Hello all!
9582 words later this chapter is finished! Took me a while but we finally got there!
I may have to start shortening chapters as it is a struggle to write this much in one week but we'll see how I go. I may be able to keep this up.
Please do, enjoy this next chapter!
Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man 2
Seven
Tony is looking through the box. Within it are blueprints for the Arc Reactor, old newspaper articles about Anton Vanko and old video reels.
"Why would your father keep old articles about Anton Vanko?" queried Sam. "Seems a bit odd he would do that, especially for a guy who allegedly betrayed the United States."
Natasha interrupted to clarify the situation. "The articles were not from Howard Stark. They were from SHIELD. We added it to the box. We wanted to give you more information. Once Vanko was deported, Howard cut all ties with him. The only thing he truly kept was the old Arc Reactor designs. He couldn't exactly get rid of those."
Bucky frowned. "Considering HYDRA was operating within SHIELD, why didn't they just try to take all of Howard Stark's stuff? If Tony didn't have it… The few times I remember when Stark was being discussed they were interested in the Arc Reactor. Some of the times were after Afghanistan."
"It was hidden away in a very secure area of SHIELD," admitted Natasha. "Fury had spy holes that no one else knew of. It was kept in one of them. Not inputted into the system anywhere either so HYDRA could never find it."
"My father was always suspicious of people stealing his work," explained Tony. "It doesn't surprise me that he had contingencies in place to protect his legacy, and only select people had access to it."
Tony watched the old videos using an old projector, as he flicked through old notebooks, taking notes as he did so. Howard Stark appears on screen beside the model of the City of the Future.
"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust heath, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here. City of the Future? City of Tomorrow? City of… I'm Howard Stark and everything you'll need in the future can be found right here." Behind Howard, a little boy appears by the model city.
"Is that you, Stark?" asked Thor.
"Yep, that's me," sighed Tony. "That little boy right there, just being curious… Not really knowing what my father was doing. My father never liked me interfering. He wanted me to be perfect."
"It's impossible to be prefect," responded Sam. "Everyone has their faults. No parent should expect their child to be perfect or expect to live up to other people."
Tony nodded. "And that was the problem with mine. He was always going off on expeditions to search for Rogers." He briefly glanced at Steve. "Leaving mom and I alone. He didn't realise the affect it had on us… or if he did… he never cared. He just wanted to find Captain America. Kept comparing me to him for years. 'Why can't you be more like, Steve?', 'Steve wouldn't do that, why do you?'." Tony rolled his eyes, frustration leaking out into his voice. He hadn't meant to allow the frustration to leak into his voice.
"Did… Howard really say that to you?" asked Steve quietly.
Tony finally met his gaze, a hard expression on his face. "Yes. I was never good enough for him. You thought you knew him, but people change. The person I knew growing up wasn't the person you knew. The sooner you accept this, the quicker you'll understand why it is hard for me to look at you as a friend. The one person I was always compared with is now here, and my father isn't. I guarantee if he was, he'd still be comparing me to you."
Steve didn't know what to say. Howard had seemed such a nice man. Could he really have changed so much that he would put his son down the way Tony remembered he had? Bucky had told him to think things through before speaking, and he was trying to take a more cautious approach instead of saying things without thinking them through.
But he found it hard to believe Howard hadn't cared.
Steve recognised Tony was expecting him to fight back as he'd been doing throughout the movies so far but Steve chose to stay silent.
It was the best option at the moment, especially since the subject of Howard Stark was such a touchy subject.
"So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I would like to personally…" Howard turns back and sees a young Tony picking one of the buildings up off of the model. "Tony, what are you doing back there? What is that? Put that back. Put it back where you got it from. Where's your mother? Maria? Go on. Go, go, go, go." A man picks little Tony up and moves out of the camera's range. All right, I think we got…I'll… I'll… I'll come in and…"
Sam frowned. "I know times have changed and the way people parent children is different now, but why couldn't Howard Stark have taken you back to your mother? It may have made all the difference in showing he cared for you rather than allow others to bring you back."
"A good observation," commented Tony. "My father was never hands-on. The one man who did raise me was our butler, Jarvis. He was the one I really missed when he died. That's why my first A.I was named for him. I knew I could always rely on him, no matter what. JARVIS' loss and migration into Vision was… hard. I lost the one constant in my life who had been there for me during several difficult times of my life. I was suddenly without the person I could rely on most." Tony shifted in his seat. "JARVIS may not have been 'alive' like we are. But he was family. Just one part of a small amount of people I could consider family. And I lost both JARVIS's. The A.I JARVIS was can never be restored to what he was."
"And FRIDAY?" queried Wanda. "Can she not…"
Tony knew what she was asking. He shook his head. "No. In years to come she can reach the levels JARVIS was but it took decades for JARVIS to become what he was. FRIDAY can learn faster as she is designed differently to JARVIS." He bit his lower lip. "They're not comparable. They're unique in different ways. No A.I can ever be the same as its predecessor."
Wanda lowered her gaze. "I feel it is my fault you lost JARVIS. If I hadn't…"
Tony turned to face her. "I don't blame you for it, Wanda. You didn't know the truth then that you do now. I don't want you to feel guilty that I lost JARVIS."
"But if I hadn't…"
"Wanda… what do you mean?" asked Sam curiously.
The others didn't know she had manipulated Tony. He'd kept quiet about it, allowing her a second chance to change her life around. She knew the secret would come out during these movies at some point. Was there any reason to hide it any longer?
"I did something to Tony… Which ensured Ultron's existence," she admitted quietly. She couldn't meet the others gaze, fearful of their reactions to her admission.
Tony's response and defence of her surprised Wanda the most.
"It's in the past. Wanda and I have a complicated history. What's done is done. All we can do is learn and move on and come to a greater understanding of each other than we have done before."
