50 Shades of Tony
By Rey
Author's notes: Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay well to you all, dear readers. And my apologies, but this is the last available chapter in my storage. The next chapter is only half finished, and I do not know when it will be finished, as I am still recovering from my illness. But regardless, enjoy! - Rey
Chapter 28
Tony Stark and the Strains of a Shadow War
Warnings for:
Piece 692: Teens: Mild Sensitive Topic
Piece 699: Heavy Teens: References to Sexual Content
Piece 700: Heavy Teens: References to Sexual Content
Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia, Middle-End of March 2016
681. Obfuscation
HYDRA uses lots of obfuscation in their operations. Well, Tony's folks, too. And this shadow war's terribly taxing, as all wars are. No fatalities, yet but lots of injuries; not only to this informal alliance, either. And this means that, once more, the family's scattered all over Earth and beyond.
682. Resemblance
Farvangr replaces Fié, since Fié's in peril here, can't leave Ýmirheim for long, and time runs much faster there. "Add your other half and you'll be set as siblings, with this one on the middle," Clint laughs and grins when they're introduced. "The resemblance is there already. Creepy. Kinky, though."
683. Resonance
There's a… resonance that Tony feels with Farvangr, different from his relationship with Fié. Farvangr – Ava, they insist to be called – can predict and match him for a good degree, and vice versa. Tony wonders if this is what being part of twins is like. He's going to ask Vovo.
684. Keepsake
"What's that?" Tony wonders, when he's interrogating Vovo and notices a fiery-red, slightly glowing, unevenly cut stone peek out from Chan-Chan's T-shirt, set as pendant beside the ring Voðen gave her forever ago on a thin necklace. She stares at him long and deeply, then says simply, "Keepsake. From friend."
685. Namesake
"Little Tony, meet Tony," Laura, Clint's wife, says cheerfully when she drops by at Tony's current base. On Tony's uncomprehending look, she grins and chirps, "I'm pregnant! I decided to name the baby Tony, whatever the sex is. You did much for our family already. Clint will just accept it."
686. Firebrand
"Y'know how much a firebrand she is, Stark?" Clint grimaces when Tony confronts him about the namesake business. "She does what she wants. She's rarely bad with her reasons… and she had much taken from her, when she's with the Red Room. Names got less meaning for me, anyway."
Los Angeles, California, United States, End of March 2016
687. Blatant
The new and supposedly improved board of directors of SI, appointed by Pepper after supposedly thorough screening, show their blatant greed to anex Tony's "free-floating companies" in their next physical meeting, now that his hotel chain's suddenly received lots of guests after the positive press the Bali one received.
688. Castigation
None of Tony's castigations manages to shake the directors' insistence that the hygiene-based group, hotel chain and farm-tech company be merged under Stark Industries, not even under Stark International – its parent organisation. Tony resorts to pointing out that these companies are either more for CSR or his own selfishness.
Malibu, California, United States, End of March 2016
689. Cairn
It is more than horrifying,and heart-squeezing, when Tony returns from the board meeting only to find the dinosaur-hybrid children writing a will for themselves, by help of JARVIS, containing the distribution of their handful of worldly possessions, and also the treatment of their remains – piled in a cairn, most choose.
690. Clear
It's clear now that, though they behaved like nothing could've moved them, the hybrid children have been impacted extra severely by the various attempts to kill them, remove their custody from their parent figures, or shun them from society. But who can help in this? Child psychologists would freak out!
691. Derivative
Rústla's chosen a very, very wrong time to bring out their snarky remark again about how derivative, insular and therefore one-track-minded Earth society is. Tony boots them out of all his residences, for that, despite the fact that he still keeps their spouses with him. Not even Fié's cajoling helps.
*692. Queer
Owen Grady loves animals. But apparently he also loves someone who handles animals closely, because he's caught giving Henry Wu – the "parent" of the Lockwood-estate-originated hybrid children – lots of attention when the latter's not looking. Clint calls him queer, so Tony bans Clint from his properties, too. Grady looks baffled….
693. Colleague
"He didn't mean to insult me, y'know," Grady says carefully when Clint's gone and he's managed to corner Tony. "He's just joking. We're colleagues, friends, so why not? The kids heard, yes, most likely, but I could always explain to them. This way, Clint's kids are without their dad, too."
694. Incorrigible
Tasha deliberately tells Tony that he's an incorrigible scatterbrain who's on track to megalomania. He apparently surprises her by just raising an eyebrow and moving away without a thought or a word in response. But he catches her constant attention on him, afterwards, so he deliberately provides little to observe.
695. Sweep
Hammond's on his death-bed and wishes the island-park to be revived. Tony stares dumbly at him for a long while. Then, finally, he bursts out, "You saw the numbers of deaths and you know how aweful the world's situation is and you want to sweep it all under the rug?"
696. Innovation
The new island-park's to be an innovation: an amalgamation between a natural preserve, thrilling-and-educative zoo, amusement park, research centre, holiday resort, and museum. It'd mean the island-park must be totally overhauled. Tony's even more stressed, just knowing it. He holds his tongue only because the Murphies are there and hopeful.
Ýmirheim, Beginning-Middle of April 2016
697. Intake
"There's enough intake of stress for you already," Pepper remarks when she finds Tony feverishly sketching the new layout of the park-island. "Go be with your other half. Get a fresh view. Cool down. Jurassic Park will still be there when you come back, most likely." So Tony goes.
698. In-Laws
Fié's not alone, when Tony joins them. "My sire, Boluðúrna," they say, indicating the slightly larger, far older milaða seated beside them on the nest. Tony's heart falls. `Oh, damn. I've got a father-in-law, still. Now what are they going to do to me?` Fortunately, Anga comes in, then….
*699. Sleep
By the time Anga's finished heaping problems after concerns after plans after changes on Tony, the latter's ready to drop asleep wherever. Fortunately, Fié rescues him. Unfortunately, Fié's also competitive, vengeful and oh so cruel. It's a long, long, long time before Tony can really go to sleep, totally exhausted.
*700. Cuddle
For a fearsome-looking, fearsome-sounding people, the milaðen so love to cuddle. The nest is so very full, when Fié reopens it for others, after they're done torturing Tony with an overdose of sweetness and there's no more trace of it anywhere. Limbs tangle with limbs, and body press with body.
701. Cranky
Tony's never a morning person. Being in an alien body and in a planet where night is day and day is night doesn't change the fact. On top of it, Fié and Anga drill him about the latest situation on Earth. He's one cranky glorified monarch's stud during the audience….
