Alright, obligatory chapter warnings in 3. 2. 1. This chapter contains; violence, mental manipulation, gore, self-harm, and some language. Oh boy! Well, what did you all expect? This is the Age of Ultron chapter after all. That being said, the beginning bit is a bit disturbing, so reader discretion is advised. I'm actually serious this time. I freaked myself out writing the beginning. If this stuff is an issue, please stop reading when Tony gets his vision from Wanda in the bunker and start again when they're on the jet back. Also, this is a movie chapter so some of the dialogue is taken from the movie. I do not own Marvel so none of that is mine. Please enjoy!
HYDRA. It was always fucking HYDRA. Just once Tony wished they would fight something a little more interesting. Like a giant squid or a Yeti. But no, it's always HYDRA. The same old bad guys trying to screw them over. At least it looked like their HYDRA fights were coming to an end. They had finally located Strucker's base in Sakovia and the team were primed and ready to retrieve Loki's sceptre once and for all.
Fighting in the snow, however. Not great.
Clint and Natasha were taking shots from the hummer while Steve threw his shield from his bike. Tony and Thor took aim from the air and the Hulk took out any stragglers. This was by far the biggest (other than Project Insight) HYDRA bust that the team had undertaken. Shots were being fired left and right as the team worked their way towards the stronghold base. Tony was closest, so he took a shot at trying to land on the roof only to be stopped by an invisible barrier.
"Shit!" he grimaced as the suit ricocheted off of nothing.
"Language." Reprimanded Steve over the coms. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"
"The central building is protected by some sort of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken."
"At long last" spoke Thor as he shot a lightning blast at a few dozen agents.
"At long last is lasting a little long, boys!" commented Natasha as she threw a few grenades.
"Well, I think we've lost the element of surprise." Said, Clint, as he brought down a shower of arrows.
"Wait a second. Is no one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said "language"?" asked Tony as he continued to blast HYDRA scum.
"I know… It just slipped out."
"Welcome to fatherhood Stevie." Laughed Tony as he flew around the outside of the base. He noticed that the city was under fire, so he instructed JARVIS to send the Iron Legion to help protect the public. While Tony tried to find a way to infiltrate the base, the team on the ground were dealing with a problem of their own.
"We have an enhanced in the field. Do not engage. I repeat, do not engage." Said Steve over the coms.
"Clint's hit! Requesting evac."
Tony wanted to go help them. He really did. His fellow dad friend and teammate had been hit, but he had to find a way into the base. It wasn't until JARVIS found where the power source was that Tony was able to take action. He fired a missile into the ground and the shield dissolved into the air leaving an opening for Tony to get through.
"Drawbridge is down people."
"I'll take care of Barton. You and Stark take care of the sceptre." Said, Thor, before he took off.
"And for gosh sake watch your language." Giggled Tony
"That's not going away any time soon."
"No way honey bun."
Tony burst his way through the window of the north tower, glass shattering and blanketing the floor like the snow outside. The agents inside were, as expected, uncooperative but were quickly neutralized. He exited the Iron Man armour and started downloading and deleting all the information he could get from HYDRA's servers. Meanwhile, Thor got Clint safely in the jet while Natasha went to go give Banner a lullaby. While the information was processing, Tony had JARVIS scan the room. On the wall to his left, there was steal reinforcements and an air current.
"Please be a secret door. Please be a secret door. Please be a secret door." Tony pushed on the wall and it slid open. "Yay!"
Tony made his way down an old, dimly lit hallway. It smelt of mildew, rot, and closely resembled a World War 2 bunker. The lights flickered in his wake and his steps sounded wet underfoot. He came to the end of the hall and opened a large wooden door. Old Chitauri tech was strewn about the large holding room. Above Tony's head was a Leviathan ship used during the invasion of New York. It was a picture-perfect scene straight out of Tony's personal hell.
"We have a second enhanced in the field. Female. Do not engage." Whispered Steve over the coms. A banging noise was heard before, "Guys, I've got Strucker."
"Yeah, well, I've got something bigger. Much, much bigger."
Tony took a moment to take inventory of his surroundings. There were old weapons, robots, and computers placed haphazardly around the room. It was dingy and cold. Everything felt inhuman and the air tasted like fear and danger. He rounded a corner, and there it was. Loki's sceptre.
"Thor. I've got eyes on the prize."
Tony was just about to take a few steps closer when the edges of his vision went hazy and red. It wasn't painful, but it was certainly unpleasant. It quickly cleared, and Tony heard a metallic roar as the Leviathan above him sprang to life and flew around the room. But the room wasn't the room anymore. It was a dark, desolate planet. There were Chitauri everywhere surrounding the very air he needed to breathe. In front of him lay the Avengers, broken and beaten. The Hulk twitched and whined. Natasha was on her back, eyes staring straight into Tony's soul. Clint was bleeding heavily, still clutching his bow. Thor almost looked like he was sleeping with Mjolnir resting just out of reach.
And then there was Steve. His boyfriend, the light of his life was laying down closest to him. His shield broken into ragged chunks and sitting by his head. Tony felt the panic set in. This wasn't real, was it? It couldn't be. But it felt so real. He could feel the broken Stones under his feet. Taste the ash and blood in the air. It had to be real. Tony walked over to Steve kneeling down to check his pulse. Tony startled as Steve grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.
"You… could've… saved… us. Why didn't… you do more?" Said, Steve, as his eyes glazed over and he stopped breathing. Tony's heart broke into a thousand pieces as he watched his boyfriend die. Tony would have been fine just to sit there and mourn until he heard a sound more heart wrenching than Steve dying.
"Daddy! Help Me!"
Tony whipped around and saw the absolute worst-case scenario. His son. His three-year-old son was trapped. Standing up but stuck to the ground by large boulders surrounding his feet. His chest and arms were bound with thick, corded rope. Behind Carter stood an imposing Chitauri soldier. In his hand was a long, sword-like object, pressed right up to his baby boy's neck.
"Carter!" yelled Tony as he launched himself over to his son. But he wasn't fast enough. The soldier raised his sword and brought it down hard against his son's neck. Blood splattered across Tony's arms and face. Tony stood frozen watching the ground hungrily drink up his son's blood. A deep, menacing voice could be heard, but Tony couldn't find the source.
"Fun isn't something one considers when balancing the universe. But this… does put a smile on my face."
No! This can't be real! This can't be real! This can't be real!
It wasn't real.
Tony blinked, and he was back in the room he started in. He felt so cold and empty. Like every part of him had died. That scene, that vision. It felt so real. He was there. He saw them die. But, he didn't? It didn't make sense. It was real. It had to be. The blood, the death and destruction. No. No! NO! It was real.
It was real.
It was real!
IT WAS REAL!
And Tony didn't know how to process this. So, he did what his brain and body wanted him to do.
He shut down. And, unknown to Tony, the stone in the sceptre glowed just a bit brighter.
