Hello,

I am back. I wanted to get this out last week, but life happens.

Someone asked in the reviews what my update schedule is for this. I am shooting for every two weeks- either Sunday or Monday Night-, but I will admit that it may be three weeks at times if life happens. Either way, it won't be longer than 3 weeks between updates. I hope that is okay with everyone. At least, you get long chapters so it almost evens out.

In one of the reviews, someone commented that Tony was OOC in the last chapter in how he reacted to Natasha. It was more like Post Civil War Tony instead of Post Infinity War Tony And you may be correct, but Tony, in my story, is stressed to the nth degree. Even he can admit that he overreacted. Also if you watched Endgame (which i believe you all did :P), you could see how destroyed he was. He had faced a lot, and that is what i am focusing on.

Anyhow, here you go. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 5:

Time Travel is Bitch

A bit of Tony's anger died as he crossed the border into the wonderful—sarcastic much?- state of New Jersey. Maybe, it was the distance between Romanoff and himself that gave him hindsight. Maybe, it was the time that passed since he bolted like a mad man. Whatever it was, his anger had died down to a slight annoyance. The urge to punch Strange in the face had also died, though he would laugh if Strange stubbed his toe. After his logic was slowly returned, irritation wasn't far behind, pissed at himself for allowing himself to be dragged down by his anger. He had been angry before, but this was something else. It robbed him of everything, and turned him into a kid again. He never liked being a kid (probably the fact that he teenage in college and couldn't even smoke legally) in the first place, and he didn't like being a kid now.

Still on course to Metro-General Hospital, he racked his brain, looking for an answer, and slowly replayed the day in his head. Where did it all go downhill? When did he lose control of himself? Okay, he is Tony Stark no matter the life experience, and he had never been known to be in control of himself. His best mode of attack was to attack; his mouth spouted off whatever he was thinking at point in time, and he didn't care if it insulted someone. He didn't care if someone poked all his buttons as he just played along with it. He took it all in good fun, because what was the point in being upset? There was no point. It didn't get you anywhere; yet, he blew up at the very sight of Natasha.

Maybe, it was the stress of it. Tony had felt stress before, spent countless nights in the lab, but this was nothing like before. Tony couldn't describe this overwhelming weight on his chest that threatened to eat alive. The whole freaken universe was counting on him, which was just mind numbing. The number alone could make his head explode. Too many to count. Too many to think about. He couldn't even think of a number big enough, so how could he save that many people? Okay, he knew that wasn't fair, but god, as he saved earth many times over. Overthinking like always, he got so lost in his head that he couldn't find the way out.

Maybe, it had to do with Peter, a brave kid who died in Tony's arms. Could Tony even call it that? Dying? Peter turned to dust, while begging for his life. Begging for Tony to save him. To not let him ago. There was no describing how horrible that felt. No describing the overwhelming dread that flooded him as he realized there was nothing he could do. He felt ill just thinking about it. He would not be able to survive Peter's death again, probably following him unto death. Panic grew inside of Tony at the thought of the young boy scared and hurt. Maybe, it was that fear that ate at him and stripping away Tony's armor, causing him to overact.

"Get it together," he told himself, ignoring his pounding heart. Breathe. 1. 2. 3.

"Sir, I must advice that you are reaching high levels of crazy. May I suggest returning to the tower."

JARVIS just liked to hit Tony where it hurt. "No," he replied, though not sure why he was still heading toward the hospital, where Strange was currently. Even with his self-control returning, there was no way in hell this was going well, but yet, he couldn't find it in him to turn around. He needed to know why it was him. Why did Strange pick him? Why him of all people? He was and would screw everything up. He exploded at the sight of the red head, which did not help Natasha's suspicion. Why did his mind keep going back to her?

Again, he knew he was stressed, and it could be his stress talking now, but it didn't feel like. Everything was just off, especially his reactions. All things considered; he shouldn't be surprised at Romanoff's betrayal to begin with as she was a spy. It was what she did; Tony should not have expected anything else from her. And he still shouldn't expect anything from her, even if this wasn't the same Natasha that betrayed him. She was a spy through and through, who was only loyal to Fury… and anyone who was not Tony. Stop this shit, he yelled at himself as his anger started to bubble up again.

He needed to get whatever this was in check before he exploded again. There was no doubt that Natasha was going to show up soon or later and demand answers from him, which was not a conversion that Tony wanted. He wouldn't know what to even tell her, because he wasn't telling her the truth, not when she could turn on him like she did all the other time. He supposed he could tell her he was fighting with Pepper (which wasn't a lie) and apologize for snapping on her, but he could already see her mistrusting, judging face. There was no way in hell that she was accepting that apologize without question. She wasn't accepting anything but the truth or what she thought was the truth.

*O*O*

An hour later, Tony was standing in front of Metro-General Hospital with his best Stark face … What was the plan? To confront Strange and ask him why his future wizard self mess with the timeline? Okay, if he wanted to end in the loony bin. What the hell was he doing here? Maybe, he could just walk into the hospital, see Dr. Strange being a doctor and turn away. Maybe, that was all he needed to get Strange out of his mind. Maybe, he just needed to see the man, though Tony knew that was a bad idea the second he had. He had no idea of how he would react to seeing the man who cursed him to relive everything again.

"Stay here, JARVIS," he ordered as he stepped out of the suit.

"Very well, Sir."

