Chapter 4
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June 14th 2016. Avengers Compound.
Midday
(Melinda May, Tony Stark 43 years old, Hope Van Dyne 42 years old)
Sitting in his office Tony is re-reading the letter he received earlier for the fifth time as he watches his hold light on his phone beep on and off, even though he doesn't require to be on oxygen most of the day anymore, though he does require at least a little while, Tony can feel his chest tighten as he reads the letter, though that may have nothing to do with his lung issues.
"What you reading?" A voice asks and Tony turns to the door to see Natasha.
"Just something I'm going to shred very soon." Tony admits, putting the letter on the table, "What's up?"
"So, um, I know we're not completely okay, and I wouldn't ask…. But, I need a favour." Natasha admits, feeling bad for asking Tony what she is going to ask, but she doesn't have a whole lot of options.
"What do you need?" Tony asks, not agreeing until he knows more.
"Laura deserves to know what happened. She deserves to be told that Clint is in the Raft and…..."
"He's not." Tony tells Natasha.
"What?" Natasha asks confused.
"I've got Ross on hold. Rogers has made his prison break." Tony reveals.
"Using the opening you arranged?" Natasha asks curious.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tony responds, giving Natasha a look.
"Of course you don't." Natasha says, a small amount of amusement on her face, "Where do you think they're going?"
"I don't know." Tony admits, "But I don't see Barton being able to go home to his family any time soon."
"Which is exactly why Laura deserves to know what happened, and honestly I'd like to add some extra security to the farm and leave her with a way to contact us in emergencies, but I can't exactly leave base right now, and I would really feel better not waiting. So, I was wondering if…."
"I'd go." Tony finishes and Natasha nods, "Sure, I've got some time now. I'll head there, leave security." He tells Natasha as he stands up.
"Shouldn't you talk to Ross first?" Natasha asks.
"Nah, he can stay on hold." Tony says.
"Okay." Natasha says, standing up too, "Um, I have something for you to give the kids, if you don't mind."
"Sure, I can do that." Tony responds and the two of them head out of the office.
June 14th 2016. Barton Farm.
Afternoon.
A little while after his conversation with Natasha Tony lands his suit in front of the Barton farmhouse, with two iron legion suits with him, honestly having no idea what to expect. Once he lands Tony gets out of the suit and heads towards the door, holding the gifts that Natasha asked him to bring in a bag.
As he approaches the door Tony takes a deep breath as he's pretty sure that this visit is going to be far from pleasant but he has to tell Laura everything, he owes her the truth and to do what he can to make sure that she and the kids are safe.
Once he gets to the door Tony reaches out and knocks, seconds later Laura Barton, holding a baby that Tony knows to be Nathaniel, comes into view.
"Mr Stark." Laura says surprised, "What are you doing here?" Laura says, then she gets a look of horror on her face, "Something's happened to Clint, hasn't it?" she asks worried.
"In a manner of speaking, may I come in?" Tony asks, not really wanting to have the conversation on the porch.
"Of course, come in." Laura says and she opens the door and allows Tony inside.
"Natasha would have come too, but she's currently restricted to the Avengers Compound, but she asked me to give this to your kids." Tony says, handing the bag over.
"Tell her thanks for me, but why would Natasha be confined to the Compound?" Laura asks confused as she leads Tony to the living room.
"it's a long story." Tony responds.
Once they are in the living room Laura puts Nathaniel down in a play pen and gestures to Tony to sit down.
"What did Clint tell you about why he came back?" Tony asks as he and Laura sit down on the couch, asking the question so he knows where to start.
"That Steve needed his help, that there were super soldiers, and that they could kill a lot of people if they weren't stopped." Laura explains, "And that that had somehow caused a fight between the Avengers because the Government was restricting what you could do and you were going along with them."
"That's partly true." Tony reveals, "There was a fight among the Avengers, but I didn't know about the Super Soldiers, not until a lot of bad things happened; Captain Rogers never told me about them. One hundred and seventeen countries want the Avengers to be under the United Nations supervision." He explains, "Captain Rogers was against the idea, I was, I am, for the idea. That caused the fight. Clint was on Captain Roger's side."
"Where is my husband, Mr Stark?" Laura asks, anger and worry clear in her voice.
