I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who passed on condolences about my cat, Luna. It really meant a lot, so thank you for all your comments! Luna was very special to me as she was my first pet, and her loss still hurts us, especially considering how unexpected it was and how quickly, and as she was so young... :(
I'm still trying to get back into the groove of writing again and I am back at work though events last week may mean my job role will have to change, so goodness knows what will be happening.
Please, enjoy this chapter!
Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man 2
Two
The screen panned across the ocean, heading towards Tony's mansion as the words 'MALIBU, CALIFORNIA' appeared onscreen.
Sam smiled. "That view will never get old. Such a lovely view to wake up to every day."
"You never said anything before in the previous movie…" noted Tony.
Sam shrugged. "I was going to but Clint decided to have a go at you when he himself has all that land for his farm. Completely secluded from everyone else. I wasn't sure my opinion would have been welcome after it."
Clint glared at Sam for his comment.
Tony sighed. "Shame, it was a nice view to wake up to. Pity the mansion is gone now."
Sam shoulders sunk. "What happened to it?"
Tony winced. "It got blown up…" he admitted cautiously. "It was in all the press over Christmas a few years back… surely you saw it?"
"It's a tradition in my family to avoid all the news for the Christmas period. Complete media blackout," answered Sam.
"Huh." Tony found it surprising and interesting, considering the traditions of others. "I'd be surprised if it wasn't covered in these movies. If it isn't, I'll tell you about it when this is all over."
Tony sat at his desk in his lab, rock music playing, as he told everyone to wake up as Daddy was home.
"Do you consider your creations… your children?" Wanda asked curiously.
Tony nodded. "I do. Especially my A.I's and DUM-E and YOU. Though DUM-E and YOU do not have the same level of intelligence as JARVIS did or FRIDAY, they are capable of thinking for themselves in a limited capacity. They're still conscious of their surroundings, still aware and can make decisions themselves." He considered an example. "Oh, like you saw in the previous movie. DUM-E knew I needed help to reach the Arc Reactor. I didn't ask him for help, he just did it. He recognised my need."
Wanda tilted her head to the side. "They're alive but not alive but can make decisions?"
"Exactly. JARVIS was the most advanced A.I I had. He was always learning." Tony glanced at Vision. "JARVIS is still learning now as part of Vision. And Vision is learning from JARVIS... even though JARVIS is gone. Who and what he was is gone. Even if I could recreate him, he wouldn't be the same as the one I lost. FRIDAY can never replace JARVIS. But they are capable of increasing their understanding. They would never turn against me. It's not in their programming."
"But Ultron did," pointed out Steve cautiously.
"There were other mitigating factors in Ultron's creation," admitted Tony quietly. "Most of which were out of my hands. There is a lot you do not know about it, and I've shielded you from it so I take the blame."
Wanda looked uncomfortable.
"You'll find out. And, maybe you won't judge me so harshly anymore," sighed Tony, though not really having much hope for it. He really doubted their opinion would change. He just had to get through this.
JARVIS was the first to respond. "Welcome home, sir. Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir."
"Does anyone else find it weird JARVIS used to watch those videos of Tony without his clothes on?" asked Sam, feeling a bit uneasy.
"JARVIS wasn't really watching them…" laughed Tony. "He was always set to monitor anything to do with me on the internet. That way he could shut it down if it needed to be. JARVIS had his own personality that gelled and clashed with mine. He didn't look for those videos intentionally. It was all part of his programming. Anything flagged up on system as soon as the words 'Tony' and/or 'Stark' were mentioned or appeared."
"His job was to make Tony aware of everything going on around him," explained Rhodey. "Not that Tony took much notice. JARVIS used to get very frustrated with him but he couldn't do anything about it."
Vision cocked his head to the side slightly. "Perhaps this explains why I am very patient when it comes to Mr. Stark? I rarely get angry with him – or others – instead I consider the logic in everything I come across and come to reasonable conclusions based on all available evidence."
"Or the JARVIS part of you has just given up on trying to dissuade Stark from anything," mocked Clint. "And you can't really be bothered to try to change his opinion as you know it is useless rather than trying to understand him. You may believe you understand him, but you don't."
Tony felt a little bit of anger rise up inside his chest and bit his tongue, trying not to rise to the comments.
"I think I know more about Mr. Stark than you do, Mr. Barton," stated Vision. "I would suggest refraining from commenting on how I analyse things or of how I understand them."
Clint opened his mouth to respond but Steve's level glare caused him to rethink his response and he fell silent.
Tony chuckled as the aforementioned video appeared on his hologram display.
One of the robots, You, was trying to make a smoothie, without a blender lid, making a mess as it covered the walls and tabletop before You knocked the blender over.
Tony threatened to dismantle him and soak his motherboard before turning You into a wine rack.