A second didn't even pass before he was recognized, thought he should've expected that, as he just walked out of the Iron Man suit. That suit attracted attention like a moth to a flame, more so than his thousand-dollar suits. Sure, he was the famous; everyone around the world knew his name. Knew his face, but it was the suit. It was his suit that they run too, but they ingested any information they could on him. Though the idea was odd to him, they knew his favorite color, the size of his shoes and how he liked his coffee. They knew what he enjoyed eating, but he supposed he had the hand in all of this. He sure did love to talk about himself with a smile on his face; yet, there was no getting used to this. There were eyes everywhere.

Focused on the front door, there were a chorus of people calling his name, shouting that it was the famous Iron Man. There was amazement and awed in their voices at the mere sight of him. There may be one or two that did not like him, but he drew everyone's attention, and each attempted to get his attention. He ignored them all besides one. Her voice, no louder than whisper, screamed to him, and as if he had no will, he turned to see who it was. The second he turned, he was blinded by an overpowering, piercing light, and under the intensity, he turned away in fear of frying his eyes. Shutting his eyes as tight as he could, he took a long, deep breath. "What the hell was that?" he uttered, his voice cracking. He remained like that, hunched over until he was sure the light was gone.

Like the wind had been knocked out of him, Tony forced himself to take a deep breath as he straightened himself up. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw spots, but he waved them off (as if he could) and headed into the building. Whatever attention he was getting, it disappeared, which was jarring. It was off putting to say the least, but he kept his head up, refusing to linger on it. He was on a mission, and it didn't matter if he drew attention or not. Sure, it was a shot to his ego, which he could live with. Some would it was good for his ego to take a hit, but that was a thought or another day.

With his vision finally clearing, he quickened his pace to the nurse's station. It didn't look like the ones in the movies or on TV shows, though Tony wasn't sure what he was expecting. It was busy with activity, and there were patients' charts hanging around. It looked messy to him, but there was probably a logic to it. As he approached, none of the exhausted nurses looked up at him; each were too focused on their task. "Excuse me," he interrupted with a smile. "Can someone tell me where I can find Doctor Stephen Strange?"

The woman, closest to him, did not respond and turned to the chart on her left. She spoke to the nurse a few feet from her, carrying a conversion on some patient. Was it possible that she didn't hear him? Or she was simply ignoring him?

"You know most ladies squeal at the sight of me," Tony spoke, putting—or attempting—to put on the charmed he was famous for. It was a challenge when he was like crap. He was so not cheery. "Still nothing? This is doing wonders for my self-worth." Again, nothing. It was like she wasn't seeing him. "Fine, I'll just find him myself." He huffed to himself as he turned and took off down the hall. He stopped at a directory hung on a wall, scanning it over quickly. It didn't take long for him to find the good doctor's bizarre name in sea of common names.

Once more, no one paid any attention to Tony as he made his way up Strange's office. Again, it struck the famous genius as odd, not that it wasn't nice when he was on a mission. It gave him some kind of freedom, but he pushed those thoughts away as he walked—more like ran—to the elevator. Being impatient, he vehemently jabbed the up button on the panel. It was stiff under his touch from years of use, which didn't stop him from hitting it repeatedly like it would help. It, of course, did not, but with no sense of logic and reason, it felt like he was getting somewhere, though that only last a second. Apprehension started to grow as seconds went by waiting for the elevator, and as it started to take over, nothing moved fast enough for him. It was too much for Tony, who turned to the stairways.

Tony flew through open the door to the stairs and bolt up them as if he was on fire. He was in better shape than he was a few weeks ago—an odd reality—and it was only after 3 flight of stairs that he started to feel the tingle. It was a light burning sensation in his calves, but luckily, he didn't have go up any more steps. He threw the door open to the floor and paused. Without JARVIS at his side, Tony was horrible at directions, especially in a hospital where all he saw was hallways and rooms. It was a maze with no end.

With a deep and long breath, Tony slowly looked around, randomly picking a direction. In a quick second decision, he turned left and ran down the hall looking for a hint of the Wizard Doctor. It didn't take long for Tony to realize that he had picked the wrong direction. There were only patient's rooms down this long narrow white hallway, and each room he passed was filled with patients, none were offices. Each ignored him and continued their conversion be with a nurse, a family member or another patient. He didn't think much of it at first, considering it was a hospital with hurt or sick people, but now, it was strange, especially when he tried to make eye contact. None of them returned it.

"Not, now," Tony lectured himself as he twisted around, heading in the other direction. However, it was harder than expected not to react to no reaction. Against his own judgement, he approached a young nurse, who didn't turn or acknowledge him in the least. "Hello Miss, can you direct pretty old me to Dr. Strange?" He waited a few seconds for her reply, but when he got nothing, he added, "Do I smell or something?" It was a serious question as he did spend all day in an old crusty storage room with all the fun pesters. "You people are stiffer than my board of directors after I miss a meeting." He mumbled as he turned away. Was he chopper liver?

Shaking his head, he walked away- no interest in running. His legs were too tired for that and his mind was as well. Was this some kind of joke? Ignore Tony Stark day? Was Rhodey behind this? Like anyone could ignore him, especially the press. He was magically. He was-

"I'm fine, Uncle Ben! It's nothing!" A boy shouted; panic laced into his words.

"Peter, your arm is broken. That's nothing. Why don't you tell me how this happen?" The voice was exhausted.