"I don't know for sure." Tony says, though he has suspicions, "But I do know that earlier today Captain Rogers broke him, and some others, out of place that they shouldn't have been, that I didn't know they'd be sent to, and as far as I know he's okay." Tony explains, choosing his words carefully.
"He's not coming home, is he?" Laura asks worried.
"Not for a while." Tony admits, "He's a wanted man right now, he, along with Captain Rogers and some other people went against the Accords…." Tony starts to explain, but then Laura cuts him off.
"The Accords, that sounds familiar." Laura says, getting up and heading over to the other side of the room, where she searches on a desk, "You mean these?" she asks holding up the document.
"Yes." Tony confirms, "I sent them to Clint to give him the choice to sign if he wanted, if he didn't he could have remained retired without getting into any trouble, but he chose to break them." Tony explains as Laura walks back over.
"You're saying my husband is a fugitive." Laura says, tears coming to his eyes, "Did he know that would happen when he left?"
"Yes." Tony confirms and Laura looks torn between furious and heartbroken so not really sure what else to do Tony reaches out and pats her on the shoulder awkwardly a couple of times before removing his hand.
"I can't believe it." Laura says, putting her head in her hands and causing Tony to feel very uncomfortable because he really has no idea what to do, "If Captain Rogers would have told you what was going on sooner would the Accords have allowed you to help?"
"Yes." Tony answers knowing that as he and Natasha may have had a conversation about that the night before, after a few drinks, "Captain Rogers didn't share information and the fight happened because me, Natasha, and some others wanted to bring them in without hurting them before a team who would have orders to kill on sight could have." Tony says, suspecting he said too much too late when Laura gasps, "Both sides made a mistakes in this fight, it cost us all a lot. I'm sorry that it cost you your husband and your kids their father." Tony explains, his voice full of sincerity, and as he does Laura turns to look directly at him,
"I'm never going to see my husband again, am I?" Laura asks Tony being able to hear more anger and pain rather than sadness.
"I don't know." Tony admits, "There may be a way to get him a pardon for everything that has happened, but it might take a while, if ever, and Clint would have to agree to sign the Accords, or the revised version that are being worked on at least." Tony explains to Laura.
"He didn't read the first lot." Laura realises, noticing the seal on the document hasn't been broken, "He just went off, sacrificed everything!" Laura says, her voice sounding furious, "How could he do that?"
"I don't know." Tony says, it feeling pretty pathetic to keep answering with those three words, as Laura stands up, and starts to pace angrily as she throws the Accords down on the couch.
"Don't we matter to him? He said he was done! And then he goes charging into battle, without knowing the facts! Knowing that it would take him away from us forever. How could he do that?" Laura asks, her voice breaking.
"I don't know." Tony says, standing up, "But Mrs Barton…."
"Laura." She corrects.
"Laura." Tony corrects, "I do know that you and the kids mean everything to Clint."
"If that's true then he would have thought about us a bit more before doing this." Laura says but before Tony can respond to that there is the sound of footsteps and a six-year-old girl and almost twelve-year-old boy comes into view, Cooper and Lila, both of whom are a lot bigger than last time Tony saw them.
"Who are you talking to Mom?" Cooper asks curious.
"Hi." Lila says, looking up at Tony in confusion.
"Hi." Tony responds, feeling a little awkward.
"Kids this is Mr. Stark…."
"Tony." He corrects, "You can all call me Tony." He explains.
"You've meet before; do you remember?" Laura asks.
"Yeah." Cooper says with a nod.
"Is Daddy with you?" Lila asks, looking at Tony with a look of complete innocence.
"No, he's not." Tony answers, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice as he remembers all too well what it is like to be disappointed by your father.
"But Tony did bring presents from your Auntie Nat." Laura says, picking up the bag and handing it to Cooper, "Why don't you take your sister upstairs and see what you've been given."
"Sure." Cooper says and he and Lila head upstairs.
"I don't know what I'm going to tell them." Laura admits.
"I can't help you figure that out, I wish I could, but I can't." Tony admits, feeling bad about that.
"But you are here to help with something." Laura realises, having spent enough time around spies to pick up on the double meaning.
"Yes, It's outside." Tony says.
