Some Things Change (But Others Stay The Same)

by Girlinpink44

Summary:

New York looms closer but a lot happens between now and then. New friends, new foes await. As time passes, things begin to change. But, can Tony change everything? And will his changes help or hurt his ability to know what's coming next.

Notes:

Hey guys!

Welcome to part 3. I adjusted the last chapter of Benefits of Hindsight to make this flow into the timeline of the MCU better.

I loved seeing your comments about the cliffhanger I left you on. Also, I really want to thank you for the support this series has gotten.

I really don't have a lot to say, so I'll see you on the other side!

Chapter 1: Nat

She remembered falling, Clint on the edge of the cliff above. While his face was distraught, she didn’t regret her decision. They would win, and he’d get his family back. That alone would make the sacrifice worth it. 

And then she was on the ground, but not in the way she expected. She was sitting standing, the orange sky more unsettling than it had been moments before. 

In front of her, stood Tony Stark. 

“If you could do it again, what would you change?” 

She started, staring at the figure she was starting to understand wasn’t her friend. 

“I’d…” she paused, the question weighted like it hadn’t been that day on the porch. “I’d trust Tony more. I’d try and help keep the team together. I’d find my sister sooner. I’d stop this from getting this far. I… I wouldn’t betray my friends.”

The figure studied her with a gaze she’d never seen Tony have. It was odd seeing the unfamiliar expression on the familiar face. 

“Good luck.”

 

---

 

Tony Stark had seen Natasha Romanov pull off a lot of stunts. Several of those are in various states of intoxication. 

But the one thing he’d never seen was Natasha Romanov stumble.

That is, until today. 

Rhodey was closest and caught her, and she started to go down. He steadied her, and her hand flew to her head as if she was trying to shake off a headache. 

It took her a second, but she finally looked up and started looking around frantically. Her breathing was heavy. 

Once again, her eyes settled on Tony. They stared at each other momentarily, and Tony felt his eyes widen. 

“Tony, what the hell is going on?” 

It took a fair bit to make his brain metaphorically blue screen. Even if one train of thought stopped in its tracks, the others would fight for the top spot. But at that moment, she looked at him. 

And he knew. 

Somehow, she was back.

Remembering the last time they talked, remembering her sacrifice, which mirrored his, he took off across the room. She seemed to regain her footing and met him partway, and the pair embraced. 

“I… I don’t understand.” She said as they pulled away. “You… you look younger.”

“I could say the same to you.” 

She shoved him. “What the hell is going on, Stark? Are we at Stark Industries? In LA? How… last thing I remember I…” 

“Died. Clint told us what you did.” Tony smiled at her. “For the record, you weren’t the only one to die to stop Thanos.” 

She shot him a look. “You?”

He nodded. “Woke up in Afghanistan.”

“So it’s…”

“2010.”

Nat looked around the room, studying the other shocked faces. “Considering their expressions, I assume you didn’t come back alone?” 

Tony shrugged. “The Stones seemed to sense what I was thinking as I died and brought back the people I needed.”

“So what, you just have a do-over?” 

“I think you mean to say we have a do-over.” Tony let a grin grow on his face.

She takes a seat on the couch. “Palladium poisoning?”

“Non-issue this time. I’ve already discovered badassium and replaced the core. Vanko and I have had our first tete-e-tete. And you came just in time for a storm of fun.” 

Natasha stared out the window, and Tony fell quiet, giving her time and space to adjust to this new reality. “Why?”

“Why what?” 

She turned to him. “We won, didn’t we?”

“I died to ensure it.” 

“Then why send us back.”

Tony paused. “I’ve visited the Time Stone since coming back. It’s in New York, well technically, it’s in India, but that’s pure semantics.” 

“The Wizard.” 

Grinning at yet another person calling him that - granted, they only knew of Strange because of Tony telling them about the events of Titan. He shuddered as the mere thought of that place brought back other memories. 

“I don’t want to go.”

“Tony?” 

He looked up to see Pepper beside him, her hand on his arm, her face full of concern. “Come back. He’s safe.” 

Taking a few deep breaths, Tony fought the urge to ask Jarvis to peek in on the boys at school. Seven years had healed some of that initial wound, but sometimes it snuck back when he wasn’t expecting it. 

“Did you get him back?” Nat casually asked. 

“Who?”

“Your kid.” She grinned. 

Tony stared at her for a long moment. “I did. He came back too. Almost literally is in his underoos. Calls me dad these days.” 

Happy checked his watch and swore. “Speaking of, I’ve got to get going to pick them up.” 

With that, he left the room.

“Welcome to the Time Team. Or Team Tony, as I like to call it. Though now that the only other person who died for the betterment of the universe is here, I’m willing to consider workshopping the name.” 

“I…” She let out a sigh, or maybe it was a huff. “I’m supposed to be spying on you.”

“Are you?”

“You aren’t sick. And Shield is infested with Hydra at this point, assuming we are back in 2010.”

“We are. Trust me; you’ll wrap your mind around it eventually.”

“Yelena…” He watched her face drain of what little color there was.

Tony took a step back. “Who’s Yelena?”

Nat turned, her shoulders hunching in a rare moment of vulnerability. “When we were kids, we posed as sisters. I tried to get her out when I got out and couldn’t. A few days after our Civil War, I got her free. We met a few times over the next couple of years before everything went to hell.” 

Of course, Nat had a secret sister. Tony would be a fool not to think that her secrets have secrets. She was worse than an onion regarding the layers that made up the person.

“Do you have any idea where she is at this time?”

Nat shook her head. “I’d have to put out some feelers, shake down some sources.”

“Can it wait a few weeks? We’ve got the Hulk’s creation, Thor’s visit, and it’s been a year, so I’m sure Vanko will make his move soon.”

She bristled. 

Tony threw his hands up. “Use that time to put some feelers out. But I could use the extra hands with all of this.”

“You want to stop Loki here?” 

After they failed to get the stones back a few weeks after the snap, the group had one last night of drinking together before they went their separate ways. In it, they talked about their regrets, fears, what lay ahead, and how they would move on. 

Here, Tony learned that Loki hadn’t been in his right mind during the battle of New York. That he’d just as much been a victim of Thanos as all of them. That he died to try and stop him. 

Shrugging, Tony slides his hands into his pockets. “What if we could? What if we could stop him from falling into the Space Grape’s hands and coming to New York in the first place?” 

“What if he sends someone else to make that attack? What if they aren’t trying to lose? What if we lose?” She pauses. “What all have you guys changed?” 

“There hasn’t been a lot to change. I fixed my health. Married Pepper, instead of spending a decade with my head up my ass, Morgan is already here. And the others.” 

“Others?”

Tony grinned. “Come to dinner tonight and meet our little team.” 

 

---

 

The plan was perfect. 

Peter grinned from where he sat, dangling from the ceiling. A few feet away, Harley sat in a web hammock holding a bucket of water. Peter held flour. 

“You promise you won’t tell Dad we’re here, Jarvis?” Peter asked for what was probably the fourth time.

“Currently, you and Young Master Harley are not in danger. I do not see a problem with your prank.”

Peter grinned. 

In the living room, Abby and Morgan sat having a tea party. Well, Abby was having the tea party, and Morgan was happily sitting at the table with a tiara on, just glad to be included. 

They were the distraction. 

Harley looked at him, and the pair nodded as if sending a code back and forth to each other. This was one of their more basic pranks in the grand scheme of things. But being eight did have its disadvantages. 

Still, it was simple and effective and would undoubtedly end with both covered in flour after being chased around the house. 

He couldn’t wait. 

Downstairs, he heard two sets of footsteps coming into the elevator. That mean Uncle Rhodey was probably with Dad. Two for the price of one. Peter held up two fingers with his free hand, and Harley nodded. 

Both tensed in anticipation. 

With a whirl, Peter knew no one else could hear; the elevator went up to the main floor. 

Peter focused solely on him as his dad stepped out of the elevator. He saw his dad take a few steps forward and turn around to say something to Uncle Rhodey. 

Just a few more steps. 

Slowly, almost agonizingly slow, he made his way into position. 

With a shout, Harley flung the water down on top of him, and Peter promptly let the bag of flour cover the man. 

And then he saw who was standing with their dad. 

Who was also covered in flour. 

And it wasn’t Uncle Rhodey. 

Instead, standing in the middle of his dad’s living room, wiping flour off of her face, was the Black Widow. 

The Black Widow. 

His dad looked up and saw the boys. With an exasperated look, he crossed his arms. “And what exactly are you two doing up there?”

Both boys grinned from their perches. 

Dad turned to face the Black Widow. “I present some of the chosen to fix the problem that is the giant purple space grape.” 

“Wait,” Harley spoke up. 

“She remembers?” Peter looked down.

“I’m Harley.” He waved from his hammock. “And it’s a pleasure to meet the second scariest woman on the planet.” 

Her eyebrow raised. “And who’s the first.” 

“We have Pepper Potts as a stepmother.” 

Natasha Romanov seemed to pause and consider this. “That’s acceptable.” 

“I’m Peter.” At that moment, Peter realized that, unlike Harley, he was sticking to the ceiling in his power. 

So much for a secret identity…

“Spider-Man.” The Black Widow smiled. 

“More like Spider-Tot these days.” 

Peter let out an indignant squawk, and Tony laughed. 

“You can call me тетя паук, boys.” 

Peter crawled over and helped get Harley off the ceiling. He had made some web shooters despite being unable to be his alter ego for another five years (and perhaps he was counting down the days until he could swing through the city again). Partially, he wanted to see if he could do it with inferior technology. 

He lowered his brother down before doing a flip and landing gracefully on the ground beside him. “Sorry about the flour, тетя паук.” Peter tested the foreign phrase. 

“Yeah, it was meant for Mechanic over there.”

“And you didn’t hear a second person downstairs, Peter?” Peter squirmed under his dad’s gaze. 

“We thought it was Uncle Rhodey and decided to get two birds with one stone.” He looked down sheepishly. 

With that, his dad threw his head back with a laugh. “Wait until I tell him that.” 

Peter shrugged. “He’d expect nothing less.” 

“Besides, it sounds like an initiation was due.” Harley grinned slyly, inching his way toward the staircase. More than likely, he was hoping Dad wouldn’t notice. But the odds were not in his favor. 

“Don’t try and get away after that, Potato.” Tony took off after him, and with a laugh, Harley took off. 

“I see your powers come back with you, паучок.” 

He squirmed as he felt her gaze but looked up. “I woke up in the past sick as they settled back in. We came across the country to find Dad; the rest is history.” 

“Perhaps this time, we will make sure you’re better trained. I saw videos of your fights.”

“After the whole incident with the plane, Dad got me some training, but I was on my own in the early days. Even my best friend didn’t know for the longest time.”

“And now he’s back here?”

Peter nodded. “I think the Stones gave Dad the support network he needed. And if that network needed people, they came too. With how it stands, we already have the beginnings of the next generation of Avengers. Dad is looking at how to beat Thanos, and Harley, Ned, MJ, and I are looking at being ready for what comes after.”

“But you can’t know what that is.” 

Peter looked down. “The Time Stone showed Dad some of what could have happened if they hadn’t intervened. He won’t tell me exactly what he saw, but whatever it is, it still haunts him.” 

He looked up to see the Black Widow looking at him pensively. “I’m assuming you’re less articulate when there are people around who don’t know.” 

Peter grinned. “Yeah, it was easier at first when we were barely more than toddlers, but the closer we get to our old ages, the easier it is to let a little of that more advanced side through. School is a soul-sucking pit of boredom for us.”

“I can’t imagine.” 

“How are you handling it?” Peter asked. 

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“It takes some adjusting.” Peter grinned. “I am sorry about the flour.” 

“Your dad has done worse.” 

So focused on the conversation, Peter didn’t even notice his dad approach until suddenly he was up in the air and pulled into a hug. Letting out a squeal, he tried to push away, but it was half-hearted at best. 

Chapter 2: Why Me and Why Now

Notes:

Chapter Two! Yes, it's a few days late. Sorry!

I've got a fun announcement for the other side of the chapter, so I'm going to let you guys get reading!

With the tower over a year away from being completed, Tony had bought out the top fourth of a building. The Parkers, Keeners, and Starks all had their own spaces, Tony had a lab…

And the Young Avengers had a headquarters. 

What was once a second office was now a clubhouse for all of the kids to hang out and plan their own missions. 

It wasn’t like the grownups were letting them help much. 

Peter grabbed another handful of popcorn - he tended to have his own snack stash when they all hung out (it wasn’t his fault he had a super metabolism). “So, it’s been two years.” 

“And Dad still won’t let us skip any grades,” Harley grunted from his place on one of the couches.

“It makes sense.” MJ looked up from her sketchbook. “It would look odd if four kids loosely tied to Tony Stark suddenly skipped grades.”

There was a beat of silence as all three boys shrugged in reluctant agreement. 

“But we have to do something.” Peter huffed. “I have my powers but I’ve been benched. We know what’s coming just like the others and we can do nothing.”

“I’m stuck hacking defunct tech.” Ned looked up from the clunky laptop he held.

“It’s not defunct, you’ve just been a decade ahead.” MJ scoffed. “Personally, I see it as an extra decade's worth of crisis photos. It took years to refine, imagine where I’ll be when we catch up.” 

“Still, there has to be something we can do to help.” Harley was bent over the coffee table, blueprints in front of him. 

“What do you suggest.” MJ retorted. 

Harley waved at the blueprints in front of him. “I’m working on drones for search and rescue. If we help show that the Avengers-”

“Do we really think they’re going to exist after Captain America almost killed Stark?” MJ cut him off. 

“They have to! They’re the Avengers!” Ned looked up, the very idea filling him with horror. 

“I don’t trust them.” Peter crossed his arms. He’d found a loophole and seen the footage from that time. Mr. Stark - his dad - almost died that day in Siberia. Peter might have never gotten to know him. 

Gotten to have a dad again.

As it often did, the thought of that filled him with anger and he shook his head as if to clear it. His dad was fine. He’d eaten breakfast with them this morning. He was off doing something with Auntie Spider. Once again, they’d been left in the dark. 

It had been frustrating enough as a teenager. At least then he’d been big enough to go and snoop around for answers. 

Granted, that is how the whole Ferry Incident (of which they did not speak) happened. 

Harley huffed. “I’m building drones - smaller than Dad’s bulky Iron Legion suits to assist with search and rescue. In theory, I’m going to try and have them be capable of basic first aid. “

“So kinda like Droney, but better.” Peter came over and looked at Harley’s plans. Sure enough, there were the beginnings of schematics for a drone. 

“Exactly, Droney inspired it.” Harley looked up. “Dad told me about it a couple of times. You know, I was the one who sent him a video of you. A kid at school showed me and I thought you were so cool.”

“You didn’t know him personally back then,” MJ smirked, completely ignoring the withering look that Peter shot her way. 

Ned shut the laptop and made his way through a door at the back of the room. Peter followed him into their “lab.”

It was a generous term for the room. Dad had gone on some rant about how it was helpful to allow children to have a space to create freely. Peter had rolled his eyes at the time but was now enjoying the space to create without being treated like the kid he was. 

Some art supplies ended up in one corner, MJ’s space to make what she desired. As a result, the room always smelled faintly of paint. 

A handful of half-together pieces of tech occupied another work table - Ned was working on advancing computers faster. Peter’s dad told him that if he managed it, Tony would help him patent it and let Stark Industries produce them. 

It was more than enough motivation. 

The other half of the room was… chaotic might be an appropriate word. Odd bits of tech that Tony parted with were spread out in various stages. Peter even had a kid-friendly chemistry set (he could help his eyes roll at the thought - he’d made web formula in the drawer of his science table). 

Peter turned to his project, copying down formulas he had long since committed to memory. He had his original version, modified ones he’d created with his dad, and while he couldn’t use them for their intended purpose for a few years more, he had a couple of ideas. 

“Young Master Peter, need I remind you that your father has said you cannot be Spider-Man until you are the same age you were last time?” Jarvis’ voice rang out, his tone one of disapproval. 

“But I’m not!” 

“You are writing out the formula to your web fluid.” 

Peter looked up. “How do you know?”

“Sir put them into my system, in case you couldn’t remember when the time came.” 

On one hand, Peter felt touched by that. On the other, it made this more difficult. 

“But, I’m not making web fluid.” Peter looked down at the equations. “Okay, maybe I am but not to be Spider-Man.” 

“Then what are you working on?” 

“Well, I made the version that doubles as bandages, and Harley and I were talking about putting that in. But then I had a thought. My webs were almost enough to hold up the Ferry-"

“Ferry?” Harley asked. 

