AN: Sorry it's been so long! It''s a bit short, but I hope you enjoy anyway!
"So what, precisely, is the plan, director?" Natasha inquired as she inspected the locked door.
"I don't know what he's doing. We've got people outside this room who should be able to fix things once they realize what has happened." Fury was trying to get his computers and intercom to work.
Steve was watching his former teammate on the screen everyone was ignoring since nothing appeared to be happening.
"Who is Deapool?" He asked suddenly.
"A mercenary. An insane mercenary." Clint spoke.
"What do you think he will do to the WSC?"
"Lord only knows, the man's crazy!" the archer ran a hand through his hair.
"Do you think any of the other heroes will be able to stop him when he gets out of control?" Steve turned to the director. "I know it's unlikely the Young Avengers would be fully capable, but if they teamed up with some of the others.…"
"All we'd need is to convince Magneto to help." Natasha commented.
"Well we can't exactly contact anyone, now can we?" Clint retorted.
"Calm down. It probably won't come to that. The rest of SHIELD is working on this by now. Stark wouldn't go rogue. Not completely anyway, he's too loyal for that. He isn't capable of taking over the world, regardless of what he says. If he had the tech necessary for that, we'd know about it." Fury asserted, taking his seat once more.
"Just like you knew he could hijack the Helicarrier whenever he wants?" Captain America couldn't help but point out.
Fury growled.
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"And that's only what I've got done right now. If you want to talk about the White House, we can figure out how strict you want to keep the security." Tony gestured to the plans on the Starkpad he held. "It would have been done already, but ya'know, been busy avenging things."
The President and his assistant both laughed politely.
"Must
Ha
\\\\\\ve been a big change. Going from the most successful business man to superhero." President Obama commented.
"Yup. We can talk about that over lunch, though. I hope you don't mind Thai. The food was prepared by a good friend of mine and fellow Avenger, so you don't have to worry about getting poisoned if that's still a thing. Is that a thing? I could add something to the security plans if it is."
"You haven't changed a bit since the last time we talked." The President chuckled, "How long has it been, Tony?"
"Mmm… must've been 2 years," The inventor shrugged. "Before Iron Man, anyway."
"Tony? Mr. President… um.. food's ready." Bruce poked his head around the corner.
"Banner, you are lord amongst men. Or however that phrase goes." Tony waved a hand in the direction of the dining room. "Guests first. I'll save these changes and be there in a moment."
The President and his entourage migrated in the indicated direction as Tony sent Jarvis a few clandestine orders.
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"I don't understand the significance of any of this." Clint spoke up from where he had been charged with watching the screen to figure out Stark's plan. "It's all just boring political stuff. We know Stark is capable of making weapons of mass destruction (case in point: Iron Man), so why isn't he doing anything?"
"Does it really matter?" Steve turned from the wall he had been searching for weak points.
"It might." Natasha spoke up. "Go on, Clint."
"Well, all our analysis' show that Iron Man is volatile, he acts swiftly: sometimes without thinking. What does he stand to gain from inviting the President to lunch as opposed to just bombing the White House?"
"You have a point. So what do we know?" Director Fury sat behind his desk once more.
"We know that Tony Stark has taken control of the Helicarrier and reportedly locked down all SHIELD bases." Natasha listed.
"And that he told a renowned mercenary to keep the WSC 'out of his way for a little while'," Clint ran a hand through his already messy hair, "and that he has the President and co. in his dining room."
A loud alarum rang through the carrier once more.
"What is that for?" the archer looked to the ceiling.
"The Avengers have been requested at a riot in Detroit." Fury answered after study his semi functional computer. "Stark you better let us out of here!" He shouted.
'Iron Man has already deployed and is en route to the uprising.' The irritatingly British voice noted from the ceiling.
"But he's still on the screen." Captain Rodgers stated hesitantly.
'Iron Man has deployed, not Master Stark.' The AI sniffed.
Fury leaned back in his chair with a sudden, rueful laugh.
"Of course! Why didn't we see this before?"
"Sir?"
"He isn't taking over the world as Iron Man. He's taking over as Tony Stark."
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"What did you do!"
"Bruce, calm down." Tony made placating gestures toward his green looking friend.
"I might do that if you hadn't just drugged the President of the United States!" The usually timid doctor roared.
"You said you trusted me."
The quiet statement brought the Hulk into submission. Both he and Bruce understood how fragile Tony's trust could be. If Tony asked you to trust him, he trusted you to.
"I do… just… why did you drug the President of the United States?" He asked, taking a deep, calming breath.
"I told you I was taking over the world. I'll put everything back when I'm done."
"You make it sound like a sandbox."
"It is." Tony shrugged, "when I came back from Afghanistan I told SHIELD I wasn't going to put up with any weapons of mass destruction existing; mine or someone else's. Director Fury said he'd work with me, and told me to stop acting like a toddler or go play outside. So here I am." He paused, spread his fingers apart and shrugged again.
"Playing."