Chapter 4 - America
Despite knowing that this world was not magical, Harry's return to the site of Salem Witches' Institute in Massachusetts was painful.
Seeing the plain, ordinary all-girls school that had replaced the bustling and highly magical institute from his world felt like a betrayal.
He'd returned to Salem only because it was an area of America he was familiar with, and on the East Coast- within apparition distance from Europe.
According to the information he had pulled from Agent Barton's mind, he needed to head to California, where the operational headquarters of SHIELD and its director, Nick Fury, was stationed.
Barton had mentally referred to the base as the "helicarrier". Harry hadn't been able to get any more- the man was well trained, and even if magic or legilimency didn't exist in this world, Harry was sure that the agent would have felt the intrusion on his mind if he were to dig deeper.
With a sigh, Harry had gathered his things and headed to the nearest airport.
Not having been to California before, he was forced to rely on muggle means of transportation- which, he noted with curiosity and a tinge of apprehension, had advanced significantly from the state it was in back in his home world.
The flight was long, uneventful- but he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
He discreetly scanned the thoughts of the passengers around him, but couldn't detect any obvious threats.
It must have just been his paranoia.
Either way, he couldn't wait to get off.
xxxXXXxxx
It had been a terrible month for Tony Stark.
When he had called Rhodey to pick him up from Afghanistan, he hadn't expected the panic that ensued.
The army had sent a huge force to pick him up.
They told him he never took the vacation he thought he did to Afghanistan- that he had been in Afghanistan to showcase a new weapon, and that he had been kidnapped, tortured- forced to build weapons for a terrorist group.
They said his memories were just a result of the psychological trauma- his brain couldn't handle the stress of captivity.
They didn't know how he was rescued, but he should be thanking his lucky stars that he was.
He didn't buy it.
None of it added up.
Of course, being Tony Stark, he had delved into research on his own case as soon as he had returned to his home in Malibu.
The base he'd been held at was destroyed- burnt to ashes.
He had been picked up by the army in a town nearly twenty miles away.
There was no real explanation for the arc reactor in his chest- only that it powered an electromagnet constantly pulling at shards of shrapnel in his body, and preventing them from burying themselves into his heart.
Tony knew there had to be a missing link, and he knew it could only be found when they discovered who exactly it was that had rescued him from the terrorists.
His research was further hindered by work; although the army retained that what he remembered of Afghanistan was merely a product of psychological trauma, he knew he had truly come to a profound realization during his time there about the impact his weapons were having on the world.
He couldn't bear the thought of continuing to profit from the destruction and violence his company's weapons were causing. With this in mind, he had made the decision to cease production of all weapons at Stark Industries and instead focus on the development of new technology that could make a positive impact on the world.
Obadiah hadn't been happy about that, and it seemed that nobody else in the world was either.
The news was ripping him apart, Stark Industries' stock prices had plummeted to an all-time low, and the company's board members were already discussing a replacement for him.
Throughout this, he had nightmares constantly- visions of colors and feelings, of heat and pain, of the ringing noise of steel being hammered.
"You have a visitor, sir."
Tony nearly jumped out of his chair, before clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Who is it, Jarvis?"
"Obadiah Stane, sir."
"I'll get it. Thanks."
Tony stood and walked over to the door, dispelling his brooding thoughts, and opened it to let in his old friend and long-term mentor.
Stane stood there, surprised at Tony's sudden appearance, a frozen finger about to ring the doorbell.
He shook off his shock and smiled, holding a box of pizza out to Tony.
"It's UNOS. Four cheese. I just had it flown in from Chicago."
Tony chuckled, ushering him in and closing the door.
"Jarvis told me you were at the door, by the way."
Stane let out a quiet, almost unnerved hum.
"Could you turn him off for a bit? All the way? I've got to speak with you."
Tony glanced up at him, but assented
"Spin down, Jarvis."
Reaching into his breast pocket, Stane pulled out a letter.
"Proofread this for me, would you?"
Curious, Tony took it from him and gave it a quick glance, before he froze and looked up, surprised.