"Okay." Laura responds, "COOPER, LILA, I'M JUST GOING OUT THE FRONT." She calls to her older kids as she picks up Nathaniel before heading outside.
Walking outside Laura sees the open suit that Tony clearly used to fly to her house and two others that look like they wouldn't fit people inside.
"What is this?" Laura asks confused.
"I've programed these suits to protect you and the kids, just in case. They'll stay outside unless something happens, at which point they'll contact me and help will be here as soon as possible." Tony admits, "Here you can communicate with them by using this." Tony says, handing Laura an earpiece, "I've programed them to completely listen to your instructions. I know it's not much, but…." Tony starts to say, but he finds himself getting cut off by a hug.
"Thank you, Tony." Laura says gratefully, "Thank you."
"It's not a problem." Tony says as the hug ends, Tony looking more than a little awkward, "And um, here, a completely secure phone. Mine and Natasha's personal numbers are both programed in, you can call either of us any time day or not, even if it's just to talk." He says as he knows loneliness and figures that with just three kids around Laura is bound to get lonely quickly, "And um, if it's okay with you, I'd like to get you some equipment to help you manage the farm alone, and help with your expenses."
"I couldn't ask…." Laura starts to say.
"You're not asking. I'm offering." Tony says, "I'd like to help you Laura, do what I can until I can figure out a way to help Clint, if I can." He explains.
"Thank you." Laura says, looking completely amazed and having no idea what else to say, "Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asks.
"I wouldn't want to intrude." Tony says, quickly.
"You wouldn't be. In fact, insist." Laura informs him.
"Then okay. It would be my pleasure." Tony responds before the two of them head inside.
June 14th 2016. Avengers Compound.
Night.
After spending a few hours with Laura and the Barton children, and very much enjoying dinner with them Tony has returned to the Compound.
"You've been gone a while." A voice says as Tony walks into the private common area and he isn't at all surprised to see Natasha.
"Are you waiting up for me, Nat?" Tony asks, a level of amusement in his voice, as he walks over.
"Just wanted to see how Laura and the kids are." Natasha responds, purposely not responding to his comment.
"They're good or as good as they can be considering." Tony reveals, "Laura made me stay for dinner, and she said to give you this." He says, handing Natasha a container.
"Ohhh, good." Natasha says, looking glad.
"Laura's a really good cook." Tony say as he sits down on the couch next to Natasha.
"Yeah, she is." Natasha confirms, "How's she doing? Really?"
"She's angry, and hurting." Tony says sadly, "I think I'm going to head out there a few times a week if I can, help out, give her some company, help with the kids."
"That's a good idea." Natasha says, "I know Laura would get lonely when Clint was on missions and it's bound to be worse now."
"So you think it would be a good thing to visit." Tony says, wanting to be sure.
"Yeah, and once I can I will to." Natasha answers.
"I'm not trying to replace Clint." Tony informs her.
"I wasn't even considering that you were." Natasha tells Tony, "Why don't you say what you're really thinking." She suggests as she has known Tony long enough to know that he isn't saying something.
"I remember what it's like to barely see your father, to wonder whether he even cares, and even though sooner or later, if he stays away, Cooper and Lila will start to wonder the same thing, and even if it doesn't help with that pain I want to show them that someone does care. Until I can bring their father home." Tony explains, "Am I being naive?" he asks Natasha trusting her opinion even though he's not sure he's completely forgiven her for what happened at the airport, and hospital.
"No." Natasha answers, without hesitation, "You were let down so many times by your Dad, and you've seen how being let down by parents effected Hope and Mel too, you want to help protect Clint's kids from that. I think that's good." Natasha tells him, "And it's the same thing I'm going to do once I'm no longer shut up here." She says as she doesn't want Clint's kids to suffer any more than they have to, she cares about them too much.
"I should get to the lab. I want to work on Rhodey's legs." Tony tells Natasha.
"How did he go today? Didn't he use the first prototype today?" Natasha asks curious.
"He did as well as I was expecting." Tony admits, standing up, "I'll see you in the morning, Nat."
"See you then." Natasha responds and Tony walks out of the room, leaving Natasha alone.
June 15th 2016. Wakanda.
Afternoon.
