Hello all.
I am back! YAY.
Thanks for all the love, and it means a lot. I am glad you all like this.
As your reward, here is your second chapter.
Chapter 2:
Step One
Ignoring the pain in his back, Tony leaned back in his chair as he stared at the monitors. He had lost track of how low long he had been locked in his lab, but if he had to judge, it had to be awhile. There was no doubt that he should take a step back and take a break, but with the future hanging over him, he couldn't drag himself away. Plus taking a break would not help, considering all he saw was people turning to dust. There was no escape no matter where he was, not even Pepper could get him off the edge, and she could in the past. Maybe, he was just too broken for her to help? However, now was not the time to ponder that.
With a deep, heavy breath, he looked over the suit one more time, taking everything in as he made sure nothing was amiss. It was no Mark 50 Armor, a masterpiece, but it was better than the Mark 43—the last suit he had created in this timeline. He just wished he had the nanotechnology he had in his present—this present's future, because if he had that, he would be golden. It would make his life easier. However, he would be stuck with this suit until he was able to recreate his nanobots, which would take a few months. Having spent years with the Iron Man suit, he had sent years making updates to the suits, which hadn't happened in this timeline yet. He would need to make some upgrades to his current tech and invent some 'stuff' before he brought in the nanobots. At the same time, he should not say he was stuck with the new Mark 44 (replacing the Hulk Buster), as it was beyond anything he had in the old timeline. The issue was that he kept comparing it to the Mark 50.
"Look's good, JARVIS," Tony announced with a smile on his face. "Let's finish this bad boy. I got a job to do." It was a job that Tony had kept to himself, using JARVIS only to track down a few things. The genius was pretty sure that JARVIS was on to him, or at least, the AI suspected him of something. For a genius, He had been acting weird lately, which Tony could admit. Also, his searches were telling in and of themselves. Though the name was not known to the general public, anyone with a foot in the intelligence world knew who Ulysses Klaue was. JARVIS, the AI that he was, was probably forming this idea—this picture in his mainframe.
"Very well, Sir."
How long it would be until JARVIS figured it out? How long until everyone learned the truth? The AI wasn't who Tony was worried about at the moment. Sure, being the big-hearted fool that he was (something he would deny), he was worried about everyone. Worried about what would happen if the truth was revealed. Would S-Rogers 'jump' on him? It was no secret that Rogers and he did not get along, did not always agree, but that fight in Siberia would always plague him, clouding his judgement. Let's not go there, he told himself. That wasn't who he should be worried about right now.
Like the traitor that he was, JARVIS didn't alert him to her presence as she glided into the lab. It was her heels that called to Tony. Her heels that snapped him out of his own mind. He barely acknowledged that Jim behind her, as she held his stare. He should've realized that Pepper and Jim would've waken up soon or later and tracked him down. It was stupid of him to forget, but he couldn't do anything about it now. No crying over spilled milk, but he had to deal with Pepper who was staring at him with a very pointed look. It almost made him feel like a child who was caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Even without the bruise, it was hard to look at her like this. Her expression screamed disappointment. "Pep, the light of my life." He said with a smile. He twisted the chair fully around, facing her—though not meeting her in the eyes anymore.
Pepper took a few deep breaths. "I thought we were done with this. We talked about this, Tony."
Which time? He asked himself, mentally exhausted. He had this conversion with her a few times, and they became less fun each time, not that they were ever fun. This conversion was worse as he could remember this conversion—fight, his mind supplied—in the previous timeline, though it was a bit earlier this time around. Originally, he didn't start recreating new suits until the fall of SHIELD when he had realized the world needed him. This was months earlier. "Can we not have this fight?" he asked, gesturing in the air. He glanced at Jim, wondering if he would get any help from his best friend. He got that answer quickly as Jim was silence, just leaning against the door to the lab. The expression on Jim's face was unreadable, like he was doing his best to keep neutral.
"Well, I thought we were done with this," she snapped, waving at the mess around them. The lab looked like a cyclone went through it. "You woke up screaming not 6 hours ago, wishing that you were dead. But yet, you are doing this!?"