“Later, Harley. ANYWAYS, I thought that if I modified it a bit, maybe we can use it in search and rescue situations. Help stabilize buildings until people can get in to help.”

“That’s genius!” Harley came over.

Peter grinned. “We could use it to help secure debris to make it easier for people to be rescued. Though I don’t know how to keep it from not dissolving within a couple of hours. I’ve got to play with it.” 

“I suppose that is inside Sir's perimeters for this lab,” Jarvis spoke up. “As such, I won’t need to inform him of this unless you put yourself in danger.”

Peter turned back to the paper. Maybe there was a way he could help his dad after all. 

---

Karmar-Taj didn’t change a whole lot. Sure, faces here and there would change depending on who was studying, what was happening, and other factors. 

But Tony felt that its steadfastness was oddly comforting. Everything else around him was in a state of flux. There was at least one place where he could go and fully know what to expect. 

Today was no different. He sat and watched training exercises happen in the courtyard below. Natasha was next to him, less relaxed than he was. 

“Why did you bring me to a magic show?”

“There are people for you to meet.” Tony waved his hand out. “This was here the whole time. The Sorcerers were here the entire time last time, and we didn’t notice them. A group of potential allies, and we did nothing.” 

It was still something that at times kept Tony up at night. Hindsight really was something. He knew there’d be things they’d miss this time around. 

And he was sure those would keep him up down the road. 

“Tony, we couldn’t have known everything.” 

He turned to her. “But I knew. I knew something was coming since New York. I should have tried to explain better - pushed more.”

“And we would have still ignored you as we did.” Nat put a hand on his shoulder. 

“She’s right, Tony.” The Ancient One walked up to the pair. “I’ve not been in your situation but I, too have dealt with the weight of knowing something is coming. You’ve been given a chance here and you must seize it. Our entire order will stand with you when the time comes.” 

Tony nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed. “Thank you.”

“Now, if you follow me, I’ll take you to who you’re here to see.” The Ancient One turned and headed towards the library.

“Who is she talking about?” 

“You’ll see.” Tony fell into step beside the Ancient One. Nat walked a few steps behind them as they entered the Library. “Wong.” 

“Stark.” The man eyed him. “I see you’ve brought yet another person into my Library.” 

“Relax, Wong. She’s in the know. We’re just going to talk with our friend downstairs. Nat, this is Wong. Wong, this is Natasha Romanoff.”

“Pleasure.” Nat’s tone was wary - as it had been since Tony had dragged her here.

“Likewise.” Wong didn’t even try and bury the sarcasm. 

The group moved on, through the stacks and past artifacts. She led them downstairs but stopped halfway down the stairs. “I assume you can make it the rest of the way.” 

Tony nodded and took the lead. Ever since they’d discovered that the Time Stone would interact with Tony, it had been moved to its own special chamber. It allowed Tony and the stone to talk freely as well. 

Sure enough, the eye lit up a brilliant green when he crossed the threshold. “I see your number has grown by one. Welcome, Natasha Romanov.” 

“And you are?” She eyed the stone. 

“I am the Time Stone. You met my sister, Soul.”

Tony saw Nat shudder at the mention of that and not for the first time, he wondered what happened on that planet. 

“Relax, your sacrifice has carried over with you. You will be able to retrieve my sister if needed.”

Tony wasn’t sure what to say to that. “A lot is going to happen in the coming weeks, but we don’t know what we can and cannot change.” 

The Stone paused, pulsing green. “Some things can change, allies can be made as you’ve already been doing. But take heart, our Chosen Champions, some things must remain the same in order to secure the future - for better or worse.” 

“But some things we could change?” Nat seemed hopeful. 

“Your sister’s future remains in flux. While there are things she must do, perhaps you will be able to rescue her earlier and save lives in the process.”

“Why did you send Nat back? No offense, Nat. But we’ve been here two years and you suddenly allow someone else back?” 

“And why did I only remember recently? We met a year ago.”

“We may allow more. Time will tell. But there were things in motion leading up to her assignment at Stark Industries. Anything earlier may have been suspicious.”

“But why me? Surely there were better options.” Nat asked. 

“Because you had direct contact with my sister. It allowed us to do so. With Tony holding the power of all six of us, we were able to do more initially. But your interaction allowed for us to… how do you humans say it, stack the deck.” 

They didn’t stay long after that and after a few minutes ended up leaning against the wall like earlier. “You know, we could get a head start on cleaning up SHIELD.” 

“Like Fury will listen to you.” Nat scoffed. 

He turned to her. “But he’ll listen to you. You can lie and say you got a hint of it from my files.” 

“Might that change be a bit much?” 

“We don’t know unless we try. And if we can stop things before they blow out of proportion like last time, perhaps we can save all those agents' lives.”

Nat looked away, and Tony didn’t push her. 

He grinned. “Besides, imagine the fun we get to have properly tag teaming in the weeks ahead. It’s been a bit since we did a mission the two of us.” 

Nat turned, giving him a grin. “I’m not sure you can handle doing a mission with me.”

“I can hold my own.” 

“Without your suit?” 

Tony spluttered, and Nat’s smile only grew. 

Notes:

Laying the foundation for what's ahead. Don't worry, the plot is coming. Fae and I have been chatting and we're excited.

So, shiny announcement. Wish We Could Turn Back Time has been translated into Russian! Honestly, I'm in shock and awe that someone wanted to take the time to translate something I wrote!

https://ficbook.net/readfic/13326814/34171618#part_content

Thank you all for how warmly you've received this series. Your support means the world without me.

And of course, it wouldn't be a proper post without me thanking Fae. Between freaking out together over the translation to throwing ideas at each other, without them, this series wouldn't be what it is.

Until next time!

Chapter 3: Carrying The Weight Of The World (And Then Some)

Notes:

Hello everyone!

Most of my notes reference this chapter so I'll cut the preview short and let you get to it!

Natasha disembarked from the jet she had taken and made her way through the familiar woods. Her target more than likely knew she was already on the way, and if she was honest with herself, she needed more time to sort out the last few days. 

 

More importantly, she needed to sort out what she would tell Clint. While Natasha was a masterful liar, Clint was among the few people who could see through her. 

 

The woods gave way to open space, and the familiar home and barn sat in the distance. It was a gorgeous day that had taken her far too long to learn to appreciate again. In the distance, she heard the excited squeals of Cooper and Lila. So far from the teenagers she had seen before…

 

They were around Peter’s age. In the back of her mind, Nat realized what this might mean for the team of Junior Avengers - if these two didn’t remember anything. 

 

“Auntie Nat!” Both kids caught sight of her and ran toward her. Seeing just how tiny they were, Nat kneeled in time to receive two rushing bundles that promptly attached themselves to her. 

 

Planting a kiss on both of their heads, Nat held the two kids close for a moment, something they were more than willing to humor her about. 

 

“Dad didn’t tell us you were coming!” Cooper looked up at her. 

 

“That’s because Dad didn’t know. He’s as surprised as you are.” Nat looked up to see Clint leaning against the doorframe. He grinned at her. “In fact, I thought your Aunt Natasha was busy with work.” 

 

“She got a few days off and needed to see her favorite niece and nephew.” Nat hugged the two kids tighter before letting them go. Lila grabbed her hand and dragged her to the play area Clint had set up. 

 

The two kids returned to playing, calling out to their adopted aunt as they did something they deemed “cool.” Well used to their antics, Nat carefully ensured she oohed and ahhed at the proper times. 

 

Sitting at a nearby picnic table, she was content to let the two play and just watched. It took a few minutes, but eventually, Clint sat on the opposite side of the table and handed her a bear. “I thought you were tasked with babysitting Stark.” 

 

“Trust me when I say he’ll behave for the next bit.” Nat took a long swig of the drink. “Besides, he sent me to get you anyways. I’ve… I’ve got a story for you. Things… have… will. .. things are coming, and we will need all hands on deck.” 

 

Clint stared at her. “Do you want to try to make sense?”

 

She threw back her head and laughed. “Trust me; the story makes even less sense than that.” 

 

“Try me.” 

 

“In roughly 8 years, a being known to the Universe will set his sights on Earth. Currently, there are two items known as Infinity Stones on this planet. There are four others spread across the universe.”

 

“And what he wants, will want” Clint’s face scrunched as he chewed on that sentence. “To get all six stones?”

 

Nat could do nothing but nod. 

 

“To what end?”

 

Before she answered, she took another long sip of her drink. “Eliminating half the universe.” 

 

Clint stared at her, and she met his eyes, begging him to see she wasn’t lying. He seemed to realize it and stared at her incredulously. “Why?”

 

“So the remaining half can thrive with the declining and limited resources. Apparently, that’s how his planet died.” 

 

He got up and paced a little. “How do you know all of this?” 

 

She let him pace for a minute before answering. “Because I’m not the Nathasha you saw a few weeks ago. I’m from the future.”

 

Clint scoffed. “What? You got sent back to fix everything.” 

 

When she didn’t look away from her stare, he paled. It wouldn’t have been noticeable to the average person, but to her, it was glaringly obvious. “The kids?” 

 

“Gone. Laura too.”

 

He sat down on the bench at that. “Wait, you said you were sent here by Stark.” 

 

“Tony came back, along with people in his inner circle.”

 

“And you?” 

 

Nat got up and, for a moment, watched the kids play around. She felt Clint come beside her before she saw him. 

 

“Nat, what happened?” 

 

“We found a way to reverse it, and you and I were paired up for part of the mission.” She turned to him. “I sacrificed myself so that you could get back for your family. Next thing I knew, I was in Stark Industries trying to figure out what happened.”

 

“Why me?”

 

Nat picked up her bottle and took a sip. “Because the list of people I trust is very short. And you’re on it. Because SHIELD has no idea that it’s been infiltrated by Hydra and is rotten to its core.”

 

“Hold on, what?” He held his hands up. 

 

“They’ve been hiding inside SHEILD since WW2. The only ones I know are clean are Fury, Coulsen, Mockingbird, and Maria Hill. There are others of course. But… things are coming in the next few weeks, and I need someone I can trust to help navigate it.” 

 

“What kind of things?” 

 

Nat took a seat, Clint joining her on the same side, and she gave a loose outline of what they were expecting in the coming weeks. 

 

---

 

Tony was supposed to be working on designs for Stark Industries. He’s supposed to ensure he’s caught up, if not ahead, with his work. The Expo started in two days, and he was scheduled to be in New York. 

 

Add everything with Bruce, Thor, and possibly Vanko in round two. 

 

But while he was supposed to be doing all that, he’d even tucked himself into his lab back in Malibu so he couldn’t use the boys as a distraction; he couldn’t focus on anything. 

 

Nat was off getting her spy twin. With everything going on in the next few weeks, they needed all the hands they could get. And the fact was that they needed an extra set of hands to tackle SHEILD. 

 

“Tony?” 

 

He turned to see Pepper walking into his lab. “MIT was to do a series on innovation the week of Commencement and wanted to know if you would do a talk there besides the Commencement Speech.” 

 

“Keynote?” 

 

Pepper gave a small chuckle. “Of course.” 

 

“Since we’ll already be there, why not. Get them to send anything they want to discuss, and I’ll consider it.” 

 

“You mean ignore it and the prompter and go rogue?” 

 

Tony laughed. “It’ll inspire me.” 

 

In the past, Tony avoided events like this like the plague. But this time, he was embracing them. He needed to do more to ensure he left behind a better world than last time. There was so much potential out there, and if he could help nurture it. 

 

Those kids were the future. They, along with his emotionally adopted kids, were the reason he was trying to stop Thanos from being able to snap.” 

 

So now he embraced them. Speeches at universities, conferences, and even the odd STEM High School. What if hearing Tony speak was why they invented something that could help save half the universe?

 

The Stones had put the task on him, and he couldn’t fail. He couldn’t let his own personal feelings get in the way of what was best for the world. 

 

Even if he wasn’t entirely sure what it was. 

 

Pepper came over and started massing his shoulders. “Getting yourself worked up over what’s coming won’t help.” 

 

Tony sighed. “I can’t help it. Over the next two weeks, two more members of the original Avengers will be put on the board. The one that remains is the one I have the most difficult time sorting out my feelings.” 

 

“At least you’re noting that you have feelings on this. That’s a sign of personal growth from you.”

 

That caused Tony to snort. 

 

“I mean it.” She whacked him gently on the head. “But you need to remember that you have a whole team. You’ve got us, you’ve got the X-Men, and speaking from experience, public opinion of you hasn’t been higher in either timeline.” 

 

Tony ran his hand down his face. “It’s been two years. We’ve got two until New York, and I hope I haven’t wasted this time.”

 

“I can hardly call it a waste. And some kids would say the same thing.” 

 

Looking over to his pictures of Peter, Harley, Abby, and of course, baby Morgan, Tony couldn’t help but agree. 

 

“Now, don’t forget you have a meeting at 3 at R&D to review their progress on the new lines,” Pepper called over her shoulder as she headed out of the lab. “And don’t stay there all night. I thought the three of us could picnic on the beach tonight.” 

 

The familiar click-clacking of Pepper’s heels echoed as she descended the stairs. Tony returned to his setup and tried to get back to his work. 

 

While it felt that the weight of the world was on his shoulders, it was good to be reminded that he had help to carry it. 

 

“Agent Coulson from SHEILD is on the line asking for you.”  Jarvis’ voice rang out over the lab as, for once, Tony wasn’t working with the music blaring. 

 

“Patch him through, J.” 

 

“Dr. Stark?” 

 

“Agent, what can I do for you.” 

 

There was a hesitation on the other line. 

 

“Agent?” 

 

“Dr. Stark. Ivan Vanko escaped custody during a prison transfer early this morning.” 

Notes:

So many of you have commented about Vanko and how I left things in Benefits of Hindsight. To all of you who commented, this chapter is the beginning of your answers. I've had this baking for a bit and I'm excited to take you on this ride.

The bit with Clint is me keeping a promise to my brother. Hawkeye is his favorite Avenger and I told him I'd play nice. I've seen other fics explore what Clint would be like if he had help dealing with the mind manipulation. Here I can establish a relationship beforehand and see where it takes us.

Having found the plot in the first three chapters, the trick with this tale is going to be working in fluff. I'm essentially covering three movies over the course of this story. Hope you're ready to go on this journey together!

Til next time!

Chapter 4: Storm Brewing

Notes:

Hi?

I'll chat more after - I've kept you waiting for a new chapter long enough.

It took about six hours for Tony to arrive at his New York house, which was far too long. To make matters worse, the kids were in school. To be fair was a good idea because if he left Peter and the others with too much time on their small hands in the middle of a crisis…

 

Actually, the school was the best place for the so-called Junior Avengers (how they could be the Junior Avengers when the adult one didn’t exist yet was something Tony had tried - and failed - to argue with the kids about.)

 

“Dad!” 

 

He turned to see Abby Keener run towards him and he knelt down and braced himself for the bear hug. “Hey, Princess. Done with preschool already?” 

 

Somewhere along the way, he’d gone from Uncle Tony like he’d been the entire time last time to Dad. He wasn’t sure if it was because of Peter and Morgan calling him Dad (Harley stuck to Mechanic but both knew it was the same thing really). 

 

Her nod was very serious. “Mommy says next year I get to go the whole day like the big kids. But then, who will play with Morgan?” 

 

Tony smiled. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” 

 

Scooping her up, he continued to walk through their space, mentally making sure every safety precaution he’d set was ready. He checked on Morgan who slept soundly in her crib. She’d be out until the kids came home from school more than likely. 

 

Everything was like it was on a regular afternoon. 

 

Granted for all intents and purposes it was a regular afternoon. The storm that threatened to drown Tony was really only inside of him - barely touching those around him. Until it did and he was worried what that would look like. The kids were far too public for his taste this time around - Thank you Stane. Vanko could go for them. 

 

But then, Happy had planted himself outside of the school to keep an eye on things personally. And Rhodey had gotten himself assigned to Tony for the duration fo the Expo so he was on hand if needed. 

 

“Daddy?” 

 

Tony shook his head to clear it and turned his attention back to Abby. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” 

 

“Want to have a tea party?” 

 

Tony hesitated, realizing he had no real reason to say no. Yes, there was a crisis brewing but he was already doing everything he could do in the situation. And Abby often got lost in the shuffle. Harley and Peter had their friends and by nature of being the youngest Morgan got attention. 

 

Sometimes, the youngest Keener just got lost in all of the chaos.

 

Happy had the big kids, Morgan was safe in her crib, Pepper was in her office, and Jarvis was combing through everything legal (and some things that questionably were not) to find Vanko. 

 

Until then…

 

Who was he to say no to spending time with one of his kids?

