The Stark Storm

by ISS1988

Tony was fighting, desperate to save the world, desperate seeing all the odds turn against him and his allies, but then an interaction with the Infinity Stones takes his mind back in time, in the young body with the memories of the next years of his life, he discovers that he is in a different universe and with that everything changes.

7. Blood Gold

Chapter 7

Blood Gold

Life and balance are words that do not go together in Tony's life; his youth being a test, but then Tony had two children and soon found himself involved in something that he stayed away from, certain that he would emulate the mistakes of his father, children and family. Tony has discovered over the years that the recipe for success in matters with his family is to never make the mistakes of his father; amazing to Tony that he had realized that he had achieved balance with his life. Family, business, solo act, the Avengers gravitating around him, Tony can find a way to work with all these important issues; Tony is watching his children grow, his company reach new heights, his solo act and the Avengers show success; Tony knows that all of this could end when the next disaster comes along.

Tony had time to keep an eye on things happening, he saw that IMA (Advanced Mechanical Ideas) had bought FuturePharm, a company specializing in biotechnology, bioelectronics and microsurgery; Tony could only say that IMA was advancing its work in relation to Extremis, after making the Ten Rings known worldwide, the Mandarin's name was being whispered in the intelligence community pointing to him as a leader and mastermind of several attacks, some of them even being claimed by other terrorist groups, but unlike Osama Bin Laden, the Mandarin had no real name, known base of operations or a web of leaders linked to him to delegate attack orders; Tony knows the truth, but, this makes Mandarin much more dangerous,what at this moment,Mandarin is untouchable.

For now, Tony would leave this matter aside, today, he had a meeting with the owner and CEO of the company MIDAS, Theo Argyros; Midas is a company from Greece with no specific focus, anything that would make a profit, they were there; the CEO of the company is known for buying other companies, sometimes with a lot of negotiation and sometimes with direct offers that even after a while are accepted, Tony suspects foul play, but, he will leave the judgments after meeting Theo Argyros:

- Sir, Theo Argyros is here! – said Jarvis:

- Thanks Jarvis, tell Paula he can come in! – said Tony.

Theo Argyros enters; a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in an expensive suit and personal cut and expensive accessories, with a straight and intimidating bearing; Tony can see the physical tactics that everyone uses in business, but he wants to see if the man has the charisma that seems to convince people to sell their company:

- It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Stark! – greeted Theo Argyros, shaking Tony's hand. Few people remember Tony's doctorates; he clearly did his homework:

- The pleasure is all mine, sit down! – said Tony; they both sat down – What brings you to Stark Industries, Mr. Argyros?

- I'll be honest! – replied Theo Argyros – I want to buy your company!

Tony used his control not to laugh:

- Why do you want to buy my company? – Tony asked – Convince me, Mr. Argyros!

The man smiled as if he had been challenged; Tony used all his control not to laugh, he knew that Theo Argyros is an intelligent man and he knows that he would never sell the company.. Theon must have been living under a rock not to know about the news that put Tony in one of his best years within Stark Industries. First, Stark Industries was changing its name to Stark International; after the Senator Stern situation, Tony had to change his company to international holdings, a long, tedious and meticulous process, after all, he has to look at every corner within the company to solve all the problems and make the changes without any complications; this also served to restructure the company and eliminate any spies and thus he would have the security to expand into the other areas that Tony is interested in. The launch of Starkium to the world and its large-scale production and the promise of clean and sustainable energy brought positive points to the company and even before his ideas established themselves, Tony was seeing an increase in the company's shares and increasing profits, the public's approval of his work as an inventor, businessman and Iron Man, meant that everyone was happy:

- I admit that I am here to deliver my proposal and discuss it at a time when Stark Industries is growing at a breakneck pace! – said Theo Argyros – But, you are also focused on something completely new, Iron Man,andII'm sure it's taking up all your time, my proposal is for you to be free of one of the burdens, Stark Industries, and dedicate yourself to Iron Man; protecting people!

This answer from Argyros makes Tony have a clear opinion about his personality, at least in part, he knows that Stark Industries is growing and will reach the top and always be at the forefront when the world is changed, he wants to be in that place when the time comes for another change; he clearly disregards his wife who shares the leadership of the company with him;whatheanddoes not consider her capable of running the business and this raises a lot of red flags about how this man treats women, but, that's not enough; he can only have an opinion and not be afraid to express it, but, it doesn't mean that he commits crimes against women and that's why before even having this meeting, Tony researched about Theo Argyros' life. Heis a criminal boss linked to various types of crime that he commits in search of power and more wealth and is using his legitimate businesses to cover them up, in addition to having a history of jealousy of the success of others; Tony had already made the decision before this meeting; he wanted to meet Theo Argyros in person and see if he was not wrong in his decision, he was not disappointed:

- I'll get straight to the point Mr. Argyros, my answer is no! – said Tony – I'll make this clear, I have no intention of selling the company that my father built and that I'm going to leave to my children!

