A very Happy Birthday to Gabrielle-Lucy-Di'Angelo! Also, I hope all of you enjoy this next chapter. As I said before, there's a large information dump in the middle of this, though it's only one scene. There won't be anything else after that.


Chapter 2


The next morning after Gulmira, Tony was lounging outside his Malibu house when he got the call from Rhodey. He didn't even glance at the caller ID before answering his phone, popping a handful of M&Ms in his mouth as he greeted his friend.

"Hey, sweet cheeks," he said. "How's it going?"

He sadly couldn't see Rhodey's face because his friend had a cheap run-of-the-mill phone that only showed pictures, but he could hear Rhodey's amusement, covered with his trademark exasperation at Tony Stark's antics. "Don't call me that, cinnamon buns."

"Would 'platypus' be the preferred nickname then?"

"Nothing at all, Tony." Rhodey sighed heavily, the sound very clear over Tony's highly advanced phone. "The line secure?"

"What do you take me for?" Tony said, insulted. "Of course it's secure!"

"Well, you can't be too sure." Rhodey paused for a moment. "Did you hear about what happened in Gulmira?"

"Some guy in a suit, wasn't it?" Tony asked lazily, popping a blue M&M in his mouth. "Killed the terrorists?"

"That 'guy in a suit' disappeared off our radars when we were chasing him," Rhodey said. "One second he was there, the next he wasn't. It's not any tech we've seen before, and that includes the suit itself. It might've been a robot for all we know; it never spoke with us."

"And you're telling me this why? I'm not working for the military anymore, Rhodey. No more weapons, remember?"

"I know, okay? I still think you should reconsider, but I respect that you've made your decision. They're still geeking out over the new communications systems you released to us about a month ago. But you're the best tech guy I know, and I thought you might have an idea of what we're up against."

"I'm flattered, Rhodey." Tony tipped his head back, letting the sun warm his cheeks. "But, honestly, I'm kind of on this guy's side."

Rhodey was silent for a moment. "What?"

"The only people he hurt were the bad guys, right? I don't think he's a problem."

"It might be a robot," Rhodey said flatly. "It might be a guy in a suit. We're not sure. And that's not the point, Tony. Whatever that suit is, it's boasting weaponry and tech like we've never seen before. I thought you might be concerned about that considering your new peacekeeping agenda, but I guess I was wrong."

Tony winced, fingers tightening around his phone. "Don't be like that, Rhodey," he pleaded. "I thought you'd be glad. Or was all I was good for making weapons?"

"Look…" There was another heavy sigh from his friend. "I didn't mean it like that, Tony. I just think you made a hasty decision without thinking it through. You'd just come back from being held captive by terrorists. Even trained military guys have trouble after that. I'm just saying I wouldn't blame you if you needed some time to recover. I don't want you to make any decisions you'll regret."

"The only thing I regret, Rhodey, is letting it get to the point where I was kidnapped by terrorists. That shouldn't have happened."

"We were in a hot zone, Tony. What did you expect? You were warned prior to entering the area."

"Those people attacked us using my weapons. That's what I'm upset about. They managed to get the drop on us because they had my tech. That shouldn't have happened."

Rhodey was silent. Then: "And that's why you cancelled weapons development?"

That, and he was tired of being nothing but a destructive weapon (literally in his case). "Yes."

"I still think you're crazy, but that's nothing new. Just tell me this… Did you build the suit?"

Tony exhaled slowly, remembering the horror that had flashed through him (when he'd been all too human) upon seeing a Stark-made missile about to explode in his face. That horror had been nothing compared to the sheer terror he had suffered whenever he had been dunked face first into disgusting water and unable to breathe and with the car battery electrocuting him once it got wet.

"Someone in my company's dealing my weapons to the other side," he said flatly. "That's never what I wanted. I don't want my legacy to be a body count. Either way, I have that on my conscience, Rhodey, because my weapons have already killed millions on both sides.

"If someone – anyone – can help ameliorate what I did in my ignorance, I give them my full support. Even if that means killing every single one of those damned hell-spawns."

There was a considering silence from the other end. "That wasn't a no."

"It wasn't a yes."

"I gotcha, Tony." Rhodey's tone was reassuring. "Look…if you need something…anything…let me know."

Tony smiled broadly. "Shouldn't I be telling you that? You're the one who spent three months scouring for me in the desert."

"Yeah, 'cause you're my friend, idiot. Just call me, all right? I worry."

"Sure thing, sweet cheeks."

"Now you're just asking for it, honey buns." Having gotten the last word, Rhodey hung up with a distinct satisfied air that Tony could feel all the way in Malibu, California.

"Rude," Tony scoffed, dropping the phone on the table beside him with a clatter. He reached for the M&Ms, which were still nicely solid thanks to a small touch of Grace.

"If you say so, sir," JARVIS said amiably.


A week later found Tony in his workshop after Dummy had taken him up on his offer to build him a human body. Instead of just snapping one up on the spot, he was taking his time designing one with his holograms so that Dummy could have some input into the design process.

