Tony continued staring at the screen. Just like with the events in Greenwich, none of what he was witnessing in Washington D.C. felt real. The only tether he had to reality was the vice grip he had on Martha's hand.
"How did this happen?" she asked quietly.
Tony shook his head. "I don't know."
"What are you going to do?"
"I…I don't…uh…I…mm…I don't know." He grasped for words as well as his next breath. "But I know should be there. I need to get to D.C." Tony felt her other hand curl around his wrist and he turned to see Martha checking her watch.
"Your pulse is racing," she informed him with a tiny frown. "I think you should sit down for a bit."
Tony huffed. "I'm fine."
"What did you just say about lying?" Martha protested as she pulled him towards the table.
Tony allowed her to guide him into a chair before speaking again. "I need to do something."
Martha nodded in agreement. "Yes and I have no doubt that you will, but it won't be at the expense of your health and wellbeing." She kneeled down in front of him, resting her forearms on his knees. "Now breathe and take a beat to analyze the situation in a calm and logical manner."
Tony took a deep breath and tried to settle the flurry of activity in his head. "J.A.R.V.I.S., what's the latest on S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"All of their files have been leaked online, sir."
Tony had already been privy to most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets ever since he hacked into the Tri-carrier, but he never bothered to go through their files with a fine tooth comb because he had bigger concerns in the past like stopping Loki and the Mandarin. Now, however, it seemed like an excellent course of action. "Download everything you can find and cross check them against the ones from the Tri-carrier. Let me know if you find any discrepancies."
"Right away, sir."
Martha stroked his thigh from her position still crouched in front of him. "Do you still want to go to Washington?"
Tony glanced down into her eyes. "Well I can't just sit here twiddling my thumbs." He exhaled sharply. "You know I didn't have the best relationship with my old man, for various reasons, but S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of his legacy. And it might sound stupid, but I don't know…" He shrugged. "For whatever reason, I feel obligated to figure out what the hell went wrong."
"It's understandable," Martha reasoned. "But what about your mates? You don't think they were caught in the middle of all that do you?"
"You heard them. Cap was labeled a fugitive. That has to be connected to the fallout with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury's…" Tony faltered on the word 'death.' In a lot of ways, Tony's relationship with Nick was nearly as complicated as his relationship with Howard. He didn't always like him, but he did respect him for the most part, even if he didn't show it. The idea that Nick had been gunned down when Tony wasn't looking was inconceivable. It must have been some type of trick. It had to be.
Tony needed information from ground zero, but his instincts told him that Steve was probably incommunicado, which meant that he'd should to go with his first choice. "J.A.R.V.I.S., while you're at it, I need you to initiate the Little Miss Muffet protocol," he requested.
Martha lifted a brow. "Little Miss Muffet?"
Tony nodded. "I need consult with a spider."
It may have seemed strange given how they first met, but in some ways, Natasha was the Avenger he trusted most of all. She was impartial, she didn't sugarcoat things and she wasn't afraid of getting her hands dirty. Tony could appreciate that. Unfortunately, she wasn't the type of person who could easily be reached by a simple telephone call, especially at times like this. So not long after the Battle of New York, they established other avenues of communication.
"Ah," Martha responded with an air of understanding. "So does that mean that you're officially going back into the avenging business?"
Tony took one of her hands into his. "Is that a deal breaker?"
Martha smiled warmly. "My boyfriend is a genuine superhero. What could possibly be bad about that?"
Tony wasn't sure what pleased him more, her high opinion of him or hearing her refer to him as her boyfriend. "My life is dangerous," he reminded her. "So far it's all been mostly hypothetical with talk of the past and rebuilding my suits. But now the threat is real. Like Bad Boys 2 real."
Martha let out a breathy chuckle. "I understand the risks, love."
"Understanding and undergoing are two completely different things," Tony pointed out.
"I reckon this is the juncture where I should remind you of what it is I do for a living," she countered. "Danger is a regular part of my life."
Tony sighed heavily and ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I just don't want anything to happen to you because of me."
"Some things in life are beyond our control," she responded with a casual shrug. "That being said…you can keep me safe and the rest of the world too while you're at it. Be a hero." She rose up from her knees to give him a kiss. "And maybe you'll even get the girl at the end of the day."
"Maybe?" Tony questioned, pulling her onto his lap.
Martha slipped an arm around his shoulders. "I figure I ought to keep my options open since the other Avengers will probably be showing up now and then."
"Still have your heart set on Cap?"
"I'm not certain it's my heart that's interested," she joked.
"Yea? Well he can't have your heart or any other parts," Tony retorted fiercely as he pulled her closer.
Martha wrapped her other arm around him and hugged him tightly. "My, aren't we possessive."
"I know a good thing when I see it."
"And am I a good thing?"
"We're a good thing," he answered. "But you, honey, are a great thing."
Martha huffed. "Such a smooth talker," she teased before kissing him tenderly. "You've got work to do."
Tony sighed heavily. "Yea."
"Do you want me to make myself scarce?"
"Only once the eagle has landed," he quipped. "But no." Tony shook his head. "Hang around." He drummed his fingers against her thigh idly. "I'm dealing with a lot of unknowns right now. So I kinda need…I mean I like having…"
"I won't leave your sight," she promised sympathetically. "Just let me ring a few people and if you're still hungry, I could throw something together really quickly."
