In this story, Pepper Potts is a white supremacist and doesn't approve of colored people, and since I'm Asian to top everything else, that makes her hate me even more. For example, the "banana" is one of those slurs directed at Asian people who are only 90% American, like me.
Act II-Battle For The Multiverse
He is Iron Man; New York Review of Books
November 1st, 2010
And so it goes. When Tony Stark, CEO of the former international weapons conglomerate Stark Industries, announced his identity as the mysterious vigilante, or, as he is now being called, "superhero" Iron Man, the world understandably went a bit crazy. Stark was kidnapped after a weapons showing in Afghanistan, and subsequently presumed dead. He reemerged after almost four months, with "Iron Man" in tow. After a public showdown with the "Iron Monger" at the SI campus in California, Stark announced that he is in fact Iron Man. But amongst all the speculation about Stark's time in Afghanistan and further personal life, the question most thinkers and historians are asking is: where's the war?
Super-heroism is neither new nor limited to America. The most famous person we tend to think of as a 'superhero' is Captain America, the propaganda figure turned war hero who, as was revealed in a groundbreaking series of government leaks, was also the subject of a government experiment on creating superhumans. He is considered the first modern superhero because of these two characteristics. He is a hero because he, amongst other various feats, single-handedly rescued over 300 allied soldiers from a German interment camp, and crashed a bomber carrying dangerous material to prevent an attack on Manhattan. He is "super" because, although he began life as a (somewhat sickly) baseline human, and was (as far as we know) not a bearer of the X-gene found in mutants like Charles Xavier, a famous scholar and mutant advocate, after Project Rebirth he had baseline strength at least two and a half times that of a standard human, as well as enhanced endurance. Since Captain America, there have been few such figures, mostly because the science required to create him has been lost to history. What was thought to be an attempt to recreate the super-soldier serum, as the procedure is known, resulted in the destruction of a significant part of Culver University's Science Campus by a rampaging green beast known only as "Hulk" in 2005.
More than a product of science, however, Captain America was a product of his time - both literally and metaphorically. World War 2 required new innovations in military technology, especially if these innovations could either prevent casualties or grant an advantage to allied soldiers - as the super-serum would have. Beyond that, the public image of Captain America was shaped by the propaganda performances required to sell war bonds and raise civilian morale for the war effort. After all, if there is no war, what is the use of a soldier?
This brings us back to Tony Stark, who has declared himself Iron Man. By itself, this is not remarkable, although excited chatter from my more scientifically-minded colleagues tells me that Iron Man's flight capabilities are extraordinary. What is puzzling is the attempt, and subsequent failure, to categorise Tony Stark and Iron Man. He is not a mutant, as far as we know, and Iron Man does not appear to require or use special mutant capabilities, unless they are those of flight. Neither does Stark appear to have been enhanced somehow. He is not superhuman, except if one considers genius a superhuman trait. So far, these are the only two words we have (and have needed) to describe people who can do things normal people cannot.
The fact that we cannot categorise Stark at first appears to be something of a trivial aspect. After all, one would say, a thing is not changed by its label. It does not matter whether we consider Stark a mutant or a superhero, especially since the man himself would probably resist either classification. This would, however, be grossly underestimating both the symbolic and physical impact of people like Stark and their counterparts like Iron Man. The symbolic impact is obvious - if Stark is a superhero, this gives him a certain authority, as well as an implied mandate for physical action. Captain America acted on a mandate given to him by Command, which in turn had a mandate to give orders because the USA had declared war on Nazi Germany. Although the US is embroiled in several conflicts abroad, including that in Afghanistan where Iron Man was allegedly first created, Stark carries no such mandate. This would not change even if it were revealed that Stark carries the X-gene. Mutants, after long decades fraught with tension, are now required to be taught and schooled in their powers, and cannot carry out violent actions without belonging to an officially recognised group - of which there exists only one, the X-Men, who are mostly concerned with policing their own kind.