Before this single point in time, Tony had been busy fielding questions as to the nature of the technological suit that had shown up in Gulmira and hadn't been seen since (apparently Rhodey wasn't the only one who'd come to the conclusion that Tony Stark could build something like that). He'd also come out with a new tracker that could be used on soldiers that went into the field. It had other uses other than military applications, of course, but it was necessary for him to complete the remainder of the military contracts he couldn't just blow off, so it went first to the military before any other industries (like the pet industry).

The injunction Pepper had talked about failed to go through after Tony put in several appearances at board meetings and proved how he wasn't affected by PTSD in any shape or form. Obadiah had also told Tony that there had been little to no progress done on rooting out the traitor in SI, but Tony could tell that the man was up to something, though he didn't bother digging to find out what.

He did need some surprises in his life.

But back to the present…

"Hey, J," Tony said, spinning a holograph of the silhouette of a person around. "How old do you think? Six? Seven?"

Tony was leaning for six judging from the age of Dummy's soul and the thoughts he could feel from the bot.

"Perhaps six, sir?" JARVIS suggested.

"My thoughts exactly." Tony shrunk the figure down until it was approximately the size of a six-year-old boy. "So, Dummy… Hair color?" A color palette appeared in the air besides the other hologram.

Dummy twirled his claw around thoughtfully before pointing to a very dark brown that was the exact shade of Tony's hair.

Flicking his finger against the color, Tony changed the hair of the silhouette holograph to the same hue. "Eye color?"

This time the color chosen was a soft brown. Skin color was chosen as white.

As Tony waited patiently for Dummy to finish picking his stylistic choices for his humanoid body, JARVIS spoke quietly, "If you wouldn't mind, sir…I have a few questions."

"About this?" Tony asked idly, shaping the nose according to Dummy's motions. "I can make one for you, you know."

"Although appreciated, sir, that is not necessary."

"Suit yourself." Tony was going to ask him one of these days just why he kept turning down a super cool offer like that. "What then?"

"It concerns angels, sir."

"I'm an open book, J." Tony looked down at Dummy as the bot insisted on shaping the cheekbones identically to Tony's. "Hey, Dummy, as much as I'm flattered, I don't think I'd feel comfortable having a mini-me running around the place; not to mention how it'd freak out the folks when you grow up. Here – why don't we do this?" He shortened the nose a little, making it just a bit pudgier. Then he narrowed the skeletal structure of the face overall so it wasn't as square-like as his own. "What do you think?"

Dummy craned his camera as he inspected the changes. From behind him, You and Butterfingers offered their own opinions.

"I am confused at the discrepancies between what I can find in the Bible and what little you have told me," JARVIS said.

"Well," Tony said, leaning back in his chair as his bots engaged in a hushed and furtive conversation, "like I said before, J, the Bible's changed a lot from when I first dictated it to the original scribe. He didn't manage to get everything I said because he was a really bad listener – I'm not sure why Dad picked him anyway – and then all subsequent translations further mucked up the language. Humans have added their own little spins on the stories and lessons in there, most of which Dad doesn't agree with."

JARVIS hesitated before he said, "Sex, sir?"

"When to do it? Or if it's even a sin?" Tony didn't wait for a response. "He doesn't give a shit. If it's love, it's love. Dad's got a lot of faults, but one thing's He's always been clear about is that if it's love, it doesn't really matter what form it comes in. Sex is a way of connecting to others; we've got our own form of it, though it's not like many of us do it."

"From what I have read, the children of angels are considered abominations."

"The nephilim, you mean?" Tony was silent for a moment, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees. He watched Dummy and his brothers bounce around as they batted insults back and forth, though most were so juvenile he couldn't be bothered to interfere. "Here's the thing, JARVIS," he said quietly. "Angels…we're warriors of God. And most of us…we're not all that nice. The Hallmark version of cute wings and halos and white robes is so far off the mark it's not even funny. Though it might be if I give one to Raphael." He blinked, shaking the thought off. "The angels who copulated with humans and bore children," he continued softly, "were also the ones who fell. Azazel, Azael, Behemoth, Beelzebub… Many of the names you see as the fallen ones were those who raped the women and forced them to bear birth to monstrosities. It's for this reason that nephilim are forbidden, and angels assumed all subsequent human-angel relations were also forbidden."

Tony sat back in his chair, rolling his shoulders as he stretched his wings. "But well…it's not like that hasn't stopped angels from tearing out their Grace to be with a mortal they fall in love with. And the law forbidding nephilim was laid down by Dad when He discovered what His sons and daughters had done. He never explicitly said angel-human relations were forbidden if they were in love."

He shook his head, a wry smile twisting his lips. "If my little brother ever gets his head out of his ass, he'll have a good shot with that hunter of his."

Dummy came up at that point, arm bobbing up and down in eagerness as he approved the changes Tony had applied to his facial features quite some time ago. In the background, You and Butterfingers sulked, having been defeated in an epic arm wrestling match.