Wanda's lips flickered slightly upwards. "You'll see. I'm sure you will."
Sam nodded, feeling a little cautious but if Tony was trying to move past it, then so should the others. Whether that would be the case when it came to view the Ultron incident would be another matter entirely.
The video flickered and the screen changed. Howard takes a drink and asks if they were waiting on him. The video changes again. This time Howard is unable to finish his sentence and attempts another video.
Clint tilted his head to the side. "It's like he doesn't know what to say. Keeps making mistakes."
Tony reached the end of the written pages of the notebook. The rest were blank pages. He threw the notebook aside and drank. His attention was only drawn back to the screen when Howard said his name.
Everyone sat up straighter, as if they could sense the significance of what was about to be said.
"Tony. You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you. And someday you'll realise that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation is you."
Tony looked emotional as the film ended.
"That is the nicest thing he has ever said, and he never said it to my face," sighed Tony. "I'm supposed to be the one thing he is most proud of creating… but he can't bring himself to tell me himself when he was alive. Always pushing me, always criticising my work. I can't even remember if he ever praised anything I created." He pointed to the screen. "And yet he says I am his greatest creation! Why not tell me? Why not give me confidence that I am doing something right and you are proud?"
"What was your father's upbringing like?" asked Bucky.
Tony grimaced. "He never really spoke about it. What I do know is very little."
"He was an intelligent man who couldn't utilise his technology the way he wanted to because of the era he lived in," Sam added. "He must have been frustrated by how little he could advance. It's in the last few decades technology has really taken off and become what it is now. If your father had been alive now…"
"Nothing would have held him back," agreed Tony. He could see their point. "My father's life… He had humble beginnings. My grandfather sold fruit and my grandmother sewed shirtwaists for a living. For my father to get to where he was it was a miracle. Back in those days going from poor to well-off was a rarity. But he stood apart from the others. He was a genius compared to his own parents. They didn't approve of his ambitions. I do not believe they lived long enough to see what he did… Maybe his own upbringing hindered his own ability to be a good father." Tony's shoulders slumped. "I can't forgive him for making me feel like I was a burden to him. One home video isn't going to change decades old feelings. Maybe it gives me a little boost, sure, but its not enough to redeem him in my eyes."
"Even if we tell you he was a good person?" asked Steve tentatively.
Shaking his head, the Inventor reaffirmed his words. "No. I never saw it for myself. Maybe he meant well but it doesn't change the fact I have never felt that he loved me."
"Decades worth of neglect is never easily healed or forgotten," explained Sam. "You were fortunate to know Howard Stark at his best. Tony wasn't. You can't keep pushing this, Steve."
Reluctantly, Steve nodded. "A part of me wishes Tony could have seen what I saw in Howard… I know he can't."
"We all see people differently," interjected Wanda. "Believe me, I know. I never saw Tony as a good person until today."
Tony let out an audible sigh. "I know you liked my father, Rogers. I know he was a friend. But I can't see past my own experiences with him. I would appreciate it if you could drop the assertion Howard Stark was a good father."
Steve knew he had to give something, especially if they were going to move on. "Ok. I will."
Tony inclined his head before turning back towards the screen.
Steve had a lot to consider.
The scene changed to Tony driving down a road in a car with the number plate of Stark11. He stopped to buy some strawberries, speaking in Spanish to the vendor. Tony admitted he didn't have any money on him and gave him his watch as payment. The man put the box of strawberries in the passenger seat, and then asked Tony if he was Iron Man. Tony responded that he was sometimes before driving off.
"You just paid for it with your watch." Bruce looked stunned. "I know you're a billionaire but that watch is worth thousands compared to a box of strawberries!"
"Did you just make him rich?" Clint asked.
"Honestly, at that point I was still convinced I was going to die. I was throwing away stuff to anyone. It didn't matter if it was someone selling strawberries at the road side. My motivation was to fix things with Pepper," explained Tony. "And to find my father's City of the Future model which had always been held at Stark Industries."
Rhodey grimaced. "The Key to the Future wasn't in the safest place it could have been…"
Sam agreed. "Definitely not. But if no one understood its true significance…"
"No one would want to steal it," finished Bucky.
Pepper sat at her desk on the phone talking to a lawyer whilst a news reporter spoke on the tv. She told them the seizure of the Iron Man suit by the army was illegal as it was trademark property. Her PA came into her office and told her Tony Stark was there and was refusing to leave. Tony slipped into the office. Pepper was still on the phone and he waited awkwardly for her to finish as he glanced around at what had once been his office.
Rhodey chuckled. "I like that she's redesigning the office according to her tastes. The mini-bar has long since been removed. It wasn't entirely appropriate for you to be drinking at work, Tony."
Tony shrugged. "I was allowed to get away with what I wanted. I became too accustomed to getting what I wanted without having to fight for it. My drinking days are long behind me now. Being with Pepper helped me have a better lifestyle."
"And the Arc Reactor too," intoned Rhodey.
"True," Tony acquiesced.
"Listen, it's our position that Stark has and continues to maintain propriety ownership of the Mark II platform." Pepper was adamant.
The news reporter continued to drawl on in the background. "When Mr Stark announced he was indeed Iron Man, he was making a promise to America."
Clint disagreed with that. "Was he? Watching that press conference a few hours ago showed us Stark got himself into a hole that he couldn't recover from. And, I think you wanted the attention it was going to bring you."
"Partially true," admitted Tony. "I didn't want to hide that I was Iron Man. I had created this new suit which was a game-changer and no one could know it was me? I wanted to use Iron Man for what it was designed for – to help others, no matter where they were in the world. I didn't make a promise to America. I made a promise to the world to protect it, even if it wasn't obvious at the time."