"I don't have much of an appetite," he confessed.
"You still need to eat a bit of something," she scolded gently despite the hard stare she was giving him.
"Alright," he conceded with a quiet sigh. "Whatever you say goes, Doc."
Martha pinched his cheek. "And don't you forget it."
"Sir?" J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted.
"What is it J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"You've received contact from Agent Romanoff."
Tony met Martha's eyes. "I need to take this."
She nodded and stood up from his lap. "Handle your business and I'll take care of the rest."
"Can I get a little sugar for the road?" he asked gesturing to his lips.
Martha chuckled as she leaned forward and pressed a quick peck at the corner of his mouth.
"Is that all heroes are worth these days?" Tony questioned with a slight pout.
"You're worth a thousand more," Martha assured him. "But only the first one is free," she added with a wink.
Tony waited until Martha had picked up her cellphone and walked away before he took a deep breath and stood up from the table. He headed down to the workroom, allowing J.A.R.V.I.S. to patch Natasha through upon his arrival. While he waited for her to speak, he picked up the Rubik's cube and passed it back and forth between his hands.
"Stark?" Natasha voice called out to him.
"Hey Red, what's new?"
"Same old same old," she replied with her usual air of neutrality.
"Not to alarm you, but I think you might have a bit of a pollution problem there in D.C. I've been watching the news and the state of the Potomac is a disaster."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
"In all seriousness, what the hell is going on?" he asked, finally cutting to the chase. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone, Cap's a fugitive and this thing about Fury…"
"I can't tell you over the phone."
"It's a secure line," Tony assured her.
"Not secure enough."
"If you want some face time, all you have to do is ask."
"Does your girlfriend know you flirt so much?"
"You know Pepper and I broke up a year ago," Tony retorted.
"And you know I wasn't talking about Pepper."
Tony frowned on his end of the line. "Are you ever gonna stop spying on me?"
"Not if you don't stop making it so easy," she shot back.
"So where are we going to do this?" Tony questioned, getting them back on topic.
"Give me a day or two. I'll contact you with a location."
"You know the drill."
"Stay safe," Natasha told him.
"You too, Red."
"Oh…and tell Martha I said 'hello.'"
Tony scoffed softly. "Stalker," he added quickly before she disconnected.
The next few days were tense, to say the least, as Tony gleaned whatever information he could from various news sources. He had taken to employing the grounding techniques that Martha taught him on his own and she had even gifted him with a mini Rubik's cube that he could carry around in his pocket. Of course it was the doctor herself that brought him the most peace, which was why he brought her and Bohr along to meet with Natasha.
When the three of them arrived at their prearranged rendezvous point in Central Park, they found Natasha sitting on a park bench. She was impeccably dressed and reading a battered copy of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. By all appearances, she was just a regular woman enjoying a regular day in the park. But Tony knew Natasha well enough to know that nothing was left to chance and everything she did was deliberate.
Natasha glanced up from her book momentarily as she lazily turned the page. "Generally speaking, secret meetings are meant to be kept secret."
"So that wasn't Barton I spotted near the zoo entrance?" Tony challenged.
Natasha shrugged. "It could have been. He likes animals and I'm not my partner's keeper." She glanced in Martha's direction. "But I suppose I let it slide. She passed our security clearance anyway."
Martha looked startled. "You ran a background check on me?"
"Standard procedure."
"The only liars S.H.I.E.L.D. likes are the ones on the payroll," Tony told Martha. "Speaking of which, it sounds like you might be in need of new employment."
Natasha closed her book and rested it on her lap with her hands folded on top of it. "Are you offering?"
"Not a chance, Natalie." Tony took a seat next to her. "What the hell happened in Washington?"
"Hydra," she answered simply. "It seems as though they've been destroying us from the inside since your old man's day."
Tony's brows shot up. "And no one noticed?"
"Fury did."
"Is that why…" Martha began but quickly stopped herself with an uneasy glance between the two of them as if she was unsure if she was allowed to join their conversation.
Natasha sighed in exasperation. "Doesn't matter. S.H.I.E.L.D. as we know it is dead anyway."
"And Fury?" Tony pressed. "Is he really…"
"Officially."
"And unofficially?"
Natasha gave a noncommittal shrug and Tony decided to take that as confirmation of Fury's survival. "Fury, you wily son of a bitch," he responded with a sigh of relief. "What about Cap?"
"On the mend," Natasha answered.
"He was hurt?" Martha asked. The shock was evident in her voice though Tony could tell her concern was more about her doctorly need to take care of everyone rather than a result of her admitted crush on Steve.
Natasha nodded. "He took a pretty bad beating."
"He'll be fine," Tony insisted tightly. His words were for Martha's benefit as well as his own. "He's the toughest old man I know."
Martha looked less than convinced but she bobbed her head once and turned her eyes to Natasha. "What about Hydra? With S.H.I.E.L.D. in ruins, who's going to root them out of hiding?"
"Well they're not exactly hiding anymore, are they?" Natasha pointed out with a quiet scoff.
"Yea and neither should we," Tony replied defiantly. It was something he had been thinking about for a while. All that was left was to make it official. He glanced at Martha and she smiled encouragingly. "You and Barton track Thor down and tell him we're getting the band back together," he told Natasha, turning his attention back to her. "I'll work on Bruce. As soon as Cap is out of the hospital, the Avengers are gonna assemble."
