Day 1:
Deage
Pairing(s): Mention of Pepperony
Rating: K+
Warning(s): Mention of OCs, Theft, Not Fluffy 'Avengers take care of Kid!Tony', Short
Tony had known a few things; he now had a flashlight in his chest, large shirts made awkward togas, his parents were dead because he was in the future where the world was searching for his older self, a small group of people were searching for his younger self and the only ones he could trust were the boy and dog whom had found him.
The first time Tony saw Eagle-Eyes was after he had been running, having stolen an array of things- apples, cheese, pastries- from the Greenmarket on 97th and Columbus with his bounty placed in a blanket lined backpack that already had three water bottles stuffed inside along with a small sack of discarded electronics- cannibalized parts of broken phones, game stations, iPods, radios- that he had been working on to create a wallet sized laptop. He had gone to a nearby playground, as a ten year old spending the day there wasn't suspicious even while alone- if he made sure to relocate every other hour- because people tended to assume that he was with someone else, and sat at a bench and nibbled on a chocolate filled pastry as he pulled out his project that he decided to name 'Nanotop'.
What made him notice Eagle-Eyes was the stare the man leveled at him which was a cross of confused and curious as if he were a puzzle that he couldn't quiet figure out which was odd due because he made sure that nothing made him stand out from his worn but well kept backpack to his similarly worn yet well conditioned clothes, from how he worked on the Nanotop in a way that made it look like he was playing a video game to how clean he was despite technically being homeless- an elder woman named Mrs. Canal who allowed him to use her bathroom in exchange for doing chores.
Still, it had unnerved Tony enough to cause him to pack up and leave.
x
The first time Tony saw Mousy and Blondy was when the world found out that Iron Man was missing.
Tony had been sitting with Tyler at a bus stop, eating ice cream when every screen- be it computer, phone or TV- blacked for a moment before coming back to play a video.
"-at's in all this for you?" Iron Man demanded, repulsers trained on a grinning man whom was standing in the center of a demolished building with people's faint screams filtering through.
"What's in this for me?" The man laughed, "Why, you, of course."
Iron Man snorted, "Sorry man, I don't put out on the first date- especially when said first date involves destruction of property and hostages."
"That's the beauty, you don't have a choice." The man said. "Now!"
Iron Man had the chance to curse before a shot went off causing a small can to slam into him, sending him through the crumbling wall before a muffled explosion went off and a cloud of blue mist blossomed. Then, Iron Man screamed.
The video continued with Iron Man being dragged off but Tony was watching Mousy, the man having been walking down the sidewalk when the video came on, who had hunched his shoulders and clenched his hands while breathing harshly- Tony was certain that there was green in Mousy's eyes before they squeezed shut. Blondy came rushing down the street and stopped next to Mousy, talking urgently to the man even as he started to drag him away.
"Wow..." Tyler breathed, drawing his attention. "Dude kidnapped Iron Man! No one's managed that!"
x
Tony wasn't an idiot, he knew he was in the future or, rather, he was in the present for his older self only that his older self had some how managed to be reverted back to him, a ten year old. He had done research on himself, found that his family was dead, that he became a superhero, that he was on a superhero team and they all lived in Stark- or Avenger depending on the source- Tower along with his girlfriend named Pepper. He knew that all he had to do was walk into the Tower and ask for a DNA test to be done or show off the 'flashlight' on his chest to them in order for them to believe that he was who he claimed to be.
But he didn't.
Because he found the rest- the list of women whom he bedded, the number of scandals he caused, the number of times he showed up to important things drunk, the title 'Merchant of Death' that he earned. And it reminded him so much of his father that he had literally thrown up once he found out. Tony was selfish and if there was anything that he wanted more then anything it was to be nothing like Howard Stark. So he left Manhattan, left everyone whom had cared for him and he had cared for- regardless of the age he had been- and created an identity for himself once he was thirteen.
At thirteen he became Tony Carter, son of a Rita Carter whom had been a single mom and died in a car crash leaving Tony without a family and placed 'in the system' who later emancipated himself at fifteen.
By then, the world had given up on finding Tony Stark and even held a memorial in New York- Tony was certain that his older self would have approved.
At twenty-four Tony Carter paid a visit to the three remaining Avengers and at twenty-five the world watched in awe as Iron Man returned once more.