You looked down sadly.
"You never meant that did you?" queried Bucky.
"I didn't. I could never destroy my creations," stated Tony. "To take away their life would make me a murderer."
"You have killed though," pointed out Natasha.
Tony sighed. "I have, but I haven't gone out and intentionally murdered people, have I?"
They exchanged glances with one another as Tony leaned forward to see their expressions. Clint didn't look too impressed but his lack of comeback suggested he could not think of a time when Tony had intentionally killed before.
Steve shifted in his seat. "Sometimes people die because of our actions. We try to save as many as we can. Not everyone makes it out alive. Failing to save people or killing in battle doesn't make us murderers. It never has."
"If anyone here is a proper murderer, it's me," answered Bucky quietly. "I killed people. People who had no chance to defend themselves."
"Bucky…" Steve started but the Winter Soldier shouted over him.
"Don't try to defend me! It doesn't matter if I was mind-controlled, I knew no different! I still did those things! I still participated in it! Why can't you understand it, Steve?" Bucky shook his head, hardly daring to believe the stubborn belief Steve continued to hold.
Steve's lips twitched. "It wasn't you…"
"Yes, it was. They wiped who I was, rewrote me. Yes, they used words to trigger the Winter Soldier but crucially it was still me who did all of those things. Being controlled and brain-washed doesn't change the fact that my hands killed people. I may have been a victim, Steve, but I am a murderer. No matter which way you look at it, it doesn't change the fact I am a murderer," said Bucky.
"That isn't fair on you. You shouldn't be blamed for HYDRA using you the way they did," argued Steve, trying to reason with his friend.
"I murdered people I knew, Steve."
Tony swallowed. The video of his parent's murder flitted through his mind. A part of him wanted to stop this conversation from continuing, but another part was intrigued as to the outcome.
"It still wasn't you," beseeched Steve.
"I remember every person I killed, Steve. I remember their names, their faces, and the utter terror on their faces as I killed them. I can still feel my hand wrapping around her throat, choking the life out of her."
Tony paled. Was Barnes talking about his mother?
"Buck…" Steve looked upset.
"You wouldn't be held accountable for the murders though," interrupted Sam. "You have no accountability. Legally, you are not a murderer because you were being controlled. You believe you are a murderer but you're not."
Bucky sighed and held up his hands. "It doesn't change the truth that these hands killed people."
Tony felt he needed to step in. He leaned forward. "You may have killed people, but you did not willingly do it. They had to mind-wipe you every time to ensure your compliance. Sam is right. You have no accountability towards the people you killed. Their murderers are the people who ordered you to do it in the first place. You were a victim who was horrifically used." He'd had a long time to think after Siberia. What he'd hated was Steve keeping things from him and not telling him. If he'd known Bucky had killed his parents as the Winter Soldier prior to Siberia, he wouldn't have reacted as badly as he had done.
The shock of seeing his parents be murdered instead of dying in a car crash was horrific. He hadn't expected it. Though his actions were wrong and he shouldn't have attacked Bucky, when a human being experiences something as traumatic as that, all reasoning goes out the window. Tony hadn't cared Barnes had been mind-controlled due to the horror of what he had been forced to witness and the knowledge that Rogers had kept it from him.
Yes, he'd kept the secret to protect Tony but it had also been kept to protect Bucky from Tony.
"Do you really believe that Tony?" asked Steve cautiously. "That Bucky has no accountability?"
Tony could see where this was going and he wasn't in the mood for it. "Yes."
"Then why –"
"Stop it, Steve," hissed Bucky. "I can understand why. And so should you!"
Steve fumed but relented.
"We're definitely missing something," commented Bruce. "Care to enlighten us?"
Tony shook his head. "You'll find out," he replied, keeping a stern eye on Steve.
The others looked uncomfortable around the room but chose not to enquire further as the movie resumed.
Tony asked JARVIS how many ounces a day of the smoothies did he need to drink, and the AI explained he needed to consume up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms. Tony drank a glassful of green liquid before pulling out the STARK Medical Scanner and checking his palladium levels again by pressing his thumb to the scanner, allowing a needle to pierce his skin and draw blood.
"Blood toxicity, 24%," reported JARVIS. "It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition." Looking at the scans of his chest Arc Reactor, it clearly showed deterioration around where the Reactor sat. "Another core has been depleted."
Bruce winced. "That looks painful. Using the Arc Reactor is killing you. How quickly were you using the cores up?"
"Within a few days…" admitted Tony. "I had a supply to be used. There was no other alternative. Believe me, I tried everything to find a suitable replacement."
Wanda frowned. "You must have found a replacement though… otherwise you wouldn't be here."
