I know it's been a while but life has not been in my favour recently. England is in another lockdown now and I no longer have a job so the stress has been slowly killing me off. Also the whole process of trying to find a literary agent for a book I wrote is panic inducing. I've been trying to get back into writing more so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon.

This chapter is purely filler but I still needed it. That's partly why it took so long to write this. I want to jump right to the good bit but I need to get past all the waffle first

The ground was still sodden from the downpour New York must have had a couple of days ago. But it had dried enough so that the mud didn't quite stick to his shoes or splash up onto his well pressed black suit. It was just awkward to walk through and he would find himself sliding if he didn't concentrate on where he was walking.

Coulson made his way over to where a team had been set up. In the centre of an empty field in the middle of nowhere. Scanners on tripods had been set up around the perimeter, pulsating intermittently, as they tried to understand the anomaly.

A few days ago their satellites had picked up a strange signal from this exact location. The likes of which they had never seen before. A concentration of intensely powerful energy, enough to rival the sun. Maybe several suns. The only signature in any way comparable to it came from the Tesseract. An object that SHIELD had been desperate to keep hidden and under raps.

If there was a similar object around they needed to know and they needed to know fast.

But the signal had disappeared as quickly as it had shown up and they were here to figure out why.

"Any luck?" Coulson asked the first tech he came up to. He was dressed in a white hazmat suit, which would have alarmed Coulson usually but the man had removed his hood and mask which suggested that the air was clear of contamination.

The guy frowned and looked down at his tablet. He scrolled through a few pages before shaking his head.

"There is some residual energy but it's nothing concrete. Whatever happened here dissipated incredibly fast and has not left any kind of trace." he sighed.

"Is there no physical evidence?" he asked "Something this powerful could produce burn marks or something right?"

If this was anything like the Bifrost from their previous Norse visitors it would leave a mark.

The tech scratched his head, dislodging a few strands of hair from his low ponytail. "No burn marks to speak of. There were some footprints in the mud but they don't seem to lead anywhere. As if whoever was there just up and vanished. And Stephens has found something towards the centre of the field. He thinks it might be a mound of cloth. But we've had to check for radiation before we can handle it."

Coulson frowned. Footprints that vanish and a mound of cloth were not what he was expecting when he got this brief. That was nothing to go off of at all.

"Was there any radiation?"

The tech guy blinked before what Coulson was asking sunk in. "Oh no, it's all clear. You can go and have a look if you like." He gestured towards the middle of the field.

"Thank you," he nodded and made his way over to the others.

As he was walking, the phone in Coulson's pocket began to vibrate. He fished it out and checked the caller I.D. When the word 'Director' popped up he tried to contain his wince. Director Fury was not going to be happy with their results. Especially not after the Shit Show of losing Dr. Banner.

Coulson answered the phone quickly "Sir?"

"Are you at the location?" Fury asked, no preamble or pleasantries. There was quite a bit of stress in his voice. The Director probably needed a vacation.

"Yes, just arrived sir,"

"Is there anything you can give me?" Fury said.

Just as Fury stopped speaking one of the analysts lifted up one of the pieces of cloth with a pair of tongues. It took a few seconds for his brain to make sense of what he was seeing but when it did he found himself dumbstruck.

"Well?"

Coulson closed his mouth and then opened it again but no sound came out. Because in front of him were the biggest pair of Calvin Kleins he had ever seen. They were completely covered in mud but there was no mistaking the font around the waist band.

No human could ever fit in those. Not even some of the most obese ones.

"Coulson?"

Coulson blinked out of his stupor "Uh, I may have to get back to you on that one."

Fury sighed down the phone "Well you better get back to me quick because there's been an identical energy surge a few miles away."

"Right, yeah. Sure" he said, still firmly focusing on the giant underwear

oOo

So Pepper knew about them now. Which probably worked out better actually. With her on board they would be able to circumvent suspicions more easily. She was always so much better at that stuff than he was. If he was being honest with himself, if she hadn't have found out they would have probably popped up on a few radars. Especially if he had started working on tech way beyond the current level.

It was just kind of annoying how fast they were found out. Like not even a week and somebody already knew. He thought he was better at keeping secrets than that.

Actually that is a straight up lie, he can never keep his big trap closed. At least with Pep anyway. If she hadn't have found out when she did he would have probably let something slip immediately anyway.

