"Seriously what happened to Howard?" Bucky exclaimed as he glanced at each of them, hoping for answers. The man he saw in that memory was nothing at all like the punk he remembered during the war or the man he remembered pleading for him not to murder his wife.

"That's the killer question." Rhodes replied his expression and voice stony. He hated that Howard influenced his best friend like that and made him feel that way. Now Tony's aversion to having kids of his own made a lot more sense. He was worried that if he did he would mess them up like Howard did him.

They were back in the mindscape room devoid of all the Tony's as they processed what they had seen feeling emotionally raw from the death of Amico and Tony's subsequent reaction to it.

"Feeling empathetic are we?" The Illuminate asked as it strolled into view.

"Should we be?" Natasha asked critically searching the Beings face.

Narrowing its eyes at her, the Illuminate paused before something steely crept into his voice.

"If you're going to be like that I think it's time for the next round, don't you?"

The Avengers eyes widened.

Clint muttered a sarcastic "thanks Tasha" under his breath.

"Something a little different this time," It stopped its smile becoming crueller and wider. "Prophesies always tend to come back to haunt you, even if you don't mean to make one."

Colours whipped around the Avengers again before consuming them completely.


"Anything you care for can and will be used against you."

Howard's voice echoed around them as the scene changed to Pepper squirming in pain, veins lit extremis red.

JARVIS''s gold code scattered and destroyed.

In the Hydra base, Tony's eyes glowed bright vermilion as he shook his head and purposefully marched towards Loki's sceptre. Wanda and Pietro smiled widely behind him.


"We are smarter than him. Than everyone."

They were in Tony's head now during the Battle of New York hearing his voice calculating variables and scenarios as he grabbed the nuke and flew it through the wormhole. He calculated his risk of death at 85% but his was lower than any of the others (except Thor) combined with greatest chance of reaching it in time 95%. Logically, he was the best choice to do it.

If nuke hits New York chance of survival = 0.5%.

Everyone else = 0.2%.

Do it.

Risk of after effects from Nuke radiation if he survives the journey back currently estimated at 88 %.

No one said it was a perfect solution.


"Life will be hard for you. You are the son of Howard Stark after all."

Strapped to his hand, a gun lay in a teenage Tony's hand, he was being taught to shoot by Obadiah and Howard. ("You can leave here once you get 5 bullseye's in a row.") Tony was stuck there all night and half of the next day. He couldn't use his hand properly for a week but the skill stayed.

They were with Tony looking at the data about Ivan Vanko who was trying to kill Tony because Howard took the whole credit for the Arc Reactor. That in reality Howard and Anton Vanko created together. Discredited and in exile Ivan's father died in Russia because of Howard and received none of the credit.

Now Ivan was going to take it out on Tony.

When were Howard's mistakes going to stop biting him in the arse?

They were on the raft watching Scott taunt Tony with "Hank Pym did say never to trust a Stark." Great another person Howard screwed over. I'm not him. Why does no one get that?


"You will be like a pawn living life knowing you are being manipulated and used."

Tony was 17 and his parents had just died and after facing a long day filled numerous paparazzi and board members he was now alone with Obie. Feeling drained and numb, Tony stared at a shot glass, eyes glassy and unseeing. Obie's hands rested around his shoulders and rubbed them mock comfortingly "Don't worry my boy. I will stay CEO for now and deal with them for you."

The scene twisted into Tony sitting with Fury just after finding out Natashlie and her stabbing a needle in his neck.

Iron Man. Yes . Tony Stark. No.

Ross dumped the Sokovia Accords on the table played them all with guilt tactics. Insisting the need for accountability that Tony knows is vital but is certain Ross will manipulate. They found out from this memory Tony was preparing exactly how to hit him back but he planned to wait till everything was all settled down. It would be then he would strike. Ross wouldn't even know what hit him. He will ruin him for Bruce on principle and because the Hulk is cool. Having the weight of the good Caps reputation behind him would make matters a lot easier.

Now all he had to do was get him to sign.


"And you will HATE it."

Standing up, fuming at the pictures of his weapons in Gulmara Tony twisted glaring at himself and firing the wrist gauntlet at his reflection.


"The more you care."

Pictures of Pepper, Rhodes, Happy, the Avengers, Spiderman, Peter Parker, Harley, Fury, Coulson, both Jarvis's, Ana, Maria, Howard, Peggy, Vision, Yinsen, the bots, the Lang's and the Barton family flicked across this vision fast enough to make them all dizzy.


"The more you have to lose."

Screaming, Pepper fell into the sea of fire below her as she failed to reach Tony's hand. The worst part was that they almost brushed fingers as her grip on the machine gave out.

Situated motionless on the ground Rhodes laid in a massive crater while Tony, knelt beside him, shakily ordered Friday to find life signs.

Badly burnt and bruised, Happy laid in a hospital bed as Tony turned away and vowed revenge on the Mandarin.

The Avengers being torn apart over the accords and a montage of the various battles ensuing passed through their vision. They watched as Tony tried his hardest to minimize their legal after effects while it was all happening. Nearly tearing his hair out after Steve did something that made one of the documents he'd been working so hard for void.

Motionless, on the frozen ground of the old Hydra Base Tony tried to muster the strength and the will to get up while frostbite began to bite at his fingers and the taste of iron rose up his throat.

Distracting himself with assessing his injuries, he tried not to dwell on how he got them.

Broken ribs? 90% probability.

Punctured lung? Calculating...

Response delayed.

Concussion. 100% certainty.

Hooray.

(Steve wondered why his, Tony and Bucky's fight before this didn't show up but figured the Illuminate was saving that for later.)

Coulson's bloody cards being thrown on the table by Fury as Tony stares at them and vacates the room. He didn't like to think Agent was dead. He couldn't just sit there anymore.

Sliding into the sea, his Malibu house fell and his bots sunk with him but some couldn't be revived. Not for lack of trying on Tony's part.

Displaying a single message, his phone fell to the floor.- Aunt Peggy died in her sleep. Now he what Natasha had told him before she left was true and why Steve had left so quickly from the last meeting. If he had known he would have left for London too. There was still time. He could make it if he left right now. However he was too busy trying to cover everyone's ass from Ross and the damn Accords. Why did he have to find out through Natasha and why didn't Agent 13 call instead of texting him?

Riddled with bullet holes, an Indian man by the name of Yinsen was trying to make his last request with a crudely armoured Tony and now the Avengers listening carefully.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life."


They were snapped back to themselves unexpectedly. Overwhelmed, with what they had seen all of their eyes were blown wide.

"H-Holy holy hell." Spiderman choked. Going through that entire experience he could see why Angry Tony exists. Peter honestly wondered how Tony stayed sane.

"That's not everything..." Natasha started feeling slightly sick.

"No some of the worse things I censored out to show you at a later date and all of the things you saw would have more of an effect if you saw the story behind it which you will in due course."

"Stop torturing us already and just get on with it."

Becoming impatient and irate Clint had snapped at the Illuminate feeling annoyed with it taunting them with knowledge about Tony and dragging out the painful process for him and the rest of them.

"If you think this is torture you are in for a real shock later Barton."

Sam opened his mouth and shut it thoroughly stunned. He would never have guessed Stark had faced torture.

"Now let's get on with it shall we? Natasha you will now gain the answers you seek."

The illuminate clapped.

This time the world turned dark.