- I see! – Argyros said with a small smile on his face – Is that your final word?

- That's my final word! – said Tony:

- In that case, I'll take my leave! – said Theo Argyros, standing up and shaking Tony's hand and leaving the office; Tony had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time he would see Theo Argyros; Tony had spoken to a person who was incapable of saying "no".

The following days, Tony put it aside, not because he wanted to, but, he had things immediately that came up and that always required his attention; Theo Argyros stayed in the back of his mind and this prevented him from resolving the events that would happen,It was just another normal day when Happy Hogan is picking up the Stark children from school; always vigilant and attentive to his surroundings, Happy noticed a suspicious car, parked at the school and with no indication that a child would enter the vehicle, he waited until he was sure and called the police; discreetly, the police arrested the two occupants in the car and when questioned, they remained silent and only said something through agreements; they were hired to kidnap the Stark children; the agreement was made online, without intermediaries, the initial amount was transferred, the rest would be received after the ransom was paid. The police had warned him to improve his security, of course Happy would be offended, but, even with his grumpy face, he accepted the advice and is preparing to give the Stark Industries security department an improvement in every department it encompasses; while Happy was doing his life's work, Tony had handed over to the police all the threats against him and his family, it would be up to them to investigate.

Routine; that's what Tony and his family need; something to feel comfortable in, at least for a while, after all, nothing could stay routine with Tony and his family, they are Starks, he is still dealing with Iron Man's business, his children still go to school like any normal child; Happy of course is happier with the freedom of running the Security Department and enjoying how it can calm his paranoia; maybe Happy is right about his paranoia; the case;all the electronics inside the company fried; initially,Tony only realized that the electronics inside his room had fried, his communication with Jarvis had been lost; he certainly found this suspicious, Stark Industries uses the Ark Reactor to power the company and now, they were without power, it was minutes later that Happy entered his room with the gun in his hand:

- We're being invaded! – said Happy – Nothing electronic works, an EMP must have done this!

Tony didn't say anything, he just went to the safe and put his fingerprints on it and opened it, taking out a pistol; this pistol was his own creation, elegant design, but, the ammunition is Starkium plasma caliber nine millimeter, it wouldn't do what Hydra's weapons in World War II would do; they would disintegrate the target with one shot, just like any bullet would go through the target's body, the grip glowed when it recognized his fingerprint and it was at that moment that they heard the screams of the people and the sounds of the weapons firing:

- Do you know who they are? – asked Tony:

- No! – replied Happy – No identification!

Tony grimaced:

- We'll have to defend ourselves! – said Tony – I hope Jarvis warned Rhodey or Pepper!

They both left the room and Tony saw his secretary cowering in fear:

- Hide! – Tony said, grabbing her table and turning it over; he and Happy stood behind the table waiting for the attackers to arrive:

- We can't stay behind the desk forever! – said Happy:

- We'll use it for a while, so we'll go to different sides and take cover behind the columns! – said Tony – The other security guards?

- Helping people get out of the building! – Happy replied – There had to be a priority at the moment!

- You did well! - Tony said smiling and watching the secretary enter the meeting room and barricade the door; at that moment the mercenaries broke down the front door and entered with their guns pointed; Tony and Happy got up and started shooting; taken by surprise they began to fall dead, but then they were behind the walls and not daring to look, a flashbang grenade was thrown inside and exploded; at the same time the mercenaries entered; Tony and Happy who had taken cover from the grenade came out from behind the table and went to the columns; hiding while the mercenaries opened bullet holes in the table and then Tony and Happy moved and fired hitting several mercenaries who fell dead or wounded; the mercenaries were shooting back; Tony and Happy were shooting at them, Happy ran out of ammo and reloaded; Tony's new pistol didn't have that problem; Stark Industries security had regrouped and were attacking the mercenaries, taking down several of them, and then police sirens were heard and the remains of them retreated to face the police and the few remaining managed to escape.

The Stark Industries building was a war zone, ambulances were coming and going picking up the injured, the firefighters were making sure there was no fire, the police were isolating the area; all these forces set up a command center under a tent where they were doing a triage, Tony and Happy had already given their statements and were there to support the other employees who were also testifying; Happy was in fact giving support, Tony was in a nervous state about to collapse, Pepper and her children's school were also attacked; clearly the target was him and his family; and Tony knew how he would deal with this; he would destroy everything that belonged to this new enemy:

- Tony! – said Rhodey, drawing attention:

- Rhodes! My family! – said Tony:

- I checked on them, they're fine, they didn't suffer anything, they're just scared! - said Rhodes - They're in the mansion with strong police protection!

- I have to stay here and support the employees! – said Tony:

- I'll cover it, boss! – said Happy – Go see your family!

