Chapter 2 The beginning of the Endgame
AN: Anything I do not cover in detail in this chapter will be covered in Stark for President III: For the Love of a Genius. The second book in the series is called Stark for President II: Operation Lightning bolt. The 4th book in the series is called Stark for President IV: Vote Stark for President, and the 5th and final book in the series is called Stark for President V: An Intergalactic Aftermath.
Tony's point of view
New York
Memories swirled around my mind as I gazed into the beautiful green eyes of my girlfriend…
"I miss you, Pep." I said a little forlornly. I was looking at a photograph on the desk beside me.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I could have sworn that I heard Pepper's voice say
"I miss you too Tony"
FLASHBACK
With hindsight, I should have known the relationship with Maya Hansen would go south, and I probably should have anticipated that it would happen faster than I expected. We'd been on a slide for a while. My mother had been suspicious of Maya from the instant they had met. Mom had insisted on me staying with her and Dad up at the big house when Maya was at a conference. They gave me a stern lecture about domestic abuse.
"I have to get home, I am expecting a package." I said.
"Will you please think about what we told you?"
"OK"
I went back home. Obie was waiting for me.
"Uncle Obie"
"Hey Tony… I ran that errand that you asked me to run"
"Thank you…"
He handed me a large bag with breathable mesh sides.
"I have to get back, your aunt Maria is preparing dinner, and I'll get in trouble if I'm late"
"Thanks uncle Obie, see you on Saturday?"
"Yeah, see you then. Have fun with your new arrivals."
"I will"
I opened the top of the breathable bag and found the two kittens inside, fast asleep. The phone rang.
"Tony, your mom is on her way down with Mr Jarvis, they're on foot"
"OK dad"
"Mom insisted on making freezer meals for you"
"OK… I appreciate that. I'll tell her as much when they get here."
"OK"
One of the kittens was a grey and black tabby — she was a shorthair. The other was a mostly white longhair with some calico markings around her face, lower back and tail. Her nose was bright pink.
"OK, I think you're going to be Pinky… and your sister will be The Brain".
Pinky opened one sleepy eye, peered at me, and then dozed off again with a loud, adorable, snore.
"OK, let's get you out of your carrier and into your proper bed."
I was about to pick the cats up, but the doorbell rang.
"Mr Jarvis, thank you for escorting mom down here… there's someone I want you to meet…"
"Master Anthony, we brought provisions for your freezer sir"
"I know, Dad called."
"I will put them into the freezer immediately"
"Thank you, Mr Jarvis… Mom, come with me"
I sat my mother on the couch and plucked the cats from their travel crate. I sat them carefully on mom's lap.
"What on earth?"
"This is Pinky, and this is the Brain. They're the closest you're going to get to grandchildren for a long, long, long time."
"I take it that means things are no better between you and Maya?"
"Nope. Last night, she accused me of sleeping with Pepper behind her back… she chewed me out and hung up on me."
"You haven't seen Pepper in… how long?"
"A very, very long time. I don't even know where she is currently or if she's in the country."
"Right"
*2 days later*
"I told you not to get cats"
"I am a 21-year-old adult legal citizen of this country and if I want to keep cats, then dammit I am going to"
"AAAAAAAARGH! Get that filthy BEAST away from ME! AAAAAAAARGH! EWWWWW! AAAAAAAARGH! EWWWWW! AAAAAAAARGH! EWWWWW! Get it off!"
"She's just saying hello"
"I don't care! Get it off me!"
"OK, you two rascals, come with me." I put the cats back into their travel crate.
"I'm going to stay with my parents, Maya. I have to think about a few things"
"OK".
I was upstairs when it happened. Maya deliberately knocked me flying backwards down the stairs.
Everything hurt, but I forced myself to get up onto my feet.
"JARVIS, do me a favour, change the security protocols and remove Miss Hansen's security clearance"
"Of course sir"
"Then I would like you to tell mom and dad that I'm moving back home"
"Of course sir"
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of me, locked in the master bedroom and Maya trying to talk to me through the door. As soon as I finished packing, I opened the bedroom door.