The question now becomes clear: where's the war that's given Stark his mandate? Of Stark is neither a superhero, due to the lack of war, nor a mutant, due to his lack of an X-gene, he lacks a mandate for action. Iron Man has been spotted at the site of several violent altercations both in the Middle East and in the US, but is not restrained by either national or international law, and can thus act with impunity. At this point in time, the obvious classification of Iron Man is a vigilante. Vigilantism, the diligent reader will recall, is illegal, and for good reason. Citizens taking the law into their own hands without the expertise of our first responders and legal officials are sure to undermine, rather than strengthen, the rule of law. Essentially, Iron Man is either an open invitation for any idiot with a spandex suit to take "justice" into his own hands, or an admission that those with money and power can do as they please.
There are no examples that I can draw on here to illustrate just how devastating the consequences of this would be. With the exception of the troubles with mutants in the late 1960's and 1970's, the consequences of which have been resolved and legalised, our country has a strong history of resting on it's democratic foundation and allowing the law to mete out justice in due course. In order for this to work as it has, we hold faith that the legal system is fair, both in the sense of equal punishment for equal crime, and in that of punishment in proportion to the crime. Justice, the personification of the law, is always portrayed with a blindfold because the law must apply equally to all men and women - this is one of the founding principles of our modern society, that everyone is created equal. While we may not live in a post-racial society, as some would like it to be, the guarantee that the law, at least, sees only your actions is a powerful thing. Vigilantism, enacted by individuals, and not the legal system, automatically voids this blindness principle. An individual, even if they were truly "good" and "heroic," is inevitably biased. Even leaving aside the moral issue and focusing only on practicalities, a vigilante cannot enforce equal punishment as the State, with greater resources and reach, can.
The issue of proportionality is another one altogether. Our idea of vigilantism is based largely on literature, as it rarely occurs on a significant scale outside of fiction. In fiction, vigilantes are violent, but they are not killers. Out of the good of their hearts (or convenient alliances, or tragic pasts) they do not kill. However, fictional vigilantes are, without exception, violent in their attempt to remove injustices and "villains" from the world. Violence, as the modern film-going audience has become used to it, is sanitized, bloodless - with the obvious exception of horror-style crime movies like Pulp Fiction and the works of directors like David Cronenberg. It does not really bother us that violent justice has become a normative representation of justice, because we are so used to violence being a thing without real consequence. This is one of the reasons fictional vigilantes do not kill, as killing is an act with a definite consequence in the movie world. That being said, our real world is not like the movies. Even what we might be tempted to consider low-level violence has real and permanent consequences, and only inspires others to seek violent solutions to problems. This is the reason our justice system is not violent. Vigilantism thus undermines both justice and peace by perpetuating violence.
If democracy sometimes seems slow and ambling, that is because it is weighted down with responsibility; if it sometimes seems callous and uncaring to the individual, that is because it watches out over society as a whole. It is vital to our nation that we preserve the institutions that uphold it. Nobody, not even Iron Man, should be able to avoid the law. Dura lex, sed lex.
M. Brian
...
Pepper
"I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nano particles."
"It's not helping your case, OK?" Pepper told Tony. That aside, she was thankful that they were finally together. That crazy director hell-bent on getting "Cap and Irah" back together was no match for the power of pure true love, after all. Also, she was fed up with that girl calling her boyfriend Irah. Thank goodness that Leyenar finally gave up.
Leyenar
"Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." said Leyenar. Everyone thinks that Tony Stark wanted a huge ass union ceremony with all the bells and whistles, and the young director was no exception. And then she would think of Tony Stark & Steve Rogers:Co-Mayors Of Leyenarville, and would go giddy with laughter. But Irah had chosen Pepper, despite his connection to Cap. And every time she thought of it, she felt the hellfire rising up in her once again. However, to top it all, the Avengers were ripped up and torn apart, and there was no way anyone could restore them.
Will The Sun Ever Shine Again?-Bonnie Raitt
Rain is pourin' down like the heavens are hurtin',
Seems like it's been dark since the devil knows when.