MTHS
"Guys! Tony's not answering his coms. I'm going in to check on him. Requesting backup if I don't answer back in 20 mins." Said Steve over the coms. He was worried. Tony normally answers right away. This wasn't normal, and Steve couldn't help but think of the worst.
He made his way down the same hallway Tony had. Something felt off. Something smelt off. It was almost metallic. Almost like blood. Steve proceeded with extreme caution as he entered the room filled floor to ceiling with HYDRA and Chitauri tech. He took a moment to look around and listen for any trouble. Behind a desk, he could hear some sort of shuffling and… was that crying? Steve rounded the corner, and his heart broke.
Tony was on his knees sitting on the floor. He was covered in blood. There was too much blood. There were deep scratch marks over Tony's eyes and down his cheeks. Blood rolled off them like tears. The left sleeve of his shirt was rolled up. The old scars that existed there were now covered by newer, deeper cuts that had blood dripping to the floor. He sat there, crying almost silently, a knife still clutched in his hand.
"TONY! Tony baby!" yelled Steve as he ran to him and knelt on the ground next to him. Steve took Tony's bleeding arm in his and tried to staunch the bleeding.
"This is Captain America requesting immediate backup and medical aid to my location. As fast as possible! Over!" he yelled over the coms.
Tony sat there mumbling the same thing over and over again. "You're not real. You're dead. You're not real." He looked like a complete wreck. Like someone had entered his mind and snapped it in half. Tony's eyes were screwed shut and he wasn't even paying attention to Steve. Steve took the hand that wasn't currently applying pressure to Tony's arm and ran it through his hair and cupped the back of his head.
"Tony. Tony, it's me. It's Steve. I've got you. You're safe now." He whispered and brought his head down to Tony's.
"You're not real. You're not real. I killed you! It's all my fault. You're dead and it's my fault! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm SORRY!" screamed Tony as he tried to bring his hands back up to claw at his face. Luckily, Steve had a strong hold on his arms and was able to stop this. In another stroke of pure luck, Thor had just arrived in the room carrying the teams well-stocked first aid kit.
"Captain! What happened?"
"I don't know." Steve was almost in tears. "He was like this when I found him. He keeps saying that I'm not real and that he killed me. I think something or someone messed with his head."
"I'll try moving Loki's sceptre away from him. It may help you calm him enough to get his injuries sorted." Steve nodded, and Thor moved to remove the sceptre from the room. Once Thor left the effect was immediate. Tony's shoulders slumped a bit and he let out a little whimper of pain.
"Tony darlin'. You with me?" asked Steve as he brought Tony's head to his shoulder.
"Steve?" croaked Tony. He tried to open his eyes, but his face hurt too much.
"I'm here Tony. You're safe now Love." Whispered Steve as he rubbed his partners back. "Can you tell me what happened?" Tony just shook his head.
"Hurts."
"I know darlin'. Let's get you fixed up so we can go back to the jet, alright?" Steve made to move away but stopped when Tony grabbed his arm.
"Please don't leave. Need to know you're real."
Steve nodded and used his reach to grab and open the first aid kit. Steve slowly cleaned and wrapped Tony's arm all the while making sure that one part of his body was always touching him. Once the arm was bandaged up Steve moved onto Tony's face. Steve knew something was really wrong when Tony didn't protest one bit at the medical attention being given to him. Tony panicked when Steve began to wrap gauze around his head to cover the wounds he made to his face, but Steve was quick and had it under control. Thor was then summoned back, and the trio made their way to the jet. When they walked onto the jet was when the calm broke.
"What happened?" asked Natasha as they walked onto the jet. Steve cradled Tony in his arms and Thor following close behind with the case containing Loki's sceptre.
"We're not entirely sure." Said, Steve, as he sat down on one of the benches hugging Tony close. Tony, in turn, was clinging to Steve like his life depended on it.
"How's Barton?" croaked out Tony
"I'm alive. Hurts like a bitch, but I'm alive" came the reply from the bed near the front of the jet. Tony nodded and tried to press himself closer to Steve. Once everything was deemed stable, Natasha got the jet in the air and the team began to fly home.
Steve spent the flight holding Tony close and reassuring him that he was still there, and he was real. Natasha got things sorted and JARVIS had control of the jet, she was able to check on Clint and Bruce.
"Thor, report on the hulk."
"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims." Everyone who could gave Thor the death glare.
"But not the screams of the dead of course. No, No, uh. Wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining, and tales of sprained deltoids and the… gout." This brought a giggle out of both Clint and Tony.
Steve continued to sooth Tony until he had lulled into a light sleep. Steve was worried. Very worried. What had happened to cause his boyfriend to act like that. Even in his darkest moments, Tony had never done something like that. Maybe it was the girl who was working with HYDRA. She had that red misty stuff. It wouldn't be a complete stretch to say that she was behind it.
When the jet landed Hellen Cho's team was quick to get Clint to medical and get him treated. Tony was another story. He was so worked up and out of it that he refused to let anyone other then Steve touch him. So, Steve ended up having to carry him down to medical. They sat down together on the bed, Steve never leaving Tony's side.
"Tony, you need to let the doctors look at those cuts. I'm pretty sure you need stitches. Please Love." Pleaded Steve as he held Tony's hands in one hand and caressed his head with the other. Tony just leaned in closer but didn't fuss as much when the doctors began to unwrap his arm to look at the damage. All the wounds needed stitches, it was that bad. There were 14 cuts in total and a local anesthetic wouldn't work. They fitted Tony with a very light morphine drip and had Steve lay him down while they stitched and rewrapped his arm. What Tony really didn't like was when they unwrapped his eyes. They had to darken the room to keep Tony from losing it. Luckily none of them needed stitches and the doctors were able to glue and tape the cuts back together. Steve whispered reassurances the whole time. Tony would need to wear dark sunglasses for a few days to prevent any more eye irritation.
Steve sat Tony down in a wheelchair so that they could go check on Barton while the morphine worked through his system. Tony really hated painkillers. He tried to avoid them if he could for this very reason. On a lucky note, because Tony had managed to collect all the data from the base, they had everything they needed to know about the two enhanced individuals they encountered. Maria Hill was able to get them up to speed.
"Nero-electric interfacing…" Muttered Tony
"Does that mean anything Tony?" asked Steve as he knelt in front of him.
"I think that little witch messed with my head. Made me see all this horrible stuff." Tony hung his head
"Darlin', what did you see?"
"I can't, I can't repeat it. Not right now. But it was horrible things. The worst things. Things I never want to see again." Steve put a hand on his shoulder and got up to push the chair towards their common floor so that they could get some food and see Carter.
"I need to talk to Thor and Bruce about that sceptre."
"No, you need dinner and Carter cuddles. Everything else can wait till tomorrow. They'll understand."
The elevator dinged, and Steve and Tony made their way to the living room. Steve helped Tony get settled on the couch before running to go get Carter.