There was a lie on the tip of Tony tongue, ready to be used, but he didn't enjoy lying to her, nor did he want to. He loved this woman, loved her more than anyone else. She may be behind Peter in his heart, but she was just as important to him. She was his light. "I don't know what to tell you," Tony uttered, his voice breaking.
Jim picked up his head at that and stared intently at Tony. A word, however, did not pass his lips.
Pepper looked trouble as she fought back the tears. "Why are you doing this, Tony? Why can't you leave the saving the world to SHIELD? That's what they are there for. You don't need to save the world every five seconds. Look at what it does to you! You're slowly killing yourself. You woke up screaming for death. You know how hard it is to hear that."
No, he didn't know how hard it was for her, but he could imagine. If that look on her face was anything go off of, it was pure hell. Yet, he couldn't stop. Besides, there was no way in hell that he was leaving this crap to SHIELD, Hydra by another name, but he couldn't tell her that. She had made it clear she didn't want to be a part of that world. Tony took a deep breath. For all this stress, he really was going to punch Strange in the face. "Do you expect me to do nothing while the world burns?" he asked, trying to keep himself as calm as possible. He didn't remember exactly how this conversion went before, but he was pretty sure this was how it sent.
That response seemed to only make Pepper madder. "The world isn't burning, Tony. You are. You're just too blind to see it. You're going to get yourself killed in the process, unless that's something you want!"
Tony wasn't going to die until he saved Peter. That was for damn sure, but that wasn't going to help him here. He was pretty sure he was dead in the water here, unable to tell her what she wanted to hear. Before, he would've made a promise that he would never be able to keep, but now, he had no promises. He refused to make promises that he could not keep. He had seen the future, and he would be damned if the allowed it to happen again. "I love you, Pepper. You know that, right? I would do anything to protect you, so please let me protect you. I need to do this."
Her expression softened a bit. "Tony, I love you too." She paused for a second to collect his breath. "Please just let me in. Tell me why you're doing this again. Tell me what is going on? We can't be a team if you don't let me in."
God, he wanted to let her in, but he could see how that would end. Just another fight about how it wasn't his job? To be honest, he wasn't sure what his job was. He wasn't even sure who he was without the Iron Man suit, which was one reason why he couldn't stop. He may fool himself in the past into thinking that he could, but there was no end for him. He would die in his Iron Man suit. "I can't," he uttered, his voice breaking.
Pepper looked like she had been shot; as she heard those words. "I don't have time for this," she hissed, her iron shield popping up. "I have a company to run." She turned on a dime, bolting from the lab. Her hair flew up around her like a whip, almost hitting her in the face as she stormed out. Her heels chirped down the halls with each step, and Tony couldn't turn away until he could no longer hear her.
With his eyes focused on Tony, Jim pushed himself off the wall and made his way over to the genius. Jim wasn't angry as Pepper at founding him in the lab, but Jim wasn't happy either. "So, tell me what going on here, Tony? What am I missing?"
There was no way that Jim was going to let it drop now. He was caught with his hands down his pant—which was something he rather be caught doing-, and he had nothing to tell him. "I can't stop being Iron Man," Tony answered with a deep exhale. It wasn't what Jim wanted to hear, but it wasn't a lie. "It's apart of me. The idea of me not being Iron Man scares the crap out of me." There was some honesty for Jim.
Jim didn't say anything for a few seconds and just took a seat next to his best friend. He took a good look at the monitor, glancing at the new mark 44. He didn't say anything for a good while, which scared Tony. "There's no judgement here, Tony. All I ask is that you're honest with me."
The tone in Jim's voice threw Tony, unsettling him for a few seconds. Jim, piloting his own suit, had never tried to separate Tony from the Iron Man suit. He was always supportive, though that was not to say Pepper was not. She was just overwhelmed with worry that he would come home in a body bag. It kept her up at night. If Tony was honest, it also kept him up as well, though it didn't overwhelm him like it did her. Failing kept him up more. "Would you believe me if I told you that I was from the future? And Some guy named Strange sent me be to protect the future with a magic stone?"
Jim's eye twitched as a small smile broken across his face. "And here I thought we were getting somewhere."