"When did you realise you wanted to protect the world?" asked Sam, curious as to how Tony had gone from wanting to stop terrorists from using his weapons to protecting the world.
"Unknowingly I did want to protect the world, even after Afghanistan," mused Tony, thinking hard. "But I think it really hit me after New York… I saw what was on the other side of that portal. I know what's coming. If anything, I promised myself I would do everything I could to prepare the Earth for the future and to protect it." He sighed. "I clearly fail."
"Why do you think that?" queried Bruce.
"Why else watch these movies if I fail to protect Earth? Clearly I screw up." Tony looked up at the ceiling as if daring the voice to correct him. It didn't. "You've been very quiet through this viewing so far, haven't you?"
I will only speak when I feel it is required. I cannot answer your question. You need to watch and see, the voice said. I may be silent for an entire movie and only speak at the end.
Tony grimaced. "Fair point." His lips twitched. "Everything I've done is to keep the Earth safe. I know it may not seem like it but its true."
Pepper disagreed with the lawyer on the other end of the phone. "No, the suit belongs to us."
The reporter commented in the background.
"Yeah, but you're not…" Pepper was beginning to get frustrated by her conversation.
"Who's she talking to?" asked Thor.
"Lawyers," confirmed Rhodey. "The suit I 'stole' was Stark Industries property. I technically didn't have a claim to it. They were trying to procure the suit back."
"They're people who fight for you, aren't they?" Thor clarified.
"Fight in a court of law, yes," nodded Rhodey.
"Earth has such strange customs. My father always judged crimes." Thor glanced at Bruce. "Though Asgard was smaller than here."
"People train for years to be lawyers," explained Bruce. "You really need to brush up on Earth's laws and customs if your people are going to settle here."
Tony leaned forward. "Wait. Settle here?"
"Would Earth mind?" Thor looked surprised.
"What happened to Asgard?" Steve looked worried. They knew Thor and Bruce had been brought back in time. Whatever had happened to them could not be changed but other events could be.
An anguished expression crossed Thor's face. "Asgard is gone."
"Gone as in destroyed?" swallowed Steve, his face pale. What had happened to Thor?
"Yes. Before we were brought here, we lost Asgard," explained Thor, his voice quiet. "We had no choice. It was the only way to save my people… We need a home. A place to live. Earth is all I know. The one place I could trust my people with."
"But its not happening for you all yet, is it?" pressed Bruce. "We've been pulled back in time for this. You have time to prepare for our arrival."
"I'm sorry we couldn't have helped with Asgard," apologised Steve. "We're all sorry for your loss."
There was a general murmur among the group, agreeing with Steve's sentiment.
"Asgard was never a place," explained Thor, "it was a people. Wherever we settle will be known as Asgard. It is the people who made Asgard for what it was, not the city itself."
Tony nodded, understanding the point of view Thor was trying to get across. "We'll do what we can to help. And, now we know you are coming, we can get arrangements in place so the transition is smooth." He was already thinking on who he needed to talk to get this done and fine a suitable home for Thor's people. "We'll have to talk logistics later but by the time you arrive here, everything will be in place."
Thor inclined his head. "Thank you. My people will be grateful for any help the Earth can provide."
The news reporter continued in the background, questioning what qualifications Virginia "Pepper" Potts had to be anointed as CEO of Stark Industries. Tony told the TV to mute, Pepper was still arguing on the phone with the lawyer.
Tony's eyes narrowed. "She has plenty of qualifications. Business degree, experience in all levels of a company, and she worked with me for over a decade, pretty much running the business for me. Of course, she knows what it takes to be a CEO!" He had hated the criticism levelled at Pepper following her ascent into the role.
Rhodey leaned in close to him. "I think what you've got to understand is that even though you knew she was right for the position; a lot of other people hadn't seen what you had. It was only right for them to question her experience."
"Point," acquiesced Tony.
"No… Burt… Burt… Burt, listen to me. Don't tell me that we have the best patent lawyers in the country and then not let me pursue this."
Tony glanced at the boxes in the corner. "I'll get this stuff out of here."
Pepper sighed. "Well, then, tell the President to sign an order. We'll talk about it at the Expo."
At the mention of the President, Steve's eyebrows rose. "You could do that? Get the President to sign of an order on whatever you wanted?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Not everything I wanted. Within reason. Ordering the return of equipment which had been stolen from me would be a reasonable request. Unfortunately, Pepper didn't know I had technically given Rhodey the suit. And, that was what the Air Force claimed had happened to the Stark Industries lawyers. I just didn't dispute it."
Shaking his head, the super soldier could hardly believe it. "You could get anything signed off if you wanted to. Preferential treatment."
"You really do not know how a business works do you?" mused Tony.
"I don't think I ever will," replied Steve. "You get special treatment."
"Fact number one: I don't. Being a businessman, I know when to make deals or accumulate favours or debts. This is common practice with a lot of big businesses. It wasn't just me. It's all part of running a company. Which leads me to Fact number two: we had it easy as a team before the Accords because of my contacts. It may come across as 'special treatment' to you but it was fair from that. A lot of people owed me for things and I held onto those debts for years. Pepper getting the President to sign an order for her? It's down to business. Anyone in a good position would do the same thing." Tony raised a hand, sensing Steve was about to bite back again. "And, you got special treatment all the time purely because you are 'Captain America'."
"No, I don't." Steve shook his head.
Tony laughed. Steve's naivety shouldn't be continuing to surprise him.
"Erm… Steve," whispered Bucky quietly, "you do get special treatment. You weren't even a proper Captain in the army and yet you were treated as one. You never achieved that rank in any way official. You got it because of these." He pinched Steve's biceps. "You were an experiment, a soldier designed to follow orders, not give them and lead others."
