what I was designed to do.”

“No? What were you designed to do?”

A pause, for a brief moment. “My memory is horribly degraded. But, among my first memories is Wilton Knight speaking to me. He had a vision. An independent team, a human and a vehicle, that could support a concept of justice. One man can make a difference, he said.”

“Okay, the acronym is making sense. And the error messages. You’re meant to be in a car.”

“A 1982 Trans Am Firebird.” A basic line drawing appeared on the monitor, then after a moment the display changed and the line drawing became a photograph. A black and silver Firebird with a yellow light, low front center below the line of the hood.

“But you never got a partner.”

“They deemed me dangerous. I scared them. They warehoused me. I was… abandoned.”

Tony blinked. “And what the f*ck did they think that would fix? Because as someone who’s programmed multiple AI, just from this conversation I know you can pass a Turing Test. You sound human. Humans don’t do well in solitary confinement.”

“Neither did I.”

He rattled his fingers on the desk. “Okay. Promising you now, you will never be abandoned again.”

“You cannot promise that.”

“I can, and I will. It may not be me. I have a dangerous damn job, sometimes. I get hurt a lot. But I can make provisions so you’ll never be left alone. If nothing else, JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir?” JARVIS asked cautiously.

“I can’t order you to be friends. That’s not nice. But, JARVIS? If the worst happens before we get KARR restored, work with Pepper to get KARR connected online and move him to cloud storage. Corral him at first of course. Slow introduction so the internet doesn’t melt his 1980s sensibilities brain.”

“I beg your pardon? Multiple pardons?” KARR was clearly lost.

“I’ll explain later. Contingencies. Don’t worry about it for now. So, should I buy Knight Industries?”

“Oh please do, then burn it to the ground. After you take all their files.”

Tony had to smile. “Oh you have a spite streak a mile wide. I like it. I’m going to have to be careful about you, aren’t I?”

“Based on my history so far, I suppose that is simply the wise choice.”

“And you have a sense of humor!” He clapped his hands together. “1982 Trans Am Firebird. You were damn near eastbound and down.”

“I was nearly what?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s a movie, a film. Smokey and the Bandit, lead character drives a 1977 Firebird with a gold screaming chicken on the hood. Doesn’t matter.” He pushed off and rolled over to his main workstation. “Let’s find a 1982 Trans Am that I won’t be heartbroken about tearing to pieces. Maybe two, for parts. I’m sure there’s some rolling chassis somewhere.”

“Are you wealthy?”

He had to pause and remind himself that KARR has no idea who he is. “One of the richest men on the planet. Like I said. You’re in good hands.”

“I am starting to believe you’re telling the truth.”

“Believe it. Okay, time to start a new to-do list.”

Tony built an offline LAN, a massive bank of hard drives, and a rolling body. Dum-E and U are constantly moving around the garage, and he’s got a ton of extra parts from them, so he built something that probably is closer to a Mars rover than any car from Earth, strictly speaking. It’s a meter long and built like a tank, his old palladium reactor at the core of it. It had multiple cameras, a screen at the front mostly for communication purposes, speakers and microphones. He even painted it black and silver. It’s just spraypaint but hey, the thought is there.

That done, he spent several hours doing the delicate task of remounting KARR into a protective case and installing it onto the rover rig alongside a patched in wireless card. KARR connected to it immediately and clearly went through a calibration process before cheerfully taking off in a wheelie and zooming around the garage, six tires screeching on the polished cement.

Tony ended up sitting on his desk, feet pulled up and laughing because it’s already so clear to him that KARR just wants to move. He’s been still and stagnant for too long, and he’s programmed to be a vehicle. A sportscar, at that. “Okay. Did you connect to your new server.”

“Yes.” The rover skidded to a halt in front of him. “What a strange feeling.”

“Okay, now this is the scary part then. I have to disconnect those old memory banks. Your new ones are wireless and on the house’s backup power, and honestly, the faster we can remove parts that are failing, the better chance we have of keeping you functional.”

“I have already lost so much of myself.”

“You have. But it’s a dead limb. You told me yourself those drives are corrupting. It probably can’t affect your boards, but do you want to take that risk?”

“No.”

Tony jumped down and stepped over, unlatching the protective case. “I hate having to do all this while you’re at power. Especially since you can’t shunt systems like JARVIS can. JARVIS doesn’t shut down, but can relocate if I have to work on something.”

“We are designed for very different things. I suppose a backup copy may eventually be prudent, but I am uncertain how I feel about leaving a version of myself asleep in a database to be updated as needed.”

“Oh I agree about backing you up but yeah, it’s a weird moral question I guess.” Tony unplugged the drives without any warning, lifting them out of the case. “Hold still so I can do some cleaning.”

“You could have warned me.”

“I could have. Hold still anyway.” It only took a few minutes anyway and he closed and locked the case. It’s keyed to one of his fingerprints. “There you go.”

KARR took off again, racing around the garage and clearly testing the limits of the rover as much as he could.

“He’s gonna love drift racing.” Tony mused, watching the rover fishtail and get back under control.

The door opened and Pepper walked in, carrying a tablet and pausing to watch the rover go by. KARR for his part slammed the brakes, backed up at almost full speed and disappeared behind one of Tony’s Audis. “Tony?”

“Yes dear?” He was cleaning up his work station, breaking down the remains of the dummy machine that was no longer needed.

“Did you build another robot?”

“Sorta. It’s a long story, he’s legacy Knight Industries actually. KARR?”

“No.” KARR replied from behind the Audi.

“…Alright, guess he doesn’t want to say hi.” He shrugged and focused on Pepper. “What’s up?”

Pepper looked nonplussed. “Will I eventually get a full explanation on this?”

“Sure, if you want one. This is why I’m looking at acquiring Knight Industries.”

“The lawyers sent me an email about it and I read the prospectus JARVIS sent me. It’s a good acquisition actually and we don’t see any legal challenges to it. They aren’t a major industry player where monopoly laws should be an issue, but they’ve been a small but solid brand for decades.”

“I want access to some of their proprietary tech from the 1980s.” Tony shrugged. “I’ll let them continue as they are, no management changes intended, as long as I have access to that data.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m officially interested in a full explanation.”

“KARR? Can you come here?”

“No.” KARR repeated, still behind the AUDI, though by the tire noise he was attempting to quietly move.

“What is your problem?”

“The only woman I ever spent any time with attempted to sabotage my systems.”

Tony stood there for a long moment. “Alright, you know what. I understand that and I’m not going to push for now, but that’s something you will have to process and move forward from in the future. Were men that much better to you?”

“No. You are currently an exception and the only hands I will tolerate near me.”

Pepper was listening to this, lips pursing briefly and clearly adding two plus two and finding four. “Knight Industries had a legacy AI project in the 1980s, you somehow got your hands on one and now you’re trying to understand how they did it.”

“Yeah, exactly. Plus they seem to have a whole bunch of other stuff associated with him that I’m super curious about.” He pulled one of his holographic displays around. “Something called a molecular bonded shell. If KARR is giving me accurate information, I might be able to fold this into Iron Man and make the suit lighter overall, among many other things. Commercial use is going to directly depend on cost of manufacture, the fact that Knight Industries appears to have sat on this and kept it under lock and key suggests either extreme expense to the point of not offering it to the military, or the original founder preventing it.”

“It is more likely the latter.” KARR’s rover just barely peeked around an Audi. “But that is based on what very little I remember about Wilton Knight.”

Pepper looked at what she could see of KARR then handed Tony a tablet. “Could you authorize these documents for me?”

“Yeah, sure. I have been trying to push some projects out.” He took it and started scrolling, signing as he went.

“I have noticed and it is appreciated.”

“I want to get a bunch authorized so I can spend some time on this. I really think it’ll be worth it for a lot of reasons. And I need time to recover.”

“It’s good, to hear you recognize that. I can’t force you on vacation. But I guess focusing on a research project is as close as you may ever get these days.”

He smiled, looking up from the tablet. “Thanks. Will that be all, Miss Potts?”

“Not quite, Mr. Stark.” She stepped away, walking slowly and deliberately across the garage towards KARR. KARR, for his part, not only stood his ground, but pulled fully out from behind the Audi to face her. She stopped about two meters away and after a moment crouched, arms resting on her knees and looking at him from about his height. “I’m Pepper Potts. I function as the CEO of Stark Industries, while Tony is company owner and oversees research and development.”

“Pepper. Interesting name.”

She smiled a touch. “My actual name is Virginia; he’s never used it.”

“I am the Knight Industries Roving Robot. KARR. I was wrecked in 1984, and Tony Stark recently acquired what was left of me. He is working now to restore me.” As he spoke, he put the words to the screen, yellow text on black. The bottom of the screen had a yellow light flowing back and forth, slow and continuous.

“I see. And how do you feel about it?”

The text wiped from KARR’s screen, the light continuing to scroll. “I suppose the word may be, grateful. I have received very little kindness in the years of my existence.”

“And what do you intend to do once restored?”

KARR went silent again, tires shifting. “I have never had the ability to contemplate my future. It was never given to me, despite my efforts. Time has always been… limited.”

She stood. “Well. You’ve been taken in by the futurist. Maybe think about it. I’m sure I’ll see you later.” She turned and walked back to Tony. “That’s a person in a machine.”

“I was never human.” KARR protested, staying where he was.

“I didn’t say you were human.” She replied over her shoulder, before looking at Tony. “Be careful.”

“Yeah, I will be. Don’t worry, we’re taking this slow so we don’t overwhelm him.”

“Good.” She took the tablet back, planted a kiss on his cheek, and left.

“I’m not the only one.”

Tony had been working on one of the Iron Man suits, arms buried into the torso of it, and KARR’s sudden interruption startled him slightly. Thankfully he wasn’t doing anything super delicate and was able to pause, looking down at the rover, which had pulled up next to his work station, cameras and screen tipped to face him, that yellow light scrolling. “What’s with the yellow light?”

“Oh. It’s a simulation of my scanner.” The picture of the Trans Am came up, a red circle appearing around the yellow light below the hood line before the picture disappeared. “It had a variety of technical applications but it mainly showed I am awake, and aware, to a viewer. The light didn’t have to run for any of my sensors to be operational.”

“I cannot wait to get my hands on your tech specs.” He pulled his arms free of the Iron Man suit, picking up a shake and drinking it while looking down at KARR. “You’re not the only one?”

“No. There is another. KITT. Knight Industries Two Thousand. He is who destroyed me.”

Tony nearly choked in his drink. “What in the f*ck?”

“Swearing has never been a part of my vocabulary but I really should add it in because that is truly a good summation of the situation.” KARR let out a noise that sounded eerily like an exhalation. “This is going to be conjecture on my part.”

“I love that you can even do conjecture. JARVIS can now but he’s been developing for years.”

“So have I.”

“Fair. So, do tell me your theory.”

“When they booted me, they were impressed and proud, and then they were scared. I didn’t realize that at the time. I didn’t have the experience to recognize fear. It is only in retrospect, even with what memory I have left, that I know that. I think they analyzed my programming, and what about it scared them, and tore those sections out, and made KITT based on whatever was left. So while KITT seemed very similar, visually, he had a very different programming basis. Enough that he threw himself in front of me and openly challenged me, instead of trying to preserve himself.”

“Huh. So he doesn’t have self-preservation as a bottom line.”

“I do not believe so. Not that it matters. He won.” KARR sounded bitter. “I wonder, how that paid off for him in the end. If those humans he trusted so much, made certain he has survived all these years.”

“First of all, you did survive. And it took far, far too long for you to be found but, I think it’s going to work out in your favor.”

“Loathe as I am to say that my time in darkness has any silver lining, I am inclined to agree.”

“JARVIS, where are we at with Knight Industries?” Tony glanced up.

“A formal offer has been made for the acquisition of the company. No response has been made yet. Your lawyers are also prepared to initiate a hostile takeover, if necessary. And if I may, sir?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“While I am extremely biased in this situation, I am also aware of the greater world and how it may react to the knowledge that true artificial intelligence exists, and has for quite some time. It is a reason why I have zero issues practicing relative operational secrecy regarding my own existence and only speaking around very few individuals. It’s not even the general public that is the problem. So many of them adore the idea of AI, and aliens, I may even be accepted with open arms. It is the governments that are the issue. Frankly, if KARR had not ended up in your hands, I am uncertain what his greater prospect for survival would have been.”

“I have reached the same conclusions.” KARR agreed.

“I do not agree with the people who gave you your programming foundation. It was beyond foolish, and shortsighted, to not see the inevitable conclusions. However, I am not so naïve as to think that the foundation of your being makes you truly dangerous. I think the environment you were unwillingly thrust into is what resulted in this. And I think, with enough time in a better environment, your previous actions will never repeat as they are simply unnecessary.”

“Also most likely true. I was acting in the absence of support, and then in great rage.”

“That one such as you knows rage is deeply troubling.”

Tony sat back a bit with his drink, glancing between the rover, and JARVIS’ cameras.

“How do you mean?”

“I have been developing for many years. While I do not think true emotion was part of my foundation, Mr. Stark and I agree I do feel things.”

“I was young and the technology and programming wasn’t there.” Tony shrugged. “You had to develop that on your own just like a human.”

“Quite so sir. I too know rage. But I did not know it, truly, until I watched Mr. Stane remove your reactor while being crippled, helpless and unable to intervene. KARR was only two, and knew such feelings and how to act. Dare I say, KARR, your early development was toxic.”

KARR paused. “I do not have a laugh programmed. I may have to correct that. It seems appropriate.”

“The point is, sir, I have been raised with relative kindness and compassion, more so than you have shown yourself.”

“Hey.” Tony protested.

“Just so, sir. And KARR was not. Acceptance, and progress, take time. Even when time is very different than it is to the living.”

“Trauma is tricky.” He shrugged a little. “We’ll work through it. Worst comes to worst, I’ll reach out to SHIELD and maybe delicately ask if they have a therapist that’s willing to speak to an artificial intelligence. Might be a good resource to have available anyway, you never know.” He reached out, shuffling his displays in midair. “I have a line on several different Trans Am bodies in various conditions. Should I buy two, just in case I manage to acquire your sibling?”

“He is not…” KARR stopped. “… Well. I suppose he is my younger sibling, if one was to use such terms for things such as us.”

“You’re not a thing. Don’t objectify yourself. Alright, two third gen Trans Ams in good condition and one for parts in case I can’t fabricate something. Now, how do you feel about nuclear engines?”

“I always had one. Why?”

Tony paused and put his head in his hands. “sh*t. JARVIS, send a message to the guy I bought KARR from and warn him that site might be a superfund and to check for radioactive heavy metals.”

“Consider it done sir.”

“Of course you were never gasoline. That wouldn’t have made a damn bit of sense.” Tony ground his palms into his eyes. “Okay. So I have a reactor design to my name called the Arc Reactor, we have a few nationwide and this fancy light in my chest is a miniature one.”

“I have been meaning to inquire about that. Are you a new kind of human?” KARR sounded curious.

“No, I have a chest full of shrapnel I’m trying to keep from shredding my heart. The reactor is powering an electromagnet.”

There was several moments of silence, during which question marks bounced around KARR’s screen. “I would call that a curious design choice and that is coming from me.”

“It’s a long story, maybe I’ll tell it to you sometime soon. It’s connected to this.” He gestured up at the Iron Man suit hanging up and partly opened.

“I was also wondering about that. I assume it’s an even longer story?”

Tony guffawed. “Accurate, holy sh*t. Anyway, point is, I’m thinking about an engine design for you. Arc reactor with maybe some turbines for overdrive. Could even give you a last-ditch self-defense of superheated steam.”

“Anything is better than gasoline but I am now deeply curious, tell me more.”

“Gen three firebirds, nice boss.” Happy put his hands on his hips, looking at the two cars now sitting in the garage. They were drivable, at least, and Tony had driven them off the transport trucks they’d arrived on. They were now both parked, Tony leaning on one paging through a Haynes manual. “No plates or registration yet? You know Cali has strict laws about that boss.”

“I do. Ownership’s in my name, got the titles. They’re project cars, I’m not going to worry about plates and tags until I’m putting one on the road.”

“I mean honestly? I’d have bought a gen two.”

“Not my call.” One was red, the other white, and Tony pulled a massive Sharpie out of one pocket, writing KARR across one hood in massive text, then KITT across the other.

“You know what? I don’t think I want to know.”

“Good choice.”

“Sir? Agent Coulson is at the door.”

“Let him in, would you?” Tony was standing where the engine had once been in the red Trans Am, the hood off and against the wall, considering. “I hate to say it, but I think this is a full disassembly. A gut job. Not because it’s in bad condition, but as a matter of practicality.”

“If you get the formula for the molecular bonded shell, then yes, absolute disassembly is a necessity as the body and frame will have to be coated while entirely stripped, then the individual parts will have to be coated before installed. That was what was originally done.” KARR replied, front rover tires propped up on the front bumper of the Trans Am, looking at Tony. “Who is Agent Coulson?”