Far away from the Compound where their former friends and teammates are Sam, Clint, Wanda and Scott are sitting in the living are of the rooms that the four of them, Steve and Bucky have been given, though Bucky has recently gone back into Cryo-freeze so he's not going to be spending time in his room.
"Will you please just pick a channel." Sam says annoyed as for the last five minutes Scott has been flipping channels constantly.
"No." Scott responds, and as he does he pauses on a channel for a little longer before flipping back.
"Go back." Clint says and, with a confused look on his face Scott flips back, causing all of them to be completely shocked by what they see.
"STEVE GET IN HERE." Sam yells and seconds later Steve comes running into the room.
"What's going on?" Steve asks confused.
"Look." Sam says, pointing to the screen and they all watch the video of Bucky as the Winter Solider killing his parents, followed by a video of the Steve, Tony and Bucky fight, a video that ends with Tony being unable to get back up.
"Those videos were emailed to us, as well as all news outlets, a little while ago and so far, there has been no word from Mr Stark or anyone else in regards to this matter." The news anchor says before Sam turns the screen off.
"I think there's a few things you skipped over in your explanation of what happened." Sam says to his friend, sounding a little shocked, as well as having an undertone of anger in his voice.
"Bucky isn't to blame for what happened to Tony's parents, he wasn't in control." Steve says, needing to defend his friend.
"That explains the first video, but what about the second?" Clint asks, not sure what to think, or what to feel.
"Tony snapped, he was going to kill Bucky! I did what I had to do." Steve explains.
"Of course he snapped. He watched his parents die, that's incredible painful to see." Wanda, the last person anyone would expect to defend Tony, says.
"How long did you know? What happened to his parents?" Sam asks his friend, wanting all the facts.
"Since S.H.I.E.L.D fell." Steve answers.
"He deserved to know a lot sooner. Not even Stark deserved to find out about his parents' deaths that way." Wanda comments.
"He didn't get up." Scott realises, causing everyone to turn and look at him, "There was something wrong with the suit and he was hurt."
"He would have been fine. He could have easily gotten out of the suit." Steve comments, not sure who he is trying to convince.
"Not if the manual release was broken, in that case he would have been trapped, unable to move." Scott explains, using his engineering knowledge.
"He's Tony, I'm sure he's fine." Clint says, but then before anyone can say anything the door opens and T'Challa walks in.
"Your Majesty." Steve greats as he walks in.
"Captain, have you seen the news?" T'Challa asks.
"Yes." Steve answers.
"Do you know what happened to Stark?" Sam asks, before anyone can say anything.
"Yes." T'Challa answers, "Mr. Stark's suit was disabled in a way that made him unable to use the manual release and he was stranded at the facility until being rescued by Natasha Romanoff, Hope Van Dyne and Melinda May."
"Hope?"
"Mel?"
Clint and Scott ask together, both sounding shocked.
"Who's Melinda May?" Steve ask confused as that's the only name he doesn't know.
"She's a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, a great one, but I don't know what she would have had to do with any of this." Clint admits, looking pretty confused.
"Oh my god." Scott suddenly says and everyone turns to look at him, "Once, after a few drinks, Hope talked about people she was close to the only names she said were Mel, Nat, Tony and Jim." He explains, "That could explain all this."
"Jim could mean Rhodey." Steve mutters.
"It would make sense." Clint realises, "Nat and Mel had always been close."
"Was Tony okay?" Steve ask.
"Do you care?" T'Challa asks, as he's spoken to Tony more than once in the last few days, and see how hurt he is, and to see the video of what caused him to get hurt he can't help but feel some anger at Steve.
"Of course I do!" Steve asks, actually feeling rather insulted.
"Mr Stark has several broken ribs, cuts that required stiches and a pulmonary contusion, which is still requiring him to wear oxygen for a couple of hours a day." T'Challa explains, "Those injuries were caused by your shield." He explains, and as he does he hears a beep coming from his phone, "Excuse me, I have some business to attended to." He says before leaving, leaving the former Avengers to be shocked into silence, though after a few second Clint walks out of the room, needing some time and space to think.
June 15th 2016. Avengers Compound.
Morning.
