Merry Christmas! Enjoy this Iron Man/HP crossover! I have four chapters just waiting to be read by you, the fans!
It was the biggest news in years. Howard Stark had identical twin boys.
Anthony and Christopher Stark.
For the first few months everything was fine. The 'younger' twin Christopher was a total sweetheart. Anthony was the fussy one.
Then the worst happened. While Howard was away on business, someone broke past security and kidnapped one of the twins. It was quickly revealed he had taken Christopher.
Howard's wife was devastated. He spared no expense trying to find his son. The worst part was that when they finally had a lead, the infant was missing...and there was blood that was quickly tested and proven to be Christopher's.
She was devastated, and if not for the fact they still had Tony would have quickly slipped into a deep depression.
Tony was never told of his twin. For all they knew Christopher had died before they found him.
And for thirty-three years, Anthony Stark had absolutely no idea about the fact he had a twin brother. At least, not until he found an article from the New York Times that had him asking questions.
Daniel 'Pit' Black cursed as he fought the car he was trying to repair. Nearby several teens playing poker snickered at the words he used.
"Need any help Boss?" asked one cheeky teen.
"I got this!"
Without warning the oil line broke, and he was doused in the black muck. The boys didn't hold back their laughter as he admitted defeat.
"I'm going to take a shower. Don't destroy the place trying to cook again," he said.
That set them off again. None of them would dare try to burn down Danny's kitchen...not when he cooked better than any of the others did.
At 33, Daniel 'Pit' Black was a respectable height. People told him all the time he looked just like Tony Stark, the eccentric billionaire who was a known media whore, but personally he didn't see it. He had dark black hair, sharp brown eyes that could usually spot a problem with anything mechanical or electronic at a glance, and a very high IQ.
His professors often thought he was wasted on learning how to repair cars and computers, but to be honest while he enjoyed tinkering with things, the chances of him becoming famous and bringing the collective stupidity of Europe down on him was too high risk for his liking. Hence why he had a decent paying job with a minimal chance of being noticed.
The only fame he had to deal with these days was the minor fame of being a known 'gang' boss, albeit one that the neighborhood and the cops tolerated better than most. Unlike some of the other gangs in Harlem, Pit's Crew (as it was collectively known) did more good than harm.
They didn't use guns, they didn't do drugs and a majority of the teens in it stayed in school and kept their grades up.
His territory was considered a good size, and the grocery store owners accepted what they called a 'Black Card' as a method of payment. In exchange for protection from the other gangs, or quick apprehension of anyone stupid enough to rob the store, Pit's Crew could buy necessary items like food, water and the little things that made life easier. To pay off the debt on the card, they did volunteer work or helped around Pit's garage repairing cars.
And while the number of homeless had shot up in Harlem when the stores implemented the policy, the number of complaints about them hadn't. Pit was rich enough to own both his garage and home as well as the apartments next to it.
Homeless people often weren't homeless for long.
The only reason people called them a gang was because they technically were one.
Danny lead the teens into becoming respectable members of society, but he also turned a blind eye to small crimes like pickpocketing and petty theft. The cops acknowledged they needed him more than they needed to arrest one of his crew for something like robbing a rich man of his wallet. They only ever took cash, never their credit cards. Too easy to trace.
"Hey Boss! There's a reporter here to see you!" shouted one of the teens from below.
"Send her away! You know I hate reporters!" he shouted back.
"She's from the Times!"
Danny sighed in annoyance. Ever since that hag Skeeter had written those articles, he had hated reporters with a fierce and fiery passion. The only one he liked was Luna, and that was because she genuinely amused him and never misquoted him.
He still got postcards from her, and his subscription to her father's old magazine was always free. Hell, he even had back issues!
Once he was sure the oil was completely out of his hair and that he was as clean as he had been that morning before the mess, he double checked to see if he had any clean clothes. It took him a few minutes to pick out something decent before he went back downstairs.
He took one look at the reporter and grimaced. He nearly went back upstairs to get some coffee when the first thing she asked was "Has anyone ever told you that you look almost exactly like..."
"Tony Stark? I get it all the bloody time, but frankly I don't see the similarity at all. Unlike him I'm not a media whore and I dislike weapons in general," he stated flatly.
"She's here about the Crew!" stated Jake excitedly.
Danny grimaced.
"What about it?"
"Are you aware that many people are trying to claim they are behind the recent decrease in crime in Harlem?" she stated eagerly.
Danny looked very much like he wanted to bang his head against something.
"You're here to do an expose on the Pit Crew, because word on the street has pointed you in the direction of the 'Black Pit Garage' as the source of why despite the fact that the population of Harlem has shot up in the past five years, the crime rate has dropped like a stone except for petty crimes no one cares about," he guessed.
She nodded.
"I take it that there's going to be a group photo of the Pit Crew to prove it's not some made up story?"
Another nod.
Daniel sighed.
"Jake, get on the phone with the others. If we're doing some group photo, then we might as well have everyone in it. Otherwise we'll never hear the end of the whining about someone getting left out because they didn't know about this when she came," said Daniel. No way was he getting out of this, if the looks in their eager faces was any indication.
There was a loud cheer from the teens, and soon the word spread within an hour for everyone to show up at the garage. In less than two hours, everyone who was known to be in the Pit Crew was at the garage, as word of mouth had spread about the photo. Daniel hated being photographed, but he would tolerate it just to avoid hearing them bitch and moan about it until the end of time.