"Buck…" Steve was stunned. "That's not accurate…"
"It is actually. Wanna see the files on the Super-Soldier project, Rogers," stated Tony crustily, "you can have them. You were supposed to be a soldier who would follow orders but remain a good person. But you believe you have the right to do what you want when you want it. I used to think the same as you but I learned a hard lesson. Sometimes you have to go along with things you do not like just to get things done."
Steve shook his head. "I can't do that."
"Then you'll never be pardoned. You'll be a criminal for the rest of your life, unable to truly help those you've sworn to protect."
Steve wasn't having any of it. "No. We can always help."
"Not if you have Security Forces on your tail. You're always on the move. You do not have the intelligence that we have, or the resources to fully aid others in need," explained Rhodey. "Your approach isn't the best for the world."
"But…" Steve wanted to continue stating his case but Sam leaned across and minutely shook his head.
"Steve, if there is one thing that has taught me about our time on the run, is that everyone is against us. There are people who help us but how many of those have we actually met? How many times have we settled somewhere, expecting to remain safe and then the Security Forces turn up and we barely have time to escape?" Sam's shoulder's slumped. "If we want to help others, we need to go about it in the legal way Tony is doing. We may disagree fundamentally with the Accords. But… there has to be some good in them, otherwise Tony and Rhodey wouldn't be operating within them. They are still being sent to places. They're able to do everything we want to do but we can't because we didn't sign."
Steve couldn't respond, his eyes downcast.
Tony let out a deep breath. "I think if you gave the Accords a chance, Steve, you may find more to like about them then not."
"If I said I am willing to discuss it, would that be acceptable?" asked Steve.
Tony nodded. "It's all I ask."
"Ok," agreed Steve, "we'll discuss it later."
As if he had lost a battle, Steve resigned himself and glanced back at the screen as the movie resumed.
Tony pulled back a sheet covering a large object against a wall and found the same model he had seen in his father's video, the model he had come here to find.
"Hammer's giving some presentation tomorrow evening. Will Tony Stark be there?" Pepper glanced at Tony as he pulled up a chair.
"Will I?"
"No, he will not. Bye."
Rhodey chuckled. "She said you wouldn't be and you still showed up?"
Tony shrugged. "It was either stay at home and let Vanko win or try to fix all the mistakes I had made in recent days. I think I made the right decision."
"You did," agreed Rhodey.
"I would like to be. Got a minute?" he asked her.
"No." She didn't look happy to see him.
Clint cringed. "Rebuffed."
"Come on, you just got off the phone. You're fine. 30 seconds," he negotiated.
Pepper immediately started to count down. "Twenty-nine, twenty-eight."
"She's really not messing around," observed Wanda, surprised by Pepper's tactic. She glanced at Tony.
"I did make her first week of CEO hell. I cannot really blame her for not wanting to talk to me," sighed Tony.
Tony placed the box of strawberries on her desk. "I was just driving over here, and I thought I was coming to basically apologise, but I'm not."
Sam groaned. "Wrong thing to say."
"You'll see why I said that in a minute," pointed out Tony.
Pepper glared at him. "You didn't come here to apologise?"
"Look, that goes without saying, and I'm working on that. But I haven't been entirely upfront with you, and I just want to try to make good." There was a small silver statue that was going up and down in front of him which irritated him. "Can I move this? This is crazy. It's like a Ferris wheel, going. I'm trying to get some…"
"No."
Sam shook his head again. "You're not apologising because it 'goes without saying'? She's supposed to know you're sorry but not actually hear the words from you?"
"That's the sum of it, yeah," winced Tony, understanding his actions in this situation hadn't done him any favours.
"You made it worse by getting annoyed with the object on her desk," said Bruce. "Why not just move your chair?"
"I didn't think of that action straight away…" intoned Tony.
Tony moved his chair to the right so the device was not in his way. "Do you know how short life is? And if I never got to express… And by the way, this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don't care… I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to… Look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it."
Wanda's eyes widened as she realised what Tony was trying to say. "You're going to tell her you love her?"
"That was my intention," he admitted. "It didn't really work though. I wanted to tell her in case I failed. She didn't let me."
"Not a surprise," puffed Clint. "She's definitely pissed at you. I doubt she would have reciprocated if you had managed to tell her."
Tony couldn't deny the truth. If he had told Pepper he had loved her then it wouldn't have gone down well at all. It had been for the best he had not been able to say it. "I think she would have told me eventually."
"Let me stop you right here, okay? Because if you say "I" one more time, I'm gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think." Pepper leaned forward, a stern expression on her face. "I am trying to run a company. Do you have any idea what that entails?"
"Yes."
She continued to lecture him. "People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you've disappeared, and all I'm doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat of it. I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do."
"Technically, Pepper had been running the company for years," reminded Bucky. "You just hadn't made it official until recently."
"The only part of the job you enjoyed doing was the publicity," mentioned Rhodey. "You were the designer, the man with the ideas. You were the face of the company more than anyone else. Both Stane and Pepper ran more of the company than you did."
Tony was aware of that. Despite Stane's eventual betrayal, he had kept the business running smoothly, allowing Tony to do what he wanted. "If Stane hadn't betrayed me… He probably would have been CEO. Ironic really. The one position he wanted he tried to get deceitfully, yet if he'd waited, he could have had it."
"Would you have been headhunting for a replacement though?" asked Natasha. "If Stane had remained loyal to you, would you have become who you are now? Would you still have wanted to move out of the CEO position?"
They were good points well made. "No. I'd probably still be CEO. Afghanistan wouldn't have happened… I wouldn't have had the epiphany that I had there to change my life around." It was interesting considering where his life would have gone if things had been different.
Tony didn't like being lectured and he was getting impatient. He startled to fiddle with a small object which leapt out of his hand towards Pepper who caught it. He did look a bit ashamed of his actions.
