A/N: Welcome to my new story; thanks for stopping by to read it. It's been simmering on the back burner in my mind for quite some time now, taking on a few different forms, and I think I've finally found a version of it I'm happy with.
This is technically a crossover story, but I feared that revealing what it's a crossover with in the description might give away a bit too much, and some of you would undoubtedly realize what's going on right away.
I would've had this up a couple days ago, if not for some computer issues, as well as the spur-of-the-moment decision to Multiverse of Madness the cover image by putting a bunch of Easter eggs in it. The site cropped the original image I created a bit (and you can't make it too large by clicking on it on the site), so I included a link to the original version on my profile page. It's much larger there if you want to try to examine the stuff I hid in it (some of which pertains to the mystery crossover…).
Enjoy, and please R&R with any thoughts, theories, etc. you have about the story (or cover image)!
I do not own Avengers or [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS].
"Suit of armor around the world, was it?"
Tony's eyes shot open. As soon as he opened them, he realized that wherever he was, it certainly wasn't in his bedroom at the Avengers Compound. Surrounding him were holographic blue screens, not unlike the ones he used back at the Compound, with strings of numbers rapidly scrolling across them. Beyond the sphere of screens surrounding him was, as impossible as it seemed, outer space. Tony seemed to be standing in midair, with the only light being provided by the screens; the visible stars were too far away to cast any noticeable light on him.
"Oh, good, you're awake. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Stark. That was what you said, right? That you needed a suit of armor around the world?"
"What is this?" Tony asked. "Where am I? Who are you?"
"Geez, no beating around it with you, huh? But I can respect that. Being direct. Who I am isn't important right now…you humans are so fixated on names for some reason."
"You're Loki, aren't you?"
"Loki? Ha! That wannabe sorcerer? No, Stark, I'm not Loki. He's dead, by the way…well, allegedly. You didn't hear this from me, but he's actually alive and masquerading as Odin. Might want to tell ol' Sparky Odinson next time you meet up with him."
"And I should believe you?" Tony paced around the inside of the sphere of screens. "Why again? You take me to the middle of outer space and…what? That's gonna instill a sense of trust between us?"
"Oh, you're not actually in outer space. Transporting you there would be far beyond even me…for now, that is. This is just a dream. This could be anywhere. Maybe this would suit you better?"
The backdrop of stars vanished to the side, as though it was an image being swept aside on a smartphone. Outer space was replaced with the main meeting room of the Avengers Compound.
"Or this?"
With the same swiping effect, the Avengers Compound transitioned to the interior of Aldrich Killian's mansion.
"Or maybe even this?"
The background switched to a generic swath of deep woods that didn't have any immediate significance to Tony. Seconds later, it changed back to the original outer space background.
"But for someone as forward-thinking as yourself, I thought I'd go with space. The final frontier of humanity, Stark.
"So let me get this straight. This is a dream, but you're real, and I'm supposed to buy this because…?"
"Well, I suppose you don't have a reason to. You don't know me, but I know you. All the great things you've done. All the greater things you could do if you let me help you."
"What do you want from me? You obviously brought me…wherever here is for some reason, so let's hear it. What do you want?"
The voice gave a high-pitched laugh. "I don't want anything from you, I want to give you something. You have potential, Stark, and I want to help you achieve it. You know what I think went wrong with that little…incident with Ultron? You, having all that power…and then handing it over to a robot. I'm sure I don't have to remind you what came of that."
"Okay, I made a mistake. Error in judgment. I accept that. But what exactly would you do differently? The Earth needs protection, and the Avengers might not always be a big enough line of defense!"
"I agree. Why have a team of people…when you can just have one? All teams are destined to fall apart eventually. Strife, infighting, differing agendas. But one person will always stay true to their own goals."
"I'm sorry, but that is sounding dangerously-"
"What if you didn't make the suit of armor around the world, Stark? What if you WERE the suit of armor around the world?"
Tony continued pacing in a circle and ran his hand through his hair.
"I think I might've forgotten to mention that I can show you your future."
Tony stopped. "You know my future?"
"You'd be surprised the things I know. Here, why don't I show you, and then you can decide if you want to take me up on my offer or not."
All the screens surrounding Tony vanished, except for one directly across from him. He walked towards it. The numbers scrolling down the screen vanished, replaced by a string of images.
Tony next to an unconscious Rhodey near what looked like an airport.
Two strange-looking beings attacking New York City, with a vehicle that looked like...well, a flying donut, hovering over the city.
Tony in some rocky desert being stabbed through the chest by a giant purple figure.
Watching a tally of "Global Missing Persons" surpass three-and-a-half billion.
And finally:
"And I…am…Iron Man."
The voice returned, seeming to come from behind Tony. "What a shame. Gone too soon."
Tony whirled around, but there was still no one there. "You're telling me I die. When?"
"October 2023. Not only that but you leave behind a wife and daughter. Poor Pepper and Morgan really deserved better. But don't dwell on that, Stark. That only has to happen if you refuse my gracious offer. Here, now I'll show you the alternative."
The screen looped around Tony so he could see it again.
The first scene was Tony, Pepper, and Morgan (he could only guess she was his daughter) strolling through Central Park with Hawkeye and his family.
Then he and Bruce accepting a joint Nobel Prize for finding a universal cure for cancer.
Attending Morgan's college graduation with Pepper.
Sitting on a front porch next to, gauging by his thinning grey hair, his grandchildren.
The screen went blank.
"So, Stark, you've seen both your options," the voice said. "The only question now is: which do you choose? Accept my help and live a long, happy life on a peaceful planet? Or have your life cut short fighting one of an endless string of threats hell-bent on destroying Earth, and accept that one day, a threat will emerge that posterity's heroes won't be able to stop…if humanity doesn't nuke itself into oblivion first, that is."
