Disclaimer: I own nothing but the interesting story and sub-par writing. Iron Man Continuity in this fic is based off of the movies the Avengers cartoon, some of the comics, but mostly just my own random input.
A/N: I am so sorry that this took so long. I've just begun my second term at University, I can't find my original Harry Stark files, and it took me a while to revive my muse (You try finding a cure to six bullets to the head!). Intro is crap, please bear with me. Despite these facts I am now ready to present the first chapter of…
Harry Stark: Iron Mage
Origins
Issue # 0: For Want of A Nail
By Theta "Krypto" Nigma
This is the story of one Harry James Stark. It is a long story, filled with joy, sorrow, adventure, humor, romance, the occasional plot point that goes nowhere, and one or two senseless and pointless cameos.
However, before I can pull you into that exciting tale, I must set the stage. It must be understood that the events of this tale were never meant to occur. Harry Stark was never meant to be. There was only ever supposed to be Harry Potter, savior of Wizarding England-the most bigoted place on Earth™1, and slave to a prophecy that (like most prophecies) only made any sense because someone tried to prevent it.
That is the original path of Harry James Potter, to be destiny's little bitch. Not a future I would envy. Yet despite these facts not even destiny itself can foresee every possible future. Destiny could be altered by almost any set of circumstances, including a little bit of basic human kindness…
Now I, the Watcher2, shall tell you the tale of one the Harry James Stark, the Legendary Iron Mage!
…
Tony Stark was absolutely seething. After the Avengers Incident he had decided that his career as Iron Man had far overtaken his career as the head of Stark Industries and so he had begun a new project to compensate. Codenamed "The Nail" his intention was to create a highly modified version of his armor designed for the use of emergency services personnel. The Nail would be a fully manually controlled armor set absent of most weaponry; instead it would concentrate on protecting the user in the case of a variety of emergency situations, including extreme natural disasters. It would accomplish this not just from the strength of the suit but also with a large dome-like energy shield designed to spread and protect innocent civilians. It would also feature a wide variety of tools designed to remove obstructions, deal with attacks, or provide medical assistance. To accomplish this task he had begun inviting representatives of a variety of different manufacturing companies to throw ideas at. This leads us back to why Tony Stark was so god damn pissed off. He was seething because he had just been through a meeting with the representative of Grunnings-Vernon Dursley.
Not long after he had announced the beginning of The Nail project he had been contacted by a man named Vernon Dursley representing Grunnings, a company that produced drills. Drills! Drills?! He had built cybernetics, come up with energy sources that could last for hundreds of years, built his own personal A.I. and this company thought that he needed drills?! So amused was he by this ridiculous proposal that he set up a meeting (travel expenses included) with this Mr. Dursley and his family, and had immediately regretted it. Tony had been hoping for some friendly but ignorant lackey, instead he got what would have been the textbook definition of a conman and swindler if it weren't for the fact that he was completely incompetent at attempting to be both.
Mr. Dursley had begun by greeting Tony in that slimy fake-respective tone that clearly conveyed that he believed Tony to be nothing more than the playboy who would be paying for his next promotion. Throughout the rest of the meeting Dursley had attempted to convince Tony of how amazing a benefactor the Grunnings Company could be and the "insignificant" (read ludicrous) amount of cash they would need to assist. He had also referred to his assistant Pepper Potts as "the servant girl" and called his A.I. JARVIS "more bullshit technology". Obviously the Head of Grunnings wasn't the brightest of sparks and had decided that a man who lost his temper at the mere possibility of a hat being dropped was the best person to swindle "the Americans" out of their money. By that point Tony had decided enough was enough and had kindly told the man using his colorful vocabulary to "get the fuck out of my house" before booting him out the door.
Now Tony was a business man so he dealt with people like this on a regular basis. Thus having to deal with the temper tantrums of one Vernon Dursley would not be enough to put him into this foul mood. It would take something seriously twisted and evil to put Tony into a mood like this. Something like Child Abuse.
"What the hell are you doing!" screamed Tony as he raced up to the Dursleys car.
