Disclaimer: I do not make money off this, nor do I own anything Marvel related- I would love it so.

All mistakes are mine

I suck at updating... I have no excuses besides the fact that I suck at updating.

Let me know what you think.

Chapter 22:

The truth

A million questions floated in the darkness that was Tony's mins as he found himself sitting in from the large circle window on the upper floors of the Sanctum. While the light sparked through the window just right, Tony still supported knocking it out and creating a wall of glass, not that the view was decent, but he doubts the Ancient One would support that. While she transported him here, the Ancient One looked rather unamused as she magicked up a chair and forced him into it with a small wave of her hand. If his head wasn't pounding and his legs weren't jello beneath him, he would've objected, spouted off insults driven by his fear.

No matter how long it had been Tony wasn't a fan of magic, even if it could save the world. "Is there anything you can't do with magic?" He settled with instead as he tried to keep his voice as cool as possible.

Answering with a cheeky smile, she answers, "Magic is only limited by what you're willing to give up. It has the power to change the kindest of hearts if you don't take precautions."

"By what you give up," Tony parodied back, his gut in knots. He was hit by an intense wave of nauseousness. "Can you bring the dead back to life?" Multiple movies existed portraying that as a horrible idea, but they could be wrong.

Silence fell, as the Ancient One cocked her head to the side and stared at him. While she was still smiling, there's something else there just beneath the surface. "It is possible; however, the cost-"

"A life for the life." Tony finished, resisting the urge to wink for two reasons. One for the nonexistent back up plan getting trashed two seconds after he comes up with it, and two, the pain meds were wearing off. "At least, there's one thing that the movies got right."

"I should warn you about obtaining your magic knowledge from the movies, Stark. That's one way to lose a hand or your life. Unless you want to lose your hand?" She hummed as she gave him a once over.

Tony flinched, slamming back against the chair, which caused the chair to screech back, as the metal legs scrapping the floor. "What are you doing?" he asked, choking on his heart, as the Ancient One's hands start to glow with odd runes and glowing circles. "What?" He attempted to stand but he falls back into the seat, his shaky legs giving out on him.

"Relax, Stark. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have the second you stepped in here." The Ancient One, looking totally unimpressed, rolled her eyes.

If there ever was a truer statement, that was it. However, before Tony could complain or puff off his chest in a false courage, she hovered her hand over the length of his entire body, a warming sensation following, and in an instant, the pain was gone replaced by a weird numbness. "What?" he asked breathily, his mouth dropping. As if he was de-aged, every ache in his old, tried body was gone, and he felt weirdly refreshed. "What did you do?"

Turning, the Ancient One, arms—the glow gone—folded behind her back, crossed slowly to the window, and stared out. The silence that fell was oddly energizing as Tony settled in the warmth left by the Ancient One's hands. She hummed something under her tongue before she spoke, "A simple healing spell. As I did not heal any chronic issues, it was a simple spell. It's easy to speed up the process."

"And Strange's hands?"

"A different situation." She relied calmly. "Time won't heal Strange's hands. Time would have healed yours."

While that made sense, it bugged the crap out of him. "So, what's so special about magic then?" Tony shrugs, pain free. For something that was supposed to be 'magical'—yes, pun intended-, it had a lot of rules and seemed to fall short.

The Ancient One, letting out a large sigh, glanced over her shoulder at him. "Magic can be both astonishing and terrifying, depending on the user. In the wrong hands, there is only devastation." She paused. "You have seen what Doctor Strange can do."

Tony, pre time travel, would have rolled his eyes and scoffed at her as he tsked, but Tony, post time travel, was willing to listen before he shot her down. That could be exhaustion talking though. "Is that what you do? Keep a watchful eye on the baby wizards?"

"And among other things."

"Like what?"

"If I told you everything, you would shit your pants, Mr. Stark."

Tony's eyes switched. Having Peter turn to ash in his hands and gone back in time to relive every failure and painful experience, nothing surprises or scares him anymore. "Doubt so."

