"Dad?" Peter called to Tony, who sat, head in his hands, against a wall in his workshop at the complex. Peter slung his backpack against the wall and sliding down next to his father, landing in an ungraceful pile.
"Hey, kid." Tony replied from behind his palms. He didn't look over at Peter at first, which worried him.
"Something bad?" Peter ask.
"Yeah..." Tony rubbed the heels of his hands roughly over his eyes. "Yeah, bud. Real bad. Had a mission go pretty well to shit. Some people died." Tony said. He put his arms out, resting on his knees.
"Who-?" Peter started to ask, cautiously.
"Wanda, mostly. But Cap and Nat. Sam, too." He sighed, leaning his head back onto the wall, looking to the ceiling. "And the thing at MIT- I mean the students are delighted, about the funding. And BARF was a hit. I even mad a joke about you joining them..." He nudged Peter's shoulder with his own. "But then. There was this woman who caught me outside the conference. Her son was collateral damage from Ultron. She told me-" Tony choked up "She told me I'd never understand that pain. And I did not handle that well."
"Dad, I mean-" Peter sputtered.
"I literally watched you almost die at that Stark Expo all those years ago. Finding out it was you has caused me nightmares countless nights where I didn't get to you in time. I cannot imagine her pain. And she's right. It is on us." He sniffed at some stray tears. "And I have to go up there," He pointed to the ceiling. "Meet with the team. Relief packages to send, press statements to make. I just..." He sighed.
"Its okay, dad. I'm sure in her grief it is easy to blame someone, but you saved so many people. You guys always save people." Peter reminded him.
"I'm not the hero you think I am, son." Tony looked over at his child.
"You're my hero." Peter said quietly. "And you can't say I'm bias. You've always been my hero."
"I love you, son." Tony wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him over to him, where he kissed the top of his sons head. "I needed that. Thank you." He sat for a moment before standing up. "Gotta go face the music." He said, scrunching his face to one side before he headed for the stairs. "Do your homework!" He called behind him. Peter rolled his eyes.
But homework was the furthest thing from his mind. He pulled a small, pack of cards sized box out of his backpack and popped his earpiece in. "Karen?"
"Afternoon, young Master Stark." She greeted. Peter looked around, confused.
"That was a very 'Batman' greeting, Lady Alfred." Peter returned.
"Sorry. Just trying something. Good afternoon, Peter." The AI replied.
"Do we have any intell from the spider droids?" He asked, taking his books and laptop out.
"Several thousand images, hundreds of hours of video. Your aunt sings a lot when she's home alone." Karen replied.
"Yeah, she did that when she isn't home alone, too." He laughed. "What about Ohnn?" He ask. "Has he been back by?"
"Four times." Karen reported. Peter closed his laptop back and picked up his phone. "He even stayed over, once."
"What?" Peter squeaked.
"I have footage from-" Karen started to report.
"Delete it." Peter said quickly. He looked at the blank word document on his laptop, thinking hard. He had wanted to go and see May for some time now, but his heart was still hurting. He loved his father, and Pepper, but he loved May, too. And he missed her, even if what she did was something he did not know if he could ever fully forgive. He sighed, acting before he changed his mind.
'R U still outside?' Peter sent a text through to Happy.
'Just left w Pep' He replied almost immediately. Peter sighed again. Pepper needed to be in front of cameras soon, addressing the Avenger's involvement in the mission that went south Tony had mentioned. And when around media, Tony made sure Happy was there, no matter which member of his family it was who was being interviewed.
'Were you needing a ride?' Pepper sent through. Happy must have mentioned him reaching out.
'Nah, thats cool. Thx' He replied. Defeated, and deciding against going to Queens for the evening, he tried to focus back on his homework.
The team sat, faces grim. Wanda, in particular, was shaken from the mission. Natasha sat near her on one side, Vision on the other, his hand on her shoulder. Tony was pacing, waiting for the press conference to begin on the large TV in the commons room of the complex. Sam was sitting stone-faced at the table, a couple chairs down from Steve. Rhodey was propped up in the corner. All eyes snapped up and focused on the television when Happy walked across the stage, his normal routine as he took his position next to the podium where Pepper would speak. Once he deemed the situation safe, he nodded and Pepper took the stage.
Flashes from cameras and the shouts of many journalists flooded the room. Pepper held up a hand and waited. She gave a small 'Thank you.' to the crowd once the noise settled.