Tony nodded. "At the time I hadn't found a suitable replacement, and I'd been looking. I did find one which reversed the problem I had."
Natasha smiled slightly, remembering her time with Tony during this crisis.
Tony lifted his shirt up and removed the Arc Reactor. He turned it over and the core popped out, rusted and slightly smoking. "God, they're running out quick."
"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core," commented JARVIS.
Tony has a case of new palladium cores. The core itself is silver and Tony picked up the next one in the case and inserted it into the Reactor before placing it back inside his chest.
"You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you," observed JARVIS from the data available.
"I was very concerned about Mr. Stark," commented Vision. "I recall feeling hopeless, unable to help my creator in his time of need. I had always been able to help him before…"
Wanda squeezed his hand. "But you couldn't then."
"No. Though the idea of caring for someone is foreign to me, I am learning. JARVIS's matrix is within me and his care and concern for Mr. Stark has formed a part of who I am. I think… even now… if something was to happen to him…" Vision hesitated, "I'd still care for him and miss him."
Tony listened quietly, his heart, warming ever so slightly. "Thanks."
Tony was worried and he lifted his shirt up to examine his chest on camera, taking note of the blue-veined lines extending from the Arc Reactor and out onto the surface of his chest.
Sam cringed. "That doesn't look pretty."
"It wasn't. I was very uncomfortable with it," sighed Tony. "If there had been another way to save my life without the Arc Reactor, I would have done."
"But you do not rely on it anymore," pointed out Steve.
"Only because the technology came along which facilitated its removal," explained Tony quietly. "Before it, any such operation could have been fatal, not a risk I was willing to take."
"What made it possible?" queried Wanda.
Tony glanced at her. "I thought you may already know…"
Wanda was confused by Tony's statement. "How would I know?"
"I just reasoned that since you hated me, you would have found out as much as you could about me. Was I wrong?"
Wanda bit her lower lip. "No… you weren't. I did find out information about you but the Arc Reactor wasn't something I considered," she admitted.
Tony held his chin. "Though it wasn't very well publicised, it was picked up on that I went to hospital and had surgery." He glanced at the others. "I did try to hide the existence of the Arc Reactor, at least for a while. But by the time the team formed, it was an open secret." The Arc Reactor powering Stark Tower had only been possible because of Tony's insistence on how powerful the new element he had discovered was. He had patented it and held the formula to the element until he saw a time, he felt the world could have it. It had meant the world had become more aware of the Arc Reactor physically in his chest. But Tony had still kept it close to him.
He hung his head, wondering what to say. "I think you'll find out what made it possible for me to have the Arc Reactor removed," said Tony. He cast a glance at Bruce who looked away. "Though one person here should already know it."
"And me," Rhodey raised a hand. "But I'm not included in that number as its obvious I know pretty much everything about Tony Stark."
"Apart from when I didn't want anyone to know things…" grinned Tony.
"Which is all the time, Stark," stated Steve.
Tony folded his arms across his chest. "Really?"
"Ultron," the Captain pointed out.
"Do you not remember me asking Thor if it was alright to run some tests on the sceptre?" reasoned Tony. "And, yes," he raised a hand, "I did bring Bruce in, but we never created anything!"
"But you did something right though," replied Steve stonily. "You tried to create something."
"I tried but I didn't succeed. The data gathered supports this, repeated Tony. "And, you'll see."
Steve observed him carefully. "This isn't going to go your way, Tony. Better to admit it now so that when it is proven you bought Ultron to life; we can still forgive you."
Tony's mouth hung open. "Unbelievable…! You'll be lucky if the world ever forgives you!"
"The world knows I am right on the Accords. They just can't see it yet," stated Steve.
Sam shook his head. "Steve… drop it!"
"STOP IT!" yelled Wanda, standing from her seat, and placing herself directly in front of them all. "If anyone is going to take the blame for Ultron it should be me!"
"Wanda-" began Steve, but she cut him off.
"NO! I let Stark take the blame for Ultron before. His creation is more on me than Stark." She stood firmly, her eyes flashing. "All of this division is because of my choices. I blamed him for things he had no control over. It's time for me to stop running and stand up for my actions…" She swallowed, catching Steve in the eye. "And, its time you should too."
Steve was stung, surprised by the venom in Wanda's words.
"What do you mean Ultron's creation should be more on you?" asked Thor, watching her suspiciously.
"Wanda…" Tony said gently, "don't."
She looked at him. "Why not? They'll find out anyway!"
"Find out what?" Sam wanted to know.
"Remember when the Hulk was let loose in Johannesburg?" Bruce intervened quietly. "It was Wanda's manipulations that did it. We all believed Tony hadn't been affected by Wanda's magic…"
"But you were…" breathed Clint, realisation showing across his face.