"I fell."

The voice, like Tony, was years younger. It had yet to mature into the voice that Tony knew and loved, but he knew that voice well. He had—well in the other timeline—countless long voicemail from the boy, who went on and on about his day. Even though Peter had only gotten Tony's voicemail or FRIDAY, Peter would ramble on and on until he could not leave another word. Tony may had played it off in front of everyone who dared to look at him funny about the nonsense voicemails, but it was endearing and nice. The genius held on to them all. When the Avengers broke apart, it was nice to have those voicemails to play over and over again. It was nice to have something to hold on to.

God, he wished he could listen to them now, listen to how cheery the young man was. It was amazing to see the person Peter was morphing into. It was nice to have someone look at him like he had set the moon and sun, even if it threw him through a loop. Just thinking about it made him lightheaded; it flooded him like it happened yesterday. And with no power to stop it, Peter's face popped into his head. There was an undeniable fear in his eyes as he turned to dust in Tony's shaking hands.

"I don't believe that, and Aunt May won't believe it either."

"It was an accident, Uncle Ben!"

Tony, his heart pounding in his chest, followed the voices to a hospital room in dark corner. The door was ajar, which allowed the genius a peak of the tiny little family. It was like watching a movie as he looked upon the two. His heart skipped when he laid eyes on Peter, who was sporting a smile even with a badly broken arm. He looked too tiny for that kind of injury. Too little for much anything if you ask Tony. Okay, that wasn't fair as Peter was only a few years younger. He wasn't that tiny. He was a preteen, who still had some of the features he had in the future. It wasn't hard to see the young man that he would become, even if he was a bit smaller than most kids his age. Damn it. Tony wanted to stuff him full of food until Peter couldn't eat anymore. He wanted to bury the boy in blankets and protect them from the world.

How did Peter end up here in this hospital of all places? It seemed odd for him to be here, especially when there had to be other hospitals closer to his house. And what the hell happen to his arm? Did Tony need to blast someone? No, he totally needed to blast someone. "Um, what?" Where the hell did that come from? Was this his wacky emotions taking over? Was he channeling his inter dad mode? When did he get a dad mode? And was that odd? Crap, I need a drink. He really wasn't the man he used to be, and that surprised him more than he cared to admit.

"You have to stand up for yourself." Uncle Ben spoke, his tone soft.

Leaning against the door frame in the small opening, Tony took in the famous Uncle Ben, the man who raised Peter like a beloved son. That man was everything to the kid. The rich genius had never met the man, only hearing cherished stories from Peter, and the soft smile on the boy's face told Tony everything he needed to know about Ben Parker. He was bright, wise, honorable and smart, and he taught Peter everything that he was. Taught him right from wrong. Taught him to take responsibility. He taught him everything that Tony loved about Peter. Without Ben Parker, there would be no Peter Parker, and Tony would forever be grateful to the man.

Tony, though he felt like he was trespassing somewhat on a family moment, could feel his soul rest. This was what he needed, even though he never realized it. It settled him, and Tony wanted nothing more than to introduce himself to the two. He knew he shouldn't with the timeline hanging over him like an axe, but god, he wanted to say fuck it. Who cared about these made up rules? Did it really matter? He could have already destroyed the timeline, but anything had to be better than Thanos killing everyone. It just—

Tony stopped in his tracks as Ben Parker straightened himself up and turned to the door, where he was standing. There was a weariness in his eyes that Tony hadn't seen before. "Oh, there you were," he said, sounding like he could skin an animal alive. "My nephew has been waiting for hours."

"What?" Tony uttered, straightening himself up. Was Ben talking to him? He had to be because Parker was looking right at him, but why would Parker be mad at him? "Excuse me? I get I'm horrible at time keeping, but it's easy to lose track of time when there is 24 hours in a day."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Parker," came a voice behind Tony.

If anyone asked, Tony would deny it, but he flinched, not hearing someone come up behind him. "Geez!" he yelled, catching his breath. "I feel like Doctors should not be giving people heart attacks. Bad business…or is it good business?" He turned to the Doctor expecting some kind of response—though why would he?-, but once more, he got nothing. The Doctor, like the nurses in the hallway, didn't pay any attention to him. In fact, Ben wasn't even looking at him. What the heck?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Parker. I had to get a second opinion," the doctor stated as he walked into the room with a heavy step. In his hand, he held a clipboard, which Tony could not read from his point of view. "The breakage is worse than we first thought." He pulled an x-ray image from a file and placed it over a light.

Tony's expression dropped from his face, and he sauntered toward Peter, ignoring every warning going off in his head. "What?" he articulated, seeing the pained look on Peter's face. He didn't realize how much pain the boy was in; it was etched in his facade. Forcing down everything, Tony glanced at the x-ray, though he had no idea what he was seeing. He could see the breakage, but Peter's hand was more than just broken. Who did this to him? Who would hurt a boy? A child?! Was it a kid from school? Was that why Ben was trying to get answers from Peter? Tony would gladly help if he could. "Who did this to you, Kid?" he asked, turning back to the boy. No answer, even though he was standing a foot from them.

Mr. Parker looked just as alarmed as Tony felt. "Peter, what happened?"

Peter all the sudden looked bashful, like he was guilty of a high crime. "I fell, Uncle Ben."