"Did you bring me strawberries? Did you know that there's only one thing on Earth that I'm allergic to?" she asked him.
"Allergic to strawberries," he realised. "This is progress Pepper. I knew there was a correlation between you and this."
"But not enough for you realise she was allergic," chuckled Rhodey.
"I know it now," intoned Tony.
"Do you remember her birthday?" Clint leaned forward. "Last movie you didn't."
Tony glared at the archer. "I remember Pepper's birthday. I get her gifts every single year. Ones that she hasn't bought herself but have come from me directly."
"The giant bunny for one Christmas didn't go down well, did it?" teased Rhodey.
Tony held his head in his hands. "That wasn't my best…"
"You got her a giant bunny?" Sam was shocked. "A giant stuffed-toy bunny?"
"I was new to the relationship thing," defended Tony. "How was I supposed to know what was an acceptable gift?"
"Jewellery," replied Wanda, "or clothes. All suitable gifts for women."
"I know that now," said Tony. "A faux-pas I will never make again."
"I need you…" started Pepper.
"I need you too," he responded. "That's what I'm trying to…"
"…to leave now," finished Pepper.
"Not what you were expecting, was it?" noted Sam.
Tony shook his head.
The door to her office opened and Natasha walked in with Happy behind her.
Natasha told Pepper the car would leave in twenty-five minutes. Happy asked her if there was anything else. Tony thought Happy had been talking to him however Pepper informed him that she would just be another minute.
"I lost both the kids in the divorce." Tony laughed and looked at Happy, as his former driver shook his head.
"Wasn't Happy your head of security?" enquired Bruce.
Rhodey answered for Tony. "No. Happy was employed to protect the CEO of Stark Industries. When Tony handed the position to Pepper, Happy's contract automatically transferred to her. Pepper was his boss."
"At the time I'd forgotten that detail as Happy went above and beyond his protection duties to me," praised Tony. "He rarely had a day off, despite me insisting he didn't need to be with me constantly."
"Did Iron Man really need a bodyguard?" queried Bucky.
Tony grinned. "Not after I got the suit. Before… always. Happy took his job seriously. He was committed to the role, and still is to this day."
Rhodey patted him on the back. "There will always be people loyal to you."
A grateful smile crossed Tony's face.
"Are you blending in well here, Natalie? Here are Stark Enterprises?" Natasha gave him a cold look. "Your name is Natalie, isn't it? I thought you two didn't get along?"
Pepper signed the papers Natasha had brought her. "No. That's not so."
Tony sighed. "It's just me you don't care for. No? Nothing?"
"She did care," said Rhodey. "You'd just gone a few steps too far and she'd had enough of your antics."
Tony sighed. "I know."
Pepper stood. "Actually, while you're here maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings."
"Absolutely," agreed Natasha. As Pepper and Happy left, she whirled on Tony. "I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut."
Tony smirked. "I'm not going to apologise for that."
"I wasn't expecting you to," replied Natasha, rolling her eyes.
"Boy, you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things…" Tony leaned across the table. "You're a triple imposter. I've never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?"
Natasha spoke in Latin as she walked around the desk towards the door.
Tony twisted in the chair. "Which means? Wait. What? What did you just say?"
Natasha turned back to face him at the door. "It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected." She left the office, slamming the door behind her.
"Just out of curiosity," mused Clint, "what would you have done with Stark if he had pushed you further?"
"Nothing," Natasha replied honestly. "My orders were not to hinder his progress. Putting him out of commission would have been detrimental to the reason Fury got involved. The most I could have done, if I'd been obliged to, would have been to knock him out with a sedative. But that was a stretch. Fury wouldn't have pleased if I'd had to do that. My best option was to insult him in Latin and leave as fast as I could."
"Aww," wilted Tony, "kinda wished I'd pushed you further knowing now that you wouldn't have done anything to me in retaliation. That's one for the books. If time-travel is ever invented in my lifetime, I may go and tell myself to keep antagonising you, just to see what happens."
"God, I really hope you never invent time travel," said Natasha, shaking her head.
"I doubt I would be the one to crack it," said Tony. "I may be a genius but I'm not capable of inventing time travel. If I ever do…" He sought to think of an adequate punishment for himself.
"You'll go a week without any electronic equipment at all. No A.I. No suits. No phones. No computer. Nothing," dared Clint, watching the Inventor carefully for his reaction.
"That's… harsh," swallowed Tony. "But fair. I can easily go a week without any tech what-so-ever."
Rhodey snorted. "You've relied on technology for years. A week is going to be tough for you."
Leaning back, Tony put his hands behind his head. "It will be a piece of cake!"
"You taking the dare then, Stark?" issued Clint.
"If I do, will you stop making nasty comments?" retorted Tony, glaring at the Archer. Though Clint's demeanour had started to change, he was still making more detrimental comments then the others.
Clint shrugged. "Can't promise but I'll think about it."
Tony debated whether to refuse, but in the end decided to take the risk. "Fine. Deal."
"You're good!" he shouted after her. In his frustration, he piled small objects under the desk spinning thing to stop it moving and then threw the box of strawberries in the bin. As he walked past his father's model of the "Key to the Future Is Here" against the wall, Tony stopped and looked at it through one eye, focusing upon one key aspect of it. A slight smile graced his face.
"Did you just crack it?" Sam leaned forward.
"It looked like you were going to leave without taking it with you…" frowned Bucky.
"I intended to take it with me when I arrived but then things didn't go well with Pepper and it slipped my mind," explained Tony, "but then I noticed something which piqued my interest and I knew I had to take it with me."