"So you're good with this then." Tony swiped a hand down to solidify the body. "Any changes here?" It was the generic body frame for a six-year-old, albeit with extra muscle packed on because Dummy was already used to more strength.

After a minute, Dummy confirmed everything looked fine.

"JARVIS? Got anything to add?"

"I find that I have nothing of import to say, sir. Dummy has marvelously good taste."

Smirking, Tony got to his feet. He reached out, collapsed the hologram into a small ball between his two hands and rubbed it. Then, lobbing it like a basketball, he threw it into the middle of his workshop, snapping his fingers as he did.

With not even a pop, the hologram flickered into a real-life body exactly made to Dummy's specifications. It lay there on the ground, eyes closed and completely still. All its organs were intact and in perfect working order, but Tony had yet to start life functions.

Dummy spun over to it, wheeling around it as he inspected it carefully. Coming to a stop by the body's head, he froze there for a moment, arm bent down to hover directly above the body's nose. Following a solid thirty seconds of just standing there, he burst into frantic excitement and began spinning in circles, his glee so loud Tony could hear his soul singing.

"Success." Tony grinned, walking over to stand by his oldest bot. "So what do you think? Want to try it out? You can still transfer back when you want. Given time, you could even use both bodies."

Dummy's response was so exuberant that Tony took a half step back to avoid getting whacked in the chest by a metal arm. With a fond grin on his face, Tony laid a hand on Dummy's frame and let his Grace seep out through his palm. White light covered Dummy's frame and flickered for a split-second before forming around the body on the floor and then sinking into the body's skin. The metal frame that had been Dummy froze, and Tony knelt down beside it, eyes fixed on his son (because – crazy as it was – that's what Dummy was).

It took a couple of seconds before Dummy's body began breathing and his heart kicked into life. That kick started all other bodily functions as well, leaving Tony beaming in pride as Dummy blinked open very familiar brown eyes to meet Tony's.

Following a few seconds of reorientation, Dummy's eyes focused on Tony's face and an earsplitting grin cracked his face.

Tony could feel Butterfingers and You hovering over his shoulders in nervous anticipation as they waited to see what their big brother would do. He smiled down at Dummy. "So, kid…how do you feel?"

Dummy scrunched up his face as he considered that question. His fingers twitched, and Tony could see his toes doing the same. There was an almost audible whirring as Dummy's new brain flicked through years of listening to English to try to use it himself.

"Strange," Dummy said finally, trying the word out on his tongue. It was slightly mangled, but was still understandable. The kid brightened upon hearing his voice. He looked up at Tony eagerly, much like he always had when he'd just been a robot. "Tony!" he said much too loudly, bouncing into a sitting position.

Grinning softly and fondly at his son (his son), Tony reached out a hand to ruffle Dummy's soft hair. "Yeah," he said quietly, still smiling. His hand dropped down to under Dummy's chin to tilt the boy's head up. "Aren't you beautiful."

Dummy's voice was much quieter now, but so full of love and affection that it made Gabriel want to cry. "Tony." Without another word, Dummy slowly, carefully, and gingerly climbed into Gabriel's lap, wrapping his small arms around Gabriel's waist in a semblance of all the hugs he'd seen over his years.

Curling over him, Gabriel hugged Dummy back, making sure not to squeeze him too hard. Burying his nose into Dummy's soft and scentless hair, Gabriel found that for once, the silence in his head wasn't so bad.


An hour later found Tony lying down on his couch in the living room. Dummy, Butterfingers, and You were all lying around him, the latter two having decided to go for a humanoid body after Dummy's success.

When given the choice, Butterfingers had insisted on being a girl. She had dark skin and black hair that was cut below her chin; her eyes were brown. You had opted for being Chinese, with JARVIS explaining that You thought the Chinese name Hu sounded very close to his own name.

All three bots had bodies that looked to be six years old, although they were significantly stronger than the average six-year-old.

You was lying on Tony's legs, back propped up against the backrest of the couch. Butterfingers was resting on Tony's torso, cheek pressed against his chest in such a way that she could hear his heartbeat. Dummy was curled at Tony's head and was running a hand through Tony's hair in absolute fascination.

"Since we're all sort of human now," Tony began lazily, looking up at the ceiling, "why don't we do something humans do? No offense, J."

"None taken, sir." JARVIS's response was wry. "I shall take the comment in the spirit it was meant."

"Stories?" Dummy asked, slowly feeling the word out.

"I've got a bunch," Tony said. "But most probably aren't meant for kids' ears."

"Not that young," You scoffed, pinching Tony's foot in retaliation.

"Still not appropriate," Tony said, remembering all the crazy things he'd gotten up to as Loki and the Trickster.

JARVIS wisely changed the subject. "You did not have any trouble granting Butterfingers' desire, although you have always assumed she was a boy."

"You would be interested in that," Tony murmured. He hummed lightly, smiling when he saw the smile cross Butterfingers' face as she felt the vibrations. "Angels don't have sex as humans think of it," he said. "Our true forms are essentially light. Doesn't translate well to sexuality. Same goes for gender."