 

---

 

On one hand, Natasha had been in this building a week ago. On the other, it had been the better part of a decade since she walked through these halls. 

 

It didn’t matter which way you looked at it, she was so steamed that she couldn’t even work up amusement at people moving out of her way as she stormed down the hallway. Behind her, Clint was all but jogging to keep up. 

 

Vanko escaped. 

 

At least that was the line everyone was being fed. And had Natasha not just come back from a trip from a future that revealed a lot of the skeletons in SHIELD’s closet, she might have bought it. It happened, on occasion. 

 

But someone like that. Especially when there were people who were trying to get on Tony’s good side (and she hadn’t taken the time to ask him where he stood about that - she wouldn’t blame him either way - to be honest, she was on the fence herself). 

 

She had questions. Like why he was being transferred for one. Who gave the order? And of course, there was the traditional where was he and what was he up to?

 

Pulling out her phone, she texted Tony to remind him to hack into Hammer Industries (not that he probably needed reminding - and not that he probably hadn’t done it in his sleep) to keep tabs in case history repeated itself. 

 

But if it didn’t, what could they be looking at? Could things be worse because of what they changed? Or rather what Tony didn’t change? 

 

Nat would have thought that these familiar halls would be comforting but instead, she found them rather stifling. Secrets behind every door. Not knowing who was on her side and who secretly worked for Hydra. 

 

People she knew died on missions they hadn’t gone on yet. 

 

“Natasha?” 

 

Of course, she’d run into him. 

 

She stiffened and turned slowly and saw Coulson standing in the hallway, his posture loose, his attitude that inquisitive nonchalant appearance she’d known (and missed - it was oddly soothing how he hid - like her - when he was thrown by something). 

 

“Coulson.”

 

The man is dead. The wound in his chest. Lying on the table as the SHIELD doctor made the call. 

 

The first rallying cry of the Avengers. But not enough to hold them together long-term. 

 

“I thought you were babysitting Stark.” He tilted his head slightly. “Instead, I get reports of the Black Widow on a rampage in Headquarters. With Barton I see. I thought you were on leave.” 

 

“Nat’s worried about her cover being blown and asked me to help her investigate Vanko. Make sure Stark doesn’t walk in over his head.” 

 

Nat was infinitely glad that even though he didn’t remember, Clint had her back. Right now, she was scrambling for an answer. Wishing she’d remembered more from when they’d uncovered Hydra - and maybe wishing she’d paid a bit more attention to those files. 

 

That was an easier problem to fix. Nat had already planted a few bugs for Jarvis so that he could access the files and provide them with information - no need to wait on Fury to reveal things in his own time. Especially given they knew the general idea for a lot and just needed refreshers on the specifics. 

 

“I’ve got a team on Vanko’s escape.” 

 

“A team on his escape or a team tracking him down.” She crossed her arms. 

 

“Both. With both the Stark legacy in SHIELD and his potential future involvement given your current… assessment, we want to make sure to maintain a good relationship.” 

 

On paper, it sounded good. And it was the best she was going to get considering as far as Coulson knew, there weren’t any unknown moles in SHIELD right now. 

 

But she knew better. 

 

---

 

Peter lowers himself into the room where Toomes is at the table. 

 

He jumps down. “Hey! Surprised?”

 

“Oh, hey, Pete. I didn’t hear you come in.”

 

“It’s over. I’ve got you.”

 

“You know, I gotta tell you, Pete, I really, really admire your grit. I see why Liz likes you. I do. When you first came to the house, I wasn’t sure. I thought, “Really?” But I get it now.”

 

“How could you do this to her?”

 

“To her? I’m not doing anything to her, Pete. I’m doing this for her.”

 

“Huh, yeah.” Peter shoots his web and glues Vulture’s left hand against the desk.

 

“Peter, you’re young. You don’t understand how the world works.”

 

“Yeah, but I understand that selling weapons to criminals is wrong.”

 

“How do you think your buddy Stark paid for that tower? Or any of his little toys? Those people, Pete, those people up there, the rich and the powerful, they do whatever they want. Guys like us, like you and me, they don’t care about us. We build their roads and we fight all their wars and everything, but they don’t care about us. We have to pick up after ‘em. We have to eat their table scraps. That’s how it is. I know you know what I’m talking about, Peter.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?”

 

“Because I want you to understand. There’s only one way this story ends. It ends the same way every time you play it out in your head. Why do you think that your little time jump is going to make any difference? Do you really think you are going to change anything?” 

 

The building crashed around Peter, the rubble and dust surrounding him. Then he’s on Titan and falling apart into more dust. 

 

Dust. 

 

So.

 

Much. 

 

Dust.

 

---

 

Thunder crashed and Peter shot up. Between the thunder crashing, his own heart, and the sound of rain pounding on the building, everything was too loud. 

 

Too loud. 

 

Too much. 

 

Another crash of thunder sent Peter under his covers with a cry. It had been a dream… or maybe a bunch. 

 

So. Much. Dust. 

 

Peter wiggled his fingers and his toes and started to relax when another crash of thunder sent him right back into a ball under his covers. 

 

“Roo?” 

 

He heard the sound of the door opening and someone making their way to the bed. The irregular heartbeat immediately gave away who it was - his dad’s always kinda skipped a beat due to the damage from Afghanistan. 

 

There was a weight on the bed and he felt a hand make its way into his curls. “It’s okay, Roo.” 

 

Flinging himself from under his covers into his dad’s arms, he let loose the tears he’d been holding in. For a few moments, he let himself cry. Let himself be the age he was on the outside. Let his dad comfort him with soft words, a back rub, and the occasional fingers through his curls. 

 

“What was it about?” 

 

“Building… dust…” He muttered. 

 

His dad lay on his bed and Peter took that as an opportunity to snuggle next to the man. “It won’t happen this time.” 

 

“You don’t know that.” 

 

“We’re changing things.” His dad’s hair started playing with his curls. “And I’m going to keep you safe.” 

 

“What if we can’t change anything.” 

 

The fingers in his hair paused. “We’ve already changed some things, you know that.” 

 

“But can we change enough?” 

 

The fingers started again. “We have to at least try.”

Notes:

Hi again.

Thank you so much for your patience. This took a lot longer to come together than I expected it to. Hopefully, it isn't as long a wait for the next one. Though, I do want to say that I'm not sure at the moment that I can commit to a regular schedule (I'm sorry guys but I have to sometimes wait for the words to come).

As always, all the love and thanks to Fae without whom I'd lose my mind keeping my own canon straight.

And thank you for your comments, sometimes you've unknowingly said something really nice when I've been having a really bad day and you don't understand how much it means to me. While I can't promise I won't post consistently, I can promise that I have no plans to give up on this fic. I've got too many ideas and plans in store for you all.

Chapter 5: The Meaning of Legacy

Notes:

I've been working on this chapter off and on for weeks and I'm super proud how it came out! For me, this really set the stage for the rest of the story (and in a sense sets the stage to take us all the way to the Battle of New York).

See you on the other side!

EDIT: I think I fixed the formatting errors in this chapter. Let me know if it still looks weird!

The last time the Stark Expo had kicked off, Tony had been reasonably confident he wouldn't live to see the end of the year-long event. That being considered (and hidden from anyone and everyone), he had decided to make his entrance spectacular.

This time, he was in a much better place (in more ways than one). Still, when planning his grand entrance into the (much improved) Stark Expo, he realized he still wanted to establish his flair for dramatics.

Which is why he found himself in a plane once again as it moved towards the site of the 2010 Stark Expo. One significant change was that instead of lasting one year, he had it lasting until mere weeks before the battle of New York.

The good press he'd still be riding when the battle came would hopefully be a nice cushion for what lay in the days after.

Unlike last time, however, the armor was much more advanced than it had been - though still a ways off from the version he wore in the final battle against Thanos. That being said, it was much easier to put on and would be much easier to remove once he made it to the stage.

He'd also done away with the dancers - that was very much a past him thing that he wasn't overly inclined to repeat. This time, he had kids and was focusing more on his true legacy than the unsure version he'd had last time.

Despite being over 10,000 feet in the air, he could hear the crowds below as they gathered in the center arena of the fairgrounds. The main hall held over 10,000 people, and at least a dozen overflow stations had hundreds to thousands on their own. In addition, this was being televised around the globe and streamed on YouTube (personally, Tony was curious if he could crash the system).

There was one other change from the time that never was that he was rather happy about. This time, when he entered Iron Man into the Expo, he would be joined by his best friend in the War Machine armor. It symbolized that Stark Industries retained its ties to the US military (as long as it didn't involve weapons) and allowed him to share this moment with his best friend. It helped solidify that Rhodey would be by his side in the future. That the US military was firm in its goal for peace.

The world didn't know that their view of… well, everything would change over the next few years. But by the time that happened, they would know that there were people who had their back.

"Approaching the drop window." The pilot's voice rang out over the plane's intercom system, and behind Tony, the door to the plane began to drop.
It was showtime.

The suit wrapped around him, the HUD scrolling on. Jarvis ran through the startup diagnosis. Everything looked okay on his end, and he could see that the final system checks were almost complete on the War Machine armor.

Platypus didn't need to know that Tony had a monitor on the War Machine armor that fed directly into his heads-up display. It helped him sleep better at night - chasing the nightmares of his brother falling…

Shaking away the thoughts, he looked out the open door. Below, he could see the Expo lit up to celebrate the opening ceremonies.

"You ready, Honey Bear?" He turned to Rhodey.

"Ready to beat you to the Expo." His best friend grinned at him.

"Is that the way it's going to be?" Tony smirked.

"We have arrived inside the drop window. You are free to jump." The pilot cut off before more smart remarks could be shared.

With a nod, the pair took off for the back of the plane as fireworks burst from below. They both jumped and let themselves fall momentarily before igniting their thrusters and soaring around the fireworks. As they approached the ground, the sound of roaring approval grew louder and louder, along with the sound of classic rock.
Many things had changed, but in his heart, Tony was still Tony.

For a bit, the pair had fun. Despite the crowd below them, the pair enjoyed the fall, the ride, and the race. Of course, there wasn't an impromptu game of tag that developed for a second as they dodged each other and fireworks.

Finally, they landed on the stage to the crowd's roar. The armor unlocked, and Tony and Rhodey stepped out.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Colonel James Rhodes of the United States Air Force in the War Machine Armor!" Tony waved at his friend, who waved at the crowd before leaving the stage.

Walking to center stage, Tony felt the easy smile on his face. Back in this time, before the world got so very complicated, he did have fun talking with a crowd. Later on, it would become yet another exhausting chore. Perhaps this time, he would change enough so it wouldn't be.

"My dad hosted an Expo during World War 2. James Buchanan Barnes and Steve Rogers attended, according to reports. He then hosted another years later. But after his death, I've had no interest in hosting one of my own for decades."

The crowd had quieted, hanging on his word. "Because I didn't fully understand why he did it. What he saw in these events. But over the last year or so, I've started to understand. Before I start my speech, let Howard introduce the event. From beyond the grave, I give you my father, Howard Stark."
The lights dimmed, and the video began playing, the same as last time. Tony stepped backstage and took a swig of coffee. He also quickly changed into a tux - it was more comfortable to go casual in the suit if he could.

As the video ended, he stepped out to the waiting crowd.

"Legacy. Merriam-Webster defines it as, 'something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.' It's what we pass down to the next generation, to our posterity. It's what we leave as we walk upon this Earth for those who will come after us. And until I met my boys, until I met my daughters, I'm not sure I properly appreciated that term."

A picture appeared on the screen behind him, and he heard the audience coo. It was a picture of the four kids all sitting together. Tony turned and looked at their faces and smiled. "They're adorable. And I would do anything for them. Getting to know these amazing kids - and yes, I know I'm a bit biased." That earned a chuckle from the audience. Tony smiled, more genuine than he tended to show in such a public forum. He blamed the kids. "Getting to help raise them has fueled my desire to make sure that I leave a world behind that's better than the one I got."

He shifted slightly uneasily. "I like to think that I took a solid first step towards that goal when I shut down the weapons division of Stark Industry. But I also realized that an Expo would be an excellent way to help the world advance and secure our legacy for future generations. That being said, welcome to the Stark Expo!"

He waved his hands, and the crowd cheered. Behind him, a map of the expo grounds appeared. "Over the next 15 months, companies worldwide will visit and share the latest innovations and plans to change the world. We have experts in energy, astrophysics, medicine, technology, and more present. In partnership with the United Nations, all signatory countries will have a booth to share whatever they want with the world. We have additional countries seeking to sign on for some or all of the Expo."

Tony hoped this would be a first step towards securing international allies - he was also really hoping it would make Wakanda poke its head out just a bit so he could establish contact.

"Live here in New York and online via YouTube, you can see it all. Every Friday through Sunday, we will feature the best and brightest minds making presentations on this stage. Throughout the week, there will be no shortage of exhibitions."

The map shifted slightly, and Tony looked at the crowd. "Now available on the Stark Industries website is an application for STEM schools to apply for grants to help them bring their students to the Expo. We will also have appearances by Charles Xavier and his school for Gifted Youngsters. As the world's foremost expert in Mutants, Professor Xavier will host several lectures, both here and virtual, about mutants and the X gene. His school will also be one of the recipients of the Stark Industries grant. But that's not all we have for the younger generation to enjoy." 

 

---

Peter looked around his favorite portion of the Expo - granted, there was still a lot he hadn't seen, and he was so excited to visit everything. Especially things that weren't here last time. He remembered running around the Expo before the Hammer bots ruined everything last time. There had been so much to see.

And this time, there was even more.

There was a monitor in his ear where he could hear his dad making his speech from the main stage. Hearing his almost cue, he smiled at Harley. Both were stepping in front of the camera, something neither had done in the previous timeline.

"Let me introduce my assistants to show you a special section of the Expo. Boys, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Mechanic," Harley spoke up.

"Hi, Dad!" Peter added in.

"We'd also like to say a special hello to all of you in the Main Ceremony and the people of YouTube." Harley waved at the camera. "Now that you've listened to the boring adult speeches-"

In Peter's ear, he heard his dad make a noise of incredulity, and Peter couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't call it boring, Harley! I thought it was cool!"

"Thank you, Peter." His dad's voice rang through with warmth only reserved for a few people. There were still days that Peter couldn't quite believe that Tony Stark was basically his dad.

Not even, basically. He wasn't Peter's biological dad. And he wasn't Uncle Ben. And even though he had his Uncle Ben back (something else he couldn't quite wrap his head around), there was a Tony-shaped place in his heart.

For the briefest of moments, one that had emptied as the man's heart had stopped on the battlefield.

Shaking away the thoughts, he often shoved them to the back corner of his mind, not to be addressed.

But now there were people that he needed to talk to. "So, Dad mentioned there are many cool things for adults. But, he asked us to share what there is for kids."
"And there's a lot." Harley butted in. "And it's so much cooler than the stuff for grownups.

He turned to Peter. "Where should we start?"

"How about the fair! Part of Stark Industries' new initiative to support STEM schools is the launching of the world's largest science fair. You can log on to their site for registration information. After a series of interviews, the best from around the world will be displayed here and judged by leading names in science."

Harley ran ahead, and Peter took off after him, letting Harley set the pace so he didn't accidentally give away his enhancements. With being more in the spotlight as Peter Parker this time around, he was already wondering how he'd juggle Spider-Man. Perhaps it would be a way to avoid being Tony Stark's kid.

Plus, he desperately missed swinging through the streets of New York. It was almost an ache how bad he missed it.

Their feet echoed on the platform, hinting that air was beneath them. They crossed a roped bridge and paused. "Next is the emporium. Six stories of learning experiences."
Peter admired the building. What had once been an abandoned office building on the grounds had been transformed into a giant science space for kids. "Inside, there are exhibits that will rotate every few months. There are also representatives from various schools as well as Professor Xavier's school as well."

"There's chemistry and physics and engineering and robotics and more." Harley rushed the sentence, not even pausing for a breath.

"We plan on spending time exploring everything." Peter grinned. "And there's so much more. There's a fair with rotating attractions, a giant playground which includes the world's largest slide."

"And there's a large video game exhibit with all the major developers and a lot of new independent talent. Now, we know that video games aren't just for kids, but it is adjacent to our area."

"Did we miss anything, Dad?"

He heard a chuckle in his monitor. "You two did great. I can take it from here."

"Perfect." Harley turned to his right. "Because speaking of the world's largest slide, I think it's time for Peter and I to properly check it out."

"Have fun, you two!"

"We will!" Harley took off and went down the slide."

"That's all from us!" Peter waved shyly at the camera. "Back to you, Dad!"

