"I need you."
Oh shit…
The robot lowered his finger, landing on the bridge, and then trudging toward Tony. The genius's mismatched eyes widened, grabbing Lucy and pulling her completely behind him as he backed further down the bridge.
The robot laughed, a horrifying sound that made Lucy's grip on Tony's wrists tighten. "You're really trying to protect the little brat? You really should be more worried about what I'll do to you," He snarled.
Every nerve in Tony's body was filled with anxiety, as he carefully replied,"W-what do you want from me?"
The robot flew forward, grabbing the front of Tony's shirt and yanking him forward. His voice was much quieter, so only Tony could hear. "You… You're just a kid, but SHIELD talked to you… They're following you…" He snarled,"What did you do to gain their interest?"
Tony narrowed his eyes. "You know, I could be wrong…" He began,"But… I think that's none of your business."
The robot growled, tightening his grip on the shirt. "Oh, it is," He sneered,"Listen kid, help me help you! Whatever potential shield saw in you, let's use it against them!"
"No!" Tony snapped, trying to escape his grip. "I don't want anything to do with either of you! Let me go!"
Those eyes seemed to glow even redder, and he whispered,"Wrong choice, punk!" His hand flowed red as he raised it up, and Tony tensed up, waiting for the pain.
But it never came, instead a metal shield slammed into the robot. He dropped Tony and stumbled backwards. He growled, shaking his metal head and then yelling,"Attack!"
Tony quickly looked towards where the shield came from, and saw… The Avengers… Oh god it was all of them… Even Spider-Man. They ran forward with determination, but had scramble to a stop as the metal robots dove towards them.
This is my chance! Tony realized, grabbing his little sister, holding her against his chest, and running away from the battle scene. He didn't care if it was the wrong way, he would just hide in the trees until the battle ended.
"Oh no you don't!" A mangled voice yelled, coming closer extremely fast. Tony turned around just in time for the same robot from before to grab his arm, and then fly straight up into the air. Tony quickly tightened his grip on Lucy with his other hand.
The robot flew up high, so high that the battle down below looked like it was just ants. Tony gulped, his heart pounding. He could hear Lucy sobbing in terror.
Once they were up high, The robot grabbed Tony's other arm. "It's time to teach you a lesson about telling me no!" He snarled.
The robot yanked hard and pulled Tony's arm up, forcing him to let go of Lucy. The little girl began to fall, screaming in terror as she went.
"NO!" Tony yelled, desperately reaching out to try and catch her… But she was already too far down.
The damned robot chuckled again, a sound that sent burning rage all through Tony's body. He whipped around, noticing a tear at the beginning of the chest plates from Steve's shield.
Without thinking, Tony grabbed at both ends, forcing the thin metal open. Underneath the helm was mounds of wires. The genius quickly grabbed at some blue ones, ripping them apart.
"Hey! What are you-"
He ripped more red wires, and then connected the blue and red together as he ripped some purple wires apart. The red lights flashed off, and the machine went limp, beginning to fall through the sky.
Tony turned, waiting until the robot had turned completely upside down before he reconnected purple wires. The flight stabilizers returned to life with a fervor, sending them speeding towards the falling Lucy.
His mismatched eyes narrowed with determination, reaching his hand out, and grabbing the girl by her arm as they flew downward. He quickly pulled her to his chest, tightening his grip once more and looking toward their destination.
Only then did Tony realize that they were headed to the ground.
"Hold on to me, Lucy!" He yelled against the wind, feeling her small arms wrap around his chest as he watched the very fast approaching terra.
As soon as they reached the line of trees, Tony let go and used his feet to push them away from the inevitable explosion. He wrapped both arms around Lucy, holding her against his front with arms wrapped around her as he braced for impact.
A loud explosion seemed to shake the park just as Tony crashed into the ground, rolling a couple times before they came to a stop.
He stared up at the sky with wide eyes, heart pounding so fast it felt like it may break through his rib cage. The battle that most likely was still ongoing didn't matter to him, what mattered was the crying child in his arms.
The redhead gently rubbed Lucy's back, whispering,"Hey, Hey… It's okay, we're okay… Everything is going to be alright…"
Steve couldn't believe his eyes as he witnessed the red headed teenager manage to save himself and the little girl that had fallen.
He slammed his shield into the last robot at his side, calling out,"Avengers, go to the kid! He may be injured!"
He got several confirmations in return, and he quickly ran over to the curled up form he saw on the ground. He heard the others following after him, but hesitated a moment, unsure of approaching the obviously shaken teen.