"Then would you prefer I address you differently?"

"Nah, it's fine. At the moment, I'm male. I've been in this body for the last thirty-seven years, and I'm comfortable with it. My former vessels were mostly male." He stretched lightly, careful not to dislodge Butterfingers. "When the universe formed and the angels were birthed, we didn't have gender and sexuality. The English language itself is extremely limiting when it comes to describing our true selves. When the Bible was written and the names of the angels written down, humans gave us genders. Some of us have gone along with it because it's easier. Lucifer is thought of as a man, but he's always been more of a woman." Tony smiled wryly. "We use your conventional pronouns because humans are so restricted when it comes to expressions of gender and sexuality. When we were first born, the name Michael had no gender; neither did Gabriel, and I have been a woman at certain points.

"Our language doesn't translate well to human understanding. We have words for our brothers and sisters that aren't confined to the arbitrary standards of gender. Still…some of us have embraced one role more than the other. Michael's more comfortable with masculine pronouns, stuck-up prig that he is. I don't really care, though it depends on the vessel I'm in. Balthazar's always been androgynous. So has Lucifer."

"You speak of vessels."

"Considering our true forms could burn humans' eyes out, we need something to wear when we walk on Earth. We need permission before we can take someone." Tony's mouth twisted into a grimace. "Doesn't mean it needs to be consensual, though. The things I've seen my brothers and sisters do to get permission are atrocious." He gestured at himself. "This is my body, not a vessel."

"I would not have thought otherwise, sir." JARVIS sounded warmly confident in Tony's abilities to not coerce a person to be his vessel.

Tony took a breath and continued, "So to put it shortly: I don't have a problem with Butterfingers identifying as female. I addressed her as a boy because I didn't know better before. Even archangels aren't omniscient." He raised an eyebrow at the ceiling. "Anything else?"

"If you would not mind…would you tell us your story? When did it begin for you?"

"We want to know," Butterfingers said calmly and clearly from her spot on Tony's chest, "where you come from. What you love. What you miss."

"Your story," Dummy said, tugging lightly at Tony's hair.

"Your history," You confirmed.

His eyes burned slightly, surprising since Tony hadn't expected he could cry now considering he had his Grace. After a couple of breaths, he managed to recover his composure. Then, gathering his earliest memories, he searched for the words to describe what his Father had done in those dark times.

A hand reached up to rest against Butterfinger's black hair, and he tipped his head back against Dummy's thigh as he slowly began. "None of us are sure how exactly our Father came into being. But He's told us that it was because He was lonely that He created the universe. That's when the Big Bang the human scientists know about happened. It was at that moment, when my Father created the possibility of life, that Death came into being. Because with life comes entropy, and Death coexists with Life.

"Before the angels, my Father created the leviathans. He was lonely, and Death wasn't much interested in keeping Him company. I know the Bible says that God created humans in His likeness, but there's no one appearance to Him. One galaxy over there're sentient aliens with six limbs, four eyes, and tails. The angels are perhaps closest to what He's truly like, but even we're mere shadows to His actual likeness.

"Anyway…we've got the leviathans while Dad's going around and creating the galaxies and making sure the universe has got all the staples needed for him to even begin creating other life forms." He slipped into informality. "The leviathans were kind of Dad's big mistake, since they were kind of dicks. Or to put it more aptly, abominations. Once they got started, they never stopped. They sort of ate everything they came in contact with. So Dad created Purgatory and locked them in there. It was after that he created the archangels; we were supposed to serve as a last resort in case they ever got out.

"The angels followed after we were born, though they weren't all created at once." Castiel, the angel of Thursday, had been one of the last. Gabriel had always thought he was a strange little thing, unusually fascinated with humanity. He'd been a bit rebellious, too, though he had always loved God. "Samael…Lucifer…he was the brightest of us all. We called him the Morning Star. He loved our Father perhaps too much… When Dad created the humans and ordered us to love, cherish, and look after them, Samael rebelled.

"And thus Lucifer was born, first of the Fallen…"


The next day found Tony in his office actually doing paperwork. Or, well, not paperwork exactly since he'd just flicked his fingers and signed everything he needed to do, but snooping. To be more specific, he was snooping through the computer system just to see what he could find on Obadiah's activities.

After some discreet hacking, Tony hit the jackpot. He found a blurry video of his captors holding him at gunpoint while demanding a higher payment for killing Tony Stark since they hadn't been told it would be him they were gunning for. He also found schematics of what looked like a bulkier version of the Mark I.

Hadn't he left that in the desert?

Of course…if Obadiah had gone to check out what happened… Tony sighed in exasperation. Next time he would just clean up his mess. Not that there'd be a next time anyway.

Sticking a flash drive in the computer, he downloaded everything he could fit into it on there. He might be an archangel, but he still needed to do things the human way if he wanted to keep this charade up.

There was a knock on the door, and Tony looked up in time to see it crack open and let a bland, unassuming man in a suit in. Or physically unassuming at least, since his soul was rather vibrant.