That was a lie if Tony even heard one, but he wasn't sure pushing Peter on it would be wise. The expression on Peter's face was heartbreaking enough, and he looked seconds from a panic attack. "Peter," he voiced. Whoever it was, they scared Peter

Ben, on the other hand, wasn't going to take that for an answer. "Peter, are you lying to me? Were you in a fight?"

"Children lie, Mr. Parker," a familiar voice said, wryly, from the doorway. "It is what they do, and it is obvious that the boy is lying to you."

Tony picked his head up and spun to the newcomer, knowing the voice. He could never forget the voice that cursed him here. If he wasn't so shocked by it, he would've been pissed for someone calling Peter a liar but seeing Dr. Strange in the doorway took everything from him. "Strange," he spoke, though the man did not respond to the genius.

"Are you calling my Nephew a liar?" Ben hissed, stepping toward Strange.

"I am," Strange answered, not an ounce of shame or hesitation in his voice. "Is he not lying, Mr. Parker?"

"Dr. Strange!" admonished the other Doctor, disbelief written on his face.

Tony was shocked by the brute honesty from the Future Wizard, but if he thought about it, he really wasn't. Even on that ship heading to Titan, Strange told the truth holding nothing back. Okay, not the whole truth. He lied about the Time stone and gave it to a nut case for Tony's life. Yup, here came the anger. Anger for lying. Anger for calling Peter a liar, even if the boy was lying. Anger at him for being an asshole. "Who the hell do you think you are? There's only one cocky asshole allowed in the room at any given time, and that is me. So, you can shove it!" he yelled, getting in Strange's face. Being only an inch smaller than the good doctor, he stared directly into his eyes. "Hello, did you hear me?" he hissed, when Strange didn't flinch. "You can't ignore me when I kick your ass. No one calls my kid a liar and gets away with it!" There it was again. When did the kid become his own? And why wasn't anyone reacting to him?!

Mr. Parker looked just as pissed off as Tony, but they noticed him. "My nephew is not a liar! I dare you to say that one more time, Sir, and who are you?"

"I will be the one operating on your nephew's arm, repairing what has been broken." Strange replied, dryly.

"Dr. Strange is one of the best neurosurgeons in New York," the other Doctor interjected with a hesitate smile. "There is no one better equipped to deal with this type of injury."

Both Tony and Ben sported the same confused look. Why on earth would Peter need a neurosurgeon for a broken arm? That seemed like overkilled, unless Peter's arm was worse than they thought.

"Not one of, I am the best," Strange countered with a smug look on his face.

"You arrogance son of a bitch," Tony snapped. He didn't realize Strange was this arrogance, this much of an asshole. Granted, he didn't know Strange all too much, apart from taking on Thanos together, but if he went off that, the man in front of him was a different man. Tony didn't know what had changed Stephen, but he supposed there had to have been something, and Tony couldn't help but wonder what it was. "There's a kid in the room, and he's uncomfortable and frightened. He doesn't need your ego," he yelled, crossing back to Strange. The urge to punch the Doctor was back, as he found himself staring eye to eye with the man who didn't knowledge him.

"You sound like an asshole," Ben uttered before remembering Peter was sitting next to him. "Don't tell Aunt May I said that." His voice softened as he spoke to Peter. "We don't want me to get into trouble."

A smile grew on Peter's face as he took in the warmth from his Uncle. "We wouldn't want that."

Strange was looking right through Tony, eyeing the two. Though Tony felt like he was going crazy, it was probably a good thing that Strange couldn't see him. There was no doubt that there would be a fight as they were both assholes. Strange continued to speak to Ben Parker and young Peter with Tony as a ghost on their wall. It was all medical jargon, but Tony caught a few things here and there. Peter still refused to tell them what happened, though it was clear that he was protecting someone—something that Strange had no issue pointing out.

"Am invisible?" If Tony ignored his anger at the future Wizard (like who did he think he was? The Ass!), he could admit that the whole invisible thing was odd and a bit scary, but it made sense. They weren't ignoring him; they couldn't see him. It must have happened right before he entered the hospital as that when stopped noticing him. It most have been that intense light which blinded. Even now, he could feel that hot beam on his face, burning his eyes. Was it some kind of magic? It would not be out the normal, considering he did meet a Wizard with a time stone. "What the hell?" he cursed. "And fuck you too, Strange! If you could only hear me!"

"It is for the best that he does not if I am to judge by your words."

Wait, was someone talking to him? Tony turned and faced the door, catching sight a bald-headed woman who was staring intensely at him with a calculated look. Like Strange when they first met, she was wearing robes, but hers were a bright yellow, though just as weird. Besides looking like a child at a Renaissance fair, they looked oddly comfortable. "Did I piss off Harry Potter?" he asked, putting on a goofy smile.

"Oh, Mr. Stark," she replied. "You are making a mess of the timeline."

Tony's eyes widened. "You know?"

"I know everything." She answered with a soft smile. "I know about Thanos."

Just like that, Strange and Peter disappeared from his mind, and Tony's focus was on the eccentric woman, who came out of nowhere. Who was this woman? She seemed different from the other wizards he had met. Sure, he had only met two before being thrown into the past, but she had to be someone. "Is the no hair a fashion statement?" He flashed to Ayo and her head. Was he missing a trend? Okay, they could just like being bald, and Tony would give it to them. The more power to them as he would not look good bald.