How do you go on, never knowin' for certain,
Will the sun ever shine again?
Feels like it's been years since it started to thunder,
Clouds are campin' out in the valley and glen.
How do you go on, when you can't help but wonder,
Will the sun ever shine again?
What if the rain keeps fallin'?
What if the sky stays gray?
What if the winds keep squallin',
And never go away?
Maybe soon the storm will be tired of blowin',
Maybe soon it all will be over, amen.
How do you go on, if there's no way of knowin'?
Will the sun ever shine?
Wish I could say.
Send me a sign,
One little ray,
Lord, if you're listenin',
How long until then?
Will the sun ever shine again?
"No, no, it's an attachment, it's not a—" Tony tried to protest.
"You don't need that." Pepper said insistently.
"I know. I had the surgery. I'm just trying to protect us. The future uses, and that's it. Just in case there's a monster in the closet, instead of, you know..."
"Shirts?" said Pepper.
"You know me so well. You finish all my sentences."
"You should have shirts in your closet."
"Yeah. You know what there should be? No more surprises. We're gonna have a nice dinner tonight. Show off this Harry Win-stone. Right? And we should have no more surprises. Ever. I should promise you."
"Yes."
"I will." Tony replied, and kissed Pepper.
She sighed, and said "I do hope there's no monster in your closet. And don't you dare bring Director Leyenar up again! She's a bitch and a banana."
"WHAT?!" said Tony, since he disagreed with Pepper's warped view on Leyenar. "Are you cray-cray?! She's the best girl in the whole entire universe! If you talk about her that way again, I'll use this on you." Yes, Tony did love Pepper but he couldn't stand it when she said these things, he still remembered the day she called Rhodey a "nigga" and received a knuckle sandwich from Nat. Afterwards, everybody began laughing at Pepper, and she had run away with her tail between her legs.
"Oh, I do hope you do." said the director, stepping out of a portal with Dr. Strange and Wong.
"Tony Stark, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me. Oh, uh, congratulations on the wedding, by the way." said Dr. Strange. Tony and Pepper were understandably shocked, and Leyenar shot the doctor a death-glare. "I'm taking back the congrats." Strange quickly fixed himself.
"I'm sorry, you giving out tickets or something?" asked the genius. Leyenar bit back a giggle.
"We need your help. Look, it's not overselling to say that the fate of the universe is at stake." said Dr. Strange.
"I'm sorry, but who's "we"?" asked Tony. Bruce Banner emerged from behind Dr. Strange, and said hi.
"Bruce!" Tony said, surprised. "You OK?"
Bruce gave Tony a desperate hug, without answering. Leyenar understood, since she could feel that he went through a lot. And so, everybody except Pepper headed back to the Sanctum Sanctorum. "From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence." said Wong, using magic to show the universe and five out of six Infinity Stones.
Each stone lit up as Strange began naming them. "Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind..." He then opened the Eye Of Agamotto, revealing the green Time Stone. "And Time."
"Tell me his name again." said Tony, focused.
"Thanos. He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That's him." said Bruce.
"This is it..." murmured Tony. He then asked Bruce, "What's our timeline?"
"No telling. He has the Power and Space Stones, that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands, on all six Stones, Tony..."
"He can destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamed of." Strange finished.
"Did you seriously just say "hitherto undreamed of"?" asked Tony, leaning on a cauldron.
"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Strange retaliated.
"Is that is what this is?" asked Tony, then the Cloak Of Levitation smacked his arm. Tony, looking offended, straightened himself and said "I ain't going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"
"Nah." replied Strange.
"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone. With our lives." Wong added.
"And I swore off dairy, but then, Ben & Jerry's named a flavor after me, so..." Tony said.
"Stark Raving Hazelnuts."
"Not bad."
"A bit...chunky." said Strange.
"A Hunka-Hulka Burning Fudge" is our favorite." said Wong.