"When?" asked Steve quietly, a little shame creeping into his cheeks.
Tony sighed. The secret was out. He didn't want to say. He knew they were going to likely see what he saw anyway…
"Sokovia," answered Wanda. "When he found the sceptre, I was there. I was going to kill him… That's what I always wanted to do… but when Tony was there, mere feet from me, I knew I could do something so much worse to him. I showed him his worst fear. It was what I showed him… made him rethink the idea of Ultron. If I hadn't touched his mind…" She couldn't finish.
"…I probably would have left the sceptre alone," admitted Tony. "And wouldn't have considered the abandoned idea that was Ultron… Ultimately, I still pursued the idea of Ultron… but it was a project I had deemed unable to finish and had abandoned it. Then the vision I saw and the idea of Ultron became possible with the sceptre. But I never reached a successful interface. What happened was a fluke, and had nothing to do with me."
"If anything, it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't meddled with his brain," admitted Wanda. "I regret it… I really do. This division among the team is my fault."
"Wanda…" Steve said sadly, but Wanda shook her head, not wanting him to attempt to change her mind.
"What did you see, Tony?" asked Sam quietly, watching the Inventor cautiously.
Tony chewed his lower lip. "Nothing that I wish to divulge now. It's better you see it for yourselves. And you will, in about two or three movies."
He resolutely returned his attention to the screen.
The others did too, knowing Tony would only divulge when he wanted to. They couldn't push him, even if they wanted to.
"Miss Potts is approaching. I recommend that you inform her…"
Tony cut JARVIS off, dropping his shirt back down, and ordered his A.I to be muted. He switched the computers to a screen saver as Pepper input a code to his lab door and opened it, approaching him on her impossibly high, high-heels.
Rhodey turned to Tony. "Why did you not tell Pepper?"
"To protect her, I didn't want her to worry if she knew I was dying," answered Tony.
"Miss. Potts always worried about you, Mr. Stark," added Vision. "Even during your break."
"There is no way you could possibly know that," stated Tony.
"Miss. Potts used to contact me and ask how you were doing. I told her the truth," explained Vision.
Surprise flickered across Tony's face. "And the truth was…?" he prompted.
"That you were sad."
"Oh." Tony hadn't been expecting that answer. It was rather accurate. He had been sad. And he had suffered depression with Pepper leaving, and he'd tried to get on with it, hoping that if he showed he was trying to change she might come back.
Pepper had, though it had been because of what had occurred in Siberia, but it had been the incident which had got them talking again, and they had decided to get back together.
Tony wasn't sure he could live long without Pepper in his life. She was his anchor, the person whom made him happy. He loved her. The most accurate description he could think of how their relationship had helped him, was that she had kept him sane.
He had a lot to be grateful for with Pepper.
I just hope I do not screw it up again.
Tony drank more of the smoothie as Pepper approached. She was angry and upset.
"Is this a joke? What are you thinking?"
Tony didn't know what she was referring to. "What?"
"What are you thinking?" she demanded.
"Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy. And you're angry about something. Do you have the sniffles? I don't want to get sick." Tony got up from his chair and walked away from his desk as Pepper followed. It was clear she had the sniffles.
Steve frowned. "That was rude, Tony."
"It was. If it helps, I apologised to her later on. Bear in mind I knew I was dying and I had a few things I wanted to get done before I died. Getting pneumonia from a cold before I could finish everything wouldn't have been a good way to die," pointed out Tony.
"But dying from palladium poisoning was better?" Rhodey reasoned, raising his eyes in concern.
Tony pulled a face. He'd rather not have either.
"Did you just donate…"
He kept interrupting her. "Keep your business."
Pepper didn't relent. "…our entire modern art collection to the…
"Boy Scouts of America," finished Tony.
"Boy Scouts of America?" Surprise crossed Pepper's face.
"That was the art collection she spent years curating for you," pointed out Sam. "It may be your collection but it was just as much hers as it was ours after all the time, she spent on it."
Tony winced. His motivation behind donating the artwork had been ensuring that there wouldn't have been a lot for Pepper to sort out upon his death. He hadn't considered how fond she may have been of the art collection. "That was… sucky of me to that behind her back." Admission didn't come easy.
As Tony walked away from her, he pulled something from the holograms in the air, scrunched it up into a ball, and then threw it across the room into a goal, a score flashing up it hit the recycle bin. "Yes. It is a worthwhile organisation. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it's not "our" collection, it's my collection. No offence." Tony continued to move holograms out the way and then grabbed a large piece and threw it towards the back of the room.
Natasha shook her head. "You really can be conceited."
Tony didn't have anything to argue back with. They were all right. His behaviour here had been… uncool.
Pepper followed, not letting Tony distract her. "No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say "our" collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that."
