Chapter One:
End of an Era
Prologue:
"The Avengers are a danger to society…"
"Meta-humans and super freaks should remain under tight surveillance!"
"Can we really trust someone who helped craft Ultron? What if this was all some devious plot?"
"Ms. Stark! Ms. Stark, can you tell us what your opinion is on the mutant initiative?"
"Avengers, is Toni Stark truly an Avenger or is she just your bank and a way to trick the public by giving the world a familiar face?!"
"Ha, ha, heroes? You mean zeroes don't you? It's their fault the world is up in arms right now"
"You should all go back to where you came from! We don't need heroes like you!"
Toni smiled, her mask set for the paparazzi and their accusations. She sat before their cameras like a criminal on trial, head held high and eyes defiant. They wanted her blood or the blood of the Avengers as a whole for what had taken place following the events of Ultron and for once, she didn't blame; she couldn't, because she already blamed herself.
The other avengers sat nearby, their expressions grim. They kept glancing at her, sending her looks that clearly read 'Traitor', 'Coward', 'Greedy', and 'Selfish'. She knew they were thinking it, though none of them had ever directly said it to her face. They blamed her for the deaths Ultron committed and now they blamed her for the whiplash that followed.
"I understand you are concerned about the current destruction rates that have gone up due to the Ultron attack," she told reporters, trying to keep her voice steady, "but I assure you, The Avengers, Shield, and Stark Industries are in the process of getting things rebuilt and helping to support all families who lost everything in this crisis."
"And what about the families who lost a loved one?!" Someone shouted from the crowd, "What can you do to bring that loved one back to them?!"
Toni felt her smile slip, but quickly straightened and eyed the individual who had spoken.
There is nothing I or anyone else can do but give our condolences and offer our assistance to rebuild during this time of need. Stark Industries is…"
"That does a lot of good," someone scoffed.
Toni felt her heart skip a beat. She was losing them, they were no longer sympathizing or agreeing with her. If this kept up, the Avengers would become enemy number one in the public eye. She needed to do something, but what could she say?
"Look, I understand that this is a difficult time for so many, but…"
"I don't think you understand anything!" A new voice shouted, "What have you lost during this crisis that could even compare to the loss of lives we now suffer?"
Toni was silent. She glanced at her comrades who wouldn't so much as meet her gaze. Perhaps no one related to her had died, but as she studied the defensive body language of her team, she knew she had lost something just as important. Their friendship… their trust. What made it worse was that she had only been trying to help.
"I think we are done here today," Toni heard herself saying before she even thought about how the media might take it. As they continued to shout at her while she made her way down the aisle, she kept her eyes forward and her body moving. This day was far from over.
As she and the other Avengers stepped quietly out of the hall of congress where politicians and paparazzi continued to swarm like an angry hive, a firm hand upon her shoulder had her stopping the fast pace she had unintentionally set.
Steve Rogers stood there, his deep icy blue eyes staring into her own milk chocolate brown. She could see a mix of emotions flickering in his gaze, before finally settling on disappointment. It had to be the worst emotion of all, she thought to herself.
"I'm sorry Toni, but I think… when we get back to Avenger tower, we should all see about going our own way."
Toni could feel her heart crumble when the others behind him began to nod in agreement.
"I'm going to take time with my wife," Clint spoke up. "The kids rarely see me and now that we aren't being hunted by military, well… I feel its time."
"I have a friend who could use me elsewhere," Natasha grunted from behind him, "and with Shield near collapse, I need to find a new line of work."
"Sorry Woman of Iron, but I too have duties on Asgard to attend," Thor chipped in, a pitying look on his face that made Toni sick to her stomach.
Bruce stepped forward and softly pulled her into a gentle embrace. She tucked her chin against his neck, but even this show of affection couldn't soften the blow that came with his words.
"I got a call from Betty earlier this week. I… I was offered a chance to regain some credibility as a scientist, Toni. I have another chance at a life with Betty without fear of being hunted by her father."
Toni pulled back, her mask firmly set in place as she stared up at the man she considered one of her best friends.
"Then you should take it," she nodded, smiling. "I will support you in any way I can Bruce, you know that."
He nodded, but his smile was weak and his eyes watery. "Good luck Toni."
He turned and made his way outside with the others. Toni turned to Steve, her posture stiff as he looked anywhere but at her. Just as she began to speak, he leaned down and kissed her.