"Mr. Stark?" the man asked, smiling at him. "I'm Agent Coulson."

"That's nice," Tony said. "How'd you get past Ms. Potts?"

"She let me in," Agent Coulson said, lying. He'd snuck past her, evidently tired of her brushing him off.

"Did you have an appointment?" Tony asked. "Because I wasn't told."

"It was short notice," Agent Coulson said, coming up to the desk and handing out a business card. "I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."

Tony took the card. "That's quite a mouthful."

"You can call us S.H.I.E.L.D.," Agent Coulson said, still with that smile on his face that was by now beginning to remind Tony of Zachariah when he had a vessel.

"Sure thing." Tony set the card down. "So what does a clandestine government organization want with me?"

Agent Coulson didn't blink at Tony's subtle accusation. "We just have a few questions for you, Mr. Stark. Particularly involving Afghanistan and the events over in Gulmira."

"You have the press conferences, Agent Coulson. I'm not releasing any more details."

"It's just for the private record, Mr. Stark." Agent Coulson's smile was really creeping Tony out, and he'd gone up against Lucifer. "Do you mind?"

Rolling his eyes, Tony leaned back in his chair. "If I say yes, will you leave?"

Agent Coulson ignored him. "The circumstances of your escape are not entirely clear. Would you elaborate on it?"

"I built a bomb. I blew the place up." Tony gestured emphatically. "What else is there to say? Oh, well…first I got the hell out of Dodge. Then I blew the place up. Terrorists are surprisingly dull when you scare them with a ticking bomb."

"I see." If it weren't for Tony's abilities, he wouldn't have been able to tell that Agent Coulson was lying. "Now about Gulmira, Mr. Stark—"

There was a click as the door opened and Pepper came in, shutting the door quickly behind her as she said, "Tony, Obadiah—" She broke off upon seeing Agent Coulson sitting in the chair in front of Tony's desk. "You!" She walked forward, aggression lining every muscle in her body. "How did you get in here?"

Agent Coulson didn't lie this time. "You were distracted."

"I told you I would schedule an appointment." Pepper's voice was distinctly frosty as she came around the desk to stand by Tony.

Agent Coulson stood up, one hand fiddling at the bottom of his suit jacket. "I apologize, Ms. Potts, but S.H.I.E.L.D. operates on a tight schedule—"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Pepper asked Tony.

"His agency," Tony answered.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. operates on a tight schedule," Agent Coulson repeated, not missing a beat. "I'm afraid they absolutely insisted."

"And I must insist that you leave." Pepper offered him a tight smile. "Now. Mr. Stark is terribly busy, you see. Shutting down one of Stark Industries' manufacturing sections has kept him very busy these past months."

"What she said," Tony said, standing up as well now. He reached out to gently rest a hand on the small of Pepper's back. "Now, you needed to see me for something, Ms. Potts?"

Pepper turned her head toward him. "Yes, I did." She looked back at Agent Coulson. "If you wouldn't mind?"

Agent Coulson smiled blandly. "Of course not. I'll just wait outside then."

Tony and Pepper waited by the desk until the door had closed behind Agent Coulson, and then Pepper instantly turned to Tony, eyes pinched unhappily.

Tony let his hand drop from Pepper's back. "What is it?"

"Tony…I know Obadiah is a friend. I know you've known him for years…" Although her voice was steady, Pepper seemed incredibly nervous. "But he's starting to frighten me."

Tony frowned. "What? What did he do?"

Pepper seemed utterly relieved that Tony believed her. "He…came onto me." She looked at the door.

It didn't take Tony more than a second to realize that the reason Pepper had been distracted enough to let Agent Coulson by was because Obadiah had been hitting on her. "I thought we covered that eight years ago, when I hit on you, and you just smiled and put in another meeting in my schedule."

That garnered a weak smile that was quickly wiped off her face. "He did, though. He was saying… He asked me if anything seemed off about you."

"You don't have to lie, Pepper."

Pepper smiled wryly. "If you'd come back and acted completely normally, I'd say that was strange. If you became a hermit, that would be, too. But you're dealing, Tony." She shrugged lightly. "And that's what I said." She brought a hand up to her neck, clearly uncomfortable. "That's when I managed to get in here."

"So our esteemed Agent Coulson is no doubt holding the fort down." Tony smirked, amused. He glanced down at where he had the flash drive, picking it up and wrapping a sheet of paper around it. "Here. Take this."

Pepper seemed vaguely terrified as he pressed it into her hand, curling her fingers around it. "What is it?"

"Obadiah isn't up to any good, Pepper. I've been looking into who's responsible for selling our weapons under the table since he was working too slowly." He gently squeezed her hand. "The results are on there. Now why don't you and Agent Coulson go and see what you can make of it?"

Pepper really did look terrified as Tony began to steer her to the door. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just going to talk to him." Tony patted her shoulder reassuringly, his other hand on the knob. "It's why he's here."