Tony waved to Happy and then he was with Rhodes in a helicopter and arriving at the mansion, the perimeter was set up by the police and the situation reached the media; Tony entered the mansion to be hugged by Pepper and her children:

- Oh my God! Tony! – said Pepper – How are you?

- I'm fine Pepper! – Tony replied – I'm with you and the kids!

- Are you okay, daddy? – Laura asked:

- Yes, dear, I am! – Tony replied:

- Dad defeated the bandits who attacked? – asked Richard:

- Yes! – replied Tony – I will still continue to defeat them!

- Are you going to catch them all? – Pepper asked and Tony looked into her eyes with total certainty and a gleam of determination:

- I'm going to hunt them all! – Tony replied quietly, so that only Pepper could hear.

For the next few days, Tony stayed with his family,for a moment he wanted to stand by them, but at the same time heHe wanted to hunt down those responsible for the troubles that had caused his family; he would find those responsible, destroy everything they owned and loved, and then salt the earth:

- Jarvis! – Tony called, entering his workshop:

- Yes sir! – said Jarvis:

- We have work to do! – said Tony – Do you have all the material from the attack that my family and I suffered?

- Yes sir! – replied Jarvis – I took the liberty of analyzing each moment of the events and I hope this helps to destroy these bandits!

- Good! – said Tony – Some of them were arrested! Did you have access to the interrogations? Are they talking?

- No sir! – Jarvis replied in a tone that seemed frustrated – They all remain silent!

- They are not ordinary mercenaries! – said Tony:

- Indeed sir! – said Jarvis – That kind of loyalty is not found in mercenaries, but in a cult!

- What kind of cult needs a well-equipped and armed mercenary military force? – asked Tony:

- I can't answer that, sir! - Jarvis replied, and on the screen where Tony was, images of several cults appeared - Most cults have more religious, political and racial extremism! They are all armed, but not to the level at which you were attacked, sir!

- Have they been identified? – asked Tony:

- No sir! – Jarvis replied – None of them have records in any government or international database!

- That's impossible! – said Tony:

- Indeed sir! – said Jarvis – I find myself unable to understand how this is possible!

- Aren't there any tattoos on these guys? – Tony asked. Jarvis took a while to answer:

- All the tattoos have been erased! – Jarvis replied – Sir; I found one!

On the screen, instead of the images of cults that Jarvis brought as an example, a photo of one of the attackers of his imprisoned sons and his tattoo was shown:

- Try to identify him with his photo and tattoo! – said Tony – It could be the clue we need to find out who the boss of these mercenaries is!

- Right now sir! – said Jarvis starting to work:

- Jarvis, even with the EMP, was the signal the mercenaries used recorded? – Tony asked:

- Yes sir! – replied Jarvis – As you know, the recorder is well protected and runs on energy separate from that used in the Stark Industries factory!

- Have you accessed the recorder yet? – Tony asked:

- Not yet sir! – replied Jarvis:

- Access it! – said Tony – Identify the signal with the time of the attack anddo the tracking!

- It shall be done, sir! – said Jarvis.

It would be a long job for Jarvis to do, but Tony learned patience as he got older and he would have his time to get revenge, but while he waited, he would enjoy the time with his family. Of course, an attack like this attracted media attention, but at the same time, it brought friends for a visit; due to what each one does with their lives, it is difficult to get everyone together, only in special cases, this time, Tony and Pepper assure that they are fine, shaken, but fine.

Jarvis first managed to get an identification, but it was worth nothing anymore, the authorities had already identified him and were putting pressure on him, but in the case of tracking the signal; Jarvis got something and this benefited Tony who now had a way to go, tracing the location in Los Angeles and involving the authorities, Tony was authorized to hack into the servers that the mercenaries had at the base while they would take care of invading the warehouse. SWAT had arrived and began the invasion, at first they managed to subdue the bandits, but as they advanced, the alarm was sounded and now they had to face mercenaries in a shootout on the part of the warehouse and after an hour of shooting, the law forces had taken over the warehouse, many casualties for the mercenaries and two deaths of agents, while this was happening, Tony with Jarvis had copied all the files from the warehouse computers; it had already been established that interrogating the mercenaries would lead nowhere, so any information taken from their computers would be extremely important.

Tony was looking through the files until he found a common name, Mordecai Midas, he sent this information to the authorities and then he was receiving a visit from Phil Coulson:

- Mr. Stark! – said Coulson:

- Agent! – said Tony:

- I was sent here to discuss the data you discovered on the servers of that warehouse thattook offfor us! – said Coulson:

- Did the other agencies agree or did Fury make them agree? – asked Tony:

- I'm here, now and that's what matters! – said Coulson with a pen drive in his hand and placed it on the table in front of Tony:

- What attacked you andtheyou discovered in that warehouse is the property of Mordecai Midas! – said Coulson:

- I don't know him! – said Tony:

- I'm not surprised! - said Coulson - He goes to monumental lengths to remain unidentified, even with SHIELD getting involved it wasn't possible to identify his real name or obtain an identifiable image of him!