"That's a thing?" asked Bruce.
"Whatever. Point is:things change." concluded Tony.
"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change. This Stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos." said Strange.
"And still conversely, it may also be his best chance against us." Tony retaliated.
"Well, if we don't do our jobs." Strange said. "Ha, in your face, Tin Man!"
"What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals?"
"Protecting your reality, douchebag."
Bruce cut in. "Okay, guys, could we table this discussion right now? The fact is that we have this Stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone, and we have to find him now." he said.
"Yeah, that's the... thing." Tony replied, awkwardly.
"Whaddaya mean?" asked Bruce.
"Two weeks ago, Vision turned off his transponder. He's offline."
"What? Tony, you lost another super bot?"
"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving."
"Who could find Vision, then?" asked Strange.
"Sh*t." Tony cursed quietly, and then said "Steven Grant Rogers, possibly."
"Oh, great." sighed Strange.
"Maybe. But..." Tony sighed.
"Call him." Bruce demanded.
"It's not that easy. God, we haven't caught up in a spell, have we?" Tony told him.
"No." said Bruce.
"The Avengers broke up. We're toast."
"Broke up? Like a band? Like The Beatles?" cried Bruce, surprised.
"Cap and I fell out hard. We're not on speaking terms."
"Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."
Then suddenly, Leyenar emerged from one of the rooms with a boom box, and began singing.
Fight As One-Leyenar Oh
Our World's about to break,
Tormented and Attacked,
Lost from when we wake,
With no way to go back.
I'm Standing on my own,
But now I'm not alone...
(Avengers Assemble!)
Always we will fight as one,
'Till the battle's won,
With evil on the run,
We never come undone.
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one.
(Bridge)
(Avengers Assemble!)
Always we will fight as one,
Till the battle's won,
With evil on the run,
We never come undone.
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one.
(Bridge)
(Avengers Assemble!)
Always we will fight as one,
Till the battle's won,
With evil on the run,
We never come undone.
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one,
Assembled we are strong,
Forever fight as one.
Tony hesitated, before pulling out the cellular phone Steve mailed him, muttering 'flip phone'. It seems as though he brings it everywhere, always ready to call his lost lover. Before clicking "Call", he paused, distracted by an unusual rumbling. "Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would you?" he asked.
Dr. Strange saw his forelock fluttering, and said "Not at the moment, no."
Tony looked at the Hulk-made opening through the ceiling and saw debris flying by outside. He and Leyenar exited the Sanctum through the front door and scanned the chaotic surroundings, the camera shaking around in this following long take to illustrate the chaos, people running and screaming in alarm, traffic becoming impossibly tangled, a litter-filled wind like a nor'easter's. A woman fell nearly at their feet and they helped her up. "You OK?" Leyenar asked. The woman ignored her and ran away.
A car crashed in on a pole behind Tony, who put on his sunglasses and asked FRIDAY "What am I looking at?"
"Not sure, I'm working on it."
"Hey! You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!" cried Tony.
"Might wanna use it." said Dr. Strange, bands of spells readied around his forearms.
A mechanical hum grew louder as Tony approached the intersection. As he turned the corner, he saw a huge circular ship floating over Bleecker Street.
On a school bus, the hairs on Peter Parker's arms stood up. He looked out the window and saw the ship, then tapped on his best friend in the seat in front of him. "Ned, hey. I need you to cause a distraction."
Ned turned around and saw the spaceship. "Holy bagumba! We're all gonna die! There's a spaceship!" Students scrambled to the windows in the back to see the spaceship. Peter quickly slid on one of his Stark-made web-shooters, and webbed the emergency exit lever on the opposite side of the bus.
"What's the matter with you kids? You've never seen a spaceship before?" said the driver. Peter jumped out the window, clinging to the side of the bus and pulling on his mask before leaping over the side of the bridge, shooting a web-line and swinging free. He made his way hastily towards the ship.
Meanwhile, Tony was snapping out orders. "FRIDAY, evac anyone south of 43rd Street, notify first responders."