"No offence, Tones, but I'm glad she's standing up to you," said Rhodey. "Don't push us out of your life next time just because you are dying."
Tony wasn't sure he couldn't promise that.
Tony defended his actions. "It was a tax write-off. I needed that."
Pepper was losing patience. "You know, there are only about 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about."
Tony tapped Dummy on the top, telling him to stop spacing out as another machine was already doing the work.
"The Expo is a gigantic waste of time," said Pepper.
"In retrospect it was," frowned Tony. "The idea behind it was good but the execution… left a lot to be desired."
"You still own me a car, by the way," said Rhodey.
"You got the suit instead," commented Tony, grinning.
Tony placed his hands on her upper arms. "I need you to wear a surgical mask until you're feeling better. Is that okay?"
Pepper coughed. "That's rude."
Steve sighed.
Clint scratched the back of his head. "I really don't get why she didn't just leave? You treat her… horribly! You claim you love her but that isn't how you treat people who you love!"
Tony pursed his lips. "I know."
"Then why did you do it?" asked Sam.
Tony sighed. "I wanted to push her away, so she wouldn't hurt when I died. She'd be safer that way."
Sam shook his head. "Pushing her away wouldn't have stopped the hurt. She would have felt guilty she hadn't pushed further to get you to open up. You wanted to make sure she didn't feel pain? You were going the wrong way about it. You cannot stop other people from feeling pain over your death, no matter how hard you try to push them away before it happens."
Tony nodded. "Are you a counsellor? You come across like one…" He hadn't really looked too deeply into Sam's past.
"I helped veterans with their PTSD," explained Sam.
Tony was surprised. He wondered if that was the reason why Sam was able to empathise with him.
"You and I should have a talk," suggested Sam, "after this is all over. Don't get me wrong, but you are displaying all the signs of PTSD. It might help you to talk to someone like me."
Tony didn't have the heart to deny it. He knew it was true. He smiled warmly at the former para-rescue soldier. "Thanks."
Sam inclined his head. They would discuss details later.
Tony walked off. "There's nothing more important to me than the Expo. It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're…"
Pepper begged to differ. "The Expo is your ego gone crazy."
"From what I can see," said Bruce, "it is. But you wanted to go out with a bang…"
Tony paused and picked up a painting of Iron Man, proclaiming it to be a piece of modern art and he was going to put it on the wall. The painting showed the suit, half in red and the other half in blue.
"You've got to be kidding," disagreed Pepper, shaking her head.
Tony stated he was going to put the painting up right now as it was vital.
Rhodey groaned. "I honestly cannot believe you two are arguing over that…"
Tony wilted in his chair.
Pepper followed him as he walked to the other end of the lab. She was attempting to emphasise the point that Stark Industries was in complete disarray and hoped Tony understood that.
"No. Our stocks have never been higher," disagreed Tony.
"Yes, from a managerial standpoint," she attempted to help him understand. She was prepared to give him another example however he pushed to move onto another subject.
Clint sighed. "You weren't interested at all…"
Steve sniffed. "A bit disrespectful. Your whole stance here, Tony, doesn't sit well with me."
Watching it back, Tony could see what an arse he had been. Even though he had been dying, it wasn't an excuse to simply not care about the other important things going on in his life.
Tony reached the corner of the lab where the small kitchen area was. He climbed up onto the kitchen units, taking down an artwork of the Barnett Newman as Pepper protested behind him. She didn't want him to take it down. He reiterated he wasn't taking it down, merely replacing it with the Iron Man portrait.
Pepper pressed ahead with her point. "My point is, we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people."
"Yeah. Don't say "wind farm." I'm already feeling gassy." Tony waved away her protests.
Pepper continued to hammer him with facts. "And to the plastic plantation tree, which was your idea by the way. Those people are on payroll…"
"Everything was my idea," stated Tony.
Pepper bristled, "…and you won't make a decision."
"Can I ask you something?" piped up Wanda quietly.
Tony shifted in his seat. "Sure."
"Did you care about your company at this point? Everything I've seen here… It's like you've reverted back to your old ways. Evert bit of progress you've made has gone out the window."
"I knew what I was doing," he admitted, "but I wasn't very good at communicating it across. I was dying. The future of Stark Industries didn't bother me. I knew it was going to the right hands."
Sam gasped. "This is when you gave her CEO, isn't it?"
Tony nodded. "Yep. She'd been doing the role for years without getting the money for it. She was the best candidate for the job. She knew S.I in and out. There was no other contender who could do it better than her." He glanced at Wanda. "I guess you are going off me a bit?"
She shrugged her shoulders, her brown hair falling across her face. "A bit… but I do understand why you are doing what you are. You're trying to protect those who care for you, even if you are going the wrong way about it."