She closed her eyes, just starting to lean into the blatant show of affection when he pulled back suddenly.
"I'm sorry Toni, I shouldn't have done that."
Toni felt what was left of her hope shatter and she tried unsuccessfully to pull herself back together.
Steve continued to speak as though he had no idea the damage he'd just done. "Bucky is still out there somewhere and my plan is to find him. I just… I can't deal with all of this right now." The 'I can't deal with you' went unsaid, but she heard it anyways.
And then he was gone, his back vanishing out the door, and Toni was left all alone.
2 year later…
Antoinette Edwina Stark was silent during the ride to Stark Industries. Anyone who knew the rambunctious billionaire would have been concerned, but there inlay the problem; there was no longer anyone around who really knew her.
She supposed she should have seen it coming. Everyone moves on at some point in their life and the Avengers were no different, but she had always hoped, always dreamed, that they might be. That maybe just once, someone might choose her first over all else. That they would perhaps consider her and themselves a small family. A family where no matter the issues they might face, trials they might combat, that they would stay by her side. It was a dream and like all dreams, she was forced to wake up and face reality.
"Ms. Stark, we will be arriving within the next five minutes," a voice called from the front seat.
Toni looked at her new driver, Sam Goodman, an older African American man with kind eyes and a warm smile. She had liked him immediately, but he wasn't Happy Hogan. Don't be mistaken, she was glad Pepper and Harold found a life together and she wished them the best, even going so for as to pay for their wedding and honeymoon expenses herself, no matter the cost, because they were worth it. In her eyes, they were always going to be worth it, because despite the ache she now felt, they had stayed by her side all those years because they had wanted to. And now they wanted to move on, to settle and have a family, and Toni would never be able to forgive herself if she had held them back. So she let them go.
Perhaps that is her greatest fault, she contemplated internally. She seemed to rely to heavily on the idea that they would ultimately choose her, but why should they?
Pulling herself from such morose thoughts, the limo pulled up in front of Stark Industries.
"Ms. Stark!" A cheerful, sharp dressed man shouted as he hurried towards her from the front doors. "It's a pleasure to meet, ma'am. If you would follow me, I will lead you to where the conference room is located."
Toni wanted to scoff and remind this guy she was the one who had built this company from the ground up, therefore she did not need a guide, but she kept her mouth shut and just smiled and gave the man a curt nod. The guy was just doing his job after all.
The two of them chatted about everything and nothing the entire time they walked until finally, they reached the meeting room.
As the newly reinstated CEO and owner of Stark Industries, her presence was now a 'must have' for basically every meeting that had to do with board executive decisions. While she felt it was mundane to be there for every single meeting, she understood the implications concerning the dog-eat-dog business world should she let up in her position even a little. Yeah, she is just that paranoid. Blame Obi.
I mean come on, she spends her days fighting aliens, robots, and other various freaks that pop up out of the wood work. Was her possibly considering someone on the board betraying her, a sign of paranoia? She didn't think so, but she knew some people might have a different opinion on that; Pepper Potts being the first to come to mind.
Realizing that everyone was looking at her to say something, Toni blinked out of her thoughts and gave a very shark-like smile. She had been spacing out a lot more lately, no doubt it was due to the incessant nightmares that seemed to plague her most night, but she wasn't about to let these piranhas in on that fact; One itty bitty sign of weakness and it would be like blood in the water.
"Sorry about that gentlemen, you were saying?" She asked as she took her seat at the head of the table, confidently hiked her heels up, and boldly gave out the appearance of being completely at ease.
"Uh…yes, Ms. Stark, we were reviewing current production rates and staff pay rates and have come to realize that in the past year, we have been paying out almost as much as we have been bringing in. Stark Industries is one of the leading technologies around the globe, but it has been several months since we have produced anything new and people have begun to look elsewhere for their quality purchases."
Toni stared at the nervous man. He was dressed in a purple suit and a black bowtie with a white dress shirt. He had a handlebar mustache and a large round face. Kind of reminded her of a walrus in some ways.
"So, what you're saying is that we need something new or we need to start firing people?" she asked bluntly.
The walrus (What? It's not like they will ever know she calls them that) nodded grimly. "That's correct, Ms. Stark."
Toni hummed and flipped open the file set before her. She skimmed the data before shutting it again and closing her eyes, thinking. It wasn't uncommon for her to do this and the board knew to just wait and let her be as it usually ended with a new production idea or an upgrade for a former product.