The Ancient One gracefully twirled around, her eyes drilling into him. "This is not why I brought you here." Judging by the harshness in her voice, she wanted him out of here as soon as possible.

"Then why-" Before Tony could finish, a sound of a creaking door echoed across the top floor of the Sanctum and a bright red flashed across the room. In a matter of seconds, Tony was wrapped in that red flash and, working off of pure panic, swung blindly, struggling under the weight. He didn't stop until he felt three small, soft tap on his cheeks. "Wait… Ah… W-What?" he yelped, as his eyes focused. There, not even 5 inches from his face, was the Cloak of Levitation, waving at him with its collar. "Shit." He started wide eyed at it… Wait, it was a it right? Cloaks didn't have genders… Unless this one did. Tony didn't know the cloak good enough to determine this. How did you go about determining that? What are you doing? Okay, he needed to slow his roll. That was unimportant…

Tony blinked again. Yes, what was he doing? Seriously? This was a cloak. This wasn't what he came here for. "What is it doing?" he asked, his eyes so large that they took up half of his face. Did it even have a name?

"It likes you, Mr. Stark?" the Ancient One answered.

That stunned Tony, his thoughts in a tail spin. The cloak liked him? What? Why? "What? Why?" he uttered, his brain going into overdrive as his heart leapt into his throat. Judging by the knowing smirk on her face, she had an answered, but like the fucker that she was, she didn't give him one. "Aren't going to tell me?" he asked, his eyes solely on the Cloak.

"Is that the question you want to ask?" She probed cheekily. "But if answering that…"

The chair moaned like an actor in a haunted house as Tony shifted, not that he could move. The cloak wrapped itself around him in a tight hug, pinning all of Tony's limbs against his body. Though he knew he was safe, the fear wormed its way into his chest and put his heart in a death grip. "So, what they call this thing?" The collar of the cloak flickered, as if it was annoyed at being called a thing. Tony stared, his dread slowly turning into bewilderment. "Do you have a name?"

The Cloak picked up its collar and, and as if it had eyes, gaped at him. For some reason, the cloak reminded Tony of a small child when it cautiously shook its collar no.

Tony still couldn't move his arms, but the dread was gone, a playful curiosity taking its place. "And why not?" Tony popped his bottom lip out. Everyone else would just shake their heads at him, asking why it mattered, but for Tony, names were important.

The Cloak twisted around, nailing the Ancient One with a motion that Tony could only described as a death glare. It was kind of crazy how expressive a cloak could be. Oddly enough, Tony pictured his mother, Maria Stark, on one of the many nights that his father showed up late for something. "I think it wants a name." Tony chuckled.

The Ancient One, though trying to keep her composure, looked both amused and annoyed. "It has a name, Cloak of Levitation." She spoke drily.

Somehow, the Cloak still had a tight hold on him, even though, in what could only be described as having its hands on its hip, and hovered above Tony. It was heartbreaking. This magical item was sentient enough to have emotions, and yet, it had no name. Dum-E was just a robot, but he was his own 'name.' Did the Cloak not deserve the same treatment? "Well…if you won't give it a name, I will!" The Cloak whisked around and 'stared' at Tony, its collar flaring. It was the oddest thing that Tony ever had to explain: the emotions of a faceless cloak. "Cloaky?"

It violently shook its collar in a 'no' motion, which turned Tony into a puddle. He was laughing so hard that his insides hurt. Could Tony just claim the Cloak as his own? "Okay…" He forced out between breaths. Adding Ys to the end of names was his go to. Just look at Rhodey. Not much imagination there. "Hmm." He hummed. However, there was another pattern to his nicknames, and he might as well stick to that. Tilting his head to the side and biting his bottom lips, he tossed the 'Cloak of Levitation' name a few times in his head before he settled with one. "How about Lexi?"

At first, Tony thought the stilled Cloak would deny it, the ripple in the fabric freezing, before it excited nodded—which flowed through its entire form-, and, once more, tightly wrapped itself around Tony, blanketing him in a layer of warmth instead of ice and dread. "Lexi, it is." Tony nodded as he allowed himself to relax in the heat.

