Full Summary: The Invincible Iron Man. The Mighty Thor. The Incredible Hulk. Captain America. The Black Widow. The Amazing Hawkeye. The world's mightiest heroes... the Avengers. But who are they really? What do they have to deal with in real life? Most people don't wonder about that... but then again, most people don't know that the Avengers are all in high school. This is the story of how these heroes came to be, and how they banded together to save the world, time and time again.

Otherwise known as an AU where the Avengers and several supporting characters are born between 10 and 20 years later than they were in cannon, but the Avengers still become superheroes. Timeline is accelerated, and comic ageing-rules apply (everyone stays the exact same age). Also, these will try to stay to the MCU events, but comic cannon could be used too. Rated T for language, but these kids are too young to do anything other than kiss.

Updating will be VERY slow, but I'll try to make the chapters long, and I promise I won't abandon this! I just have other priorities.

The first superhero up is IRON MAN!

IRON MAN: PART ONE: TORCH IT UP WITH HOMEMADE DYNAMITE

"Really, Dad?" asked Tony, full of hope. "Can I really go with you to the Jericho missile testing?"

"Of course you can, son," his father stated reassuringly. "One day, you'll be running Stark Industries, and you need to see how that is done. After all, you came up with the idea for the missile, and you helped with most of the creation process. You did well."

Tony swelled with pride at the compliment. Ever since he had first picked up a wrench, his dad had demanded that everything was in the right place, everything was assembled in the correct order, with the best parts, without shortcuts, without fault. It had grown to a point where his dad seemed to never be pleased with him, and Tony had been fearful of sharing his projects. Tony thought that his thin shoulders weren't going to hold up under the pressure much longer. To know that his father was pleased with him, to know that he would be rewarded without being scrutinized first, meant the world to him.

Howard sighed, slowly rising from his seated position on Tony's king-sized bed. "We'll be leaving in a day, and we'll be over in Afghanistan for three. I will conduct the Jericho testing as soon as we arrive, and the rest of the time will be in meetings with officials, some of them that you may be able to attend. Pack light and thoughtfully; you'll be representing Stark Industries. We need to make a good impression on the Army officials. No Stark snark."

"Even with Rhodey?" Tony whined playfully. Sure, he was fourteen and already a junior in high school, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"Whenever you are around the rest of the officials, no snark," replied Howard stoically. Then, his strong facade broke down and he grinned. "By ourselves? Knock yourself out."

This was going to be the best trip ever.

Tony grinned, breathing heavily as he and his father climbed out of the white Audi onto the runway. For the last half-mile before they reached the airstrip, his dad had allowed Tony to drive. Sure, he was only fourteen, but the Stark fortune gave the authorities the incentive to look the other way, even if they caught a glimpse of a minor driving with blatant disregard for the speed limit. In fact, Tony had driven fast enough that they had made up for the time he had wasted saying goodbye to his mother.

His mother…

Tony's mother, Maria Stark, was a strong, capable woman, displayed by the fact that she was the third most powerful person in Stark Industries, after his dad and Obadiah Stane. Mariah Stark was also perhaps the person Tony loved the most in the world. He loved his father almost as much, of course, but there was always that strain to be perfect around him. Tony's relationship with his mother wasn't burdened by any obligations.

A normal person would probably judge Tony for blatantly admitting that yes, he was on better terms with his mother than his father and he therefore loved his mother more.

Tony knew, however, that a normal person could never judge the Starks.

The young genius was jolted out of his thoughts when his father grasped him gently by the shoulder, guiding him toward a small jet. Standing by the door was Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, or Rhodey as Tony liked to call him. Tony smiled at the man as they entered the plane, but when Rhodey didn't respond, the smile quickly escalated into a smirk. Time to have some fun. "Hey, LC. At ease? Stand down? Anything? Don't you have to listen to orders in the Army? Come on, lighten up. God knows you can't resist a dose of me."

Rhodey struggled to hold back a grin as the group moved to their seats within the plane. "I'm just following my orders from my higher-ups, Anthony, which clearly take precedence over your requests. I can't trust you if I don't want a repeat of last month's situation."

Tony groaned good-naturedly. "First of all, it's just 'Tony'. I've told you that a billion times, and you always end up ignoring me, one way or another. Secondly, my orders must matter if it's what you want to do! Chill. Finally, nothing irreparably bad happened last month, just to get that established."

"Like you call three crashed Mercedes-Benz race cars 'nothing irreparably bad'?" Rhodey responded, trying desperately to hide his emotions. He finally failed and chuckled. "Sorry, Starkster. Just… don't do anything dangerous this trip, or you owe me another racer."

Tony lightly punched Rhodey's arm. "Try making a bet that actually worries me sometime, Rhodey."

As the plane landed about twelve hours later, Tony heard his dad's phone ringing. When he snuck a look at the screen, he could see that the caller was Obadiah Stane, his dad's right hand man and the vice CEO of Stark Industries. Tony hoped he could talk to Obadiah; the older man was one of his best friends. Whenever the kids at school had been teasing him about his brains, or how young he was to be in eleventh grade, Obadiah was always the one he turned to. The man brought on a sense of fatherly love that even Howard couldn't. Talking to him would calm Tony down, then and now.

