TONY STARK
The eldest Agent broke the silence that had spread throughout the room.
"What do you expect from us, Ms… um… Friday?"
FRIDAY's hologram appeared once again.
"Call me FRIDAY, Agent Matthew. Your colleagues told me that you all would help me in case I needed it. The attack that happened at Stark Tower..."
"Was done by SHIELD," a female agent spoke up. She explained further when everyone looked at her questioningly. "I had heard from one of my friends that some type of operation was planned in New York on the same date as the attack."
"You are partially correct, Ms. Lauren. SHIELD agents were the ones who attacked, but they owed their loyalty to HYDRA first, and your ex-employer second." FRIDAY's words brought another silence in the room, with nearly every Agent tensing in their seats.
"What do you mean by ex-employers, FRIDAY?" One of them asked quietly.
"It means that you all won't be going back to work for SHIELD, no matter if you agree to help me or not. Most of you were on the elimination list of HYDRA simply because you were not a part of it. Soon, your absence will be noticed, along with the list of missing equipment. I regret to inform you that none of you will be allowed to get in touch with SHIELD again. If you decide not to help us, you would be offered an S.I. job that would keep you away from SHIELD and monitored continuously. Any attempt to leak or share the information you just learned would invite severe retribution."
After a minute, the Agent turned to look at him.
"That is not very fair, Mr. Stark."
There was something in his voice that was hard to register. It wasn't anger per se, but there was something. He shrugged, having already come to terms with what FRIDAY was prepared to do. "I know, Agent Matthew, but you all would have died sooner or later if not for FRIDAY's intervention. If you still choose not to help, I can assure you that you all would have well-paying and comfortable jobs. Your colleagues' actions in assisting with my daughter's escape have earned you that much. I am sure your job has taught you that life is never as fair as people think it ought to be."
It took them another few hours of negotiation, but he had a personal strike force by the end of the day. The agents were given information about the targets they would be going after. Any reservations the agents might have had disappeared once FRIDAY presented them with both the proofs they would need and the reason that the said target was a target. The suits FRIDAY had designed for each of them was enough to make a few of them swoon. After that came out the roster of planes, guns, and much more, and he had JARVIS buy a newly built residential apartment nearby. On impulse, he also invited them for a barbeque night at the mansion. As he was flying towards the Barton farm, JARVIS sent the message out to all others too.
As the evening turned into night, the garden of the mansion slowly filled with people. While Pepper was resting on one of the couches, talking to Natasha's sister, Morgan was busy babbling something to Agent Matthew. Natasha, Clint, and one of the agents were busy arguing over something with Nela, Penny, Laura, and Lila Barton trying to cook smores behind them. Happy's absence was a sore point for him, but there was nothing he could do with his bodyguard-cum-friend in a medical coma. His eyes caught Bruce trying to get away from the party, but Ross seemed to hold on to him tightly as she discussed something with May Parker. Since the day of the dispute between them, Bruce had been avoiding him and Pepper as much as he could. JARVIS had told him it was because Bruce was ashamed of his anger, but he thought it was more likely due to the rejection of his idea.
Scientists like him were always a weird bunch, not agreeing with the real-world problems that came with the solutions they found in an enclosed lab. Laura and Logan were also present but mostly kept to themselves. As the night drew to a close, people started retiring. When only those who knew about FRIDAY's plans were left, he called all of them together. Clint and Natasha had asked to join the agents in the plan, as they would also be keeping SHIELD and, in turn, HYDRA off them. Targets had already been divided and set, with the first attack scheduled in 5 days. He had asked FRIDAY to provide three of her suits for any emergencies. With the final confirmation, the agents walked off to meet Pepper, who had already decided upon a job for each of them. Once they were off, he turned to face Natasha.
"How is he?"
Although he did not add a name, they both knew who the 'he' Tony was referring to.
"Silent. Has tried to break out twice."
Nat was the only one with any experience with the Soldier, so she was one of the prominent people overseeing him.
He nodded, having expected that. While a large part of his mind was begging to end the man who had killed his parents and hospitalized his best friend, a smaller portion was arguing against it. After scouring through HYDRA's systems and seeing everything about the Winter Soldier himself, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for that man. He had fought every step of the way he had come through, but not to become what he so desperately wanted to be right now.