"Doctor Strange will love that." The Ancient One let out a chuckling, sarcastic sigh. "I think it's time to get back to the matter at hand, Mr. Stark."

Tony's eyes dropped to the cloak, to Lexi. He fondled the thick fabric between his index finger and his thump, the texture rough in some area but soft in others. His voice dipped, his breath catching in his throat, as he asked, "Did I screw up the timeline? You know with Strange? I tried to keep my-"

"Stark." She interrupted, her tone surprisingly soft and gentle. "When I told you to stay away from Strange, I did not mean to cause you so much stress." Suddenly, a weight appeared on her shoulder that wasn't there a second ago, her eyes glazing over for a moment. It was as if she was holding the entire world. "My purpose was to keep you at bay with a vague warning, so I overemphasized the dangers of seeing Strange in order to keep a healthy distance between you two. I did not think you would drive yourself into the ground, Stark; however, I should have expected an overreaction from you." She lifted an unamused eye brow at him.

Tony's blood went ice cold, his world stalling. His head bobbed, the hair on his arm standing up even with the warmth rolling off from the cloak. "Wait…you what?" Tony's right eyebrow was in his hairline as well as his heart.

"You like to test boundaries, which I could not have." While The Ancient One is most likely capable of other emotions, she had only graced Tony with either annoyance or amusement. It comical to see her switch between the two. "Do not get me wrong. A friendship with Strange will not be beneficial at his stage but seeing him a few times will not destroy the timeline."

While a weight had been lifted off Tony, an intense anger replaced it. If it wasn't for the cloak, he would've been on his feet ready for a fight. The vein was popping in his forehead. The amount of stress that the Ancient One laid on his shoulder was overwhelming, suffocating him to the point that it felt like someone had hung a noose around his neck. Yes, she had a point, as he did go overboard at times. "So, I've been stressing for nothing?" he hissed. His voice sounded like nails on chalkboard.

"Not for nothing, Stark."

Lexi's collar flickered up, titling to the side, which cooled Tony more than he liked to admit. It screamed puppy dog and he just melted. Breathing through his nose, he asked, "But Strange is fine?"

"More angry and upset than he was prior to stepping into your fancy tower, which is neither this or that, but I expect him to show up at my door in two weeks." A small smile broke across her face. "Oh, it should be fun."

With everything—from the winter solders to Thanos—still weighing him down, Tony did feel lighter, and he would take that life vest even if it he was still swimming in shark infested waters.

"Stark." A glass of steaming tea—Ginger if judging by the pungent and spicy aroma—magically appeared in the Ancient One's hands.

Tony didn't ask about the tea, though his eyes mindlessly stared at his. The rest of the room disappeared as he watched the steam drift upward. He was vaguely aware of Lexi wrapping itself around his wrist. "What?"

Suddenly, a stirrer popped into existence in the small cup, already swirling in the scorching liquid. "It would do you well to read in the Avengers." She tsked.

Tony blinked in a rapid succession, his chest uncomfortably tight. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it, but he had decided against, thinking it was best to keep it to himself. In their line of business, nothing was impossible, but time travel was out there, beyond aliens out there. "Would that-"

As if she could read his mind, she clarified, "You do not need to give them a detailed account of the future, which I do not recommend. Knowing one's future, regardless of the changes already in effect, will not benefit anyone." She narrowed her eyes at him, eyeing the heavy bags under his eyes. "Just letting them know you're in fact from the future will do wonder for your stress."

Tony resisted the urge to snort, his lungs struggling to inflate. "How so? I just see more questions." Questions for miles.

"Are you not already getting those questions?" She hummed, a hint of smile just beneath the surface.

Simply being who he was, Tony wanted to object loudly, a sharp knife-like finger pointed at her, but it was hard to put up a fight with Lexi wrapping itself around him like a tight cocoon. "I suppose you have a point," he muttered ungratefully, as if it was physically painful to speak those words.