"As I said earlier… these events were not my finest moments," cringed Tony. "Please, keep an open mind."
Wanda nodded.
Tony stood facing her on the worktop. "I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert." He jumped off the desk. "You do it."
Pepper was baffled. "I do what?"
Tony looked like he'd just had an epiphany. "Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company."
Pepper agreed she was trying to run the company, completely missing Tony's point.
Sam smirked. "You need to be more on point for her to understand what you are trying to do."
"Pepper, I need you to run the company. Well, stop trying to do it and do it."
"Again, rude," stated Steve.
She was getting exasperated. "You will not give me the information…"
They were talking over one another, not getting each other's points. They both accused one another of not listening to each other.
Tony spoke louder. "I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?"
Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Finally, he says it! You could have just started with that, you know."
"I did try…" Tony pointed out. "I told her 'to do it'."
"That isn't the same as trying to make someone CEO though," Natasha reasoned. "You were giving your duties to her. That's how it came across. Not that you were trying to make her CEO."
"I've never been succinct in what I say, you know that."
"True," sighed Nat.
Startled, Pepper startled, looking a bit shocked, then leaned forward and scrutinised Tony. "Have you been drinking?"
Tony nodded. "Chlorophyll." He stepped forward and placed his hands on her arms. "I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay?" He walked away from her.
Steve peered curiously at Tony. "How long did you know you were going to ask Pepper?"
"A few weeks. I wanted to hold off until after the Expo had opened, otherwise, Pepper would have shut it down. I wanted the Expo to go ahead."
Rhodey frowned. "I don't believe she would have shut it down. It was a waste of money but too much work had gone into it, to end it completely. Maybe not make it a year long expo though. It still would have gone ahead, maybe with a shorter duration."
Tony had to admit his friend was probably right.
Pepper was shocked and didn't know what to say.
DUM-E rolled over holding a tray with glasses and champagne. Tony reached for them, pouring the drink into the glasses. "I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not. Doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realised it's you. It's always been you."
Pepper sat down, shocked and confused.
"One minute she's yelling at you, the next she's shocked and confused," grinned Bruce. "Do you surprise her a lot?"
"At least once a day."
Tony continued to explain his thought processes. "I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you." He handed her a glass but she didn't take it. "Congratulations? Take it, just take it."
Pepper was shaking her head, a happy and surprised expression on her face. "I don't know what to think." She took the glass from him.
They tapped glasses and drank to Pepper's promotion as she laughed in disbelief.
"It was about time Pepper received the credit for all her hard work," noted Tony. "Not sure what I would have done if she had refused the position. There was no one else I could trust with S.I. If I'd died without a successor in place…" He didn't want to think of the ramifications of such an event.
"SHIELD would have stopped S.I falling into the wrong hands," said Natasha. "We'd been monitoring you for a while. We had someone we could have brought in."
"Not HYDRA?" queried Tony.
"Surprisingly, not. Our candidate wasn't. But they could have been manipulated into working for HYDRA unknowingly, as a lot of us were," revealed Natasha.
In a snowy alleyway in Russia, a man handed Ivan Vanko a letter. Once the man was gone, Vanko retreated further into the darkness and opened the letter. It contained a fake passport and a ticket for the Grand Prix De Monaco Historique.
Tony frowned. So, that was how Vanko had been at the race. He'd always planned on being there. Tony racing had been the icing on the cake.
"Why would he need a ticket for the Grand Prix?" asked Clint.
Tony and Natasha exchanged a glance.
Pepper walked into Tony's gym where he was boxing with Happy in the ring. Pepper informed him the transfer paperwork had arrived with the Notary. Tony pulled an unorthodox move on Happy, hitting him in the face with his elbow and apologised. Happy wanted to know what that move was. Tony explained it was mixed martial arts and had only been around for three weeks. Happy proclaimed it was dirty boxing and there was nothing new about it.
Steve didn't look happy. "Cheating?"
Tony shrugged. "Dirty tactics."
The Notary walks in. It is Natasha. Her hair is dark red, curling just past her shoulders and she wore a white shirt and black skirt with high heels to extenuate her height. Both Happy and Tony take notice of her.
Steve's head whips around. "What? Nat? You worked for Stark?"
"On Fury's instructions," she admitted.
"Why?" Wanda glanced at her.
"There are several reasons," she explained. "We had to get close to him. SHIELD had a suspicion something was wrong with him. We had to find out what."
Pepper promised Tony this would be the only time she would ask him to sign over his company.
Natasha approached Pepper, opened the folder, and showed the documents she needed Pepper to initial.
Happy hit Tony on the back of the head with a light punch. "Lesson one. Never take your eye off…" He was cut off as Tony kicked him, sending him back to the edge of the boxing ring. Happy declared he was done and Tony grabbed a water bottle and pointed at Natasha.