"Papa! You and Daddy home now!" yelled a very excited toddler from his spot on the floor. Hill had been watching him, but JARVIS was just as good for a few moments when needed.
"Yeah, we're home now jelly bean." Cater squealed and hugged his papa. "Now Carter, I need you to listen very carefully alright buddy." Carter nodded. "When we were fighting the bad guys, daddy got hurt so he has these bandages on his arm and face. We need to be super-duper careful with them ok. The bandages will help daddy get better, like the cast on your arm. We also need to be quite to keep daddy's head from hurting alright bud?" Carter nodded his head and went to go grab his special blanket to give to his dad so that he would start to feel better.
Carter was quite as he sat on the couch and ate dinner with his daddy and papa. He told them about all the games he played while they were gone. Tony let Carter out of his sight even for a second the whole time he was sitting with them. The rest of the team eventually joined them in the living room but gave the little family space. When it came time to put Carter to bed Tony made sure that every little thing was secure, and that JARVIS was keeping an eye on his son. A little paranoia never hurt anybody. Instead of going back to join the team, Steve took them back to their room so that Tony could rest, and they could talk.
"Tony, can you tell me what you saw. Please Love." Asked Steve.
So, Tony did. He trusted his partner 100%. He told Steve exactly what happened. Everything from him entering the base, to finding the weapons room, to the red hazed vision. All of it. By the end, Tony had tears in his eyes and Steve was close to crying.
"I don't think I'll ever forget that voice. It was… it was horrible Steven. I never want to see anything like that again."
They spent the night trying desperately to keep each other safe from the inevitable nightmares.
MTHS
The next morning Tony tried to act like nothing had happened. Everyone knew that someone had messed with Tony's head, but they tried not to talk about it in front of him. Tony didn't need their pity on top of everything else. Breakfast was subdued, but once it was over was when the real fun began.
Tony, Bruce, and Thor made their way down to one of the shared labs on the research level of the tower. Thor had put the sceptre there the night before for safe keeping. Tony's brain had been working all night and it was now time to put his plan into action.
"Thor, what can you tell us about this. Is it safe to be around?" asked Tony as all three looked at the case.
"I reckon it's safe to be around."
"So, if we were to have JARVIS scan it, we would be fine."
"Should be."
So, JARVIS did a scan of the sceptre. It was alien, no surprise there, but there was so much that they couldn't quantify. It was amazing.
"Sir, the jewel seems like it's a protective housing for something else. I'm reading the same erratic signatures coming from you."
"Well, you know me J, I am erratic." Said Tony, brushing off the comment.
"It is also something powerful."
"Like a reactor?"
"Like a computer." The three Avengers looked at each other a million questions forming.
"So, theoretically, it could be used for data transfer?" asked Bruce.
"Theoretically." Responded the AI. Tony and Bruce shared a look.
"JARVIS, call the team in here. We have something to discuss."
JARVIS did as asked, and in the span of 10 minutes, the team was there in the lab. When they got there, Tony had 2 projections up. One of JARVIS's code, the other scanned from the sceptre. The difference was astounding. Not only was the sceptre's code huge, but it looked like it was thinking.
"Tony what is all this." Asked Steve as he stood next to Tony examining the projections.
"These are lines of code. That big one there is from the sceptre. JARVIS is just here for scale."
"So, what does this all mean?" asked Natasha walking around the room
"Down in Strucker's lab I saw all sorts of high tech weapons. Things well beyond normal crazy HYDRA stuff. I have a feeling that they were using this. If they could use it was a tool to make weapons why can't we use it to help make a tool for peace?"
"Tony, are you suggesting Ultron? Asked Bruce. Tony nodded, and the team looked concerned. They all knew of the plans for Ultron. It was going to be a global peacekeeper. Something to keep all the nasty things out in the cosmos from getting to Earth.
"Are you sure about this Tony?" asked Steve putting on his captain face.
"Look, I saw what was out there. I saw how horrible space could be. What if another invasion shows up and they couldn't get past the bouncer. I see a suit of armour around the world." Steve took Tony's hand and the rest of the team looked skeptical.
"Look, I'm not saying we use this to build Ultron. I'm saying we use it as a data transfer point. Either way, it could take days of scans before we can even look at doing that." Bruce was already on board and the team trusted Tony's judgment. They just wanted the all clear from Thor. As their resident Non-human, he was the expert on this stuff.
"What do you think Pointbreak?"
"I think you and Banner should try. It looks safe. If things start going wrong though you guys call me. I'll take the blame on this one should it backfire." Said, Thor.
Tony just smiled. "Peace in our time."
MTHS
The next three days were full of non-stop work for Tony and Bruce. Scans upon scans. Simulations upon simulations. None of their theoretical work seemed to be working. Steve would come in every few hours to check on them and to give them food and water. Sometimes he would bring Carter to cheer up the men who, like true scientists, were failing over and over again. Unknown to them, on the night of the third day, things would change drastically.
Tony had left the lab that evening to get ready for their little party that night. He spent the time getting ready with (and making out with) Steve before grabbing Carter and going up to the penthouse party space for the evening.
It was nice. People were telling stories and laughing. Rhodey had been able to make it down and was having some quality bonding time with little Carter. It was nice and calm. The atmosphere was jovial and there was food. Who doesn't love food? Tony saw talking near the bar with Thor and Maria drinking some apple juice while watching Steve and Sam play pool. Rhodey eventually came over with Carter to grab a drink and told them all one of his War Machine stories. They didn't laugh but it was still fun.
"So, where's Pepper tonight?" asked Rhodey
"Same with Jane. Where are the ladies?" asked Hill as she took a drink.
"Well, Pepper has a company to run. We have that product launch in Japan so she's there."
"I'm not even sure what country she in. Her work on the convergence has made her the world foremost astronomer."
"And the company Pepper runs if the largest tech company in the world." The two continued to bicker back on forth until Hill interrupted them.
"Well, they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together. *testosterone*" she coughed and Rhodey laughed and lead her away.
"But Jane's better." Quipped Thor right as Steve approached with Sam and picked up Carter.
"Hey, little man." Said Sam waving hello to Carter. "I haven't seen you since you were a baby." Carter smiled and allowed Sam to lead him over to where the food was so that Steve and Tony could have a moment. They were making heart eyes at each other.
"You seem happy this evening. Don't tell me Thor gave you some of this ale." Tony laughed and grabbed Steve's hand. Steve gave Tony a look over. His arm was still wrapped up and would be for another week. His face was looking better but the marks were still there. It would probably take another week for them to heal and a few would likely scar.
"I'm just happy to see you smiling my Love." He replied. Tony smiled, and they went to find their son. They looked around the room and Tony giggled when he saw Natasha and Bruce blatantly flirting over at the bar.