- What does he do? – asked Tony:

- Trafficking! – Coulson replied – Everything possible; he is among the world's main suppliers for trafficking!

- Okay, but why attack me? – asked Tony:

- Only Midas can truly answer, but, not knowing his real name or his face, we can only speculate! – replied Coulson:

- Speculate! – said Tony:

- You may have stumbled upon his operations and caused havoc and now he's getting revenge! - Coulson said - He saw you as a threat in the future and decided he would strike first!

- But I'm not fighting drug trafficking, my focus is on fighting the Ten Rings and associated terrorist groups! – said Tony:

- We know that! - said Coulson - That's why it's more accepted that you stumbled upon one of Mordecai Midas' operations, causing him harm, and then decided to take revenge!

- He had access to the schedules, they must have been following them for a while! – said Tony:

- Maybe, but you also have to face the possibility that someone close to you sold Midas the schedules! – said Coulson – It saves time and money and allows you to plan a better attack!

- My staff and employees have been checked! – said Tony:

- We know! – said Coulson – Even with all the checks, it is still possible!

Tony rubbed his face in frustration, he knew he was in a difficult position when it came to looking at his company's employees, at least those who had access to his family's schedule:

- That's all Mr. Stark! – said Coulson standing up:

- Thank you Agent! – said Tony. Phil Coulson left, leaving Tony with his thoughts.

No system is perfect, so Tony could check on the Stark Industries employees; Jarvis would be nearby and vigilant for any infractions while Tony goes through the checks and studies the files of his missions as Iron Man hoping to find any sign that he has attracted the attention of Mordecai Midas. Another piece of the puzzle is figuring out why Midas is targeting him and his family, but then Tony remembered that he should be looking closer; looking at his own family; more specifically, his uncle and cousin. His cousin, Morgan Stark, who is also the name of Pepper's favorite eccentric uncle, is having contact with Mordecai as a family they had access to his schedule, his wife's schedule and his children's schedule; Morgan is their main suspect and due to what happened he wouldn't go alone, family or not; Morgan may have committed one of the greatest sins and with that Tony called for backup and was soon putting on the armor;he hasina cousin to talk to.

Tony was flying at great speed to Morgan Stark's house, he landed in the garden and was surprised not to see any servants to welcome him or jumping with surprise; Tony walked cautiously and entered the mansion and saw it dusty and messy, the sensors indicated the location of his cousin and that there was no trap. He entered the room and soon saw Morgan Stark, long, disheveled hair, a large, disheveled beard, dirty and torn clothes:

- Morgan, what happened here? – asked Tony:

- Hello to you Tony! – Morgan replied with mockery – I think you know what happened!

- I don't know; enlighten me! – said Tony:

- The damn restrictions you put on me accessing the Stark Family fortune! – Morgan shouted:

- It was necessary! – said Tony, gritting his teeth – You waste it on your vices!

- Look who's talking! – Morgan spat:

- That was in my youth,Morgan! – said Tony – It's in the past!

- Thanks to your restrictions I can't keep the employees and the mansion! - said Morgan:

- Once again because of your vices! – said Tony – Don't blame me for your problems!

- But it's your fault! - Morgan shouted - If you died, I would have complete access to the fortune!

- You would have to face my wife! – said Tony:

- I would pass easily and take care of your children! - Morgan said with disdain. Tony did not like Morgan's tone of voice, his words; he assured that he was to blame for the attack against him and his family:

- Where's Uncle Edward? – Tony asked:

- Dead! – Morgan replied dryly – You didn't even show up at the funeral!

- I didn't know! – said Tony:

- That excuse doesn't work when you have the resources you have, cousin! - said Morgan - You just don't care!

- That's not true! – said Tony – At no time was I warned about what happened to Uncle Edward! I care about our family!

- Sorry if I don't believe you! – said Morgan:

- Believe me! – said Tony – I care! Family is always important!

- I doubt it! – said Morgan:

- What happened to us? – Tony asked sadly – You would have believed me!

- We grew up! – replied Morgan – We saw the filth of this world!

- We were best friends when we were kids, that shouldn't have changed! – said Tony:

- But it happened and there's no going back! – said Morgan:

- I want you to trust me, Morgan! – said Tony – On behalf of my children and on behalf of our past friendship, I want to know if you had anything to do with the attack that my family and I suffered!

- You can go to hell! – said Morgan:

- Morgan! – Tony said exasperatedly – Please!

- You beg? – asked Morgan – You beg? – Morgan shouted – Don't you care about the Stark Family's pride?

- When the family is in danger, nothing else matters but their safety! – Tony replied. Morgan was silent for a few moments:

- Do you believe that? – asked Morgan:

- Yes! – Tony replied immediately. Morgan remained silent once more:

- You're right about my addictions! - said Morgan - I don't care about the company, only about supporting my addictions; yes; that's what an addict will say and that's what Midas used against me, he bought my debts and used my knowledge of the Stark Family to attack you! He wants your company?