"What's your name, lady?"
Steve sighed. "I'm not even going to comment on how your ability to talk to women doesn't include being polite."
Tony leaned back. "You said you weren't going to comment but then you did make a comment…"
"He's got you there, Steve," grinned Bucky.
Natasha gave a fake name. "Rushman. Natalie Rushman."
Tony invited her to come into the ring. Pepper couldn't believe Tony was asking Natasha to do that.
Clint smirked. "Bad move." He knew exactly what Natasha was capable of.
"It's not a problem," reassured Natasha.
As Natasha walked to the ring, Pepper apologised to her. "I'm sorry. He's very eccentric."
"Crazy more like…" muttered Rhodey underneath his breath.
Natasha entered the ring, a sultry look on her face as Tony took a swig from the bottle. He asked Happy to give her a lesson and climbed out of the ring and went towards Pepper who was sitting down on a white chair, big enough for two people.
"Pepper."
"What?" she asked.
He sat next to her. "Who is she?"
"Ew." Steve shuddered. "Tell me you didn't –"
Natasha raised a hand to stop him from going any further. "No, I didn't. Tony and I did not sleep together. Though I will admit, if he had wanted to sleep with me, part of my mission was to let him."
"Wait… what?" Shock spread across Tony's face.
"I even tried to seduce you."
"You did?" Tony couldn't recall.
"When you asked me about your birthday party. I said to you…"
He remembered. "Oh."
"And you turned me down."
Steve let out a long sigh of relief.
"She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that." Pepper played with her phone.
"I wouldn't have sued…" grinned Natasha.
Tony folded his arms across his chest. "I need a new assistant, boss."
"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates. They're lined up and ready to meet you."
"None of whom he is interested in, now he's seen Natasha," commented Rhodey. "That's how Tony worked. If he needed a spot filled in his team, if he saw a beautiful woman, he wouldn't settle for anyone else."
"Tony's interest in me becoming his P.A was part of the plan to get close to him," said Natasha. "We knew he wouldn't have been able to resist once he saw me."
Tony winced. "I'm not sure if I should feel pleased or not…"
Tony said he didn't have to meet them, and he needed someone now and he felt like it was her. Pepper disagreed, with a smile on her face, enjoying the power she now had over Tony.
"I like the fact she has the means to control you," commented Rhodey. "And, you can't do anything about it."
In the ring, Happy asked Natasha if she had boxed before. Natasha said she had. Happy tried to gauge from her what she had tried before. Watching from beside Pepper, Tony clapped his hands and the table next to him lit up. He started a search.
"How do I spell your name, Natalie?"
Natasha glanced over at him, spelling her surname.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "What, are you gonna google her now?"
"I googled everyone," admitted Tony. "Always good to know the history of anyone coming into close contact with me. I was rather impressed with your profile. A shame it was fabricated by SHIELD."
"Most of it was true," said Natasha. "It was made of previous assignments I had carried out with SHIELD. It was a good cover to get me into businesses when I needed to."
Tony brought up Natalie Rushman's file on the table. "I thought I was ogling her." He skimmed through her file. He was very impressed, prompting Pepper to tell him he was very predictable. Tony continued, noting with interesting Natalie Rushman was fluent in French, Italian, Russian and Latin. He wanted to know who spoke Latin, in which Pepper responded no one did, and that it was a dead language. One could read Latin or write it, but you couldn't speak it. He found modelling shots of Natalie in scantily clad clothing and enlarged them. "Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cause she modelled in Tokyo." He faced Pepper. "I need her. She's got everything I need."
"Were you interested just because of those photos?" queried Steve.
"Yes…" Tony felt ashamed. "I was a playboy. It was part of who I am."
Natasha was overhearing the conversation, not observing Happy who told her that rule number one was to never take your eyes off your opponent. He went to take a swing, but Natasha was faster, grabbing his hand, flipping her legs over his head and bringing Happy down into the ring.
Clint winced.
Thor bellowed.
"Poor Happy," Rhodey laughed.
"Would have paid good money to have that have been Stark," stated Clint.
Natasha caught Clint's eye and frowned at him. He mouthed 'sorry' to her, but did not verbalise his apology.
Pepper leapt up in shock. "Oh, my god! Happy!"
Tony rushed over as Natasha released Happy from her grip and they both got to their feet. "That's what I'm talking about."
Happy claimed he had just slipped. Tony didn't believe him. He commented it was a TKO and rang the bell as Natasha left the ring.
Natasha stood in front of Tony. "I need your impression."
Tony wasn't sure by what she meant. "You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul."
Tony hung his head. "I really should have known what you meant there."