The screen lit up again. On the left side was an image of two hands shaking, and on the right side were two buttons labeled "Yes" and "No."
Tony hesitated.
"You have humanity's best interests at heart, Stark," the voice continued. "Who better to entrust the power to defend it to than yourself? This won't be another Sokovia. Take that step and accept true greatness."
"…No," Tony said. He pushed the "No" button. "I don't know anything about you, if this is even real. I've got no reason to trust you. So no, no deal. Forget it."
"Alright, Stark, suit yourself. Haha. Suit. Because you're Iron Man. You'll be waking up soon anyway. Enjoy your day, Stark. I'll be here when you change your mind."
"Wait, what-?"
Suddenly, Tony awoke. He immediately shielded his eyes against the harsh light glaring in his face from his computer screen, and then became aware of a loud beeping coming from somewhere nearby.
He looked around for where the beeping was coming from. Glancing at the computer, he remembered what he had been doing before falling asleep. Earlier in the year, when the Avengers attacked the HYDRA base in Sokovia, Tony had taken several pictures of the interior of the base, hoping to find any hints of possible future plans HYDRA had. He hadn't had a chance yet to look them over, so he had started examining them the previous evening. Through the nearby windows, Tony could see that, aside from the light cast by the Compound's floodlights, the world outside was still dark. He must have dozed off while looking at the images of the HYDRA base, and then….
…had that dream.
Was that even real? Some being who entered his dreams and could help him realize his goals to defend Earth? And somehow knew when he would die? And….
…would he really end up with Pepper?
The more he thought about it, the more far-fetched everything about his dream seemed. He's had strange ones before; why should this one be any different?
On the other hand, it wasn't that much more far-fetched than an alien army flying through a portal above Manhattan.
Was it?
First things first.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., what the hell is making that noise?" Tony got up from his chair and looked around.
"The Avengers Contact Channel has been activated," F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.
Of course, the night couldn't just throw one strange event at Tony. He had created the Avengers Contact Channel, or ACC, after the Battle of New York so that if a threat ever arose and one team member became aware of it before the others, they could easily contact the others. Tony had stipulated that the ACC was for emergencies only – not, say, inviting the others to go out for shawarma again – but for one reason or another, it had never been used. Steve had chosen to resolve the Winter Soldier situation on his own – which Tony couldn't really judge, since he did the same with the Mandarin's attacks – and Ultron had arisen when the whole team was present.
"Who's calling?" Tony asked.
"Clint Barton."
Tony rubbed his eyes. "Alright, patch him through."
The far end of the room was illuminated by a blue screen. A few seconds later, Clint's voice came over the ACC. "Tony, you there? Is that you?" Sound bars dominated most of the screen as he spoke.
"Yeah, it's me, buddy. Anyone else pick up yet?" Tony asked.
"No, not yet."
"What's going on?"
"Well, we've got a situation out here at the farmhouse…."
"What exactly is it?"
"I'll wait till the others show up. It's been…contained for now."
"Well, I don't know how many of us will actually show up. Cap, Wanda, and Vision are here at the Compound with me; not sure where Rhodey is currently; Thor's off world; Bruce is God knows where, he's been AWOL since Sokovia; Nat's out in the Pacific looking for any signs of him; and Sam's away visiting his family."
"Sam?"
"Falcon. I don't think you two have officially met."
The door at the far end of the room opened; Steve and Wanda walked in, while Vision floated through the wall a few feet to the side of the door.
"Clint? That you?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, it's me," he replied.
Tony turned to Steve. "Well, you're sounding awfully chipper for someone awake at…F.R.I.D.A.Y., what time even is it?"
"2:19A.M., sir."
Tony spread his arms. "There you go."
"Clint, what's going on?" Wanda asked.
Two beeps came over the ACC in rapid succession, followed by greetings from Rhodey and Natasha. Several seconds later, Sam joined as well.
"Okay, guys," Tony said. "I think we can start now. I honestly don't think Thor and Bruce are gonna make it; if they do drop in at some point, we can just fill them in. I never thought to test the range on the ACC to see if they can reach all the way to Asgard, and yeah, no one knows where Bruce is. Nat, making any headway in that area?"
"Not yet," she replied. "So Clint, what is it?"
"Several minutes ago, I woke up to this loud whistling outside the farmhouse, and then when I got up to see what it was, there was this loud crash right outside. I looked out the window and there was this crater, several feet wide, on the lawn, right in front of the porch. I went out to see what it was, and…hang on, I'll try to send a video of it over the channel here."
"Clint, this better not just be a…a meteor that looks like my helmet or something," Tony said.
"Well, someone's certainly in a mood," Natasha said.
"For the record, I speak from experience. This kid in Tennessee, Harley. Big fan. Helped me take down that Mandarin nutjob. And this is the Tony you're gonna get when you…wake me up at the witching hour for some NASA nonsense."
And after that unsettling dream….
Suddenly, the screen on the far end of the room displayed a video. Clint stood on his front porch, holding a large glass jar. The glow of his porch light illuminated an object in the jar: a writhing, black, slimy mass. "This is what was in the crater," Clint said. He leaned into view on the video. "I managed to get it in this jar. It was in the bottom of the crater; it wasn't moving around much until I got close, and then it's like it…sensed me, and headed straight for me. Do you have any idea what it is?"
Tony stroked his chin. "I don't know, but what I'm worried is that it's related to that...giant blue blob we got called to Missouri to investigate last year."
"I remember."
"Barton, stay put for now, but if that thing starts growing or acting up in some way, get Laura and the kids and get out of there."
"Will do."
"We're gonna take a Quinjet up there now. Nat, Rhodey, Sam, try to get there as soon as you can too. I want to know what this thing is."
