Disclaimer: I do not own any movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.

Phase 1: Spy Games

=IS=

Part 5

=IS=

Tony Stark's home

California

"We have no intention whatsoever to use the kid as leverage, Mr. Stark!" Ward raised his hands in a placating gesture. "This is merely a gesture of goodwill. "Any observers we have watching her are for her protection until you decide how to proceed."

I fixed him with a death stare. Ward didn't seem to be lying. Then again, his emotions were relaxed and controlled, making him harder to read than usual.

"We want you as an ally, Mr. Stark!"

"Well, see how useful your little game with Stane will be. Jarvis, get me all the information you can about this child, and be careful." I switched up the workstation on my desk, and as soon as its OS loaded, flicked the compressed file on it.

"Scanning the file… there are no viruses or other malware I can detect, Sir." Jarvis announced. "The files appear legitimate. Cross-checking now, Sir."

"Tell me more about your organization, Mr. Ward."

"The details I know of…." He trailed off. "As I told you, Mr. Stark, my part of SHIELD can trace its beginning to many of the organization's founding members and their legacy. The people they trained and brought in were those who shared similar ideals and goals. We want united and strong humanity, Mr. Stark. We're looking for a balance between a prosperous free society and enough control to protect it from itself. World War Two, and the Cold War, proved that Totalitarianism and Nazism are self-defeating ideologies. Unrestrained capitalism is ruinous too. Oppressing people tend to ruin societies. Yet unrestrained freedom, too many people happily abuse any shred of power they get to make it work. We're seeking a sustainable balance to keep humanity prospering and continuously strengthen it. There are threats both here on Earth and beyond. Less a decade ago, SHIELD thwarted an alien subversion attempt, Mr. Stark."

"Peace through power?" I wasn't sure where the quote came from, yet it was both familiar and fitting.

"If that's what it takes to keep our world safe."

"You had my undivided attention at the alien invasion part."

"I am not cleared to know all details, Mr. Stark. What I know for a fact is that successfully stopping the subversion attempt is what catapulted SHIELD's current director to the short list of candidates for the position. I know that the Skrull is a species of shapeshifters, which explains why they went for subversion. It would have been easier and cheaper than a conventional invasion. That way, they might have avoided getting the attention of one of their rivals. They have rivals, too, though that's as much as I can get with my current access."

"That's fascinating. I would love to know more. But let's get back to the topic of your organization, Mr. Ward. Don't think your attempt to shift the conversation away worked."

"There isn't much more than I'm at liberty to offer at this point, Mr. Stark. You know we exist, and you're broadly aware of our goals and goodwill. The ball is in your corner. Your father was an active member during the Second World War and later focused on his company and research, becoming a distant ally. Either option works for us. Trust needs to be earned, and it's a two-way street. We offer you an opportunity to judge us by our actions, for words are cheap."

"You do have both my attention and interest. For the rest, we'll see. Before making any commitments, I have an infestation to purge."

"SHIELD as a whole and our part of it are ready to help. However, I must warn you other factions within SHIELD would take this as an opportunity to gain an advantage."

"That's convenient for you." I pointed out.

"It has been very inconvenient for us since the bastards killed your father. They did it to take the super soldier serum he was bringing to SHIELD and our faction of it, Mr. Stark." Ward countered.

The reminder of my parents' murder served to stoke my rage. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"I'll let actions speak louder than words then, Mr. Ward. I have a company to clean up and a daughter to find."

"We have a security detail ensuring her safety. Keep the phone, Mr. Stark. It has the number of the agent in charge of that operation." Ward stood up. "We'll be in contact, Mr. Stark."

"Good," I noted

Ward headed out, and Jarvis tracked him on the cameras until he left the house and headed for a motorcycle parked nearby.

"Jarvis, what do you have on the kid?"

"I can't confirm the child is yours without a paternity test, Sir. However, the documents I now have access to strongly indicate the possibility. You did sleep with the child's mother seven years ago. Hannah Roberts was born eight months and three weeks later."

A picture from a school album appeared on the monitor on my desk.

I knew these eyes. She had my mother's eyes.

"Get Pepper here as soon as practical." She was my best shot to contact someone competent in Legal quickly, so we could see what the legal options were.

Bloody hell, this complicated things, yet offered me many new options.

=SI=

The Triskelion
Theodore Roosevelt Island

"Councilwoman Hawley, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Fury asked warily.

He didn't know she was in the building. Besides, it was no coincidence she waited for him the moment he stepped out of the elevator.

"Walk with me, Nicholas. We have a few things to discuss." She gestured to dismiss her security detail and walked towards one of the nearby meeting rooms.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Fury grumbled just loud enough for Pamela to hear him.

"That's up to you, Nicholas."

They walked into the room, and Fury activated the security measures.

"What does the Council want from me?"

