So, uh, still alive. I'm sure you guys are used to this, but even for me, this was a long break. Here's the good news: I graduated college and got a job for the field season (yay!). Here's the bad news: real life takes a lot of my life. I know, shocker. But I'm finally falling back in love with writing (I think), so maybe you'll even see an update in another story!
I think this is the end of Poison. I think I like how this ended. It feels a little unfinished though, so I might come back to it, but don't expect anything is what I'm saying I guess. But I hope you enjoyed the story and the conclusion and thanks for sticking with me through the (almost) two years it took to get the whole story done!
For one more time on this story-read, review, and enjoy!
Tony spends two days recovering at a S.H.I.E.L.D base, but only because Coulson makes him. Only a select few doctors and nurses are told about Extremis, and Tony lays down the base rules on what they can and can't do. If he could, he'd rip this program out of himself and destroy it and then destroy all evidence that it was ever created. The world doesn't need another power war like Red Skull or General Ross. Still, Tony makes a mental file—literally—to constantly monitor this base and S.H.I.E.L.D's research team to make sure that whatever they're doing with his blood, it's to find a way to stop or remove the program, not make more.
Fury takes him off duty for an indefinite period of time. In retaliation, Tony hacks into the team's files and substitutes all of the real information with ridiculously fake information. He wants to see how long it take Fury to notice—his hacking has gotten a lot stealthier since he can do it all mentally.
Pepper, bless her, heard the story in the hospital room and barely even blinked before she started coming up with stories. The public—and the government—cannot know about this.
"It's bad enough S.H.I.E.L.D knows," she tells the room.
Yeah, he definitely doesn't deserve her.
It would've been nice if they could've just played it off like nothing happened, but Tony has been out of the public eye for over a week and that always makes people nervous. He was one of those guys you wanted to keep one eye on because there was a chance he was plotting to destroy the world. He understood.
So four days after they had broken out of A.I.M's base, he stood in front of a podium, Pepper standing against his arm to ground him, sunglasses planted firmly over his eyes, and told the flashing cameras and shouting reporters how he had neglected his health and had to spend a few days in the hospital. He was fine now, thank you, and he'd be getting back to work as soon as they left him alone. Sitting in a hospital bed had given him some great ideas but no, they were going to remain a secret for now. No more questions. See you next time.
As soon as he got in the elevator, he collapsed against the wall and slid down until he was on the floor. Holding off Extremis so thoroughly was exhausting and painful. Pepper knelt down with him, pulled his head into her lap, and began running fingers through his hair. He could barely feel it over the pain.
The elevator didn't ding, but stopped silently. Steve appeared in the doorway, face grim as he handed over a wet washcloth that Pepper laid on his forehead, before he picked Tony up and followed Pepper to their room. Bruce showed up not long after with a new dose of what he hoped would help block out Extremis without knocking Tony out. It doesn't really work, but it dulls the pain enough the Tony can slip into sleep—actual sleep, not some Extremis fueled exploration. Pepper stays with him the entire time.
And the team?
They're patient with him. When they walk into the lab and he's staring into space, they spend the extra minute waiting for him to get control back. When he breaks off in the middle of a conversation, they make sure to touch his arm or shoulder, give him something to ground himself with. Even Thor understands that when Tony gets the blinding headaches Extremis sometimes sends his way, he has to be silent.
On good days, which are growing in number as he learns control, Tony tracks Bracker with Natasha and Clint. Surveillance goes a lot quicker when Tony can mentally flip through pages of data while monitoring the satellite feeds as well. Natasha and Clint are mostly there to give him leads and help him read through the mass amount of data. All data he finds goes straight to either of the agents or Coulson, and Tony always monitors their missions. Bracker must be the luckiest man on the planet because he always manages to be gone before they get there, sometimes minutes beforehand. Still, he can tell they're making a dent in Bracker's operations and sometimes it's enough.
If Clint and Natasha aren't there with him, it's Steve bringing him food, or Bruce asking his opinion on a project. Even Thor and Coulson stop in every once in a while as a distraction. The team hasn't said anything yet, but he knows what they're doing. There's always someone in the same room with him and honestly, he appreciates it. Some days, when the control he needs is just beyond his reach, he gets sucked into Extremis. The first and only time he slipped his silent guard, he lost control and ended up spending 8 hours shifting through the program. Pepper had found him collapsed on the floor, weak from lack of food, water, and pain. After that, both sides made a silent pact to never let him be alone again.
The only time that Steve lays down the law is when Tony mentions wanting to get into the suit. He can always hear it, no matter where he is in the house, and every piece of him wants to reach out and connect with it. Steve—everyone, really—doesn't trust his control though. So late one night, after Jarvis has assured him that everyone is asleep, Tony connects with the suit. It practically sings to him. It's the first time that he really finds beauty in the program that's made his life a living hell.
Finally, two months after he's settled back into the tower, he walks into his lab one day to find Fury waiting for him. Coulson shifts in the background, but Tony already knew they were both there. He's been waiting for this meeting ever since they had broken out of A.I.M.'s base.
"We need to talk," Fury says
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me? I didn't realize that you were acknowledging my presence."
"I saw what you did to the team's files. You're lucky I had paper copies too."
"You know I'll just change them again, right?"
"And now you know why we have to talk. Just because you have this power doesn't mean you can use it however you want."
"You've never been able to control me before. What makes you think you can do it now?"
"Because even you fear this power."
"Only an insane person wouldn't fear this power," Tony states blandly, settling down in his chair and bringing up a hologram of a design he's been working on. Sitting still is a good way of allowing Extremis to take control.
"And you fear your ability to control it, to stop yourself from going too far with it. You need boundaries." Okay, Fury has him there. But every instinct rebels at the idea of restrictions set around him. Especially by Fury.
Tony watches him out of the corner of his eye. "And you're the one to set those rules?"
"As much as I'd love to, I think we both know you won't listen to a thing I say," Fury says, his eyes wandering around the lab. Tony itches to throw him out, but everything sensitive is in his lab another floor down, somewhere even Fury can't get. He thinks. "Coulson has generously volunteered his sanity to work with you."
"And you think I'm any more willing to work with him?" Tony challenges. Coulson raises an eyebrow at him. Yeah, it was weak on his part. "Fine. But I'm not following any rule I don't agree with. And I'm still watching those labs that have my blood."
"I expect you not to follow any rule so when you do follow one, I'm always amazed. And you find that they're doing anything they're not supposed to, you let me know. Last thing I need is an outbreak of Extremis."
With that, Fury makes his exit. Coulson lets Tony work out his frustrations for a while in silence. After ten minutes pass, he moves over to the worktable. "You need to get this program under control. You've done well on your own, but you're not trained to do this. I know a couple of people."
"Who exactly is going to help me be able to control a computer program that's just recently been invented?"
"Charles Xavier, for one. We have a couple favors we can call in with him. He'll be able to help you order your mind to compensate for the program. He has a student too, Kitty Pryde. She's highly trained in computer mechanics."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"The two of them will be able to help you gain control. You're meeting with them tomorrow." Tony opens his mouth to complain, but Coulson stops him with his "don't even try it" look. "Based off of their recommendations, we'll see where to go from there."
Tony wants to complain but he can already feel Extremis tugging at the back of his mind, playing with his control. By the time he pulls his mind back to the real world, Coulson is almost out of the lab. "Coulson," he calls out. The agent stops at the door and looks back. "Thanks. For pretty much everything."
Coulson nods. He opens the door, and then pauses one more time. "Don't forget—tomorrow. I know you can put a mental alarm on that one."