So Pepper was helping to divert attention away from them for now. Which was not something 2012 Tony had ever really asked her to do before. He even promised to keep a low profile himself and he actually meant it this time. They couldn't afford to be found out by people with more sinister expectations. For once Pepper seemed to believe him.

The haunted look in his eyes was probably enough to convince her.

So for the next few weeks the two of them were rigorously organising their plan of attack. Obviously their main focus for now was on Loki's imminent arrival and the battle of New York. They had to get through that before even thinking about any of the other stones.

The big players would obviously be the mind stone and the tesseract. They had to work out a way to take them both without suspicion falling on them. They couldn't just waltz in and take them because there would be too many questions. Even though Tony knew exactly where the Tesseract was right now, he couldn't do anything.

It would change events too much and they would not have the advantage that they currently had. So they had to keep events mostly the same. But there was definitely some wiggle room in there.

"I know you're not gonna like this but I think we have to let the Chitauri come through," Tony said from where he leaned against his work bench. With a box of lukewarm chinese take out in his hands.

"What?!" Bruce spat out some of his noodles. He grimaced and then wiped the corner of his mouth. "You do realise that they killed quite a few people and destroyed like half of New York right."

Tony waved his chopsticks. "No, I know that. Obviously we'll be more prepared this time and evacuate people. Maybe I'll have a nuke on standby or something. But it is one thing that we cannot change."

"Why?"

Tony straightened up "Because we wiped out a whole army that's why. All of the Chitauri gone" he snapped his fingers "in one fell swoop. One less army under Thanos's control."

Bruce's eyes widened with realisation. "Oh god you're right. If we don't wipe them out who knows what will happen to the timeline."

"It took him 6 years after Loki's failed attack for him to make it here himself. With a whole extra army he might be able to do it in half that time. We can't risk it." Tony said.

Bruce's hands dropped and he placed his takeout on the bench next to him. "But where are you gonna get a nuke? And are you gonna do it a second time?"

"Don't worry about the nuke, FRI and JARV have the capacity to break into most of the security systems in this time period." He did not deign to answer the second question because the thought caused his hands to shake.

Just the memory of that cold, desolate nothingness was enough to send him into a panic. But he would undoubtedly still do it. He would forge headlong into that hellscape. If it meant saving everyone, there was no price too big.

"Well," Bruce sighed and scratched the side of his head "if we're laying out all of our questionable plans...I think we need to consider Loki,"

He narrowed his eyes at Bruce. "Consider him how?"

Bruce looked away from Tony's accusing gaze "Uh...consider bringing him onto our side."

"What?!" That brought Tony up short.

"Look I know-"

"What the fuck Bruce?" He began pacing with nervous energy.

"He's-"

"Insane! The guy is insane. He tried to take over our planet for crying out loud. And you want to, what? Bring him into the fold? Make friendship bracelets?"

Bruce didn't seem to be insulted by Tony's rant. Instead he moved forward and grabbed Tony's shoulder to stop him pacing. "Look would you just listen to me for two seconds and I'll explain."

Tony reached up and poked Bruce on the nose "You get one and a half seconds and that's me being generous."

He remembered the guy that had thrown him out of a window and led one of Thanos' armies. That didn't seem like the kind of person you pick first in gym class. Nevermind for a top secret mission with the fate of the universe at stake.

"Look, I'll admit the Loki you met in 2012 was crazy," Bruce started

"You are definitely not helping your case. In fact you're making it ten times worse."

Bruce narrowed his eyes at Tony until he conceded. "Fine I'm shutting up," He mimed closing his lips and throwing away the key.

"There's a reason he was like that. Do you remember what I told you back in 2018 when I crash landed back here?"

Tony diligently remained mute until Bruce gave him an annoyed look. "Oh can I speak now? Cool. Let me just" he mimed opening his lips back up "Yeah, you said something about Thanos sending Loki. Which also isn't helping your case my friend."

Working with one of Thanos' war dogs? No thank you.

Tony turned to lean back against the bench. He crossed his arms across his chest in annoyance.

"Let's just say that he did not do it willingly."

Tony immediately dropped his arms "Wait what?"

"Loki was never one of Thanos' 'Children'. He didn't follow him because he believed in his cause. From what I can tell, Thanos captured him and tortured him until he did what he asked. Either he found the Tesseract or he would be killed."

Tony felt his stomach plummet and he had to grip the bench hard. He felt his pulse rising and he squeezed his eyes shut.

It was just so familiar.

So horrifically and disgustingly familiar.