The night moved on and most of the guests went home leaving just the Avengers, their close friends, and some take-out Chinese food. Steve and Tony were sitting next to each other while Carter sat perched on Tony's lap. It was a special occasion, so Carter was allowed to say up.
"It's a trick!" spoke Clint from the floor. He was referring to their ongoing argument about Thor's hammer.
"It's much more than that."
"What. Whoever he be worthy shall have'th the power." Said Clint all dramatically. "Whatever it's a trick."
"Well please be my guest." Said, Thor, as he gestured to Mjolnir. Clint got up and made his way over the hammer.
"Clint, you've had a tough week. Nobody's going to hold it against you if you can't get it up." Said Tony and the room laughed. Carter remained blissfully unaware of the joke and continued to play with his stuffed bunny.
Clint put his hand on the hammer and with a mighty pull…
Nothing. Tony laughed, and Clint invited him to try.
"I'm never one to shrink from an honest challenge. So, if I lift it do I rule all of Asgard." He directed at Thor
"Yes."
"Well, I shall be a firm but just ruler. It's just physics" Said Tony as he put his hand on the hammer and pulled.
And so, started the pissing contest that was the Avengers trying to lift the hammer. Everyone was putting in maximum effort. Tony even teamed up with Rhodey using their gauntlets and that didn't even work. Steve came close. The hammer squeaked but didn't move. Tony clapped him on the back when he sat back down.
"Widow, you wanna try?" Asked Clint. She just shook her head and took a drink.
"Uncle Thor, can I twy?" asked Carter in his cute little voice. Thor just smiled.
"Of course, my fiercest warrior."
So, Tony picked up Carter and made sure he had a good grip. He kneeled down on the floor so that Carter could reach. Carter wrapped his left hand around the handle of the hammer. It didn't even come close to wrapping all the way around. It was so cute.
"Alright Bambino, on the count of three. 1. 2. 3." And on three Carter pulled with all his might.
And picked up the hammer.
The room fell silent. Carter just looked so proud of himself. Thor rushed over and picked him up Lion King style.
"He is worthy!" he shouted, and Carter giggled. Tony and Steve looked so proud. Naturally, Carter would be worthy. He was their perfect little boy. After that Carter got tired from all the excitement and Tony took him to bed. When Tony returned the group continued to joke around until all hell broke loose.
Everyone heard a metallic ringing in their ears. When they turned around they were all face to face with a mangled Iron Legion robot. It was spouting off about how they weren't worthy. How they were all killers and Tony was very glad he had taken Carter to bed. The bot kept talking, almost like it was confused. Tony tried in vain to contact JARVIS, but nothing was working. The bot said he killed someone and that just confused everyone else. It just kept stammering and talking until Thor spoke up.
"Who sent you?" he demanded. All the bot did was playback an audio clip.
"I see a suit of armour around the world." Well… that was a shocker.
"Ultron!" commented Bruce
"In the flesh." And from there he just kept talking and talking until an entire arsenal was unleashed upon the room. Unfortunately, the room was full of Avengers, military, and former SHIELD agents. Ultron didn't stand a chance. It was chaotic and destructive but in the end, they were able to beat off most of the bots. The downside, one was able to fly off with the sceptre.
"What the hell was that?" yelled Steve. "I thought you guys were still running simulations?"
"We were! I have no idea what just happened!" said Tony as he clutched the bloody bandages on his arm. There were cuts from glass and he probably popped a few stitches.
Steve looked angry but when Bruce was able to confirm exactly what they were doing he calmed down a bit. They went up to the lab where Steve changed Tony's bandages while he and Bruce tried to find out what happened.
"It's gone. Everything is gone. All our work is gone. The security footage is gone. It's all gone. Escaped through the internet. Who knows where he is." Said, Bruce, as he stared at a bunch of blank screens.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Natasha. "Can't we get JARVIS to help us?" Tony just bowed his head and couldn't meet any of the team's eyes.
"Remember when Ultron said he killed someone." He mumbled
"Yes, but there're no casualties reported." Said, Steve, as he tried to get Tony to meet him in the eye.
"Yes, there was." Said Tony somberly. He pulled out his phone and brought out a projection of JARVIS's mainframe. Well, what was left of it. The programming was so mangled that the team could hardly tell that it was JARVIS. Tony was trying so hard to put on a brave face but let a single tear slide when Steve went and hugged him. JARVIS had been with Tony through thick and thin. It hurt just as much to lose AI JARVIS as when he lost human Jarvis. After a moment of mourning, Thor returned to the room after having left briefly to search for the sceptre. All eyes turned to him.
"The trail went cold about a hundred miles out. No sign of Ultron."
"You have anything to explain this big guy?" asked Clint from his perch.
"If what Stark and Banner said was true about their work we may have to assume that this was a spontaneous event caused by the sceptre. We'll have to do more searching, but simple scanning should not have caused this." Spoke Thor as he looked at the remains of what was once JARVIS. Everyone was silent until Tony spoke up.
"This is all my fault."
"Tony it's not your fault." Said Rhodey as he walked closer to him.
"No! it's my fault. If I had just paid closer attention to things. If I had stayed in the room while J ran more simulations. If I hadn't been so stupid and suggested this idea in the first place…" his voice rose then tapered off. To those who knew Tony well, they knew a panic attack was approaching and they needed to calm him down.
"Tones, it's not your fault." Said Rhodey as he gave his friend a hug. "None of this is your fault. JARVIS was NOT your fault. Got it. It was a spontaneous event. Not your fault."
"He's right darlin'. None of this is on you. You couldn't have predicted this." Said, Steve, as he rubbed a hand up and down his boyfriend's back
"But I feel like I should have been able to. Like I should have seen this coming. Something bad is coming. Something big. I know it is. How were you guys planning to defeat that." Tony's eyes were wild and on the verge of panic.
"Together." Was Steve's simple answer.
"We'll lose."
"Then we'll lose together too. Look, guys. How about we get some sleep and regroup in the morning when we've all had some rest." Everyone nodded and slowly made their separate ways. Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Rhodey stayed in the lab just a little bit longer to give a bit of a memorial for JARVIS. Tony kept a brave face, but on the inside, he was crying. Steve held him close as they made their way to bed. It was going to be a long night.
MTHS
The next morning, they regrouped after breakfast. Tony had sent Carter off to spend some time with Laura Barton. The Barton house was low tech and would be the safest place for him. Carter was sad to say goodbye to his Papa and Daddy but was excited to see Auntie Laura and his cousins.
Hill was able to get them caught up on the information she had discovered during the night. Apparently, the Maximoff twins had teamed up with Ultron and were scavenging for something. They had even killed Strucker in his cell as a message to the team. Because all their data on Strucker had been deleted, the team were going through all the paper data like it was a crime show from 1969.
"Any idea who this guy is?" asked Bruce as a file got passed around.
"Ulysses Klaue. Operates black market arms off the Ivory Coast." Responded Tony as he gave the file a once over.
