I had plans for a story called Avengers: Fresh Start taking place in the same universe as my Spider-Man: Fresh Start story but I have reworked it into this. Each chapter is about 1 or more superhero in this verse and with all sorts of different villains. Some maybe connected or lead to others or be in some sort of storyline (including my planned one or Avengers: Fresh Start). Don't expect them all to be in chronological order.
A week after a day unlike any other; the day that 6 heroes united to stop the machinations of the Norse God of Mischief and Chaos known as Loki, stopping his monster army in San Francisco and Captain America had told the other 5 heroes of the changed world he sees but also the heroes he has seen ready to protect or avenge the world. The 6 heroes agreed to join up and form a group called the Avengers with SHIELD backing; the first big superhero team since the X-Men.
It was on this day that Tony Stark the billionaire genius scientist philanthropist who had before that day revealed himself as the red and gold armoured hero known as Iron Man; was meeting with Captain Steve Rogers the legendary World War II super soldier known as Captain America. The location that Tony was showing Steve around was the recently purchased and reworked high tech tower that was to be Stark Tower but would now be known as Avengers Tower; the headquarters of the Avengers.
"So we have plenty of room for all of us as well as new members; a gym and a pool and a bar and just about anything that you can need. Please don't waste my bar's budget as I have seen the files that showed that the serum in your veins made you unable to be drunk; jealous I have to say and I must give this warning to Thor as well." Tony with his goatee and business suit putting his arm around the tall muscular Steve with his blonde hair and more casual clothes. "A shock seeing all this futuristic tech even with the standards of modern day that you should still be adjusting to. Say you think that you could go and speak to your friends at the UN about seeing if they would like to join? Spider-Man is big right now with him getting the most credit but there is also King T'Challa and could we pinch any of the X-Men?" Tony decided to ask as Steve looked to him.
"Tony; just wondering... I can see that you are definitely smart enough to use your fortune to put together your flying suit but what led to you becoming Iron Man? Was it for the excitement?" Steve asked as Tony sighed.
"Well was considered gited by most; when my grandpa died he shocked everyone by leaving the company straight to me. You know your old ally Howard Stark with his weapons making business helping America and the Allies in the war effort? Yeah the company he built went to me and my designs made it better. Was at a weapons test when we were attacked and I was taken prisoner. Klaue; an international pirate and arms dealer, I saw that he had gotten his hands on my weapons and he wanted me to build him more. Even create all new weapons for him to sell." Tony explained and then took a deep sigh.
"I saw the damage that my designs wrecked and in the prisoner camp there was another scientist who was helping me out; Yinsen and he helped open my eyes to the innocents lost to my designs from them getting into the hands of terrorists and how my own country's military used them overseas. He let me know that I'm known as 'the merchant of death' in areas around the world. I swore that I would escape and fix things." Tony said as he then unfashioned his shirt and jacket to show Steve the light blue glowing device in his chest. "Arc reactor; preventing shrapnel from reaching my heart. Yinsen helped me put it together to save my life and to build my means of escape. We pretended to be build weapons for Klaue when we were putting together my first suit of armor; powered by this. I got out and I took Yinsen but he didn't live long enough to really enjoy his freedom." Tony admitted as Steve put a hand to Tony's own shoulder.
"It's never good when no matter how hard you try; you fail to save someone." Steve told him and Tony nodded.
"I swore that I would make sure that his death would mean something; I shut down my weapons making division causing a lot of noise but I moved my employees into making clean energy. I worked on my suit of armor design and made it better; I would use it to fight evil around the world and make sure that no one would misuse my tech ever again. The media called me 'Iron Man'; technically it's a titanium and gold alloy but I liked the name and showed everyone live. It has led to us here." Tony finished explaining.
"A lot of noise is right; military and government representatives demanding answers and then you refusing to let the government have access to the Iron Man technology." a blonde haired man scoffed in a business suit shaking his head.
"I don't know why you are complaining Mr Stane; it was up to me to answer his calls and arrange everything." said a voice and there was a smiling orange haired woman in a business suit and her hair tied back.