At the Avengers Compound Tony, Rhodey, Natasha and Vision are all just sitting down to breakfast together, something which they have been trying to do as a group since they've all been back.
"I've almost finished my mark two version of my device to help you walk." Tony tells Rhodey, "Do you want to give it a try later this afternoon?" he asks curious.
"Sure." Rhodey says with a nod.
"Great." Tony responds.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Vision asks curious, wanting to do something to distract him from thinking of Wanda.
"Maybe. I'll let you know." Tony tells the AI.
"Boss, I believe there is something you'll want to see." FRIDAY informs Tony.
"Put it on the screen." Tony requests and all four of them turn to look towards the screen, and seconds later the video of what happened to Tony's parents starts to play.
"No, no, no." Tony says, sounding horrified.
"Tony?" Rhodey says concerned and once the video of Bucky killing Tony's parents stops playing the video of Steve and Bucky fighting with Tony starts.
"I can't do this." Tony says before getting up and walking out of the room, or more specifically hurrying out of the room.
"Damn it." Rhodey says angrily.
"FRIDAY, what news station is this on?" Natasha asks.
"Everyone Miss Romanoff." Friday answers.
"Of course it is." Natasha comments, with a sigh.
"The source is the facility in Siberia, it was sent to every news outlet at the same time, a pre-set time." FRIDAY explains.
"We need to do something." Rhodey comments, "I'm going to go talk to Tony. Can you call Pepper see what we have to do to handle the fallout of this?" he asks Natasha.
"Sure, I can do that." Natasha says with a nod.
"Viz, can you see if there is any way for you to remove the videos. They've probably made it online by now." Rhodey comments.
"Of course." Vision respond.
"Good." Rhodey says before wheeling out of the room and once he does Natasha and Vision both get to work on trying to do what Rhodey asked.
A little while after he suggested to Natasha and Vision what to do Rhodey rolls into the lab where he isn't surprised to find Tony working.
"Tony." Rhodey says as he wheels over to his friends' side.
"I don't want to talk." Tony says, not looking away from what he is doing.
"Just because you don't want to, doesn't mean you don't have to." Rhodey tells his friend, "I'm here Tony, I'm not going anywhere."
"There's nothing I can do about it, I can't change things, I can't bring them back so why should I bother talking about it?" Tony asks there being an undertone of anger in his voice.
"Because you need to." Rhodey informs him, "You can't keep it bottled up, Tony. If you do it's going to destroy you. So, let it out, talk to me, tell me what's going on with you."
"You want to know what's going on with me, really?" Tony asks and Rhodey nods, "I hate him! God I hate him! Perfect Captain America who lectured me on keeping secrets all the while keeping one himself! You know he told Nat that he'd tell me about my parents, but I don't think he ever intended to." Tony says, his voice slightly bitter, "One hundred and seventeen countries want the Accords, a number that's probably going to go up, and he thinks he knows better. Aren't I supposed to be the arrogant one? People wanted to kill Wanda, not just governments, regular people, after Legos and so I kept her here, maybe I should have explained that to her first, but god I was trying to protect her, I was trying to stop someone from trying to kill her, or someone getting hurt if she had to defend herself!" He says, sounding furious, "God why couldn't he just tell me what was going on! Why couldn't he just listen for once and stop being an arrogant ass who thinks he knows better than everyone! He said he wants to protect people, but shouldn't he listen to the people!" Tony says, "I just…." Tony starts to say, pain in his voice before he stops speaking.
"That help?" Rhodey asks curious.
"Yeah, it does." Tony admits, taking a breath, trying to calm himself before he has a panic attack, "Want to help me with these?" he asks, knowing that focusing on work will help.
"Sure." Rhodey says and he rolls over so that he is in a better place to help Tony with what he is doing.
June 15th 2016. Avengers Compound.
Afternoon.
Ever since Rhodey suggested to them what they should be doing Natasha and Vision have been trying to do what Rhodey asked.
"I've talked to Pepper. She's going to release a statement from Stark Industries." Natasha reveals as she sits down next to Vision.
"Good, that's good."
"How'd you go removing the videos?" Natasha asks curious.
"As quick as I remove them they just get reposted." Vision responds, "I don't think I can remove them quick enough." Vision explains, but before she can respond they hear,
"HELLO."