"How do you know that?" asked Steve. No accusations. Just curiosity.
"From back in the day. Stane tried to introduce me at a function. I didn't sell him anything. Can't say if Stane did or not, but I didn't." Said Tony defensively. They all took a closer look at the pictures of Klaue and Thor pointed out that he had a strange burn on his neck. Bruce ran a search and found out what it was.
"It's a work in an African dialect meaning thief."
"What dialect?" asked Steve
"Wankanadin… w w w Wakandan." Steve and Tony shared a knowing look.
"Howard told me he had the last of it." Commented Steve. Tony just shrugged.
"Wait! What comes out of Wakanda?" asked Bruce.
"Vibrainium." Answered Tony.
"We need to find this guy." Said, Steve.
"Well, he's probably still in Africa." Responded Tony.
"Alright team, wheels up in 30."
MTHS
The plane ride was noisy for the first half. Tony flew the plane and Steve started making a battle plan with the team. The second half was another story. Tony continued to fly the plane even though others had offered. Steve sat close by to keep an eye on him.
"I'm going to fix this." Promised Tony, breaking the silence of the jet.
"Love we've been over this. It's the same thing we all said yesterday, and what I told you last night in bed. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault." Steve punctuated each word to make a point. "Nobody here blames you. We will fix this, but it is not your fault. Alright." Tony just nodded, and they sat in silence for a few more moments.
"I just feel like I should have been able to prevent this. Like if I had concentrated more I should have seen this coming." Argued the genius.
"Tony, it's not like you can see the future. I know you. I know what you're thinking. You did nothing wrong so stop stressing about it." And that was the end of that conversation. But Tony knew. He should have known this was going to happen. It was like something inside his very being was screaming at him about it. To just concentrate more so he can see all this. But there was this other part. A more dormant part of his being, that was telling him to let go. To just let this go from his soul. Unfortunately, Tony Stark was a stubborn son of a bitch and just couldn't let things go.
Once the jet landed on the edge of the woods the team suited up to disembark. Bruce was to stay on the jet unless he was specifically needed for a code green. They were close to a heavily populated area and didn't want to take the risk.
Once they entered the ship where Klaue was hiding they were quick to locate him. And there with him was Ultron and the Maximoff twins. They saw Ultron chop off Klaue's hand and they could hear Ultron as they got closer.
"Do Not Compare Me To Tony Stark! He's a sickness. A disease."
"Um, rude." Said, Tony, as the team got Ultron's attention. They kept talking, fighting each other with verbal swords and shields. It really seemed like they were targeting Tony personally. Especially the super twins.
"So, what the vibranium for?" asked Tony preparing to fight.
"I'm glad you've asked that because I wanted to take the time to explain my evil plan."
And from there all hell broke loose. Ultron directly attacked Tony with a magnet pulse and shot him into the wall. Tony got right back up and the two began an aerial battle. The rest of the team got busy fighting the other murder bots and the Maximoff twins. The room was filled with gunfire and shouting. It was almost hard to see what was going on. Tony took the fight with Ultron outside, Steve and Thor worked in tandem to take out the murderbots and Pietro Maximoff, Nat and Clint continued to work from the shadows, and Bruce began to question his sanity when he lost the com signal.
Thor was the first to be put under Wanda's spell. At first, he thought he was fine, but then he saw his kingdom fall. Seeing Heimdall's eye's like that and hearing the screams of his people would have completely broken a lesser person the Thor. Natasha was next. She was forced to relive her childhood in the Red Room. She remembered the graduation ceremony and began to dwell on the life she could have had.
And then there was Steve. Steve was transported to an extravagant ballroom filled with happy dancing couples. He looked down and he was clad in his military dress uniform. There was swing music and laughter in the air. He walked forward until he was stopped.
Stopped by his lost love Peggy Carter.
"Are you ready for our dance? The war's over Steve. We can go home now, but shall we dance first?" she asked, and Steve was more than happy to take her hand and lead the way. They danced with joy and reckless abandon. The war was over. He could start a family and finally be happy. He could settle down. He didn't need to fight anymore. Steve smiled and held Peggy closer. They danced in their own little world until they were rudely interrupted by a three-year-old boy.
The tiny child tugged at his pant legs and gave the universal signal for wanting to be picked up. Steve hesitated. He felt like he knew this kid. But, how could he? He didn't have any kids nor did any of his friends. Even so, he still had this extremely paternal feeling cover him like a blanket. This kid was his, but he didn't understand how. Hell, the kid didn't even look like him. The kid had these unruly chocolate curls and big doe eyes. Steve was the exact opposite of this kid. He was just about to pick up the kid he was interrupted for a second time. This time by a voice.
"Carter, stop bugging your Papa and come over here, Bambino."
Steve turned around and was brought face to face with the most beautiful man he had ever seen. He was short, about Howard Stark's height, and his eye's shone with… was that love? There was a light shining out from under his suit. Actually, he looked a lot like Stark. Maybe he was related? The man looked at Steve and smiled. Steve felt breathless as he walked towards him completely forgetting Peggy and their dance.
"Steve, you don't need a war to define you. I love you just the way you are." Said the man as he took Steve's hand. Steve smiled. He felt like he knew this man as his heart fluttered in his chest. The little boy in the man's arms gave Steve a kiss on the cheek, and that's when everything clicked for Steve.
The people before him were Tony Stark and Carter Stark. He boyfriend and son. His family. Peggy was his first love, yes, but these people were his entire world. All this dance hall crap was an illusion. A vision cause by that Maximoff girl. Steve's world was waiting for him. He just needed to get back to them. Steve blinked, and the illusion was gone. It was time to go find his team.
MTHS
While the team struggled against Wanda's visions, Tony had a problem of his own. He had Ultron pinned against a boat when he was warned that The Hulk was on the loose. Nobody called in for a code green so what the hell happened. He blasted the Ultron bot to smithereens and flew up to check the damage. He saw The Hulk making his way towards the city and the Maximoff twins close behind. This must have been their doing. Tony had to stop this before it ended horribly. He used his suit to search for and locate The Hulk. He found him tearing a city street surrounded by terrified civilians. Clint was quick to tell him that the team was compromised and that he wouldn't have back-up. It was time to call in VERONICA, better known as the "Hulk Buster"!
The pieces of the containment chamber fell around The Hulk, keeping him contained while the pieces of the Hulk Buster armour assembled themselves around Tony. He landed just as The Hulk escaped his containment and continued to smash up his surroundings.
"Stop it! That little witch is messing with your head. You're faster than her. You're stronger than her. You're Bruce Banner! You're my science bro." said Tony trying to calm him down All he got was an angry roar in response. "Alright! Alright! Don't mention puny Banner." And so began the Hulk vs Iron Man fight. Many had asked the question of who would win in that fight and they were about to have an answer.