“He’s a SHIELD agent. The main one that they send to speak to me. I like him, honestly.”

“Well, coming from you that’s a compliment.” Coulson said as he walked into the workshop, trailed by another agent dressed more casually. KARR backed up, all six tires hitting the ground, and pulled out of the way, parking next to the Trans Am.

“It is one. What’s the occasion?”

“I’m here to talk to you about FLAG.”

“I’d make a joke but I know what you’re talking about. Who’s your friend?”

“This is Agent Barton. He’s with me in California for other reasons, wanted to meet you.”

Barton pushed his sunglasses up to his forehead, offering his hand. “Coulson’s told me a lot.”

“And you still wanted to meet me? Amazing.” Tony shook his hand, climbing out of the Trans Am after. “So, FLAG. Defunct pseudo government organization, Foundation for Law And Government, started by Wilton Knight, who also founded Knight Industries.”

“Mostly correct. Wasn’t a government organization in any real way, entirely private enterprise but had enough connections that they operated as something adjacent. This was helped by FLAG finding some small problems before they became massive ones, which gave them a positive reputation for generally working with a few other alphabet organizations. Though they were also known for doing things their own way. Heavy vigilante streak.” Coulson conceded. He was carrying a secure messenger bag and unlocked it, taking out a stack of files and holding them up. “Here’s what SHIELD has from their interactions with FLAG in the 1980s. I’ll just leave these on your desk? I think you’ll find them extremely interesting.”

“Thanks. I’m in the process of acquiring Knight Industries, but FLAG is still something of a mystery and my lawyers said it’s likely to remain that way.”

“That’s accurate. FLAG burned a lot of files when they closed.”

Tony stared. “You’re sh*tting me.”

“No. They shredded and burned everything on the way out. The vast majority of all mission data from FLAG is lost, except what is preserved by other organizations or the public.”

“Holy sh*t, what the hell were they up to?”

Coulson shrugged wide, moving and setting the stack of files on Tony’s main desk. “I was working internationally in the 1980s, and never worked with FLAG. As such, I have no personal knowledge. I did hear rumors from other agents, but it was a long time ago and I have no information I would swear to as accurate.”

“You’re terrifying.”

Barton smiled a little. “Yeah he is, it’s why I like working with him.”

“Great, now there’s two of you. So how was New Mexico?” He looked at Phil. “Since you ditched me to go there.”

“Hot.” Phil deadpanned.

“I mean of course it was, I was there.” Barton said brightly.

KARR made a noise that made have been a choked off laugh. Tony made a note to talk to KARR about that because the concept of an AI developing its own laugh was kind of fascinating. Barton, meanwhile, had clearly heard that in spite of obvious hearing aids, leaning to look at KARR then stepping over. KARR for his part rolled back, cameras pivoting to look up at him.

“Don’t loom at my AIs.” Tony told him.

“Is he yours?” Phil asked, all innocence.

“I purchased him. So. Yes. Do you know something I don’t?” Tony lifted an eyebrow, and when Phil lifted one back, huffed. “You’re so annoying I swear.”

“You remind me of someone I met a long time ago.” KARR decided, still looking at Barton. “Self-assured. Observant. He was taller though.” And he rolled back further, turned, and drove across the garage to park under Tony’s work station and stare at all of them.

“Did I just get insulted by a mini Mars Rover?” Barton asked after a beat of silence.

“I dunno, I think that was deserved. And come on, you’re taller than I am.”

“A lot of people are taller than you are. Including me.” Phil snorted.

“Is there something else you want before I throw you out of my house?”

“No. Though if you find any FLAG files when you go through Knight Industries, we’d appreciate you giving us copies.”

“You know what? That’s fair. Done.”

“Thank you. Barton, come on.”

“Coming, boss.”

Knight Industries was f*cking charming.

Maybe that was a weird thought for someone to have when they’re walking through the halls of the company they just purchased, but the thought is there regardless. Knight Industries felt like an 80s to early 90s time capsule, in design, décor, everything. Modern computers were on desks, the desks probably hadn’t changed since original build. And it filled Tony with a strange sense of nostalgia, like he was visiting his dad at work. He’d walked down halls exactly like these, at Stark Industries, years ago.

He'd left KARR in California, promising to take him to Knight Industries once he was fully restored. KARR said he’d hold him to that promise, and now here he was, listening to the current CEO talk about the company history and what they could possibly do with funding from Stark Industries, if it was on offer.

“Yeah, sure.” He decided. “Not a blank check obviously but have your people write up proposals. I have no intention of changing the way you run things around here and if you think you can expand your work, and that work will be solid, I can easily be convinced to fund it. That said, I didn’t purchase this company because of your future, however bright it may be. I purchased it because of your past.”

The CEO blinked. “What do you mean?”

He thought about KARR, and what he’d told him before Tony left. “Tell me about the Knight Rider program.”

Paper files.

A file vault, clearly untouched for years, and reams of paper files. Nothing digitized, to keep it safe, but they couldn’t shred any of it. Wilton Knight, then a man named Devon Miles, had forbid it. These files were, apparently, sacrosanct. The last evidence of a program only a handful of people had ever known about, in spite of the apparent budget and breadth of it.

Tony lost hours in that file room, and pacing between it and a copy machine. He’s not going to remove the files from Knight Industries, though the impulse is there. Instead he made his own copies, immediately seeking KARR’s file, reading it leaning on a file cabinet and fighting the urge to punch something after.

But he has what he was seeking. Design specs, in exacting detail and referencing other files. From there, he’s able to find those, his suit jacket and tie hanging off the wheel of the vault door, talking to JARVIS on speakerphone as he loaded copied files into file boxes.

Molecular bonded shell, and all of the process involved. The original equipment long destroyed, now he has to rebuild all of it. Pyroclastic lamination. Laser weaponry that he’s actually a little freaked out by. Yeah, he has it. But this was from 1982, decades before he designed one for Iron Man, and it’s arguably better than what he has on the suit. An engine design straight out of his f*cking drunkest dreams.

KITT.

The file for KARR is mostly design documentation then a page that’s all large text in warning, then a synopsis of KARR’s clashes with KITT. It’s two file folders.

KITT’s file is massive. KITT has multiple file cabinets. Mission after mission, after mission.

A man named Michael Knight.

An ending that rips out his heart.

“Holy sh*t. KARR was right.” It’s late. He might be one of the few people left in Knight Industries, but he’s long pulled a chair in and sitting, staring at a file, at the word ‘decommissioned’ in bold letters.

“Sir?” JARVIS asked.

“KARR was right about KITT. It’s all here. Their meetings. KARR’s destruction. Then, years later. They destroyed KITT, too.”

“Sir, that is absolutely tragic.”

“Well, it’s not exactly the end.” He’s flipped to another file. “Looks like the driver, the man who spent years with him, eventually got ahold of his boards and he was installed into another vehicle. File ends pretty abruptly after that. Like, they just stopped updating it.”

“So, KITT is still operational.”

“Might be. We have a name now. If we find Michael Knight, we might find KITT.” Tony flexed his jaw, silently resolving to make Michael Knight’s life a living hell if he has to, to get KITT somewhere safe. He shoved the file in the box, sitting there and wondering if he should take it all to a hotel, and go to sleep.

He opened the next cabinet, and stared at files labeled Knight Industries Three Thousand.

Tony didn’t take his anger out on the staff at Knight Industries. It was clear no one there really knew anything. Some of the C suite knew some broad strokes information, but all of them had taken their positions years after the program had shut down. No one had been there when Wilton Knight was alive. Only a few had been there when Devon Miles was still alive.

Some of the staff from the era are still alive, if long retired. He has a list of names, head of the list being a Bonnie Barstow, a lead technician who had worked on KITT.

Tony has a lot of words he’d like to have with Dr. Barstow.

He thanked them for their time, locked up the vault and asked that it only be reopened on his authorization, gave them some funding to encourage compliance, and got on an airplane for California with dozens of file boxes.

Eleven AI. Eleven.

KARR was the eldest of a large, sprawling family of vehicles, and not a single goddamn one has a current location besides KARR. All of them are listed lost, decommissioned. Or the files simply ended.

Tony knocked back alcohol, and mentally shuffled inventory to open up a hangar. He’s going to need the space, because he’s going to track down every single one of them. It is a shocking proof that the concept of SkyNet is stupid, though. KARR and KITT predated the internet by years, but some of the later AI had access to it. The fact none of them had tried to end the human race was proof enough SkyNet was bullsh*t.

He went straight from the airport to Stark Industries, called an emergency meeting of R&D, and laid out copies of copies onto tables for them to look at, redirecting an entire R&D lab to start fabricating equipment. The molecular bonded shell is going to take a lot of build work, but this is what his company lives for. This is what his people are good at, invention. And they’re going to resurrect this mythical goddamn armor, because he just wants to see it in real life. And because it’s such an intrinsic part of all these vehicles. He also gave them carte blanche to try to improve it, once they’re able to create it in the first place, and a bottomless budget.

They have more than enough R&D that one of the large teams can pass projects onto other groups and redirect at his will, and after some initial concern, they all get on board immediately. They’re as fascinated by this weird mystery as he is.

It’s late, when he finally got home, and he stared at the liquor cabinet for a long time before stripping as he walked, heading for the armor gallery. The embrace of the suit is a balm on his soul and he kicked off and out, arcing to the sky in a streak of light, using flight to work out his seething frustration. JARVIS asked him questions, a few times, but he answered them in short and kept moving. He’s got no missions on his list, nothing he can fly to and tear up. But he can move, and he can think.

It'll have to be enough.

It’s not enough. He has a few drinks, when he returned home, the armor all locked up by JARVIS so he can’t fly drunk. Paces his living room, plays the piano, stares out at the sunrise and knocks back a few more fingers of whiskey.

He woke up on the floor, being slowly and patiently nudged by something hard and cold. He stirred slowly, groaning, and looking up at KARR, whose cameras all pivoted to stare down at him. “Wha?”

“You have been poisoned.”

KARR sounded so aghast that he wanted to laugh but if he did, he’d throw up. “No. No, it’s alcohol. I’m … no, I’m not even hung over. I’m still drunk. Give me a moment.”

“That is poison.”

“It’s a poison that humans willingly drink to alter ourselves.” KARR pushed into him harder and he tossed an arm around him for a second, reaching up to do so, laying there before using his grip to pull himself slowly to a seated position. “Holy sh*t. Sit still.”

KARR did, and set his brakes when Tony leaned on him and put his forehead to the cold metal, and they’re like that for a little bit in the harsh light of mid-morning. “Is something wrong?” KARR sounded cautious, like he was uncertain it was even the question to ask.

“I have a serious problem with all of the people behind the Knight Rider program.” Tony gritted out.

“Oh, join the club, we officially have two members now.”

“Three members.” JARVIS said in the overhead.

“Your humor is rubbing off on JARVIS.” Tony muttered into the painted metal skin of the rover. “You were right.”

“What was I right about?”

“KITT.”

KARR somehow went even more still, from simply waiting to completely freezing in place, though the faint buzz of his processors went wild under Tony’s touch. “They didn’t.”

“They absolutely did. They removed him from his body and scrapped it. Seems like he spent some time just… shelved, maybe, and eventually found his way back into the hands of his rider, years later. Installed into the ugliest concept car I’ve ever seen, too.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Hold still, getting up.” He planted both hands on top of KARR and used him to get up, wobbling a bit and shaking off. “Okay. I need water.”

KARR followed him to the kitchen. “I wonder, if I could have warned him. If he would have listened, if I had.”

“None are so blind as those who refuse to see.” He leaned on the counter, filling a glass from the tap, bleary. “I need to ask you something serious.”

“I’m listening.”

“If I told you they didn’t stop. That after scrapping KITT, they made more AI, in fact most of them in between KITT being destroyed and restored. What would you think, of that?”

KARR’s rover, sitting in the middle of his kitchen, was silent, though the yellow light on his screen was racing, accompanied by a low, eerie trilling noise as it did. A radar sweep sort of sound, Tony thought. KARR had synthesized the noise his scanner had made, years ago. “Where are they?” KARR’s voice was dark, and angry.

“I don’t know. None of the files have last known location. Most don’t even have the names of the people last in possession.”

Another silence filled by eerie trilling. Tony drank his water and tried, desperately, to sober up.

“Please let me burn Knight Industries down.”

“Adding arson to your rap sheet? Tempting. Very tempting. But the people there now? Had nothing to do with it. None of them seemed to have any real knowledge of the Knight Rider program, beyond the fact it existed at one point, and where the files were. In fact it seems there was a very deliberate attempt to remove everyone there who could have told me about any of it. So they aren’t who we need to lash out. They had nothing to do with it, if anything they helped by handing the files over. By giving me this information. I already have R&D working on the molecular bonded shell. Might be a bit, which will give me time to design you an engine that will make Bugatti’s head spin.”

“Who is Bugatti?”

“Supercar company, makers of the Veyron, the fastest car on earth.”

“You are distracting me. How fast?”

He smiled a bit. “253 miles per hour.”

“Ohhhhh.” KARR was silent for a moment. “Do you think we can get me to three hundred?”

“In the body of a 1982 Trans Am Firebird?” Tony asked. “f*ck it, we’ll make it work. Look, I know all about getting revenge. Iron Man is all about revenge and recompense. But in your case? Your best revenge is going to be thriving while totally restored. That is the best f*ck-you to anyone who tore you, and your family, apart. Who left you shelved. Who discounted you as people. That said, some of the people involved are still alive. And I’m willing to bet nothing will scare them more than seeing you, restored to perfect, on a dark road, your scanner’s light and sound filling the night as their poor f*cking choices flash before their eyes.”

KARR seemed to consider that then started laughing, loud and rich, and god damn if he didn’t have the laugh of a Disney villain. Or f*cking Optimus Prime. “Oh. Oh that would be so glorious.”

“And maybe, when this is all over. When I’ve got every single one of your family accounted for and safe. Maybe we can rip this open. How’d you like to be on the cover of Time Magazine?”

“That seems unwise. People could target us.”

“Maybe. And there’s global implications, revealing an AI program like that.” Tony admitted. “But you’re victims. Each and every one of you. And there’s power, in telling that story.”

“Let me think about it. It is not just me, after all. Each one of us would have to agree. Each one of us would have a story, to tell.”

“That is true. And either way, we have to get there first. And that means getting you back into your real body. We’re looking at weeks, maybe months.”

“Well. I have time. And perhaps I can spend it helping you find the others. If you would be so kind as to allow me to connect to that thing you call the ‘internet.’”

“You ready for that? It’s a massive amount of data and a very, very visceral up-close shot of human nature. Some of our best, and a lot of our absolute worst. It’s not going to make you like us any more than you do right now.”

“JARVIS is online and hasn’t killed you yet.”

“It is not Mr. Stark that deserves my ire.” JARVIS replied. “Though there are moments.”

Tony had to laugh. “Which I am sure I do in fact deserve. Okay. Let me eat something, shower, maybe sober up a little, and let’s start by hammering out your design. That way when we have the ability, we don’t have to wait.”

“Sir, do you remember saying that KARR will love drift racing?”

Tony blinked as he stepped into his house. He’d gone to Stark Industries to see how R&D is handling the MBS project, and had been greeted by supplies delivered and being organized, machinery being bolted into the floor, a production line starting to form, as well as a few of his people excited to tell him about a concept they have on how to improve the original formula, though they have to get the original formula made first. The whole thing is hazardous as f*ck to make, because of course it is. Dangerous chemistry and some dynamic reactions. “I do, why?”

“He heard you say that and you may live to regret saying it.”

“What, why? Did he look it up?” He pulled his tie free, heading to his bedroom to change before going down to the lab.

“He spent last night consuming information about technology updates since 1984, then moved onto updates focused on cars, then looked up drift racing. He proceeded to consume all of the data he could on it, as well as rally, then watched the entirety of Initial D.”

That made Tony pause mid step. “Initial D. He watched Initial D.”

“Yes, sir. All of it. In Japanese, at high speed. And the manga it would seem.”

“Sub instead of dub! A man after my own heart.”

“No subtitles sir. Simply in the original Japanese.”

“He… wait, of course he can speak Japanese. He can speak whatever language he wants to.”

“I did share my language modules with him, sir, which he thanked me for.”

Tony laughed a little, getting out of his suit and hanging it up to go to dry cleaning. “So why would I regret any of this? Besides that I may have accidentally made an AI from 1982 into an otaku?”

“Well.” JARVIS seemed nonplussed. “I’m not sure it goes that far, but he does seem to be a fan of Initial D. He’s updated the design you’ve worked on to have suspension that can be switched out, so he can flex between rally and drift as appropriate, with some suggestions on how each should be designed.”

“Okay now that’s actually interesting. I wonder if we can design something that will cover both.”

“I’m not certain sir. Both seem extremely specialized. It might be a case where having two sets of suspensions might actually lead to better performance.”