"I used specific words to assess you. Your responses helped me form the report I was writing," explained Natasha. "Though, in hindsight… I should have been fairer to you. You were going through a lot… and assessing you for the Avenger's Initiative wasn't the right time. I didn't see who you had become."
Natasha corrected him. "I meant your fingerprint." She opened up the file.
Tony swallowed. "Right." He pulled the boxing glove off and pressed his thumb to the box, signing over his company to Pepper.
The new CEO approached them, wanting to know how they were doing.
Tony explained they were just wrapping up and Pepper was now the boss. She smiled widely.
Natasha closed the file. "Will that be all, Mr Stark?"
"Did you do that deliberately because you knew Pepper said that phrase to him?" asked Bucky.
Natasha winced. "Maybe a bit… but it was etiquette too when working as a PA."
Tony said no just as Pepper said: "Yes, that will be all, Ms Rushman. Thank you very much."
As Natasha left, Tony turned to Pepper and told her: "I want one."
Natasha leaned forward. "You can't have me."
"But I did have you as my P.A." Tony pointed out.
"Not for long though. I was never really yours; you know that now, Stark," smiled Natasha.
He looked a bit put-out when Pepper didn't agree with him.
"I swear Pepper enjoyed torturing me," sighed Tony. "But she did agree to you becoming my P.A in the end."
"Only because I put myself forward," explained Natasha. "Once I spoke to Fury, he instructed me to push for the position. Pepper agreed, though reluctantly. I was the best candidate for the job."
"With your fake C.V…" Rhodey pointed out.
"All part of the job I was doing. Contrary to what people may believe, Fury didn't want Tony to die. Our job was to keep him alive." Natasha caught Tony's gaze. "You just made it very difficult for us."
Tony fell silent, musing for a bit before speaking again. "Sorry. I was out of control. If I was going to die, I wanted to enjoy the last few weeks of my life."
Natasha would have reached for Tony if she could have. "I think we all would have done if we were in the same position. I know I would have."
Gratification crossed Tony's face. "Thanks. Thanks for at least trying to understand."
"I think that is what we are here for, Tony, to understand you." What she didn't add out loud was the end of the sentence. And, maybe to save you. Because, deep down, Natasha had the feeling that they would witness Tony's death at the end of this, and that they were supposed to find a way to save him from his fate.
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
Tony views his bots and his A.I's as his children, and Vision, because he is made up of parts of JARVIS too, is still quite fond of Tony, even if he doesn't know how to show it.
Bucky's feelings about being a murderer... Even though he was a murderer of many people, he didn't do it willingly as he was brainwashed and controlled by HYDRA. That doesn't change Bucky's feelings on the subject though. He still feels immense guilt. It is implied in Civil War that he does remember his victims, so I've chosen to go with the idea Bucky is haunted by every murder he did. He also understands why Tony reacted the way he did in Siberia. Tony has had time to reflect on Siberia and has realised Bucky cannot be blamed for his parent's death. It's like Wanda blaming Tony for her parent's death. It wasn't him. Though Bucky did kill Tony's parents, he wasn't himself. The blame for that lies directly with HYDRA for controlling Bucky.
The other Avengers never knew Tony was affected by Wanda in Siberia at the start of AOU. It's never really mentioned in the movies if anyone does know, and I can see Tony keep this a secret from everyone else.
As to whether Ultron would have happened without Wanda's interference... My thoughts on this are that Ultron was an abandoned project. I know I've read that somewhere - Tony had already attempted it and failed - but the sceptre and the vision made him rethink Ultron and see if he could make it work. Personally, I feel Ultron would not have happened if Wanda hadn't forced Tony to see his worst fear. I think he would have analysed the sceptre, collected the data and that was it before handing it back to Thor. I think there is some belief that the Mind Stone inside the sceptre activated Ultron too, as it is said in AOU that Tony was nowhere near an interface so Ultron's activation was done by outside forces, for example, Thanos. I will cover this train of thought more when we reach Age of Ultron.
Sam and Tony are forming a bit of a friendship, and Sam will be helping Tony with his PTSD too.
Nat trying to seduce Tony... IM2 gave me the impression if the opportunity presented itself, she would have slept with him, especially after the way she told him before his party that if it was her last birthday, she'd do it with anyone she wanted to do it with. My take on that was this was a test for Tony as Natasha was assessing him, and part of her assaignment was to get close to him. Considering his history with sleeping with women, I think its realistic to assume if he wanted to have sex with her, Natasha would have obliged. I was hesitant about including this potential idea, but the more I think on it, the more I consider it likely Natasha would have been prepared for that possibility. A lot of the way she looked at Tony throughout the movie when I was rewatching it, certainly gave me that impression. Though, you may interpret it differently to me!
The next chapter should be posted next Sunday 4th October!
Until then,
the-writer1988