And he took off for the slide himself. 

 

---

In a room behind the stage at the Stark Expo, a pair of spies sat at a wall of monitors. On some of the monitors were security feeds from the grounds. Another had a broadcast of the live feed.

Still others had text scrolling down them.

"So Vanko Sr worked with Howard Stark." Clint didn't look away from his monitor.

Nat looked away from her and turned to her partner. "Correct. Apparently, he tried to sell some Stark plans to the Soviet Union back in the day. Stark Sr had him deported. Vanko Jr. isn't thrilled at Tony's newfound resurgence of fame."

"Of course, he isn't." Clint sighed.

Before Nat could respond, one of the computers beeped. She turned to the monitor and read through the information. "It looks like Vanko just landed in Los Angeles."

Notes:

Hark is that some plot I see at the end of the chapter?

Buckle up for some fun because we have a revised Iron Man 2, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk to get through! New allies, more plot, and of course the road that leads to New York.

As always, I want to thank Fae for all of their help with this story. From random check ins to see how it's going to half baked ideas in barely legible messages, this series wouldn't happen without them.

And I want to thank you all for reading and sticking with me despite my inconsistent posting schedule.

See you soon!

Chapter 6: Ticking Clock

Notes:

Hey guys!

I see some plot on the horizon! The last few weeks have involved me tossing around ideas, mapping out outlines, and making sure I have all the pieces I need to head towards New York.

It's been interesting making sure I catch as much as I can.

But enough from me, go ahead and read and I'll catch you on the other side.

When people thought of Tony Stark they thought of the newest and greatest tech. They thought of innovations and discovery and his bright and shiny lab (well- what little they had seen of it). And of course, they thought of coffee. 

 

As Tony leaned back in the Victorian-style armchair in a library that fit the era, sipping on an exotic brand of tea, he couldn’t help but be amused at how against that picture he currently was. Despite it being the opposite of what people thought, the New York Sanctum was one of the few places where Tony felt completely at ease. 

 

It was home, Karmar-Taj, and here. Places where he didn’t have to hide from the nightmares that haunted him. Where he could relax and not question how much of himself he could show. 

 

Xavier’s School also could arguably be on that list, especially with their resident telepath who often made you feel as if you could hide nothing. 

 

“You certainly seemed to have made a splash with your Expo.” The Ancient One sat in a chair opposite him. Beside her, Charles Xavier sat, both sipping on their respective tea cups. 

 

Tony shrugged unapologetically. “A lot has changed from last time, but I still do favor a dramatic entrance. Speaking of changes, thank you both for meeting with me. There’s a lot about to come into play and I wanted a meeting of allies to make sure we’re aware of the stakes.”

 

He got up and faced out the window, looking at the streets of New York City. For a moment, his gaze wandered to the future home of Stark Tower, which was officially under construction but not tall enough quite yet for them to be able to see it. He knew where it was, rather where it would be. Where the wormhole was, where he learned what was truly out there.

 

“Tony?” Xavier sounded hesitant. 

 

Shaking the thoughts of a battle not yet come yet at the same time, so long ago, Tony turned back to the pair. “Over the next few months, things will begin to be set in motion that will take us to the Battle of New York in 2012. As best I can tell, there are some things we can change, some damage we can mitigate but a lot of it needs to happen to provide us with valuable allies we will need.”

 

“How can we help?” The Ancient One asked, the least phased of the trio, sipping her tea. 

 

"There are events in New York and New Mexico. The problem is that the military will be involved with one and SHIELD with another. Personally, I’m a fan of working around both hindrances in order to get what I want.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“Allies. Thor and Bruce Banner specifically. If we can establish a more impactful relationship with Thor earlier on, then perhaps we can have Asgard as allies.”

 

“I’m sorry, you’re implying that the god of Thunder will be coming to earth in the coming months.”

 

“And his asshole brother,” Tony muttered. 

 

Xavier leaned back in his chair. “Norse gods…”

 

Tony snorted. “I wish that was the weirdest thing to come. But yes, Norse gods will crash into New Mexico in the middle of their own conflict. They’ll basically destroy a small town. But alongside Thor, there is another potential group of allies.”

 

Tony pulled out his phone and pulled some photos, projecting them. He was hoping to debut the tech a little later in the Expo. “Jane Foster, Eric Selvig, and Darcy Lewis. They are a team studying Einstein-Rosen Bridges. It’s similar to the Bifrost that Asgard uses and the implications and the uses we could find for that in the days ahead. I wanted to recruit them but they are also vital for the events that happen when Thor gets exiled-”

 

“You didn’t mention anything about an exile before.” The Ancient One broke in. 

 

Tony shrugged. “Apparently Thor is going to make some bad choices and his dad will banish him here for a bit without his powers. Important moments of growth for Point Break so I need to let that play out before I talk to him. But I can save the research of the other three from being taken by SHIELD in the meantime.”

 

That reminded him, he needed to talk to Nat and Clint and make sure that Clint was on that assignment again. It would help them in the long run if he already had an ally inside SHIELD in that mess.

 

“New York is trickier. There are off-the-book experiments happening right now - yet another attempt to recreate a super soldier like good old Cap. And one is going to blow up, quite literally, in their faces in the new few months and create an event that the government will try and clean up.” 

 

Tony paused, realizing that if he could reveal Ross’ role in that, it would save him so much trouble down the road. While there had been so many factors that had driven the wedge in the Avengers, Ross and his attitude towards them had certainly made matters significantly worse. 

 

“Perhaps I’ll use that as an opportunity to air some dirty laundry of a certain General before he becomes a much bigger problem at a rather critical time.”

 

He should also perhaps put some feelers out to see if they could find Barnes before he was used to cause any more damage. Having him handled before Capcicle defrosted might also save some headaches. 

 

It was something he wanted other opinions on, he was all too aware of his own bias. 

 

“Add to it, Vanko is going to make another attempt at me. I’ve got someone on it so hopefully it won’t blow up like it did last time but I reserve the right to be paranoid.”

 

“Sounds like a busy few months.” 

 

“How about I and my acolytes take New Mexico while Charles you and yours help Stark here in New York. You’re already established here and there’s already the implication that Stark Industries supports you and your community. The government won’t cross them.” the Ancient One offered.

 

Tony nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll bring you with me to the committee meeting, or conference you in on the call, to help deal with the situation. That will add legitimacy to your appearance there. Plus, it will also earn you some excellent PR.”

 

The Ancient One nodded. “And we are more than capable of dealing with SHIELD should they try and make things worse.”

 

Tony would pay good money to see anyone portal Nick Fury away from the scene. Or a rather large list of SHIELD agents. “I’ll give you the name and photo of my inside man so that he doesn’t get caught up in friendly fire.” 

 

---

 

A couple hours later, Tony sat in the driver's seat of an SUV parked in front of an elementary school. Normally, he’d let Happy pick up the kids, but he wanted to see them after the conversations he had and the memories they’d brought to the surface. 

 

Finally, he made it to the front of the line, and within minutes, a staff member was leading the boys to the car where they climbed in and buckled up. 

 

“Hey, Mechanic!”

 

“Hi, Dad!” 

 

“Hey, kiddos. How was school?” 

 

“Boring. I drew out some ideas for prosthetics based on what you showed me about Rhodey’s last time.” Harley kicked the bag that sat on the floor of the car. “I think there’s a lot of options to streamline costs and I think we could also get some good press for it.” 

 

“I think it’s the job of my PR department to worry about the press Stark Industries gets.” Tony raised his eyebrow as he looked at Harley in the background. 

 

“Your PR department isn’t having to sit through lessons on division. Not even advanced division but basic principles of math division. I already knew it the first time it was taught much less this time around.” 

 

“There’s only so many variations of my web fluid I can do before I utterly lose my mind. Now I’m looking at potential options for oil spills and other environmental disasters. I get we have to maintain an illusion of being our ages but Dad, it’s so boring.” Peter chimed in, sounding more like an exasperated teenager than an elementary school kid. 

 

“Well, when we get home you two can help me start going through some of the entries for the junior science fair. And I’ll step it up throwing you things that challenge you. Once we get you into middle and high school, we’ll work on getting you into some accelerated courses and electives.” 

 

“That’s still like two years away!” Harley huffed. 

 

“Would letting you two make apps for the new Stark OS make things better?” 

 

Both boys leaned forward and then looked at each other. “We’re open to that discussion.” 

 

---

 

The kids were in bed and now it was the adults gathered taking up chairs and couches. Cups of tea and coffee were in almost every hand. 

 

“What’s the play, Tony?” 

 

“We gather allies and mitigate damage. Take Ross out before he manages to become Secretary of State. Save Bruce years of being on the run while gaining the value of his scientific research.” 

 

Ben looked confused. “Wouldn’t it be better to navigate around the devil you know rather than risk someone worse coming onto the scene?” 

 

“Not sure there could be someone worse than Ross.” Rhodey crossed his arm. “Illegal off-the-book experiments and imprisonment are just two of his offenses.” 

 

That caused Ben to shift uneasily. “I can’t even play devil’s advocate after that.” 

 

“Ben, I’ve talked with Chief Stacey and you’re going to be serving as a liaison to Stark Industries over the next few weeks. I’ve told him there’s a credible threat to us and wanted a presence. Your connection to me made you my first choice.” 

 

That earned him a nod from Ben. “Of course. There’s not a lot I can do to help with all this.” He waved his hand around. “But helping keep things secure, that’s in my wheelhouse.” 

 

“May, I have a job in mind for you. I can talk to your boss about it.” 

 

She gave him a look, the raised eyebrow indicating that she wasn’t impressed. “You’ve tried to pull me away from my job countless times and I’ve turned you down just as many.” 

 

“It’s not for me.” He threw his hands up. “It’s for Charles.” 

 

May gave him a look that was intriguing and also encouraged him to get on with it. 

 

“Charles heard that you have experience working in the pediatric intensive care unit and wondered if you would consider being on standby for their more serious cases. A lot of doctors are hesitant to work with mutants. They have a day nurse.”

 

“But if it's serious, they may get overwhelmed.” May cut in. “Let him know I’d love to discuss it further.” 

 

Tony nodded. “Happy, you are in charge of the Stark Industries side of things.” 

 

“The FBI is aware that Vanko is back in the country but he’s gone to ground. My guess is Hammer already got to him and has him hiding out.” Happy looked at his notes. “Otherwise, things are smooth sailing, especially after everything that’s happened.”

 

“I can confirm. Stark Industries is in a better place than we were before. We’re ahead of schedule compared to where we were. By the time we catch up with the timeline, we should be well past where we were.” 

 

Tony leaned back in his chair and looked over the group of people who knew more than most what was at stake. Last time, Tony had no idea what he was doing - that and he was dying at the time. There had been so many missed opportunities and this time, he couldn’t afford to miss any of them. 

 

They had to be ready. 

Notes:

Thank you guys so much for reading. And for sticking around despite my schedule not being the most reliable these days. I really do appreciate seeing the Kudos and comments come in.

As always, a special thank you to Fae for putting up with barely legible messages (Siri is not good with transcription - actually she's comically bad) and for helping keep me sane as we head on the road toward the end of Phase 1.

And once again thank you to you all for reading! I appreciate the support more than you can know.

I'll see you next time!

Chapter 7: Infiltration

Notes:

Confession time, I've had this ready for a couple of weeks. But I've been traveling a lot during this holiday season and this is the first time I've stopped long enough to post.

I figured it would make a great Christmas present for you guys!

See you on the other side!

The absolute worst part of being Tony Stark was that while he claimed he didn’t do things he didn’t want to do, he often had to meet with people he’d prefer to stay half a continent away from. 

 

Thaddeus Ross was a prime example of this. Luckily for his blood pressure, that was a particular mess he didn’t have to deal with quite yet - though it was coming far too soon for his liking. 

 

Today it was Justin Hammer. Tony sat across from the (he loathed having to use the term businessman to describe him) snake oil salesman at a restaurant at an exclusive country club in the Hamptons. A cool breeze came off the ocean. 

 

One perk of the location was the fact that Tony barely got second glances in his current location - people were used to the rich in this area so what was a billionaire (especially one who did not own properties in the Hamptons). At least that meant that he had little to no eyes on him. It also meant that there were fewer people to sneak a photo of this meeting. Tony had had an actual debate over whether he’d rather have lunch with Ross or Hammer. 

 

Honestly, if those were his options, he’d skip the meal altogether. 

 

“We should do this more often, Tony.” Hammer leaned back in his chair, sipping a scotch. “Two great minds meeting.”

 

There were few things Tony wanted to do less. 

 

“Perhaps, you never know with my schedule.” Tony sipped the lemonade. At least there was a nice view. “Your secretary mentioned something about my Expo?” 

 

Hammer nodded eagerly. “Yes, of course.”

 

Reaching inside his bag, he pulled out several papers. “With your decision a couple of years ago to stop producing weapons, the United States government turned to other contractors.”

 

“Scuttlebutt was that you got the lion’s share of the contracts.” 

 

Hammer seemed far too proud and smug. Why had he agreed to lunch again? This should have been a phone call. 

 

Pepper said something about better relationships and a spirit of community despite being rivals? But it was Justin Hammer . Tony wished he could have him arrested but technically he hadn’t done the crime yet. 

 

Or at least, Tony didn’t have confirmation. But give him time and he’d get it. 

 

“I did. And I’ve done my best to fill your shoes and protect our troops.”

 

Tony raised an eyebrow. “You only serve the weapons contracts. I still hold the protective gear as well as a lot of their technology contracts.” 

 

“At least until the next chance to bid comes up.” Justin oozed confidence but to Tony it had the effect of someone wearing cheap cologne. 

 

“While I’d love to debate with you the statistical improbability of that happening, that’s not why we’re here. You want to present your latest research at the Expo.” 

 

Hammer nodded. “I think it's only fair since you opened it up to companies around the world that a few American ones present.” 

 

Tony was not about to make this easy for him, sure he’d give him the slot – it would seem petty if he didn’t - but he was going to make Hammer work for it. Or at the very least squirm.  “What does Hammer Industries have to contribute to our future generations?” 

 

“The same thing your father did, Anthony.”

 

Tony wasn’t entirely sure what in that sentence annoyed him more. Hammer attempting to make a comparison to his father or the use of his full first name - something of which hadn’t been done since 1991. 

 

But he was willing to shove that aside for the audacity of this man trying to compare himself to Howard. Granted, both men were assholes. Both thought a hair too highly of themselves. But at least Howard had the brains to back it up. 

 

Justin Hammer had nothing. He was nothing without others propping him up. Tony had enjoyed revealing that to the world the last time around and he would make sure that he enjoyed it that much more the second time around. Because while he claimed to have the safety and well-being of the US military at the heart of what he did, Tony knew some of the skeletons that were already in his closet. 

 

The man in question seemed completely oblivious to the doom that awaited him. “We protect America’s troops who protect America. Freedom, safety, and security.” 

 

“And what of accountability? How do you make sure you don’t have an Obadiah Stane in your midst?” Hammer didn’t of course, he filled that role quite well himself. 

 

“My board provides checks and balances.”

 

“I thought mine did too.” Tony took a sip of his lemonade. “But we can argue ethics all day and get nowhere. I got out of the weapons business, you dove in wholeheartedly and headfirst to fill the void. Are you wanting to present only weaponry?”

 

“You’re not the only one digging into clean energy. I think in a couple of weeks, we’ll have something to present there as well.” 

 

One thing that people didn’t realize is that Tony rarely showed an emotion he didn’t want to when he was out in public. If he appeared shocked, chances were he wasn’t. He’d mastered the careful mask that his dad had (quite literally) beat into him. 

 

It was this skill that he used to make sure that it didn’t show in his face that he knew that Hammer was already in contact with Vanko. “Fascinating. I look forward to seeing your research. Having multiple people working on the energy crisis can only benefit humanity.” 

 

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Nat. While his phone was out, he checked the calendar. “You’re in luck, a spot just opened in three weeks. The previous company asked for more time to verify their research. I left it open in case that’s what you called this meeting for.” 

 

“I can be ready for that.” Justin nodded, waving for the check. “My exhibition will be spectacular.” 

 

Tony paid his half of the bill before getting up. “This has been an enlightening discussion, Justin.” 

 

Hammer got up and held out his hand. Tony shook it. “It has, Tony. I’ll have my marketing team send over the graphics for my presentation.” 

 

“Of course. I’ll have my production team keep an eye out for it.” Tony finally found an opening to walk away and he did so at a pace that seemed brisk in the “I’ve got places to be” kind of way. It was a pace he was able to get away with frequently. 

 

It was one of the perks of being Tony Stark. 