He looked back at the others for support, but none of them stepped closer. Natasha gave a small smile, motioning him forward.
Steve nodded, taking a few steps forward. "Young man?" He called, reaching out. "Are you alright? That was quite a fall you took…"
"Leave me alone…."
Steve stopped again, hesitantly asking,"Pardon?"
The redhead jerked up and onto his feet, holding the child close as he yelled,"LEAVE ME ALONE!" His mismatched eyes were burning with rage, his whole body still shaking.
In that moment, staring at the face, Steve realized that the kid was in fact the one he had met at Tony's memorial. Why did they go after him?
The super soldier quickly backed away, not prepared for the outburst, and held his hands up in surrender. "We just want to help you…" He tried to explain.
"Help me!? HELP ME!?" The teen exclaimed, looking a little unhinged as he pointed at them. "You… You've never helped me, I always have to save myself! And you're just making everything worse!"
The avengers behind Steve all shared looks of confusion, none of them having met the young man before in their life. What does he mean by that? They all wondered idly.
"And SHIELD!" The teen spat,"If they hadn't been so invasive, those robots would have never attacked me in the first place. They never would have tried to kidnap me! They never would have thrown Lucy! My sister almost DIED thanks to your stupid boss!"
SHIELD? What do they have to do with what happened? Steve wondered, slightly ashamed at the fact he didn't doubt the kid's words.
Natasha was the next to move forward, softly saying,"Kid, I'm sorry for whatever our boss did to you. I promise this will be fixed, but we need to get you some medical attention."
"NO! Stay away from me!" The redhead yelled, backing away. "I never wanted to see you! You're ruining EVERYTHING! Just.. just LEAVE ME ALONE!"
With that final yell, the redhead turned and ran back towards Central Park. Natasha went to follow him, but Steve placed a hand on her shoulder. "No," He ordered,"Let him go, he's been through enough."
Natasha frowned at this, looking back at him. "Steve, he could be really hurt and just not be telling us…" She said,"He fell out of the sky with that robot."
"He's fine," Steve promised,"You didn't see what I did. He knew exactly what he was doing."
The other Avengers who had seen it (Vision, Wanda, Sam, and Clint) all nodded to confirm was Steve said.
Turning back to the array of destroyed robots, Steve calmly declared,"Besides, after what the kid said, I think we need to have a talk with Fury."
The Avengers arrived back at their compound for the debrief and sure enough Fury was there, along with Coulson and Hill. The Avengers quickly went through what happened, including that the robots had taken two kids into the sky. Steve described how the kid looked, which seemed to make Fury even more interested.
"And you rescued him, correct?" Fury asked, leaning forward and opening up another file that had a lot inside of it.
Steve shook his head. "I didn't have to, sir," He explained,"The kid deactivated the robot himself, and then he somehow made it fly downward so he could catch his sister, and then he let the robot crash into the ground while they jumped."
Fury and Coulson both seemed impressed, but there was something further in their eyes that Steve couldn't make out. The director then nodded, and said,"Alright then. You're all dismissed, good work."
Steve saw Clint trying to jump to his feet (most likely to get to the kitchen) before Natasha grabbed his shoulder and forced him to sit back down. "Actually, sir," Natasha started,"We wanted to ask you about that kid."
Fury's only eye narrowed with either suspicion or curiosity, closing the new file he had just opened. "And what exactly is it you want to ask?" He demanded.
Steve took over from there. "When we tried to help him, he yelled at us… And he said that if SHIELD had left him alone, none of that would have happened? And the robots wouldn't have attacked him in the first place? What exactly was he talking about?" He asked.
Fury and Coulson exchanged a look, and then the agent sighed. "It's only fair to tell you the truth," Coulson decided,"That kid is Jamie McCintyre, he's been on our watch list for a while due to his abilities with tech. We interrogated him when he first got into America."
"You- You What!?" Scott exclaimed,"Poor kid gets on a plane and you guys just kidnap him!?"
"It was important that we did, we had no idea where his abilities came from," Fury tried to placate,"We had to-"
"Uhhh, no. You really didn't!" Clint continued,"If anything, you probably made Jamie angrier at you, not scared. That kid has some balls, he ripped open that metal robot with his bare hands!"
Fury still didn't seem to understand the issue, as he replied,"All the more reason for us to keep an eye on him."