'Earlier today, a small team of our Avengers went on a mission of great importance for all of humanity. It was a necessary action that they were dispatched out. I have been given exclusive permission from the authorities to disclose certain facts about the case. Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon, Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlett Witch, and Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow were dispatched to the threat of a robbery in Nigeria from the Institute for Infectious Diseases. Brock Rumlow, who goes by self given codename 'Crossbones' planned to steal an unnamed biological agent for weaponization. The team made a successful attempt to stop the biological agent from reaching the public and causing wide spread casualty. The recapture of this biological agent was the upmost concern for our team, as it was imperative to global safety.' Pepper paused to clear her throat.
'However, there are times, as with any such situation, where not all elements were in our control. The offender, Brock Rumlow, in an attempt to blow himself, the biological agent, and Captain Rogers all up, set off a bomb, which would have killed himself and Captain Rogers, and also released the agent into the air, which would infect any in a four mile radius rapidly, as the stolen agent is reportedly airborne. Captain Rogers and Wanda Maximoff both thought quickly and were able to suppress and divert the explosion away from the biological agent and into what was previously believed to be unoccupied space.' Again, Pepper paused. A few journalists attempted to ask her questions, which she ignored like an old pro.
'We are deeply saddened to learn of the civilian lives that were lost in this effort for peace. Avenger protocol is to save others, and to keep as many as we can out of harms way. We send our deepest condolences to the people of Nigeria, and Wakanda, especially to the families of those lost due to the actions of terrorist Brock Rumlow. We want you to know that justice will be served to their killer, who is in custody in the United States, and that the Avengers plan to send relief for the damages we caused. We understand that there is nothing that could be said to excuse the missteps that caused the pained you now must endure, but we hope there is some small consultation that their lives saved countless others when the biological agent was recovered and placed back into the cyro freeze in the institute. Once again, we are hurting with you. We understand the pain you feel is great. The Avengers reach a hand in comfort to those effected by this tragedy. Thank you. We will not be taking questions at this time.' She said, stepping away from the podium. A flurry of questions and shouts started from the press as Happy ushered her off screen.
"I don't know what we'd do without her." Rhodey said, looking over to Tony.
"With any luck, we never have to know." Tony said, remembering a fight they'd had not too long before about his refusal to stop being Iron Man.
"They'll be out for blood though." Sam said quietly.
"My blood." Wanda corrected.
"No." Steve said firmly. "This was not your fault. You saved thousands, if not millions, Wanda. But we can't always save everyone."
"Steve is right, but they have the right to be upset as well." Tony said. "We need more practice. Hone in on each of our skills and how they can help the rest of the team balance."
"Not a bad idea, Tony." Vision said, speaking up for the first time. "I think each of us has something unique, that when perfected against the other's gifts, will be as a finely tuned piano. Team building will help this issue."
"Then its settled, I'll design and set up some training for us starting tomorrow. Have it ready in a week or so. Until then- Everyone rest up. Take a deep breath. Remember you did your best." Tony said.
"Thank Pepper for us, Tones." Sam called as Tony left the room. Tony waved his confirmation that he would do so as he left.
Peter was flipping through pictures that his spider droids had taken in his old home when he heard his father coming back down the stairs when he quickly minimized the window and brought back up the word document which now had three paragraphs accomplished toward the assignment. He looked up, trying to act natural. "How'd Pep do?"
"Perfect." Tony said, a bit of pride in his love showing through. "She reminded me of some key points. They saved so many other people. And we, this team, we are also people. Both are important to remember when the blame comes around." He said.
"Pepper's a smart lady." Peter said, looking back down at his laptop and saving his file. "Don't know why you haven't put a ring on that. A boy needs a mother..." he added in an exaggerated whine.
"I've had one for a decade. I'm just a coward. I tried to tell you that." Tony replied, amused. "What are you working on?"
"English essay. On dystopian novels, the young adult revolution and their effect on my generation." Peter replied. Tony quirked an eyebrow.
"That seems kind of heavy. Who assigned that?" He ask.
"The assignment was to explore a genre and explain its influences. I like the dystopian YA novels, the 'Stick it to the man' sort." Peter shrugged. Tony laughed, which confused the younger boy. "What?" He questioned.
"You're just like me. Big middle finger to the government, just help the people." He said.
"I told you, I want to be like you." Peter said. Tony smiled, more from the heart that in amusement.
"I don't think you can help it if you even tried." Tony said. "Is that due soon? Or can you take a break and go have some Chinese delivery with your old man?" Tony ask. Peter closed the laptop.
"I have a month. Got the assignment two days ago." He explained, packing his things. "Can we order ragoons?" He ask, as he and Tony walked up the stairs.
"Whatever you want, bud." Tony said, laughing again. "Whatever you want."
So, I'm building up to Civil War, which will start to unfold in the next chapter. You'll notice I changed some key things- Like Tony and Pepper's "Break" for example. I hope everyone is enjoying the story still.
Please review and send lots of love. It motivates me, and makes my day!
Thanks for reading!