- Why? – asked Tony:

- Because he always wants more! – Morgan replied – Theo Argyros is the kind of man who wants more and more and is never satisfied!

It was at that moment that a bullet went through Morgan's chest and smashed into Tony's armored chest; for a second there was no reaction until Morgan's shirt was soaked in blood and he fell to the ground, Tony quickly went to him and waited to see what to do:

- Jarvis! – Tony called:

- Fatal shot sir! Calling emergency services and the police – Jarvis said in a sad voice. Morgan smiled and spat blood:

- I thought my death would be with a gun, but, more personal! – said Morgan coughing:

- Save your strength, help is on the way! – said Tony:

- I knew it would end like this! – said Morgan – I accepted my fate!

Morgan spat out more blood:

- I'm not going to fight it! – said Morgan – It's true what they say; you regret your sins in the end!

- I think that was obvious a long time ago! – Tony said in an attempt at humor; Morgan smiled:

- I'm not afraid to say that the best of the Stark Family is in the family that created it! - Morgan said whispering - Don't let them destroy it!

- No! – Tony said promisingly. At that moment Morgan Stark had died with a small smile on his face, Tony closed his eyes in regret:

- I never imagined I could form a plan around the information he gave me! – said a male voice that had entered at that moment; Tony looked at him wearing a dark blue jumpsuit with a dark gray coat on top and already knew who had appeared:

- Midas! – said Tony – Or do you prefer Theo Argyros?

- You should have accepted my offer, Mr. Stark! – Midas replied:

- You knew I would never accept; you knew that since you thought of making the offer you would have to force me to accept it!

- Don't get me wrong! – said Midas smiling – It's business!

- I understand! – said Tony – You have to feel like the most important person in the world!

- It seems you didn't understand me, Mr. Stark! – said Midas – It's simply business!

- No! – Tony said, standing up – With people like you, there's always something more!

Midas smiled at Tony. It seemed like a calm morning in the place, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, but, all that changed when Iron Man passed through the wall and landed on the grass in the garden:

- Ok! – said Tony:

- It's clear that he's very strong and fast sir! – said Jarvis:

- Don't tell me! – said Tony. Midas landed on the grass and stared at Tony:

- I'd like to do this quickly, Mr. Stark! – said Midas – If you don't mind!

- No! – Tony said, firing his repulsors from both hands, hitting Midas, who was simply thrown back, hitting the wall and quickly getting up as if nothing had happened:

- He also has great resistance! – said Jarvis:

- I noticed! – said Tony:

- You know, Mr. Stark! – said Midas, walking calmly towards him, smiling – I wanted to fight you personally, but some business partners were interested in testing their products against you!

- What an honor! – said Tony:

- Don't be! – said Midas – I liked the suggestion and I'm interested!

At that moment a robot flying by jetpack landed behind Midas; the armor scans showed an all-metal skeleton with a power source in the chest and the main processors in the head in addition to the green synthetic skin:

- They call it Adptoid! – said Midas – It's a prototype, so don't be surprised if it doesn't work properly!

- I'm the one who has to be surprised! – said Tony:

- Why? – asked Midas interested:

- For a man of your intelligence to think I came alone! – replied Tony.

At that moment a ray passed through the Adaptoid's body, taking Midas by surprise, and then, without its source, the robot fell to the ground and a woman appeared running and jumped, spinning gracefully in the air, landing her spear on the robot's head, completely deactivating it. Midas saw that behind Iron Man, standing to the side, there was a woman with a bazooka on her shoulders. Sharon Carter, known as Agent 13, had fired a plasma bazooka built by Tony, and the one who jumped off the robot was Sharon Rogers, Captain America, and then Iron Woman and War Machine landed on each side of Iron Man:

- You attacked my children! – said Pepper – I'm going to enjoy seeing you suffer!

- In any case! – said James Rhodes – Surrender, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent, lie on the floor with your legs apart and your hands on your head!

- I don't think so! – said Midas smiling arrogantly:

- I warned you! – said Rhodes.

Then the shot from the plasma bazooka fired by Agent 13 hits Midas who is thrown back, he gets up, but Captain America appears and grabs his left arm and breaks it with her strength, dislocating the bone in his shoulder. Then War Machine fires two plasma shots that hit his knees, it doesn't go through, but the impact breaks his knees which immobilize him, leaving him kneeling. Then Iron Man and Iron Woman fire at the same time, their unibeams hitting Midas with all their power causing a huge explosion destroying the windows of the mansion behind them; when the smoke clears, they approach and see Midas' burned body, there were no vital signs, he was dead; Tony could only send this guy straight to jail and destroy his empire, but Pepper made it very clear, his children were threatened and they would have no mercy; they didn't.