The answer was Iron Man, but barely. He won and was able to calm Bruce down, but it was at a cost. The property damage alone must have been valued in the millions and there were a lot of terrified civilians left in their wake. The Avengers were in serious trouble. They would have lots of explaining to do once they got in contact with the UN and WSC. None of this was their fault. The team knew this, but the public sure didn't. This sucked and all because of that little witch.
They were all flying on the jet back home when Hill gave them the news. It wasn't great, but it could work. Lay low and work from the shadows. Clint took over flying the jet. He was the healthiest out of all of them and was one of three people on the jet who knew the location of the safe house. The other two were Tony and Natasha. Natasha was fast asleep in one of the benches, Bruce was curled up in a blanket, Thor was pacing back and forth, and Steve sat with Tony rebandaging his arm. It helped clear Steve's mind a bit.
"You helped me break out of that vision." Said, Steve, as he took the opportunity to snuggle up to Tony.
"How so."
"You were just there. Well, you and Carter. Just seeing my family helped me fight off whatever that was." Steve smiled and closed his eyes. Now seemed like the perfect moment to get some rest and with Tony running his hand through Steve's hair, he was out like a light.
They arrived at Clint's farm early the next morning. Clint put down the jet and the team walked across the field and to the front door. Clint, who was supporting Natasha, lead the way with Tony and Steve not far behind. Thor stuck to the back to keep an eye on Bruce. Steve, Thor, and Bruce were a bit confused as to where they were but trusted Clint's judgement.
Tony had been to the house only once before. Back when Carter was still a baby, Clint had invited him down to meet Laura and his kids. They were nice, and Laura was so helpful with the baby. Clint's children Cooper and Lila were super sweet and loved playing with their "cousin" Carter. Now Tony and Steve really didn't have any secrets between them. This was one of the only ones because Tony made a promise to Clint years ago. So colour Steve surprised when Clint's kids came running to say hello to their dad and Uncle Tony.
"Carter's sleeping although all this noise probably woke him up." Said, Laura, as she walked into the room. Tony nodded and left to retrieve his son. Steve decided to follow.
"Care to explain." Said, Steve, as he grabbed Tony's waist. Tony huffed but explained anyway.
"This is nothing to do with not trusting you Steve. Barton told me about this all when Carter was first born. He trusted me with his secret so that he could keep his kids safe. It was a case of fewer people knowing the better. It wasn't my secret to tell. He only told me because superhero dads need to stick together. I couldn't break his trust." Said, Tony, as they made their way upstairs to where Carter slept when he was here. Steve paused for a second. He understood completely. This wasn't Tony's secret to tell and he would have lost all of Barton's trust and a safe house for Carter if he had. Tony just wanted to keep people safe. He always had.
Carter, on the other hand, didn't care about the drama one bit. He had his Daddy and Papa back again and they were having jam on toast for breakfast. All was well in his world. All the Avengers though were a bit stressed. Thor left early to try and find more information about his vision so there were only five Avengers there for breakfast. The Barton Family never had to worry about not having enough food or things they needed. Tony had been secretly wiring Laura money every month so that she always had enough to take care of the kids. This worked out great seeing as the Avengers didn't really get paid and Tony and Bruce were really the only ones on the team with jobs. Tony had all his SI stuff and he had Bruce employed in RnD in their medical division so that they always had new science to work on together. It kept Bruce happy knowing that he was helping change the world through medicine.
After breakfast, Tony and Steve took all the kids down to the lake to hunt bugs so that the other adults could have some time to decompress and relax. It was fun. Cooper ended up catching a salamander in a mud bed and Lila and Carter, being closer in age, made mud pies. They spent the whole morning doing this. When they got back they got the kids cleaned up and it was time for lunch. Bruce had made some soup and sandwiches that were warmly received. After lunch, Carter went down for a nap and Tony and Steve offered to try and make a dent in the large wood pile outside.
"I don't like this. It still feels like this was all my fault." Said Tony chopping a log in half.
"Not this again Love. We've been over this. It's nobody's fault." Said Steve and he too chopped a log into pieces.
"I know. It's just my brain won't shut up for a second so that I can process what's going on. I just need a distraction, so I can focus on something else." Mumbled Tony.
"Well, how's this for a distraction?" said Steve. When Tony looked over at him Steve took a log from the pile and proceeded to rip it in half. With his BARE HANDS! How incredibly macho and sexy. Tony had to work hard to suppress a moan.
"Really Steven. Unless you wanna go right now in the cornfield." Steve just laughed and hugged his boyfriend. Unfortunately, their hug didn't last long as Laura came to ask Tony if he could help fix their tractor. Who was Tony to refuse?
"Be careful of your stitches!" yelled Steve ash Tony walked away.
"I will mother hen." responded Tony
When he got to the barn he was surprised to find none other than Nick Fury waiting there for him.
"I take it Hill called you."
"She did. So. what do you have to say for yourself Stark?" grumbled the former director.
"Well, if Maria's called you then she's filled you in on the situation. Apparently, none of this is my fault." The "even though it feels like it is." Was left unsaid.
"You always were sensitive Stark. Even when you were a kid."
"Yes, use my youth against me. Look, Nick, I want to make this right and I'm at a loss."
"I don't have all the answers you need Tony. I'm just an old man who cares very much about you. You really are Peggy's godson."
"I'm also the man who killed the Avengers."
"That was just a vision."
"No! It wasn't a vision. I was shown. I felt it. Everyone was dead. This giant threat killed everyone… because of me. I could have done so much more to protect them. But I didn't. I wasn't ready. This wasn't a nightmare. It was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on." Panicked Tony.
"You've come up with some pretty impressive things Tony. War isn't one of them." Spoke Fury with authority.
"I watched my family die in front of me. Felt the loss so deep in my heart that now my face and arm are scared for life." As he tried to keep his voice even. Yup, he was going to have another breakdown in the near future.
"And the worst part was that you were the only one left." Tony wanted to give a witty comeback, but his voice had decided to stop working. Nick noticed this and intervened.
"I'll go get your stupid boyfriend. You're getting yourself too worked up son." So, Fury left to go retrieve Steve while Tony took a seat on a bale of hay. He barely noticed when Steve sat down next to him and pulled Tony onto his lap in a hug. They spent some time just talking and calming Tony down. Mostly trivial things like how the construction of the new Avengers facility was going, and when they should move in. Calm things to keep Tony calm.
After the little heart to heart in the barn, Steve and Tony made their way up to the house for dinner. It was spaghetti and meatballs so more of the sauce got on the kids than in them. The adults took a moment to clean up the kids before a desert of Natasha's homemade cherry pie was plated up for dessert. It was oddly domestic for the dire situation. After the kids had been sent to bed for the night the team thought up a plan. After some more razzing of Steve over his "language" comment, they had just that. Tony would go to the Nexus to find out who or what was changing all the nuclear launch codes and if they could be trusted. Banner was going back to the tower to wait for the rest of them. If they found any biological material they needed him to be ready. The others were going to Korea to find Doctor Hellen Cho, so they could protect her. They all agreed to try and get a few hours sleep before take-off. Clint stayed in his room with his wife, Bruce and Natasha took the pull-out in the living room, and Tony and Steve took the guest bedroom. Nobody got much sleep.