"Tony, I have to tell you something"
"I don't want to hear it. You have until this time tomorrow to get your shit together, and get the hell out of my life permanently. You're fired."
"I'll get you for this, Stark."
Howard's point of view
Flashback
Long Island, New York.
Peggy was delighted and appalled at the same time. She was delighted that Tony was back home but horrified that Maya had been abusing him.
"He needs his mom to fatten him up a bit"
Tony's point of view
Flashback
California 1992
After my parents died, Obie was happy for me to move to California to work at the office in Malibu. He was the CEO, I was going to be the head of Research and development.
One morning, I walked into Stark Industries, ready to do the interviews for the latest batch of recruits from Obie's newest recruitment drive and there sitting waiting with several other fresh-faced girls was…
"Pepper?"
"Tony?"
"What are you doing here?" we asked in unison
"I work here" I explained
"I'm applying for a job—any job. I need to get employed so that I can get out of a precarious personal situation".
"I'm going to tell my godfather that I'm poaching you from accounting. When I've done that, we'll go upstairs and have your interview."
"I only lasted three hours in the accounts department, I spotted a major error in the main budget and when I argued I was fired."
"When we get out of the elevator, stage show me the problem, OK?"
"OK"
We got out of the elevator.
"Mr Stark?"
"Yes Ms Potts?"
"There's a problem with the main budget's spreadsheet, you've miscalculated. If you don't rectify it immediately, the company will be in very deep trouble."
"Thank you, Ms Potts."
I examined the spreadsheet and when I saw the highlighted cell I gasped, the colour fading from my face.
"Ms Potts?"
"Yes Mr Stark?"
"You just saved this company $33bn US"
"WOW! I just got fired for pointing out your mistake to my line manager."
"How would you like to be my personal assistant?"
"I would like that very much"
Wakanda: 18 years later
We were in a palatial bedroom within the confines of the main palace of Wakanda. Peg was asleep, her head on my chest. I was wide awake… it was 3am… my brain was working overtime.
FLASHBACK
December 16th 1991, Long Island, New York.
Considering the events of the week of December 16th 1991 retrospectively, the vacation to the Bahamas was an awful idea and we never should have done it.
Mr and Mrs Jarvis were driving us first to the Pentagon and then to the airport.
The motorcycles came out of nowhere, surrounding the car. Edwin and Ana were up front, Peggy and I were in the back. All four of us were wearing seatbelts. The motorcycles were still circling. I pulled Peggy close and held on to her as tightly as I could.
*CRASH*
The first of the three motorcycles hit us. Edwin lost control of the car and we hit a tree.
I didn't dare move or speak. These were experienced undercover agents. I felt a draught. The other door was ajar, a pair of hands unfastened the seatbelt, grabbed me and pulled me out of the car the hard way. I felt and heard a crack. My right ankle was broken. I was still stubbornly holding tightly to Peggy. She was holding on to me just as stubbornly.
"Let go… now" the bitter angry voices of our assailants snarled.
"Never. You're literally going to have to break our arms to separate us" Peggy growled, her amber eyes glowing like burning coals.
"Exactly" I replied
"Fine… have it your way."
*BANG*...
"ANA!"
*BANG*... *BANG*... *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"Howard" Peggy hissed, fear evident in her voice for the first time in the 40 odd years I had known her
"Gunshots" I replied, crawling on top of her. She gave me a resentful look, but I was firm. I enveloped her in my embrace and whispered.
"You are far too valuable to lose"
"As are you"
"I have an idea…"
"Here, in the snow?"
"Why not?"
"Howard…"
"Just… trust me Peg"
"OK…"
"If this is the last time we're together, we might as well make it memorable for everyone involved"
"OK"
They dragged me away from Peggy, they put her head in one burlap sack, they put mine in another. I heard her squealing as they knocked her around a bit.
"QUIT HURTING HER!" I yelled.
I heard the unmistakable sound of a car boot slamming.