 

---

 

Tony waited until he was in his car and several miles away from Justin Hammer before he dialed Pepper’s number. There was no need to take chances. “Pep.”

 

“What did you do.” 

 

That caused Tony to laugh. “I’m hurt that you assume that a midday call means I’ve done something.”

 

“You just had lunch with Justin Hammer, it’s a fair assumption.” 

 

“For once, I behaved myself. Got him to hint that he’s already harboring Vanko.” 

 

Tony heard the sharp intake of breath from Vanko. “Just like that?”

 

“I’m sure he thinks I have no idea what he meant by that. But that’s why I called. I wanted to check something with you but I might need to call over to legal.” 

 

“I circle back to my original question. What did you do?” 

 

Shaking his head, Tony grinned. “I wanted to make sure we had all the patents filed when it came to the arc reactor and that technology.”

 

“Of course. For Starkanium-”

 

“Badassium”

 

“I filed it under both.” 

 

“This is one of the many many reasons why I love you.” 

 

Pepper went quiet for a moment. “One of them?” 

 

“I’d love to share more. Perhaps we should have a date night. We haven’t had one in ages. Get Rhodey or Happy to help babysit the kids. Dinner, perhaps the theater, maybe an after party.” Despite the call being audio only, Tony had a look on his face. 

 

“I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Now, will that be all, Mr. Stark?” 

 

Tony grinned at the old question. “That will be all, Mrs. Stark.”

 

---

 

Nat had done a lot of things that she wished she could take back. Then she’d done things that seemed pointless. Still others bored her despite her seeing the greater good of the task. But at the current moment, she wasn’t sure where she placed this on the grand scheme of things.

 

Currently she was sitting in the waiting area outside the executive suite at Hammer Industries for her final interview as a security team lead. It was funny that she was running a similar playbook yet going at the opposite side of this event this time around. Of course, if anyone asked she knew what was going on at Stark Industries. 

 

And as far as SHIELD was concerned, she was still there.  But knowing what was ahead, they had decided it was a good idea to get a mole to hopefully prevent them from being caught unaware this time around. The text she had just received from Tony further proved that point. 

 

“Carlie Jeffcourt?

 

Nat looked up and placed a confident grin on her face as Justin Hammer came out to greet her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hammer. Some of my friends in the military mentioned that you are the main supplier. Thank you for doing your part to keep my friends safe.” 

 

“Of course. And thank you for your service, Ms. Jeffcourt. If you’ll come with me, we’ll have our chat.”  

 

She followed him into the office. While the Stark Industries offices were elegant in an understated way, Hammer Industries went the other direction. They wanted to scream wealth and prosperity.

 

As they passed a vase sitting on a table, Nat wondered if that was what she thought it was. And if it was, there was a museum in the Middle East that would be fascinated to find out how it ended up here at Hammer Industries. 

 

More dirt to throw on the grave he was so conveniently digging for himself? 

 

They arrived in Justin’s office, the back wall open to windows which displayed the hillside nearby. He waved her to a small sitting area. “Water or coffee perhaps?” 

 

“Coffee would be lovely. With cream.” 

 

After calling his secretary in to get them both coffee, Justin sat in the seat opposite  you. “I’m sure they told you this is little more than a formality. We’re working on expanding which is why I wanted to hire more security. After the trouble that Stark had, I personally speak with all potential employees to get a feel for them myself. After all, he overlooked a problem right under his nose.” 

 

“So you’re taking precautions to avoid the same fate.” 

 

“Exactly.” He leaned back in his chair. “Why security, Ms. Jeffcourt.”

 

Nat stared off, appearing to be deep in thought. “I wanted to go back and serve another tour, but I injured my leg. I’m mostly fine but got a medical discharge. Being able to protect the company that is protecting my brothers and sisters still over there… that's the next best thing.” 

 

Justin seemed thoughtful, if not a little lost. For a second, Nat was worried that perhaps she’d gone a bit too deep for the rather shallow Hammer. Finally, he responded. “That’s noble of you. Your service record is impeccable. Your references were glowing. I did have a question. I understand that you can’t go into details, but you did some clandestine work while in the service, right?”

 

Nat nodded. “I ran a few off the book operations.” 

 

“So you can keep things off the book if needed.” 

 

Another nod. 

 

Justin leaned forward. “I think I have just the place for you here, Ms. Jeffcourt. If you have some time this afternoon, I’d love to give you an idea of what you’d be working on.” 

 

“I kept my afternoon clear.” 

 

“Fantastic.” Justin downed the rest of his cup of coffee, meanwhile Nat leaned back and continued to sip at hers. “My legal team took the liberty of drawing up an employment agreement. If you’d like time to review it.” 

 

“Of course.” 

 

He led her out of the office and to a nearby conference room where a couple members of the legal team sat. After spending time going over paperwork, Nat was officially cleared to take the tour with Justin. 

 

He led her along, showing her nothing that they hadn’t been able to find during their recon. It was funny that he mentioned doing off the book jobs because this was perhaps the most off the book mission she’d ever done. She didn’t have a safety net if things went south. 

 

That wasn’t necessarily true. She had Stark and the rest of the team but to involve them would open a can of worms that she’d prefer remain closed. Clint was the only one she could call without causing as much of a mess. And he needed to remain relatively free to be ready for New Mexico. 

 

She saw the labs, the workrooms, the conference areas, and even the production floor. Tucked away on the far side of the production floor was an elevator. “The level you’ll be working on can only be accessed by this elevator. Your key card will be coded to open this door along with the extension being built into the security office for your team.” 

 

Nat nodded noting everything so that she could make sure that she was prepared to make a plan should things go south like they did last time. Vanko was clearly smarter than Hammer and she didn’t blame him for throwing the idiot under the bus when push came to shove. 

 

Personally, she’d help push. Hammer drove her nuts on a different level than he did with Tony. 

 

They entered the elevator and headed down into a sub-level. Noting the buttons on the elevator, she saw there were two sub-floors. They were going to the first. The doors opened and Hammer stepped out. 

 

There was a large lab that seemed to take up much of the space. On the far side she could see what looked to be a break room. 

 

But her target was sitting at a workbench and he turned as they approached. The man gave her a quizzical look. 

 

Hammer approached. “Ivan! I brought the military chick I mentioned. She’s going to be heading the security for your sector.”

 

“You were military?” Vanko studied her. 

 

“United States Marine Corps.”

 

Vanko nodded. “Ivan Vanko.”

 

She held out her hand. “Carlie Jeffcourt.”

 

As they shook hands, Nat was grateful for her years of training. Because of that she didn’t give away that she was a spider who had just caught her prey in her web. 

 

She’d have fun playing with her food this time around. 

Notes:

As always, a special thanks to Fae for their work on this series.

To you, my dear readers, I wish to you and yours a very Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate, I wish you a day of rest and relaxation and the ability to recharge. If you do celebrate, I wish you a wonderful day of friends, family, and food.

Thank you all, as always for your support in 2023. Seeing comments pop in have always gone a long way towards lifting my spirits. I look forward to what 2024 has for us, both in life and in this series.

Chapter 8: Quiet

Notes:

Hey everyone!

So sorry about this long delay. I finished a version of this chapter, and then Fae and I picked it apart. But this works better with the PLANS I have.

It's been a bit of back-and-forth. I know you've been waiting a bit, so I'll chat more at the end!

Once upon a time, Tony had loved moments of peace and quiet. That wasn’t something that people realized about him - after all, people rarely looked past the devil-may-care playboy persona that he’d carefully worn for years. Or perhaps they heard stories of him blaring his music as he worked on a project. 

 

Afghanistan had ruined quiet for him. From being far too calm and never entirely silent, long after returning, he found himself jumping at the slightest bit of silence. 

 

So he filled his world with noise. And for a while, it worked. 

 

But then everything happened, and he found himself back in the beginning. And there hadn’t been a lot of quiet here, too. There was work finding allies, discovering what had happened, and the two terrors, Harley and Peter, who seemed allergic to quiet. 

 

Today was not a day for quiet - at the moment, some of Tony’s demons seemed far too close for comfort. And while in the long run, he was happy knowing that the kids were all on the other side of the country, far away from where a fight between a couple of Norse gods was about to rain down - he sorely missed the soothing balm that the two terrors and the little princesses brought to his soul.

 

It was a muted version of the ache he had felt for five years - perhaps he really should take time and find a therapist to discuss his potential problem with codependency. 

 

Chasing away all those thoughts, he had his rock playlist blaring at impressive levels while he worked on one of the antique cars he kept housed in the garage. There wasn’t enough in him to work on something new, and something was soothing about working on the cars. 

 

The effect was multiplied a bit with the windows that looked out over the ocean and gave Tony a view that most people considered worth millions. 

 

“It’s been a bit since I’ve seen you brood like this.” 

 

Tony looked up to see Happy standing in the doorway, a coffee mug in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. 

 

“I’m not brooding.” Tony rolled out from under the car as the music cut out. 

 

“Sure thing, Boss.” Happy handed him the mug. “You good?” 

 

“A bit torn about the next few days. Thor is coming, which means there’s a chance we’ll see Loki again. The last time I saw him…” 

 

Technically, it was the day they defeated Thanos. He’d seen him as they were in and around the tower, trying to navigate the events happening so they could get the stones and get out. 

 

But in that chaos, in his quest to get Peter, Harley, and the others back, he didn’t focus on being in the same place as Loki. The last time, the only time they talked, was that afternoon in 2012. 

 

---

 

Loki walked in, holding the scepter. Tony casually walked down the steps towards the bar. He’s already peeved at how the day is going, the fight with his father’s greatest regret, the reveal of what SHIELD had been doing. 

 

And now this. 

 

This alien prince had the audacity.

 

“Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity.”

 

“Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you.” He was stalling but po-tay-to pot-tah-to. 

 

“You should have left your armor on for that.”

 

Who said he didn’t have any armor on? Who said his first and best armor was the mask he wore that hid him from the world? The one that had been forged by growing up the son of Howard Stark. 

 

Of growing up in Steve Rogers’ shadow. 

 

“Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?” Tony would love a drink. He poured himself one. 

 

“Stalling me won't change anything.”

 

“No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one.” 

 

“The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that. What have I to fear?”

 

“The Avengers.”

 

Loki looked at him like he’d grown a second head. Tony decided to elaborate. If it gave them an extra second, it was worth it.

 

“It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’' type of thing.”

 

Loke looked less than impressed. “Yes, I've met them.”

 

Tony smiled, aware of what they looked like and what Loki had interrupted on the helicarrier.  “Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction. I'll give you that one. But let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them.”

 

“That was the plan.”

 

“Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you.” Tony reached for the bracelets, wishing he’d had a chance to test them before what lay ahead. But, he’d done more with less in that Afghani cave, he’d manage. 

 

“I have an army.”

 

“We have a Hulk.” Tony was curious how that fight would end. 

 

“I thought the beast had wandered off.”

 

Tony had enough. “You're missing the point. There's no throne, no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it.”

 

---

 

“Tony, come back. It’s 2010.” 

 

“Dad!” 

 

“Mechanic!” 

 

Tony shook away the scene from New York, which was pending but hadn’t happened, at the sound of voices calling him out. 

 

Tony sat alongside his car, Happy next to him. 

 

“Alright, take some breaths, Boss.” Happy spoke softly and quietly. 

 

“Dad, you’re in Malibu.”

 

“It would be cooler if you were here, Mechanic. But I guess New York isn’t big enough for all three of us.” 

 

Tony let out a laugh. “Big words from someone not tall enough to ride most of the rides in the theme park.”

 

“Jokes on you. I’ll be there in a couple of years, and then Peter and I will make you eat your words and go on every ride we can.” 

 

“Is that a threat or a promise, Patatino,” Tony smirked, letting the boys bicker over present and future rides that they couldn’t wait to be able to ride.

 

Last time, Tony felt pretty alone regarding the events of this period. He’d been wrapped up in his impending death and spiraling. He’d pushed everyone away so that it would hurt less when he died. 

But, this time, he had his family beside him. They knew who the major players were, they knew a general sense of what was coming, and they’d faced worse odds and come out ahead. 

 

Sure, a lot was coming, and perhaps Tony felt overwhelmed by it all and the weight of his decisions. But there was comfort in knowing he had people with his back. 

 

---

 

Pepper wanted to be in California with Tony as he faced off against the literal god of mischief. But at the moment, they needed to maintain the illusion that everything was fine. That Ross didn’t notice something unusual as the experiment at Culver University reached its peak. That Vanko (and Hammer) didn’t see something amiss. 

 

It was one thing for Tony to head back to California to check on the progress as Stark Industries switched to the opposite American coast again. It was another for Pepper to head with him despite the Expo continuing in Flushing Meadows. She was needed here overseeing the festivities. 

 

It was the closest she’d felt to helplessness in a long minute, and it was not a feeling that she enjoyed. 

 

But there was a pile of paperwork. Companies to confirm time slots with, other proposals to reject. Progress on the Tower to monitor and allies to assist if needed. 

 

The buzzing of the intercom on her desk caught her attention. It was only a few short years before Slack was created, and part of her was counting down until the day she had that and Microsoft Teams to use instead of this clunky (and limited) system. 

 

“Ms.Potts-Stark?” Rosita’s voice came through. Much like she had in the previous timeline, Rosita had happily moved to the East Coast to continue working with Tony and Pepper. 

 

“Yes, Rosita?” 

 

There was a pause, and if Pepper didn’t know any better, she’d think she could feel the hesitation on the other end of the line. 

 

“Rosita?” 

 

“There’s a lawyer here. He initially wanted Mr. Stark, but when he was told he was in California on business, he insisted on speaking with you.”

 

A lawyer? 

 

Tony had behaved the last few months (really since they got back), so it wasn’t something he had done. And Ross shouldn’t be aware that they were on to them. They had lawyers who dealt with their dealings in Stark Industries and anything that might later be called the Avengers Initiative. 

 

So why was there a lawyer here? 

 

“Send him in.” Pepper looked up at the door, pushing a button on her computer that alerted Jarvis to start recording and analyzing the upcoming conversation. She couldn’t wait until they were in the tower, and that process (along with his ability to respond in real-time) was improved. 

 

A man came in wearing what one might think was an expensive three-piece suit, but it was really only in the medium price range. It symbolized someone who wanted to portray themselves as well-off. 

 

Pepper leaned back in her chair. “I was told you wished to speak to Mr. Stark?”

 

The man sat down his briefcase and handed her a business card. “My name is Samuel Lawson. My client has business with Mr. Stark.” 

 

“What is the nature of that business?” She took the card and sat it on the desk. 

 

“It’s regarding one of Mr. Stark’s sons.”

 

Considering she had comprehensive proof that Peter’s parents were dead and his current guardians were more than okay with things, that left only one possible person. “Is this regarding Harley?” 

 

Tony had left the mystery of the Keener father well enough alone. Rose had never wanted to know where he was or what had happened to him. While it was somewhere in Tony’s servers, should Harley or Abby ever ask, none of them had looked at it. 

 

But in the entirety of the time in the previous timeline, they’d never heard anything from him. 

 

Mr. Lawson nodded. “I represent his father, Luke Keener. He wants to sue Mr. Stark for child endangerment along with petitioning for custody of his son.” 

Notes:

Thank you for reading! Once again, thank you for your patience!

Good news: Fae and I have successfully nailed everything we do between now and New York. I want to give them a special shoutout for helping me sort through three movies, theories on comics, and little bits that are added.

As I mentioned, the rest of the story is outlined, all the way to the lead-up to the battle of New York. I'm so excited at how this all comes together and what's ahead.

Barring some things, updates should become more regular; it may be mid-May before the next one, however, as Fae and I both have some things going on in the next few weeks.

See you next time!

Chapter 9: When It Rains

Notes:

Long time no see?

I'm so sorry about this being late. Some of it was Fae and I getting crazy busy for a bit, and some of it has been a couple of multi-week pour-overs of movies, comics, discussions, and more.

As you can see, I posted the final chapter number for this story, and it will take us right to the edge of Avengers.

We'll chat more at the end!

Rhodey looked around the Culver University campus and wondered if there was a way to evacuate it without tipping Ross off that something was happening. But imagining what would soon occur here, comparing it to the image of students enjoying their afternoon, was a jarring experience.

 

Unfortunately, no one could think of a way, even when he'd brought this up at their latest Time Team meeting. The best thing they could do was rescue Bruce and use it as leverage to shut down Ross before he could get his hands on the Accords.

 

There was also the additional bit where Rhodey was a lower rank than Ross and couldn't openly go against him. That would cause more harm to the Time Team should he let that happen. Instead of giving in to his urge to do something and act, he straightened his shoulders and headed for the designated building.