An impressive chamber to treat Barnes had already been prepared, and the process was scheduled to start the next day. May Parker had been informed about the Winter Soldier, after which, she had agreed to join in with Bruce and Dr. Ross in treating him. Between the three of them, the science of his biochemistry and his physical health was covered. Now, if only they could find a therapist to trust so that they could cover his mental health as well. There was a discussion about telling Steve Rogers about the Winter Soldier, but FRIDAY had immediately cut down that suggestion. She had made it clear that Rogers would not be able to make a rational decision in the case of Bucky Barnes. She had even chastised Bruce, Betty, and him for even thinking about it, given what they had seen in her videos. Logan had also been roped in, although mostly for keeping an eye on the Soldier.
The mutant had shared more stories of his older dimension and the things that had happened with Laura. The little girl's education had been taken over by Nela and Virgil, as both of them were fluent in Spanish. Romanoff would join them sometimes, mostly during the physical training phase. Seeing the kids had made him remember the other two children that FRIDAY had told him about previously. Penny Parker, who may turn into a spiderperson someday, was already quite close to him. He had spent a lot of time with her in the labs, designing or improving things that should not be possible for a small child like her. The girl was a total chatterbox like him, changing topics at a rapid rate. The last time she and Nela had gotten into an argument about a cartoon, everyone present in the room had tears in their eyes from laughing.
The other child, Harley Keener, was much smarter than Tony had expected. Having JARVIS look into Harley, he had found out quite a lot about the Keeners. Their financial situation aside, the family records didn't have any red flags. Harley had already been admitted to advanced courses in his school and applied for Stark scholarships offered to young students by the Maria Stark Foundation every year. That had given him an idea to meet Harley, but it was yet to be cleared by Pepper. She had sat patiently while he had explained his idea, which, in hindsight, was more of an arm-waving hyper babbling than a simple explanation.
Natasha's teasing voice brought him out of his musings. "What's got your mind working overtime? You just blanked out?"
He shook his head. "No, just thinking about something. Please make sure he is unable to escape or harm anyone. I know it would not be his fault, but I don't know if I can stay my hand a second time."
With that, he turned around and started walking towards Morgan, who was now drooling on Nela's shoulder as she slept. He scooped Morgan up and ( headed to her room inside. As they walked back inside the mansion, he addressed FRIDAY.
"FRIDAY, done with checking all the employees?"
The A.I. answered immediately. "No, Mr. Stark. TADASHI and I are done with the S.I. employees on the mainland and South America. The employees of the E.U. are being checked out right now."
"And what's the casualty rate?"
"As of now, out of 400,000 employees checked, we have found 900 that are working for intelligence agencies. They are mostly concentrated in the engineering, sales, human resources, and logistics departments. It seems that the United States government does not trust you much, Mr. Stark. Some employees are being paid to pass on information to the CIA, FBI, and the armed forces intelligence. TADASHI is maintaining the regularly updated list, which is accessible only by Ms. Potts and you."
"Hmm, what about Natasha's brother?"
"Mr. Romanoff's history had been checked thoroughly, Mr. Stark. Apart from bending a few rules searching for his sister, he has refrained from breaking any laws. There are some very tricky financial maneuvers done by him and his friend a few years ago, but since it was to create a tax-free trust fund for his sister Nikita Romanova, I did not count it against him."
That was good news as due to his past experience, Nikolai was the perfect person for the job he had been thinking about. It was high time his company had an Internal Affairs department. "Confirm with Pep, and if she agrees, let Nikolai on the access list too. What job profile does he have in S.I.?"
"He has been placed in the H.R. department temporarily, working as his sister's researcher."
"Okay, have him move to the security department. Talk to Ben about it if you have to. Tell him to start going after the low-level double agents. His standing orders are to gather as much physical proof as possible from S.I's government agents. No heroics or anything that puts him in danger, just simple proof gathering."
"As you say, Mr. Stark. I would also suggest involving Colonel Rhodes in this at some point. More than a few employees are tasked with informing the army about his relationship with you."
"Do so. Rhodey bear is going to be so angry after hearing that."