Even if he did discreetly have the one advanced thing he owned, an AI he called Christopher after the patron saint of travelers, do a background check on the reporter to be sure she really did work for the Times and wasn't there trying to ruin all the hard work he put into making things better one small good deed at a time.
By the time Ms. Blake left, Daniel had the worst feeling that he had just opened Pandora's Box, and he wasn't sure if he could close it before all hell broke out. Or what the awful feeling of something migraine inducing heading he way was.
JARVIS, Tony Stark faithful AI and unfortunate babysitter when his assistant Pepper Potts was unavailable, was doing his routine scan and damage control keeping the worst of the rumors about Tony Stark contained, picked up an odd blip on his usual monitors.
After checking it repeatedly to insure the article in question wasn't faked or made by some particularly odd-humored hacker, he debated on whether to bring it to his creator's attention.
When Tony came into his private play room (as he called it) in a more foul mood than normal after dealing with the greedy sycophants of his father's company and the overly pushy Obie trying to get him to develop yet another weapon for the military, JARVIS decided to help him take his mind off of it. Tony was a moody human, and when he was in this kind of mood he tended to get extremely snarky and even more irritating than usual.
At least according to the other humans who spent any real amount of time when he was like this.
"Sir, I have detected something odd on the web."
"If this is another rumor claiming I'm gay and that the long string of one-night stands are a beard..." warned Tony. He wasn't above shutting JARVIS off for the night.
"Actually sir facial recognition hit a majority points match to yourself, but the location and name are incorrect. Unless you've been in Harlem within the past week assembling a gang that works out of a garage," said JARVIS.
Tony blinked, before he said "...JARVIS, have you been eating those weird viruses again off the sites that try to use my image in..."
"The photograph came off the New York Times, and there are no indications that the picture in question has been doctored."
"Bring it up!" said Tony, openly intrigued.
JARVIS brought up the article in question.
The Pit Crew: A modern day Robin Hood in Harlem
by Daphne Blake
Meet the Pit Crew, a group of what many would consider hoodlums in the heart of Harlem. What makes this gang unique is that instead of adding to the crime rate in New York, they do more good deeds than crime. Lead by their leader, a modern day Robin Hood (complete with British accent to boot) Daniel 'Pit' Black, these teens can often be found helping the homeless, rescuing animals off the mean streets of New York, doing their homework and helping around their gang leader, who they collectively call 'Boss' or 'Danny' repair cars.
While this crew has been known for minor crimes such as pickpocketing and petty theft, they are actually well respected by the police in the area. Crimes such as break-ins, murders, rape, drug use and prostitution have dropped to record breaking numbers in the past five years since the Crew was created by Daniel Black.
When asked why he created this gang, Mr. Black had this to say:
"Most of these kids are actually decent people who never had the same chances that others get. All they really needed was someone who doesn't judge them and was willing to give them the shot they needed. And yes, while they do have a criminal record of stealing from the pockets of others, it's better than having a record of armed robbery and assault. I give them a way to get their restless energy out in a productive, healthy manner as well as keep their noses clean in the eyes of the law. As long as they keep their grades up, stay out of prison or juvie, and do more good than harm in their down time, I could care less what they get up to."
Mr. Black has also instituted a program with local store owners called the "Black Card", which is a small plastic card that allows the families of Harlem to buy groceries and small miscellaneous items in exchange for volunteer work at the local animal and homeless shelters. He has even spoken about getting in contact with the mayor in regards to a new playground inside the heart of Harlem where children can play with safe, up-to-date equipment.
The most remarkable thing about Mr. Black is that he is actually from a noted noble family line in England who came to America to escape the life of the rich and famous. As the current head of the Black family in England, he is literally worth millions.
Truly a tale of the rich giving to the poor.
Tony, after reading the article, looked at the picture. He could see why it caught the attention ofJARVIS...the guy looked almost exactly like him except his hair was a little messier, he had no beard and his face was a little thinner. He also looked extremely uncomfortable being photographed, where as Tony had gotten used to the media's constant attention.
The thing was, as far as Tony was aware he was an only child.
His mood drastically improved, Tony went to work tinkering on one thing or another. But that picture would bug him for weeks.
So much so that he finally gave up trying to ignore it. He had to find out why there was someone who could pass for his twin living in Harlem of all places with a gang of kids.
Time to do some digging.
Pepper found Tony going through his father's old files, something he hated doing because of the fact he wasn't exactly a fan of his father to begin with. Obadiah had called her the moment he realized which files Tony was looking at.
"What has gotten into you lately?"
Tony pointed at the desk, not bothering to look up from where he was. Pepper saw a newspaper and it took a few seconds to realize why Tony was so bothered.
There was someone who could pass for his double in the picture.
Tony went to another box, this one from around the time he was born.
Near the bottom was something he stared at rather hard.
"Why would he hire seven private detective agencies?"
That was the only anomaly he could find in the stacks, so he put them back. To his disappointment, he couldn't find anything else.
"Tony, why are you so determined to look through these old files?" asked Pepper.
"There is someone out there walking around with my face that isn't me. Wouldn't you be a little curious?" he asked.
Pepper sighed. Of course Tony's narcissism would drive him to find everything he could about someone who could really pass for his twin. She felt a small twinge of pity for this Daniel Black, because if Tony had his way he wouldn't be a little known celebrity for long.