At least, Tony could say that he tried. Sure, he didn't try hard enough or put any real effort into it, but he said it. Yes, he could've probably gotten Jim to believe him, but that wasn't a path Tony wanted to go down yet. "Jim," he started with a deep breath. "I just can't give it up. Some may say I'm playing the hero, and though they might be right, I cannot sit back and let people suffer when I can do something about it. I did that enough. I'm not doing it anymore. It's as simple as that."
"I would never ask you to do, Buddy. I just need you to let me in. Can you let me in?"
Tony would be kidding himself if he thought he could do it on his own, but the haunting image of Jim falling to his 'death' would forever scar the genius. Jim, the person who had seen it all, may not have died that day—though in Tony's nightmares the Air Force Pilot wasn't as lucky-, but Tony refused to let anything like that happen to Jim again. He had to protect him, but Jim was his own person, and there was no stopping him if he knew. "You're not going to grill me about my nightmare, are you?"
With a hard stare, Jim looked conflicted as he shook his head. "Do I wish that you would talk to me? Yes, I do!" He exhaled harshly. "I don't like that you aren't. I hate that you won't tell me about them, but I'm not going to force you. I'll just make you're aware that I'm here when you're ready to talk, and you won't receive any judgement from me. I just need you to know that you can trust me with anything."
"I do trust you," Tony said, no hesitation in his voice. It was almost insulting that Rhodey didn't know that Tony trusted him. "You got to believe that."
"Then tell me why you're doing this? You just had the reactor removed, and you said you were done, but now? Tell me what's going on with you? Does this have to do with the nightmare?"
Tony glanced back the holographic screens behind him. His new suit plastered across them like a big sign, each screen was focused on a different section of the suit. It was broken out and ready to be created/built, something that Tony looked forward to. He loved inventing, creating and engineering technology. He loved seeing how things went together. He loved seeing how things worked together. It was art to him, and even with Thanos hanging above his head, he could still take joy in this. It was exhilarating to say the least. "You can say that," He uttered. Though, it wasn't a nightmare. It was the future, a future that Tony would do everything to stop.
"Was it Pepper? Me?" he asked, after a few seconds of silence. His eyes zeroed in on Tony, looking for any kind of tell. "Was it that kid you met? What freaked you out so much?"
For a second, Tony thought Jim meant Peter, but he corrected himself before he uttered the name. So much for no grilling. "It was everyone," he uttered, almost too soft to hear. "It was everyone." Even with the image of Barnes and Rogers hovering over him in torn and bloody clothes, he couldn't but wondered if they made. Even with Romanoff choosing Rogers over him, he prayed she made it. He prayed for every Avenger, though he knew half of them were probably wiped out. That idea ripped him apart in more ways he could explain.
"Was it Killian?"
"What?! No." he denied, strongly. That man couldn't even compare to Thanos in anyway. He wasn't even an ant compared to the Titan. "This has nothing to do with him."
"Considering what happened, no one would blame you if it was."
The only thing Tony had to be scared of was himself and the future that he had helped to destroy. He created these monsters by his own ego. "I'm not doing this out of fear. I'm doing this because the world needs a shield."
Jim took a deep breath, as his eyes dropped to the monitors. Heavy in thought, he mindlessly stared at the screen. "I will never fault you for that. I just want to make sure you're okay."
Tony would never be okay, not after losing Peter. Yes, he knew he would see the boy again eventually, though it would probably be in a few years. It would be years without seeing Peter. He wanted to run to little Peter and insert himself into his young life, but that wouldn't be for Peter. He would be doing it for it for himself, which he refused to do. He wasn't going to be selfish anymore. "I'm peachy. It was just a nightmare." He paused for a second. "With everything that happened, I guess it made me realized that I don't want to stop."
"Does this have to do with Ulysses Klaue?"
Tony's eyes went large as he turned to Jim. How did he know about the man? "What?"
Jim nodded to the screen. "I can read you know, and I know who Klaue is. He's a black-market arms dealer, gangster, and international criminal, Tony. He's on every watch list from here to the moon. I know countless agencies had tried to bring him in but were unable to." Narrowing his eyes, he added, "Are you going after him now? You think you can? And why are you?"
Here were some questions that Tony didn't want to answer, but he wasn't going to get out of this. "If I can get someone like him off the board, then good. He can't be allowed to operate."
