Okay, so that bunny? Isn't dead yet. I think it's developing into something, and I'm not quite certain I like this. Until further notice, I'm being drug out of fan fic writing retirement, so batten down the hatches. And before anyone inquires, no, I'm not picking up any of my old stories. Nothing there. No spark.

Iron Enterprise
Trey Miller, author

Look ma, no hands

"Hello Tony."

I barely stop myself from replying. Pepper Potts, most possibly the only woman whom I even wanted to marry. It just hit me that I would never see her as a living, breathing human ever again.

"Thor says that Odin and Heimdall claim you're alive, just tossed forward in time, so I know you'll get this message one day. Thor says to call for him in an open area when you're ready to talk to someone from now- well, from my now, not yours."

She sighs and looks away for a moment. She's blinking away tears; I am too, but that's another thing altogether.

"Rhodey's Warmachine is now known as the Iron Patriot. It's all political, he says. I think he wanted to do the red and gold as memory to you, but those are your colors, not his. SHIELD is up to its usual mess, and I'm helping them with a potential new threat in the form of Advanced Idea Mechanics, AIM for short. Nothing you can do, unfortunately."

This is killing me to watch. I swear, it's like those crash videos on youtube; I just can't tear my eyes off it.

"I made certain to load all of your spare arc reactors in with JARVIS and your suits, and I'm going to seal your workshop until you show up. JARVIS will continue to download all of SHIELD's databases to backup servers. Apparently the upgrades you and I are putting in will let him back up everything for the next century before he has to start weeding out excess data, so if nothing else, you should have a fairly accurate, if a bit sparse glimpse at what has happened in your absence. Thor is going to do…something, I'm not quite certain what, to protect everything until your arrival.

"I love you Tony. I wish you were here, or I with you, but this is the best I can do for you. Good luck with your new life."

The file ended and I sat there. JARVIS was at least smart enough not to ask questions. This was a shit hand life dealt me. I knew it, it knew it, hell, I bet everyone knew it.

"Shall I replay Ms. Potts' message, sir?" asked JARVIS.

"No, I think I know what I need to do now," I said.

"You are going to attempt to contact Thor?"

I stood and stretched. "No, not yet. I need to make sure I've got at least one good suit in prime condition."

"Well sir, the Mark VI is in full working condition. The Mark VII will require another 114 hours of repair before it is ready for combat."

That got me thinking. The Chitauri invasion featured spacefaring beasties. Apparently in this day and age, humanity is now spread amongst the stars with FTL drives, large scale vessels, and with living breathing aliens serving alongside humans aboard these vessels. Nothing in my current roster would be able to match this.

And yet, this is me we're talking about. I've already got the basic schematics worked out in my head for personalized suits based off of everything special I saw from the Avengers, even the boy scout, himself. Oh, and spaceflight capable.

Hmm, I might need to build something a slight bit larger scale to bring my personal combat strength up to what passes as modern levels. Yes, on one hand I'm highly impressed with non-tactile shields, phasers, photon torpedoes, and the like. On the other hand, have these people forgotten everything that SHIELD knew in my time?

Deep breath, Tony. You'll have plenty of opportunity to throw just how good you are in their collective faces later.

I stood and walked to the outfitting station. "Fire up the Mark VI, continue repairing the Mark VII, and have Dummy clear me a work place. After I meet with Thor, I've got some serious designs to work through before I do the meet-and-greet with the locals."

JARVIS began to assemble the Mark VI around me.

"As you wish, sir. Oh, sir, I thought you might like to know that your trip from New York here was, in fact, noticed. The on-planet police force is currently attempting to figure out what you are, where you came from, and where you went."

The faceplate came down and the HUD loaded. "Huh," I mused, "Wonder if they'll actually locate me before I start showing off."

"That is unlikely, sir. They believe you may be in the Mohave desert."

I lifted off the ground with my boosters. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to stay away from there for a while then. JARVIS, open the launch doors, I need to go speak to a god."

I rise about five meters above the ground and look around. It's clear for miles. I suppose smart money would be to go a distance away and then call Thor. I fly about fifty miles away, keeping low and slow to prevent unnecessary hassles from appearing. Finding a good wooded area, I land.

"JARVIS, did Pepper leave any notes on how to call Thor?"

"No sir, she did not. Sir, I'm detecting a high intensity burst of energy coming down very close to you."

I look up and see this rainbow-colored beam of light pierce the heavens and slam into the ground about ten feet away with a roar.

"Warning, sir, there is something approaching from within."

Oh, that's nice. I open up all weapons compartments and get ready for hell. The light suddenly disappears, receding into the clouds. I lower my hands, weapons disengaging.

"Thor?"

He's as tall as he was, but he's visibly older, and wearing more gold. Also, he's got a helmet. Huh, guess he got promoted? He smiles and nods. "Greetings, friend Stark. It's been a while."