"I am the Sorcerer Supreme, but you can call me the Ancient One," she replied.

Tony's mind flashed to Strange and his stupid cloak. Wasn't he the Sorcerer Supreme? No, he corrected himself. Strange was still a Doctor, and it would be years before he carried the title, but it posed the question to what happened to this woman in the future that she didn't hold anymore? "The Ancient one? And here I thought 'Apple' and 'Denim' were bad. Did your mother a hate you?"

The Ancient One replied, melodramatically, "My name is lost to the sand of time."

"What the hell does that mean?" he asked, his eyebrow raised. "And what did you do to me?"

She folded one arm behind her back as she waved the other one in the air, creating some weird shapes and colors in the air. "This is the Mirror Dimension," she answered as the colors danced around her hand. "We used it to train the more advanced and dangerous spells without adversely affecting the real world. We also used it keep an eye on threats without being noticed and a prison for some."

The word prison stuck out to Tony, as he was a prisoner now, wasn't he? Did she stick him here because he broke some invisible rule about time travel? "Why am I here?" Out of habit, he called for his nano suit as he prepared for a battle. He was not getting stuck on weird dimension. But as he raised his hand, he remembered—more like it slapped him in the face—that he didn't have that suit in this timeline. He was defenseless against this woman with an odd name.

The Ancient One's eyes dropped to his raised hand for a second before letting out a deep sigh. "What are you planning on doing with your hand?" she inquired, mordantly, as she glanced back at Dr. Strange. "And don't worry, Mr. Stark. I just need to talk to you without getting interrupted and make sure you don't interfere with Stephen Strange."

Tony glanced back to Strange, who was examining Peter's broken arm. Ben still had a frown on his face as he looked between his Nephew and the Doctor. "Why? Don't want me to interfere with your favorite student, Dumbledore?" he asked, returning his attention back to the Wizard- Or was she a witch? Could a Wizard be a woman too?

The Ancient One shot Tony an exasperated look. "Missing with the timeline is a messy game, Stark. I would not want you to change Stephen's destiny, because you wanted to play. The world needs him to become the Sorcerer Supreme more than you think."

Time Travel Moves were just that: movies; however, they could hold some valid information. With the number of Time Traveling movies, one had to be correct or halfway correct. If they weren't, Tony was screwed as that was what his research was on. But if they were, he knew what she was referring to. "The butterfly effect," he uttered, knowing very well how one tiny change could alter the future. "Would that make him less of an ass?" he asked.

"Some would ask if you are calling the kettle black."

There was no denying Tony was an asshole, but he would like to think he was an asshole with a heart. "True," he articulated, slowly. "So, what you're telling me is that you don't want me to have any contact with Dr. Strange until he goes to Hogwarts?" he asked, rising his own eyebrow at her.

"Do you have to be so asinine," she asked with a sigh.

Tony just laughed. It wasn't the rolling around on the ground kind, but it was a long long laugh that left him out of breath. "Oh, Lady, you don't know me well enough."

"I know you better than you think I do," she countered. "But yes, you need to keep your distance from Mr. Strange."

Tony let out a heavy sigh, because he didn't want to keep his distant. He wanted to punch the man in the face for how he spoke to Peter, and besides, what would it affect? The truth be told Tony knew nothing about the man, besides what JARVIS had pulled up a week ago. He had no idea why Stephen would walk away from all that doctor money for an ugly drape. "Fine, but after he gets his wand, I am punching him with the Iron Man suit."

Finally, the woman cracked a smile. "Just don't kill him, Mr. Stark. Whatever future you create, Strange is needed to defeat Thanos."

"Urge, is he really?" Tony groaned. "The Avengers can only handle one ego. Mine." He could do this: he could take a step back. It would be for the best, considering how much resentment he held. "And what about Peter?" he asked, his voice creaking.

Wizard didn't answer at first as she took a long glance at the young boy, who was holding his broken arm firmly against his chest. Pain was still glued to Peter's face, though he tried his best to hide it. "He holds a large part of your heart." There was a softness in her voice that killed Tony. "I do not see the harm, but you would have to limit yourself and not interfere with the major life experiences in his life. You cannot stop him from getting bit by that retroactive Spider. You cannot stop Ben Parker from dying. He must die for Peter to become the man he's meant to be." She replied as if she wasn't talking about a man's death.

Tony's heart clenched in his chest, thinking about how bad Peter took his Uncle's murder. How could he let his kid's—not your kid—uncle die? How could he allow Peter to go through that? "But…"

"There is no buts, Mr. Stark. If you cannot do that, then you must take a step back. It is for the greater good," the Ancient One replied.

There was a part of him that wanted to refute this woman. Wanted to rebut her, call her heartless. Plus, how could he know she was telling the truth? That he could trust her? "And I should listen to you why?"

"Because if you don't, Thanos will win," she answered, callously. "And Peter will turn to dust in your arms again. Do you desire that?"

Tony's eyes widened, as his heart threated to pop right out of his chest like he was having a heart attack, and every breath was a battle. In a terror, his hands flew to his neck and pulled at his shirt like it was choking him. His nails dug at the skin on his chest as he struggled to breathe. He knew what this was, knew what was clawing its way up. He knew what this overwhelming dread in his stomach was. "H..How?" he asked, his voice shaking. "How d-do y-you know that?"

"Dr. Strange is not the first one to look to the future," she responded, tranquilly.