"Dad, can I talk to Obadiah after you're done?" Tony asked quietly. His father gave a shrug, and Tony sat deeper in his seat, growing more impatient as his father and Obadiah discussed the company. Fortunately, after about ten minutes, the phone was passed to him. "Hi, Obie!"

"Hello, Tony!" the older man exclaimed quietly. "It's nice to hear from you." Tony let himself relax in the voice, but then noticed something was wrong with that familiar tone.

"You have a hitch in your voice, it doesn't sound right," Tony stated, not bothering to hide his curiosity. "Are you sick?"

Obadiah seemed to pause for a second, but he then recovered. "Yeah, just a bug that's going around. I'll be fine. Just need a little… break from Stark. The company, of course."

"Perfect timing," Tony responded sarcastically. "Just now, with Dad away and you in charge of the company, you decide that you need some R&R." His tone softened. "I do understand that feeling, though. Everything must be driving you up the wall."

Obadiah laughed a little. "Well, I just finished up the last meeting with some potential… investors for SI. It's about midnight; I need to get some rest, since my first meeting is at 6 a.m. Hear from you later?"

Tony sighed, disappointed that the conversation was so short. "Fine, goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the stockholders bite." He paused, working out a final quip. "You aren't wearing those pajamas I got you. Are you?"

"Goodnight, Tony," groaned Obadiah. The call ended.

Tony smirked to himself. Obadiah was the one person he could tease without ever getting in trouble, since the man had no hard feelings against, well, anybody.

"Sir?" inquired Rhodey. Tony realized that the man had been patiently waiting for the duration of the phone call to make his point. "We must be on our way to the testing site."

"Let's move along, then," his father responded.

At least fifteen minutes after the demonstration had been scheduled to take place, the small party that had been on the plane arrived at a small field, looking over a rocky, scrubby mountain range. Several men, standing tall in military uniforms, glared at Tony's dad when the trio finally climbed out of the 4x4. His father nodded to the group. "I apologize, gentlemen, but I was held up by unavoidable business." Tony glanced down guiltily, knowing that his conversation with Obadiah, however short, hadn't helped matters.

One man, boasting an admirable array of medals on his chest, stiffened. "I do believe that this presentation was classified as unavoidable business."

Howard Stark straightened, bringing his height even with that of the angry officer's. "I do believe that the agreement between us was, and I quote, 'The Army will not meddle in the affairs of Stark Industries, and Stark Industries will not meddle in the affairs of the Army, unless a clear reason has been named and agreed upon.' I do not believe that this circumstance falls under that category. Now, if you please, I will continue with the weapon test, unless you would prefer to wait longer."

The angry CEO of Stark Industries waited until the officer bowed his head and muttered, "Proceed." Tony was awed by this show of strength, smarts, and wit by his father, using something as innocent as a phone call to exercise his authority. Tony knew that he had quite a ways to go before he mastered the show of strength, although personally, he thought he was close to his father's skills in the latter qualities.

Tony watched in awe as his father walked up to the head of the Army men. His father stood proud and tall, practically basking in the glory. Part of Tony thought that this was totally inappropriate for the weapons test. A bigger part of Tony thought that he would have done the exact same thing. His father cleared his throat and began his speech.

"They say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how my father did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far. I present to you the newest in Stark Industries' Freedom line. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee, the terrorists won't stray a step out of line."

As Tony watched, the missile was activated. A bomb flew into the air, splitting into sixteen separate parts, just as he had designed the weapon to work.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for your consideration…"

The smaller bombs landed in the mountains behind the group.

"The Jericho."

As the bombs, strategically spaced apart, exploded, they set off a huge shock wave, rushing toward the group. Tony blinked and shielded his eyes as he watched the explosions combine into one, the rush of air blowing off the soldier's hats even from this distance. His dad didn't even flinch.

I wish I could be that strong, Tony thought longingly.

As his dad made some witty comments to the men waiting, Tony let out a deep breath. His missile—the one from his own brain, his first real contribution to the company—had worked perfectly. He could see his dad, talking with the officers, nodding in his direction. When his dad saw him watching, the man offered a small smile.

His dad's approval was the most important thing in Tony's world.

Soon, the group began to disperse, hopping into trucks to reach the military base. Soon, all that was left were Tony, his father, Rhodey, twenty other soldiers, and two separate convoys. As Howard guided Tony into one of the vans, the young genius could see that Rhodey was boarding a different transport convoy, along with ten of the soldiers and a few high-ranking officers. He called out to his dad's friend, "You'll be sorry! This is the fun-vee, not the hum-drum-vee! See you back at base!"

Rhodey continued to smile as Howard groaned and pushed Tony into the transport truck, climbing in after. Tony found himself sandwiched in-between his father and a young soldier, barely out of training. As the driver started up the vehicle, Tony found his enthusiasm dying down, uncomfortably aware of his father's presence as the four-truck convoy left the testing site.