Bucky slapped his hand against his face, groaning in annoyance. "That's not the point," He muttered,"You can't just go around kidnapping random kids just because they have 'abilities!'"
"Well then what the fuck do you want us to do?!" Fury snapped,"We can't just leave him alone now. If that robot really did attack him because he was seen talking to us, and if he managed to rewire the robot in seconds, then he's got a target on him."
"Gee, I wonder how we could have avoided that happening!?" Scott exclaimed sarcastically, waving his hands as he spoke.
Natasha, knowing that someone would be getting punched soon if they didn't calm down, calmly asked,"Why was Jamie here in the first place?"
Coulson pulled up a hologram, and answered,"His father is getting married, and they have family in New York so the wedding is happening here."
The assassin easily answered,"We'll worry about what to do after the wedding, let's let them enjoy this special occasion as a family and without stress."
Fury looked like he wanted to argue, but the stern faces of many of the Avengers told him doing so was foolish. He sighed, crossing his arms, and firmly said,"Fine, whatever. But after that, we'll be getting more involved."
The Avengers and the SHIELD agents all got up to leave, but Steve stayed for a moment and thought hard. SHIELD interacting with the kid might be a bad thing… They've already freaked him out. But there's no talking them out of it… The poor kid shouldn't be locked up in SHIELD for defending himself… Wait!
Steve got up, following after the eye-patch clad director and saying,"Sir! I think I might have an idea… For what to do about Jamie."
Fury turned back around, sizing up the super soldier suspiciously before responding,"I'm listening…."
One Week Later
The wedding was quite the mix of traditions, and Tony wouldn't have had it any other way. His father and Tenshi both wore montsuki (a black formal kimono), haori (a kimono jacket, and hakama (kimono pants). Meanwhile Tony wore his own black kimono and a flower crown (courtesy of Lucy), while Lucy was in a beautiful pink one with her own flower crown.
Lucy threw shamrock petals for her flower girl duties, as their family was Irish, one of their cousins brought the rings, their uncle Connor was the one marrying, and then they shared their vows
"By the powers vested in me by the state of New York, I pronounce you married. You may kiss the groom," Uncle Connor declared.
The two embraced, and the onlookers clapped and cheered for them. The second Tenshi and his father pulled apart, Lucy rushed forward and hugged them both, Tony quickly followed and wrapped his arms around both the men.
Despite all the drama that had happened, Tony didn't regret coming to New York. His little family had grown again.
After the reception, the (now) family of four returned to their hotel room to relax. Tony carried Lucy, who had fallen asleep near the end of the celebration, to her bed and tucked her in. She curled up in the blankets with a happy sigh.
Tony smiled, smoothing her crazy curls as his father and Tenshi came in to check on them.
His father first gave Lucy a goodnight kiss, and then pulled Tony close, hugging him tight and ruffling his messy hair. "I had a great day, I hope you did too," He declared.
Tony nodded, and exclaimed,"It was awesome! Especially when Uncle Connor tried to breakdance!"
"Of course I do!" His dad said, eyes wide. "He didn't get up for like a minute, I thought he knocked himself out!"
"He'll be feeling that for a few days," Tenshi continued with a chuckle.
His father laughed too, and gave him one more tight hug before saying,"Well, it's pretty late. Get some rest, okay? We have a plane to catch tomorrow!"
His dad then left the room, but Tenshi stayed behind. He looked towards Tony and quietly asked,"How are your hands doing?"
"They're a little better," Tony answered,"Still kinda hurt…"
Tenshi motioned for Tony to follow him, and they went into the nearby bathroom. "Let me see them," He ordered, and Tony didn't even try to argue.
Tony to bring his hands over, which the teen did so willingly. The older man pulled off the white gloves Tony had on and undid the bandages hidden underneath, revealing deep red cuts on his palm and the middle of his fingers that were partly healed; wounds he sustained when ripping through the robot's metal plating.
Tenshi cleaned the wounds while staying quiet, neither of them wanting Tony's father to know. In fact, the only reason Tenshi knew was because he was a doctor, and seemed to have some kind of sixth sense when someone was hurting. Of course, Tony told him that it had been an accident with some jerk while he and Lucy were out, he didn't dare tell the truth.
"I'll check on them again once we get back home, okay?" Tenshi quietly said once they finished.
Tony nodded in relief, and Tenshi left the bathroom with him, grabbing his glass of unfinished water. "Thank you for keeping it… Y'know… To yourself," The redhead said, mismatched eyes shining with relief.