It was over quickly, one could expect a fight and then a monologue from the villain and then another fight to get to the last monologue and the final words and finally the good guy defeating the bad guy, but, this is real life; Tony had come cautiously, he had several people ready to guard his back and it became even more necessary to have this support when Midas showed his powers, but, he was no match for the power of those five who came against him; yes; five against one is not honorable, but, once again this is real life and he attacked his family and his children; so, the honor went to space and he is dead, but, he was not finished, Pepper wants to take everything from him, even dead, she would destroy his legacy and just like him leaving nothing behind but scorched earth; the burial of his cousin Morgan Stark came first; Tony did not mourn him as an adult but as his friend in the times when they were younger and then they went on the attack against what Midas had left behind; Pepper bought Midas' entire empire; the various companies and interests he was in were audited and then there were several government acronyms and various governments on top of these companies participating in a purge to clean them up; several people were arrested and many were being investigated, then it was time to track down the original owners of the interests, Stark Industries sold at a value well below market value, but would recover by keeping interests in these companies, the original owners who were killed; Stark Industries remained the owner and invested to recover them and explore the segments in which it was part.

This happened in the following months and during it a lot happened; Natasha Romanoff went on another mission and this time she faced Hypnotia; Nadia Dmitriev, an agent of the Leviathan's Soul Program; since the Soviet Union fell, she had fled and her files were leaked, she became known and hunted around the world, when a clue appeared, Black Widow was sent to arrest her, more for that, Natasha counted on the help of doctors Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons to update the blocking technology against Hypnotia's powers; with that done, she set out to capture her, but Hypnotia's name can already bring a hint of her powers, hypnotism, so she has the ability to control people and with that Black Widow found herself surrounded by an army of Hypnotia of innocent people who had no protection against her powers; Of course she knows that the Black Widows have protection against her powers and that's why she threatened to commit suicide on people and her control, Natasha saw no choice but to let her escape, but not before putting a tracker on her and following her in the hopes of finding the right moment; the chance came when on the run, Hypnotia was alone and it was for a short time, but it was Black Widow's chance to attack and a fight ensued, but those she was controlling at that moment had orders to protect her and so it made things a little difficult, but in the end, Hypnotia was knocked out, inhibitors were placed and she was sent to the Raft.

Before Sharon Carter came to help Tony against Midas, she and Harpy were on a mission chasing a route of trafficking technological weapons for terrorists and then they managed to find one of the bandits' warehouses and with that they hoped to be able to identify the entire network that supplied the terrorists, but, they were stopped by whoever was in command at the time, the bandits were calling him Blacklash; they were waiting for an opportunity, but, then by surprise,Blacklash knew about them and used one of the weapons trying to kill the two who managed to escape, but they had to watch the enormous damage caused that led to the destruction of the warehouse and the loss of evidence that could be important for SHIELD; fortunately it seems that Fury decided to keep them in the investigation and continue to monitor this network, fortunately they achieved another success and in another warehouse and this time they used an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) neutralizing the weapons and thus being able to attack and take down the bandits one by one until they reached Blacklash who seemed to want this fight against them and then they saw why he was called Blacklash, he has gauntlets that launch cables with hooks that look more like whips and the fight ensued; he showing experience and Agent 13 and Harpy having work with him, but finally with a shot to the head, Harpy killed him when he managed to immobilize and threaten Agent 13. With that over, they were able to continue the investigation, Blacklash's name is Marco Scarlotti; former Italian special forces and were finally able to get a name for the network, MAGGIA; an international cartel and from there they began the process to end the cartel.

It was moments before Sharon Rogers before helping Iron Man against Midas that she was on a very important mission, with Sinthea Schmidt, Sinthistrapped in the Raft and her Sister Sins scattered, Captain America soon set out to track down Susan Scarbo, the Night Mother, the one who had cared for, educated and trained Sin and given her command of the Sister Sins; with that, Sharon dedicated herself to tracking her down and capturing her so that the Sister Sins would not have the chance to group together for the Night Mother and make it practically impossible for them to be defeated without help; Captain America advanced in her work by finding the Night Mother and attacking her hideout; the Night Mother vengeful and full of hatred for her father, the CaptaintheAmerica for killing her sistertheSusan, Melvin Scarbo, the Minister Blood; Sharon was happy that the Sin Sisters were not there, but even so, it became more difficult due to the Night Mother being very motivated, but, at the end of the fight she was defeated and sent to the Raft and once again, Captain America in an impeccable job resulting in no casualties and little damage managed to take out one of Hydra's main leaders.