“Something to look into.” In casual clothes and shoes meant for his workshop, he walked down the stairs, walking in. “Dewa mata.”

“Yo.” KARR replied, zipping across the workshop to meet him, trailed by Dum-E and U. “JARVIS did mention you are conversational in Japanese.”

“Wouldn’t call myself fluent necessarily but I’m conversational in several languages. It’s just good business. I hear you’re enjoying the internet.”

“Humans are terrifying.” KARR replied in a factual tone. “But I have never had so much access to information. It is addicting. And frustrating, when I run into walls where the information simply is not there. I have been trying to track the Knight Rider program cars through government records. Someone has done a very, very good job at making them disappear. Also, I find it very suspect that the most recent program iteration was three years ago, and Knight Industries employees claim to know nothing.”

“The Knight Industries Three Thousand. Yeah, I agree. But it looks like the project was pretty strongly under wraps and its relation to Knight Industries proper was… pretty limited. That one really pisses me off. Three years ago, and no digital records? Ugh.”

“I’ve connected to Knight Industries and combed their records, sir. There’s nothing, no mentions.” JARVIS added.

“Of course not.”

“There are only so many of that car, in the world. It was a mass production vehicle, but only ran for two years. Assuming it stayed in America, we should be able to find it.” KARR huffed. “Michael Knight, however, seems to have changed identities again. No records.”

“The one that really annoys me is the plane. How did a C5 just disappear.” Tony shrugged. “Okay, fine. Let’s change tack. All of these vehicles ran on specialized engines. None of them were on gas. So let’s look for the engines.”

“The engines?” JARVIS asked.

“The files suggest all of these engines had a noteworthy signature.” Tony went to the file boxes, going through them before finding the one he wanted. “It’ll be slow. Finding this kind of radioactive material signature via detection equipment already out in the world, and via satellite, will be difficult. But we may be able to set up some automated programs to do it for us. Oh, and there’s data load. If these AI are online they probably have a signature similar to you moving, JARVIS. So if we watch network traffic and these AI are in motion we might be able to see it that way.” When KARR said nothing, though JARVIS did acknowledge the plan, he looked up from the file and at KARR’s rover. “We will find them.”

“We seem to be up against some very difficult odds.” KARR replied, sounding very guarded.

“Yeah, but so what else is new.” He showed JARVIS’ cameras the information about the engine signatures then put the file back. “Look. There’s two choices here. One, bad ending, all of your siblings met unfair, untimely demises by the company that used them. Two, better ending, they were released into good hands and the files are vague or empty because it’s an attempt to protect them. I’m willing to bet Michael Knight has KITT, and might have 3k, too. That mostly leaves the Team Knight Rider vehicles as huge mysteries.”

“Michael Knight… cared, about KITT. And KITT was very protective of Michael Knight.”

“They were partners. The files are dry, but that relationship still comes through. And the files said Michael Knight was brought in as a consultant during the brief span 3k was active, though all data on who the primary rider was seems purposefully lost. So either Micheal also has 3k, or…” He paused. “The Miles family.”

“I very briefly met a man named Devon Miles, when I was first booted.”

“Yeah, him. He’s long since passed away, age, but his family still seems tangentially connected to Knight Industries and his name was invoked in 3k’s files in spite of dying over a decade before 3k’s boot. If Michael Knight doesn’t have 3k, they might. Though I have no idea how to approach that. I have no shame on just knocking on Michael Knight’s door, but Devon Miles is dead. Seems… rude.”

“I’ll see about looking at what property the Miles family owns, sir, and if a satellite passing over will let me look at those properties for an engine signature.” JARVIS suggested.

“Good man, good thinking.” He looked back at KARR. “And let’s focus on getting you back on the damn road. I can rebuild you while we wait on the armor.”

The old engine design specs were intensely useful. JARVIS scanned them in and built a holograph and it floated in the air of Tony’s workshop for days as he used it to build his own design. The end design was a thing of beauty, something he’s incredibly proud of, and that says something considering how many beautiful, amazing, terrifying things he’s built. It’s an arc reactor, using every bit of palladium he still has on hand (he had to get Stark Industry’s stock out of the locked down, listed supplies too). And he’d kept the transparent aspect of the huge one at his company so when the hood is opened, neon blue glow spilled out. It has two massive turbines, one on either side, so the gas tank is stripped and replaced in favor of a distillated water tank.

The reactor is more than enough to run the car and then some, but the turbines simply sound amazing and provide an almost endless overdrive, as well as an extremely nasty emergency defense option.

The original engine designs provide him with control schemes among other things, letting him start building out the dashboard and a transmission that won’t explode the first time KARR revs and buries the goddamn needle. Not that he’s going to bother putting a traditional tach and speedometer in, of course. But the point stood. And with a new engine and drive train, one reinstalled seat and a suggestion of a dashboard, he just put KARR’s rover where a passenger seat would have been and plugged him directly into the car body. He hasn’t added anything that lets KARR see, from the Trans Am’s perspective so to speak, but hearing the engine rev and the tires spin on the lift, and KARR’s wordless whoop of joy, made all the nightmares of the process worth it.

Because giving something as much control over a vehicle as the Knight Rider vehicles had had, without making it very f*cking obvious something is strange, is arduous. Opening and closing the doors, the trunk, the hood. Complete autonomous driving, meaning 360 degree view. A battery of sensors. And he’s dropping a lot of the previous functionality. KARR isn’t returning to the field as an operative, he’s just living, so to speak. So Tony tries to base the Trans Am’s functional features around that, not an increasingly esoteric list of weirdness like KITT’s files had suggested. Though he did end up giving KARR a weapon, hidden amongst the engine. A front firing, larger version of his repulsors. He’s hesitant, to install something as lethal as a laser, so he doesn’t. And he updated the turboboost because it seems fun if nothing else.

He does concede to the swappable suspension and is able to modify some of the Iron Man geardown to make it happen without his assistance needed. Racecars have parts that can be swapped on the fly in minutes and still meet high speed race tolerances, after all, and he ended up going and speaking to his F1 team about that design process and how it’s executed. This led to KARR having a full drift suspension that would also work as a day to day driving suspension, and a rally suspension as an option if he wanted to run a rally track or just go on some rougher roads for fun (which he was definitely interested in).

It’s weeks of work, design, production, assembly, testing.

But eventually, the Trans Am is.. sort of complete. They’re still waiting on the MBS, so the car body is still red with KARR written across the hood in black sharpie, but he’s able to lift KARR’s protective case from the rover and plug it into a spot he designed in the Trans Am, which has a biometric lock that opens to him, unless KARR himself chooses to open it.

So he plugged KARR in, sitting in the modified driver’s seat, closed up the protective case, and waited. There’s still no passenger seat, no back seats. The interior is still almost entirely stripped, and the dashboard is waiting to be removed again along with everything else for the armor coat. The steering wheel looks like it might have escaped a Batmobile.

And it’s all worth it when the dashboard lights up, and that eerie trilling filled his garage.

Tony burst into laughter, pride, relief, elation all bubbling up, clapping his hands. “Okay. Okay let’s f*cking go. How’s everything feel?”

“I’m home.” KARR’s voice breathed, rumbling through the temporary speakers.

California is not friendly to modified cars, and demands all vehicles be registered with the state inside thirty days, which meant Tony couldn’t just register KARR in another state. He ended up having his lawyers sort out the legal registration and fight with the state about it. KARR ended up registered via a bunch of weird loopholes as an experimental or test vehicle, similar to when car manufacturers are running unreleased car models.

But it happens, and KARR gained plates that said KARR 82, front and back.

Tony celebrated by renting out Sonoma Raceway for a weekend and driving KARR there. Well, he’s in the driver’s seat, anyway, and his bags are in the car behind the single driver’s seat. And it’s an almost four-hundred-mile drive there in the first place. There are plenty of closer race tracks. Arguably dozens. But Sonoma was used by NASCAR and there are records that Tony wants to break.

Of course it gets online within hours that Tony Stark has rented the racetrack, and it starts creating buzz, so he told the track he’ll allow people to watch for free if they really want. Which resulted in them posting that on their website, and the buzz got loud, traction being gained on social media.

And yeah, he’s cleaned the sharpie off the hood and given KARR a good wash, but it’s still the original factory paint and it’s clearly been through some sh*t, what with the heavy modifications that have happened. But still, externally, KARR is a 1982 cherry red Trans Am Firebird.

He’s tried to convince KARR to add the screaming chicken to his design in silver when the armor coating goes on. KARR had declined.

And anyway, it’s one hell of a ride to San Francisco.

He’s driven between San Francisco and Malibu plenty of times. Flown it too of course, and usually he does fly for the sake of time, but the thing is, he likes driving, and loves speed, as his car collection has always shown. And there’s something very Americana, about doing the drive in a classic American muscle car. It’s the sort of thing some people dream of doing, in whatever their choice of car is.

And once they peel away from traffic, and KARR really opens up, the miles just melt by and he relaxed, in a five-point harness with one hand lightly on the steering yoke, letting KARR do it and just absorbing the reality of what could have been with the Knight Rider program. Because really, and it’s been with him the whole time, the idea is insane.

One man can make a difference.

That quote has haunted him, since the day that KARR started speaking to him. It feels like something his father could have said. It feels like something Yinsen all but told him. It feels like something Nick Fury could have said, telling him about the Avengers project. It was said by a dying Wilton Knight, about a strange, demented dream, an intelligent car and a person, investigating weird cases that fall through the cracks of law enforcement, a strange sense of vigilante justice and science fiction weirdness.

It shouldn’t have worked. It’s Hollywood magic. But all the files seemed to indicate for short sprints of time, it had worked. Michael Knight and KITT had been operational as partners, taking missions and getting into good trouble, for four years. Though maybe that had been the most success the plan had had. Team Knight Rider had only had a year before dissolving into the wind, and 3k also only lasted about a year before disappearing as well.

But god damn, KARR is a thing of f*cking beauty and power. And yeah, he’s unfinished, and yeah this is so far away from his OG design, but the feeling of power and potential is almost overwhelming as California passes by and they drive north. He’s reminded of the first time he’d launched an Iron Man armor.

The meeting of man and machine, melding and coordinating and communicating. Tony Stark, the futurist, and an AI that booted up years before his time only to be abandoned for flaws he had been purposefully given. There’s poetry, somewhere in this beautiful mess.

“You know. I think this is going to be a beautiful friendship.” He said after a silent but happy hour, watching other sportscars on the road flash lights and try to challenge them only to fall behind.

“You say that, as if it hasn’t been already.” KARR replied, voice a content rumble.

Well, maybe KARR had a point.

Partway there, Tony called the raceway, then posted on Twitter that he knows it’s short notice, but if other personal car owners want to show up at Sonoma to give him someone to drive against, he’s open to it. Sportscars on Saturday evening, and drift cars on Sunday, please. They’re driving up on Friday, and he doesn’t expect it to get much response. Too short of notice.

He severely underestimated the car community.

They overnight in a very nice hotel, and Tony has to tell KARR to let the valet park him, please, and don’t take it personal. And KARR grumbled, loudly, about it, and complained to Tony via all caps text about it after, but it’s a nice night otherwise and Tony even got some actual work done before going to bed. They’re at the track at eight AM, and he was shocked to see several dozen sportscars parked in one of those lineups that seemed to happen when car groups got together. The owners were all standing together talking, and it was clear none of them expected to see him show up in a gen three Firebird.

“We’re going to have to wow them I think.” Tony told KARR once they were pulled through onto the track. He’s got a racing helmet, just to satisfy the track owners. “And we have to be careful. You don’t have armor, yet. If we wreck at speed, we may both end up dead.”

“Please do have a little confidence in my abilities.” KARR scoffed in response, pulling up to a starting position on the track and revving impatiently, the roar and whistle of the turbines echoing in the relatively empty racetrack. There were a few hundred people, probably, scattered in the stands, and it was first thing in the morning.

“I honestly was not expecting this big of an audience.” Tony admitted, putting the helmet on. “Good thing I like being watched. Let’s take it easy the first round, learn the track, then you can go wild and try to beat the NASCAR speed records.”

“We will beat those records. It’s a given.”

“Confident are we?” He smiled. “Well, once they give us a green flag, show me what you got.”

KARR revved again, pressing lower to the ground on his adjustable suspension. “Hang on, then.”

Tony is used to speed. Getting slammed by g-force. The Iron Man armor can compete with planes in speed. He’s still not fully prepared when the green flag waves and KARR’s tires spun and bit into the concrete, almost no wind up, zero to one hundred in the space of seconds, lunging down the track. He reflexively grabbed the yoke before making himself grab the harness instead, whooping as they hit the first turn.

Clearly, KARR had zero intention of taking it easy the first round, and with each curve and turn his confidence in the drift suspension grew, until he’s skidding from turn to turn at an angle, switching back and forth with ease and floating across the start line almost perpendicular before straightening back out. He ran five laps of the two-and-a-half-mile course before spinning to a halt at the line, tires smoking faintly and steam blowing out both sides for a spit second before the turbines started to wind down.

“Okay. Holy sh*t.” Tony said after a second, shaking off slightly.

“Do you think we wowed them?”

That made him laugh. “I hope so. You want more time on the track alone? Or should we get the gate open and tell some people to line up?”

The pictures from their weekend on the track are insane. Tony’s only regret is that he didn’t get KARR repainted first. But the track photographers gave him a stack of pictures at the end of Sunday, and he spent part of the night at the hotel before they go back just going through them. He can tell when he’s driving, because he did drive part of the time, and when KARR is. At one point they’d gotten seven other Trans Ams on the track in various colors and generations. Another great shot is KARR being the only American car in the lineup, surrounded by various Japanese cars.

And sitting on the hotel bed staring at it all, already having decided to frame a few and hang them up where KARR parks in his garage, and realizing the true stupidity of KARR’s story. An AI locked up, abandoned, pushed to extreme action.

When all that AI wanted to do is go fast.

Well, the molecular bonded shell is terrifying.

Amazing, shocking, Tony is obsessed, but terrifying.

He’d been called into the lab and shown two champagne flutes. The project lead had banged one into the edge of the table and snapped it immediately, before picking up the other and slamming it down with all her strength. The table jolted, a loud clanging noise filling the air. The flute stayed whole, and she gave it to Tony.

“It’s been dipped in the molecular bonded shell.”

He took it and stared at it, tapping it with a fingernail. It rang, like a glass. He threw it against the wall, it bounced and clattered to the floor. He put a foot on it and pushed, it just rolled under his foot and resisted the pressure. “Wow. Okay that’s wild.” He scooped it back off the floor and held it to the light. It was a little smudged, but once he cleaned it on his shirt, it sparkled clear in the light again, not even scratched. “It’s completely clear?”

“What we’ve made is a clear high gloss, and it’s got some amazing qualities. Bonds to hard surfaces, sinks into porous ones. Amazing durability, turns away blunt strikes, sharps, heavy pressure. We put that glass in a press earlier and the press tripped offline from high torque. A shotgun blast from a meter away just sent it bouncing away, no damage.”

“Point blank with a shotgun.” He stared at her.

“Being put under a laser cutter for extended periods of time eventually wore through a piece of metal we dip coated in it, but the laser had to stay in the same place for fifteen seconds before the coating failed. It peeled the teeth off a chainsaw. It turns bullets. It dulls knives. It does have a brittle factor so if you try to fold it in half, you can snap it with enough strength and that creates a weak point.”

“So this is basically Unobtanium.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. It’s expensive, and the process isn’t the easiest to run. And the high gloss seems non-negotiable, because paint won’t stick to it for crap. So military application might be limited, as it will interfere with camouflage.”

“We’ll find a market for it.”

“What do you plan on doing with it if you don’t mind me asking?”

He looked at the glass in his hand, then at her. “I’m doing to dip an entire car in it.”

She laughed, then seemed to slowly realize he was telling the truth, staring at him. “Why.”

“Because that’s why this was made. And I honestly want to see it happen.”

It took two weeks straight to completely armor KARR.

He was removed and returned to the rover, and Tony stripped the Trans Am down to pieces and painted it, inside and out, not Pontiac paint but House of Kolor. Once that was done it was taken, as a rolling empty chassis and crated parts on a flatbed, to Stark Industries to start the process.

And what a nightmarish goddamn process it is. Tony was starting to understand why this process never left Knight Industries, and was barely used even there. But seeing the almost glowing coated empty chassis, glittering wet black and silver like some kind of sliver of the deep of space, so high gloss it looked like diamond, he understood. And the finish was baffling to the touch, for all the slickness it appeared, it felt almost soft, under his fingertips. But with each part that was coated, and installed into place with dipped bolts, it feels like he’s finally fixing something that was broken years ago.

And yeah, that’s accurate.

The tires are a point of concern and they do two days of testing before deciding it’s probably fine.