"I don't disagree with you there." Jim paused for a second, his expression heavy. "And knowing you, you'll probably find him, but promise me that you'll tell me when you do. I don't want you going after him alone. Promise me, Tony."
Tony pretty much knew where Klaue was, thanks to a future certain murder bot. Granted, that didn't mean he was there now. Klaue could be anywhere in the world, but moving that much Vibranium couldn't be easy, not with Wakanda hunting him. The genius was just banking that the man was there with that Vibranium in hand. If he handed the Vibranium and Klaue over to Wakanda, he could get T'Chaka to listen to him. At least, he hoped he would get the chance to talk to the king. He doubted him being Tony Stark would get him any favors, not with his history. He was pretty sure there wasn't much he could show them. "If anything changes, Jim, you would be the first one to know."
"Promise me, Tony," Jim demanded.
Tony rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. "I promise if anything changes and I learn something more about Klaue, I will let you know." He knew he was playing the edge, considering he already knew all he needed to know. He just had JARVIS run a search on Klaue to make sure there was no surprises.
"Good." Jim sounded relieved, which tugged at Tony's heart strings. "Before I get court martial, I better get going, but remember, I'm a phone call away. JARVIS can reach me at any time or where. You can reach me at any time." Jim stopped for a second before he got to his feet. "Now, let me hug you." He said, pulling Tony into a firm hug. Not allowing the genius to pull away, he turned it into a bear hug. "Now don't be stupid."
Tony didn't have siblings, but if he did, he would've wished for Jim, who had his back without a second of hesitation. "Yea, yea." He said with a smile. Talking to Jim could always make him feel better, ground him. "Don't get all mushy on me." He said, pushing his best friend off. "You worry too much."
"You know what? I don't know why I try." Jim muttered, taking a step back. He gave Tony one long look before adding, "And by the way, who is FRIDAY? I know you weren't talking about the day of the week."
Now how did he explain that? "Oh, nothing. It's just a project I'm working on. I must've gotten confused."
At first, it looked like Rhodey didn't want to believe him, but his hard expression did not last. "Well, you'll have to show me when you're done."
"Oh, I will. You know me. I can't stop showing off."
"Oh. I know."
It was like trying to get rid of ants as Jim didn't want to leave, lingering for a few moments. However, Tony wasn't sure he would ever change that, even if it bugs the crap out of him. It meant everything to Tony to have a best friend like him.
*O*O*
Tony took a deep breath as he stared at his completed suit. A weight had been lifted off his chest at the sight of it. He didn't know what it was, but it was calming. It made him feel whole ago, even if it was a downgrade from what he had. Okay, maybe he was too attached the suits, but that was an issue for another day. "Looks good, JARVIS."
"Same old color scheme, Sir?"
The suit had yet to be rendered in the famous gold and red, and normally, he would wait, but his impatience had gotten the better of him. In some kind of twisted fate, working on the suit was torture as his brain kept replaying everything in head that he had to do. It was overwhelming at times, as his list just seemed to grow. It wasn't really his main items so much. The issue is that each main item had multiple stages, but his mind kept adding more. it wasn't going to be as easily said as done. The crap with Barnes was probably going to destroy him, especially since he couldn't wave a magic wand and make Barnes better.
Note to self, create a magic wand, he thought to himself in exhaustion. This was when the doubt started to warm up in side of him like weeds growing in a field, threatening to take over. And in those weeds was the unknown, hiding. There could- No, don't go there, he yelled. Though Strange was a SOB, he saved Tony. He sent him here. Strange gave up the freaking time stone for him. It had to mean something. It had to mean that Strange trusted him to save the world, and damn it, he was going to do it. He was going to get Klaue. He was going to get the Vibranium and turn it over to Wakanda in the hopes of gaining T'Chaka as an ally. And in order to do this, he needed to be at 100%. "No, I'm just going to take it out like this," he said, getting to his feet.
"Very well, Sir. Should I inform Colonel Rhodes?"
"No, I'm doing this alone," he said, making his way to the suit.
"Sir, did you not promise the Colonel to bring him?"