Wakanda, present day
Nat hadn't told the kids yet…
When she did, we would know about it.
Okoye promised to come and find us.
The sky turned a very, very dark grey…
New York
Tony's point of view
Pepper, Jay, Bruce, Clint, Nat and I were in meetings all day long, trying to stop General Ross from obliterating the Avengers.
The sky was a hideous shade of murky brown with purple mixed in.
Edinburgh
Vision's point of view
Wanda and I had sneaked off for a much-needed vacation… the stone in my head was trying to warn me of something… impending doom…
The sky was a weird yellowish colour
Wanda and I had ventured outside… to our peril…
Titan
Peter's point of view
I'd been forced into joining the rogues on their 'adventure…' without my father's knowledge…
"Why are we here?"
"This is Thanos's planet of birth… this is his territory, we bring the fight to him…"
"Can't you just LISTEN to me for ONE SECOND"
"Why should I, kid?"
"This is dangerous, and I bet my parents are freaking out"
"Who are your parents' son?"
"Tony Stark and Pepper Potts"
"Tony's got kids?"
"Yes… Dr Strange, isn't there ANYTHING you can do? Can't you magic me home ?"
"It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid, Peter."
The sky had turned from ash grey to a sickly orangey brown colour.
Then he came…
Tony's point of view
"Let me get this straight… you had your rogue team take my fifteen-year-old son to Titan to fight THANOS?"
"Yes"
"General, shred those accords… we are going to Titan"
"I can't do that"
We were too late…
A cold, crisp and bitter voice said,
"I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive, but you have shown me… that's impossible. As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those, that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.
I will shred this universe down to its last atom and then, with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. It is not what is lost, but only what it is being given… a grateful universe."
SNAP
At the very moment of Thanos's snap, there was an almighty lightning flash and without warning… people started to vanish into dust…
Howard's point of view
"Peggy, we need to go down to the palace, right now, there's a chance that Okoye may not be able to contact us."
"OK"
We went to the palace, arriving in time to see several Wakandans vanish in a pile of ash.
"What do we do?"
"Mr and Mrs Stark. We have received word from the Avengers group… they want us to come to New York, so that is what we are going to do" said Shuri.
We boarded the Quinjet headed for New York…
Natasha's point of view
"So we know the truth and Tony doesn't?" Bruce asked, eyebrow raised "Don't you think he's going to go nuts when he finds out?"
"For the moment yes. I can't seem to get him at a time when he will be able to sit and listen to me for long enough. I am sure he's going to be furious but he needs to know"
"Let's just show him then"
"Fine"
Pepper's point of view
I got a text message from Nat.
"We're about to do it, bring him in"
"OK"
Tony, listen, we're needed in a meeting with the rest of the team to discuss what's just happened. I'm sure nothing surprising is going to happen but, if it should, please don't be angry with me, I wasn't directly involved with this."
"OK"
Tony's point of view
Pep and I walked into the room and there standing before me was… someone who looked like my father and someone who looked like my mother.
"All right… what's going on?"
"What we were told about Mom and Dad… is not true"
"Evidently… however I need proof"
"Why don't you have J.A.R.V.I.S. test their blood?"
"An excellent suggestion Pepper"
"These are your parents Mr Stark"
"OK… What happened?"
"Hydra got us but they were intercepted. We've been in Wakanda in 1991. We were forbidden from telling you."
"Wow… OK. This is going to take some getting used to."
"OK, take your time"
"We found out first Tony… I'm sorry, we were trying to arrange things so that we could tell you."
BOOM!
"What the hell was that?"
"Nothing, just a certain Carole Danvers rescuing the idiot rogues"
"OK"
We went outside.
"Where's my son?"
"We lost the battle… Thanos won… We're the only survivors… This is Nebula. She's Thanos's daughter, but she despises him as much as we do"
"You're in for a shock Rogers…"
We went inside, and I tried not to gloat too hard.
"Now you can tell my parents exactly what you think of them… and all the nasty things you have been saying about my mother… I'm sure my father would love to hear those thoughts."