He had been trying to clear his head by taking a walk on the streets when he had noticed Dursley still parked on a nearby curb going into hysterics. Normally that would have been something to laugh at, if he hadn't also seen Dursley beating a child.
Vernon Dursley turned to Tony and without hesitation said, "Don't you Americans understand decency! Mind your own business!"
Tony immediately took a step towards Dursley, coming face to face with him. Dursley, being a cowardly man, quickly yielded.
"I was j-j-just teaching the freak his place!"
And with one swift punch Tony knocked Vernon Dursley to the ground. Just in time to see this happen was his assistant Pepper Potts.
"Tony, what just-," but she stopped when she saw the child lying on the ground in pain.
As carefully as he could Tony picked up the child before having Pepper call the police to have Vernon Dursley dragged away. He then got his driver Happy Hogan to take him, Pepper, and the Child to the ER as soon as possible.
…
Tony and Pepper sat in a waiting room, waiting to see how the boy was doing.
"Tony, he doesn't have a family now," said Pepper. "What will happen to him?"
"I honestly don't know," he said. "We're just going to have to wait and see."
A few hours later a Doctor stepped out with the young boy. Tony and Pepper walked over to hear the verdict.
"He has multiple bruises across his body and shows signs of malnutrition," he said with concern in his tone. "However he has apparently managed to put on some muscle mass, which is surprising considering his apparent age and …previous living conditions."
The child peeked out from behind the doctor, looking for all the world like some sort of frightened animal. Tony kneeled down to the kid's level.
"Hey kid, what's your name?" he asked.
"I don't know sir," the kid said, looking like he was about to go into a panic. "My Aunt and Uncle just called me boy or fr…"
"That's enough," Tony said, interrupting him. The boy winced at his quick words. "Let's try something easier. How old are you?"
"I don't know sir," the kid said as he began to cry. Tony was surprised. This kid must be pretty tough; he was only just now beginning to break down.
The doctor interrupted with a cough and Tony looked up.
"He'll need to stay somewhere for the night, but the hospital still doesn't have any spaces open due to the recent invasion so…"
"We'll take him!" Pepper shouted. Tony looked a bit apprehensive about this idea until she glared his way at which point he heartily agreed.
Suddenly the kid ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Thank you mister," the kid said excitedly. "I'll work really hard to earn my place."
Tony ruffled the kid's hair and said, "You won't need to worry about that in my place. Now you just wait here with the Doc while I have a quick talk with my assistant."
The kid nodded as Tony dragged Pepper into a nearby empty room.
"Tony, you need to do this," Pepper started saying as soon as the door was shut behind them. "That kid needs someone right now. You're a good person. You shut down the Stark Weapons Program, you had Obadiah Stane arrested, you recently saved the entire world…"
Tony raised his hand to silence her. "Believe me I know. I'm gonna take him in for two reasons. One: you're right, he needs someone. But also two: I'm really curious about that accidental energy surge he just gave off that shut down the arc reactor in my chest."
And with that Tony collapsed to the ground in front of a panicked Pepper Potts.
…
For want of a nail the shoe was lost,
for want of a shoe the horse was lost,
for want of a horse the knight was lost,
for want of a knight the battle was lost,
for want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
So it was that a kingdom was lost—all for want of a nail.
-Unknown
...
A/N: FINALLY! You do not know how much sh*t trying to write this has put me through. But now it's up and I plan to update weekly at the least. I'll try to update the Wizards Lantern, and there may be a completely unique crossover on the way (as far as I know no one has attempted that particular crossover before) but for now all other projects are on hiatus, although I do plan on finishing everything. And before anyone asks, yes what Pepper said does mean that Obadiah is alive. Why did I make this change? You'll see.
1 Also known as The Stupidest Place on Earth, The Backwards Zone, The Home of "Those morons who classify their trivial and insignificant powers as magic," and "I knew Disney Land wasn't in England!"
2 The Watchers: An ancient race committed to observing and compiling knowledge on all aspects of the universe.