 

To his surprise, it wasn't just his team that had trouble trusting in General Ross. Other branches and their leadership also had doubts. They were discussed in a recent meeting with the panel that oversaw Iron Man and War Machine, and the duo took advantage to offer up a solution.

 

One that killed two birds with one stone.

 

Every branch sent a representative to Culver to examine the project's progress and observe for themselves. Rhodey was the last, just hours before things were going to go wrong. This helped mask Rhodey's real purpose for being there and took suspicion off of him where Ross was concerned.

 

Entering the door, he checked the map to locate the labs in question and followed the directors until he came to a lab with a private standing guard on either side. In his Dress Blues, Rhodey's rank caused both to snap to attention and salute him. Rhodey paused and nodded at both.

 

"At ease. I'm expected."

 

The private on the right nodded and opened the door, allowing him entrance. Stepping through the doorway, he took a look at the room. There was equipment, and he saw Dr. Bruce Banner running around making adjustments. It took a minute before he noticed Rhodey's presence. "Lt. Colonel Rhodes?"

 

Rhodey nodded. "Dr. Bruce Banner?"

 

Bruce nodded. "Thank you for coming. I understand there's a lot of interest in this project, and I was surprised to see you were one of our guests. I was under the impression that people forgot that you graduated alongside Tony Stark at MIT."

 

"You're not wrong." Rhodey nodded. "But in this one instance, that background was remembered. It does help that I'm best friends with Howard Stark's son. I've seen the notes he has from the original experiment."

 

That caused Bruce to pause. "I wonder if Dr. Stark would allow me to look at those sometimes."

 

"You could send in a request."

 

Or ask when he got brought into the fold after things went wrong later this week.

 

"I may do that. Let me show you around." Bruce waved him over, and they began talking through the data. Howard used vita-waves - Tony imagined it was based on the Tesseract (and more importantly, off the Space Stone - perhaps this was where he got the idea for what would become Starkanium/Bassasium). "Without having the exact information, I'm exploring how Gamma radiation might help improve and enhance our soldiers. Perhaps as therapy to help speed up the rehabilitation process."

 

Rhodey looked over some of his notes, tallying the math in his head - he might not be as fast as Tony, but he could hold his own. "You're performing these experiments in a college lab; I understand you are also teaching this semester. What are the contingencies to protect the students should something go amiss?"

 

Bruce crossed the room to a bookcase by a desk. He grabbed a binder and handed it to Rhodey as he walked over. "I'm aware that playing with radiation on a college campus can lead to problems. The lab itself was outfitted with shielding to protect the worst of it. We are wired to enter the Emergency Notification System if an event occurs immediately. Students would receive texts and emails notifying them of the best action."

 

Before Rhodey could respond, the door to the room opened, and General Ross stepped through. Rhodey straightened into attention and gave the man a salute. "At ease, Colonel."

 

Relaxing, Rhodey held out a hand and shook Ross'. "Thank you for allowing me to look at your project today. Dr. Banner was showing me some of the designs."

 

Ross nodded, eyes slightly narrowed. "I don't understand why the Brass has all of you paraded through."

 

"The line I was told was something about checks and balances. Your partnership with Dr. Banner and his research could have implications to help more than just the Army."

 

"It will help America and all of her interests." There was a gleam in Ross' eye. It was not dissimilar to the one Rhodey had seen when the Accords got brought up.

 

"How long until we have your initial findings?" Rhodey turned the question to Dr. Banner. The less he had to talk to Ross, the better. His temper wouldn't be the best when it came to the man.

 

"Any day now. I'm running one of my final tests Saturday night and hope to present my findings to Ross early next week. He's been extremely gracious, and his daughter has been invaluable in helping me with this project. I'm grateful for the chance to find a practical use for my research."

 

And there is the confirmation. Rhodey knew the date as well as Tony. It had been a mess for the Armed Forces - one he'd mostly avoided because he was dealing with Tony at the time. But to know it would happen…

 

Rhodey reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out two cards. "If you need anything, reach out to one of us."

 

Bruce took both cards, his eyes widening when he saw that one was Tony's. "Thank you."

 

"If you think for one second, I'm going to let Stark butt his head into this- he already has done a disservice to this country when he shut down weapons and shut us out of the Iron Man program! At least Dr. Banner here appreciates his ability to help his country with his research, unlike your friend! If he didn't have so many people in such high places, I'd have him arrested for treason."

 

"With all due respect, General, Tony did not cut the United States Armed Forces out; he cut you out in particular. Right after you stormed in there and asked him to enlist or be charged with treason. If you read the briefings, you'll find that he's cooperating greatly."

 

Before the general could respond, Rhodey made his way out of the room.

 

---

 

Charles Xavier sat in a massive study that he wished he could linger in and study all of the texts. But unfortunately, he had more important business to attend to at the moment.

 

Across from him sat a woman in robes, The Ancient One, and the leader of an underground group of magic users. Magic... If he hadn't seen the glimpses Tony had given him or the portal that had been used to help him gain access to this upstairs study, he would struggle to believe it.

 

He still struggled to believe it despite knowing for two years.

 

"I apologize for not getting to our chat sooner. We discussed this meeting shortly after the others returned to the past. Still, our public reveal during the Stane incident suddenly filled up my schedule. Between that and the influx of kids who needed my school."

 

"It's quite alright. I've taken advantage of the time myself to grow our recruitment to prepare. I'm glad we found some time. I do have to admit, I did not foresee a partnership between our two factions." She spoke up.

 

Charles nodded. "I can't say I imagined this either. I had thought that avoiding one dystopian future was enough. To find out there was another is unsettling."

 

At the woman's expression, Charles told her a short version of Logan's story. She leaned back in her seat. "My order has remained hidden since the beginning of Earth's history. To realize that we are within weeks, not days, from stepping out of the shadows. Tony's wedding was one thing and it was kept quiet. This is something different altogether."

 

"It's terrifying. Mutants have been here, but we've stayed with ourselves. Helping Tony brought us into the spotlight. Instead of being divided, we've had to unite unprecedentedly. But the future we almost faced before Time itself intervened?" Charles paused, taking a sip of tea. "I hope they never have to know what we saved them from. As much as I wish that Logan, Tony, and the others didn't carry that burden, perhaps a few should know what could have been and the rest be unaware."

 

"I, too, feel the same way. New York will happen, however. Perhaps it's best beforehand that we bring ourselves into the spotlight. Gives me time to do a Press Tour before New York." Her face indicated how thrilled she was at the idea. Charles could easily relate, considering how chaotic the last two years had been.

 

Charles wheeled himself over to a table where they had papers they'd been reviewing before their tea break. "There's a lot of opportunities. There's here in New York at the Stark Expo."

 

"And there's the mess with Asgard in New Mexico. I'll handle that with my people. Since your school is nearby and you've already been mentioned about the Expo…"

 

"It's best that we are here." Charles turned to The Ancient One. "Do you think we can stop it?"

 

She paused for a moment. "I don't think the Infinity Stones would act this way if they thought it couldn't be done. New York must happen; the Time Stone confirmed it. But after that?"

 

"Limitless possibilities."

 

She merely nodded.

 

---

 

There was something about scientific conferences that Tony loved. Perhaps it was because while he looked like he was in his 30s, mentally, he was in his 50s. Maybe it was how Peter's eyes lit up during the handful they attended together before everything happened. Tony thought it might have something to do with the fact that he had a certain level of normality here.

 

Here, he wasn't Iron Man. He was always Iron Man but didn't get as much gaping and staring. When he came to these, he was another peer-reviewed researcher. At this point in the timeline, he wasn't even a headline in many of these. Thanks to the Expo, he knew that would change soon. But even when it did, he would still enjoy coming.

 

Because science ! Over 50 different labs and independent researchers gathered at a hotel in Los Angeles, and he was happy to wander by, peer at their work, and perhaps see what he could bring under the Stark Industries banner. Some he'd cheat - he knew them from before. Others would be formerly missed opportunities.

 

At this conference, he was looking for one scientist in particular. He'd been trying to arrange their schedules for two years and finally managed it. Ducking into one of the breakout rooms, he found a seat towards the back just as Helen Cho took to the podium at the front.

 

This research was groundbreaking for the period, and Tony saw it was over some attendees' heads. However, Tony had been involved in the later stages of the cradle and knew what it could do—probably better than Cho herself at this point. Still, he took notes and watched her presentation.

 

As if finished, people gathered around to ask her questions, which she answered. Tony lingered towards the back, giving others a turn. After all, he didn't have questions about the cradle. He wanted to meet Cho and perhaps partner with her earlier. If they could get the cradle sooner, there would be many benefits. Plus, it would launch Stark Industries Medical Sector that much earlier.

 

His phone rang, and he fished it out of his pocket and saw it was Pepper. He hit the decline button and slid it into his pocket. He'd call her when he was done here. Cho was important not just for Stark Industries but also for her interest in treating enhanced humans. Tony was doing his best- and luckily, Peter hadn't needed much in the last couple of years, but that would only last so long.

 

The crowd cleared, and Helen Cho made eye contact with Tony for the first time. She seemed slightly surprised as she made her way over. "Are there any questions I could answer for you, Dr. Stark?"

 

"I have to say, I'm impressed with your theory here. What is your timeline for creating your prototype?"

 

She hesitated, and Tony knew the answer. It was the one he hoped it would be—while eventually, they built a relationship of mutual respect and love of science, Tony had sought her out initially because of her expertise and wanting to fund her. "At the moment, it comes down to funding. If I can get enough grant money, it would take a couple of years."

 

Tony nodded, ignoring another call from Pepper. "I also read a journal where you spoke about mutants and the differences in treating some versus a baseline human."

 

Cho gave him a wary smile. "Yes, I spoke with Charles Xavier a couple of times. There's been more activity with enhanced humans in the last few decades. I thought someone should get a head start on the biological differences, especially from a medical standpoint."

 

Pausing, not in hesitation but more giving the appearance that he was thinking about it despite coming into the room for one reason, Tony finally answered. "Stark Industries is opening a medical sector soon. I have designed prosthetics, and our Veterans have graciously helped test them. We've got another project that's inspired by spider silk. I came here today to see if we could fund other innovative projects."

 

"To what end? Padding your already impressive bottom line?" Cho's cynical and no-nonsense side was out, and Tony had to fight a smile at it.

 

"I'm a futurist, Dr. Cho. And I know that we will need more people like you in the future. If Stark Industries and I can help that process and, by extension, help others, why wouldn't we?"

 

That caused Cho to pause. After a moment, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card. Tony did the same. As they exchanged cards, she smiled. "I'd be happy to go over specifics and contracts. I hear you're moving to New York soon. Would this require me to relocate there?"

 

Tony shrugged. "We already have buildings and branches in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Sydney. We've got a handful of countries we are approaching during the Expo. We could work something out if you want to stay in Seoul."

 

His phone rang again, and he saw it was Pepper for the third time. "I apologize, but it's my wife."

 

She nodded, already turning to the next person. "We'll talk soon, Dr. Stark."

 

Picking up the phone, he held it to his ear. "What's going on Pep?"

 

---

 

A perk to being a publicly known superhero was that, occasionally, one could get away with breaking speed limits. Tony tried his best not to do it so often blatantly, but today was an exception. He roared through the streets of Malibu, making his way to the mansion because he was about to go to war.

 

Looking at the time, he saw that the kids were all in bed. The adults probably wished they were in bed, but he felt it would be a long night. It had taken him half an hour to make his exit once Pepper had told him about Luke Keener's visit, and Tony wondered what brought this change to the timeline. He'd never heard from Harley and Abby's father in the previous one. Granted, his relationship with the Keeners hadn't been publicly outed either.

 

It caused Tony's blood to boil slightly at the idea that someone was using his kids to get to him and his money. They may discover why he'd earned the nickname Merchant of Death before he was done with them.

 

He pulled into the garage, and the car was barely stopped when he hopped out and made his way up the stairs. Jarvis connected the call from his phone to the house as he went. "I want to know who Samuel Lawson is and how he found Luke Keener. That bastard didn't even show his face once in the previous timeline. And if he thinks he's going to see my kids or get a penny of my money, he's got another thing coming. J, start digging."

 

"I had no idea he'd show up." Rose was crying, and as the video call connected to his television, he saw it was out of anger and not from being upset. "He abandoned us, and now he wants to return in?"

 

"Not happening." Pepper's tone was icy. Tony had only heard her use that particular tone a handful of times. Usually, he found an excuse to be either on the opposite side of the country or a different continent until her ire calmed down.

 

Luckily for him, it wasn't directed at him. And for once, he wished he wasn't on the other side of the country to help her end Luke Keener. But he was here because he needed to be here. He had talked to Cho, and hopefully, they would have her sign on soon.

 

Happy was sitting at the dining room table typing away on his computer. Tony assumed he and Jarvis worked together to run background checks on Luke and the lawyer.

 

"We also need to be concerned about the lack of a paper trail from before we came back in time." Pepper seemed concerned.

 

"Actually.. ." J sounded hesitant.

 

"J, what did you do?" Tony looked up.

 

"I was aware that at some point, the Keeners and the Parkers would be revealed as close associates of Sir's. I took the liberty of establishing a paper trail that would go back a few years. It helps that Peter's father also went to MIT. The Keeners were a bit harder to make a connection to. I put it as they were recipients of aid from the Maria Stark Foundation shortly after Mr. Keener abandoned his family. If anyone should dig, they'd find an established trail." Jarvis paused for a second.

 

"You did all that?" May asked.

 

"I read that humans protect their younger siblings. So I took steps to do the same."

 

And if that didn't melt Tony's heart. "You did good, J."

 

 There was a pause. "As much as I hate to add more to your plate, Sir, you should know there was an energy spike in New Mexico just now. I believe Thor has landed on Earth."

 

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course, that was tonight. When it rained, it poured, and he was about to get drenched. "I'll get ready to head out. Do the kids know about Luke?"

 

Rose shook her head. "No, I think Peter suspects something is up."

 

May crossed her arms with an exasperated huff. "He knows something is up - it's almost impossible to hide something from his Spidey Sense."

 

Tony snorted. "It's ridiculous. But we'll have to tell them. It's likely to go public with the Expo and everything happening around us."

 

Rose let out a long breath. "I think we'll tell them tomorrow. I'm supposed to take the kids to the Expo. A family outing with all of the kids. Pepper thought it would be good press, especially with what's about to happen on your end."

 

There were few things Tony hated more than using his kids as publicity tools. They were more than that. They deserved better. But the public knew about them against Tony's wishes.

 

Another thing he could thank Stane for.

 

"Talk to them. I'll be available tomorrow. I might be from New Mexico. Luckily, I packed a go-bag that Happy could take in the jet and meet me there. Speaking of J and Happy, do you have anything for me?"

 

"Someone has to be funding this outside of Luke Keener. I can't find solid employment records since he abandoned Rose and the kids."

 

"Indeed, Sir. I am digging more to see if I can get the answer to this."

 

Taking a moment to consider the implications, Tony returned to the screen. "Someone is using Harley and Abby to distract me. From what?"

 

There was silence on the other end.

 

"Happy, keep digging. I'm taking a suit to New Mexico. I've got a Norse god to deal with and his psychotic brother to squash. Meet me there tomorrow. I'll take a suit. And you guys watch those kids. Do not let someone touch them. And someone tell Rhodey to call me. I know he's staking out Culver to put out that fire."

 

Forget rain. This was a typhoon.

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this.

I want to thank Fae for all their work on this series. The two of us have been pouring over the movies, shows, comics, and references, trying to piece together timelines and characters. We're also starting to look past New York and where we go from there.

With this story fully outlined, I should work on getting chapters out much faster. I'm sorry, but I'm not the most consistent poster and don't have the best schedule. I do not ever plan on letting this story die. I have too many ideas and too much I want to play with.

See y'all next time!

Chapter 10: Storm of Thunder

Notes:

Oh look! A new chapter!

I finally begin to answer a question y'all have been speculating in the comments. On behalf of Fae and myself, we want to thank you for the comments. We enjoy reading them and hearing what y'all are thinking.

More at the end!

In a car, it would take Tony twelve hours to get from Malibu to where Jarvis showed him the energy reading of Thor's landing spot. If he remembered the story correctly, he had less than a day before SHIELD showed up.

 

That confrontation would be interesting on several levels.

 

But he would make that trek in just under 90 minutes in the suit. He would miss Thor, Jane, Darcy, and Selvig, but he could gather some data, then circle back and introduce himself before SHIELD came in and took all of Jane's research.

