Dance With the Devil
Summary: Toni Stark had never been oblivious to how the world viewed her and her weapons-making. She was the Merchant of Death, a demoness, the devil himself, or herself. But what happens when she meets the ACTUAL devil? How does it change her life? The fate of the world? Read to find out!
When she didn't feel any blow land and instead was greeted only by the sound of a massive collision, Toni dared to open her eyes and take in the fact that yes, she was alive and unharmed. The blast had never gotten anywhere near her and the other Avengers behind her, having been stopped by a wall of energy that was holding it back as though it were a fly and not the most powerful attack in the universe. There was a sphere shaped shield all around them, protecting them from all sides, easily letting the blast slide off of it and pass them by as they struggled to figure out just what the hell was going on.
Only Toni knew, sort of, as soon as she took in just who was standing in front of her defensively. Clad in the same blue robes and red cloak she had last seen him in was Doctor Stephen Strange himself. She had last seen or heard from him two months ago, when she had snapped at him and all but chased him away. He was standing tall, one hand held up in front of him to ward off the attack with the same scary ease she had seen him do other feats of magic but, for the first time, it didn't make her feel uncomfortable. Had he ever? Or was her revulsion to magic a result of the last six years? Loki and Maximoff had made her weary of Stephen for weeks, especially since she knew he could, if he wanted, read or control minds.
But none of that mattered right now. All that mattered was that he was here and Toni could breathe a sigh of relief again. "You came."
Stephen looked over his shoulder at her, completely ignoring the flabbergasted Avengers behind her, and winks at her. "Of course, darling. Why wouldn't I? The fight?" He chuckled that chuckle she had come to both love and hate for what it did to her. "You can't chase me away that easily, Toni."
"Stark, who the hell is that!?" Hawkeye was the only one who had the presence of mind to ask incredulously as Strange turned back around to face Thanos as the attack faded out. The purple giant was staring at Strange with as much disbelief as everyone else, surprised such a small, weak seeming creature had stopped his attack as effortlessly as he breathed.
"Who are you, human?" The alien questioned, watching warily as Strange put down the shield, magic glowing around his hands, orange mandalas forming spells Toni was by now somewhat familiar with. "How did you stop my attack? Why are you even here?"
Toni couldn't see Stephen's face from where she was, but she knew he must have leveled Thanos with one of the three default expressions his face took when dealing with people like him: his glare, his annoyed expression or his resting bitch face that indicated he thought he was dealing with someone inferior to him. She couldn't tell which one but it sure as hell annoyed Thanos enough to fling another blast from the Infinity Gauntlet at him, which Stephen brushed away and sent through a quickly opened portal into a different dimension where it won't cause harm.
"Who are you?!" Demanded the Mad Titan, but Stephen only regarded him calmly as he took up a casual fighting stance.
"You are trespassing in this city and on this planet. Leave now or I will personally remove you." The ice in his words might as well be real as it chilled the air around them and only Toni wasn't freaked out.
"You dare challenge me, insect?" Not having yet learned the futility in attacking the man, Thanos gathered as much energy as he could with the Power Stone and sent the wave of immense, pure energy straight at Stephen, expecting it to land as much as everyone else was, and as such was surprised when the energy disappeared completely. Absorbed into seemingly nothingness, but Toni knew differently. She knew Stephen's story. She knew what he could do, or at least some of it.
Thanos didn't have that privilege. "Who are you? What are you?!" The Titan even sounded panicked.
Toni sat back and watched as Stephen dealt with her worst nightmare, still not believing he was here, that he was even a part of her life. She didn't know what she did to deserve him but she was grateful for him always being there for her, even when she hit rock bottom, even in her darkest days.
00000
Toni didn't see Strange again, not even once, until she realized the Arc Reactor was slowly poisoning her with palladium. He arrived at the after party of her Iron Maiden entrance when she was announcing and promoting the upcoming Stark Expo, instantly the center of attention among the ladies in his elegant, almost Victorian in style suit and waistcoat, hair carefully styled but not hiding any of his gray streaks, completely confident and proud of his looks. Toni, now used to wearing business suits unless it was a ballroom event, was in the same suit that she had worn on stage, grateful for the protection it provided her from prying eyes while still making her look good. As always, most of the male population's eyes were trained on her but she, for the first time in her life, found herself joining the female half in staring at one guy.
Only she had a different reason than them, a more legitimate one. She had become close to paranoid following Afghanistan and Stane and the Ten Rings. Something about Strange was different and made her instincts, awakened to their near maximum capacity by the events of the past couple of years, scream and she knew herself to be more than curious enough to know she'd stop at nothing to sate that curiosity. Only neither she nor JARVIS could find anything about Stephen Strange than what the public knows. That would usually put people to rest, but it only made Toni more cautious of him. She had a perfect memory, even when drunk and she had only had one shot of whiskey at that party, nearly two years ago. She remembered their conversation, the things he had said, how and in which tone. He was not a normal person, of that she was sure.