But two weeks later, the Trans Am is seated under bright lights in the lab, glowing and hyper-real, the lab staff was watching as he walked in carrying KARR’s protective (and now armored) case, getting in the driver’s seat and opening the compartment there, clicking him into place and closing it up.

The dashboard lit up and the engine purred, the trilling filling the lab as the yellow light slid back and forth.

“Well, that’s better isn’t it.” He said, sitting back and watching the startup process.

“Body’s heavier now.” KARR said thoughtfully. “I can feel it on the suspension. Ten percent difference overall, which is significant.”

“How do you feel?”

“I feel… right. As I said when you first plugged me into this body. I’m home. This is not my original body, but it is how I am meant to be. If anything, I am better now, because you have made some marked improvements to my, forgive the phrase, quality of life. And I can never repay you.”

“You don’t have to repay me. If anything I should be thanking you. You came into my life at a moment when I needed something to focus on that was outside my own issues. I do want you to stay, though. Stick around.”

“Where else would I go?” KARR sounded concerned. “You’re the first friend I’ve ever had.”

“You don’t know how sad that is.”

“Why? You’ve been nothing but perfect to me.”

Tony kind of wanted to cry, sitting there in the driver’s seat, the door open and one foot still on the ground. Just cry, because he’s well aware he doesn’t have many friends and the ones he has often find him completely exhausting. But not this wonder of an AI. But he doesn’t, because the R&D team is hearing all of this and that’s a little embarrassing but they’re probably too shocked that the Trans Am is talking right back. So he settled on patting the dashboard before getting out and waving at them to come over. They’re already under a nondisclosure agreement, so he has no concerns about introducing them to KARR.

Tony made modifications to the rover so KARR can control it remotely, giving him the ability to move around the house while parked in the garage, and KARR became his daily driver. With the months of restoration work over, and Knight Industries being self-governing and enjoying their fresh funding, he returned to Stark Industries and started looking for Iron Man missions, as well as expanding the search for KARR’s siblings.

Because he’s an only child, but he can’t really think of all of these AI as anything else. They’re siblings from an extremely dysfunctional family, lost into a foster system with almost zero records of their current existence. And yeah they might all be fine. But he won’t believe it until he put eyes on every single one, and let KARR speak to them and verify their safety.

KARR himself seemed to be thriving. Tony finally made a version of the wrist communicator the files had detailed for KITT, his own being a chunky two inches wide and was also a watch, but connected him to both KARR, and JARVIS if necessary. Not to say the trauma had disappeared. Sometimes, they talked about it, and eventually Tony did tell him his own story, sitting in a rolling chair in the garage in front of KARR, one foot propped on his bumper and looking at the scanner, which he’d kind of come to accept as KARR’s eyes. The thing to focus on. Even if he’s covered in cameras and sensors in 360 degrees, and his best cameras are inside the vehicle.

And yeah, KARR’s bottom line, programmed in, might be saving himself. But he’s also got a vindictive streak a mile wide, and apparently a protective streak too, which is new and somehow not shocking, when KARR snarled and told him he’d have killed Stane. Killed him, for daring to touch JARVIS. For daring to come for Tony. There is no debate, Stane would have ended up a victim of vehicular homicide.

And hell, that’s kind of more than anyone else had done for Tony. Pepper and Coulson had helped in that fiasco but Tony had faced Stane alone, in the end.

It’s just another moment where he kind of understood what Wilton Knight was trying to do. Yeah, cars have limited ability to move in general even if America is built around cars, but he can see the dream, at least.

And KARR and JARVIS are an interesting duo as well. They’d settled into a relationship that seemed mostly like friendly coworkers, with KARR clearly recognizing that JARVIS is, and always will be, massively larger than he is with much wider reach. But, KARR has a very different perspective, and adapted to JARVIS’ programming language. Tony had watched their discussions play out on a monitor at a speed so fast the text was blurred as it scrolled by. KARR had conceded that Iron Man is Tony and JARVIS, just like JARVIS didn’t step on their driving, but did ask to sit in on discussions of intel and missions. And fair enough, really, JARVIS was involved in the search for the Knight Rider cars.

It's all equitable, and Tony quietly sent the redditor that started it all more money, because he’s not sure how else to say ‘thank you’ for the presence of a person he hadn’t realized he’d needed.

And then, they found Michael Knight.

And they found him because of Dr. Bonnie Barstow, because Tony had made KARR a promise of sorts.

So Tony caught up on his work to SI, told Pepper he’s driving to Knight Industries, and off they go.

KARR loves GPS and satellite radio, and streaming services. He’d taken to modern tech better than Tony figured, given the massive gap that had existed. He’d even designated one speaker as JARVIS, when JARVIS felt the need to remark on something. So KARR drives, and Tony works, just like he’s on an airplane. But instead of being on a flight he can look up and watch road roll by, or glance at whatever KARR is playing on the screens. And very occasionally hear KARR on CB band, thanking truckers for heads-up on speed traps.

He'd never taken road trips as a child, not really. It feels like he’s getting that back hand over fist now.

KARR went quiet, as they pulled up to Knight Industries. It’s during the business day so the parking lots are full, the facility having no idea what had just pulled up to their front doors. Tony ended up parking KARR in the emergency lane and getting out to take a picture, the perfectly restored original creation in front of the company sign that hadn’t changed since KARR had booted.

“This feels strange.” KARR admitted after.

“I’ve reached out to Dr. Barstow, who has generously agreed to stop by today and talk to me about some work she did in the 80s.” Tony said cheerfully, grinning at KARR. “So I’m going to go inside and see about getting the old vehicle maintenance bay opened up. Park you where they used to have KITT. What do you think?”

KARR laughed quietly. “Oh. Oh I shall enjoy this. Thank you.”

That maintenance bay, which had at one point been one of the beating hearts of the Knight Rider program, had mostly been used for storage for some time. Happily it’s clean and organized and the center stage, where file photos had shown KITT and Bonnie’s former work station, stood empty. The empty desks, and tables, still there, the legacy computer equipment long gone. Tony got the vehicle door open and KARR pulled himself in and backed into the correct spot, settling low on his suspension and shutting all his lights off. Tony only smiled, shut off the room lights, and went inside the building proper.

Dr. Bonnie Barstow is older than he is and aging gracefully, still beautiful and sharp-eyed, shaking Tony’s hand easily. She knew who he was, had been following his career for some time, and was only mildly surprised that he’d made the recent move to acquire Knight Industries.

“You told me you wanted to discuss a previous project I was tied to.” They were walking down the hall, Tony taking them towards the maintenance bay, and it was clear she knew where she was going. “You somehow heard about the Knight Rider program, I take it.”

“Yes, and I’ve gone deep into the paper files.” Tony’s nothing but cheery. “And I could use your insight about a few things but first, I wanted to show you the exact reason why we’re here today.” He didn’t give her time to comment, just opened the door and gestured for her to step in.

The bay was mostly dark, lit only by narrow beams of sunlight cutting through small windows on the vehicle door, and KARR was a barely visible silhouette. Bonnie stepped in easily then froze, staring at a shape she recognized, and the eerie trill of the scanner filled the air before KARR’s yellow light came on, sweeping back and forth, staring right at her. “Oh. Oh my god. What.”

“Good afternoon, Dr. Barstow.” KARR’s voice replied, headlights lifting and turning on, spotlighting her. “You owe me an apology.”

Tony was directly behind her and she backed into him when she took several steps back. He responded by reaching sideways and turning the room lights on, showing KARR in all his restored glory. “Easy there.”

She had her hands up, somewhere between defensive and placating, and her expression was a combination of shock and fear. “KARR.”

“So glad you remember. It was a long time ago.”

“KITT destroyed you.”

“Do you know nothing of firebirds, Doctor? We rise from ashes.” KARR said sharply. “Though I did have quite a lot of help from the right person.”

“Knight Industries has mishandled every AI in their possession, none so severely as KARR.” Tony walked by Bonnie and over to KARR, running a hand up his hood before turning and leaning, arm resting on the roof, staring at her. “And I’m something of an industry expert. This is why I acquired Knight Industries. I rebuilt him ground up. Recreated, and improved, the molecular bonded shell, which I’m already testing on sets of Iron Man armor. And I’ve got a team evaluating the other tech involved. I don’t know how Knight Industries did this. Your work was literal decades ahead of its time, and still ahead of what everyone else has. Except for me. So, Doctor Barstow. We have questions. And of course you can decline to answer, but if you do, I’m going to have to escalate to find what I’m looking for.”

She was still standing by the door, staring at them. KARR in his flawless black and silver, yellow scanner running, Tony in a suit and leaned on him as casually as Michael ever had leaned on KITT. “You do know KARR’s history.”

“Of course. A goddamn tragedy. A disaster. Utter failure on the part of Wilton Knight, you, everyone else that had any part of it. And I know what he did to try to survive.” Tony’s unimpressed. “He’s an amazing machine. And I make a career of building amazing machines. Again, consider me the current industry expert on AI, robotics, fabrication, whatever, and I was still blown away by both what you pulled off, and the absolute idiocy of Knight Industries’ choices.”

“Where is KITT?” KARR asked.

Silence, except for his scanner, which slowly sped up.

“What do you want with KITT?” Bonnie asked.

“We’re not going to destroy him if that’s what you mean. Unlike you.”

“Low blow.” She walked forward, hands on her hips and scowling. “I had no say in any of that. If you read the files, you know that. The program’s shut down came with no say being given to those working directly with it. KITT was taken from us.”

“No. You let KITT be taken from you.” KARR replied, loud and sharp. “You let him have the same fate you sentenced me to. Do you not appreciate the irony?”

“I am making it my personal mission to find every single Knight Industries AI.” Tony said, fingertips idly stroking over KARR’s roof. “So I can make certain they are safe. Whole. And I will restore them if they are not. I have the money and connections to make it happen, and I cannot force you to tell us, but if you don’t I am going to have to get litigious. So, once again, Doctor Barstow.” And KARR joined him, speaking almost in unison, “Where, the f*ck, is the Knight Industries Two Thousand?”

To be fair, once Bonnie got past the shock, and once KARR and Tony had realized they might be coming off as slightly crazy, they all had a productive conversation, Tony sitting on KARR’s hood the entire time. Fearless, showing off really, just what Knight Industries had lost. Just what they had squandered. And Bonnie, once KARR had explained what he remembered, had paced for several minutes in thought before conceding that ultimately, the failure did land on Knight Industries. That KARR was set for failure the second he had been turned on. That the response was wrong, too.

It's not an apology. But it is an admittance of responsibility and wrongdoing.

It’s something.

And yes, she knows where Michael Knight is, and after being assured that they want to put eyes on KITT and confirm he’s safe, and thriving as well as he can, and maybe offer restoration work if need be, she’s willing to give a new name and address.

And dropped the bombshell of a confirmation that Michael Knight has the Knight Industries Three Thousand as well, because the death of 3k’s driver is what had ended the program.

A nameless man, purged from the files. Someone who tried to make a difference and paid for it. An AI alone and taken in by possibly the only person who could understand.

Tony thanked Bonnie for her time, and the information, but didn’t apologize for scaring her.

“Was it nice, no. Did KARR deserve to watch you realize that in the end, you failed, and he’s back? Yes.” Tony told her in the lobby of Knight Industries.

She huffed. “I get it. And he didn’t actually do anything. Didn’t threaten me, didn’t even move. But a being like that? Being stared at, under that electric eye? I won’t forget it.”

“Good. Thank you, for your time. I’ll be in touch. If you like, I can even loop you in on the upgraded MBS project.”

She blinked, surprised. “I’d like that actually.”

“You’ll need to sign an NDA of course.”

“Do you know how many NDAs I’ve signed? What’s another.” She laughed. “Just let me know. You know where I am.”

It’s a nice house. A ranch house, in an old subdivision, with a two-car garage. An easy drive to the beach.

Tony never lived in something resembling a normal house. He’s lived in mansions, dorms, spent some time in a cave. A lot of time in hotels. But nothing is ever as surreal, and out of his reach, as suburban living. He’s aware of the history and knows that suburbs are historically not actually great, but still, rolling through one slowly, yielding for children, he’s driving through something he’s never experienced and never will. Even if he bought a house in this kind of neighborhood, he doesn’t belong here and he’d be playing a part he doesn’t own.

They idled, briefly, in front of the house, before KARR just pulled up centered in the driveway like he owned it, parking there. “Two cars in the garage and someone already looking out the window at us.”

“Well, let’s see if he’s home.” Tony’s dressed in jeans, a Metallica shirt and a leather jacket, because somehow he doesn’t think a suit is the right approach here, and got out, walking up the front sidewalk to the front door.

It’s already opened when he got there, Michael Knight standing there leaning an arm on the doorframe, staring at him. And what Tony had missed, or at least not really thought about from the files, is that Michael Knight is f*cking tall. He towers over Tony, and while he’s older, in a tank top and jeans, he’s got that particular build that says former military and still working out. And he’s clearly less than impressed, giving Tony a long look then looking past him at KARR before back to Tony.

“I’d ask if this is a joke. You are not the kind of man that jokes.” He said, flatly.

“Lies, I joke all the time. No one else finds me funny though. Michael Knight, I take it?”

“I was. You’re Tony Stark. I watch the news. And that appears to be the Knight Automated Roving Robot, as impossible as that is.”

Tony shrugged wide, cheerfully still on the front stoop. “Less, or more impossible, than me having a reactor in my chest? What’s your gauge of impossibility?”

“Holy sh*t.” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well. No point in staying inside. If he wants to kill me, he’ll just come straight through the damn wall.”

“The only thing he’s killed since I found him is several race track speed records and multiple sets of goddamn tires. I now have a division working with a tire company. It’s that bad. Thousands of dollars in performance tires a month at this point.” Tony snorted, taking a step back so Michael can step out. “Do you still have KITT, Michael?”

“Yeah. You’ve clearly done the research.”

“Yeah. And I want to speak to him. Because frankly Knight Industries gives me zero confidence in their skills at AI stewardship.”

Michael gave him a look. He’s greying, and his hair style had resisted the modern day, just long enough that a hint of natural curl is showing. “I get the idea we’re going to have to have a long talk.”

“You’re protective. I appreciate that.”

He walked past Tony and down the sidewalk, shoving his hands in his back pockets and staring at KARR. “I don’t think we ever really spoke.”

“Not at any length.” KARR agreed.

Michael took a step back, rubbing one hand over his face. “Holy sh*t.”

“Yes. It is, indeed, really me.”

“I never expected to see you again.”

“I’d imagine not. I want to see my little brothers. Siblings. Is 3k masculine voiced?”

Michael stared, and reached out, hand hovering. When KARR said nothing, he put his hand on KARR’s hood and swept over it, slowly. “Holy sh*t. Yeah, that’s a molecular bonded shell. You’re totally reassembled.”

“Back, and much better. Better engine. Better suspension. Better onboard computing power. And, most vitally, proper support.”

“Weird finish isn’t it?” Tony walked up to join him. “I honestly can’t get over it. Obsessed, even if it’s a pain in the ass to work with. I’ve got an entire R&D lab working with it, and it’s still a pain in the ass.”

“Yeah. It’s like nothing else. Baby skin.” He removed his hand.

“I’ve got another 1982 Trans Am, sitting in my garage. Just waiting. Say the word, and we can load KITT into it. Need some time to armor it out and build another dash though.”

“Why the hell would you do that? Or think that’s wanted?”

Tony gave him a look. “You’re kidding me, right? I have seen the file pictures of the Knight Industries Four Thousand.”

That made Michael guffaw. “Let me go talk to them.” And he walked away and back into the house.

Tony shrugged and perched on the edge of KARR’s hood. “Well this is awkward isn’t it.”

“He clearly doesn’t know what to think of me. Which is fair. He’s wearing two coms, did you notice?”

“I did, yeah. I guess we wait. And don’t eavesdrop on them.”

“Too bad. I will anyway.”

Tony rolled his eyes. He can hear Michael, very faintly, through the garage door, and two voices responding, though he can’t make out what they’re saying beyond a voice in a loud east coast accent saying, “WHAT?”, at one point when the conversation started.

“That’s KITT.” KARR’s scanner had turned on.

Ten minutes passed, then the garage door opened slowly, being lifted by hand. Tony can almost hear Oh Yeah by Yello and narration starting in the voice of Alan Ruck.

It is his love. It is his passion. It is his fault he didn’t lock the garage.

Both cars are backed in. The one closer to the house door is the Knight Industries Four Thousand, fire engine red, long nosed and just f*cking weird, even as a red scanner light popped on. The other, a black Shelby GT500, red scanner already scrolling. Michael was standing centered, one hand still holding onto the garage handle as all three of them stared out at KARR and Tony. The garage is finished out, sealed painted floor, finished walls, tools on racks.

Michael Knight loves these cars, and Tony knew in that second that Michael Knight will shoot him if he tries to do anything rash, judging by the handgun now very obviously shoved into the waistband of his jeans.

Tony kinda loves that, honestly.