 

He wished he'd known this the last time it happened. Instead, he was in the mansion, watching an old home video of his dad and trying to save his own life. Agent had even hinted that something was happening, and he had been too wrapped up in his own drama to even peek at what he'd been talking about.

 

Sure, they said they turned everything off, but he was Tony Stark - it would have been child's play to fix whatever they did.

 

This time, he knew and would prevent Jane from losing years of research. Plus, he would meet her and her team years earlier without waiting for Thor to be on Earth long enough to introduce them. He could give her funding, and they could find a way to reach out to Asgard and other races in space. There was so much out there, and Earth was about to get a rude awakening that they were not alone.

 

It was really annoying that there were still years before he could finally hit a point where he didn’t question every move he made because hindsight plagued him.

 

If it didn’t mean the imminent arrival of Thanos (that is if he didn’t show up earlier - something that haunted his nightmares more than he’d like to admit), he might start an official countdown. 

 

In the meantime, he had to make this hindsight (or foresight?) work for him. 

 

One thing Tony was grateful for: he had skipped a few versions, and could enter and exit the suit much quicker during these early days. So when he landed in the middle of the desert in New Mexico, he could step out of the suit, toss on his HUD glasses, and walk over to the first of two points of interest.

 

Mjollnir.

 

If he was honest with himself, Tony wondered if he could lift it now. The Infinity Stones had declared him worthy to come back and fix everything. He remembered that party right before Ultron came and killed Jarvis.

 

At the moment, not even Thor could carry his own hammer. Tony stepped into the crater towards the infamous hammer. "J, because I don't have the data in this timeline, can you run scans on Thor's favorite accessory."

 

Behind him, the Iron Man suit began scanning. Tony worked around it, gathering soil samples from where it landed. This was one of the first major points of contact in millennia between Asgard and Earth, and he wasn't going to miss the chance to get whatever he could passed along to Jane.

 

Placing the samples in the bags he brought, he circled the hammer. While recovering from the surgery to finally remove the shrapnel, Tony spent a fair bit of time brushing up on Norse mythology. And, of course, Thor loved to share stories.

 

But Tony had never gotten a quiet moment with Mjollnir in all those years. Part of it was he had a lot of other things on his plate, and part of it was he never thought to. Squatting next to it, buried in the ground, he stared at it.

 

"I don't want the power of Thor." He scoffed, not moving away. "Didn't want the power I got stuck with, but here I am."

 

Reaching out, Tony placed his hands around the hammer. The last time he'd done this, he hadn't felt anything, but a slight spark shot up his arm this time. He closes his grip around the hammer and pulls.

 

It moved out from where it rested and into his grip. It also weighed significantly less than he expected it to. But he understands what Thor meant by the balance. He stands there holding it for a second before realizing it's anticlimactic.

 

He held all six infinity stones and wielded their power - granted, he died. After that, Mjollnir didn't seem as big a deal.

 

But he knew that this hammer was a big deal for Thor, and that he would come looking for it within a day. And that, at this current moment, he couldn't lift it.

 

"So, you're the one that Heimdall saw."

 

Tony turned to see Odin Allfather standing at the top of the crater. "Allfather."

 

Odin seemed surprised. "You know me, Midgardian?"

 

"You'd be surprised by what I know." Tony sat the hammer back where it had landed. "On behalf of Midgard, I have to ask. Did you have to involve our planet in your family squabble?"

 

"You dare speak to me like that?" Odin looked angry. 

 

"Look, you saw me holding your kid's favorite toy. You know I'm not the average person." Tony took a couple steps away from it.

 

That caused Odin to pause. "You were sent by the Stones; it was not something the Norns showed me when they gave me wisdom."

 

"In exchange for your eye, correct?"

 

He nodded. "You know your history."

 

"Here on Earth, it's still considered mythology. That will change soon enough." Tony looks back at Mjollnir. "A lot is about to change."

 

"You knew my son?"

 

"I met him a couple of years in the future. There was an incident, and after what happened here, he was open to returning and helping us defend Earth."

 

"From what?"

 

Tony hesitated. "A threat that will alert Earth that we're not alone in the Universe."

 

"Are you here to stop this threat?"

 

That earned Odin a scoff. "I'm here to stop what comes after. That's the opening act. The stones want me to stop the headliner."

 

"In all my time, I've never seen them interfere like that. I once considered seeking them out but abandoned the quest."

 

"You hid one here."

 

"I did. You've seen it?"

 

Tony gave him a wry grin. "I've seen them all. I held all six."

 

"That would kill you."

 

"It would." Tony nodded.

 

This seemed to trouble Odin, and the man, god - what did one call one of the most powerful people in the universe -  looked past him to the hammer. "I don't have much time left."

 

"Perhaps you should mention your murderous firstborn to your children a bit sooner this time."

 

Odin took a step back. "You know of Hela."

 

"You wouldn't believe what I know." Tony crossed his arms.

 

"There is much to discuss. But I cannot linger too long on Midgard at this time, lest Thor realizes I'm here. But tell me, Champion of the Stones, what can the Realm Eternal do to prepare for what's coming?"

 

Well, this came a bit earlier than he had expected. "Have Heimdall watch for the one who calls himself Thanos."

 

"The Mad Titan. We've heard of him. Rumors of his planet dying. Of him going planet to planet. He's stayed outside my realm to date."

 

"That won't last."

 

Odin looked up. "We shall keep an eye. And prepare our forces and Asgard for what's to come. Perhaps I should retrieve the stone I left here."

 

Holding a hand up, Tony shook his head. "Unfortunately, that needs to stay in play for another couple of years - until Thor returns to help defend Earth. I can change some things…” 

 

"But others remain fixed." Odin finished. "I see. But perhaps after, we can host the Space Stone in Asgard to remove it from Midgard. Asgard will help you if you need us. Ask Heimdall, and he will provide what he can. But I must go. Thor must complete his quest here, and I cannot interfere. Until next time, Champion."

 

And with that, Odin was gone.

 

This was not how Tony expected his night to go, and it wasn't even over. Pulling out his phone, he texted The Ancient One, warning her that Odin was keeping a closer eye on things than he'd expected.

 

There was nothing more he could do, so he hopped in his suit and went to where Thor had landed.

 

---

 

It was far too early when Happy knocked on the door of his room in the only motel in town. He'd stayed in worse, and the kid who'd been running the desk about had a panic attack when he'd walked in.

 

Where Tony had had a quick flight in the suit and then taken it to the motel where it was now in his room, Happy had taken the jet to a nearby field before making his way to the hotel. Their timing had been pretty good, Happy arriving only about an hour after Tony.

 

Now, they were heading to meet with Jane before SHIELD got there. If Tony remembered right, they'd be here this afternoon. Getting in the car Happy had brought, Tony let Happy drive him to the makeshift lab at the edge of town.

 

He barely had time to down the cup of coffee he'd snagged from the hotel before they arrived, and Tony got out and made his way over. He waved at Happy to hang back by the car and knocked on the RV door.

 

There was movement inside the RV before the door opened. He'd never officially met the woman who tased Thor.

 

Twice.

 

But from Thor's stories, he knew he was staring at Darcy Lewis. "Is Dr. Jane Foster here?"

 

"You're Tony Stark."

 

He gave her a smile that was a hair warmer than his paparazzi smile. "I am."

 

Darcy stuck her head inside the RV. "Jane! Tony Stark is here."

 

He had met Jane before Thor, but only in passing. When the woman came to the door, she looked both haggard and a bit rattled. "Dr. Stark?"

 

"Dr. Foster, it's lovely to officially meet you." He held out his hand, and she took it.

 

"You as well. How can I help you this morning?"

 

"I'm sorry to both of you; I imagine you had a long night after those energy readings. That brought me to the area, and I remember reading your research on the subject. I had meant to stop by."

 

She looked startled. "You've read my research?"

 

He lowered his glasses, looking at her over them. "I meant what I said after Afghanistan. I want to explore anything and everything that could help the planet. One of my scientists forwarded me your theory on Einstein Rosen bridges. If you're interested, I'd love for you to present on those during the Expo."

 

Darcy butted in. "You want Jane to present at the Expo?"

 

He nodded, his grin warming. "I'll pay to fly you guys to New York and everything. But I also wanted to speak about last night. I've heard some concerning chatter and thought you deserved a heads-up."

 

"What kind of chatter?" Tony turned to see Dr. Selvig walk up to the RV. Selvig stopped cold when he realized who was standing there. "Dr. Stark?"

 

"Dr. Selvig." He shook the man's hand. "I had a run-in with an intelligence agency after Afghanistan. I have my ways of keeping tabs on them in case they come near something of interest to me. And I hear they're interested in what happened here."

 

"The man or the energy?"

 

Tony shrugged. "They don't know what happened yet, but they want to find out. Speaking of."

 

He headed for the car, pulled out the briefcase he'd stashed there, and brought it in. "I come bearing gifts. Shall we adjourn to your lab?"

 

The trio nodded, dazed, and headed into the lab. Tony couldn't help but grin at the pieced-together equipment that screamed raw science. He opened the briefcase. "I have soil samples from the unidentified object that landed a few miles from the energy signal. I've also got scans from that and another point with strange markings."

 

"You saw those too!" Darcy came over, Jane following behind.

 

"I did. I defer to your expertise on Einstein Rosen bridges." Tony unloaded the samples and placed a USB port of Jarvis' readings. "But as I mentioned, I want to offer my help."

 

He pulled out another stack of papers. "This is a temporary agreement for the rest of the month that essentially says that your research is owned by Stark Industries. It would protect your research and all of your equipment should I be right and someone come for it because of the events of last night."

 

Jane picked up the stack and began reading. "And what, this would allow you to…"

 

"Threaten to sue them within an inch of their lives because they are touching intellectual property that belongs to Stark Industries."

 

"Would that stop them?" Eric was over Jane's shoulder, reading as well.

 

"They don't want to be placed in the spotlight. I have a couple reporters on speed dial as well." For example, Christine Everhart would not hesitate to rip into SHIELD if Tony gave her half the chance. There were a few others he would love to throw this to.

 

He was still on the fence about SHIELD, if he was honest.

 

It was quiet for a few minutes as they read. "And this is only for the month?"

 

He placed his hands in his pockets and leaned against one of the lab tables. "If you want. We could use the time to negotiate something more long-term. I wasn't kidding when I said I was interested in your research."

 

Jane dropped the papers in shock.

 

---

 

Clint got out of the SHIELD car, slightly annoyed at Nat's response when he mentioned he'd be called to New Mexico. Clearly, there was something she knew.

 

And, of course, she wasn't sharing.

 

Coulson stood at the edge of a crater, and Clint walked up. "What's going on?"

 

"That's to be determined. Might need your eyes to help us get to the bottom of it. There were reports of a weird energy signal, a man in the nearby town, and a spot with symbols about five miles away, and then there's this.

 

Clint got his first good look inside the crater to see a hammer. "Is that a hammer?"

 

"It appears so. It's giving off some radiation that we don't recognize. It took some time to secure the scene - people here were trying to pick it up."

 

"Trying, Sir?"

 

Coulson walked down the crater and right up to the hammer. Wrapping his hand around it, he pulled. Clint followed him down, and when Coulson released it, he tried to do the same. To his surprise, it was as if it was sealed inside the ground.

 

"What the…?"

 

"Exactly, Agent Barton. Head into town with me, and let's see what we can find out while they set up a perimeter. I heard a scientist out here may have gotten readings last night. If it's true, we'll have to acquire those for our investigation."

 

Clint got into Coulson's car, and they headed into the town. There wasn't much here, a single motel, a diner, some shops, and a hospital. Coulson took a call and headed for what looked like an abandoned gas station. There was an RV parked nearby and a black town car as well. "According to our agents, this is their headquarters. We'll clear the lab and the data and compensate her."

 

Clint got out of the car but stayed beside it, not entirely happy with what they were doing. Coulson walked up to the lab's door, paperwork handed to him by another agent, and knocked on the door.

 

To Clint's surprise, Tony Stark opened the door and grinned. "Agent Coulson, I've been meaning to call you. Fancy meeting you here."

 

---

 

Appearances were everything when it came to public relations. If you looked as if you were unbothered when in public, the public assumed that what could be a big story was a non-starter. It was how Tony made it as far as he did when he was in the middle of his trainwreck phase.

 

Sometimes, Pepper still wondered how they made it through. 

 

But today was a day when they had to appear unbothered. If Luke Keener had been looking, things would have been expected, and the kids wouldn't have been rattled.

 

Abby didn't know, or rather, she didn't fully understand. However, she and Morgan happily took in everything from the double stroller that Rose was pushing. Despite the age difference, once Morgan got old enough to conspire with her, Abby and Morgan loved to pair off against their older brothers.

 

Peter and Harley took it like champs.

 

Peter and Harley were ahead, bickering over some bit of research they'd been pouring over. Peter was especially here for Hank Pym's presentation. Since Tony was tied up with the events in New Mexico, Peter declared that they should be there to support him and promote the healed rift.

 

It was a rather motivating speech, especially from someone not quite in double digits.

 

Pepper kept pace next to Rose as the group approached the Expo. There were a couple of schools there this weekend, and Peter and Harley made sure to find them and spend some time showing them around—they'd taken to the fame they had this time a lot better than anyone expected.

 

There were still concerns about what would happen when Peter was old enough to be Spider-Man. Those were worries for another day - but it was a battle that would come at some point.

 

Rose was quiet, with a faint, thin smile as she went through the Expo. If Pepper hadn't known her as well as she did, she would think it was just another day out. But she knew that Rose was burying her feelings about the visit from her ex's lawyer.

 

"Your divorce was finalized, correct?"

 

Rose nodded. "Luckily, Tennessee is one of the states that allows you to divorce in absentia. I did it before Abby turned two. I realized he wasn't returning and didn't want him to have anything. I have custody of the kids with you, and Tony is listed as guardian if something happens to me."

 

"My lawyers are looking into it, but I don't see a judge in the nation who will give him anything. He abandoned you and the kids."

 

Rose nodded. "I just hate that Harley has to deal with this. I hate that that bastard is putting a cloud on a fun time."

 

"Harley can handle it, and he has Peter, Ned, and MJ to lean on. Those kids are the future, and this won't stop them."

 

"Rose."

 

Pepper stopped as she heard a voice she didn't recognize call out her friend's name. She saw Rose utterly freeze, and without having to look, she knew who was behind them. Painfully slow, Rose turned, and Pepper turned, ready to put herself between Rose and Luke Keener.

 

The security team that had been walking along with them tensed at the approaching stranger. Pepper held a hand up - she would let this play out for now. They came over and surrounded the stroller, blocking Abby from Luke's view.

 

"Luke." Rose crossed her arms. "How was your trip to 7-Eleven? Didn't realize it took four years to get scratchers."

 

"Mrs. Stark." Another voice caused Pepper's blood to run cold. She tilted her head to see General Ross coming up behind Luke Keener.

 

"General Ross. Here to take in the display the military has?"

 

"I did indeed. I didn't realize you knew Mr. Keener."

 

Pepper sized the man up, and pieces started to fall into place. This painted a picture that was going to make Tony's blood boil when she told him. She would probably wait until after things calmed down in New Mexico before doing so, because he needed to focus on that chaos before he dealt with this.

 

With Harley involved, he'd abandon New Mexico in favor of this. Pepper could handle General Ross on her own.

 

"Rose is a dear friend of mine and Tony's. You know how Tony considers Harley a son to him." She let the dig land subtly, a warning.

 

"Of course. It's a shame that Mr. Keener fell on hard times and lost contact with his family. But boys need their real fathers. Not playboys who have convinced the world they've changed."

 

Pepper would bury him before Tony even had a chance to touch him.

Notes:

Thank you for reading!!

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon. Fae and I are being extra as we get closer to New York to make sure everything lines up just right. I couldn't do this without them. THANK YOU FAE!!!

 

For all of my readers that were in the path of Helene, I hope that you are doing well. For those in the path of Milton, please stay safe this week.

Until next time.

Chapter 11: On The Clock

Notes:

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry for the delay. Between a few family emergencies, the holidays, and a knee injury that might end up sending me into the OR (I'll find out later this week so I wanted to get this chapter to you), it's been a crazy few months. Hopefully, I can use some recovery time to get a bit ahead.

Since you've been waiting so long, I'll save the rest of the notes for the end.

There should be a rule somewhere that the universe couldn’t piss him off until after the sun had a chance to rise. It didn’t matter what time zone he was in when the sun rose - which he thought was generous and flexible - but it should wait for him to awake and fully caffeinated before it threw something at him. 

 

Something like Ross. 