Tony drove the model home, with the three pieces of it stacked in the passenger seat of his car. Back at his workshop, he pieced it back together, blowing the dust off of it. He asked JARVIS if he could perform a Vac-U-Form digital wire frame and he needed it as a manipulatable projection. JARVIS confirmed the 1974 Stark Expo model scan was completed, before Tony lifted the blue projection away from the model. Tony wanted to know how many buildings there were. He clicked his fingers and the holographic projection began to spin and lifted upright in the air.
Steve whistled. "I may be a bit uncomfortable around technology but the wonder of how advanced things are… This tech should be out in the world, not just for the Avengers alone."
"It's slowly coming out," said Tony. "The world will be overwhelmed if it all came out at once. People need to be ready for it. I'm a few generations ahead of the population. The difference between myself and my father is that I have the technology to move ahead whereas my father didn't. Howard could never advance because he was stuck with the limited technology of his time. I've been lucky…"
He focused upon a specific point in the hologram. "What does that look like to you Jarvis? Not unlike an atom. In which case the nucleus would be here." He touched the area with his finger. "Highlight the unisphere." Tony expanded the area that had been highlighted with his hands. "Lose the footpaths. Get rid of them."
"Did he hide the atomic structure of a new element inside of a model?" Bruce gasped. "Cunning."
"And resourceful," noted Vision.
"It was quite clever," praised Tony. "We may not have got on whilst he was alive… but his discovery ensured I had a way to save myself."
"What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?" asked JARVIS.
"I'm discovering… Correction. I'm rediscovering a new element, I believe. Lose the landscaping, the shrubbery, the trees." He started to flick things away in the hologram. "Parking lots, exits, entrances. Structure the protons and the neutrons using the pavilions as a framework." The holographic model resembled a nucleus and Tony expanded it. "Dad. Dead for almost 20 years, and still taking me to school." Tony swivelled in his chair, musing quietly. He grinned, and snapped his hands down so the holographic model fit in his hands.
"It's amazing how a simple model could hold so much information," commented Wanda. "Without it…"
"I'd be dead now," said Tony wistfully. "Nothing would have saved me as I'd already tried everything."
"I'm glad Howard had the means to save you," smiled Steve. "I know I've said things which are controversial…"
"You can say that again." Tony rolled his eyes.
Steve frowned. "I just want you to know if the world cannot have me defending it, I'm glad they have you."
Tony wasn't sure what to say so remained quiet, contemplating Steve's words.
"The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium," the A.I reported.
"Thanks Dad."
JARVIS gave him the bad news. "Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesise."
Wanda tossed Tony a sharp look. "Then how do you do it?"
"Simple," grinned Tony. "Watch and see."
Tony didn't believe it. "Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode."
Tony was seen smashing walls with sledge hammers, drilling holes in the floor, fiddling with wires and putting large pipes together, running through his laboratory. He was building a Particle Accelerator.
"What are you building?" queried Wanda.
"A Particle Accelerator. Well, a miniature one at that. But one that would be able to synthesise the new element," he answered. "It's a lot of work but for me it is doable."
Agent Coulson entered his lab.
"I heard you broke the perimeter."
Tony shrugged. "Yeah. That was, like, three years ago. Where have you been?"
"I was doing some stuff," said Coulson.
"And I know exactly what he was referring to!" teased Clint, briefly glancing at Thor.
"Yeah, well, me too and it worked. Hey, I'm playing for the home team Coulson, you and all your Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Now, are you gonna let me work or break my balls?" explained Tony, trying not to sound too impatient.
Coulson was looking in one of the boxes and pulled out a prototype of Captain America's shield. "What's this doing here?"
Steve's eyes widened. "Why do you have a prototype of my shield there?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Tony. "My father made your shield. Any prototype, any further design would have been in my possession."
Steve hadn't considered that.
Tony saw it. "That's it. Bring that to me."
"You know what this is?" Coulson handed it to him.
"Of course, he does," laughed Rhodey. "He's just not as enamoured with it as you are."
"It's exactly what I need to make this work. Lift the coil." Coulson lifted the coil they now stood by, Tony on the other side. "Go, go. Put your knees into it. There you go." Tony pushed the shield underneath the coil. "And… Drop it. Drop it." Tony measured the top of the coil. "Perfectly level. I'm busy. What do you want?"
"You used Captain America's shield to level the Accelerator out…" Bucky shook his head in surprise. "Never thought it would be used that way…"
"It was what I needed," shrugged Tony. "Didn't matter if it was supposedly an iconic design."
Steve looked like he wanted to say something but wisely chose to stay silent. At least it hadn't been his real shield.
Coulson told Tony he had been reassigned to New Mexico. Tony commented it was the Land of Enchantment. Tony assumed it was secret stuff. Coulson said it was something like that, then added, "Good luck."
"New Mexico?" Thor looked thoughtful. "Was this when I arrived originally on Earth after being banished?"
"It was," confirmed Natasha. "At the same time Tony was dealing with Vanko, Coulson was dealing with you. The two events overlapped." She briefly glanced at Bruce. "And you as well."
Bruce frowned. "Odd how three different events all involved us at the same time but never meeting."
"I've said this before," advised Thor quietly, "before I left Earth after Ultron, I believed someone or something had been manipulating events. Though they may not have had anything to do with New Mexico, this Vanko or what happened with you, Bruce, it feels certain to me that we were all destined to meet. Every path we took led us to this point."
Steve remembered. "We're supposed to be a team to fight for what is right."
"Though we may not agree on everything," added Sam, conscious of the disagreements within the team.
Tony pointed to the ceiling. "What I've been doing is trying to prepare for what is out there, for what will inevitable come for us. It would be disastrous if we didn't. I get the feeling at the end of these movies we will know what is coming. I can only believe we lose if we are having to do this. Or rather… not we lose… I lose. It's all focused on me, isn't it? I'm the reason we lose in the future. Maybe I should stay out of it…"
No! the voice spoke up. You're needed, just the same as everyone else here is.