Not to mention that she was 99.9% sure that he was her secret butterfly admirer.
Those butterflies were still alive today, flying around her Malibu house and fluttering around her if she let them into the workshop. They could be a bit annoying if she was trying to work, constantly getting in the way of her tools or her line of sight, flying through holograms or refusing to move from the rare piece of paper that she used or a part of her current project. It took her a few weeks to figure out the pattern and she began wondering if she was crazy. Because, if she wasn't, that meant that the flying, pretty insects were trying to interfere with her work when she spent too much time down in her lab. They usually just let her work for three days before they came to annoy her, almost like clock work. She wasn't sure if that was cool, cute or downright freaky because she had never thought butterflies could act like that. And let's not forget that she can't even identify their species or that they're still even alive! They never flew off, which forced her to plant some flowers around her house so they'd have the nectar to feed on. Strangely enough, seeing them fluttering about her little garden never failed to make her day and she secretly loved them, even if she always complained about the pair to anyone who would listen. They were the only pets she ever had and she enjoyed how affectionate they could be with her if she invited them to land on her.
They had been as restless as her bots and JARVIS, ever since they learned that she was slowly being killed by the very thing that was keeping her alive. She'd researched all options, tried every element and alloy known to man, but she couldn't find what she needed to keep herself alive. The Arc Reactor can't function with any other element but palladium. She had taken to drinking awful smoothies filled with chloride that would be dangerous for anyone else but slowed down the heavy metal poisoning in her own system. At the party, she had measured the amount of palladium in her blood and studied the web of dark, gray veins around the thing keeping her heart going and she knew she didn't have much time left. She still hadn't given up on a cure and she was definitely still searching, but she wasn't getting her hopes up. She had little time and fewer options left. She was already starting her backup protocols, even though JARVIS hated them. But she had to secure her company, her work, her suit, her legacy.
She'll never allow someone to turn SI into a weapons manufacturing company ever again. She won't let them tarnish Yinsen's memory.
When she had rejoined the party, Just Hammer was on her like a horny rhino and Toni felt as disgusted as ever. Hammer just had this way of making her feel ... objectified, like she wasn't a living, breathing woman with her own thoughts, feelings and desires. Like she was just meant to hang off of his arm like a decoration, like eye candy. It made her sick and it made her scowl. She did her best not to show it, but with every word, every flirtation, ever babe! that left his mouth, it was getting harder and harder. Hammer was everything she hated in the weapons industry business and it had often scared her that she'd become like that: arrogant, sleazy, two-faced, thinking only of profit and not the lives that those weapons were meant to save (or the lives that they were meant to take, Toni's inner Yinsen reminded her and she shuddered at the thought of how careless she had been). She had always preferred everything else, had always worked on everything else other than weapons, but she had never presented it before the board until Obadiah was buried six feet under.
Even her designs from the 1990s could outdo most of the stuff that was on the market now, namely her StarkPhones and StarkPads. Those things were things of beauty and her R&D team were drolling over the newer ones that they got to use until she releases them into the market in a year or five. And that's not even mentioning the other projects she'd been keeping stashed away all these years. SI would get the projects from JARVIS when she ... Well.
But right now she only wanted to get away from Justin and finally someone answered her plight. She should have expected it to be none other than Strange himself, approaching her with the same confident air he had that night, nearly two whole years ago, completely disregarding Hammer when the man asked him what he wanted, focused solely on her. "Dr Stark, a pleasure to see you again. You look as lovely as always." He took her hand and kissed her knuckle in the same gentlemanly manner he had asked her for a dance.
Oh, he was a smooth talker alright. And not as perceptive as she'd thought him to be if he didn't notice just how much foundation she wore under her standard makeup. "I'm afraid I can't really say the same, Doctor Strange. What brings you to my party?"
"I was under the impression that Stark Expo was open for all, especially fellow scientists." He arched an eyebrow as he politely released her hand. "And I can safely say that I am the best in my field."
"I have no doubt. Your ego would have never allowed otherwise." Anyone else would have taken offense to that scathing remark, which was her goal and modus operandi these days, but Strange only chuckled, as though he enjoyed being insulted. Then again, she had seen how people fawn over him. It was almost as bad as the treatment she got and she was the world's first superhero. What was his excuse? Maybe he just enjoyed having someone banter with him, just like she herself did? There was a good reason she taught JARVIS sass.
"True enough." He conceded and was about to say something else when Hammer cleared his throat loudly. Uh, rude. The sleazy business man extended a hand for Strange to shake, who ignored it and was instead looking at him as though he were a bug not worth the effort of squashing. Hammer, if he noticed, pretended not to and just smiled his fake smile at the taller man.