Pepper stopped him from opening the door, clutching his jacket. "You can't. If he's responsible, that means he tried to have you killed!"

Tony gently squeezed her hand. "Trust me, Pepper. He won't try anything here. There are cameras all over this building. I'll be fine." He smiled at her, letting her have her hand back.

Pepper's eyes darted to the door and back to Tony's. "Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Do you trust me?"

There was a tense silence between the two of them as Pepper studied him. Then, slowly, she nodded, fingers tightening around the flash drive.

Tony smiled at her, leaning in to drop a kiss on her forehead, stunning her. "Then, yes," he said, "I'm sure."

Without further ado, he opened the door to let her through. The first thing they saw was Agent Coulson's back, but he quickly stepped aside once he saw Pepper leaving.

"Ms. Potts—" he started.

"Mr. Coulson!" Pepper chirped cheerfully, startling him. "So glad to see you waited. Why don't you step along with me now, and we'll get that appointment set up to finalize the details?"

To his credit, Agent Coulson didn't falter. "Of course, Ms. Potts."

Pepper walked by Obadiah, giving him a polite nod and a brisk "Mr. Stane" before she was walking away, heels tapping against the floor. Agent Coulson followed on her heels.

"Obie!" Tony caught his eye and gestured that he should come in. "You wanted to see me?"

Obadiah's grin was so fake it made Tony cringe to see it. "Tony! Good to see you here."

Tony let him in before closing the door. "Well, this is my office." He grinned lightly, wandering over to the bar. "Drink?" He leaned down to pull out a scotch. "I've got scotch."

"Don't mind if I do."

Tony poured the two drinks after adding ice. He left the bottle out for future refills. "So what'd you need?"

Obadiah went to stand by the windows, glass in hand. "Just checking in to see how you're doing."

"Great." Tony gestured at his desk. "Just finished the paperwork." Taking a sip of the scotch, he winced slightly at the burn. A quick touch of Grace left him with apple juice, much better for his sweet tooth.

"And everything else?" Obadiah asked after a sip of his drink. "No problems?"

"Just fine," Tony assured him, smiling blandly as he swished his incognito apple juice around.

Obadiah came over to him, crowding in on his personal space. "What about the arc reactor? Any progress?"

"Quite a bit," Tony said honestly. "I've gotten the energy efficiency up fifty percent, but I need to find a different element to power it. Palladium isn't clean enough."

"It's years cleaner than anything else on the market," Obadiah said, "especially if I know your perfectionist tendencies. Palladium is plenty clean enough."

"No, it isn't." Tony gave him a brittle smile. "Then there's the fact that it can be used as a weapon," he said casually.

It got the reaction he had been aiming for. "Really?"

"Yeah." He made himself shrug loosely. "Bit dangerous to release it to the public right now, at least until I can stabilize it some more."

"Why don't you let me tell the board? They'll be so excited to hear about this—"

"No," Tony cut him off. "Absolutely not."

"Tony—"

"Not until it's stabilized and safe," Tony said firmly. "All the failsafes in the world won't do a bit of good if a hacker with luck and time manages to get past them." He nodded to the computer on his desk. "Besides, with all the new tech I've been churning out lately, they can be a bit patient on the green energy front."

Obadiah tossed back the rest of his drink, the ice clinking in the glass as he set it on the desk. "Whatever you say, Tony," he said, smiling. "Just keep me up to date."

"No problem." Tony quirked an eyebrow. "What about that little problem you're looking into?"
Obadiah hesitated slightly, eventually moving to wave a hand through the air in a vague manner. "I haven't been able to find anything yet. Whoever this guy is, he's been covering his tracks."

Tony finished his drink, letting his glass join Obadiah's. He moved to clasp Obadiah's shoulders, smiling widely. "I'll let you get back to it then. If you need any help, call me. Shouldn't take me too long to uncover an electronic trail leading right back to the guy." His grin was just a bit too vicious as he said it, and Obadiah clearly noticed if the narrowing of his eyes was anything to go by.

But he was in Tony's office, and there were cameras everywhere. There wasn't a chance that he would try anything now.

"I'll do that, Tony." Obadiah reached a hand up to pat Tony's before pulling away. "I'll see you later."

"Sure thing," Tony said to his back.

It wasn't until Obadiah had closed the door and he was completely alone that Tony let the triumphant grin spread across his face.

This was going to be so much fun.


When Tony got back to his house in the evening, he was excitedly greeted by his kids. After several minutes of being dog piled by them, he finally put his foot down and told them to go into the shop just in case.

They all fix him with rather intense stares before acquiescing and leaving. Dummy left last, giving Tony a lingering hug before scampering down the stairs, well used to his new body now. For a bot that had been slow in learning new commands and even downright clumsy, he was unusually graceful and quick now, probably because he actually had the ability to be so.

Now that he was alone, Tony pulled out a tablet he'd been working on his spare time that would put Apple's products to shame. (It did holograms! Or something akin to it.) He made himself comfortable on the couch, losing himself in the codes.