"Yes, boss." she replied.
Dr. Strange threw the Winds of Watoomb over Bleeker Street, and winked at Tony. The dust cleared. Tony got begrudgingly amused for a split second. Then Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf exited the ship by transmat. "Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to..." Maw began, but was interrupted.
"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here." said Tony.
Maw looked at Strange. "Stonekeeper...Does this chattering animal speak for you?" he said, referring to Tony.
"Certainly not. I speak for myself. But you're trespassing in this city and on this planet." said Strange, ready to engage, Wong by his side.
"It means get lost, Squidward!" Tony snapped.
"What he wanna say is...E.T, Go Home!" Leyenar added. She then held up her hand, displaying her Infinity Gauntlet.
"Holy bagumba!" cried Maw, surprised. "How...Is that an Infinity Gauntlet?"
"Yup." said Leyenar.
"But...but there's no way!" said Maw. "How could a scrawny earthling like you possibly...?"
"I'm not a scrawny earthling." Leyenar smirked. "I'm the scrawny earthling."
Black Dwarf grunted out two untranslated syllables, and Maw ordered, "Bring me the Stone, before they can give it to her!" Black Dwarf spat three untranslated syllables, and dropped his huge alien hammer and dragged it along as he obeyed his brethren.
"I promise, Director, you can have the Time Stone after we finish this." said Dr. Strange. Leyenar gave him another smirk.
"Banner, you want a piece?" asked Tony.
"No, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?"
"That's right."
Bruce attempted to release the Hulk. Instead of Hulk coming out easily, the most that turns green is Bruce's neck. "Been a while. Good to have you, buddy." said Tony.
"I just... I need to concentrate here for one second. Come on, come on, man." Bruce replied.
"Where's your guy?" asked the engineer.
"I don't know. We've sort been havin' a thing." Bruce told him.
"There's no time for a thing."
"I know."
Tony pointed at the approaching Dwarf. "That's the thing right there. Let's go." Bruce gave out a loud grunt, but failed to release the Hulk. Strange looked at the two of them unbelievingly. "Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards." said Tony.
"Tony, I'm sorry. Either I can't or he won't—"
"It's okay. Hey, stand down." said Tony, then he turned to Wong and said "Keep an eye on him. Thank you.".
"I have him." replied Wong.
"Dammit." said Bruce.
As Black Dwarf approached the team, a slender, shiny nano-tech suit enveloped Tony's frame. He grew a shield on one arm to protect himself, then grew a set of blasters that easily threw the Dwarf back to Maw, who gestured and deflected his massive companion into some cars. Iron Man turned to Leyenar and said "Stay back sir."
"Aye-aye, Irah!" Leyenar replied, and raced over to the park nearby.
"Where'd that come from?" asked Bruce.
" It's nano-tech. You like it? A little somet—" Before Tony could finish his sentence, Ebony Maw created a spike of earth that threw him far up, and attacked the rest of the team with uprooted trees and other debris. Wong summoned the Shield of the Seraphim.
"Dr. Banner, if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us..." said Strange, then he teleported Bruce to to a nearby park along with half a taxi. Tony returned and joins the fight, pushing a car thrown by Maw back at him. Maw cut it in half and let the pieces fly past him, untouched.
"Gotta get that stone outta here, now." said the genius.
"It stays with me, and with her." Strange retaliated.
"Exactly. Bye." said Tony, and flew through Ebony Maw's obstacle course but got cut short by Black Dwarf's hammer, sending him through a building and into the park at high speed, plowing into the ground and fetching up against a tree.
Bruce rushed over to him. "Tony, you okay? How we doing? Good? bad?"
"Really, really good. Really good. Do you plan on helping out?"
"I'm trying. He won't come out."
Suddenly, Leyenar yelled "Incoming!" Black Dwarf arrived at the park and threw his hammer at the three of them.