"Your resignation."
Stane nodded grimly.
"Yes. You were right when we argued about your decision to move away from weapons development. It's not my company- not my name on the building."
He sighed, walking closer to Tony, putting a fatherly hand on his shoulder.
Making eye contact, Stane continued in a sober tone.
"We were a great team, you and I. But I guess this is where our paths diverge."
Tony's eyes widened as a sudden excruciating pain erupted all over his body- it felt like all his nerves were firing in agony all at once, a paralyzing sensation that left him gasping for breath.
Stane backed away from the frozen man, putting down a small metal object with a sigh.
"Easy, now. Try to breathe."
Tony tried not to choke- the pain was unbearable- his body and mind burned, and he was reminded of the sensation in his dreams-
"You can't mess with progress, Tony. It's an insult to the gods. You created your best weapon ever, but you think that means it belongs to you. That you can keep it a secret."
Tony could only gasp in pain as he tried to register the words of the madman- a weapon? A secret? He couldn't process what he was hearing- his mind strained as the agony continued-
His phone began to ring, but Stane instantly hit a button on it to send it to voicemail.
Stane opened up Tony's shirt, gazing at the luminescent blue reactor in his chest.
"Your "heart" will be the seed of the next generation of weapons. They'll help us steer the world back in the right direction - put the balance of power back in our hands. The right hands."
Slowly, Stane removed the arc reactor from Tony's chest, cradling it in his hands reverently.
Tony's nose began to bleed- he couldn't handle the pain any longer-
"By the time you die, my prototype will be operational."
He smiled crookedly.
"It's not as conservative as yours."
Prototype? Tony could barely make out Stane's words- he felt as if his mind was fracturing, but the pain- the burning pain- wasn't it in his body?
Stane grabbed the metal object he'd lain down earlier, and with a click, the paralyzing pain was gone.
Tony crumpled to the ground.
"The sad thing is...we're both the good guys."
Stane turned off the lights, and left the room.
But Tony was not listening.
Lying on the floor with a gaping hole in his chest, it had all come back to him.
The camp- Yinsen- the suit, his "conservative prototype"- hellfire- the man in the desert-
Having lost his heart but regained his memories, Tony drifted into unconsciousness.
xxxXXXxxx
Pepper dashed into the house, hoping she wasn't too late.
She'd seen Obadiah's car drive away as she neared Tony's Malibu mansion, and the darkness inside was an ominous sign.
"Tony?"
A low gargling sound was all she got in return.
With a start, she turned on the lights and saw Tony crumpled across the floor, unnatural purple veins bulging across his neck and face.
His eyes were closed, and his breathing was low and shallow.
There was a gaping maw in his chest where his arc reactor was supposed to be.
Pepper's mind raced to think of a solution.
"Jarvis," she called desperately, "Jarvis! What do I do?"
Silence.
Panicking, she tried to think-
She jumped up as a realization dawned on her, and sprinted down to Tony's lab, grabbing his old arc reactor from the glass case she'd put it in.
It was intended to be a joke, but now it was the only way to save his life.
Running back up to where Tony lay, she smashed open the case, delicately lifting the reactor out of it and beginning to install it back in Tony's chest.
A few tense moments later, it was done.
She slumped back with relief as Tony's breathing slowly seemed to stabilize.
It was a good thing she had practice in this.
AN: A bit of a shorter chapter today. Obviously, we are about to head into the events of Iron Man 1. Tony's recovered his memories, the pain of the sonic device overriding the Memory Charm. Hope you enjoyed reading it.
JustAnotherFan217- I appreciate your review. While I agree that Harry's edginess is a little annoying, I thought it a necessary part of his character progression. I definitely intend to have him be a more upbeat character in this, but I didn't want him to just come into the world free of concerns and problems. I'm sorry if it seemed cliche; I promise the story will shape up to be more unique as we progress.
Thank you all for your reviews and comments, I really appreciate them. Nothing encourages me to write more than constructive criticism; I can almost guarantee that if you ask me something or pose a concern, I will address it with a response. Lastly, as always thanks for reading!