The Ancient One rolled her eyes. "Not if that's all?" While it was phased as a question, it was not a question; rather, it was a clear dismissal.

"You brought me here." He jammed his words at her.

"Mostly to save myself the headache that you bring." She brought the cup to the lip and took a slip.

Tony's right eye twitched. "You can save yourself the trouble and be more helpful."

The Ancient One let go of the tea cup, though it didn't fall. It hovered in front of her for a moment before it popped out of existence. "If you want me to be helpful, I can open a random portal beneath your feet and drop you in it for a month."

If it was anyone else, Tony would test her warning, daring her to do whatever she though up of; however, testing a wizard would probably put him in the ground… or somewhere else less fun. He couldn't even begin to think about the nightmarish places she could stick him. "Depends. Are there Burger King there?"

Her right hand begun to glow. "I do not know, but do you wish to find you? or if you like to return home?"

Fear inching up his spin, Tony didn't move, but it wasn't like he could, not with Lexi hugging the crap out of him. "I would say yes, but…" he nodded down to the cloak who perked up at her threat. "I think I have become one with Lexi." He smiled. "You want to let go, Buddy?" Lexi didn't have a voice box and was incapable of making any sounds, and yet, Tony could have sworn Lexi groaned, it vibrating from tip to tip. Maybe, the Cloak had magic powers beyond flight. Maybe, this was what the Ancient One was pointing at.

Going off the look the Ancient One was giving Lexi, Tony was missing something, but he had no clue what. "Don't worry, Bud. I am sure we will see each soon, but I gotta go." He shot a pointed look at the Ancient One.

"Yes, you will." There was a tingle in her eyes.

While Tony ignored the twitch in the Ancient One right eye, he promised repeat visits, which finally got Lexi to settle. With the nod of its collar, it released its hold on him and hovered a foot above him. "That's a good Lexi," Tony smiled as the cloaked waved at him and flew back to its case.

"Are you now ready?"

"Yes." As soon as Tony stood—feeling 10 years younger. What did that woman do to him?- , the Ancient One begun to move her hands in a cycler motion to return him back to the tower, but before she could complete a full circle, he asked her to open a portal to the Playhouse instead. He wanted to check on Barnes before everything at the tower rained down on him. Plus, it would give Tony to chew on what she told him.

*O*O*

Just as the portal closed behind him, FRIDAY called out to him, tell him yet again that everyone at the tower was harassing her about his location. Could he go anywhere without someone freaking out? He was a grown ass man, who could take care of himself…well, mostly. Sleep was still the enemy. "Tell them I'm fine and send an Iron Man suit to my location." His current suit was barely functional, destroyed by the Winter Soldiers, but his older models were functional.

"It's on its way, Boss."

Tony greeted Agent Koenig on his way down to Barnes, but he didn't stick around for a conversion, even though the agent started asking questions. By ask, more like Koenig was demanding answers. Having heard about the attack, he was a bit surprise that Tony was upright and moving. With the Ancient One's word hanging over him, he thought about telling him the truth, but he just uttered the word, 'Magic,' which isn't a lie. However, some would still consider that a lie as it was so much more than magic.

When Tony reached the bottom of the steps, he was stunned by the amount of stuff in Barnes' 'room'. Shit was the only thing that popped to mind when he laid his eyes on it. They were hesitant at first, putting the bare minimum in his cell, but now, it was loaded with stuff, a colorful range of items. Every time Tony visited Barnes, which he tried to do often—though it bad been a few days-, there was something new. The last time, it was a complete art set, including a big easel. He wasn't sure who's doing this was.

Okay, there was only two suspects—FRIDAY and Koenig-, but if it brought Barnes' comfort, Tony wasn't going to complain, especially seeing Barnes wrapped in the furriest blanket Tony had ever seen. Tony would admit that he was pretty jealous of that fat blanket and that Barnes was totally adorable. He never looked that cute balled up in a blanket, him just a hot mess. Barnes was a big man, but he was a dwarf in that fat thick blanket, only his face showing as his eyes were glued to the movie of the week.

