"So you're really going through with it, huh?" asked Rhodey from his wheelchair. They were in the newly updated workshop at the New Avengers Compound.

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Tony distractedly as he looked at the specs for Rhodey's leg braces. Dark circles underlined his eyes but his mind was as sharp as ever.

Rhodey wheeled around and shoved the holoscreen to the side. "Because you basically have always been on their side - " Rhodey started to say before Tony cut him off.

"That was before Platypus. And for the last time, I'm sure," said Tony sternly as he dragged the holoscreen back to him. Rhodey lifted his hands in surrender.

"Alright, Tones. Well, you know I'll support anything you wanna do," were the last words Rhodey spoke before he wheeled himself out of the workshop.

"FRIDAY, blackout mode," said Tony once he heard the doors whoosh closed behind Rhodey. FRIDAY remained silent as the doors and windows to the workshop blackened and the sound system blared good ol' AC/DC. Tony shoved the holoscreen away from himself and ran his hand through his hair, his other arm still in a sling.

He sat down heavily and let out a loud groan as he rubbed at his temple and neck. Even when they were out of his sight and miles away the 'rogue' Avengers still gave him a headache. He knew that Rhodey meant well, that if he burned this bridge there would be no way of mending it. Tony was past that point. The last of his goodwill was severely exhausted and it was time to move on. It was easier said than done, however. The Rogues left yet another mess for Tony to clean up but this time he was going to do it for Earth - for the people that needed the Avengers. Something big was coming for them and Tony had tried to prepare Earth's defences - thought that ULTRON was the answer - but that blew up in his face too.

Tony was just tired.

Tired of taking blame, of shouldering the responsibility for others' mistakes. The Accords were the answer to that increasing weight, the answer to the guilt that ate at his conscience and kept him up at night.

Yet even that blew up in his face - in a big way

It was time for a change. Out with the old and in with the new.

Changing the face of the Avengers wasn't easy, but Tony was determined to set things right, to make things better for the next generation of people and super heroes. The world deserved that much.

He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the air out slowly.

Time to get to work.


First on Tony's list was getting Rhodey mobile again. Leg braces were oddly simple to build and Tony wondered why he hadn't made them before. He had sent out Rhodey's info to several surgeons to help on the medical side of things, but people seemed hesitant to attach their names with Stark at the moment. Thankfully their stock prices were stable which at least let Tony feel some relief. Pepper was a downright bad-ass in the boardroom and Tony wondered why he hadn't handed over SI earlier.

Doctor Strange

"Boss, you might want to get this," said FRIDAY. Tony took the smoothie DUM-E handed to him and sat down.

"Alright," said Tony airily as he pulled up some other schematics. Peter's suit was going to have everything in it. He was not leaving anything to chance.

"Mr. Stark?" asked a smooth, deep voice.

"Yes, who is this?" asked Tony distractedly.

"Dr. Stephen Strange," answered the man. Tony stopped tinkering.

"Finally decided to give me a call back I see," said Tony as he started to pull up Rhodey's medical files and the leg brace schematics. The medical files were supposed to be closed, but well, things didn't tend to stay 'closed' around Tony.

"I was somewhat indisposed," vaguely answered Stephen which piqued Tony's curiosity. He immediately signaled to FRIDAY and data on Dr. Strange started pouring in. Tony's baby girl was growing quickly and he was so proud.

After quickly seeing all the data about Strange's accident Tony felt a little bereft.

"Ah well, can't say I blame you. So what can I do for you, Doc?" asked Tony as he continued to review all the info on Strange.

Doctor Strange paused for a moment. "I see you read up on me."

"Just now."

Stephen hummed in thought. "Well, it's not so much what you can do for me, but more of what I can do for you," he replied mystically.

Tony perked up. "Oh, and what's that?"

"I figured you might be interested in my other title: Sorcerer Supreme."

"What, like a wizard?"