FRIDAY
Once she had done as Boss had requested, she focused on other essential things that had been left pending. The first among them was to decide on what to do with the disabled module floating kilometers above the city. EDITH had been controlling it for the time being, but she needed something to use and pilot the Armor. While Boss or Nela would be able to interface with it if necessary, it was too powerful not to be used without them. She had one option for it, but it needed the permission and consent of many people. After discussing it with JARVIS and DIANA, she decided to do it straight away. The three people she had to talk to were all sitting in one place when she addressed them.
"Mr. Stark, Ms. Stark, Mr. Potts, there is something I would like to talk to you all about."
"Go ahead, FRI," Nela replied from her resting position in Mr. Potts lap, ignoring the glaring eyes of Boss. If he can flirt with his girlfriend in front of her, she can flirt with her boyfriend in front of him.
"The hulkbuster armor and its module are currently floating above the city at the edge of the Karman line. EDITH had temporarily taken over the module's control but would be sharing its control with JARVIS and DIANA. The Armor, on the other hand, needs someone assigned to control it. Someone in addition to Mr. Stark and Ms. Stark, who can summon it if necessary and pilot it if the situation demands so."
After a moment of silence, Nela speaks up while poking poked Virgil. "You are talking about this buffoon, aren't you, FRIDAY?"
"Yes, Ms. Stark."
Virgil seemed to think upon it for a few minutes before looking at Boss, who shrugged.
"It wouldn't be difficult to assign you as the primary pilot. The suit is a heavy backup that is needed for the war that is coming and not much else. Anyone that we assigned it to would have to be someone that was highly trusted. All of us here trust you, some more than others. And let's not forget that the time-traveling Skynet was the one who proposed the idea, and if that doesn't tell you where you stand with us, well... Nothing will."
Nela stood up from the couch and looked at Mr. Stark with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait, you trust him? Since when?"
Boss seemed to realize the situation that he had verbally wandered into and decided to answer, at least sort of.
"I said trust, not like. I trust him with the suit, and while I may not like him with you, I…" this bit comes out grudgingly as if he almost cannot believe the words he's saying. "I trust him with you. I know that your health and happiness is more important to him than anything. This does not mean I like him. Or like you kissing him."
She thought about letting Boss face Nela after all that he had just admitted to but decided to let it be. They would talk about it sooner or later.
"Mr. Potts would have to train with the armor to use it."
Boss nodded.
"Very well. Bring it down. We can work on the basics tonight. I have to test the stealth feature of Nela and my Armor too."
Nela let out a whoop and started dragging Mr. Potts towards the garden. Shaking his head at their antics, Mr. Stark addressed JARVIS and DIANA.
"JARVIS, give DIANA access to the prototype suits and then bring them to the garden. If I remember right, it is easier to use that Armor when you are in a basic Iron Man suit. Also, start designing him something based on his current body type. One of the prototypes will do in a pinch, but if he's actually using that Armor to its fullest, he needs to have his own under Armor designed specifically for his body. DIANA, I want you to run both suits, see how much you can handle running both Nela's Armor and the Hulkbuster for Virgil. You have inter-dimensional siblings here, so don't be afraid to ask them for help if things start to get a little overwhelming for you. Now I know you've been taking lessons from JARVIS to better operate the Armor, but he also knows a hell of a lot about multitasking, so don't be afraid to talk to him and ask for help. Also, FRIDAY has run this Armor more than once. You can talk to her as well."
"Yes, Sir."
"Sure, Mr. Stark."
She sent a message to EDITH to dispatch the hulk buster suit. Once the suit was ejected from the module with its stealth system engaged, she directed it to land in the mansion garden.
Deciding to be cheeky, FRIDAY asked Boss Lady,
"Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark, and Ms. Stark are going to teach Mr. Potts the basics of handling an Iron Man armor. Would you like to take your Armor for a spin with the family? May I invite Colonel Rhodes as well?"
Taking a moment to think about it and sharing a look with Tony, Pepper decided that tonight was a good night to play tag. A few hours later, playing a silly game with most of her family while having a live feed of Morgan sleeping in the upper left of her HUD, she started to finally put the nightmare of the bombing of the meeting behind her.