Still avoiding any movie that showed a gun, Friday had lined up comedies and romcoms from the last 50 years. Tony isn't sure how they got to Step Brothers, but he wasn't knocking their choices (too much). Whatever floated their boats. Tony was just happy that Barnes had made the choice himself. No, it wasn't a true choice as FRIDAY limited his options, giving him a list of 20 movies to pick from. She did not want to overwhelm him with too many choices, which the Wakandan Therapist had warned them about.

According to these therapists, Barnes was making a remarkable improvement and they had to be careful not to misstep. Tony, on the other hand, wasn't so sure as Barnes was a one-word answers kind of man. He, a big old brute, mostly just blinked and stared blankly at the therapists, which would totally frustrate Tony if it was him, but both Koenig and the therapists waved him off, stressing the importance of time. Barnes was a POW for over 70 years, been tortured—both mentally and physically- for all of those years. You couldn't expect to undue those years in a few months, which Tony could understand. He was just too impatient. Besides, it was Barnes' interaction between Koenig, FRIDAY and Tony that got the therapist excited, hopeful for his recovery.

Tony, bring a smile to his face, crossed to the barrier, as FRIDAY lowered it for him. "How's my favorite Buddy doing?" he asked brightly as he stepped into the cell, the barrier shutting behind him.

Barnes sat up, eyeing Stark for a moment, before he shifted over on the bed. "Star Trek." His voice was stiff and monotone.

"Is that all you have to say? Don't want to do anything else?" Tony nodded, his eyes falling on the fancy chess set on the far corner of the room. In someone's drunken state—lies. No one was drunk-, a superhero chess set was ordered. With every set, the Queen and King were different, but for this specific set, Captain America was the King and Iron Man was the queen. Tony wasn't insulted by this as the queen was the best. However, he was worried about putting anything Captain America in front of Barnes, but all the man did was stare at the pierce before setting it down on the chess board.

"Star Trek."

"Oh, really?" Tony laughed as he hopped onto bed, taking a seat on the bed on the opposite end of Barnes. While Koenig spent a large amount of time with the Winter Soldier, Star Trek was a Stark/Barnes thing. No one else could watch it with Barnes, especially not Koenig who had the nerve to say Star Wars was better. That was the biggest sin in Tony's book, even Barnes glared at him for that. "Better than Star Wars?"

"Yes." Barnes answered, honestly.

Tony, even though he was staring directly at Barnes, had to a double take, as he noticed the sightliest upturn corners of Barnes' lips. What? Was that a hint of a smile? Holy shit. Barnes, though Tony hadn't seen a true death stare on him for a while, kept a neutral face, no smile to be seen. "I take that as a win. 10 for Stark. 0 for Koenig." He also took it as a win when Barnes opened up his fat flurry blanket and padded the spot next to him.

"Sit here."

At first, Tony just stared, even if he was drooling over the blanket, but it was another thing to be cuddled up to a former super soldier, especially one who was still working on his sense of self. Shaking his head, he shoved those thoughts away and scooted over. Barnes, wasting no time, wrapped the blanket around Tony's shoulder and kept him close. "FRIDAY, Star Trek!" Tony cheered, red in the face, as it took a moment for his nerves to relax. While he had been around Barnes a number of time, each time was an odd feeling. His brain, the fucken traitor that it was, tended to mock him in these situations, bringing up past memories, and it took a few hard, distressful breaths to clear his mind.

"On it, Boss." Star Trek begun to play seconds later, Next Generation to be specific. Once again, Tony lost track of the time with Barnes, the Star Trek episodes flying past them. Tony hadn't moved for hours, and it wasn't until FRIDAY's voice sung through the air before he moved. "We have visitors, Boss."

It took a minute for Tony's head to come down from his Star Trek daze before he could comprehend what FRIDAY had just said. "What? You mean Ayo and Rhodey?" He asked, his tongue getting tangled in his throat.

"No, Boss."

