Tony Stark sat on his long couch. Alone. A glass of scotch in his hands, which were violently shaking with the amount of alcohol he had consumed that evening. There were three empty glasses on the table. He gulped the last of the contents in his glass and wandered over to the bottle. He opened it and went to pour himself another glass, only to find that he had reached the bottom. He sighed and moseyed back over to the couch. He picked up the small round disk that was sitting on the coffee table and plopped himself down in fake propriety to examine it.
It was circular in shape and small compared to the usual gizmos that he came up with. No bigger than a slice of bread. Sleek design as would be expected, but obviously worn by the scratches and rough spots that dotted the shining silver edges that held the technological pieces together. The appliance was scuffed more on the left than the right, little scratches and cracks ran along the metal like a finger print. There was nothing ugly about the small disc, even though it was made for practicality; the polished metal lining had click marks front the many times it had been popped into place. The gadget was clean but look scalded and shocked as if it hadn't been maintained but newly polished. The metal had little dents in it. As he examined it further he wondered if it had been bullets. He could hardly remember. He could hardly remember anything anymore besides the bottom of the last bottle he drank through. The piece had been well varnished and handled with care despite all the unhealthy marks and bruises. The wires hung down like roots and even in his impared state, he knew exactly where each wire needed to be connected. He had managed to salvage and keep the orginal technology. That was an accomplishment.
He burped and stood up, feeling instantly dizzy. He laughed deeply holding onto the back of the couch for support.
"Yeah! I'm wasted!" he screamed to no one in particular. The billionaire playboy philanthropist was a faraway dream. It was only the alcohol talking.
There was a reason he was in the state he was. He had gotten an offer that morning. An intriguing offer; a man who wanted invincibility.
The phone call had woken him and his latest one night stand at four in the morning, and for some ridiculous reason, he answered it. That was when everything fell to pieces. The funny part was, he had no idea what he was up against. He didn't know how old or how tall or what he looked like or even his name. And he didn't really care, all he knew was what that person wanted. Mind you, they hadn't said it out loud, but he knew.
He clumsily walked over to the suit, which was quietly poised, standing in it's case. Looking harmless. He touched the glass.
"Weapon of mass destruction, in a display case in my living room. What a perfect time to take you for a spin eh? You're the reason I'm in this mess anyway." he punched the display case rattling the goods inside and making him angrier than he already was.
The suit he had standing there was the newest edition. He had built it only a few months prior. It was for the re-formation of the Avengers initiative. He had heard that some 1940s war hero had been found, frozen in ice and had been thawed. Perfect timing too, since some Asguardian god or something had dropped out of the sky demanding ultimate power, to be ruler of mankind, and the Tesseract. The suit dawned the same red and gold colours as it always had. The updated technology made it fly, although he remembered the struggle he had trying to make it work. The material was waterproof and he had synced it to his home computer, making the connection stronger and less likely to fail. The unbreakable man. The Ironman.
He opened the display case, fumbling around to find the remote.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a deep voice from behind him grumbled. British, Tony heard.
"How did you -"
"Simple. I broke in, you have very poor security"
"Only the best in the country"
"Hmm, you may want to check that out. I believe you know why I'm here, Mr. Stark" the tall man gestured at the table where Tony had left the chest-piece sitting.
"So you are the anonymous bastard who called me early in the morning." Tony slurred and took a shaky step toward the other man.
"No that would be my brother. He is quite a pain, really. He likes to check up on me. Beat me at my own game. He sends his apologies"
"Why are you here?"
"Simple. I need help. From you, nonetheless."
"Well, you can't have it." Tony lamely retorted. "It's mine."
The man furrowed his eyebrows before laughing. "Your suit? You can keep that. It's faulty. The aerodynamic calculations are all wrong; even you know that, seeing the numerous times you crashed into your car. And the technology you used could have been changed for the better numerous times with a few small experiments. But you seem to trust your calculations." The man laughed. "We have that in common."
"My calculations are always right. If they weren't I wouldn't trust them"
"You are very stubborn, Mr. Stark. And Arrogant, if I may say so."
"You can't."
"And ignorant," The man ignored Tony's comment, "going by the amount you have drank this evening."
Tony glanced over at the spilt drink and empty glasses that were lying on the table. "None of your business." he mumbled
"Not to mention," the man continued starting a slow walk, circling Tony, who was becoming more and more annoyed, "that you seem to have no caution, being so incredibly wealthy and all. There is power in wealth. I see the same traits in my brother. Power drunk. In your case real drunk. Or 'wasted' if I heard correctly" the man picked up the empty bottle that Tony had strewn on the ground, eyeing it.
"What makes you such an expert" Tony yelled, pointing at the man, his finger wavering. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Concentrating on staying upright, concentrating on staying conscious, concentrating on getting the strange man out of his house.
"I know a lot of things " the man said, a gleam in his eye "I know that you had a bowl of fruit loops this morning that you felt terrible about, since you're trying to watch your weight. I also know that you have been sleeping with several different women at several different times, despite having a recent, serious, relationship with a certain Pepper Potts. There was a woman last night she was blonde and had a birthmark on her lower back. The last thing I know, is that you had a meeting with a man named Nick Fury about a top-secret initiative. The Avengers, I believe it's called. And I got all of that by your hair, shoes, coffee table, living room sofa, display case and the DVD's you have laying around."
"How?"
"I observe"
Tony was furious. He stumbled over to him putting a hand on his shoulder and getting very close to the other man. "What do you want?"
The man smiled "That ridiculous thing would be too conspicuous," he said, walking past him to the display case and gesturing to the suit "I need you to build me something. And I need it, very soon. Yes or no?"
"Who are you?"
"Yes. Or. No?"
Tony, caught a hint of something in the man's voice. Mistaking the fear and desperateness in the man's voice for doubt, Tony took the opportunity to swing a drunken punch at the other man's face.
The man easily dogged it and watched as Tony plummeted to the floor, trying to regain his balance, the engineer stood facing the man, and took him by the blue scarf around his neck, pulling him close to him, trying to strangle him. The man laughed, landing a punch on Tony's shoulder, and taking his legs out from under him. Tony tumbled back onto the floor. The man put a knee on his chest, making it difficult for Tony to breathe. Tony struggled under the man's grasp, trying to think clearly, trying to get out of the thick fog of alcohol. Tony lifted his legs, hitting the man in the back of the head.
The man was stunned and Tony took the opportunity to grab the remote to his suit. He watched it spring to life, and attach itself around him. The familiar feeling of metal surrounded him. Home. He took a minute to assess the situation. His security had been disabled by a breach in the system. The man was feisty and was getting up, rubbing the back of his head.
"You are in no state to be driving," he said, his face showing the excitement of a child on Christmas morning.
Tony raised his hand. "Your fault."
The suit was about to fire when suddenly all the power went out. Tony's eyebrows furrowed. Nothing, He raised his arm again.
The man laughed. He took a wire out of his pocket and spun it around in his hands. "Know when you have lost, Mr. Stark." Tony's eyes widened, "Now, your answer?"
"Fine. I'll do it."
The man smiled artificially and picked up the chest piece from the table looking it over and setting it down again.
He crossed over to the door, opening it and leaning against the frame.
"My name is Sherlock Holmes, and you will be seeing quite a bit more of me" he said, before winking, and closing it behind him.
Tony watched him go, still utterly confused and drunk. He took a deep breath, taking in the situation before vomiting over the back of the couch.
Eventually, he just passed out on the floor, drifting out of reality.