"I'm not here for the World Council as a whole this time, Nicholas."

"Your government has more concerns? You have access to the same data I do. We know that the President's least favorite Dictator had poisonous gas because our government sold it to him. Along with the French, we also sold him copious amounts of precursor materials the Iraqi were competent enough to turn into more gas. I could not simply lie to the President and tell him Saddam had no WMDs. Between confirmed uses and sold barrels of that poison, there's still enough material unaccounted for to gas a couple of cities." Fury was tired of explaining this to people who should know better and those who didn't.

"The fact remains, no one has found a trace of such weapons in Iraq. While the Prime Minister continues to support you, unofficially, my government is furious at the perceived deception. Not to mention that members of your government nearly dragged us into another war in the Middle East." Hawley pointedly reminded him.

"I'm not a fan of some of the President's advisers. You know that."

"That's one of the reasons why you're still the Director, Nicholas. Now that I've made my government's displeasure at certain facts clear, again, we can speak about the real reason I'm here."

"So it's not just to vent at me and waste our time?" Fury's expression vaguely resembled a smile.

"Yes. I'm here to relay my displeasure at how you're mishandling Stark. He's not one of your army boys, Colonel." Hawley chided him.

"I've been handling him carefully. The reports from Afghanistan raised all kinds of concerns." Fury pointed out.

"Despite appearances, Stark's similar enough to Howard. Your heavy-handed approach would do nothing but alienate him. That's why I took the liberty of handling him properly."

"You went over my head again? Councilor…" Fury glared at the British woman.

Hawley removed a tiny flash drive from the sleeve of her blouse and put it on the table in the middle of the room.

"I've had an agent approach Stark using the carrot approach instead of the stick you're so fond of, Nicholas. Now the odds of him becoming a useful asset or an ally are much higher. Do take a note or two. You are still young enough yet to learn a few new tricks."

Fury picked up the drive.

"What mess exactly do I need to clean up now? What did you do, Councillor?"

"Precisely what I told you, Nicholas. Offer Stark all the help he needs to clean up his company so he can focus on research and development."

"What about his potential as enhanced?"

"It utterly pa

les compared to what he can give the world with his mind. Entice him to recreate the super soldier serum and share it, don't try to push him around, Nicholas. Afghanistan told us exactly how he would react when someone tried to coerce him. We don't want him as an enemy. That would be a tremendous waste of resources and time."

Hawley left, leaving Fury behind to ponder her words. He decided first to use an isolated terminal to see what was on the drive before determining how to handle the latest complication.

=IS=

Part 6

=IS=

Tony Stark's home

California

It was no surprise that late that afternoon, Rhodey came back bringing both Pepper and Happy.

"You're late." I drily pointed out and looked away from the screen at my favourite workplace. It showed Hannah's academic achievements, or what passed for it for a six years old. She was bright, loved math and tinkering. The Stark legacy at play. I did remember playing with integrated circuits about her age, though it was more disassembling, then assembling everything I could get my hands on to see what made those things tick.

"What's with the kid?" Rhodey trailed off, then looked pointedly at me.

"As it turns out, Stane's rotten and not just because he hired a bunch of terrorists to kill me." I stated blandly. Like it or not, while not unexpected, the betrayal still burned. And I was going to make sure he burned for it. "That and more. This is Hannah Roberts, who is almost certainly my daughter. Stane made the problem disappear. In the case of her mother, literally."

"Boss, I don't think that under the circumstances we have a shot at convincing you to go to the hospital for a check up." Happy decided to be reasonable. Good for him.

"Nope. The military doctors agreed with Yinsen. It's unlikely that anyone would risk digging out the shrapnel in my chest anytime soon. The danger of me dying would be too great. Perhaps in a few year when we have better medical equipment and procedures." I shrugged. It was less than ideal, but no one ever accused the universe of being fair.

"Are you certain about Stane, Tones?"

"Jarvis, show them."

Obadiah Stane's best records came alive all over my basement.

"I liked that fucking bastard!" Rhodey exclaimed.

"Me too, buddy. Pepper, I know you're awesome and I need you help. Contact someone discrete who you can trust in legal and figure out what are my official options as far as Hannah is concerned."

"You're going to acknowledge her as yours?" Pepper quickly recovered from watching Stane's betrayal play on multiple screens.

"After a paternity test. There are some elements who might be less than trustworthy aware of her existence. She might need protection. While on the topic, the same is true for us all."

"Do I dare ask?" Pepper's face scrunched into a grimace.