Tony shot up, his heart in his throat. "What?!" He gagged on his words.

Going off Tony's clues, Barnes, his eyes narrowed slits, was at full alert. "Где враг?"

"Where is the Enemy?" FRIDAY translated.

While Tony was honored that Barnes would go to war for him, he seriously doubted it would do well for his recovery. On the other hand, did hearing the panic in Tony's voice already do so? "Standdown, Manchurian Candidate." Tony ordered, patting him on the knees. "Who are our guests?"

FRIDAY took a minute before she replied with, "According the bio scans, it is Agent Phill Coulson; however, I am showing he has been dead since the Battle of New York."

Tony, blinking, shot to his feet before he realized it. "What?"

"Agent Coulson is not alone. There are a few other SHIELD agents in the hanger. Agent Melinda May, Agent Skye—No last name on file-, Agent Leo Fitz, Agent Jemma Simmons, and Antoine Triplett." She added.

The other agents were simply names to Tony, who was still in shock. How was it possible that Coulson was alive? How? Not now. "Is there any evidence that these agents are HYDRA?" Lost in his marathon of Star Trek, Tony was unaware if his suit had made to the base, though FRIDAY would've alerted him otherwise. There was no way that Coulson was HYDRA, no way; granted, what did he know? He had no idea the man was still alive. However, if Coulson was Hydra, they were all fucked.

"I ran facial recognition and names through Hydra's files, and I was unable to find a connection." FRIDAY answered.

While that should bring Tony some comfort, it did not. Hydra was a sneaky bitch; anyone could be Hydra. Any person not fully vetted by him was a threat, and he would keep them trained in his sights until he learned otherwise. "Good." He walked to the barrier, though Barnes attempted to follow. "You stay here, Buddy."

"No." Barnes' voice had lost all of that earlier gentleness. "I must protect you."

Tony barely suppressed his flinch, as reality snapped him in the face, reminding him who the hell Barnes was. "Listen, it's our job to protect you. We must make sure Hydra doesn't get their hands on you. Okay, Buddy?" Tony smiled. "Besides, I am Iron Man. I can take them." With an over-the-top smile, he flexed his muscles as if he didn't rely on the suit. At first, Barnes didn't appear to agree, but he nodded after a few seconds of silence. "Don't worry. FRIDAY will keep you updated." When Barnes didn't object, FRIDAY lowered a section of the barrier for Tony to pass through. Tony gave him one last smile before he disappeared up the steps.

*O*O*

Tony heard the Shield Agents before he could see them, their voices carrying, and even though it had been years since he spoke to Coulson, he recognized the voice as if he heard him yesterday. Coulson wasn't his favorite person, but he would consider the man a friend.

"Holy shit. What is that?" One of the male agents cursed after FRIDAY respond to one of their questions.

"That's FRIDAY." Koenig answered. While Tony couldn't see him, he could tell there was a proud smile on his face. It was almost like he built the AI.

"What kind of name is FRIDAY?"

"What kind of name is Skye?" FRIDAY, who's quite satisfied of herself, shoot back, which earned a few chuckles.

"She reminds me of Stark's AI, JARVIS."

Tony chose this moment to show himself. "That's makes sense and all." He injected as he rounded the corner into the hanger. "I did create them both."

Every head spin at the sound of his dry, exhausted voice, their eyes going large when they spot him. "Stark?!" Coulson uttered, flabbergasted.

While it was the first time meeting these agents, two appeared vaguely familiar. He could've sworn he had seen them before, but he couldn't place where. He rattled his brain, shifting though all of the female shield Agents he had met, but he came up with nothing. Screw it. That itch aside, the agents looked battle worn, dead on their feet. Their hair stuck up in every direction, their clothes ripped in several spots. Dirt and ash lined their skin, dark spots everywher, and a few leaned against the others like a lifeline. One Female Agent—though Tony would peg her more as a Scientist (one of his people)—was half draped over a pod, a medical pod by the look of it. "I wasn't aware we were expecting guests, Koenig," he replied wryly, ignoring the look of surprise on each of them.