"So you saved Hong Kong?" asked Tony doubtfully.

"You don't believe me?" asked Stephen as he took a sip of his tea. Tony squinted at him.

"Let's agree to disagree," replied Tony flippantly.

"I've read the Accords," the sorcerer led with and Tony sat up straighter in his seat.

"What do you think?" he asked hesitantly. The last thing Tony needed was another superhero fiasco.

"I think they need some work, but once properly polished up they can be good," said Stephen with a small smile. Tony's face broke out in relief.


The Wasp

"Never thought I would ever hear from you," said Tony as he took a bite of his doughnut, his sunglasses sliding to the edge of his nose.

"Never had reason to before," replied Hope as she stirred her tea.

"You sure? Not even for the Signal Decoy?" Tony said quickly after swallowing. He picked up his coffee and took a small sip.

Hope winced. "Right. That."

"Yup," Tony said, "that."

"Sorry," said Hope. Tony shrugged.

"Pym Tech seems to have disappeared. You and Hank doing alright?" asked Tony more seriously as he placed the cup down on the table. The diner was packed with truckers and families and Tony was happy they weren't spotted.

Hope let out a small smile. "Thank you for asking. We're doing just fine. That's not why I called," she replied as she took out a tablet from her purse and placed it on the small table between them.

Tony was glad it wasn't handed to him as he dragged the tablet closer, inwardly pleased to see it was StarkTech then wondered if this was a ploy to his ego. He tried to shy away from Natasha's words and instead peered into the screen. It was schematics for some kind of suit and the design seemed to trigger something in his head.

"Bug guy?" he questioned as he pushed the tablet back to Hope. She picked it up and scrolled through the screen.

"Ant Man," she corrected. She placed the tablet in front of Tony again.

"And the Wasp," she added. Tony grinned.


Daredevil

"What business do you have in Hells Kitchen?" asked the man clothed in a tight red suit. Tony raised his hands in surrender.

"Just out for a stroll, trying to see what I might bump into," replied Tony. The heavy weight of the watch on his wrist making him feel safer than he probably was.

"Stay out of Hells Kitchen - you may not like what you find."

Tony grinned. "Perhaps I found exactly what I was looking for."

"Come on, Mr. Murdock - this is right up your alley. Legalese, laws, rules - all that jazz," said Tony as he leaned back in his chair.

"Why are you so nervous, Mr. Stark?" asked Matt has he steepled his fingers and leaned further onto his desk.

Tony scoffed. "Who says I am?" he retorted as his free hand tapped against his chest, reminiscent of his Arc Reactor days.

"Your heart beat does," replied Matt smoothly. Tony tensed. "It's fine, Mr. Stark," continued on Matt. "I will hear you out. I have reviewed the Accords when they first came out and despite a few amendments they need, the solid premise is something I can get behind."

Tony did visibly relax. He was still uncomfortable talking about the Accords, seeing as the last time he had it resulted in a multi-million disaster in a German airport.

"Call me Tony," he replied, a little more at ease.

Matt grinned, "Call me Matt."

Foggy rushed into the room in a flurry. "Matt, we got a problem!" Matt stood up in a haste as did Tony.

"What's wrong?" both men asked simultaneously. Foggy looked back and forth between both of them in confusion.

"Uh...uh…" he stuttered out.

Matt gestured to Tony. "He knows, now what's the problem?"

Foggy regained his wits and explained the situation. Both Tony and Matt's faces looked grim.

Tony's watch formed over his hand into a repulsor glove. He then tapped the side of his sunglasses. "FRIDAY, send a suit." A confirmation sounded from the earbud in his ear.


Vision, War Machine, Pepper

"So, what do you all think?" asked Tony somewhat nervously. They finished the tour of the finished Compound and were standing at the front entrance again. Vision had gone quiet when they had entered the room Wanda had assaulted him in and Tony didn't blame him.