There were a million things bouncing around in Tony's head, and each gave him a headache. Did she watched it all happen? Did she let it happen? Did she let Peter die? Like a lion's roar, his anger came rising up, and everything that he felt for Strange, he felt for this Ancient One. "And you let it happen?" he hissed. His heart pounded against his ribs.

She gave Tony a look. "I did not let anything happen, Stark," she countered, harshly. There was an edge to her tone that was not there a second ago. "Looking into the future is not as easily as you think it is. Nor should the future be played with like a toy. It's a river that will destroy you if you're not careful. It is unpredictable and can change at a moment notice, depending on a number of factors."

"So, you are blaming time for Thanos?" he snapped.

"In my defense, I am dead by the time Thanos comes to Earth, but no, I am not." She replied. "There is a theory in quantum physics that time is immutable. It's like a river. You can throw a pebble and it creates a ripple but the current always corrects itself. No matter what you do, the river just keeps flowing in the same direction."

Tony knew that theory, as it kept him up at night, making his doubt everything he was doing. What was the point in all of this if time was going to repeat itself? That thought kicked his legs out from underneath him. He couldn't lose Peter again, because that would break him. That was a pit of sadness in his stomach that he would not be able to climb out. "Are you saying this is all for nothing?" He asked, taking a few deep breaths.

The Ancient One pushed off the wall and waved to Tony to follow. "I am not. I am simply stating that time is a tricky thing. Any tiny thing can change the timeline drastically, and meeting Dr. Strange now will be one of those tiny things."

"Why?" Why would him and Strange meeting early change the future? How could meeting him change the course of Strange's future? Sure, Tony's ego—on a good day-would agree to that. Whose life wouldn't be changed by meeting him.

"That is not what you need to concern yourself. You just need to focus on your path."

Unable to stop himself, Tony glimpsed back at Peter and Strange. He studied them for a few seconds, taking in each of their faces. Even though Strange was quite full of himself, there was a look on his face that pulled at Tony. He reminded Tony of himself, a man in his element. A man with a mind full of knowledge. A man who cared about his craft. It was something to see. With Peter, there was an innocence to him that could not be matched. The kid may have a broken arm, but it had not broken him. "Are you giving me a warning? Or advice?"

The Ancient One followed his eyes. "I just came here to stop this ripple. I will not intervene with you, besides when it comes to Mr. Strange," she answered. "I hope you succeed, Stark. You deserve some happiness in your life."

Tony wasn't sure if he should take that as an insult, because he was happy. He was satisfied with Pepper, joking about dreams and a possible kid that may nor may not be named Morgan. He was ecstatic about spending time with Peter, teaching him. Mentoring him. He was happy…until he wasn't, and now, he wasn't sure if that was possible. "I thought Fairy Godmothers wore blue. If not, Disney lied to me."

The Ancient One gave him an exhausted stare before stepping out the door. She paused. "Coming? It would do no one any good to have you just pop up."

He supposed this was his clue that the conversion was over, and though Tony had more questions for the lady, he followed her. "Lies. Who wouldn't love me randomly popping up?" he asked, grinning. "Probably fanfiction like that."

Hesitating, she paused for a second, turning back to Tony. "And whatever Dr. Strange has done, there's a reason to it. If his future self did it, he did it for the greater good."

The idea had passed through Tony's mind once or twice, but he had been too angry to accept it. Peter died in Tony's arm and Strange foresaw it. There was no getting pass that. "Whatever you say, Merlin," he retorted.

*O*O*

The Ancient One—a stupid name if you ask Tony—didn't drop the genius off at the front of the hospital. She magic-ed him back to reality a few floors down in an empty room and disappeared in one of those magic circles after giving him another very clear warming about Strange. His eye twitched for a second, annoyed at being treated like a child, but if he thought about, he did come here to punch Strange in the face. That hadn't been very mature of him, so maybe she had a point.

With his emotions in check, he headed toward the entrance of the building, but he didn't make it. Unlike when he entered the hospital, he did not go unnoticed and drew all kind of attention. He was a fish in a glass bowl as everyone stared at him with their mouths opened. He expected a few to pull him into a tedious conversion, but the expression on his face kept everyone back. However, there was one person who approached, and she did it with a smile that could kill.

If the name of her coat was anything to go off of, her name was Christine Palmer and she was a doctor. "Hello, Mr. Stark. My name is Dr. Christine Palmer," she introduced herself with a smile.

"Mr. Stark is my father. You can just call me Tony. How can I help you?" he asked, putting on a smile.

If she was bothered and/or charmed by his smile, she did not show it. "I know this is out of the norm and a bit odd, but can I ask a favor?" she asked.

"A donation?" he answered with a hum. It wasn't uncommon for people to ask for money from him, and though he donated to countless charities, he was not in the mood for people asking for moment. He wanted to get out of here before he broke the timeline and the Ancient One ate him.

Her eyes widened as she shook her head no. "No, Mr. S—Tony," she said, quickly. She looked insulted that he would even ask that. "I was only asking for your time, not your money. We have a few kids in the children wing who would love a visit from Iron Man. It would bright up their day, but I would understand if you cannot."