Tony smiled lightly as climbed into his suit. "No, I did not. I promised if anything changed or if I learned anything more about Klaue, I would inform Jim. I did not promise to bring him along." Tony felt bad about the trickery, but he had to do this on his own, and there was no way Rhodey would let him go if he knew. "I already know where Klaue is." Though Klaue was an arm dealer, Tony doubted that he weaponized the Vibranium, and that was only the thing Tony was worried about. The genius could handle a small army in the Iron Man suit.
"I should advise that Colonel Rhodey will not be happy to hear this."
"When is that man ever happy," Tony muttered softly to himself. Shaking his head, he spoke aloud to JARVIS, "You all worried too much. I got this." The only thing he was slightly worried about was his suit. It was no mark 50; it almost felt like dinosaur to him. It was bulky and odd. "Let's go, JARVIS." Tony ordered as the mask slammed shut.
"Very well, Sir."
One of the glass windows retracted and Tony took off without a second thought. On a forgotten monitor laid the beginning of FRIDAY.
*o*o*
Tony, hovered high in the sky, could see the city of Johannesburg in the distance. The city itself brought up some unwelcome feeling and memories deep from his belly. That was another crap show, though not as bad as the supposed Civil War. As if it was yesterday, he could remember the fight between Hulk and himself, and he could feel some ghost pains running up his back from when the Hulk threw him like a rag doll. That was yet another fight that Tony didn't want to relive, which if he was lucky wouldn't happen. Granted, he would need to take more than Klaue off the board. Wanda was the one who made the Hulk go on a rampage, though people tended to forget that. No, don't go there. He yelled at himself. He didn't have time for it.
"How many do enemy combatants are there, JARVIS?" Tony asked, his eyes scanning the rusting ship. He wondered when the last time the ship had ever touched water, though that was probably why it was the perfect hide out. Who would've thought there would be so much Vibranium hidden in some crusty ship? Granted, it would probably be a bitch to move… Wait, how was he going to move this? He didn't think this through, did he? It wasn't an issue he supposed. He would figure it all out after he had taken control over the ship. How hard would it be to move it?
"I located 53 heat signatures within the ship haul."
Was it odd that they hadn't spotted him yet? He would've suspected some kind of air defense, though he supposed that would've attracted some unwanted attention. It would be difficult to hide advance hardware on a rusting ship in a decaying ship yard. And sometimes the best defense was no defense as it kept you in the shadows. No one stopped a brown hair woman walking down the street, but they would eye a girl with pink hair and a strange outfit. It was all about looking normal and average. "Do you detect any defense system?"
"There does not appear to be one, Sir. Just the guards."
"They're making this easy, aren't them?" he uttered, though there was a part of him that felt like this was too easy. "Send out the drone. I want everything on my hub."
"Yes, Sir." There was a pause as the drones kicked into action, descending on the skip like a group of bees readying for an attack. "And Colonel Rhodes is calling, and he does not sound pleased."
Was Jim always like this? Tony didn't remember him being so over protective. He was a mother hen, protecting their babies. It was getting annoying fast. "Does he know where I am?" he asked.
"Yes, he does."
"How does he know?" Tony knew Jim was a lot smart than most people gave him credit for, but could the man track him down so fast? Or was Tony losing it?
"I told him so."
For a few seconds, Tony was silenced unable to comprehend why JARVIS had tattled on him like a child. He bet FRIDAY would not have done this. She might have poked him until Tony did it, but she would not have done this. "What?! Why? How could you have betrayed me to him?!"
Pictures of the ship started to reflect on Tony's display as JARVIS replied, "He asked your location and you did not specify that I should not tell him."
Tony let out a hard huff, because JARVIS was playing the line, and they both knew it. The AI was worried about him to the extreme, and considering he did wake up screaming, there was a reason for it. Besides, could Tony be mad for doing the same thing? "Fine, put him through, but I'm going to work." Before the call connected, Tony dived.
"Tony, what the hell are you doing?" came Jim's voice. He was not happy.
Rolling to his left, Tony dodged a projectile fired from a rocket launcher. The suit wasn't as fast or nimble as the Mark 50, but it could still zip around, and he dodged without issue. "Buddy, how are you doing on this fine day?"