"Well, it's accessible, I'll give it that," replied Rhodey as he gestured to his wheelchair. Tony grinned back weakly. He had still not forgiven himself for that and until he gets Rhodey moving again he never will.

Pepper took another quick look around the room they were in. "I like it. It's very...you," she answered with a warm smile. Tony smiled back at her, unable to resist.

"I'm hoping to start filling the empty spaces soon but I feel like it's more like a headquarters than a club," said Tony. "Everything on lockdown, JOCASTA?" he asked. The AI was still learning, but he needed FRIDAY and JOCASTA to be in charge of seperate things right now. Ideally he would have let FRIDAY handle it all but he was not about to let his baby girl get into any danger. She could handle the suit, Tony's personal affairs and SI while JOCASTA was for the Avengers compound only.

"Yes, Mr. Stark," replied the AI.

"I'm not sure I can stay here," said Vision softly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"You alright, Viz?" asked Tony worriedly as he sidled up to the android.

Vision lifted his head. "Mr. Stark - Tony," he corrected himself, "Even with the re-design the memories are dark and heavy and they linger," said Vision sadly.

Tony placed a hand on Vision's shoulder.

"Okay, I wanted this to be a surprise and a bit like a secret but I can't stand that face any longer," exclaimed Tony.

Vision gently touched his face in concern. "Your sad face, Viz," Tony explained. This made the android smile gently."Come on all," Tony said as he turned around and led them all back to the elevator.

Pepper sidled up behind Rhodey and pushed him. So far she was the only one able to do that without Rhodey grumbling about it. She smiled sunnily at him the first time he tried to complain and all the wind fell out of his sails. They walked as a group, curious to what Tony had in store.

"JOCASTA, Victor, India, Sierra, One, Zero, November," said Tony. The elevator lights dimmed then lit back up and they started moving downward. Everyone was a little confused except for Rhodey. He knew what Tony just did and he tilted his head up and grinned at his friend.

"Nice, Tones," he commented with a small shake of his preened happily.

The elevator doors opened silently and opened up into a small hallway with a door and a welcome mat outside it.

Vision still looked utterly confused but with a hint of intrigue and excitement. Tony was more than glad to put that mixture of emotions on his face.

Tony dug into his pocket and pulled out a plastic card, about the size of a credit card. "Here," he said, handing it over to Vision.

Vision took it, noticing that on one side there as a metallic black strip and on the other side was a picture of him with his name on it. Underneath that was the Avengers logo. Next to the wooden door, or at least he assumed it was wooden, but knowing Tony it probably wasn't, was a keypad and scanner.

"Hand here, card here," said Tony as he pointed to the appropriate spots. Vision was now smiling softly. He scanned the card then placed his hand on the reader and the door opened smoothly.

It was just like walking into a home. The space opened up wide, with dark wooden floors, cream colored walls and a large floor plan. Off to the right was the living room, complete with big screen tv, coffee table and large couch, and to the left up a few steps was the extraordinarily large kitchen. A multitude of appliances lined the counters and Vision was sure more could be found in the cabinets.

Vision could feel the air leave his lungs. He knew that this was Tony's way of asking him to stay, of making him feel welcomed and he couldn't have been more grateful. He wanted a place to belong, a place he could make a difference and a place to call home. This gesture - this wonderful space - was all that and more.

"Thank you, sir," replied Vision and Tony jumped lightly. The brunet quickly threw an arm over Vision's shoulders and pulled him in close.

"You're welcome, Buddy," Tony said, his voice thick with emotion. Vision turned to him and smiled gently then leaned closer and wrapped his arms around the billionaire. Tony tensed lightly, unused to hugs, then quickly melted into it. Pepper and Rhodey looked on fondly.

"Want a tour?" Tony asked, his voice cracking. Rhodey patted him on the back and Pepper grabbed his arm and gently squeezed.

"I would love a tour," said Vision.

Tony smiled at the group and led the way.

TBC