Ms. Palmer was not the most beautiful woman that Tony had ever see. He did not mean that as an insult as she was beautiful. It was just that Pepper and his mother held that title and he was not taking the title from them, but if he just looked at her, the expression in Christine's eyes bumped her up and she looked fierce as she stood in front of him. She may have asked him for this 'favor,' but she was giving him an order that Tony couldn't turn down. "I would love to see the kiddos, but I don't do nose pickers. I'm good with bugs and dirt, but not that." He said, giving her a smile.

"So, no children in your future?" she asked, her expression turning soft. "If so, you will have to get over that."

Tony flashed to the dream he had before this whole timeline crap, and the little girl that may never exist popped into his mind. That hurt more than he expected. "Leaving a kid in my care might not be the best idea," he answered, as he followed the Doctor. "Besides, I think the world might explode if there was a mini me running around."

Palmer laughed at that as she led the way to the children's wing. "Is that so?" she asked, though only getting a head nod. "And thank you for doing this. You will be making a lot of kids smile."

"Not a problem," he said with a warm smile. His smile did not faulter, even when they passed a certain Doctor in the hallway, and without twitching, he ignored the look that Dr. Strange was giving them both.

*O*O*

A non- time traveling Tony without future knowledge might have hated—loathed- being surrounded by sticky, smelly kids of any age or size, but a time traveling Tony with future Knowledge found himself enjoying it. Enjoying the laugher and the smile. It was refreshing and relaxing. Sure, he had to watch the swear words in front of the kiddos, but it was nice to talk to people—were kids considered people?- without hidden motives. They didn't even know what motives were. The best part was seeing the joy in their eyes as they spouted off questions after questions. They could not ask them fast enough, wanting to know anything and everything. They wanted to know how it felt to be Iron Man. They wanted to know how it felt to fly. It was adorable, and Tony couldn't help but smile.

"Can I be Iron Man someday?"

"Can I join the Avengers!"

"How does the suit fly?"

"How is it to fight along the Hulk? Captain America?"

"How was Space?"

"Why is your Iron Man suit funny colors?"

The kids reminded him a bit of Harley, a boy who could not shut up. The boy may have sent him into a panic attack when he brought up the idea of space, but he was a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge as he could. With huge eyes, he wanted to learn and grow, and each of these children were like that. Their heads may be bald due to cancer treatment. They may be missing a limb. They may have a chronic illness, but none of them let that stop them. It was amazing how full of life and hopeful they were, especially when their parents look like they were seconds from a break down. It was inspiring.

Tony, greatly enjoying himself, lost track how long he was down on the ground with these kids, but he had promised them prosthetics designed and created personally by him to each kid missing an arm or a leg. With everything already on his plate, it might not have been the best idea. Okay, it was definitely not the best idea, but he was basking in the warmth from their eyes. They could probably get him to do anything right now, as he had found heaven. Though that might feel be odd, this was something he could do for years and never get tired. Did that sound cheese? Pepper would be laughing at him if she was here.

"Stark," a voice called from the doorway.

Startled slightly, Tony picked up his head and turned to the door. He knew the voice; yet, he was surprised she tracked him here. He didn't expect her to take her 'job' so seriously, but he shouldn't have been surprised. She looked like she was going rip Natasha apart in the jet, and while it was odd, he would've liked to see who would win in a fight: Ayo or Romanoff. Either way, Tony wouldn't want to meet any of these ladies in a fight if he only had his hands as he was sure they could kick his ass. He was manly enough to admit that, even if it looked like the Wakandan was playing on doing it now. Ayo was standing there with a strange expression on her face, and Tony couldn't make out why. Did he do something wrong? Was this because he bolted? "It seems like my babysitter is here. I guess that is my clue to leave." He teased.

Most of the kids whined loudly at the thought of Iron Man leaving, while one brave soul called out, "You have babysitter?!"

A laugher erupted from deep from Tony's throat, and it held him in place for a few seconds while he tried to stop laughing. He probably looked stupid, but he was too happy to care. He needed this. After his laugher had died down, he pushed himself to his feet. His bones cracked, as he straightened himself up, but he felt amazing. "Oh, yes. I be lost without her." He smiled at Ayo.

Taking a step forward, Christine clapped her hands gathering everyone's attention. She may have just stood in the back and watched, but she was wearing a smile that took up half her face. There was no competition for a smile like that. "Let's give Mr. Stark a big round of applause."

The energic children did as they were told and shouted a big thank you. Even if it killed his ear drums, it warmed Tony's heart as he looked out at their faces. "How can anyone say no to these faces." He waved them goodbye. He lingered a bit, taking in each of their faces. This was why he did what he did. He may be fighting for Peter, but he was also fighting for these kids, who unaware of their impending doom. He was fighting for everyone so they could live a long, happy life. It may feel overwhelming, but he was doing this for a reason. If he focused on that, his stress and fear would mean nothing.

Before he could even turn to leave, a child tackled his right leg, giving him a strong hug. Tony could've broken free of the girl's hold if he hadn't been so shocked by it all. When did kids start hugging him? "Oh, hey." He voiced, stunned at the weight on his leg. Both the mother of the child and Christine's eyes grew with concern and took a step forward to gently pull the girl off. Startled by the look in the girl's eyes, Tony waved them off as he looked down at the child, who couldn't have been older than six.

"Thank you!" the girl squealed with a smile missing a few teeth. She was missing a hand, but it did not stop her from giving him a bear hug.