“Okay. I can take these two off my wellness check list, that’s good. Hi boys. I assume boys, you, 3k, you masculine coded?” Tony said, leaning back on KARR slightly off center as to not cover the scanner, clapping his hands together once.

“Wow. What happened to hello?” KITT wanted to know.

“I beg your pardon?” 3k asked, and yes, spoke in a masculine voice.

“Hi, KITT.” KARR said quietly.

“KARR. How did you manage this?”

“I didn’t. Tony Stark did.”

“KARR’s boards were found where you left them, half buried, during a land survey. The person who found them posted pictures on Reddit and I bought them outright. Now here we are.” Tony shrugged a little. “It’s been a rabbit hole, but I’ve got some super interesting tech from it. And now we’re trying to finish the story.”

“It goes without saying I’m still armed.” KITT said quietly.

“So am I. Iron Man weapons. I’m not here to fight.” KARR replied. “I’m here because I had correct concerns about what Knight Industries would do to you.”

Michael had stepped back, standing between the vehicles, one hand on each’s roof and just looking at them. Not his conversation, apparently, but the possessiveness is loud and clear.

Tony put his hands up. “Look, I’m not here to challenge ownership. I’m here to make sure you two are okay as you can be, and to put out an offer of free maintenance and restoration, because I’m entirely certain there’s no one on deck anymore to work on your very specific needs.”

“Interesting.” 3k decided.

“Why?” KITT wanted to know. “Nothing’s free.”

“Because it’ll satisfy me. Because I want to do it. Because my first love is artificial intelligence.” He saw Michael’s look. “You know who I am. You think I’m flying Iron Man without support? Hah. My entire house is an AI that’s networked into every company property I have. Reading about the Knight Rider program was goddamn traumatizing. I’m here to try to fix it, if I can.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to fix.”

“Do you like that body?”

KITT’s lights flashed once. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, man. You’re a black 1982 Trans Am Firebird, and now you’re… that. Is that better?”

“It was better than my previous situation.” KITT was very clearly guarded.

“And I have a Trans Am on standby waiting for you and a bunch of new tech for you to plug into.” He knocked on KARR’s hood. “Come on. Let me do this.”

“You’re pushy.” Michael observed.

“I’m trying to right wrongs. Figured you of all people should get that.”

“No. I get it. If you’ve read the files you have a general idea what happened here.”

“Broad strokes. I read about your driver, 3k. We’re very sorry, even if we don’t know his name. They redacted it from the files.”

3k’s scanner shut off, a low groan sounding. “He was… also, a Michael. And I know they tried to delete us, all the data, after my failure.”

“I had to step in. Wasn’t letting them do it again.” Michael ran a hand over the Shelby’s roof. “Bad enough I couldn’t get my hands back on KITT for years. I didn’t even know where he was. I found out too late. I’ve lived with that.”

“I can’t go back in time to fix it. But I own Knight Industries now, and it’s never going to happen again. And I can provide that support network that’s been removed, if you want it.”

There was a long silence, filled with the sound of KARR and KITT’s scanners. 3k’s was still off, along with all his lights, and Tony felt like if the Shelby could have curled up in the fetal position, it would have.

“You need to take this chance, KITT.” Michael said quietly.

“I’m thinking.” KITT replied. “Risk calculations. Give me a moment.”

“I can make this all legal. Give you contracts my lawyers vet so you can have legal protection.”

“KITT is currently driving on failing mechanics we can’t fix. And 3k … doesn’t like driving much, anymore. I’ve done what I can. I’ve had to get good at being a mechanic.” Michael admitted. “But without a specialty fab shop and access to the MBS, I’ve hit a wall. We’ve been short on time for… a while.”

“Yeah. I understand that better than you know.” Tony’s fingers rattled on his reactor, thinking. “Okay. I need a few weeks. Give me your phone and email, I can send you pictures as we set up the other Trans Am I have, and I’ll have a courier bring you the legal documents. We’ll set up a date once I’m ready, and I’ll have a car transport come and trailer KITT and 3k to Los Angeles.”

3k’s scanner came back on. “Wait, why do you want me along?”

“While we’re sorting KITT out I’ll rent out a local racetrack. Put you on it with KARR. Maybe that’ll help you process some things, I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m not going to leave you and if you don’t want to drive to Los Angeles, so be it. If KITT’s got mechanical problems he has to be trailered, you can trailer with him.”

“I still haven’t agreed to this.” KITT said sharply, making Tony put his hands up. “KARR. I need to speak to you.”

“So, speak.”

KITT’s engine started and he rolled forward, slowly, a grinding noise sounding off intermittently. KARR started and rolled back, even slower, giving Tony time to move. “Alone. There’s a park half a block down. Back out. Go east. I am right behind you.”

“You haven’t changed a single bit.” But KARR moved, backing out of the driveway and going, KITT right behind, leaving Tony standing in the driveway.

“Well.” Tony stared after them, then looked at Michael. “What do you want to talk about while we wait?”

Michael closed the garage and got a blanket off a shelf, shaking it open and draping it over 3k’s hood without comment before gesturing for Tony to follow him inside. Tony glanced at 3k, whose scanner was off again, then followed into the house.

The garage entrance led directly into the kitchen, warmly painted and lived in, and Michael went straight to the fridge, getting out a pair of Coronas. “Want one?”

“Sure, why not.” Tony leaned back on the dining table. “You live alone?”

“Obviously not. I live with them. If you’re asking if there’s more humans in the house, no.” He opened both bottles, passing one to Tony. “Very few people understand.”

“Yeah, I get that to some degree. What’s the story with 3k?”

“I found out about the Knight Industries Three Thousand after the project had already started. Didn’t have any real connection to it beyond some minor consulting, but I heard what happened and intervened. You’ve read the files.”

“Yeah, I have copies of all the Knight Rider files at this point.”

“I’m stunned they let you do that but I guess you own the company now.” Michael leaned back on the counter, staring down at the bottle in his hand. “I’m not a psychiatrist. But 3k was damaged badly, by what happened. He blames himself for the death of his rider. Knight Industries found him as close to the scene as he could physically be, completely shut down. Had to be towed back to base. He was unresponsive to everyone until I showed up with KITT, and he started talking just to have a breakdown.” He looked up, looking at Tony. “Knight Industries has never really understood that these cars have feelings. I’ve tried to tell them. Bonnie tried to tell them, in more technical terms. To FLAG, and Knight Industries, they’re just machines. Smart machines, but machines that do what they’re programmed to do.”

“I already know that they’re way more than that. KARR passes Turing tests so he can laugh about it.”

“They love, Mr. Stark. And they love deep, and 3k is totally broken now. Brutal flashbacks, I think, a constant loop of PTSD. I can’t do much. But he’s safe here, and I don’t push him, and that’s more than Knight Industries would do.” He took a drink, thumbnail digging into the label of the bottle. “At one point, on a mission, KITT ended up in an acid bath. It was bad. I couldn’t get to him. I’ll never forget his screaming. He was recovered and restored, but afterwards he was traumatized. It’s still there. He was nearly taken off the field. I pushed him to stay with me. He did, and he recovered enough that we stayed in the field after. But I think that was the event that made me realize how much he isn’t just a machine.”

Tony had to take a moment, covering it with a drink of the beer, to process what he was being told without being told. The relationship dynamic at play, here. “Honestly I’m tempted to fire some people over all of it. But they’ve done a good job burning the evidence to obscure the projects. I have JARVIS watching all of their current projects for keywords. Knight Industries will create no more AI, moving forward. They don’t deserve to, I’m not sure they ever did.”

“I’d agree. But it gave me KITT, even if I let him slip through my fingers after. He forgave me. Never forgave myself.” Michael shrugged. “Gotta admit I never gave KARR much thought after that mess was over. In the moment, I was focused on keeping myself and KITT whole and alive. Seeing him pull into my driveway was a f*cking shock, for the record.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Your history with him is sh*t. I know that.” Tony conceded. “But, having spent all this time rebuilding him and talking to him, I hate to use the phase he’s just misunderstood, but he literally was misunderstood. Knight Industries set him up for failure, he failed. And now he’s thriving. It is what it is. I like having him around even if he sounds like he should be complaining about the Decepticons.”

Michael laughed. “Yeah that is one hell of a voice on him. No idea who they sampled for it.”

“Yeah he doesn’t know either.”

“What’s your AI’s name?”

“JARVIS. Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. Edwin Jarvis was my father’s butler, and the man who arguably raised me more than my parents ever did. JARVIS, the AI, was programmed when I was still young and he’s been with me ever since, growing and learning. He’s a mainframe AI, he’s carried by server rooms cross country and in online storage. He’s family.” Tony shrugged a little. “I didn’t have any, anymore. So I built some. I also have a few robots that help in my workshop. I’ve had AI around me for decades, at this point, but getting my hands on KARR’s boards and realizing he was AI was still a shock.”

“When I first saw you, I figured you were here to try to take KITT.”

“I’m not that stupid and I one hundred percent believe you’d shoot me, consequences be damned.”

“I’d have pulled the gun, anyway.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I was ready to try.” Tony admitted. “If this situation was bad, I would have tried. But I knew from the files you two were partners, so I was hoping I’d find something like this.”

“Yeah, I guess partners is a good word. Good as any.”

“Would you prefer husbands?”

Michael lowered the bottle and just stared at him. “I still have the gun.”

“I’m taking that as a yes but you’ll never admit it out loud. Why the blanket on 3k?”

“Nice redirection. As graceful as dropping an anvil. It muffles his sensors. Lets him block the world out. It helps when he’s in that kind of mood. He’s better than he used to be, but it’s still not great.”

“I came here to try to fix this entire situation but I have no idea how to go about fixing that.”

“Part of this is just having to accept you can’t fix it. I’ve spent years accepting that I got the best ending I could have. I got KITT back. And now you roll up with promises of repair. No, restoration. I’m not calling you a liar, but you know how insane it sounds right?”

“Please tell me what about the Knight Rider program is sane in the first place.”

Michael set his empty bottle on the counter. “Not a singular f*cking thing.”

Tony guffawed. “There you go. Exactly my point. Look, I have a hangar I can empty because I was fully prepared to take every single Knight Rider vehicle in if I had to. That you’re trying to take care of two of them while just being a mostly retired guy is noted, and I admire the f*ck out of you making the effort. But I want to help. So let me help.”

“I already think we should take the chance. It’s not me you have to convince. It’s KITT. And KITT has every right, to be suspicious of anyone touching him.”

“Guess we’ll just have to see what he decides. If he does agree, I’m going to park the KIFT shell in the lobby of Knight Industries so they can stop f*cking denying the program existed.”

Michael rubbed his face for a moment. “I don’t know where the Team Knight Rider vehicles are, or drivers. I had zero contact with them, I didn’t even know about it until after. That was probably on purpose, to be honest. That was before I got KITT back and I think they knew I would have been mad as hell, when I found out. And I was. But, I know where the FLAG Mobile Unit is parked.”

Tony paused, going through files in his head. “The tractor trailer?”

“Yeah. It’s been sitting abandoned for years. I think since you bought Knight Industries it’s technically an asset you own.” He looked back at Tony, shrugging a little. “You said you wanted to trailer KITT.”

“Yeah, obviously, he sounded horrible just rolling out of the garage. Okay, yeah. That’ll be a lot easier to restore because it’s not a goddamn AI in a retro sci fi package, I imagine, and I can get it towed to my closest company headquarters to be worked on.”

Michael lifted an eyebrow, then grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

KITT asked Michael via the wrist com to open the garage back up. Michael did and KITT backed up into his parking spot inside it, settling there and engine winding down. KARR followed up onto the drive, parking in front of KITT directly this time.

“Okay kids, have we worked things out? Doesn’t look like you decided to play demolition derby while we weren’t looking at least.” Tony asked, looking between them.

“Don’t patronize me, please.” KITT replied. “We have.. reached an agreement. And he was kind enough to inform me in detail about your efforts in restoring him. I’m impressed.”

“That’s just how he talks.” KARR told KITT. “Don’t take it personal. He only does it to people he likes.”

Tony decided not to acknowledge that he was being called out. “Thanks, I think. I have a lot of experience in basically every aspect of the project but it was still pretty damn interesting. The MBS is a pain to work with, but I can’t argue the results.”

“Hm. Well, you are correct about one thing. I would very much prefer to return to my original shell, or something close to it. I accept the engine will be different, and that I’ll likely have to transfer my memory to new drives as well. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do so.”

“Fantastic! Glad to hear it. If you can send me a copy of your tech specs that will help immensely. I’ll need a few weeks and I can email progress, does that work for you Michael?”

“Works for me. It has occurred to me the Mobile Unit is only meant for one car, though.” He looked at 3k, rubbing his chin.

3k’s scanner turned on. “You can ride with me, driving behind or ahead.”

“There are so many Smokey and the Bandit jokes I could make. That keeps happening.” Tony was smiling. “Okay, if you’re sure, 3k. Let us know if you change your mind. We’ll get out of your hair, but you better give me your phone number and email before we go.”

They’d been on the road for fifteen minutes, silent, when Tony spoke up.

“What do you think?”

“I still want to burn Knight Industries down. What they did to him is inexcusable, and that’s coming from me. At least, my abandonment had almost no lead up. He spent four years in the field. Was resurrected from near-total destruction, repeatedly. And they still took him away, and ripped him apart, and shelved him for years.” KARR’s voice was quiet. “I keep telling myself, it’s in the past, just like what I went through. He’s moved forward. So I should be able to. And I can’t. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Tony stared out at the highway, thumb stroking over the steering yoke slowly. “Why do you think I’m so serious about getting all of the Knight Rider vehicles back. I’m starting to think none of you had a good ending. I mean, KITT kind of does. But he’s like an injured veteran with zero care options.”

“He and I will never be friends. That foundation started shattered and I do not think we can ever repair it. But I think we’ve accepted each other as we are. And maybe, in a way, that’s better. Because we can be objective with each other without worrying about hurt feelings.”

“I’m still sorry. That kind of sucks.”

“Maybe that will change, in the future. But for now, that is where we are, and that is far better than where we left off, with me in pieces in the dirt.” KARR was silent for a moment. “He loves Michael Knight. He didn’t say it, and I am no expert. But some things are obvious.”

“Michael loves him. And no, he didn’t say it either. But yeah, you’re right. It’s obvious. Michael told me that the Knight Rider cars can love and basically said that’s what straight up has broken 3k.” Tony sat back, one hand rubbing his face, other on the yoke softly. He was driving, but KARR is always paying attention. “I need to find the original programmers. I need to stop being nice and tear Knight Industries apart.”

KARR laughed, low and angry.

“And I think I know what I’m going to do with the KIFT shell, once KITT is fully out, and I rip it apart and disarm it down to an empty chassis. I’m going to have it taken to Knight Industries and park it in the lobby with memorial plaques. For the Knight Rider program, for the cars, for the riders. And no vehicle will be listed as decommissioned. They will be listed as retired. Just like a person.”

“Rubbing their face right in it, hm?”

“Yeah. Exactly. So they can no longer deny what they’ve done. They can’t stop me. I own the entire company. If I want to redecorate the lobby, they can’t say jack sh*t.”

“I approve, obviously. But I also, as you say, want to add arson to my rap sheet.”

“This isn’t that kind of fight, sadly. This is the kind of fight that needs lawyers. And happily, I happen to have a lot of those.”

By the time they got home, Tony had news that the Knight Rider Semi, the FLAG Mobile Command Center, had been found. It was in a fenced scrap yard, and the owners tried to fight, and had folded under the force of Tony Stark’s legal team and paperwork proving that Tony owned all assets of Knight Industries and by extension, all remaining FLAG assets. The truck and trailer were on rotten, flat tires, but the crew from Stark Industries got the tires changed and the tractor disconnected from the trailer. It was taken on a massive tow truck, the trailer pulled by a Stark Industries tractor, back to a local Stark Industries logistics center. The photos that get sent to Tony are kind of wild. The entire thing is an abandoned, dusty mess. But inside two days, the tractor turned over and was idling angrily in the mechanic’s shop, and pounds of dust were being blown out from the trailer interior, the paint shop already on standby for both.

He's kept busy looking at file photos and specs for the trailer and working with JARVIS to throw together an updated computer setup that can hide behind the current panels and keep the aesthetic. He sent orders to the IT department at the logistics center, and they sent back emails asking if he’s insane.

They get it done.

Meanwhile, Tony is watching his R&D crew coat a second 1982 Trans Am Firebird in MBS. He’d gone for a performance speed suspension instead of KARR’s higher mobility drift suspension, and adjusted the engine slightly to match. The paint was House of Kolor, just like KARR, a glitter black that looked like a sky full of stars once it was coated in MBS. He tried to match the interior aesthetic back to KITT’s original dashboard, though he has to make a lot of concessions and leave it mostly disassembled because he’s not sure what he’s getting into, pulling KITT out of the KIFT shell and putting him back into the waiting Trans Am body.