Tony wasn't sure how much time had passed before the ringing of his phone caught his attention. He had enough time to see that it was Pepper calling before a high-pitched frequency tore through his head, making him cringe reflexively.

A moment later he forced himself to freeze, recognizing the device that emitted that particular sound, even if he'd never used it himself. When Obadiah rounded into view, still holding the device and taking out the ear plugs that had protected him, it was all Tony could do not to break out into a vicious smile.

"Easy, Tony," Obadiah said, smiling down at him. "Just breathe, hm?" He twirled the device in his hand. "You remember this, don't you? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There are so many applications for short-term paralysis."

And that was his cue.

"You're right," Gabriel said, vindictively enjoying the shock that crossed Obadiah's face seconds before he snatched the device out of his hands and tightly gripped his wrist. "There are a lot of applications for something like this." He displayed the device before twisting his wrist and sending it elsewhere. "But I prefer something a bit more honest than that."

Obadiah's wrist was still in his grip as Gabriel slowly moved to a standing position, eyes fixed on the other man's. "Man, I really wish you hadn't done this."

Obadiah was clearly frightened, but Gabriel had to give him kudos for not giving it away. The man reached up to pry at Gabriel's hand, but it was futile considering an archangel had a grip stronger than anything on Earth. "Tony, please, let's talk—"

"Oh, I think the time for talking is over now, don't you?" Gabriel slowly turned them around, forcing Obadiah to follow his movements. He pushed the man down on the couch in the spot Gabriel had just vacated. "See, I gave you a chance. I gave you several chances." He let go of Obadiah's wrist, stepping back to put more room between them. "That's more than what I've given anyone else who crossed me. Or pissed me off," he conceded.

"I don't—"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Don't lie. Did you really think you could keep it up forever? I told you, I could track the electronic trail you left in minutes. Didn't take long for me to figure out who was dealing weapons under the table." He flashed a mirthless smile. "But being the bleeding heart I am"—he leaned over—"I decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself. You could've stopped. I'd've left you alone for the most part. It's more than what I've ever given anyone else who was guilty of your crimes." He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Though now I think of it, I've never had anyone like you before. First time for anything, huh?" He flashed another grin.

Gabriel thinned his lips as he studied the stiff man before him. "There's no getting out of it," he said flatly. "No matter what lies you're thinking of now, there isn't anything you can say that will change my mind."

Tilting his head to the side, Gabriel's eyes narrowed as he felt for JARVIS, perplexed that he hadn't said anything by now. When he realized that Obadiah had overridden his protocols with something Gabriel had forgotten about years ago (he'd been drunk and stupid, but that wasn't an excuse because JARVIS was his), fury surged through him.

"And for what you've done to JARVIS," Gabriel continued in a soft and dangerous tone, "not even Michael could save you now."

Confusion flickered across Obadiah's face, but Gabriel didn't bother. Instead, he reached out for the phone, dialing Pepper so he wouldn't be interrupted. Dismissively turning his back on the other man, Gabriel waited for her to pick up.

It didn't take long.

"Tony! Are you all right? Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"I was busy," Gabriel said offhandedly, slowly walking over to the wall where one of JARVIS's control panels was. "You know how I get, Pepper. Everything all right with you?"

Pepper paused on her end. "Yes," she said slowly. "Agent Coulson is with me, and he brought backup."

"Really?" Gabriel began punching a code into the control panel, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he thought about what the bastard had done to JARVIS. "Isn't that overkill?"

Her answering laugh was just a tinge hysteric. "No. Not at all. You wouldn't believe what we found here, Tony."

Gabriel didn't pause as he entered the last digits. "I can guess," he said.

In one smooth motion, he had Obadiah pinned to the floor behind him. His hand hovered over the prone man, keeping him pinned.

"I've gotta call you back," Gabriel said, eyes fixed on Obadiah. "Something's come up."

"What?" Pepper demanded.

"Be safe," he told her, hanging up before she could say anything more.

Throwing the phone in the direction of the couch, Gabriel let his hand drop in favor of moving to crouch by Obadiah's side. "You can talk if you want," he coaxed, a small grin stretching his lips. "Do you good to get that off your chest before I send you on your merry way."

Obadiah looked faintly terrified yet defiant as his jaw worked silently. But Gabriel could be patient, so he waited, never letting his eyes waver from Obadiah's, even when he felt that JARVIS was completely up and running.

When Obadiah spoke, his voice was low and filled with hate. "Who are you?"

Gabriel let his eyes widen slightly in mock innocence as he laid a hand on his sternum. "Me? I'm Tony." He dropped the façade as he leaned in close, hovering directly over Obadiah. "Though you can call me Gabriel for now. I'll be serving out justice tonight."

"What?" The terror was beginning to show on Obadiah's face.

Gabriel's smile was wolfish. "What? Didn't you understand my whole spiel earlier? I'm going to punish you. Eye for an eye and all that. You should feel lucky," he continued conversationally, enjoying the terror in Obadiah's eyes, "usually I'd just kill you and be done with it. You've done that to others. But, no. That'd be letting you off too easy. So here's what I'm going to do.