Either Loki found the Tesseract or he would be killed.

Either Tony built the bomb or they would kill him.

It was afghanistan all over again. How did he have something like that in common with one of his enemies.

"How do you know that?" Tony eventually asked.

"He told me...Well he mostly told Thor and he told me."

"But he's a liar. Like that's his thing, right? How could you know he was telling the truth? He was probably trying to manipulate you."

Bruce thought for a second and then shook his head. "I don't think he did. Not about that at least. When we were on the statesmen, Loki was like a completely different guy. Still an asshole mind you but it no longer felt like he wanted to know what my guts would look like spilled on the ground. He also looked different. Do you remember when you first saw him? I mean the guy looked terrible."

Tony did remember. His pallid skin and sweat soaked hair. The purple under his eyes had looked like bruises. With no other reference for him, Tony had just assumed that that was what Loki looked like. But now he could definitely see how they could point to signs of torture.

"Some of the things he told Thor," Bruce shuddered "I don't know how the guy is still alive, even if he's a god."

Tony put his face into his hands. How could this happen? It felt like a rug had been pulled from under him.

"And Thanos had the mind stone at the time so god knows what he could have done to Loki's head." Bruce said.

"But he wasn't controlled though. His eyes were clear."

"Yeah but you've seen what influence it can have without directly compelling you. I mean look at Wanda. She managed to get into all of our heads and she only had a fraction of its power. Nevermind the real thing."

It was the mind stone that powered Wanda's abilities and it was her abilities that influenced Tony's mind and that was what had started the whole Ultron disaster. All from a few seconds of contact. Tony winced thinking about prolonged exposure to that.

"Fuck" Tony squeezed the bridge of his nose

"We need Loki on our side because he's powerful and he actually knows about Thanos." Bruce said.

"It's easy enough to just say 'get him on our side'. But the logistics of that are just insane. How are we going to convince a mentally unstable torture victim to just flip sides because we ask him to?" Tony asked

Bruce shrugged "I'm sure you'll think of something. You can be quite charismatic when you want to be."

"Asshole, I'm charismatic 100% of the time. It's infused into my DNA. The powerhouse of my cells is charm."

oOo

"Whoa...er hey buddy?" Tony was a little taken aback as he came into the penthouse but he recovered quickly. "I didn't realise it was a Hulk day,"

"Hello Tony friend," Hulk said. "Hulk day on calendar."

Hulk pointed towards a calendar covered in cute kittens that hung proudly on the wall. In the square dedicated for this day was a very crudely drawn green face. It looked more like a goblin than Hulk but the meaning was there.

It was his day.

Hulk liked to be let out every once in a while. Neither he nor Banner were allowed out of the tower really. Banner told him that people were likely looking for the both of them. People that would likely be mean to Hulk. So even though he would prefer to run through central park he was being good and staying in the penthouse.

It had been rather weird readjusting to being separated again. Sometimes it would feel a little claustrophobic being at the back of Banner's head. He remembered how angry that sensation would always make him. Back when Banner hated him and never let him out. It always made him want to smash and destroy everything in sight when he finally got let out. It was why he would always lock Banner away like Banner had done to him.

But now that they had come to an understanding he was a lot calmer. Banner knew that Hulk needed his own time every now and then. So they had scheduled dedicated Hulk days for him.

Tony turned to the calendar "Oh so it is. Well I kind of need Bruce by tonight because we've nearly finished the containment units and I need to run some radiation checks."

Tell him that I've already pre-programmed the machine to run the tests. He just needs to press start. Banner said to him.

"Banner said it done. Just press start," Hulk said before turning his eyes back to the T.V

"Oh really? Perfect. I guess I'll just leave you to...whatever you're doing. Shout me if you need me."

Pizza. Tell him to order some pizza, we're starving.

"We need Pizza," Hulk said matter-of-factly.

Tony grinned and nodded. "No problem. A dozen pizzas coming up"

oOo

"Why are we suddenly funding schools?" Pepper asked him.

Tony grinned at her "Because I believe the children are the future, Pep. Teach them well and let them lead-"

She put a hand up to stop him. "Okay I get it. Now that song is going to get stuck in my head. So thanks for that. But I meant, is there a particular reason? Like, I don't know, from the future maybe."

Tony crossed his hands over his heart "It's so the children's laughter can remind us how we used to be."