Not breaking her hold, Tony slowly got down to his knees. "You're welcome, Sweetheart." He replied, giving her a light hug. He could see a flash go off in the corner of his eye, but he paid it no attention as he focused on this little girl, who was born without a hand.

"Can I have a red one?" she asked, a plead in her blue eyes. "Like your Iron Man suit?" There was a bit of hesitation in her eyes, but yet, she looked hopeful.

The genius, who had seen far too much in his life, couldn't help but smile at her. "You can have any color you want," he answered. "If you want red and gold, you got it! If you want stripes you go it." That appeared to have been the correct response as the girl let go his leg and launched herself into his chest.

From there, Tony was pulled back in, and it took a several more tries for Ayo to drag Tony away from the kids, because now, all the kids wanted to pick their colors for their prosthetics. None of the kids wanted skin colored, unlike the parents. After getting everyone's wish list, Tony got roped into a group photo—a few photos in fact, as they had to wrangle the kids into place. It reminded Tony of pig wrestling. The kids may have been sick, but that didn't stop them from acting like kids and they could not hold still for the life of them. It was endearing, but it delayed them. Then once they got out, Christine gave Tony a lingering bear hug. Stunned, Tony just let the woman hug him as she thanked him repeatedly. It wasn't until a few moment later that she released him with a red face.

By the time Tony left the hospital, the sun had set, and he was ready for a nap—if his nightmares allowed him to do so. He would probably end up in the labs, working on his Iron Man suit. He was getting his nanobots back. Besides, he doubted he would be able to sleep without some heavy sleeping pills, because he could feel already everything rushing back at him. God, did he sound like a broken record? On the plus side, he did feel better about the about the Peter and Strange thing. The Ancient One did give him some piece of mind, even if he wasn't sure he could trust her.

"So where did you go?" Ayo asked, as they headed toward the front door. Even with no SHIELD agent around, she was still speaking with an American accent. It still startled the genius to how American she sounded. "JARVIS alerted me when he was unable to locate you. You just disappeared, and I must say I'm surprised how panicked he sounded for an AI."

"Oh, did he? I'm glad to know he would miss me if I disappeared," Tony spoken as they exited the busy hospital. For the most part, they were unbothered after leaving the children ward, as Ayo glared at anyone who dared to look at him. She was scary. "What about you? Miss me?"

Ayo gave Tony a look that was mixture of annoyance and amusement. "I'm just getting use to you, so it would be a shame to lose you now. Over there," She replied, pointing to one of Tony's car.

"So, you stole one of my cars?" He asked as he sent the Iron Man suit home. Neither Ayo or JARVIS trusted him to go home.

"Not bad for an American car," Ayo responded with a smirk.

Tony could deal with a lot of insults and jests, but he refused to let anyone insult his car. All his cars were his babies… He had a lot of babies, didn't he? "Why don't you give me the keys?"

Ayo's eyebrow rose as she stared at Tony. "I am keeping these, Stark," she said, dangling the keys in front of him. "No one drives but me." There was a grin on her face as she pulled her arm back.

The genius wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry, as he watched Ayo step to the drive side door of his hundred-thousand-dollar car. "You are—"

"However, you did not answer my question. Where did you go?" The car thief interrupted.

The answer to that question was a mouthful as Tony still didn't understand what the Ancient One had done or where she had sent him; however, he had answered it as best as he could. He explained what she told him, his heart skipping on the fact that he had to let Ben Parker die. How could he face Peter afterward? How could he tell Peter he let his uncle die? How could he—Wait, was this how Strange felt? Did he feel like shit? Was this why Strange did what he did? Crap, was he beginning to understand Strange's motives? "I wish I could have gone to Hogwarts," Tony mumbled, after finishing the recap.

"Interesting," she replied, her interest peaked. "Imagine the knowledge you could obtain by using this Mirror Dimension. You could bring the world to the knees."

Tony rolled his eyes as he got into his car—a car that Ayo refused to give the keys to. The nerve! "Is that what you got from that?" he asked.

Ayo took the driver seat. "Just a thought, Stark," she retorted, starting the car. It purred as the engine came alive. "But that aside, I found a way to find our invisible base."

"Oh, did you?" he uttered, surprised at how fast Ayo moved. However, he was also partly annoyed that he had not done so himself. Instead, he had let his emotions get the better of him and charged after Strange. He couldn't let that happen again, not if he wanted to stop Thanos.

"Yes."

"Then let's do it." The faster they found the base and located James Barnes, the better he could sleep at night. With James Barnes out of Hydra's hands, life would be better for everyone; however, the orphan—a term Tony hated- did not know how he would reactive when he came face to face with his parent's killer. No, he wasn't going to try and kill the man again, but beyond that, he wasn't sure. Would he be flushed with anger? Whatever it was, it would be better what happened in the last timeline.

The Author Note:

Okay, the scene with the kids may have been more filler than anything else, but I could not stop myself. I thought it would be cute.

Also, we had some guest stars this week. What you think?

and poor Peter, but Tony would probably go all papa bear on them, which won't end well for anyone. LOL

With Strange, I want to stress that Tony's info on him is limited. He doesn't know about the car crash or what will happen to his hands. They didn't really have time to talk while fighting in Infinity War. So in my head, the only info that Tony would have is what he can find on the internet in 2014. That being said, i might play with Strange's timeline a bit to make it fit to my story.

and Can anyone guess what hidden base they are hidden to? The winner gets a cookie.

Until next time!