And Natasha gets up and walks into the corridor where she finds Peter.
"Peter, what are you doing here?" Natasha asks, a little surprise to see him.
"I saw the news. Is Tony okay?" Peter asks, sounding worried.
"He's about as okay as he can be." Natasha admits, "Do you want to see him?" she asks curious.
"Can I? Please?" Peter asks, looking glad, though worried.
"Sure. Follow me." Natasha tells him and they both head towards the lab.
"Do you think he'll be okay with me being here?" Peter asks Natasha as they walk.
"I think he'll be very glad to see you." Natasha admits.
"Cool." Peter responds and a couple of minutes later they arrive at Tony's lab and Natasha lets them both in.
"Tone, you've got a visitor." Natasha says as she sees Rhodey and Tony working on something.
"Oh? Who?" Tony asks, turning to look at her and when he does he notices Peter, "Kid? What are you doing here?" he asks, surprised.
"I saw the news, I wanted to see whether you were okay." Peter admits.
"That means a lot Kid, but don't you have school?" Tony asks.
"I finished early." Peter explains, "I…. I was really worried when I saw the videos. I wanted to make sure you're okay." He explains and as he does Tony looks at Natasha and Rhodey, wanting to get some idea of what is going on.
"Thanks Kid." Tony says, feeling amazed, "I'm as okay as I can be." He admits, it seemingly like the nicest way for him to explain what's going on.
"Cool." Peter responds, "What are you working on?" he asks curious.
"Something to help Rhodey." Tony explains, "Do you want to help?" he asks curious.
"Can I?" Peter asks, looking excited.
"Sure." Tony says with a grin and Peter walks over to Tony and Rhodey so that he can have a look, "When is your aunt expecting you home?"
"Not until late, she thinks I'm at the library." Peter explains.
"Okay, we're going to talk about you constantly lying to your aunt later, but right now do you want to say for dinner?" Tony asks curious.
"Definitely." Peter answers with a grin.
A couple of hours later Tony, Rhodey, Natasha, Vision, and Peter are all sitting around the table together enjoying a dinner of pizza. As Tony looks around the table and sees Peter happily talking to both Natasha and Rhodey at the same time, he can't help but smile, as he realises that he really enjoys how happy they all are, and them being happy makes him happy.
June 16th 2016. Avengers Compound.
Morning.
It's quiet early in the morning and Tony is sitting in the conference room waiting when the door opens and Natasha walks in Vision floats in and Rhodey wheels in.
"You look like you barely slept." Natasha comments as she sits on Tony's left side, Rhodey wheels over and sits next to his left side and Vision sits next to Rhodey.
"I didn't." Tony responds, "I was working on all night, and I got an email from Hope with her initial ideas about the accords." He reveals.
"That's good. Any idea when she'll be here full time?" Rhodey asks, trying to keep his voice causal.
"About two weeks, maybe more." Tony answers as he and Natasha exchange knowing looks.
"Is it a good idea to start altering the Accords while Ross is still in charge, he could stonewall things." Natasha comments.
"It might take a while for the changes to be made, the sooner we get started, the better. Plus, Ross doesn't know about this meeting, and I'd prefer it stay like that." Tony comments, "Which reminds me, can you all write reports on your interactions with Ross, anything I can use as evidence against him."
"Will do."
"Yep."
"Of course."
Rhodey, Natasha and Vision respond.
"FRIDAY, connect us." Tony requests and on the screen across from where Rhodey, Natasha, Tony and vision are sitting T'Challa appears on the screen, "Your Majesty." He greats.
"Mr Stark, Mr Rhodes, Miss Romanoff, Mr Vision." T'Challa responds.
"Thank you for making yourself available for this, I know how busy you are." Tony responds.
"It's my pleasure, I still believe the Accords are important. I would very much like them to be as effective as possible." T'Challa responds, "I understand you have some changes you'd like to propose."
"Yes. There have been five of us here who have been working on changes we'd like to make and I believe it would be best to get your opinion on the changes we'd like to make as well as adding any changes you'd like before going to the UN."
"I believe that would be for the best." T'Challa responds and together the group of four people and one AI start to discuss the changes they want to make to the Accords to make them better, more effective.