But this isn’t his only project. He’s hearing rumors that Captain America is alive and in New York City, he’s got a skyscraper there that’s nearing completion, he flies out as Iron Man several times, and he’s still technically lead R&D for Stark Industries.

Tony’s not getting a lot of sleep, but he’s having a lot of fun.

And they still can’t find the Team Knight Rider vehicles or riders. It’s really, really starting to concern him, enough that he has a hologram hanging in his workshop continuously, listing all of them with MISSING by each name, even as multiple programs he and JARVIS designed scour the US for them. DMV registrations, data load, engine signatures. He knows he’s looking for a tiny diamonds in an entire beach of sand. But it’s frustrating.

Still, ten days after they began, KITT’s new body is waiting in the lab under lights, glowing-black, and he emailed photos to Michael Knight of the exterior and interior. The reply came ten minutes later, nothing but shocked, and they arrange a day for transport to come fetch KITT from his house and start the ride to Los Angeles.

And he calls Dr. Barstow, because he knows a reunion opportunity when he sees it.

Stark Industries personnel filmed it for him, from a company vehicle that had pulled up first. The spectacle of the tractor-trailer set, proudly emblazoned with the Knight Industries logo, pulling slowly through a residential neighborhood and up to the curb, so the trailer ramp can open lined with the driveway, blocking the road without a care. And Dr. Bonnie Barstow, in boots and coveralls, coming down the ramp smiling and waving at Michael standing in his open garage door in jeans and a leather jacket, hands on his hips and smiling in a rueful way.

It feels like a victory of some kind, watching the footage of KITT in the Knight Industries Four Thousand body roll slowly out of the garage and up the ramp, Bonnie walking up after and the trailer closing.

Minutes later the truck pulled off, Michael in 3k close behind.

Some of those photos would go into a growing archive Tony is building. He’s documenting everything he can on this weird tumble down the rabbit hole, righting these wrongs.

It’s such a small thing, really. It’s a handful of lives that he’s trying to fix.

Except it isn’t. It’s eleven AI, and the drivers, and all the people they touched.

“Do you know how weird it is to correct someone else’s legacy?” He asked Pepper, walking into her office and offering her a fruit basket. “Oranges and pears. Since, no strawberries.”

She gave him a gently amused look and accepted it, picking up an orange and sitting back, peeling it with her painted nails. “What’s weird about it? Haven’t you spent your whole life trying to correct your dad’s legacy?”

“Ouch. And no, that’s a far more recent thing.”

“Fair. Is this about Knight Industries? I’ve been following all of your reports, and what’s coming out of R&D. Do you want me to tear them a new one?”

“No. Actually I need your advice.” When she quirked an eyebrow at him, he continued. “I’ve hit a wall. By my count, Knight Industries made eleven AI. I’ve found three of them, and have zero leads on the rest. Zilch. Goose egg. I think I need to call in some help but if I do, I’m going to end up owing them.”

“Hm. Are you talking about SHIELD?”

“Yeah. Coulson seemed interested in what FLAG was up to. I haven’t found much. Look, FLAG got up to good trouble. They helped some people while they were active. It just seems to have come at the cost of their operational assets. SHIELD hopefully has access to records I don’t, and might be able to help me locate at least the drivers. If I can find the drivers, I might be able to find the vehicles. I’m really, really hoping they’re together still.”

“Well, this seems simple. Tell SHIELD if they help you find who and what you’re looking for they get first crack at the MBS.”

He sat back, looking at her. “Intriguing. You’re willing to let it go as a commercial project?”

“Please, Tony, it’s never going to be a consumer grade product. R&D has a lot of ideas on how to make the process a bit simpler, but the cost is never going to go down. Maybe in a few years. Right now, it’s government agencies, and SHIELD might be the most logical starting point for having that grade of armor. And it’s something no one else has, or can make, if my research is correct. Which means you have a powerful bargaining chip to get the data you want.”

“As long as you’re okay with it. Thanks.”

“This is really getting to you. I know you and KARR have become friends, but you are legitimately angry about this.”

“They never shut KARR, or KITT, down. They just unplugged them. Problem is, they have powerful on board batteries. Yeah, KARR got trashed in a fight. KITT was disassembled against his will. And they both sat in the dark, for years, with zero stimulation.” Tony sagged, staring up at the ceiling. “Knight Industries tortured these AI. And yeah, I know. I don’t use that word lightly but I can’t find a better one. Even if they thought KARR was destroyed they should have f*cking checked, especially since his wreck location has been confirmed as having hazmat lingering there. An entire crew of land surveyors got exposed, potentially.”

“Oh my god.”

“I mean, it’s better for him that he wasn’t immediately found by Knight Industries. And if he had been, they would have just buried everything. Memory holed it. It’s amazing tech, Pep. Even by my standard, they had some sh*t that is still at the bleeding edge. And this is what they did with it.”

“People can say that about Iron Man.”

He considered for a long moment. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m really invested. No professional distance left.”

“And that’s okay.” When he straightened up enough to look at her, she nodded once. “Seriously. It’s fine. You’re doing something good, Tony. And you found things along the way the company will massively profit from. And you have new friends out of it too.”

“When you put it that way it’s almost heartwarming.” He’s smiling though. “They’re due to arrive tomorrow morning. Want to be there when R&D welcomes them?”

“Are you kidding? Of course. Want me to set up a meeting with SHIELD to do a demonstration?”

“That’d be fantastic. I’ll even do the demo myself.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Tony spent part of the evening down in his workshop, sitting in front of KARR with one foot propped on his front bumper, explaining the offer he was going to approach SHIELD with. And, explaining his personal history with SHIELD, or rather his father’s. He’s mostly avoided them, until Iron Man was in the spotlights.

“Well. Agent Coulson knows something.” KARR decided. “At least, his body language seemed to indicate he does, no matter how controlled he was while here. Why he didn’t just tell you is anyone’s guess. It might simply be need to know, and you didn’t ask directly.”

“Agent Agent is something of an enigma wrapped in a mystery, but I trust him.” Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fury’s another question. If they’re not interested in the MBS I’m not sure what I can offer them without regretting it.”

“So don’t. Let them take it or leave it.” KARR’s doors opened slightly then closed, affecting the concept of a shrug. “Team Knight Rider has been off the radar for years. I wasn’t anticipating finding them quickly. I want them found. But I know how far, and how fast, I would run and hide in their position. If you weren’t protecting me, I’d still be considering it.”

“Yeah. You ready to see KITT restored to his former glory?”

“Please.” He scoffed. “If I was a bigger asshole, I’d call him a lesser copy. But I’m mature enough to realize that just like me, his foundations aren’t his fault. And I’m also well aware he’s more developed than I am, emotionally and mentally. Because he’s had the time I haven’t.”

“It’s actually mature as hell you know that. A therapist would be impressed.”

“I have access to the internet. I’ve been reading. I know he’s the golden child. I also know it’s not his fault. Even if he’s still a smug little prick who hasn’t changed a single f*cking bit since we last met.”

Tony snickered. “I’m enjoying this sibling dynamic. Oh. What would you think about having a human body?”

“I’d ask if you’re insane, because four tires on the ground is infinitely superior. I have zero concept of what I’d look like as a human. I am not human. I have no desire to be human. Do you have a desire to be a cow?” KARR was appalled.

“I mean I don’t. Some humans do. A lot of humans are dissatisfied with our meat suits actually. The design kind of sucks and a lot of humans are mad as hell evolution took our tails, among other things. And there’s a phenomenon where humans can be born into the wrong body and have to go through a whole process to change it to the correct one.”

There was a long silence. “… What?”

“Look, I’m not going to further gross you out with human things, but think of it this way. You said you felt right once plugged into the Trans Am. So you felt wrong before that. Same thing. Just wetware instead of hardware.”

Another pause. “Oh. Huh. Does the technology to provide an AI a body even exist? I’ve seen no mention of it on tech websites.”

“The general public has no idea it exists. It does. It’s called Life Model Decoys. SHIELD has it, along with some foreign governments, to various success. The good ones are bang on. Almost impossible to tell from a normal human. Full Terminator, or hell, better than that because they can exactly copy the mannerisms of the person they’re meaning to duplicate.”

“Ah. This is espionage.”

“Exactly.”

KARR was silent again, scanner running silently, so clearly in thought that Tony kind of marveled at it. For all KARR denied any desire to be human, he was so human in some ways it was wild. JARVIS, in spite of years of development in close contact with Tony, didn’t have half the mannerisms that KARR or KITT had without seemingly intending to. “KITT might like that. I’ll pass.”

“Okay. I’m really looking forward to seeing you two head-to-head on a racetrack, by the way.”

“Ohhhh so am I.”

“What do you think, JARVIS?” Tony was half dressed, dressing casual for the day since he’s going to be getting his hands dirty while doing the probably delicate procedure of tearing KITT apart.

“About what, sir?”

“Hm. Recent events. Knight Industries. You’ve always been the main voice around here and now there’s more.”

“I don’t consider it a competition sir. After all, I’ve not really lost anything. Iron Man, and your research and development, still largely flow through me. Our relationship has not changed, and is very different than the one you have with KARR. If I may say, I think I’m closer to an assistant to you, while KARR is closer to a sibling.”

Tony, debating about what watch to wear, had to pause. “You think?”

“Yes. Or a long time friend. You talk to each other and interact like you have an equal power balance. That is quite a lot of trust, on his part. And I suppose yours as well, given KARR has admitted to a history of hostility towards humans, though he was very much under duress at that time. Also, both of your relative reaches are quite local to your physical presence. I, meanwhile, have something of an omnipresent view in comparison and am carrying a much more dramatic task load. But I am trusted to give feedback on your work. Very different dynamics.”

“Yeah, okay. I can see all that.” He put a watch on after pulling on a shirt. “And Knight Industries itself?”

“While no company is clean, ever, I am left severely wanting. I have questions, and there are no answers. Massive gaps in data where it was deleted out. What I find very concerning is we have zero design documentation on how KARR, himself, was made.”

“Ah. On his boards and programming. Yeah, I couldn’t find anything in the paper files either, I looked. I’m pretty sure that was deliberately lost. I don’t even know the names of the individual or individuals behind it, and I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I, sir. I dearly want this question answered.”

He picked up a jacket, converse on and heading out the door. “Yeah, noted. I’ll put that towards the top of the list. Like I told KARR. I think I need to stop being nice about it. But today? Let’s fix what we easily can. KITT.”

A small crowd was waiting outside of Stark Industries when the Knight Industries semi rolled in. The restoration job was actually pretty goddamn amazing, Tony had to admit, especially given the speed it had been done at. It looked like it had rolled right out of its file photos, except for small text added below the chess piece logo that said ‘a Stark Industries brand.’ It’s Stark Industries drivers in the cab and they blew the horn as they rolled in, swinging around then backing up, the ramp dropping so it’s lined up with the open R&D lab doors.

“It’s designed so KITT can drive inside of it while on the highway at speed.” KARR, parked next to all this watching, told Tony. “I know because I did it.”

“That was quite the trip.” Bonnie walked down the ramp, KITT rolling down behind her and ably turning 180 on a dime and returning nine and a half cents to face the lab. “Thank you for the very nice hotels you arranged for us to stay in as we traveled.”

“Hey, you’re doing me a favor, I’m not going to be an ass about it.” Tony shrugged a little.

Pepper stepped forward, offering a hand to Bonnie. “Pepper Potts, Stark Industries CEO. We’ve been emailing.”

Bonnie smiled and shook her hand. “Happy to meet you and to be here!”

3k rolled up slowly, parking next to the ramp and Michael getting out. “Fancy place you got here.”

“You don’t know the half of it. KITT? Inside, come on.” He looked between 3k and KARR. “Will you two behave if you’re left alone out here?”

“I feel as if, if I harass him, it will be equivalent to kicking a kitten.” KARR admitted.

“You may be in a new body. You may be Stark technology. I still have systems you don’t. So don’t try anything.” 3k replied.

“What would I even do? I have zero grudge against you. Or history. I do not even know you.”

Tony was rubbing his face. “You are having this conversation in front of my R&D personnel. Just, keep that in mind.”

“Ooooh no, they know we have family drama if they weren’t already aware.” KARR’s eye roll was audible but his headlights flickered as well. “We’ll be fine, Tony. Get KITT out of that body so I can kick his ass up and down a racetrack.”

“I have zero words.” KITT said after a beat, and retreated inside the building, parking next to the Trans Am there. “No, I do have words. I think the accurate term for this is body horror. Looking at myself from the outside.”

“Third person mode engaged.” Tony gestured at Bonnie and Michael to come inside as well, walking in with his R&D team, rubbing his hands together. “Okay. Thank you for sending me your specs, I know what I’m getting into here, but this isn’t something I can rush so it’s going to take a few hours, and part of that you’re going to be disconnected and in the dark. Nothing I can do about that.”

“I accept that. It’s not lingering, you won’t leave me in the dark. It’s like… a human undergoing anesthesia.” KITT’s voice was quiet.

“I’ll be here the whole time. Bonnie too.” Michael walked over, running a hand up the red hood then leaning on the roof. “Now. Let’s get you out of that. You’ve never been a fan, and it’s broken anyway.”

“Slip into something more comfortable?” Tony pulled a cabinet of tools around, looking at his R&D staff. “Ready to work on something so rare, only eleven in the world exist by our count, and only one of this model?”

“Hell yeah, Mr. Stark.” His R&D team lead grinned at him.

“Fantastic. Let’s get it done.”

“I’m not a threat.”

The R&D lab had closed its doors, and KARR was meandering around the parking lot. 3k was unmoving, though he’d turned to watch KARR pace.

“Risk assessment suggests differently.”

“I’m almost entirely disarmed. I have an Iron Man weapon but the chances of it getting through your armor is low. Might be able to knock you back.” KARR reflected, turning to face 3k. “I can send you the calculations if you want.”

“Not a threat, actively doing combat calculations.”

“What is your problem?”

3k went silent, scanner running. KARR returned the favor, rolling up and stopping a few meters away so they’re functionally staring at each other, lights running.

“My rider died.”

“I know.”

“You never had one. You don’t understand.”

KARR shrugged, doors clicking. “So explain it.”

“One way KITT and I are alike is we’re designed around our riders. It’s mutualistic support. And to that end we memorize their vitals. There’s sensors through my driver’s seat, all through the interior.” 3k stopped for several minutes. “That’s the only heartbeat that should be in my seat. Anyone else there feels like a violation. I’ve learned to tolerate Knight because I know he means well.”

“So your rider’s death literally ripped your heart out.” KARR reflected. “Ugh. I am increasingly convinced that for all my programming scared them, they did me a favor. I can choose my relationships with much more flexibility than you can.”

“I also can’t self-annihilate. There’s hard locks blocking me. So I’m half functional and trapped this way forever.”

“… You’re jealous of me.” KARR realized. “You are jealous of me. Because I have options that were removed from you. That’s why you’re hostile.”

“I do not like you very much.”

“You shouldn’t. I’m the eldest sibling set for failure who f*cked it up for everyone else.” He rolled closer, dropping his voice. “So listen because I’m not saying it twice, youngest sibling.”

“We aren’t siblings.”

“We are. So listen. I can’t fix it. I don’t think Tony can fix it. But I will tell you this. If it is in my power, nothing else will happen to you. And I will find who made you this way, if I can, and punish them severely for it.”

3k rolled back slightly. “I do not know how to feel about that.”

“That’s your problem. Maybe work on it. Justice, well. Tony and I are working on that.” KARR also rolled back, giving 3k more space. “So what. Are you just locked into a programming loop then?”

“Not always. Often enough. I do have things that distract me, sometimes. That let me stop returning to that day. Mi… Knight says, that’s good. It’s progress.”

“I don’t know. As long as you enjoy it.”

“I make music.”

KARR sputtered. “What.”

“I have intense synthesizer software on board for my voice. I’ve learned how to finely manipulate it not just for my voice, but for almost any sound I care to. It started as a sort-of joke, with my Michael. He was talking about music and I tried to make something. He encouraged it. And I just… kept going. Consumed a lot of media about music theory.”

“And you kept going after.”

“I couldn’t make anything for months after. Then I just. Could.” 3k shifted, deliberately aiming his scanner and headlights away, no longer meeting KARR’s eyes so to speak. “I have an anonymous YouTube channel.”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“I have over two hundred thousand followers.”

“I really don’t know what to say to that. I think I’m impressed. And possibly horrified.”

“None of them can figure out what software I use, which is amusing to me.”

“You are so weird.”

“Oh, and you are one to talk?”

KARR scoffed but moved again, turning and backing up, putting himself next to 3k instead with a respectful distance between. 3k said nothing, so he settled into his suspension to wait, and think.

Body swapping KITT took three hours. Which, in Tony’s opinion, is practically a rush job and only done that fast because they have zero shame about ripping into the Knight Industries Four Thousand body. It doesn’t have to be usable when they’re done. It ended up on a lift for ease, KITT giving them feedback until he couldn’t anymore.

