Cosmic is Forever
Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?
The fight had been a disaster in the lightest words used to describe it. They couldn't work together like they usually would in the new formation Rhody gave them. Since Bruce had been pissed when he had turned back into the Hulk, he had ran off before anyone could give him directions and had engaged Goliath. They had destroyed two blocks before Thor had tugged the green one away from the villain. They lost their communications because of Screaming Mimi's screaming, so they had to yell across the battlefield. Hawkeye nearly got buried under a building and Natasha broke her wrist, benching her for the next three weeks, if they lacked luck. They were lucky Spiderman and Ant-Man had managed to think up a new plan and the kid had tied up their opponents in his web before anymore damage could be done to the streets. Luckily, no civilians were hurt.
And as if insult to injury, some kids had ran up to the Avengers, asking questions or requesting autographs. Of course, the reporters weren't far behind them, surrounding the heroes and asking various questions Tony would usually answer. The men left it to Natasha, as she was the least likely to drag them into the mud by answering something wrong or saying something stupid, which earned them a Black Widow glare. And with each question asked, Natasha realized why Tony hated paparazzi.
When one kid asked for ''Iron Man's'' autograph, Rhody bent down, flipped open his faceplate and smiled at the kid. To his surprise, the boy burst into tears, bawling and screaming. It got the reporters's attention and like the vermin that they are, they immediately snatched up the opportunity and attacked the Avengers with questions of where their team leader currently was. And as the group tried to answer anything without dooming themselves, Rhody decided to make things worse.
''I am the new leader of the Avengers, as was requested by the president and the Senat.'' That had gotten them an even greater uproar and the ''new leader of Avengers'' got bombarded with all sorts of questions, most of which later earned them a severe scolding from SHIELD's PR team and Fury. The glares the heroes were sending the Lieutenant were enough to kill a man.
''Not only was it irresponsible,'' Cap was saying some hours later as they all rode the elevator back to the penthouse in the Avengers Tower. ''But it was reckless! Do you know how many villains is now probably thinking that they will have a better chance at taking us down? Red Skull will have a picnic!''
''Or maybe they won't dare attack now that they know there is a firmer commander of the Avengers.'' Rhody retorted and Clint shoved an arrow into his face.
''Just give me an excuse. Please.''
Nat put a hand on her partner's shoulder. ''What Clint is trying to say is that, based on today's performance, they won't think we've improved, that we've upgraded, but rather downgraded. You need to think more like an Avenger and less like a corporal, because we are not soldiers.''
''And that's something you will have to get used to.'' Scott hissed at him and Rhody put on his best glare. Ant-Man simply used his belt to make himself a little taller than the other man and looked down at him from his new height. The ant lover then left, intent on using Tony's lab like the genius did most: to hide away from annoying people and from the world. Rhody looked back at Natasha but she was already gone. Sighing, the man went to explore a little, as he really didn't know what to do. He would have to write report about his first day with the team and send it by eight tonight, but he really didn't feel like it. He was still wondering how the hell Tony could manage all of this. He had just started today and he was already sick of it, if he was honest. The Avengers were just like he was told they were: a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and Clint was indeed the fuse. Tick tick tick, boom.
In his wandering thoughts, Rhody found himself in the meeting room, where he was surprised to find the consul active with Steve standing right there, looking relaxed yet agitated as he talked to the man that had left this very morning. Tony looked tired but happy to see his friend. It hurt to know that the man had once greeted him with such expressions, before he seriously messed up. But that was in the past. What was done was done and it can't be changed.
"I don't know what to do, Tony." James nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the wariness in the blond super soldier's voice. He leaned in, ready to listen to what was bothering the supposedly perfect Captain America so he could give subtle advice later. This could be his chance to be accepted. "You knew this would happen yet you left. We're falling apart and we've made fools of ourselves this morning. Colonel Rhodes might be a great commander for soldiers, army men, you know? But he's not well suited for leading the Avengers. We won't stand a chance against the Cabal if we keep fighting like this."
~Yeah, I saw that. Yikes. You guys smell so bad that I could smell you all the way from here. You gotta tell Rhody to get his head in the game and fast, or you really will end up in some trouble.~ Tony said with a pained looking expression on his face, making Steve all but pout. The genius chuckled at his friend's reaction and the blond relaxed further.
A day without Tony had seemed like a year to the Avengers. The lively man's presence was always felt in the tower, even when he locked himself up in the lab and didn't come out for days like he had been doing ever since the whole Galactus thing. Steve and Clint had figured that he might need some space to himself so they had told the others to lay off a bit, but that had lasted only so long. With the appearance of Peter and Scott, Tony was once again crowded and seemed to be retreating into himself. Every day, he would leave the Tower for an hour, never telling anyone where he was going and he would sometimes even leave at night. Steve had worried but there was nothing he could do. Tony always seemed more relaxed after those little outings and the Avengers had noticed and started making theories about it.