MTHS
The next morning, after saying their thank-yous to Laura and good-byes to the kids, they were off to try and save the world. Steve and the others took off in the jet while Tony began his flight to Oslo in the suit. The flight was long but when Tony hit the ground he was ready to go. Gaining access wasn't that hard. All he had to do was flash his fancy Avengers badge and explain the situation and he was in. It wasn't really that hard to find out what was going on once he got searching, and once he found what he was looking for he made his way back to the tower to wait for further instructions with Bruce.
Meanwhile, poor Steve has getting beat up by Ultron while trying to retrieve the cradle. They were successful, but in the process, Nat was snatched away by Ultron. And, to add insult to injury, that girl, Wanda Maximoff, felt the need to insult Tony. She only knew about the pre-Afghanistan Tony. The playboy the public saw and what that persona stood for. Not the Tony Steve knew. Not the kind, caring father. Not the survivor. Not the man who gave a bunch of misfits a home and only wanted to protect them. So yes, Steve was a little-pissed off when he ordered Clint to take the cradle back to Tony and the lab.
When Clint arrived at the lab with the cradle it was a bit of a shocker. When he and Bruce were able to take a peek inside it was astounding. A body made of tissue and vibranium with this glowing stone at the head. While Tony and Bruce gave it a good look over, Clint left for one of the lower levels to try and track down Nat.
"We need to work on taking this thing apart. I'll start with the tissues, you can work on the programming." Said, Bruce, as he inspected the cradle.
"Um… about that."
"No!."
"Just trust me on this."
"Tony…"
"Look our ally. The one protecting the nuclear codes. I found him." And with that Tony was able to bring up a very much intact projection of JARVIS. Bruce was thrilled. From there Tony was able to tell Bruce what had happened and what he planned. Bruce wasn't convinced, but Tony knew with his gut that this was right.
"Look, that stone in there. It's powerful. It's just… I'm not sure how, but I know this is the right thing to do. I knew this was going to happen. I can't tell you how I knew, but I do. You've trusted me so far Brucie-bear. I need you to trust me now." Said Tony.
"Alright fine. But if this goes south it's on you."
So, they worked. Bruce taking care of the biology side of things while Tony took care of the mechanical side. It looked like controlled chaos in the most literal sense. It wasn't easy. They were under an extreme time constraint with a lack of materials and knowledge. Either way, it was working. Until they were interrupted.
"Um… What's going on here." Asked Steve as he as the Maximoffs walked into the room. Steve walked over to Tony so that he could take a look.
"Why are they here?" asked Bruce taking a few steps back.
"We're here to stop Stark from ending the world with another one of his weapons." Spoke Wanda.
"Listen, I don't know who you think I am, but I don't do the whole weapons shtick anymore." Sassed Tony while he explained to Steve what he was doing.
"Why should we listen to you Stark? You're nothing but a filthy murderer." Spat Pietro.
"You know nothing." Responded Steve.
"We know that He's the one responsible for the bomb that killed our parents. Only the worst kind of person would ever make a child an orphan." Spoke Wanda, and something inside of Tony just snapped.
"Now listen here." Seethed Tony walking towards the twins. "Back when Sakovia was having its revolution, American soldiers and weapons contractors weren't even involved. I never sold any weapons to anyone in that revolution. You wanna know who did? His name was Obadiah Stane and he was dealing under the table for his own gain. I had no say where that bomb ended up. That was on him and he's dead now. Just because I designed the thing doesn't mean that I was the one who pulled the trigger. And you two are giant hypocrites. You say to make a child an orphan is the worst. Well, if you had killed me and my team you would have made a few more orphans. Think about that bitch!"
Watching Tony defend himself like that was… incredibly hot. If the world wasn't trying to end itself and there weren't so many people present, Steve would have taken Tony right then and there. Stupid murder bots always stealing his fun. So what? Steve hadn't had sex in about a week and it was starting to get to him. Sue the guy for thinking his boyfriend was super sexy.
Unfortunately, Steve was ripped from his fantasies when Pietro used his powers to run and unplug one of the cables on the cradle. They all started fighting, the Avengers trying to protect the cradle and the twins trying to destroy it.
"Why did you even bring them here?" griped Tony as he dodged a blast of energy from Wanda.
"They said they wanted to take down Ultron. I may have made a poor judgement call."
"Ya think?"
Tony and Bruce were working on trying to save their work while Steve and Clint held off the attacks from the twins. That was when Thor decided to show up and pull a Frankenstein and used his lightning to shock the cradle. Everyone in the room watched in awe as this red being burst forth from the cradle and proceeded to throw Thor across the room. He didn't mean too of course. It was just that moment of panic where you gain sentience and a body all at the same time. He apologized of course, as the rest of the Avengers and the twins walked closer to get a good look. They berated Thor with questions and that's when they found out the news. The stone at the center of Vision's head was the Mind Stone. One of the infinity stones. Great just what they needed, another fucking infinity stone.
"Why does he sound like JARVIS?" asked Steve taking Tony's hand in his.
"We configured JARVIS's matrix."
"So, you're not Ultron?" questioned Steve.
"I'm not Ultron. I'm not JARVIS. I am something completely new."
They all continued bickering all while Tony stayed silent. He's just lost JARVIS again. It wasn't getting any easier to lose him. Every time felt like a stab through the heart. Steve, the amazing man that he was, picked up on Tony's grief and pulled him closer. JARVIS was like a child to him and losing him again was honestly the worst feeling in the world. And even though Vision said he wasn't JARVIS he still came from JARVIS and Tony couldn't help feeling a little bit of pride when Vision picked up Thor's hammer to hand it to the man.
With Vision's knowledge of Ultron, they were able to devise a plan of attack. They didn't have long. Steve gave them three minutes to prepare. Steve was already ready to go so he helped Tony install one of his new baby AIs into the suit. He chose one of his newer ones. A sassy girl named FRIDAY. Before they entered the jet, Tony pulled Steve off to the side for a moment alone. They pulled each other into a sweet embrace.
"No matter what happens today, remember that I love you." Whispered Steve as he brought Tony into a kiss.
MTHS
Once they landed in Sakovia it was go go go. Their main priority was to clear the city of people. They didn't want innocents to get caught in the crossfire. Everyone was doing their part while Tony left to go find Ultron. He found him in the church at the center of town.
"Have you come to confess your sins?" asked a metallic voice behind him.
"I don't know? How much time do you have?" quipped Tony to avoid panicking. They kept talking and suddenly a drill like object sprang up from the earth.