Toni finally opened her eyes.
"I have been considering selling Avenger brand stuff for some time. Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Spiderman, Ant man, Black Panther, Winter Solider, and Hawkeye… perhaps even some villain propaganda. I was even approached about producing an Avengers animated series starring the original six several years ago. Of course, with the recent negative reviews concerning superheroes, I feel uncertain that this is the best call. What do you estimate would be our cost if we attempted this with minimal success?"
The seven quickly began calculating.
"It would be tricky," stated the only woman on S.I.'s board. She was a sharp faced woman with a large nose and bushy brown hair and thick eyebrows. The image of a porcupine came to play in Toni's mind making her snort. Despite her looks, Regina McCoy was an outspoken, passionate sales manager and Toni trusted her to always have Stark Industries best interest at heart.
"It would definitely boost our rates. However, to produce such a product would require money we don't currently have. I'm afraid we may need to consider a mass, companywide layoff."
Toni frowned. She hated the idea of doing that to anyone who worked for her, but she knew it might be a necessary sacrifice; one she didn't want or plan to make unless push came to shove.
"I could perhaps give a donation…" she commented and several eyes suddenly began to gleam. 'Vultures', she thought with a huff.
"With all due respect ma'am," Regina argued, "donation or not, if this product does not hit the market with a 'boom' like your hoping, we will have no choice but to consider other options; this option specifically."
Toni sighed and rubbed her forehead, already feeling the beginning of a headache. Gosh, she needed a break… and maybe a drink. Yeah, a drink sounded nice.
"Alright…" she breathed, "get me a list of all those you are considering from each of your departments for layoff. I will review it and the current data over the next few days. In the meantime, let me know the size of the donation necessary to get started mass producing the Avenger brand, effective immediately."
Standing up, Toni headed towards the door before stopping and turning back to the group watching her.
"Oh, and contact Universal Studios and whoever else and see what we can do about getting not only an animated series started, but perhaps see about making a live action movie as well. If this can make us money and bring up social opinion toward the Avengers, I want to make it happen."
AVNGRS
In desperate need of 'me' time, Toni walked through the front doors of what had once been Avenger Tower and what had now been re-re-labeled, Stark Tower.
'Home sweet home', she thought grimly. Ghosts of memories past when the Avengers lived alongside her continued to haunt her daily, but as she walked through the abandoned floors, she felt her resolve harden. Those times had come and gone; She refused to dwell any longer.
Stepping into the elevator, Toni closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to sort through her whirling thoughts and emotions.
"Friday," she called upon stepping into her own personal suite, "order a pizza with lots of onions, meats, peppers, and cheese. Also get coffee. Lots and lots of Coffee. I don't plan to come out of my lab for a while and…" she froze when a sound clattered from her kitchen.
Her private kitchen.
Eyes narrowed, she slipped off her heels and slowly moved in closer, her body laid flat against the wall as she drew a small dagger from beneath her shirt. After years of living with super spies, she had quickly learned how to protect herself if the need ever arose. While she would never have consider herself a physical fighter, she could hold her own now if she needed to, at least until help arrived. Not to mention the defenses set up throughout the tower that would instantly become activated, should she ever be so assaulted.
With this thought in mind bolstering her nerve, she stopped towards the entrance of the kitchen and counted down.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1…" she jumped out from the shadows.
"Freeze, asshole or…!" She had started to say, only to stop mid-sentence; eyes wide. "Loki…"
Loki stood before her, his eyebrow raised at her sudden dramatic entrance, but his silence gave her the first clue that not all was as it seemed. Studying him from where she stood a fairly considerate distance back, he looked tired and pale, much paler than usual. His eyes seemed to be blinking rapidly as though fighting to stay awake or maybe even conscious. His clothes were caked with dirt, its material torn in various places allowing her a good view of the injuries that lay beneath. All in all, the guy looked like hell.
"I hope you won't shoot me, should I drop my hands," he replied in that usual suave tone of his, acting very much like he wasn't about to collapse where he stood.
She kept her knife at the ready but did nothing as he dropped his hands.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, still hesitant to lower her guard despite his condition.
Something in his gaze seemed to flicker. "Sanctuary," he whispered, before his eyes suddenly rolled up in his head and he collapsed to the ground.
She could only stare. "What. The. Hell."