Steve had felt his heart crack when the possibility of Tony having an affair was brought up but he hid it well and never allowed Tony to suspect he thinks like that. Besides, what could he say? The truth, obviously. The truth that he was head over heals in love with the eccentric genius that seemed to be the Avengers' glue. Yeah, right. As if. What could he, an old relic from the past, offer someone like the futurist that Tony is? Only his damaged heart and he sometimes feared that that wasn't enough. Tony simply deserved more and better.
Steve sighed, pushing his thoughts away and instead focusing on the man himself. "It's not entirely his fault. We haven't exactly-"
~I know.~ Tony interrupted. ~You didn't even give him a chance. You were sulking because I was leaving, possibly for good, and you were taking it out on Rhody. That's not really fair, Steve. He at least deserves a chance.~ Rhody stared at the screen, not believing Tony would still stick up for him even after everything he had done. Even after being sent as his replacement.
The blond man ran a tired hand through his hair. "I know. I wish it was easier to accept him but he ... just doesn't click, you know? He doesn't fit in. He's too military, too formal, too stiff and tense, too ... too...!"
~Too not me?~
"Yeah." Steve nodded. "If you were just here-" he tried to say but Tony wouldn't let him continue.
~Then stop looking for me in him. He's his own person, Cap, and although he might seem a but dull, he's actually really great once you pull out that stick stuck up his ass. However, I think you might need Thor and Hulk to help you with that.~ Tony chuckled warmly when he saw his friend flush in embarrassment at Tony's language. ~Right, anyway, have a party tonight. Loosen up! Get to know each other! Tell me, how did the Avengers initially tried to get to know each other?~
"You dragged us all off to try out shwarma after the Battle of New York."
~Right! A get together to get to know each other! You do that and you'll be fine. Maybe we can take him in as a new team member, if he survives that long, that is.~ Steve seemed to be thinking it over so Tony decided to finish up the conversation. ~Anyway, I've gotta run. The presentation starts soon and I need to speak with Tiberius before that. Say 'hi' to the kids for me, hun!~
Steve blushed again at the joke as Tony's laughter filled the room for a few seconds before it was all silent again. Rhody suddenly felt like a fish out of water, unable to get the air into his lungs. After being away from Tony as long as he had, he had managed to live on without the man's smiles and quirks. But now, after once again being exposed to it all, Rhody could understand the Avengers' extremely bad moods and their extreme reluctance in letting Tony go. Tony breathes life in into their pitiful existences and they don't want to lose that. Rhody was a threat to that but they can't just kill him off so they were driving him away so Tony could come back.
Now he understood.
And now he knew what he was going to report. His superiors better get ready for the disappointment of a life time, because the Avengers are Tony's. Not SHIELD's and most definitely not the government's. Just Tony's.
And now that he realized that, he might get along with them. Only a few hours in and he had already failed. These damaged people didn't need a commander, but a leader. And not just any leader. They needed Tony, just as damaged as each of them, because he can understand them. And he didn't doubt that the genius needed them as well.
He kinda hoped he'd become even a temporary member of this crazy family.
00000
Tony frowned as soon as he finished his conversation with Steve, turning away from the computer he had actually used for the call. He looked out of the window of his hotel sweet, looking out at the city laid before him, so different from New York that he already felt homesick. It's not something that happened before, as he had never had a home to return to.
Home is where the heart is, they say, yet he had lost his heart along the way of the weapons he had been making since he was a kid in hopes of drawing his father's attention. He found remains of it again in Afghanistan when he was on the threshold of death and Ho Yinsen managed to bring him back to life, so to speak, with his words of encouragement. Well, it was more appropriate to say that Yinsen had been trying to get a reaction out of him, to make him want to think and blow things up so they could break free.
He lost some of those pieces with Yinsen's death and the destruction he wrought from it in his vengeance and anger.
However, when he got home, he had friends who should have picked up those pieces and helped him reform his heart, put it back together the right way ... instead, they thought he was suffering from PTSD (true, but not the point) and they left him to his own devices. If he was really that unstable, why did they leave him alone? They left him in pieces, in a lab he could do anything in, with lots of dangerous tools ...
But Tony, with the help of his bots and JARVIS, picked up the pieces on his own. Perhaps it was better that way, as he had become Iron Man.
And then he got his heart back fully when the Avengers came back together. They became his third (fourth?) family and all was right in the world.
That is, until he decided it was a good idea to screw Galactus over and instead ended up being the one screwed over. Seriously, nothing ever went good and stayed good in his life. He was a half, okay one third normal guy one day and that very same day he just had to go and become the new Herald of Galactus. He was an idiot for all his genius. Or mad. He preferred mad over idiot.
"Sir, all the preparation are ready. You just need to look it all over." The smooth, almost melodic sounds of his AI's artificial voice calmed Tony and brought him back to earth. He turned towards the briefcase holding his armor and extended his right arm, fingers held closely together as a red and gold gauntlet detached itself from the case and flew onto his hand.
"Alright, JARVIS. Let's see what my old friend Ty is up to."