Pepper shook her head and a smile began to form at the corners of her mouth. "Stop it, I'm being serious. I can tell there's something more to this just by looking at you,"

Tony turned away and began to fidget with the tools on his desk "Ugh, I can't believe how easily you can read me. I used to be a man of mystery. No one could tell what was going through my head."

"You have never been mysterious no matter how much you may believe so." Pepper laughed.

Tony turned back to her "I am offended with your accusation,"

Pepper looked at him completely unimpressed. She didn't say a word, just lifted her eyebrows and waited.

It didn't take long for Tony to give in. The ability of those closest to him to make him do things with a simple look wasn't fair at all.

"Okay fine, you caught me. In the future there was this kid. Such a great kid, so smart and funny and kind. I'd say he reminded me of me but I was never that nice to people. He was just the epitome of goodness really."

Pepper looked dumbstruck "Wait? Is this your kid? Tony, do you have a child I don't know about?"

"No, no. God I wish. He's not mine...but it sometimes felt like he was." Tony felt his chest constrict just thinking about Peter.

"He must have been something special to make you go all fatherly," Pepper said.

Tony laughed "You can say that again."

The kid could lift 10 tons without breaking a sweat. That sounded pretty special to him.

Pepper smiled warmly at him. "So you're funding his school to give him a better chance."

"It's not enough. It'll never be enough but I want to do something for him. I lost him once and I'll be damned if I do that again." Tony's voice became strained.

Realisation bloomed in Pepper's eyes and she reached a hand out to comfort him.

"I wanna go see him so badly but I know I can't. I just wanna do right by him so I'm going to give him anything I can."

"Why can't you see him?" Pepper asked.

Tony looked at her like she was being ridiculous. "Uh, hello because I'd look like the biggest creep of the century. I would prefer not to have the term 'Child predator' linked to my name thank you."

Pepper scoffed and shook her head. "I didn't mean for you to go stalk and corner the poor kid, you idiot. There are perfectly legitimate ways that you could see him without it being weird."

"Like what?" he asked skeptically but deep down he felt hope bubble up to the surface.

"Just leave it with me. I have some ideas. It'll even be good for the company" she said cryptically.

oOo

Pepper was a genius. And he doesn't call other people geniuses very often.

When she told him what she had cooked up he was beyond impressed. She had built upon his original plans to fund the local schools and created an entire program for the little tykes. Where kids from underprivileged backgrounds would get the opportunity to come to workshops designed to build their interest in science and technology. It would give them the extra push they needed to build their confidence and enthusiasm.

It was brilliant. Even more so for his image. It was another bound away from the merchant of death moniker in the eyes of the public.

He was kind of embarrassed that he hadn't done something like this before. But then again, kids hadn't really been on his radar before he really got to know Peter. It was just something that never crossed his mind.

Now the workshop programme would be offered to most of the kids. It would have cool science experiments for them to do and watch. It'll be something for people of all capabilities. But for the ones that were particularly bright, they would be part of a different programme that gave them more hands on experience. Where they could go more in depth and really hone their skills.

Pepper had told him to meet her on the 6th floor of the tower and he knew what that meant. Over the past couple of days she had been interviewing families, getting them interested in the accelerated program. The kids were between 10 and 17 and had been invited to join because of their exceptional grades at school.

It wasn't really an interview, it was more of a discussion with the kids and the families. Most were understandably ecstatic but there were a few concerned parties that remembered Tony's playboy lifestyle. As if it could rub off on them just by being in the building. But mostly they still said yes.

Pepper had been holding the interviews on the 6th floor because it was considered more homely than an office. It was a wide open space filled with soft chairs and a state of the art coffee machine.

Pepper hadn't invited him to any of the other interviews so he knew what was coming. It meant that Peter was here. He was here and alive and tiny. He was going to see him again after 5 long years. His pulse was steadily rising as that thought sank in.

Tony breathed heavily out of his mouth. I better not screw this up. No crying. No hugging. If the kid thinks I'm a creepy weirdo I think I'll go die in a hole.

Pepper told him to act nonchalant, as if he was just passing through and happened to stumble upon them. But he wasn't sure if he could pull off casual right now.

The doors of the elevator opened and Tony's muscles froze. It took him a few seconds to convince his legs to move and another few to slip-what he hoped was-a convincing smile onto his face.

He walked down the corridor towards the interview room with a fake bounce in his step. When he reached the door he could

"...Uncle Ben showed me this really old show called Star Trek where they had these cool phone things that could do everything and they could teleport. Will we be doing stuff like that."