"Hi. I'm Justin, a friend of Antonia's. Nice to meet you, buddy." Said woman resisted the urge to hurl when Hammer dared wrap an arm around her waist, a little too low, if you asked her, normal for Hammer's shameless, tactless behavior. Instead, she glared at him with all her might, which might have been enough to melt steel but not enough for Justin to get the clear message. Strange, on the other hand, just arched an eyebrow at the annoyance.
"Doctor Stephen Strange. And don't call me buddy." He fairly spat out the word and Toni wanted to laugh at the offended grimace he made. Just just faked a laugh that made him sound like the weasel that he is and waved Strange off. He obviously didn't recognize the neurosurgeon's name and was very likely to piss him off spectacularly. Those poor, poor weasels, being used as a comparison for this waste of space.
"So, you've known Antonia for a while now? I wouldn't be surprised! She's such a social butterfly, aren't you, babe?" Stark swears she and Strange both made an identical, perfectly in sync face of disgust at the word, as though it was practiced, but Hammer just continued on as though the two geniuses weren't mocking him with expressions alone. He should stop while he was ahead. Toni's tongue was a very sharp blade, the sharpest there is, and her restraint was slipping each day as the palladium and the stress of it wore her out. If she sank into him now, there'd be no mercy. "Ah, it makes me remember the good old days. We were always at all the same parties, all the same conventions and events and she'd pretend to be shy and avoid me as though we weren't old friends. Could be because we used to be competitors but now I dominate the weapons industry-"
As if. If Toni ever decided to go back, they'd welcome her like she was Jesus Christ's second coming.
"Or maybe she was avoiding you because you were acting like a stalker." She choked on her own almost escaped laughter as Strange's deadpan interrupted Hammer's unwanted monologue, leaving the businessman stammering. "Now, if you would excuse us." Without further ado, he plucked Hammer's arm off of her waist as though he were removing a stinky dipper away from his nose and replaced it with his own arm, in a much more polite distance from her bottom, and led her away without so much as a backwards glance at the annoyance they were leaving behind. As soon as they were out of sight, hidden by the chattering crowd, Toni sighed in relief and looked up at her savior.
"Thanks. I owe you one." And she meant it. God, but she hated dealing with Hammer. Worst of all was that she couldn't shake him or get rid of him. She could castrate him verbally until she was blue in the face and he'd still laugh it off in that fake, annoying way of his, wrap his arm around her and continue to all but objectify her until she was ready to scream. Anyone who saved her from that hell deserved a genuine thanks.
Strange snorted. "No you don't and you don't want to, either. Trust me. Besides, no one deserves to be subjected to that idiot. I swear I'd rather spend eternity in the Dark Dimension than talk to him again."
"Don't you mean 'go to hell'?" She asked, puzzled by his word choice. Sure, she knew different countries and cultures had different phrasings and names for the place of eternal torment, but she'd never heard of this 'Dark Dimension' before.
The doctor surprised her by the amused smirk he sported, like he knew something she didn't. "Trust me, Hell has nothing on the Dark Dimension. Besides, associating myself with Hell will only make for a cultural and pop-culture irony I'd rather not deal with. I'm not really from Hell, even if I do rule it partially."
She thought about the card that she got with her flowers and couldn't help but roll her eyes as she connected the dots. Un-fucking-believable. Why can't she meet one normal person. "And who are you supposed to be, the devil or something? Nice." She made sure there were boatloads of sarcasm packed into each and every one of her words to get her point across.
Toni wasn't a religious person, despite her mother's best efforts. Maria Collins Carbonell Stark had done her best to teach her daughter the way of God, being a good Christian, respecting the saints, all that. She never managed to get little Antonia to ever even cross herself, let alone read the Bible or say a prayer. Toni just couldn't believe in something she couldn't confirm with science, much to her mother's exasperation, but at least Howard approved of that much. He would roll his eyes as hard as Toni would when Maria insisted on a prayer before the rare Christmas or Thanksgiving dinners they'd have together and her parents often used to get into fights when they were both drunk about how Maria shouldn't leave her few religious books all over the house because they were bullshit. Toni both agreed with him and disagreed - agreed about it mostly being bullshit but disagreed on him trying to forbid Maria from reading whatever she wanted.
It still didn't change her stance on religion. So she really didn't want to be around a guy making religious references or jokes. She'd had more than enough of religion for one life.
Strange just gave her the same mysterious smile he had last time and bent down to kiss her hand again and slowly stepped away from her. "Well, darling, you're not wrong."
00000
"My name is Doctor Strange." Blue energy of a powerful attack started crackling around Stephen's hands as the man advanced on the freaked out Titan. Toni would have smirked at his fear had she had any energy to spare on it. "Sorcerer Supreme!"