"Is that gun fire? Tony, what the hell! You promised!" Saying Jim was peeved was an understatement to end all understatement. If Jim could reach through the suit, he would. Tony felt bad for anyone around Jim at that moment.
Slowing when he got within a few feet of the ship's desk, Tony zipped around like an annoying fly and took out any brute that he saw. As the drones provided support, it felt like a game of checkers and you had all the pieces. Or like, it was like shooting mice in a barrow. Again, it felt too easy. "Why yes, it is. Nothing like gun fire to get the blood pumping."
"I'm on my way."
"Oh, you worried too much," Tony replied, batting away a grenade thrown at him and returning it back to the asshole who threw it. "I got this." Aiming his repulsor at the still in-flight grenade, he fired, which sent scrannel in every direction, as it exploded violently.
Jim's huff was audible through the connect, sounding almost like a bull. "Why do you have to be so impulsive?"
Tony had been asked that for years, and even after years of hearing it, the genius didn't have an answer for it. Maybe, he was just impatience, and the urge to get it done was too great to overcome. With the future knowledge that he had, he started to wonder if this was his downfall. He didn't think ahead. Wanda's words kept replaying in his head: He doesn't know the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Even if she made his blood boil, he couldn't help but wonder if she was right? Was his impulsiveness the reason why he was in this crap show? "OH, you know you love me for it," Tony replied, taking back in the air.
"You're giving me gray hair!"
Tony had lost count of how many baddies he had taken out, but the opposing force was thinning. "Hey, Jimmy Boy. I got to go. I'm afraid you're distracting me, and Daddy can't have that." Before letting Jim protest, Tony cut the line. "JARVIS, now no more distractions. Using the drones, take out any that you see. This includes all weapons. We aren't playing around anymore." He paused for a second, as he looked around. "I'm going after Klaue."
"Very well, Sir."
With the laser on his wrist, Tony cut a hole into the ship's desk and lowered himself to the lower desks. He was fired upon almost immediately, but the bullets could only leave small scratches in his armor. "Is that anyway to treat a guest?" he teased as a small department opened on the upper back of the suit, revealing several rows of tiny missiles. With each man in his sights, he fired. They fell without a fight.
With 2 heat signatures left, Tony took off toward the heart of the ship. Tony, though in a hurry, took a good look around scanning for anything odd. Without backup, he would need to keep his eyes open, but he doubted they had anything that could take him out even in this armor. In the future, it was Ultron and the twins that had gotten the better of the Avengers, not Klaue and his men. His guys were clearly the hired help with the bare minimum for a defense, which seemed odd considering the treasure they were guarding. Tony wondered what kept everyone back from breaking into his ship. Granted, it was probably Klaue's reputation that kept people back. In hand to hand combat, the man could kill just about anyone besides the Avengers and their special friends. He was on the watch list for a reason.
The question was how this man got in and out Wakanda with only a branding on neck. How was he alive? Tony supposed with all the 'great' heists there was a man on the inside, helping. That was probably what happened with Klaue, but why? Tony may know that Wakanda was more advance than they let the work know, but he didn't how the hierarchy was perceived. Was there an unhappy rebellion? Did someone-
Tony heard it before he saw it, which left no time to react. "Shit," he cursed, as he was blasted by some kind of blue energy and was sent backward into a steel wall. If Tony blacked out for any point of time, he didn't know, but it felt like had taken a bat to his head. "There's fight I was looking for."
"Complete system scan is concluded. No breaches in the armor, though some of our weapons are offline. I do advise, Sir, that we do not take more hits like that," JARVIS announced.
Getting to his feet, Tony glanced at the reports on his HUD. Eying the blinking sections, there were several systems offline, but luckily, the suit's Repulsors were still fully operation, which was all he needed. "Not planning on it, but thanks for the advice," he uttered, as he took flight. He shook his head and forced him forward, focusing on his target. Tracking the trajectory of that beam, Tony followed it back to Klaue, who was spotting a very nasty grin. "Klaue," he spoke, closing the distance.
Klaue's remaining mercenary, standing a several feet from him, kept his gun trained on the Iron Man suit, though he was wise enough to know that a simple gun would not work on the armor.