Tony swallowed. "Right." He didn't believe it but declined to comment further.
"Whatever happens," briefed Steve, "we'll do it together."
Tony still wasn't sure he could work with Steve again. Maybe the rest of the viewing would help him change his mind but the trust would not be there. Not after Siberia.
"Bye. Thanks," said Tony, shaking hands with Coulson.
"We need you."
"Yeah, more than you know," agreed Tony.
We do, the voice agreed.
Everyone glanced at each other.
Whatever happened in the future involved Tony to a significant degree, and they had to wonder how the final movie would end.
"Not that much," finished Coulson before leaving the lab, allowing Tony to get back to working.
"I thought Coulson has got it right," commented Tony quietly, enough so that the others would not hear, but Rhodey threw him a concerned look.
Tony's ability to make himself seem not important was a worrying factor especially when everything pointed to Tony being a vital part of future events.
A short while later, the Particle Accelerator was complete. Tony, wearing dark red lensed glasses, installed the last piece of equipment and turned a key on a console. He removed his shirt, as the machine started to whirl to life.
"Initialising prismatic accelerator," confirmed JARVIS as Tony approached a wheel on top of the accelerator. "Approaching maximum power." Tony grabbed a wrench to use as a lever as the wheel is turned, as the beam of light from the accelerator shot out, cutting through holes in the wall and equipment in the lab. He turns it until the beam of light is concentrated on a small triangle situated opposite the particle accelerator. Within seconds it was glowing blue and Tony shut the system down, leaving the triangle glowing. "That was easy."
"Teams of scientists work for years to build a particle accelerator, and a large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and you build a miniature version in your basement…" Bruce shook his head in amazement. "You defy logic, Stark."
Tony grinned. "I am brilliant."
For once no one could disagree with that assertion.
Rhodey patted him on the back. "See, this one performs miracles, does the unexpected. He is way ahead of his time."
Tony used a pair of pliers to remove the triangle from the device it had stood in.
"Congratulations sir. You have created a new element," said JARVIS.
Tony placed the new element into the Arc Reactor. It beeped and then levelled off, turning the Arc Reactor blue.
"Sir, the reactor has accepted the modified core. I will begin running diagnostics," confirmed JARVIS.
"You've solved the riddle of your heart at the same too," smiled Sam. "You've found an element which wouldn't harm you either. It's amazing your father discovered it but had no way to synthesise it."
"Yeah," nodded Tony. "If he'd been able to synthesise it himself… things would be a lot different now. The world would be far more advanced, potentially even ready for what is to come."
Vanko is also building an Arc Reactor when he is phoned by Hammer who is playing golf with Senator Stern. Hammer wanted to swing on by and look at some of the drone designs. Vanko told him the drone was not going to be ready. Hammer wasn't happy. Vanko explained he could make the presentation but not an additional demonstration. Hammer wanted to know what the different between the two was. Vanko told him at the presentation they wouldn't be able to fly or shoot, only salute. Hammer nearly lost it. This hadn't been what they had agreed to. Vanko had promised him suits and then drones.
Steve's face clouded over at Stern's appearance. "Stern would have bought those drones from Hammer and given them to HYDRA."
"Good thing Vanko had other plans," sighed Tony. "Be glad I was able to stop him."
"And SHIELD wiped all the data from the servers Vanko was using," pointed out Natasha. "We made sure those drone designs could not be utilised by anyone else. I did it myself. No one in HYDRA would have seen them."
Steve nodded his thanks.
The camera pulled back to show Vanko had remade his Arc Reactor whips. He tried to reassure Hammer that everything would be okay, but this wasn't what Hammer wanted.
Sam shook his head. "Hammer is going to make an enemy out of Vanko…"
Hammer returned to Hammer Industries and entered Vanko's room with two men. Vanko sat on the bed with the bird on his knees. Hammer quipped that suddenly the bird and Vanko were the best of friends. Hammer ordered the men to take the bird. Vanko protested as the bird was put into a sack.
Hammer told them to take the pillows and his shoes. He gloated over how that made Vanko feel, as that how he felt since Vanko had renegaded on his deal to give him suits for saving his life. Hammer explained he had a great piece of Stark tech that would look better than the overpriced paperweights Vanko had been making for the demonstration. He wanted to know if Vanko understood what he was doing here.
Vanko muttered in Russian. Hammer told him he didn't speak Russian, and that he was going to leave now and head to the Expo. The two guards would be Vanko's babysitters, and when Hammer returned, they would renegotiate their terms of agreement. He said Vanko would make good their arrangement because if he didn't, Vanko would become exactly what he was when he was found: a dead man. Hammer left the room.
"Those two security guards will not be alive for long," observed Clint. "Hammer thinks he has this guy under his control but he doesn't. Vanko has spent too long perfecting his design to allow Hammer to ruin it now."
Natasha nodded in agreement. "All Vanko needs is the drones at the Expo. He's done all the work he needs to do. It doesn't matter he's being watched. He planned for this."
"For a smart guy, Hammer doesn't know who to trust," cautioned Bruce.
"A lot of smart people trust the wrong people sometimes," muttered Tony, casting a quick glance in Steve's direction.
Bucky stopped Steve from retorting. Tony did have a point after all.
Back at Tony's mansion, JARVIS informed him he had an incoming call from a blocked number. Tony noted his phone privileges had been reinstated. He assumed it was Coulson calling and asked how was the Land of Enchantment.
It wasn't Coulson calling. It was Vanko.
"Hey, Tony, how you doing? I double cycle."
Tony hung his head. "I really should have understood what double cycled meant. I'd given him the idea after all. I was shocked to hear his voice."