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't

Hearing his little voice was almost too much but he managed to school his face. He pushed the door open and stepped through as if he owned the place. (Because he does)

"Well I think we might have to work up to things like that," Pepper said with a smile in her voice.

They came into view and Tony nearly tripped over his own feet. Thankfully, Peter and his family were facing away from him. It was only Pepper who saw his fumble and she gave him a comforting smile.

Peter was there. He was stood up and bouncing on the balls of his feet with barely restrained chaotic energy. His aunt and uncle seemed to be trying to get him to sit down but it wasn't working very well.

Wait, uncle! Holy shit Peter's uncle was still alive. Note to self makes sure he stays that way!

"Ah Pepper there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere" Tony said, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

"I told you where I would be hours ago," Pepper said, pretending to be annoyed.

When Peter saw who he was his eyes became almost impossibly wide and his mouth dropped open. "You're Tony Stark! Uncle Ben it's Tony Stark!" His voice was hitting high notes he never knew he was capable.

The same exclamations were running through Tony's head. You're Peter! You're here and alive.

A surge of warmth and happiness and relief flooded through him at the mere sight of Peter. For the first time in a long time it felt like he could breathe easier. Like the knife that had been buried in his chest since Peter died had finally been removed.

Don't cry. Don't cry.

"Actually I'm his twin brother Stony Tark but I can see where you would make that mistake."

"Wait what? Oh my god I'm so so sorry Mr. Tark I-" Peter started to ramble.

May put her hand on his arm comfortingly and smiled "I think he was joking sweetie,"

Peter's cheek went bright red "Oh yeah, I knew that."

"So what's this then, A job interview?" He walked over to the coffee machine. A drink had already been served for him thanks to his intuitive A.I. He turned back to Peter "You're here for the Head of research and development position right. You seem like the capable type."

"Tony stark thinks I'm capable!" he whispered to his Uncle, Not particularly subtly.

Pepper smiled "Peter here is going to be a part of our new accelerated science program,"

"Wow, you must be a very smart kid then. Only the best of the best get onto that program," Tony said, bringing the coffee to his lips. The action helped him to act more casual. It gave him something to do with his hands.

"Well his teachers seem to think that he could skip several grades," His uncle said proudly.

"Yeah but bigger kids can be mean and I wanted to stay with my friend Ned," Peter said quickly.

Tony smiled, he remembered Peter's 'Guy in the Chair'. "Too true kid. Stick with your friends."

Peter began to nearly vibrate, looking seconds away from exploding. "You are so cool I can't believe I actually got to meet you. I mean I guess we kind of already met but you probably don't remember. This is still amazing anyway!"

Tony's eyebrows drew together "Wait when did we meet?"

"Last year at the convention. When everything started to explode and stuff. You stopped one of them from hitting me. I was in this insanely cool ironman mask at the time. Obviously not as cool as yours nothing could ever be as cool as that," Peter rambled.

Tony nearly spit out his coffee. What!?

"That was you?" He just about managed to keep the histeria from his voice.

The kid had nearly died before he had even met him. Goddamit this kid was a danger magnet.

"Yeah! But I wasn't hurt or anything. You saved the day!"

Tony put his mug down and stepped forward. "Well it's good to meet you properly then." Tony put his hand out for Peter to shake "You're a little hero in the making aren't you"

The biggest grin spread across Peter's face and he grabbed Tony's hand eagerly. He shook Tony's hand very firmly and very erratically.

"It's great to meet you too sir," He said, then immediately flipped topics as he was wont to do. "I really like your sunglasses, they're awesome."

"Oh these?" Tony took them off his head. He had made these when he had first arrived back in 2012. They weren't quite EDITH powerful but they had a few tricks up their sleeve. They could help him find information and scan for threats.

Tony looked down at them for a second before making up his mind. "Here why don't you have them."

"Really?!" Peter looked up at him as if he said he was giving him a spaceship.

Tony placed them on Peter's head. At first they were way too big but then the nanobots got to work and shrunk enough to fit his head.

Peter gasped and reached up to hold them "Whoa."

"You'll have to take care of them. They're one of a kind kid." He said.

They would be able to inform Tony if Peter was ever in any danger.

"I will, I will! I'll take such good care of them. Thank you so much Mr. Stark,"

When they eventually left, Tony finally allowed the tears to fall.

The next chapter should be the start of Avengers 1