Ulysses Klaue's hand cannon was another story, and his finger was on the trigger. "To what do I owe this honor? A visit by the Tony Stark," he mocked. "I do have to give you props for finding me, not even Wakanda was able to do that."
"Are we going to do that thing?" Tony mocked. "I so want to do the thing! What's funnier than telling a criminal your master plan?" After rolling his eyes, Tony took a good glimpse around, making sure there was no other weapons like that. He could not take any more surprises. "Why don't you make all of our lives easier and just surrender?"
Klaue let out a chuckle. "Oh, you think-" He didn't get chance to finish his sentence, interrupted by a Repulsors' beam.
Should Tony had waited to blast both Klaue and his mercenary until they finished speaking? Well, he personally was a talker, could talk people in circles, but Tony didn't have the time for this crap, so he fired. In sports, this could've been seen as unsportsmanlike conduct, but this wasn't a game. This was real life, and he didn't have time for the chatter. He blamed it on the haunting future, that felt heavier and heavier with each passing Second. "Oh, what was that?" Tony paused for a second, holding his hand to his ear. "That was what I thought."
Not seeing any movement out of Klaue, Tony touched down in front of the downed man. "Sentry mode," he ordered as he stepped out of the suit. "And let's get this asshole tied up first." Now, he just needed to get some rope or something. It wouldn't be good for this man to escape when Tony was out of the suit.
*O*O*
It took longer than Tony expected to make sure everyone, who was still alive, was tied up. However, Tony was in the home stretch now, and all he needed to do was get the Vibranium to Wakanda. "Stupid," he uttered, finding himself in the ship's bridge. In his hurry, he hadn't put much thought in how he would transport this large amount of Vibranium, though he supposed he could have them come to him. Now if he thought about it, Wakanda was in South Africa that much Tony knew, but he didn't know where. Wakanda was hidden, guarded to anyone who wished to do it harm: Klaue for example. Tony supposed he was the second example, considering his ego. That would've prevented Tony from bringing the rare metal to Wakanda; so even with a plan to move it, he would've been stumped.
With the Iron Man Suit still trained on Klaue, Tony sat at the ship's radio, which was in complete working order. Tony didn't what purpose Klaue had to keep it function, but it went through a few upgrades, which Tony supposed was for business. The genius could use this; with this tech, he could send out a coded message on frequency that only Wakanda could decode and hope they answer. He hoped they answered before Rhodes showed up and drag him back to the states.
Pulling out a portable tablet, Tony connected it to the radio and went to town. It took him less than 10 minutes before everything was up and running. "Testing. Testing. This is DJ Stark looking for some Wakandan love." Tony paused for a second as he chuckled. No wonder Rogers wanted to beat him at times. Before he could stop it, a familiar shield formed in his mind's eye as it came down on him. No! Tony protested, shaking his head violently. He couldn't go there. "But all kidding aside, I have something that you may want. I found a certain treasure that that a specific black-market arms dealer stole from you, and if you're half as advanced as I know you are, you'll have no trouble finding me. Coded message or not. Now, get your Black Panther Butt over here."
"And here I thought you wanted the Vibranium," Klaue replied. Even chained, the man still had a chuckle to his voice as if he was winning. "For once, I thought Tony Stark had some balls to him and would use the Vibranium for himself. How disappointing."
In another life, Tony might had taken the rare metal and used it like his father, but not now. With the future hanging over him (an overused motivation if Tony admitted it), he couldn't even think about keeping it for a second. Besides, that would make him his father, and he refused to be that. "Well, I'm not a criminal."
"It just depends on how you look at it. Your hands are just as dirty as mine."
Tony forced himself to take a deep breath as he got to his feet. There was no denying that Klaue had a point, and though Tony had spent years trying to clean them, there was no cleaning the blood off his strained hands. He knew that, but that wasn't going to stop him from at least trying. "But I got a soul," he answered, as he glanced down at his hands.
Klaue let out a chuckle as he learned against the wall. "Do you now? Or are you just lying to yourself? Don't fool yourself. Me and you aren't too different."