Tony was surprised to hear his voice. "You what?"
The screen shows Vanko sitting in his room, his white bird on his shoulder and his two guards hanging by their necks in the centre of the room. "You told me double cycle's more power. Good advice."
"You told him how to make his product better?" Steve almost tutted.
"To be fair, I wasn't expecting him to get out. Plus, he was confirmed to have been killed in a blast in his cell. Though, as we know, it was a look-a-like. He shouldn't have had the chance to make it better." Tony defended, glaring at Steve.
"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy," remarked Tony.
Vanko laughed. "You too."
"He's not dead yet," muttered Rhodey.
"What I don't get is he knew you were dying… Why not just let you die?" asked Wanda.
Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "Tell me, if I'd been injured in Sokovia and you had the chance to kill me, but you knew I was dying, would you have killed me or left me to die a slow and agonising death?"
Wanda fell silent, contemplating her next words. "I had the chance to kill you. But I let you walk away with the sceptre."
"But what if the circumstances had been different?" pressed Tony. "I'm not going to be mad by what you say. You hated me. Think about what you would have done if you had been placed in that exact position?"
Considering carefully, she finally had her answer. "I would have killed you." She bit her lower lip, afraid that she was saying the wrong thing. "I would have wanted to see the light leave your eyes… see you take your last struggling breath and my hand…"
"And there is your answer," said Tony. "Vanko wanted to be the one to end me. He didn't care I was already dying. He probably realised I may find a solution to my problem and wanted to make sure I stayed dead. Just like you would have wanted to, Wanda, if you'd killed me."
"I think I understand now," she answered quietly.
Tony holds back his anger at the comment. He muted the speaker so only Vanko could speak to him"Trace him."
"Sir." JARVIS started the scans, trying to triangulate his position.
"Now, the true history of Stark name will be written," continued Vanko.
"JARVIS, where is he?"
"Accessing the Oracle grid. Eastern Seaboard." The computer screens showed the triangulation of the call.
Vanko wasn't kidding around. "What your father did to my family over 40 years, I will do to you in 40 minutes."
"Not if we have anything to say about it," muttered Rhodey.
"Would you have believed me if I'd tried to tell you in advance?" asked Tony.
"After everything that had happened recently… no," admitted Rhodey. "I wouldn't have believed you."
Tony unmuted so he could respond. "Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out."
JARVIS was nearly there with the trace. "Tri-State area. Manhattan and outlying boroughs."
Vanko had the last words before he ended the call. "I hope you're ready."
"Did he hear JARVIS trying to trace him?" queried Bucky. "You unmuted the call…"
"I did. I don't believe he heard JARVIS though," replied Tony.
JARVIS hadn't been able to complete the trace.
Tony glanced at his monitor and saw an advert for Justin Hammer's presentation at the Stark Expo for that evening. 'In Defence of Peace' was due to begin shortly on the main stage. Tony looked at the new Arc Reactor and picked it up, removed the one he already had in and placed the new Reactor into his chest.
Bruce groaned. "The tests haven't been finished yet!"
"I don't think he really had much choice if wanted to beat Vanko…" noted Clint.
"Sir!" JARVIS protested.
Vision shook his head. "I do not know why I tried to protest so much. Mr. Stark rarely – if ever – listened to me."
"You want to run some tests, run them. And assemble the suit while you're at it. Put it together now!" ordered Tony.
"We are unclear as to the effects." JARVIS attempted again.
"For Tony that doesn't matter," implied Rhodey. "He just needed to know it works."
"I don't want to hear it, JARVIS." The Reactor in his chest gained power, brightening up. Tony coughed and the veins on his chest started to disappear. "That tastes like coconut. And metal." The Reactor glowed brighter obscuring Tony's face. "Oh wow, yeah!"
"It healed you just like that?" Sam looked amazed.
"It didn't heal me exactly…" said Tony, though he struggled to find the right words to explain what had occurred. "It seemed to reverse the damage caused by Palladium. I didn't suffer any effects. I did feel instantly better…" He trailed off, noticing the looks he was getting from the others. "Ok, it did heal me. It reversed the damage which Palladium had done to me."
"It reversed the damage that quickly…" mused Bruce. "I didn't know this." He seemed thoughtful. "Tony… have you considered the properties of the new element could be used for research into medical cures? It counteracted the effects caused by Palladium that quickly! Think what else it could do…"
"Believe it or not, I have been thinking of it myself," Tony admitted. "Just haven't had a chance to take it any further."
"If we think about it," continued Bruce eagerly, "how much could that element heal? Can it reverse molecular damage? Cell damage? Could it prevent radiation damage and poisoning on a large scale? There are many possibilities that need to be explored here."
"I'll start working on it as soon as I can," promised Tony.
He hadn't considered exploring the new element further but thinking upon it, if it could reverse chemical poisoning of Palladium quickly, what else could the element do?
Could it be the answer to everything?
A part of him really hoped it was.
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think!
So, as clarified in this chapter, Thor's people are on their way to Earth... just before Thanos' attack. He and Bruce, when they go back to their own time, will be just before the start of Infinity War. They may be able to change some things but not a lot. It will be the Avengers on Earth who have more time to prepare to change things in the future.
Steve doesn't think he gets special treatment... He does. The first Cap film pretty much shows that he does as he never really earned the title of Captain.
There will be a lot of discussion on the Accords coming up in the fic where they watch Civil War, and I will be covering both sides.
Tony doesn't think he will ever invent time travel. He may very well lose the bet he made with Clint...
I'm also starting to lay out future plot points for the fic which I will write after they've watched Endgame. The new element Tony creates is a big part of my future plans. Stay tuned for that as it will be mentioned again in the next fic in this series too.
The next chapter will be posted next Sunday.
Until then,
the-writer1988