As well as dealing with helping the people to safety, now they all had to deal with Ultron's legion of murderbots. They swarmed around from all sides and the team had to use their full strength to hold them off. As Vision arrived to fight Ultron, Tony took the opportunity to get some shots as the bots from the air. That's when things got dicey. Sakovia became air-born. So, not only were they trying to save as many people as possible and fight murderbots, but now they were going for a ride. Oh, joy!
Tony was able to get FRIDAY to get a good scan on the floating city. It didn't look good. If this thing got high enough they were looking at global extinction. They had to fight off Ultron and fast. Tony flew back into the fray. It was back to the original goal, save as many people as possible. Steve and the others were taking care of the murderbots while Tony tried to work out a way to get the city back down to the ground without killing everybody. No pressure.
All the fighting was exhausting. Everyone was working as hard as they could. The only problem was, they were still flying higher and they needed to get all these people to safety. Unfortunately, that may not be an option. In order to save the world, they needed to blow up the city and that would kill anyone on it.
So thank fuck for Fury, Hill, and Rhodey coming in with one of the old hellacarriers. Rhodey and Tony were able to attack from the air while the other Avengers worked on getting the people trapped in the city onto the life ships. While Rhodey and SHEILD got the rest of the people onto the ships the Avengers lead the remaining murder bots to the church to protect the core. If it dropped early they were doomed.
"Is that the best you can do?!" shouted Thor as Ultron hovered near them. Ultron just gestured and summoned a hoard of murderbots.
"You had ta ask." Deadpanned Steve as he glared at Thor.
The bots all came charging at once. The Avengers were all fighting for survival. Bots were trying to leave the city and Rhodey took them out with a vengeance. Steve ordered the rest of the team to make their way off the city while looking for stragglers. Wanda would stay to protect the core while Thor and Tony took out the rest of the bots and ultimately the core itself. With a plan in place, everyone got to work.
"Steve." Spoke Tony over the coms.
"What is it."
"No matter what happens. Remember that I love you."
"Tony don't do this!"
"Please take care of him, Steve. I know Carter needs both of us but if he can't have his Daddy make sure he has his Papa."
"I love you, Anthony."
"I love you too Steven."
And with that Tony cut their communication. It was not or never. Once they were given the all clear, Tony gave Thor the go-ahead to hit the drill while Tony fired off a blast from his chest. The city plummeted. Steve was able to make the jump onto one of the life ships. He watched the city fall down until it was enshrouded with a blue light. Then it exploded. Steve didn't see any sign of Tony.
"Tony!" he yelled over the side off the ship as it flew towards the hellacarrier. "TONY! ANTHONY!" Steve was screaming himself hoarse. He needed to know it Tony was alive. If he was alright. When the ship landed Steve ran off and collapsed onto the tarmac of the main ship. If he had just lost Tony then this was the worst day in history. Steve couldn't stop the tears from falling. Nothing could console him. Steve probably wouldn't even get closure with seeing Tony's body. It would take a miracle for Steve to be able to work through this.
Thank God they had an actual god on the team. Thor landed on the tarmac not too far from Steve with the Iron Man suit in his arms. As Thor gently set the suit down Steve went running. He skidded to a halt and knelt down to rip off the faceplate. A gush of water flowed out to reveal Tony's face. It was covered in cuts and burns and he wasn't breathing. Steve ripped off the rest of the suit and started CPR, all while he was crying up a storm. Thank fuck the arc reactor wasn't broken this time.
When Tony coughed up water and took a ragged breath Steve just cried harder and held his boyfriend close. Tony would get to live another day. He would get to see his son again. He would get to continue loving Steve with all his heart. They won that day and Steve vowed to never let his little family go.
MTHS
A few weeks later they were all moving into the new Avengers compound upstate. Clint was staying home with his wife, kids, and new baby for a bit before they all moved into the compound. There was still no sign of Bruce. They had invited Wanda to train to become an Avenger. She was doing well even if Steve and Tony were still cautious around her. Trust had to be earned. The new facility was amazing. It was split into three sections. There were the research and offices for when UN and WSC members came by. Another wing was devoted to training and medical with new state of the art equipment. The last area was the new personal wing. There were rooms to spare, a large kitchen and dining room, a nicer living room with more space for the growing team, a new library complete with a study corner for the kids, and an awesome rec room with a sit-in theatre and game tables. It was pretty sweet. Tony knew for a fact that his son was more excited about having a yard to play in than anything else.
Steve and Tony had their own little wing of the compound. Their new room was a gentle mix of both their styles with sleek metal finishes and Steve's paintings along the walls. Just down the hall were four bedrooms. Carter's was the first and it was a little boy's dream room. The walls were red and gold like Iron Man and his new sheets on his big boy bed held a dinosaur motif. Carter had his own bathroom and a big chest for all his toys. He loved it. The other 3 rooms were empty just in case they ever wanted to grow their little family or if Carter had friends over when he was older. Further down the hall was Tony's lab. He had a much bigger space now with more workbenches and a blast-proof zone for all his crazy experiments. In the far corner, near the charging stations for DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers, was a little plaque. A memorial for JARVIS.
The team was lucky. With all the footage and data gathered they were able to prove the UN and the WSC that none of this was their fault. In fact, they were congratulated for their efforts and told they would all be keeping in touch. At least that ended well.
On a sunny afternoon, while everyone was getting settled, Tony, Steve and Thor were walking through the halls making jokes about his hammer again. Thor was planning to go off-world again to search for the remaining infinity stones. He would visit periodically but this needed to be done.
"Make sure to visit soon. I know Carter will miss his Uncle Thor when he's gone." Said, Tony, as they stepped outside.
"I'll be sure too. I'm just a little worried. The Mind Stone is the third infinity Stone to show up in the last few years. I still sense on here on Earth and I know there are others out there. If we can find them, we can keep them safe."
"Sounds like a plan big guy." Said, Steve, as he patted Thor's shoulder.
"Well, until next we meet." Said, Thor, as he called the Bifrost and we transported away leaving behind a burnt pattern in the grass.
"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Griped Tony looking at the burnt grass in front of him. They walked a little more around the compound ending up near the lake. It was nice just the two of them. Tony turned towards Steve holding his hands.
"Do you think we'll be alright?" he asked.
"Of course we will." Said Steve pulling Tony into a kiss. "We're home."
Holy Shit! That was a roller coaster of emotions. And this whole thing was 23 pages long! WOW! I'm really hoping that you've all seen Infinity War at this point so that the references to Purple Joss Wheden aren't that big off a shocker. Things may not make perfect sense with what I'm doing now, but they will. All in good time. If you've seen IW, you'll get what I'm working towards. In other news, have any of you played the game What Remains of Edith Finch. Holy Crap that game was so good. It blew my mind. 10/10 everyone should play. Well, enough about me, next chapter is a bit of an interlude before the thing I've been working on fixing since chapter 6, the dreaded Civil War. I assure you I did find a way to fix it. Until next time -Shadows