"Fury sent them." Koenig answered calmly, a clear warning in his stare.

The Agent on the medical pod picked up her head, her eyes red. "If this was another time, I…" Dried tears straining her face, her words were lost on her tongue. Tony's heart skipped. While neither of these Agents were vetted, there was no faking the pain and love in her eyes. Whoever was in that pod, she loved them with her entire body. No way Hydra could love so intently.

"FRIDAY, can direct you Agent…" Tony paused the second.

"Agent Jenna Simmons." FRIDAY injected.

"Thank you. Can you direct Agent Simmons to the medical bay?" Tony asked, softly. FRIDAY could stop the Agent the second she stepped off the beaten path and alert Koenig and him instantly. "Agent Simmons, you'll find the medical wing fully stocked. Equipped with the latest Stark tech. The works."

"If you follow the lights, Agent Simmons," FRIDAY spoke, the lights flickering behind Koenig. "I can lead the way." Pushing the medical pod, Simmons, with a deep wet breath, nodded and followed the blinking lights right pass them.

"Not to be rude—not that I care—Why is Tony Stark here? At a Shield Base?" The oldest Female Agent asked coldly, once Simmons was out of eye sight.

Tony couldn't fault her for her tone, but if anyone had the right to be annoyed at someone's presence at this base, it was him. Was there no other base they could pop up at? "And how do I know neither of you aren't Hydra?" Tony replied, arms folded across his chest.

If looks could kill… The woman was highly offended by the question, her eyes sharp draggers. "We're not Hydra. What to say you aren't?" She hummed.

"No way Stark is Hydra," Antoine Triplett- by process of limitation—protested. "That's like saying Captain America is hydra."

"You never know."

Skye—she looked like someone who could rock the one name- took a step forward, tripping over her own feet. "I can't blame Iron—Mister… Stark." Tongue twisted, she paused and took a deep breath, red in the face. "After everything that happened, I think we can all understand his point."

Letting out a large puff of air, Coulson took a step forward. "Sorry. We just had a long stressful day and we all just want to sleep. Why don't we get whatever we need to do and hash this out later?" He brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose as he waved into the air. "What's next?"

Koenig held up his tablet and waved it. "You can leave that up to me and my gal, FRIDAY. Once we're sure no one is Hydra, I'll give you your lanyards, which you must wear all the time." He shot Tony a playful but yet annoyed glare. "Unless you are Stark, who refuse to accept anything I hand him."

"It just won't go." Tony deadpanned, as he rolled his eyes. For now, he would let Koenig take control of the situation, and once alone, they could decide on what to do with their unexpected house guests.

*O*O*

It took a while, hours passing, but Koenig and FRIDAY vetted all of the SHIELD Agent and cleared each of them, and while that was good news, Tony still didn't like them here. It had nothing to do with trust, even if he didn't trust them. With his paranoia running amok, he didn't want anyone near Barnes, not with the trigger words still active. "So, we are just going to have house guests?"

"Stark." Koenig replied, sternly. "I'm a SHIELD agent. It's my duty to help them, and don't forget Agent Hill will kill you if you turn your back on these agents. And you have countless shield Agents in the tower."

Hill didn't have to know but point taken. After all his effort in saving and extracting Agents, he couldn't turn his back on them now, especially Agent Coulson. How the fuck is that man still alive? "I'm just worried about the number of people who know about Barnes."

"I am currently keeping our Agents away from that area." FRIDAY announced. "Told them it was off limits."

"Thanks, Fri." Tony smiled. While he didn't know May from a hole in the wall, he could envision the gear moving in her head at the knowledge of a section of the base being off limit.

"However, I will note Sergeant Barnes is restless and has been asking for you. More like, he has been insistent."

Koenig narrowed his eyes, a question lingering in his stare. Tony folded his arms across his chest and huffed. "While I was with Barnes, I got jumpy when I heard we had guests, and now, Barnes is agitated and twitchy. My reaction upset him." Tony took a deep breath, frustrated at himself. The therapists were clear, and Yet, he fucked it up. "Tell him all is good, and I'll be down in a few."