Thor in his time on Earth once again engaged in combat; alone,spending time with Jane Foster and the friends he had made when he was banished, Thor found himself facing an unexpected attack from a man who calls himself the Grey Gargoyle, there was no villain monologue, just the attack that Thor soon noticed that when the man touched anything he turned to stone and with that Thor tried to keep people away from danger; Thor asked his name and his purpose, he replied that his name was the Grey Gargoyle and that he sought to take his hammer as a means of achieving immortality; Thor considered him crazy and tried to fight him, never getting close; the man was resisting his attacks well until Thor decided to throw his hammer and stop it a few inches from the Grey Gargoyle who, surprised, soon caught it and then a strong lightning bolt fell on top of the hammer and the Grey Gargoyle causing a huge explosion and when the dust settled, the Grey Gargoyle was dead, Thor took his hammer, Mjolnir, he had won the fight; Later Tony discovered his name, Paul Duval, a French chemist who suffered an accident in the laboratory where he worked that turned his body into stone and who could turn any material he touched into stone and since then he dedicated himself to committing crimes and being a mercenary and confirmed in the videos on the internet he wanted to be immortal and in his madness he thought that if he possessed Thor's hammer he would achieve his goal.

Crossfire and his army of mercenaries was the case Hawkeye was investigating, he was not attacking, his orders should only be to observe and discover the identity of Crossfire who had built a criminal empire, Clint Barton had identified that the man had technology and training, recognized some of his movements from the CIA, at that moment he could only conclude that the man who kept his face secret and never answered by his real name pretended to be dead, whether the CIA knows this or not he was just still being watched, at the moment Hawkeye was gathering intelligence on Crossfire's activities until he received orders to sabotage Crossfire's business that night and that is what Hawkeye did with a lot of explosives and accurate arrows at the mercenaries causing great damage to the warehouse and Crossfire's goods.; he himself came fromshadows chasingClint whoconfronted him and a fight began, Crossfire is also a good quality sniper who gave Clint a hard time, but he did not count on Crossfire's sound cannon that damaged his hearing, but did not prevent a sure shot and arresting Crossfire when the police arrived and arrested him; Clint would have to wear hearing aids for the rest of his life, further improving his lip-reading skills, but still fit for service; SHIELD gave him a well-deserved vacation to make up for what happened; the investigations into Crossfire led to his identity, William Cross, a CIA agent declared dead, soon an old internal CIA case was reopened and William's ex-fiancée, Rosalyn Backus was released; all charges were dropped and a pardon from the CIA and the American government, but, disillusioned, she refused to return to being a CIA agent and also refused work at SHIELD.

In England, the Union Jack and Spitfire have managed to maintain a good solid reputation, having the public's favor has made it easier to carry out the work of fighting crime; especially when integrating the Excalibur Project that brings together the defenders of Great Britain, but in this case it was only involving the Union Jack and Spitfire, already slowly undermining their popularity; Bornag Royale, a famous political and economic commentator in Great Britain; It started with some well-placed comments, but over time it escalated to leave the subject that should be commented on to just criticize Union Jack and Spitfire and Bornag Royale's popularity is so great that people are believing him and starting to criticize both of them too and soon an isolated group of support for Bornag who really hates heroes was growing more and more, Union Jack and Spitfire did everything to control the situation, they even went on TV to make a statement, but little by little they were losing support, but then while they tried to control the situation and deny Bornag's speeches to whom he is also known as a great speaker, they were also investigating the reason why Bornag Royale is suddenly distilling his hatred on heroes and soon they had the answers; Bornag as a great influencer received bribes to help in the election of politicians, manipulate comments about the economy and not talk about any scandal; there was evidence, as there was also a connection; Bornag received a bribe from a politician who is involved with organized crime and Union Jack and Spitfire helped in the investigations and were close to having the name Bornag Royale and then he acted to destroy the reputation of the two heroes by diverting the focus of the investigations to the problem of publicity while Bornag tried to get rid of the connections; it had no effect since the evidence was presented and he was arrested where days later he would die in prison.

Black Lion and Gloriana were on their job capturing bandits for the police and doing an excellent job of not causing much damage. The bandits were shaking in fear with them every time they appeared. London and its surroundings were seeing the crime rate decrease and both were thinking of expanding to other cities. Even though they had a huge job, they still wouldn't let London alone use their efforts to fight crime. But those thoughts were left aside when they had to act against Edgar Lascombe, one of Hydra's bosses. Through information shared with Union Jack, they were attacking the Hydra Banker. It was a precise attack when the least number of guards were in the compound and so they surgically took out the guards one by one to prevent the alarm from being sounded. So when they got close to Edgar, they were greeted with a trap set by Lascombe who wanted to capture the two so that they could be studied and thus bring financial results to Hydra. They reacted and managed to escape the trap, but Edgar Lascombe fled.