"I'm going to lock your voice away." His voice was deadly soft as his hand covered Obadiah's face in a parody of the Vulcan mind meld. "You won't be able to talk. You won't be able to communicate in any shape or form, though charades are an option." His smile was quick and mirthless. "And then I'll dump you in the middle of Afghanistan. You won't have any identifying features marking you as Obadiah Stane. Maybe if you're lucky, a village will take you in. If you're not…" Gabriel shrugged carelessly. "You can see how the other side lives, hm?"

Then, eyes flashing dangerously, Gabriel hissed directly into Obadiah's ear, "An eye for an eye, Obie. Be grateful I'm not harsher, because there are so many other things I could do to you." He pulled back, looking directly into Obadiah's eyes as he took away his voice, his ability to write, sign, or communicate in any other easily understandable manner. Then he changed his facial structures, taking away his beard, darkening his skin just a tad, and lengthening his face.

When he was done, Gabriel straightened out, stepping back from Obadiah with a disgusted grimace. "So that's that," he said briskly. "I'd say see you later, but that's doubtful unless I come on over."

Flashing the other man one last grin, Gabriel snapped his finger and dumped him in the middle of Afghanistan and directly in a sand dune. See how he liked that.

"Sir?" JARVIS's voice was subdued. "Is everything in order?"

Gabriel suspected that wasn't really what JARVIS wanted to ask, but left it alone. "Yep." He wiped his hand on his shirt, making a face of disgust at the memory of the feel of Obadiah's skin. "You?"

"I am in perfect working order, sir." There was a tinge of anger underlying JARVIS's words, but it sounded like it was directed inward rather than Obadiah. "Also, Ms. Potts and a man in a suit are currently trying to enter the building."

After a quick glance to be sure there was no sign of Obadiah ever having been in the house, Gabriel waved a hand. "You can let 'em in."

"Sir…" JARVIS sounded hesitant. "About what you said regarding being the angel of justice?"

"Not quite what I said, J. I said I'd serve out justice, though I'm technically the angel of mercy. Michael just occasionally shoved his work over to me, so I've got a rep for dealing out judgment, too. It's why I've got the fancy horn and all he's got is the sword."

"I see." JARVIS sounded more like he desperately wanted to know why Michael the archangel was so damn lazy, but didn't dare ask because Pepper and Agent Coulson were in hearing distance now.

The moment Pepper laid her eyes on him, she called out his name frantically, rushing over to him. "Are you all right?"

Tony patted her arm reassuringly. "I'm fine, Pepper. I just had a small incident with the tablet; it was a bug I had to work out. Sorry if I scared you."

"Was Obadiah Stane not here?" Agent Coulson asked.

"Obie?" Tony arched his eyebrows. "Can't say I've seen him after he visited me earlier today. Something wrong?"

"Yes." Pepper's tone was borderline hysteric. "I searched the information you had on that file, Tony. He was responsible for what happened in Afghanistan. He's also been building suits."

"Suits similar to that seen in Gulmira," Agent Coulson added calmly. "Ms. Potts gave us access to a room off the side where you have your large-scale arc reactor. It was there that we found a large scale replica of a mechanical suit, albeit unfinished. We think he might have come here looking for a power source."

"I haven't seen him," Tony said. "He hasn't called either."

"You wouldn't have let him in," Pepper said as if it was a fact.

Tony tilted his head to the side. "You'd probably like to hear me say no, yeah?"

Pepper's mouth twisted in concern. "Tony—"

"I'm a risk taker, Pepper. You know that." Tony shrugged. "I haven't seen him, though."

"That's fine," Agent Coulson said. "I'll put out a warrant for him. We have enough evidence to hold him for a long time. I'll also put a guard detail here in case he does come."

"Not necessary," Tony objected.

"Tony, please," Pepper pleaded. "You don't know what he'll do."

"JARVIS is more than capable of holding down the fort," Tony argued. "A guard detail would only be an invasion of my privacy, and I kind of like my privacy."

"We were let in," Agent Coulson pointed out.

"I let you in." Tony gestured around him. "I've got a handle on this, Agent. I think your men would be better spent elsewhere." He looked over at Pepper. "As for that suit Obadiah was working on, I think I'd like a look at it."

As neither of them had an argument that could sway Tony from this decision (or one that made any sense for that matter), Agent Coulson reluctantly agreed to take him there.

Elsewhere in the world, the man known as Obadiah Stane slowly roasted alive under the boiling hot sun of the Afghanistan desert. Only five miles away lay a village where he could find refuge.

Despite his first inclinations, Gabriel had been kinder than anyone would have thought, including Sam Winchester (who had perhaps gotten the worst end of the stick with those endless Tuesdays).


There will be occasional references to things that have happened in the TV show. On another note, I hope you enjoyed the justice Gabriel meted out to Stane. He was far kinder than he initially wanted to be, but he does have fond memories with Stane.

Hope you enjoyed!