Peter's death flashed in his head once more, and it felt like someone had stabbed him. "With my IQ, it's impossible for me to a fool. Now, you on the other hand," he replied, as he motioned to the Iron Man suit. "Let's head out to the deck and waiting for our honored guests." Via the Iron Man suit, JARVIS man-handled Klaue to his feet and pushed him out the door. Tony kept a close eye on the man, itching to take swing at the man. The man had hit Tony where it hurt, a place that Tony wanted to pretend didn't exist.
*O*O*
With a few hours under his belt waiting, Tony wasn't sure how long he should wait for the Wakandans. He wasn't even sure they would come, though he thought he baited the hook with a big enough worm. Or maybe, he was giving the country too much credit, but that thought didn't last long. Tony may not have seen Wakanda, but he had seen their tech. He had seen the Now Prince in action. He had a few conversations with T'Challa, and it was clear how smart that man was. It didn't take long to realize that Wakanda wasn't some third world country. He just wished the someone would show up.
"I doubt they're coming. Not to see Stark, the Marchant of Death," Came Klaue's reply.
"Well, I think they want you more than they hate me," Tony replied as he looked up into the sky. The sun was still up, but there was a hint of darkness raising from the east. The temperature was starting to drop, sending a chill down his back. "If they don't come, then I guess I'll just give you to the CIA. I'm sure they would want you."
"Oh, how fun."
Tony wished he had something to gag the man. The longer he waited the more his mood plunged, and with his mind acting as its own villain, Klaue was finally getting to him. This was Tony's one chance to get Wakanda to see him as an Ally, a friend. He doubted there was any other way for him to get the Wakandans to believe him. "Yea, I hear they like their unlawful torture over there."
"You American and your pain. Geez, they can do their-"
Before Klaue could finish his sentence, 3 jets suddenly appeared in the sky, hovering over them. Being the genius that Tony was, his mind was racing. Holy shit, he thought. He didn't even know the crafts were there until they revealed themselves. They were so silent that it was magically, and that made Tony's mood jump. Sure, he liked to think he was the smartest man in the room, but he would never turn down the chance to see/study the amazing tech, which these crafts were. They could and would put the quinjets to shame, and that was saying something. "You think the Wakanda would let him look at them?" Oh, Tony hoped so.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into," Klaue sneered.
"Sir, they are scanning the ship," announced JARVIS.
Tony knew what they were looking for; they wanted to make sure that he wasn't lying about the Vibranium, which he wasn't. "Nothing to hide, JARVIS," he said with a large smile, as he happily waved at the jets.
As if they were satisfied with what they saw, the crafts descended. Two landed on the ground besides the decaying ship, while the other land on the massive deck in front of them. It felt like an eternity as Tony watched the hanger doors open. Patience had never been his friend, as his plan had always been 'attack,' which had got him more trouble more than once, and right now, it wasn't doing him any favors. His mind had started to pay jokes on him, making him suspect the worse. Maybe, this was Thanos's game, playing with his head.
Nevertheless, it was odd to see T'Challa walk out of the jet, and like everyone else Tony had encountered so far, the Prince had little more baby fat to his face. Geez, what 5 years did to a man. Granted, those last five years had been tortured for Prince like it had for everyone else. T'Challa, currently, had yet to see the hardship that his future self had, but that was a thought process for another day. Right now, he had to figure out what he was going to say, even though he had thought about it for days now.
He had practiced it in his head like teenager rehearsing for a school project. Yet, Tony was struggling for the words to say. It didn't help that there were two women behind him, staring at him like he was a bomb about to explode. Who the hell are these two women? How did T'Challa get an army of beautiful, power women? Could he get one?
The Author Note:
I didn't want to spend for ever long on Klaue, as he wasn't/isn't a main villain in my story. I didn't want to focus so much him, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I also hope that this answered a few questions that you might've had. This is set after Iron Man 3. It a few months after, so Tony does not have the reactor in this story.
And I will leave this here. I don't have a plan for a pairing just yet, but I had gotten some comments, so i am just going to keep track of them here.
This is what I have.
Pepper/Tony- 10
Stephen/Tony- 10
Steve/Tony- 1
T'Challa/Tony-2
Tony/Thor- 1
I would mention it's going to be awhile for Strange to show up, but you all can dream! Again, I don't know the pairing. And if you like someone else, feel free to mention. I like to see them, because they get my juices flowing.