The Fantastic Four were busy with their tasks when their sensors detected an earthquake, it lasted a few seconds, but was enough to worry the group. After alerting the authorities, they went to investigate if there had been any damage. Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered that there had been no structural damage. However, they then saw a short man who was not speaking.,he attacked with an earthquake towards them that threw the four back, the Thing could not move; the man said that he could control the sand and that they would not interfere with his plans and then with another earthquake, he opened a hole and entered it, fleeing, Human Torch called him Mole and with that the four chased him; they fought against him under New York and the Mole proved to have control of his abilities since the surrounding area did not suffer from the earthquakes unless he did not want it; Mr. Fantastic talked to him only to listen to a crazy megalomaniac who wanted to cause a strong earthquake in a tectonic plate to shape the world and conquer it; the Invisible Woman suggested that they kill him to prevent him from having any more chances; Mr. Fantastic wanted to arrest him, but he didn't see how to hold him and what he would do if he had a chance to carry out his plans, they attacked him and there were attacks from all sides and so the Thing could move and so the Mole Man lost control and caused a great tremor demolishing part of the industrial area of New York, but he ended up killing himself in the process and forced the Invisible Woman to raise a shield to protect everyone and survive; with the damage caused, the Fantastic Four dedicated themselves to cleaning and rebuilding, meanwhile the Mole Man was identified, Harvey Elder, accused of multiple murders, including his own family; Reed would not have pity on a man like that, none of them would.

The Smash Group had to face their biggest challenge, at the moment they faced the Leader's gamma soldiers in deserted areas, never entering densely populated areas, this time they had to do it; it was a nightmare; the city was in Las Vegas, Nevada, the group was going due to the news of a very muscular and enhanced man who was attacking people and the police were not dealing with it, just keeping people away from getting hurt, but, there were already victims; they arrived, the whole team and they attacked the man, it was soon proven that he had the strength of a hulk, but, then an army of robots had surrounded the city and what was an isolated problem became an all-out war within the city; everyone had to spread out; unfortunately, even for Marlo Chandler who was transformed by the Leader gaining a green hulk body more slender and wings assuming the name of Isis; During the fight he discovered that the man he calls Muscles and the voice in the robots is called Brain, the duo causes great damage, but after almost a day finally the robot army was defeated and Muscles was knocked out; Thunderbolt Ross in his human form arrested Brain, but the city was devastated and finally it was Jennifer who identified Brain, her aunt Cassandra Pike and then it can be assumed that Muscles is her son David Pike; Cassandra mocked them and said that the Leader sought her out and showed her the power and that she could do it and she did, she created a serum that gave her back her vitality and youth forever and that there were no limits, so much so that she created her own Hulk in her son; power for power is what she wants and not even they could stop herMmother and son would be isolated and remainedin jailfor a long time.

Bruce was tired, especially due to the damage and having to face his own family; Bruce couldn't stand it anymore, Bruce knew he had taken great steps in accepting the Hulk, but he did it with other hulks present and nothing could free him from the guilt he felt when he saw the chaos in Las Vegas, so he left the team and left to travel the world,to cleanhis head and help people to lessen the guilt, without the Hulk, the Smash team was disbanded, Thunderbolt Ross went to work for the government; Marlo Chandler and Rick Jones left to travel the country helping people, it was good for Tony to have Betty and Jennifer back at their jobs and dedicated and making up for lost time and Doc Samson wasorin Las Vegas to help with rescue and reconstruction,establishing residence and teaching at the university and combating the crime wave taking over the city.

The X-Men were living in relative normality, just educating young mutants and protecting them. It was possible to feel that more and more groups against mutants were emerging. Perhaps they were already present, but only now did they decide to come out of the darkness. However, things changed when they were attacked by armed men with the ability to combat the power of the mutants; some managed to escape., Storm led the defense and future rescue mission; with the images of the attack, she sought Tony for help, he identified the attacker, Colonel William Stryker; one of the main leaders of the Weapon Plus Project in which the Weapon X Project came that had grafted adamantium into Logan's bones, Tony was already in trouble with Midas, so he couldn't help physically, but he left the satellites available to track Stryker, Storm reported what happened to the government and with a representative from Stark Industries putting pressure on, he was able to obtain more active collaboration from the government and that made things happen, Stryker had many hiding places and they were attacked by the FBI and the army; thanks to the satellites, they were able to locate Stryker in Sierra Nevada, California where the group united and set out and entered into a pitched battle against Stryker's soldiers, but they did manage to turn the tide of the battle, but they couldn't stop Stryker from escaping, but he didn't get that far due to Magneto's intervention and thus killing Stryker.

The investigations into William Stryker continued; he caused a lot of damage within the government, compromising the relationship with the mutants, many supporters were arrested and his work was analyzed in detail and certainly some would escape.,being proven that Stryker has connections with the Mutant Factory and Alkali-Transigen; in fact, the government decided to delve deeper into the investigations, but unfortunately on July 15th in a peaceful protest for mutant rights in Dallas, Texas a tragedy occurred; what was a peaceful protest became a fight involving mutant powers that resulted in hundreds of deaths; if the opinion about mutants was divided, now everyone was against any enhancement; one thing that Tony noticed was that they weren't just attacking mutants, Tony knew that dark times were coming and they were at the beginning of the storm.