Tony wasn't afraid of his father, of course. The man had never laid a hand on him, had never made him feel truly scared. Howard Stark had a deep bond with his son, and both were aware of it. That bond, however, actually made it harder for Tony to disobey his father. When he did something wrong, his father's disappointment showed through, shaming Tony into trying to be better, to live up to the legacy that Howard had handed him the moment he was born.

Howard, however, had also handed Tony impulse, and that took precedence over legacy right now.

"I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial," Tony commented, hoping his voice didn't betray his doubts of speaking. Fortunately, only snark had been present, and he caught a glimpse of the young soldier trying to bite back a laugh. "This is crazy. What did I do? I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me."

Although the young soldier was hiding a smile behind a hand, Tony couldn't glimpse the reactions of the two up front, not without a vocal assertion. "What, you're not allowed to talk?"

The soldier sitting shotgun shook his head. "No, we're allowed to talk, sirs."

Oh. Right. He wasn't alone. Tony looked to his father, but to his surprise, Howard was keeping a straight face, and was that mirth in his eyes? Sure sign to continue. "Oh, I see," he resumed. "So it's personal?"

The driver responded with a tired, "No, you intimidate them," and good God she's a woman. Tony couldn't have called that.

"Well, think about it," Tony said quickly, hiding his surprise effectively. "You, the people who are fighting to keep our country free, intimidated by a fourteen-year-old? Sure, I'm a genius and help empower you to keep the country free, but relax. You're the ones with the guns." When the soldier next to Tony tried to hide his smile, Tony waved a hand. "Come on, it's okay, laugh."

The soldiers started to chuckle despite themselves, and the tense atmosphere in the truck dissipated. The young soldier glanced at the Starks and raised his hand. "Is it cool if I take a picture with you two?"

Tony glanced back at his dad, who merely smiled and answered, "Yes, it's very cool."

The young soldier smiled, handing a small camera to the man riding shotgun, and posed next to the Starks. When he threw up a peace sign, Tony shook his head and quipped, "Please, no gang signs." When the soldier lowered his hands, however, Tony sighed. "No, throw it up. I'm kidding. Yeah, peace. I love peace."

"We'd be out of a job without peace," added in Howard.

The three continued to pose, while the soldier up front fiddled with the camera. The young soldier grinned in amusement. "Come on, hurry up. Don't change any settings." The soldier up front groaned and fiddled the camera even more, no doubt changing back wacky settings. Tony giggled, and for a second, he felt like a normal kid. Not a Stark, but just Tony, taking a selfie with some friends. (He might not currently have any real friends his age, but the sentiment was what counted.)

All of that suddenly changed forever.

A huge explosion suddenly shook the truck. Tony looked out the windshield to see that one of the trucks in front of them had simply exploded. A glance behind showed the final truck, just in the process of blowing up. Bullets started cutting through the stunned silence, shocking the soldiers out of their daze.

"Contact left!" screamed the driver, stopping the car, jumping out of her seat and grabbing her gun. She opened the door and started out, but she was cut down by continued fire after only a few steps. Tony gulped, and quietly asked, "What's going on?"

Everyone ignored him, as the other soldier made to leave the truck. "Jimmy, stay with the Starks!" He used the front of the truck as cover, but the soldier could only make three or four shots before he too fell.

"Son of a bitch!" exclaimed the young soldier - Jimmy. He loaded his gun and opened the door. Howard suddenly lost his cool. "No, no no! Stay here - at least give me a weapon -"

Jimmy was already outside, firing. A machine gun shot cut through him seconds later. Tony glanced down, trying not to think about the three dead soldiers, whom twenty seconds ago, he had been laughing with. His brain veered, but suddenly, his father moved, opening the door, gesturing for him to hurry. Without thinking, Tony followed him.

Together, they dashed across the open ground, taking cover behind a large rock. Howard partially shielded Tony with his body while pulling out his phone, furiously dialing a number. Before the elder Stark could finish, a mine landed several yards away from them. Tony only had time to read the words painted on the side of the device - Stark Industries - before he was in motion, throwing himself across his father's body to shield the older man.

Boom.

Pain, flaring through his chest. His dad is yelling above him, but he can't make out the words. He feels his shirt being ripped open, and he felt the pain flare up when his chest is prodded. But wasn't his chest supposed to be covered by the bulletproof vest? He risks a glance at the area, and all he sees is red, flaring up, staining his father's hands with his blood. He should have gone in the hum-drum-vee after all. This shouldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening.

But it is.

The song for this chapter is "Homemade Dynamite", because it talks about lies - like the lies Tony entertains, that the weapons will bring peace one day - and destroying everything in your life because of yourself - Tony's life is never going to be the same, and it's all because of his own weapons.

Please tell me how I'm doing, and no flame. I can only make this story better if you tell me how! I will respond to all reviews, either privately or publicly.

About the story... should Yinsen be in this story? I know he connects Tony to Gulmira, but I don't want an overage of characters, and there are already two in the terrorist's clutches. Tell me!

See you next story!

~Horseluv