"Only this once, I can't do it anymore," Tenshi said,"You're not just an old patient anymore, you're my son."
Tony practically glowed with happiness, happy to hear Tenshi refer to him as that. The older man left the room, and Tony stood there for a moment… Then a mischievous smile climbed onto his face.
He poked his head into his parents' side of the hotel, that smile still on his face when he saw Tenshi drinking from his glass.
"So…" Tony began,"Should I start calling you Pops, Tou-San…. Or maybe Daddy?"
Both Tony and his father burst out laughing as Tenshi choked on his water.
When Tony returned home, things seemed to go back to normal. He finished up school, and was deciding which college he wanted to go to.
He and his friends hung out as much as possible, usually at the arcades in town, not sure if they would end up going to the same places or not.
"So where are you thinking of going?" Chikara asked Tony while he played air hockey against Nanami.
Tony quickly answered,"Not entirely sure… I got accepted many places and our science club gave us all a lot of scholarships. I just don't know what sounds the best."
"I'm going to Yamanashi," Atsuko said, finishing his salad. "They have a good biology program, and I want to study animals."
"You'll be right near Mount Fuji!" Nanami pointed out helpfully, blocking the puck Tony sent her way.
Chikara smirked mischievously, and exclaimed,"You can mess with tourists! They can be so gullible sometimes!"
"You could tell them that Mount Fuji actually means 'Bird Poop' or something!" Tony added, giggling along with her.
Nanami laughed too, and said,"Chikara remember that time you told those American kids that the Cicada calls was actually the aliens scanning their brain? That was hilarious!"
"Their parents must have had a blast!" Tony said, remembering the incident very well, and while everyone laughed he took that moment to defeat Nanami in air hockey.
The girl gasped, crossing her arms. "Come on, Jamie," She pouted,"That's not fair, I was talking to Chikara!"
"All is fair in love and war," Tony responded, shining his knuckles against his shirt. "But what about you, Nanami? Where will you go?"
Nanami furrowed her brow, casually answering,"Probably Osaka University. I hear that Osaka has a great nightlife and I could probably get my makeup and fashion line started there."
"I think I'll stay in Tokyo or maybe go to Shinjuku or Kyoto," Chikara continued,"My parents want me to take over their company so I can basically go anywhere as long as I study business. Maybe I'll go to Korea."
The others processed her ideas as Tony leaned against the nearby Mortal Kombat machine, shaking his head. "After what happened in New York, I don't know if I'd want to go international," He admits.
"Well, you were attacked by a talking robot," Nanami answered,"I'd be kinda scared too, especially since it seems like he just went after you and poor Lucy."
Chikara nodded, drinking her soda as she asked,"Any idea why that robot attacked you? Surely there had to be a reason."
"Nope," Tony casually said,"None at all." When he first admitted it to them, he had been tempted to tell them the truth. But, he didn't want SHIELD to be watching his friends or interrogating them because he told them something classified.
They finished up their day, and each headed back to their own homes. Tony found himself plagued with thoughts as he headed towards his home.
There are so many places I could go… But I don't know where… He snorted. Hell, I don't even know what I really want to study.
Tony looked back up at the sky, listening to the cicada calls and watching the birds fly. Well, at least I still have time to make a choice, I'll figure it out before to long.
He stayed in his thoughts for the rest of the walk home, and when he got to his front gate, he noticed a strange car sitting out front. Shaking it off, he opened the door, and let himself into the house.
Tony took of his shoes at the front of the house, listening quietly as he heard talking. That isn't Tenshi's voice, but it still sounds familiar? He thought.
Getting into his house slippers and walking down the hallway, he entered the living room. "Dad," He said,"I'm home, who's-"
He froze, the bag of stuff he got at the arcade dropping from his hold. His mismatched eyes widened. Oh my god.. Sitting on his couch was none other than Phil Coulson. Why is he here!?
His father answered for him, turning around and grinning widely. "Jamie! Why didn't you tell me?"
Tony felt his heart start pounding against his chest, blood rushing to his ears. "Tell- Tell.. Tell you what?" He croaked.
His father looked at him like he was being silly. "Are you messing with me?" He teased,"I can't believe you kept it a secret for so long!"
His dad stood up, hugging Tony tightly. "You got a full ride to New York University!" He exclaimed,"I'm so proud of you!"
Tony's eyes widened even more, his gaze turning to look at Coulson's face. It only took Tony a few seconds to realize what was happening.
Fury, you motherfucker.