"Cap; this is Zeke Stane the head of Stark's R&D and Pepper Potts my main assistant. She basically makes sure that I can keep control of my life." Tony introduced them as Zeke just left but Steve went to shake Pepper's hand.
"An honour Captain; my grandmother was a big fan." Pepper greeted Steve.
"Thanks Ms Potts; I take it that Mr Stane doesn't care to stay." Steve asked and Pepper shook her head.
"Not a big fan of our employer; especially as he never liked being called 'Zeke'. He prefers Mr Stane or Ezekiel." Pepper explained.
"I bet he loves it deep down; you know that I consider him a brother of sorts." Tony remarked.
At an expensive piece of private property; Tony had arrived and made his way to a bedroom where there was a bedridden elderly man with a silver goatee and bald head. "So the illustrious Tony Stark comes to see me; what brings you here?" snapped the man as Tony put on a welcoming smile.
"Hey dad... You know how I'm basically a superhero now? Well I think you must have seen it on the news but I'm a team that has Thor and despite all the talk of him being an insane guy with storm powers, he is the real deal God of Thunder. It could mean that the Norse were the ones who got it right or the other religious deities and pantheons are real as well. But more exciting is that I am buddies with Captain America himself; you know grandpa's friend?" Tony asked as his father Obadiah turned his head away from him.
"The man that my father never shut up about? The big brother that I couldn't live up to? Good for you; you can be pals with him and nutjobs with hammers and green beasts as you play a childish game of 'superhero' instead of living in the real world." snapped Obadiah as Tony sighed.
"Come on dad; I want to fix things between us while we still have time..." Tony said and Obadiah gave a humorless laugh but then started coughing as the readings on his medical equipment went up.
"Fix? Things are beyond fixing with us; all I can think about when I stare at you is asked where did I go wrong? I got saddled with an alcoholic party boy who played games for a son and the ultimate humiliation in finding out that my own father passed the family business over to my son. Finding out that he made it ironclad and had actually arranged for the ownership to be transferred to him before he died and did everything to make sure that I couldn't contest him leaving everything to you! My disappointment of a son... Yet my own father looked to you with the eyes that he never looked to me with; all because I wasn't the inventing type like he was. It always seemed to escape him how you kept squandering all you had; why he saw you as his true successor; I will never know." Obadiah snapped as Tony looked down silent.
"He didn't leave you with nothing; millions of dollars and stock isn't nothing..." Tony replied as Obadiah glared at him.
"I actually could begrudging respect you for how you revolutionised warfare but you had to go and ruin even that. I saw the news of you shutting down the weapons division of Stark Industries and I wondered... How could my sperm produce this?" Obadiah continued on as Tony shook his head.
"My designs were in the hands of terrorists and the things that the government were doing with my tech... Innocent people were being hurt!" Tony replied and Obadiah laughed bitterly before coughing once more.
"Warfare built this company boy and it made us a fortune but now after all this time you decided to grow a conscience? You, me and my father... We were all iron mongers but I seemed to be the only one who understood that." Obadiah retorted but turned his head as Tony took his words in. "Just leave; I don't know how long I have left but if I end up dead tonight... I don't want to have lived my final day dealing with that disappointment of a son who squandered everything handed to him on a silver platter." Obadiah told him and Tony slowly left.
He called for his parked armor outside the mansion and went in; he looked to his heads up display inside his helmet and called for his personal AI that he invented that is hooked to the network off his suits and Avengers Tower that he named JARVIS. Named after the butler who spent more time looking after him growing up than his father did.
"JARVIS; I would like some music to fly home to... A request in particular..." Tony sighed as he had JARVIS play for him House of Pain by Faster Pussycat.
Decided to make Tony the grandson of Howard Stark like in the Captain Carter comic miniseries; with how the time since World War II makes it a big harder for Tony to not be so old and still the son of Howard. Plus a bit of White Dragon from Peacemaker into the portrayal. This first chapter's plot was intended to be the first chapter of Avengers: Fresh Start and so will be connected to certain future chapters.