"I'm working on a fusion reactor design. It's going to work. I also have ideas how to miniaturize it over the next few years. We'll be able to corner the energy market worldwide. The moment even a hint of it goes out, a lot of people with tons of money at stake would love to see us gone and the technology buried for the next few decades. This includes whole oil-states. While we're on the topic, two points. First," I pointed at Rhodey, "Do you know any retired veterans who are ready to play private security and are ready to get shot at, because that's a very real possibility. Second," I looked at Pepper, "I want to establish a fund that would see to the families of the soldiers who died escorting me in Afghanistan. I'll be paying for children's education, up and including university if they can get in, as well as medical coverage. We'll announce it on the press conference tomorrow."

"You'd think that you would need protection for being an infamous arms dealer, but no, you're afraid people would come after you because you're going to reshape the energy market. Only, you, Tones." Rhodey shook his head in exasperation. "The worst thing is I can see the logic. I'll make a few calls and find reliable veterans."

"Good. I'll need a new house. A place that can be defended, and well, it's fit to raise a kid in." I pointed at the ceiling. "Upstairs is a sniper's wet dream."

"Not that I disagree, but how you know that, Tony?"

I repeated the stunt with the fridge and cold soda. "This?" I waved at a can of soda that hovered beside me, "It came with some baggage."

"What kind?" Happy asked.

"Over a hundred of years of memories from an alien warlord. I have no idea how that device found its way into that cave. It looked like a fancy Rubric's cube, made for royalty. You know, carefully cut gems, the works. It was something that could have fir right in with some royal family's jewels. Yinsen found it discarded and gave it to me to keep me distracted while the worst of my wounds healed. As it turned out, it contained the impression of the memories of said warlord. It was never meant for some random bloke like me. It was supposed to guide a descendent, or someone with a powers like his, a legacy of sorts. You know my luck."

"I don't like where this is going, Tones." Rhodey warned.

"I have his memories, Rhodey, all hundred fucking years of them. A hundred years of wars spanning a whole galaxy. The imprint nearly fried my brain and body."

"That's how you escaped." Rhodey was the first to connect the dots. "It wasn't just the armor, or your new, whatever this is." He waved at the can of soda.

I still had it suspended in the air with telekinesis. It was frustrating that I could clearly feel the drain, and it was still faster than the Force could flow into my body. I picked up the soda and opened it, taking up a sip.

"Special forces training sure helped, even if my body wasn't up to the strain, thus being knackered at the end of the exercise."

"I was wondering how to best breach the topic of getting some therapy over killing that many people, even if they were terrorists." Rhodey noted.

"I remember seeing whole worlds burning, Rhodey. What happened in the cave? It doesn't even register compared to all the shit stuck in my head."

"Because that's not concerning at all, boss." Happy concern was both touching and irritating.

It wasn't like I could visit a therapist and tell him about everything I now remembered. They would likely have me committed for the safety of everyone else if no other reason.

"Folks, don't make me regretting trusting you. The last thing I need is another betrayal. Besides, it's not all bad. Now I have ideas, theories and know how that can get Earth interstellar over the next few decades once we have the necessary infrastructure in place." I pointed out the bright side of what happened.

"Tony, should we dust off the 'take over the world' contingencies?" Pepper asked.

"The what now?" I was my turn to look at them in exasperation.

"Well, it apparently started back in the day with your father before he mellowed out…" Pepper began to explain.

"Howard mellowed out?" That was another news to me. I certainly didn't recall it happening.

"Apparently it was the Cold War and not exactly unheard of companies taking over smaller countries. And there was always the possibility that your father would go into politics and shoot for the presidency. Legal had contingencies that are now mostly an inside joke. They had some just in case you ever grew up and wandered into politics for example."

"Why no one told me these things?"

"Tony, do I need to remind you with how many reporters you slept on regular basis? I had to practically throw Christine out of your bed before you left for Afghanistan." Pepper had to use reason, didn't she?

"For the record, in the bed Christine pales in comparison to the memories of women who now exist only in my head."

"So the warlord was a player like you?" Happy asked.

"Before he got married he did sleep around and had access to the best whorehouses in a whole galaxy." I shrugged.

"I find this disturbingly plausible." Pepper groaned. "Is there something else you require, our Imperious Leader?"

"Hey, I was never an Emperor! He was my brother-in-law!"

Three pairs of eyes blinked owlishly at me.

"I did mention that our memories meshed together, didn't I? I remember both lives as my own."

"Tony, do we need to really worry about you trying to take over the world?" Peper suddenly demanded.

"Of course not! It's too much of a thankless job! I remember running worlds, and I am not eager to repeat the experience!" I shook my head in denial.

"Well, this does sound like the Tones we know, and constantly get irritated by." Rhodey nodded wisely.

"Har, har. Now, about tomorrow… I filled them in on Ward's plan for Stane.

=SI=

If you want to support my writing or discuss this story, google the following places:

Pat re on: Delkatar's writing corner

the space battles forums - this is where most discussion over my stories takes place

the sufficient velocity forums

archive of our own

the alternative history forums