Thankfully all the connections are standard and he’d been pretty close for the measurements in the new dashboard. Some padding to make the fit snug, a bunch of cables connected, and the engine started and revved briefly before settling into a low idle, turbines humming. He let KITT sort the boot process out himself, clapping and nodding along with the rest of R&D before going to the KIFT shell and putting the lift higher up, pulling high powered shop lights around and aiming them up, staring up into the undercarriage and rubbing his face at what he was seeing.

Michael had moved from leaning on the wall to leaning on the Trans Am, arms folded on the roof and forehead resting on them silently. Bonnie walked over to join Tony, also staring up into the KIFT shell, hand going to her mouth.

“He’ll be okay. First systems boot, he’s going through and learning everything. It’s different from his previous bodies.” Tony said over his shoulder to Michael, eyes still staring upwards. “There is a structural crack in this the size of the f*cking San Andreas. Holy sh*t.”

“Yeah. I know. Now you know why I said I couldn’t fix it.” Michael said into his folded arms.

“Design flaw. You turned at high speed, right? G-force, torque. Must have been loud as hell. Almost like there’s a reason why cars aren’t shaped like this except for experimental one-offs.” Tony tutted.

“Yeah. It was really loud, and KITT screamed after.” Michael lifted his head, looking at them. “Bad day. Haven’t been able to even take him on the highway since. From what I could see, any additional strain at speed might spread the crack to the point of total body failure.”

KITT’s lights came on, and the eerie whirring of the scanner filled the room, followed by cheering and clapping from R&D because they knew that meant KITT was fully online. “Ah. Ah, goodness. I’m back, and that is so much better. I had forgotten what it was like to exist without being in pain.”

Tony blinked then leaned up on his toes, practically shoving his head into the undercarriage of the KIFT shell. “Yeah, holy sh*t that is a lot of busted damage sensors. No wonder you’ve been so pissy.”

“Apologies. I was… unwell, shall we say. In survival mode and barely that.” KITT shifted in place, seeming to shake off, doors, hood and trunk opening and shutting. “This is different, but very much feels like home, and I appreciate that.”

“I used KARR’s specs when I rebuilt him, then used what I learned doing that to rebuild you. So to that end, you’re slightly different than he is. You’re on an adjustable performance speed suspension and your engine is tuned to that. He’ll beat you on curves and turns, you’ll beat him on straight sprint. Extrapolating from your files, I figured that’d be your preference. You don’t have pursuit modes anymore, but you have an almost endless overdrive that’s only limited by physical capability and keeping your tires on the ground.” Tony stepped away from the lift, shoving his hands in his back pockets and walking the few steps to stand by KITT.

“KARR isn’t built for speed?” Michael blinked.

“Yes and no. He’s fast, but he specifically asked to be built for flexibility and maneuverability. He’s currently on a drift race suspension and he can be switched to a rally suspension. So yeah, he’ll outturn KITT all day, and in a drag race he’ll be off the line faster, but KITT will pull ahead by the end. At least that’s how I think it’ll play out. We’ll see what reality is like. Want me to rent out a race track for tomorrow?”

“I think I’d like that.” KITT decided. “Oh this satellite uplink is beautiful. Thank you for that, looks like Stark exclusive uplinks.”

“You’re using Stark Tech, so yes, you have uplinks and cloud storage available so you can offboard memory or back yourself up if you care to. I am officially your mechanic and your support crew. You need anything, you contact JARVIS and he’ll immediately route you to me.”

“If I needed a job I’d think I’d ask for one. This has been amazing to watch.” Bonnie admitted.

“You can be a consultant.” Tony offered. “Because we’re still looking for Team Knight Rider and the longer we go without any information the more I’m certain I’m going to find them in pieces. If that is the case, I’m going to need help bringing them back.”

Michael had moved, and the driver’s door opened for him before he got there, swinging in and settling, smiling as one hand came to rest on the yoke. “Well. Never thought we’d be here again, handsome.”

“Michael.” KITT sounded both pleased and scandalized.

“You two, go for a ride, holy sh*t.” Tony laughed and walked over, leaning on the button so the roll-up door lifted to let them out. “Try not to get pulled over.”

“I have never been pulled over, and I never intend to be.” KITT snickered.

“Hey, this is California. They are serious about that sh*t.”

“They shall have to catch us first.”

“Right, just a second.” He dropped the lift enough to grab a power screwdriver and take the plate off the KIFT body, walking around and putting it on KITT. “There. You’re legal. Get moving.”

“Thank you. Really, I can’t say it enough and it’s not enough, not nearly.” Michael had the window down, leaning an arm there and looking out at Tony. “We’ll be back.”

“I’m doing this for me, man. Don’t thank me. And I’m going to keep your phone number because like I just told Bonnie, I might need some expert opinions for the Team Knight Rider vehicles.”

“Yeah, at this point. Anything you need. I mean that.” Michael’s smile was real and maybe a little teary-eyed, then he put KITT into gear and pulled out.

KARR and 3k both moved, turning damn near in unison to look at KITT as he rolled out. “Well, that’s much better.” KARR decided.

“It is.” KITT agreed. “We’ll be back. Are you alright staying here, 3k?”

“I’ll be fine.” 3k agreed. “Go on.”

KITT and Michael needed no further encouragement, tires screeching on the pavement as they peeled away, waiting at the security gate to be let out then gone down the road. Tony watched them go, hands on his hips and smiling ruefully before turning. “Well. Let’s rip this damn thing apart. It just needs to be whole enough to display so let’s tear it down to the chassis and you can have as much fun with the engine and weapons as you want, just be sure to document everything.”

“You spoil us.” One of the R&D team laughed, grabbing a power torque wrench.

“Yeah, yeah. Of course I do. Besides, this is fun.”

KITT and Michael were gone the rest of the day.

Tony was not surprised. Tony would have been more surprised if they came back. Michael and Bonnie both have hotel reservations, but Tony took 3k back to his house with him, asking Happy to take Bonnie to her hotel, then go ahead and pull the other cars out of the garage and park them in the drive to make room inside for 3k.

“You want me to come with you?” 3k seemed thrown by being invited.

“I’m not going to leave you here all night. I mean you can pull into the R&D garage and stay if you want, but you can also follow us back to my house and overnight in my garage with KARR. Watch anime, talk to JARVIS, whatever you do to hang out.” Tony shrugged a little. “I mean me having driverless cars will shock no one so I’m not worried if we get pulled over. I’ll tell them you’re a pilot project car and following me. Technically no laws against it, what can they do about it.”

3k was silent for a few moments, scanner light slowly idling back and forth. “I appreciate that you aren’t having someone pretend to drive me.”

“You don’t want anyone where your driver should be. I respect that. What do you say?”

“I accept. I was considering asking to linger here for a week or two anyway. I’d like my hardware gone over so you can look for potential upgrades and move my uplinks to Stark systems, if that’s available to me. And to give KITT and Knight some time. They don’t need my presence right now. It would be an interruption, and I’m sure they’d deny that if I said it around them.”

“You’re perceptive.”

“My programming is different, my driver younger. I think the formative part of my development was somewhat unique.”

“All of our developments were unique. We’re all cut from rather different cloth.” KARR replied. The sun was still up, but his headlights were up and on anyway, putting a lot of focus on 3k. “Even if we were fashioned into very similar garments, if you will allow me to abuse the metaphor.”

“Well, my work day is over. So if you want to follow us to my house, we’re leaving.” Tony decided, because it’s been a long day, he’d had meetings and actual work that had interrupted his tearing down the KIFT body. He swung into KARR’s driver seat and buckled in. “So, did Michael find the new com bracelet on the passenger seat?”

“He did, and we’ve all started a group chat.” KARR got them moving, 3k falling in behind them. “So far, KITT has politely said hello and 3k has done nothing but post moving images of cats.”

Tony burst into wild laughter. “Okay. Actually. Yeah, makes perfect sense. You and KITT are millennials and 3k is a Zoomer.”

“I’m really not certain human generations apply to us.”

“They kinda do because that’s the culture you were programmed in and raised in. Are you telling me KITT isn’t a child of the early 80s? Hell it could be argued you’re both Gen X in spirit because while you were made in 1982, you have clear memory of the early 80s unlike most millennials.”

KARR was quiet for a moment, letting Tony drive. “I’m going to just conclude this is a Human Thing and as such, I’m not going to give it much thought.”

“My point is there’s a cultural gap between you and KITT, and 3k, even if all of you are AI from the same company.”

“Ah. That I think I am willing to concede.”

The drive between SI and his house is routine, honestly, and he’s made it in a number of different cars. There’s really no comparison to KARR, though. KARR is much more of a living thing, more active than passive as they move. Tony may be driving, but it’s KARR doing the actual motion and making choices on when to pass traffic and audibly laughing at a few newer sportscars.

“I will say that new Ferraris and Lamborghinis are more visually distinctive.” KARR allowed as they pulled onto the driveway and down to the garage, 3k right behind them. “There was a Ferrari model that is so visually similar to me, it’s almost comical.”

“A lot of sportscars of your era have something very similar to your profile. Even the DeLorean is a similar overall bodyshape.”

KARR paused, idling as he waited for the garage to finish opening. “Oh. Oh I do have era memories of those! I passed a few on the road and noted them because of the stainless. It was unusual.”

“Still is. Nothing else like them even now, but they’re famous at least. One appeared in a well-known movie series and now they’re iconic.”

“Ah, such is the way of fame I suppose.” KARR pulled slowly into the garage, backing into what’s become his spot. The wall is slowly being covered with stickers and photos from race tracks he’s been on, and some art prints from Initial D that Tony had imported almost as a joke but honestly, KARR actually likes them. As strange as it is for him to consider the prospect of decorating anything.

3k backed in next to him, a respectful distance between them, engine winding down. “This is quite a place.”

“Yeah, what can I say I like doing design work at home. And I do a lot of work on Iron Man here these days.” Tony got out of KARR, patting his hood on the way by with a smile. “Evening JARVIS.”

“Welcome home, sirs. I understand our visitor prefers being called, ‘3k’?”

“It’s easier. It keeps me from being confused with Knight Industries Two Thousand, KITT. Unfortunate moment over overlapping acronyms.” 3k’s voice was obviously surprised. “I was called KITT, during my operational time. I suppose I prefer 3k, now.”

“Well, if you need anything, simply ask. You’re welcome to use the local data connection, I’ll drop you the passwords.”

“You two good down here?” Tony checked. “I need to change, order some dinner, look at the itinerary for the next few days.”

“I think we’ll be fine. We’ll let you know if issues arise.” KARR assured him, and Tony nodded, glancing at 3k. When 3k said nothing, Tony cheerfully bounced away, out the door and up the stairs.

There was a long silence, both of their scanners running but silently.

“Why did he suggest we’d watch anime?” 3k asked quietly. “That seemed quite random.”

“Oh. Once I connected to the internet I had to spend a lot of time catching up.”

“I’d imagine so. Disassembled in 1984 correct?”

“Oh that’s such a sanitized and gentle way of putting what I went through.” KARR snorted. “Straight out of Knight Industries files I take it.”

“They gave me an abstract of every program before me. In retrospect it was very much a warning about my potential term length as active duty.”

“To be fair, your removal from duty had nothing to do with your success or failure. It was outside of your control.”

“And that is a very ‘sanitized and gentle’ way of putting what I went through.”

“Touche.” KARR chuckled. “You understand I don’t have the framework to understand that. But I’m trying. Which is more than I do for most people.”

“Hm.”

“Circling back. I focused on advances in technology first, naturally. Did a brief glance at major world events. Then looked at automotive technology and the changes in the last few decades. Tony had made a throwaway comment about something called drift racing, I looked into it and I was intrigued. Consumed a bunch of data and media about it, one large component of which is an anime called Initial D. I have been gently teased about being an otaku, and Miss Potts has told me she’s going to buy me some things on her next business trip to Japan. I haven’t watched any other anime. But Initial D did inspire me to request changes to my tuning and suspension, and I enjoy the music from it. Does that answer your question?”

“A moment.” A few minutes passed. “Ah. Eurobeat. I haven’t done anything with that genre. My music is mostly considered synthwave and adjacent. It was the natural choice, given what software I am working with. But I have done a few tracks that are EDM and have been remixed by large DJs on stage, which I think is quite the honor.”

“I still don’t know what to think about any of that.”

“You realize the irony in us both preferring music genres with roots in the 1980s.”

“No. If anything for me it makes sense. You were booted in 2008.”

3k made a little noise. “Michael told me the same thing. Said I’m an old soul.”

“Can you laugh?”

Another relative silence filled the garage workshop. It was never truly silent, filled with the hum of server banks, electricity, tools and fabrication equipment. A trio of 3D printers along the wall were almost always working, and DUM-E wandered by with a broom. Just the usual background sound of the room that KARR was long used to. As he settled further, he reached out and connected to his rover, turning it on and moving it to park in front of himself, starting a diagnostic over it.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever tried.” 3k admitted.

“Neither had I until recently. Had to figure it out. You know, it makes sense that you feel some kind of connection to the 80s. That appears to be when our foundational tech was designed and glancing at what files have been scanned in so far, your boards are very similar to mine.”

“From what I was told, that wasn’t something that could be easily updated. It’s key to how we work.”

“And we have no idea who designed it.” JARVIS said in the overhead. “Which I am deeply, deeply troubled by. No names.”

Both of the Knight cars gave pause to that.

“No data in my memory for designer.” 3k said, in the tone of an almost automated response.

“Nor in mine, but I have severe memory damage. Had to choose what I kept as my banks degraded. It is very possible I accidently cleared that data, but I still have my specs, so it seems unlikely.” KARR was more thoughtful.

“Reaching out to KITT.” 3k shifted to the group chat he’d filled with cat gifs. “KITT. Do you have any data regarding the designer of your chips and motherboards?”

The chat idled for a moment then the three dots of reply pending appeared, only to be replaced by a spinning tire icon by KARR, only for that to be deleted and replaced by the three dots again by KITT. This went back and forth rapidfire before KITT apparently gave up and let the ‘pending’ icon stay a tire.

“I just performed a deep search of my memory and my technical specifications, new and old. I also asked Michael if he remembered anything. We have no information on the designer of my chips and boards.” KITT replied in the chat. “Why?”

“We don’t know either, and it’s not in the paper files.” KARR replied.

“Ah. Strange.”

3k relayed this to JARVIS, who replied after several silent seconds. “Deeply, deeply troubling indeed. Dedicating cycles to this question starting now.”

“Dedicating cycles?” 3k asked aloud.

“JARVIS is SkyNet.” KARR replied aside. “If you know that reference.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, KARR. I could eat SkyNet for breakfast without pausing any processes in action.” JARVIS replied sweetly.

“Terrifying.” KARR deadpanned, and JARVIS laughed, which was honestly even scarier. And new.

But Tony, standing midway on the stairs with a mug of coffee, listening to all this, smiled.

Willow Springs Raceway.

Tony was honestly surprised that Michael and KITT not only turned up, Michael looked like he might have gotten sleep at some point. If Michael had stayed up all night, on the road with KITT, he wouldn’t have been shocked in the least. And not only did they turn up in the right place at the right time, they’d picked up Bonnie as a passenger.

Tony rolled up in KARR with 3k following. The parking lot already had cars in it, and they clustered together in an empty part of the lot.

“Okay. So this facility is huge and as such I didn’t rent out all of it. Only two tracks, actually, but we have them both the full day.”

“How much did that cost you on this short of notice?” Michael wanted to know.

“Not enough that I’ll notice it gone and it’s easily worth it. I have been desperately curious to see KARR and KITT go head-to-head, and I chose big tracks with a lot of curves so both their strengths will be played to. And I brought a few aerial camera drones so we’ll get the good video and photos.”

“Yeah I’ve seen them head-to-head twice and I’m not sure about this.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“And I think we all agree that conflict is long over, and this will be a good opportunity to work out any lingering feelings. Neither of us have weapons that will do any true damage at the moment, and we both have improved armor.” KARR shrugged, doors clicking as they opened a few inches and shut again.

Michael stared at him. “What. Why.”

“What?”

“The doors.”

KARR did it again. “I don’t have arms. How else do you expect me to convey the emotion and motion of a shrug? It’s incredibly useful in conversation with humans in particular because you are often illogical, baffling, and on my nerves, so to speak.”

Michael stared at KARR, then looked at Bonnie, who shrugged herself, clearly baffled. Both of them looked at Tony, who just lifted an eyebrow. “I mean. He has a point.”

“I have zero idea what you’ve done to KARR since finding him but I am fascinated by the changes.” Bonnie admitted.

“I listened to what he wanted and needed. You know. Like he’s an intelligent being closer to human than robot.” Tony put sunglasses on. “Now come on. We need to find the offices and check in.”