"Hammer." said Tony, then pushed Bruce and Leyenar out of the way. His energy beam deflected off Dwarf's shield, slicing down trees. Bruce barely evaded one.
Bruce crawled out from under the branches, desperate and confused. "C'mon, Hulk. What are you doing to me?" He began slapping himself multiple times. "Come out! Come out! Come out!"
"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed the Hulk. Bruce fell back exhausted into his tree, and said, "Whaddaya mean, "no"?"
Just then, Tony is knocked down by Dwarf, who is about to deliver a decisive blow, but the alien's hammer is easily caught by Spider-Man. "Hey, man. What's up, Mr. Stark and Director Leyenar?" asked the boy.
"Hey, Spidey." grinned Leyenar.
"Kid, where'd you come from?"
"Field trip to MoMA." Suddenly, Black Dwarf grabbed Peter and threw him away. "What is this guy's problem, Mr. Stark?" asked Peter.
"He's from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard." Meanwhile, Wong and Strange fought Maw. Maw lifted several bricks from the ground and turned them into sharp points. He sent them towards Wong and Strange. The two made portals and boomeranged them back towards Maw. Maw moved a car to protect himself, but one spike still hit his head, creating a cut. Angered, Maw used a broken fire hydrant's water stream to knock Wong back several meters, rendering him unconscious. Strange snapped a whip of magical energy to bind Maw's hands and yanked, but Maw flew forward with the pull and pinned Strange upside-down against a building, using the bricks to trap the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Your powers are quaint. You must be popular with children." he said, as he attempted to grab the Eye Of Agamotto but jerked back when it burned his hand.
"It's a simple spell but quite unbreakable." said Strange.
"Then I'll take it off your corpse." said Maw. He pulled Strange away from the building and threw him to the ground. Strange started the gestures to use the Eye of Agamotto, but utility cables first pinned Strange's arms, interrupting the spell and closing the Eye, while another cable wound around his torso, then tightened around his throat.
"You'll find...removing a dead man's spell...troublesome."
"You'll only wish you were dead." Maw sneered. Strange fell unconscious and to the ground; Maw raised a portion of street pavement to use as a carrier, but the Cloak of Levitation worked its master loose of the cable spiral and flew Strange away. Meanwhile, Tony was still fighting Black Dwarf, as Strange passed through the park.
"Kid, that's the wizard. Get on it." Tony told Peter.
"On it!" Peter chased Ebony Maw, floating speedily and upright on a small platform of burbling debris leaving a deep rut in the streets, who in turn chases the Cloak-driven Strange through Manhattan; Maw attacked him, throwing a Rocket Mortgage billboard at Spider-Man to be rid of him.
"Not cool!" Peter groaned as he freed himself. Maw bent all the utility poles in the path of the fleeing Cloak, finally snagging the loyal garment and ripping it loose of its master. Spider-Man scooped up Strange before he hit the pavement, but before he can get away with the unconscious Strange, a cone of blue light started pulling the mage inexorably upwards. Spider-Man grabbed a light pole to anchor himself, but Maw uprooted it, sending Strange, Cloak and teenager on their way to his ship. "Uhh, Mr. Stark? I'm being beamed up!" cried Peter.
"Hang on, kid." said Iron Man. Black Dwarf's hammer doubled as a claw, pinning Tony to the ground and shorting his suit. As Dwarf jumped towards Tony, blades ready to end this fight, he got sent through a portal instead. The alien turned and leaps to return the same way, but Wong closed it rapidly—only Dwarf's severed hand made it back to the park. Bruce kicked the hand away with a noise of disgust.
Tony shook himself free of the Dwarf's weapon, now powerless. "Wong, you're invited to my wedding." he said.
"No, you're not." said Leyenar, quickly cutting in. She then bowed, and said "Master Wong, you are cordially invited to the union ceremony of Anthony Edward Stark and Steven Grant Rogers, at the Avengers Mansion, first thing Saturday evening after we defeat Thanos."
"Hey!" Tony snapped at Leyenar, who smirked back.