"You know you've to be careful with Barnes. He takes his clues from us. Anything, and I mean anything can set him off." Koenig softly chastised.

Tony didn't need Koenig to tell him that, he already kicking himself over it. "I'm aware. I just got a little-" he waved his hand in the air. "—when I heard we got guests." He would like to say that he was cool as a cucumber now, but anything that could disrupt his plan scared the crap out of him. Right now, there was a cold chill under the skin.

Koenig glanced toward the office door, his eyes glossing over for a second. "We can trust Coulson. Fury trusted him with his life, and we can do the same. You personally know him, worked at with him. Besides, it would probably do Barnes well to introduce him to more people. It can't just be us."

Tony didn't understand that concept—which he knew came from his overprotectiveness-, as he was enough- yes, his ego talking-, but he was also not a therapist. He probably needed one though. "I just don't trust anyone."

"Tell me something I don't know." Koenig huffed and rolled his eyes.

The Ancient One's words slapped him hard across the face, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. After struggling with his guilt and the future for months, the idea of just letting it out weighted him down, smothering his lungs. However, keeping Coulson's oddball team in the dark was a different story than keeping his own team in the dark, but the point still stood. "Fine, but we're keeping Barnes' identity to ourselves. Just tell them we saved a high valued former Agent of Shield who was brainwashed by Hydra, and they can meet our guest only when the therapists agree."

"I can agree with that. That'll probably settle some nerves. Too many questions as to why Tony Stark is here."

While Tony loved being Tony, he did hate that part of being famous. Virtue of being him, people always asked what else. "Sound like a plan. I also better return some my calls. No doubt Ayo and Rhodes will send out a search party."

Koenig stared blankly at him, his expression bemused. "Yes, I've been filing calls all day, most are surprised you can even stand on your feet and after hearing about your injuries, I got to admit I'm surprised as well. Care to explain?"

Once again, the Ancient One's words flashed before him. The idea jabbed him painfully in the gut, but he supposed he could test the water with Koenig. "Okay… So…" Tony, his heart pounding in his chest, shook his head. "So, this is going to sound nuts, but you know how I joke about me being from the future?"

"Yes, everyone has heard it." Koenig resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though he could not stop the small twitch in his lips. "Am I going to get the same excuse?"

"What will you say if I told you, it isn't an excuse? I'm really from the future." Tony slowly tipped toed it out as he eyeballed Koenig for any twitch. "Everyone keeps asking how I know stuff, this is how. FRIDAY can confirm."

"I can." She chirped.

Koenig crouched up his face, his eyes in fine points. "While I trust and love FRIDAY, she's still your AI. You can order her to do anything, and while I trust you, I also can't put anything past you."

Tony nodded. "I can't blame you. However, think about it. Think about everything that had happened since I stepped into his base. There's no other way for me to know things." Unlike Rogers and others, Koenig had been kept in the loop.

The room got deadly silent for a second as Koenig stared directly into Tony's eyes. "Time travel?" he asked skeptically.

"Aliens exists. Thor exists. The Tesseract. How can we doubt anything? And what purpose would it serve to lie to you? I could've just kept up the mind games if I didn't want you to know."

Koenig grinded his teeth. "I supposed you've a point, but why would you come back to this time?"

Tony's entire right side twitched. He had no say in the matter, but he wasn't going to look a gifted horse in the mouth. Correction, he wasn't going to look a gifted horse anymore. He had been cursing Strange's name for a while. "I had no control where in the timeline I was sent. I just ended up here." He breathed through his nose before he goes, "There's a battle in the future that the Avengers will lose, and I'm here to stop that."

The agent just stared at him, minutes passing. Whatever Koenig was looking for, he must have saw it. "Shit." A pause. "Shit."

"Yes. Shit."

The Author note:

I can't help that I imagine Strange being Jealous of Lexi and Tony's special relationship!

Let me know what you think. All mistakes are mine.