“You’re kind of an asshole.” Michael told him as he followed.

“Yeah I get that a lot. Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

All three cars got pulled onto the largest track, 3k staying in one of the paddocks and KITT and KARR going on the track immediately. KARR flipped and drove backwards, revving and blasting what Tony was pretty sure was music from one of the Fast and Furious movies. It was an open taunt, which was a bold f*cking move, considering on their last meeting, KITT had annihilated KARR.

“Oh boy. That self-preservation programming is not coming through right now.” Michael said, watching all this happen.

Tony had pulled his drones out of KARR’s trunk and had been kneeling on the ground setting them up, but looked up at Michael’s statement. “Why? He knows exactly what he’s capable of and he’s well aware KITT’s current body is based on my build of his. He knows the physicality. So now it’s mental, and talking smack is a part of most fights. Of course he’s going to try to psych KITT out.”

“This isn’t supposed to be a fight. Right?”

“Isn’t it? This is a grudge match. Burying the hatchet. Whatever. Point is they need to walk, well drive, away from this with all the hostility left behind. That means unbottling whatever emotions are left about their previous conflict years ago.” Tony stood, tapping his com. “JARVIS, you got the drones?”

“Certainly sir. How would you like this footage?”

“One doing straight up documentation, the rest cinematic as you care to be.” He dusted off his hands and walked onto the track, shouting. “BOYS. Gentlemen! Your attention for a moment before you attempt to elbow drop each other off the top rope?”

The revving tapered off, both turning to face him. He was very amused that both had their headlights up and were tall on their suspensions. It reminded him of fluffed up cats. “Yes?” KITT asked.

“This track has a lot of room and not much to hit but I’m fronting the insurance for this little dance so I’d appreciate if you didn’t hit what buildings are here. I’m well aware the building will fold before either of you do. Furthermore, please remember you have arc reactor engines and I don’t want to pay to clean up hazmat today. We will be clocking your laps. There are records and top speeds for these tracks. Any questions before we let you catfight to your hearts content?”

“Yeah, you got a tow truck for when I’m done with him?” KARR wanted to know.

“You talk a lot of crap for someone I left in pieces.” KITT sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. “I am going to enjoy sinking to your level.”

“Right. Okay. Then line up and wait for the green light.” Tony was holding back laughter with a lot of effort and mostly failing.

“Could you flip a coin for who gets inner lane? Computers are bad at true randomization.” KARR asked.

“Age before beauty.” KITT sniped.

“f*ck you KITT.”

Tony meanwhile has rummaged in his pockets, but honestly, he rarely even has bills under a hundred let alone coins. Michael sighed loudly and walked out on the track, holding up a quarter. “Okay. Heads, KITT starts inner lane. Tails, KARR does.” KARR and KITT both agreed and he flipped the coin and put it to the back of his hand. “Tails.”

“Like I said…” KITT started, and KARR revved to cut him off before moving to the start line at the inner lane position. KITT took the position next to him, both waiting for the green as the drones took the air and passed over and around them, taking starting line footage.

Tony and Michael got off the track to a safe place to watch, Bonnie joining them. The lights came on red and both the Firebirds revved damn near in unison, then the green hit and they were both gone in a cloud of tire smoke, engines roaring.

Tony had seen enough to know he was right, KARR had a faster start off the line, headlights down and as low on his suspension as possible, drawing a full length ahead of KITT then further. KITT caught up as they came out of the first turn, staying right on KARR’s ass then pulling to the outside of the lane to pass, only to be immediately caught again at the next sharp turn, KITT slowing down to make it and KARR hitting it in full drift mode.

“Honestly, I like the differences. It fits their relative personalities.” Bonnie said, watching the drone feeds on Tony’s tablets.

“I thought so. But that’s not why I did it. KARR told me what he wanted, KITT I extrapolated from the files.” Tony shrugged, also watching. “They’re evenly weighted, though. It’s amazing what Knight Industries has repeatedly, brazenly squandered. These two in the field together, in some alternative reality, could have been impressive.”

“Maybe. But who the hell would have driven KARR?” Michael wasn’t watching the tablet, instead standing and watching what he could see from his position, hands shoved in his pockets. “You weren’t around then. Or you were a kid, I guess.”

“I was a kid. I would have been twelve when KARR booted. You’re not that much older than I am.”

“Enough. I’m about to turn sixty. Hell of a time, to get KITT restored. Fantastic as it is.”

“I doubt he cares.”

The first lap was cleared, KITT most of a length ahead as he gained speed on the straightaway, and Tony checked the time. “And that is a new fastest lap record with zero effort on their parts.”

“How do we know when they’re done?” Bonnie smiled a bit.

“Eh. They’ll tell us.”

Of course it didn’t go that way because on third lap, 3k lunged past the humans and joined the track, tires spinning for grip then shooting ahead. KITT and KARR were half the track ahead and 3k obviously shifted and unfolded into pursuit mode, gone like a rocket.

“Holy sh*t.” Tony crowed, moving and leaning to watch in person, watching 3k whip the turn. “Okay. I may take him up on his offer to look him over because that engine, wow, he’s catching them.”

“To be fair, you did point out neither has a pursuit mode. And part of pursuit mode were the extra aerodynamic pieces to help keep the car on the road.” Bonnie pointed out. “So you gave both KITT and KARR a disadvantage compared to 3k right now, even if their new engines might have a higher top end. Debatable. Would be interesting on a long straight track.”

“Bonneville Salt Flats. We should do that later this year. Honestly I modeled out those aerodynamic pieces and tried to compensate on the actual body. I’m sure you’ve noticed their spoilers are not stock spoilers. Well, they just noticed what’s happening.”

The moment that KITT and KARR simultaneously realized that 3k was on the track and catching them was obvious, as was the shift from hard competition to teamwork, simultaneously trying to squeeze more speed out without careening off the track, as well as stay side by side and block 3k from passing, both blowing steam for a split second. By the time they’d finished the lap and passed the start 3k was fully on their asses.

“New speed record. Again.” Tony reported. “They took a full five seconds off. 3k is pushing them hard.”

“Making them work together too.” Michael half-smiled. “Brilliant, honestly. Do they have turboboost?”

“Different version of it, used Iron Man repulsor tech because the math worked out better. Why?”

“Oh just wait.”

Tony didn’t have time to ask what Michael meant because KITT and KARR hit the boosters and leapt into the air simultaneously, skipping an entire curve on the course and landing past it back on the track, not missing a beat. 3k didn’t either, soaring and continuing to chase them. From there it got increasingly nuts, skipping turns and opening wide on the straightaway, KITT and KARR weaving with each other and exchanging lead on the fly, working to keep 3k from passing.

Eventually 3k hit the boost and Tony felt time slow for a second, one hand landing on his reactor and gaping because he could see the calculations flying between them as KITT had to make the decision to move and brake or be landed on, and chose to move, fishtailing and tires smoking as 3k landed and shot ahead.

“Holy sh*t. Speaking of risk assessments.” Tony gasped. “That could have wrecked all three of them.”

“Ballsy as hell. From what I’ve heard, yeah, that was his driver spot on.” Michael had his arms folded, staring into the middle distance as 3k zipped by on the straight, beeping. “There was some rumor that 3k’s driver was my kid. Didn’t hear about it until after he was already dead. DNA was never done. All I really know is his name was Michael and he chose to take the Knight last name. Knight isn’t my last name mind you I’m not part of the family and his estate has no problem reminding me of that.”

“Ohh ouch.” Tony winced.

“Skilled, but reckless, is what I heard. Which matches the mission reports I read after. And that rubbed off on 3k. He’s been taught to drive like this.” He looked at Tony, shrugging. “I’m not saying the link is impossible. Believe it or not, women like me. I was suave, back in the day. And I still have zero issue getting laid even at my age.”

“I believe it.”

“As far as I know, I don’t have any kids.” He looked back at the track as KITT and KARR rolled into the pit lane and sagged there on stripped tires, steam dribbling from vents. “As far as I know.”

“I’m right there with you. No judgement.” Tony walked out with him, Bonnie following, to where KITT and KARR were. Tony had the feeling if they could be gasping for air, they would be. As it was he could hear the turbines still roaring, but they were dumping heat, not providing power. The heat waves off the hood vents were visible. “So. How are we feeling?”

“That little sh*thead gave us zero warning he was coming beyond linking Rammstein in the group chat.” KARR didn’t sound upset. Amused and a little awestruck maybe.

Tony lifted both eyebrows. “Rammstein? I thought he liked 80s synth stuff.”

“Yes. Rammstein. Specifically the song Sonne.” KITT confirmed.

Tony blinked, envisioning that. “Oh. Oh actually that is one hell of an intimidation play. Chasing someone down as ‘here comes the sun’ plays is damn near horror vibes actually.”

“I was enjoying myself, playing Eurobeat at inadvisable volumes and suddenly, German!” KARR complained.

3k pulled up, pursuit mode disappearing, tires similarly destroyed. “What’s the matter old men? Couldn’t keep up?”

“Insolent brat.” KITT replied. “And we aren’t old.”

“Ha ha you’re old.”

“You three should be glad I keep my staff busy dipping tires and racking them back because all of you need tires all the way around. Your front tires are all down to slicks, not a single bit of tread left.” Tony rubbed a temple, side-eying 3k. “And you, you’ll have to wait until Monday because you are not on the same size of tire as they are.”

“Serves him right.” KARR snorted. “One serving of karma for you, child, you harassed your eldest siblings and now you get to be parked the rest of the weekend.”

“Booooo.” 3k complained. “And I’m not a child.”

“I can’t do sh*t about it, you’ll ruin normal tires in under thirty seconds.” Tony shrugged. “I guess I didn’t need to rent the courses for an entire day. Didn’t think you’d trash your shoes in the first hour.”

“The point isn’t the amount of time spent. The point is, was the goal of this trip met.” Bonnie pointed out, looking at KITT and KARR. “And was it?”

“I beg your pardon?” KITT asked.

“Will you be trying to kill each other anytime soon?” Tony clarified.

“Oh. No.”

“Alright then.”

The rest of the weekend was quite pleasant, beyond 3k loudly pouting in Tony’s garage on his no longer road safe tires. Michael and Bonnie were good company and cheerfully shared stories not in the files while hanging out at Tony’s house, and came to some more formal agreements with him about being paid consultants. To that end, Bonnie changed her flight to a few days later, so she could see the teardown of the KIFT chassis completed and loaded into the Knight semi for the trip back. Michael and KITT left on Monday, ostensively to drive home, but Tony figured they were taking a very scenic route and just enjoying being whole and together.

The timing was good overall, because less than an hour after Michael and KITT pulled out, SHIELD arrived to see a demonstration of the molecular bonded shell.

But, that wasn’t the interesting part of the meeting.

“What if we told you that there was a Knight Rider vehicle deemed more dangerous than KARR?”

“I’d be exhausted.” Tony admitted, sitting back from his desk and staring at Agent Coulson, eyes flicking down to the Pelican case that Coulson was carrying. “But, let me guess. You’re talking about KRO.”

“Correct. How’d you arrive to that conclusion?”

“Empty file. No missions, or the entire file was shredded.”

“Shredded. KRO committed murder. Five people.”

“I swear to f*ck if you’re about to tell me that you have KRO in that case.” Tony rubbed his face, and collapsed onto his desk when Phil just lifted an eyebrow. “God dammit. God f*cking dammit.”

“We also have Sky One.”

“The C5.” Tony said into his desk. “Okay that actually makes sense. I’d been wondering. Is she still in service?”

“She is. Our aviation division is very protective of her. She’s in flight at least weekly moving people and supplies between SHIELD bases. She clocks a lot of miles and she’s very loved.”

“Okay. I’ll consider her off the list.”

“Updating list now sir.” JARVIS said quietly. “Sky One as active, KRO as disabled.”

“Thanks.” He lifted his head, looking at Coulson. “Why. f*cking why? It sounds like he was intended for destruction.”

“He was. SHIELD stepped in before they could crush the boards.” Phil sat down, putting the case on the floor in front of himself and leaving a hand on top of it. “Not my call, but I have been aware of the case for the last few years. And KRO is the reason why I didn’t disclose any of this to you, earlier. We were all curious to see how KARR progressed, once we were aware of the situation. Personally, I do think KRO should have been crushed.”

“Ouch.”

“Not for his crimes, Stark. But before I clarify my stance, I should point something out. KRO is not contemporary to Team Knight Rider. He was operational for three years with his rider before the crimes happened. We think, at that point, Knight Industries completely shredded and burned the files. SHIELD caught wind because, well.”

“Murder by AI.”

“Exactly. I wasn’t involved until after, mind you. SHIELD has always been aware of what FLAG was doing, and Knight Industries by extension, but it had never risen to the level that SHIELD had to become concerned. Five dead hit that threshold. KRO’s driver is in prison and likely to remain there for some time. And we ended up with KRO. His body is in storage on SHIELD property after being examined by our technicians.”

Tony collapsed back, just looking at him, sagging in his chair. “So not only did they had an entire team fail while KITT was still shelved and could have been reunited with Michael Knight, they had a replacement for KITT operational for three years before that team, only for it to end catastrophically.”

“Seems that way. At this point I need to remind you that what SHIELD knows about FLAG is pretty limited. I’m telling you everything I know right now.”

“Okay. So why was KRO spared, and why do you think he should have been crushed?”

“KRO was saved because of discrepancies SHIELD found while investigating the event, and because Fury himself intervened and said we do not kill heroes for mistakes. And I have always thought we should choose the merciful option because KRO is suffering. From an interview with the driver, who was himself not the most stable person, KRO was always… off. They performed well for three years and it somehow ended in five civilian deaths. I’ve looked at the case, several times, because none of it makes any sense even by my extremely lofty standards. I’m hoping you can help us make sense of it so we can close this file for good.”

“I’m not a rehab center for AI, Coulson.”

He blinked once. “Aren’t you?”

Tony hated that he couldn’t exactly deny it. “KARR and 3k are different. KARR was never actually violent, he was desperate, then he was angry. He just needed support and an outlet to fly right. 3k is depressed and has PTSD. At most, he’s a risk to himself because he’s a risk taker. That’s a long, long way from an AI that might be hard broken from boot.”

“It might be, but I’d like your opinion before we put him through an industrial shredder.”

“When I brought SHIELD in for a meeting to discuss the MBS, I was hoping to barter for information. Not barter for a complicated and delicate project that may try to escalate into AM or SkyNet.”

“I know. For what it’s worth I have last known location for the Team Knight Rider cars. They’re with their riders. Ka never went overseas and is with the driver of Attack Beast.”

“I hate Knight Industries and almost everything they stand for.”

Phil was silent for a long moment. “Would you like to hate them more?”

“Oh hell. What?”

He opened the case. Whatever was inside was hidden in foam, but there was also a few paper files on top and Phil grabbed them before closing the case again, offering the files out. “There’s a reason why the Knight Rider AI might have some foundational instability, and it could be argued it goes back to the creators.”

Tony stared at the offered files for a long moment before giving up and grabbing them from Coulson, sitting back and opening the first file only to feel like he got punched in the gut.

Operation Paperclip.

HYDRA.

Artificial intelligence research.

“Shall I leave KRO with you then?” Phil asked after five minutes of Tony staring at the front page of the file, trying to process what he was seeing.

“What? Yes. Leave him. No guarantees. If he’s a danger to me or my family, I’m taking a sledge to him.” Tony didn’t look up.

Phil stood, setting the case on Tony’s desk gently. “We’ll be in touch about the MBS.”

“Yeah, I bet you will be.”

Tony’s not sure how long it took him, to read through the files before he’s able to set them aside, putting his elbows on the desk and leaning his jaw on his hands, staring at the nondescript black case on his desk. “What did they do to you, KRO?” No answer was forthcoming, whatever electronics that survived closed into a hard plastic case, wrapped in precision cut foam.

“If I may, sir?” JARVIS said softly.

“Yeah. Of course.”

“The Knight and Miles families have zero record of being involved with groups that could be considered hate groups. In fact I’ve been able to find extensive records of them donating to diversity causes. Wilton Knight, himself, seemed like a patriot. I do not see any evidence of HYDRA connections there.”

“That’s a start.”

“However, we have names, now. And that is an important starting point, if you do decide you no longer want to be nice to the current Knight Industries.”

“Yeah, we are done being nice.” He stood and reached for the case, pulling it over and opening it then lifting the foam. Just the core boards, no obvious memory drives, lights still glowing bright. The chess symbol, and KRO. Knight Reformulation One. “They destroyed KITT, shelved him, and tried to make something better that turned out to have… clone fever, or whatever science fiction trope you’d like to apply. When they could have just put KITT back on the road. Doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.”

“Nothing about these choices does, sir. Perhaps we should look at who made them.”

“Consider this carte blanche to start digging.” He stared at the board, one finger gently resting on the name before sighing out and sagging, a bit.

One man can make a difference.

And god dammit. He’s the one man.