 

Because how dare that bastard come for one of his kids. How dare one bastard use another. Despite his desire to drag Luike Keener out of whatever hole he’d crawled into and chew him out for the pain he’d caused the Keeners, Tony never had because he felt that the man had done enough damage and didn’t deserve a second of his time. 

 

But now he’d crossed a line. 

 

Both had. 

 

Tony had been content to leave Ross until after the events of New York, and then take him down then - he even thought about delegating it to Rhodey since Ross wasn’t worth his time in the grand scheme of things. He was an annoyance more than he was an actual problem. Well, at this stage. Cut him off at the pass. But The Hulk needed to happen and things were rolling right now. 

 

And of course Ross had to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. He also brought along one thing he thought could put a dent in Tony’s well-crafted armor of positive public opinion. Tony had half a mind to bury both men in legal paperwork, but his legal department may not forgive him for using them for his personal revenge like that. 

 

Pepper may bury the man literally before he could get to the East Coast to deal with it anyways if he was honest. And he wouldn’t complain if that was the case. There were many, many reasons why he married her twice. 

 

He’d hoped to get a couple of hours of sleep before making his way to stake out Jane Foster’s place to save her stuff from SHIELD. Coulson was under the impression that he could get a warrant. Tony’s lawyers were also going to town (another reason to avoid drowning Ross in paperwork was because Jane’s work was more important to his long-term goals). But that didn’t seem likely. 

 

Coffee it was. 

 

---

 

Usually, subtle wasn’t Tony’s style. He was the kind that could (and would) go in guns blazing and do whatever he wanted. On Avenger’s Missions, he’d let Birdbrain and his Spider Twin take care of the subtle stuff while he handled being him.  Tony had a habit of drawing attention that was beneficial when taking attention off other things. 

 

Like a pair of spies sneaking into a store that was a front for a Hydra outpost and grabbing data, the goons were so focused on Iron Man out front that they didn’t look behind them. 

 

However, he didn’t want to be immediately noticed. It was bad enough to get seen by Odin looking at the Hammer. He didn’t want Thor to catch on that he was around and that he was different from normal humans, whether that be because of his fame or whatever Odin saw in him. But he knew that Thor would be wandering the town that afternoon, and he wanted to see Point Break during his...

 

Considering Thor’s age, would this really be considered his origin story? 

 

“I’m not used to someone being on the rooftop when I stake them out.” 

 

Tony turned to see Clint Barton standing behind him, bow still fastened to his back. “I’m normally not on the rooftop if that makes a difference.” 

 

“Not even in an alternate timeline?”

 

A certain ferry incident came to mind. Or the couple dozen other times he’d meet Peter on a rooftop somewhere in New York City to share a snack. “Nat talked to you, I see.”

 

The man settled in next to him, holding out his hand. “Clint Barton. But you know that already.” 

 

“Tony Stark.” Tony shook his hand. “If it makes you feel better, I know about the mini-agents you also have stashed on a farm.” 

 

Clint winced. “I’m going to have to get used to that - and a lot more.” 

 

“You have no idea.” Tony grinned at the archer. “I know you were called here to investigate, what do you have?” 

 

“A lot less than you. Nat just smirked at me when I told her where I was heading.” 

 

Tony chuckled. “I only know what was on the after action report you filled out.” 

 

“That’s a weird sentence.” Clint set up a perch to get comfortable. 

 

“You get used to them.” 

 

“There’s a hammer outside of town. No one can lift it. The locals were having a field day before SHIELD took over the scene. I think we ruined the new local drinking game.” 

 

“Considering this crowd, I imagine you did.” Tony chuckled. He’d been here a few times in the years that never were to talk with Jane. Having met the locals, he knew all to well what they were like. And considering how small and isolated this town was, there wasn’t much there to entertain them, so something new stood out. 

 

Despite the fact that she would travel the globe for research, she tended to use this area as a home base of sorts. It was convenient when he was based in California but in New York it was a bit tedious to cross the country. Especially in the later years. 

 

“There’s reports of a blonde male who claims he’s from Asgard.” Clint continued. “My superior is fascinated by that.” 

 

“His boss is too.” Tony goaded. “However, there’s a limit to how much you guys can interfere here. Whether we like it or not, Asgard is using Earth as a testing ground for it’s Crown Prince.” 

 

“You’re kidding.” 

 

Tony shakes his head. “You can’t repeat this to Coulson.”

 

Thor turns the corner, talking with Jane, Darcy, and Selvig. The group were talking. “That’s Thor. God of Thunder and the next in line for the Throne of Asgard. Though, neither title are actually true at the moment. He’s been stripped of them and banished until he learns his lesson.”

 

“And his dad sent him here? Would have been nice to ask.” 

 

“Trust me, I let him know that.” 

 

Clint’s eyes went wide. “You didn’t.”

 

Tony shrugged and the two sat in silence for a bit as the quartet went into the library. “After what I’ve seen, Odin is a relatively small fry.” 

 

Clint pauses and when he speaks next, its not to Tony. “Target is in the library with Doctors Foster and Selvig. No sign of Stark. Keeping current position to monitor.” 

 

Something occurred to Tony but he waited for Clint to signal he was off com. “You’re going to want to get someone to switch places with you. You’re needed by the hammer.” 

 

Clint nodded and made the request. Tony left the rooftop trying to figure out what to do next. He didn’t do waiting games well. 

 

---

 

It was a prank gone wrong but it had Rhodey slightly on edge. Instead of the test that would create the Hulk happening a week before the original date of Hammer’s presentation, it would now be mere days. 

 

A group of frat boys had been messing with equipment on campus and knocked the power out for a good half mile including Banner’s lab. It took a dozen electricians and engineers a couple of days to find out how the kids had manage to cause that kind of destruction. 

 

But now Rhodey was stuck in Virginia for that much longer instead of flying to New Mexico to help Tony or to New York to deal with Ross. (Though he’d started inquiring on that front from where he was. He couldn’t even be on the right side of the state to make quick trips into Washington to take care of other tasks.) 

 

He felt stuck and he didn’t like the feeling. It hadn’t happened a whole lot especially after they got their second chance but he remembered how trapped and stuck he felt in those early days after the accident that cost him his legs. Out of habit - something he called a nervous tick when caught - Rhodey ran his hand down his trousers straightening out imaginary wrinkles. 

 

Thankfully, he was able to use both the military and SI as covers to stay around campus and keep an eye on things. And with Ross in New York taunting Pepper and Rose at the Expo, things were quiet on this front. 

 

He walked into the lab and saw where Banner was trying to set up a few things that had been damaged in the power surge. 

 

“Need a hand, Dr. Banner?” 

 

Banner startled and turned around. “Colonel Rhodes. Did we have an appointment?” 

 

Rhodey shook his head. “No, but I heard about the chaos. Your experiment was supposed to be tonight, wasn’t it.” 

 

Something on the far side of the room sparked slightly and Banner sighed. “It was. We’re shooting for Wednesday if I can get this done.”

 

“Are you sure it will be ready by then?” Rhodey surveyed the damage.

 

“Ross isn’t the most patient of people. Even less so because he seems to have a new project in New York that he wants to move on to.” Banner shrugged. “I’ll welcome any help you can give me.” 

 

Nodding, Rhodey ditched his jacket on a chair, rolled up his sleeve, and the pair got to work. 

 

---

 

Peter thought there were more important things to deal with right now than developing medical information on his enhancements. He was fine! New York was only a couple of years away, and there was so much to do. 

 

Not to mention there was the whole thing with Harley and Abby’s bio-dad coming in out of nowhere. And Thor. He was still mad that he was too small to go and see THOR. He hadn’t gotten to properly meet Thor before everything reset. They’d fought together in that final battle but there wasn’t time for an introduction. 

 

There’d barely been time for that hug with his dad. But Peter did his best thse days to shake those thoughts away. Ben and May walked with him as they headed to a specialized medical suite that had been built into a Stark Industries building. The mainframe for the data here wasn’t connected to the main server and his dad had included dozens of protocols to make sure that his medical information remained safe. Especially from people like Ross. 

 

The doors to the suite opened with a swish and he stepped in and stopped cold. In front of him was Charles Xavier, Helen Cho, and Hank Pym. Dr. Cho looked a bit shellshocked. Peter had been left out of the room when she’d been filled in on the time travel incident but they’d decided it was medically necessary because a lot of the data they had on Peter came from a version of him that was several years older. 

 

“Dr. Pym! Your talk at the Expo was amazing. The contributions you’re making to Quantum Physics are groundbreaking and I have like a dozen questions.” 

 

That earned him a soft smile - one he both loved and was slightly over as it was a side effect of his smaller size. Despite being two years older than he’d been at the start of this, he was still over his diminished size and the long list of things he still couldn’t do. “I look forward to going over it. I know you’ve met Charles, but this is Helen Cho.”

 

“Dad told me you’re doing a talk about your Cradle technology and that he’s sponsoring the research.”

 

She looked surprised. “I am. Your dad is also hoping that my expertise in human biology and medicine will allow me to become an expert in enhanced medicine.” 

 

Peter nodded. “He’s worried because normal medicine doesn’t work on me. That’s why he asked you here today. And Dr. Pym is an entemologist. Though technically spiders are studied by arachnologists-”

 

“I’m still quite capable, Mr. Parker.” The soft fond look went a little stern but nothing like he saw aimed at adults. 

 

“Oh, I know. Plus, bonus win where I get to ask all my questions.” Peter grinned as he used a step stool to sit on the table. The adults chuckled as they all gathered around. 

 

“Jarvis is recording this and it will be placed in it’s own unique part of an offline server.” Cho gathered her notes. “I will say, Peter, that there isn’t a lot of data about enhanced humans outside of what Dr. Xavier has on mutants.” 

 

“Which doesn’t fit for me because I wasn’t born with my enhancements.” 

 

“You got them from a radioactive spider.” Dr. Cho wrote some notes down. “Now, Peter what we’re going to do here is perform a variety of tests. We’re also going to move next door where some specialized equipment has been set up.” 

 

She paused. “I’m also curious if your powers may grow and change in ways they didn’t the last time.

 

Peter paused. “Why would they do that?” 

 

All of the adults changed glances. “In the original timeline, your DNA was altered after you began puberty. This time, it was altered before. There is a chance that traits may show up and present differently.” 

 

“You don’t think I’m going to change physically, do you?” Peter hadn’t even considered it if he was honest. They were his powers and he’d had them for four years, and despite his smaller size, he was comfortable with how they worked. He was all but counting down the days until he was 14 again, when he could go out swing and protect his city again.

 

It couldn’t come soon enough - and he knew that fight would come from everyone when the time came. 

 

“I don’t have a reason to suspect that. I wonder if your powers might end up being stronger this time around. Perhaps more sensitive senses.” 

 

Charles rolled over. “With your permission, Peter, I’ll examine your mind too. You and Harley are unique because the brain changes from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. While your memories remained intact and your behavior to an extent, things may have changed. We’re curious how this might affect your powers. Harley will also be asked.” 

 

Peter nodded, looking to Aunt May and Ben - both of them looked slightly lost. But Ben spoke up. “We want what’s best with Peter. Despite being thrust into this two years ago, I’m still wrapping my head around this.” 

 

“What’s best for Peter is the whole reason we’re here today.” May looked at the group. “So, let’s get started.”

 

---

 

Pepper wanted to be a few floors down as they examined Peter and studied his mutation, but she had to keep up appearances and work in her office. There was the usual work and then there was the pile of work for the Expo. 

 

Last time, Tony had handed her a half-finished mess when he handed over the reins. This time, she got to control it from the start and in her opinion, things were running a lot more smoothly than they were. However, things weren’t without hiccups and she had one about to walk into her office. 

 

The door opened and her 2 pm walked in. Justin Hammer strutted like he owned the place and Pepper wondered if she could find a way to hide both his and Ross’ bodies in the same place to create efficiency. Though Hammer was technically nothing more than an ambitious annoyance with delusions of grandeur who took things too far. 

 

Ross was actually dangerous and his downfall needed to be swift, public, and painful. If not for Tony’s sake down the road than for Abby's and Harley’s. 

 

“Mr. Hammer, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.” She stood, circled her desk, and held out her hand which he shook. She nodded to the small seating area where a coffee service was waiting. “Is coffee okay or would you prefer tea?” 

 

“Coffee is fine, Mrs. Stark.” 

 

“Call me Pepper.” She smiled, not her warm smile reserved for the kids but the one that usually sent Tony out of town. However, Hammer didn’t seem to catch it. 

 

“Then I’m Justin.” He smiled. They paused to prepare their cups of coffee, and the pair sat on the couch.

 

“We had a last minute postponement on the Main Stage this weekend. I know you’re scheduled for a presentation elsewhere in the Expo, but we were wondering if you would be interested in a venue change.” 

 

Justin’s eyebrows went almost to his hairline at the implication. “Stark Industries is willing to put Hammer Technologies on the Main Stage of their Expo?”

 

Pepper nodded. “The Expo is all about collaboration and cooperation. We see this as doing just that. Plus, you did fill the hole we left when we shifted gears two years ago.” 

 

Justin leaned back on the couch and took a long sip of his coffee. “How would this shift my presentation?” 

 

She already knew he’d say yes to this proposal but this was exactly what she wanted. Reaching to a folder that was sitting on the table by the coffee service, she handed it to him. “Updated specs not only for the size of the stage but for the difference in the video and audio capabilities.”

 

What he didn’t have in that folder were the notes for the trap springing around him. 

 

“And of course, we are willing to increase the number of guest passes you and your people have to compensate for you helping us out.” 

 

Justin read over the folder; he wasn’t completely incompetent. But Pepper knew the trap had been sprung and that in just a few short days, they’d have one less problem on their plate. 

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate seeing your comments come in. You guys have no idea how much it lights up my day.

As always, I have to give all the thanks to Fae who helps keep my continuity straight, bounces all manner of ideas with me, and has been so good about checking in while I worked to get this done for y'all. Without them, this fic would not be what it is.

I'm going to try and get the next chapter done before I get the results of my MRI later this week. Hopefully y'all will have it soon. Until next time!

Chapter 12: Not Worthy

Notes:

Hello again everyone!

I'll save the long note for the end! Hope you enjoy!

Where Hammer’s meeting had been in Pepper’s office filled with cold and professional pantomime, the next meeting she had on her books was held in one of their lounge areas and was fully catered. She entered the room to find an odd assortment of people that to outsiders would make no sense to the others. 

 

At one table sat Charles Xavier and The Ancient One who were sipping out of various mugs. She had a feeling that The Ancient One was drinking her tea while Charles was enjoying coffee. They were joined by Happy who had something laid out on the table. 

 

Another table hosted Hank McCoy and Logan. Still another hosted another X-Men Pepper had only met once, Jubilee, who was chatting with Peter and Harley. Jean, Scott, and Storm sat close, trying to hide that they were keeping an eye on the table to ensure that chaos didn’t unfold. Unfortunately, Ned and MJ weren’t able to make the meeting but Pepper had no doubt that the kids were going to be in a group chat. She couldn’t help but wonder if the youngest of the X-Men would end up folding into the small circle of future Avengers. 

 

Pepper watched the group assembled and not for the first time wished they hadn't overlooked all of these allies the first time around. Of course, hindsight was 20/20 and they hadn’t known some existed. But they’d been aware of Charles Xavier and could have approached him. 

 

“Wishful thinking will get us nowhere, Pepper.” Charles rolled up to her. “It is enough that we have this chance to save the world from Thanos.” 

 

She nodded and looked at the assembled crowd. “As expected, Justin took the bait and we have set up his presentation to mirror the one in the previous timeline. From Natasha’s intelligence, we know that the presentation will go similarly with the exception that War Machine won’t be involved.” She grabbed a remote, hit some buttons and a projector turned on as a screen lowered. “Happy, if you’d go over the plan. Charles, I’d like you and your fellow X-Men to elaborate. As we know, The Ancient One and her Sorcerers are planning to go to New Mexico during the confrontation there to make their appearance. She is here as a contingency in case she is needed.” 

 

The Ancient One nodded as Pepper went over to the buffet in the back of the room to gather herself a snack and a cup of tea. Happy took his place in the front of the room and grabbed the clicker to move his slides. “As we all know, security for the Stark Expo is extensive with numerous security checkpoints before anyone should it be vendors, presenters, or guests, enters any aspect of the event. However, unbeknownst to the general public, there are additional security measures in place beyond our surveillance system.” 

 

He clicked a slide. “It’s not unusual for Charles and the more visible members of the X-Men to be around. Charles, can you elaborate on who is going to be there, Friday?” 

 

Charles nodded, sliding up next to Happy. “Everyone in this room will be present at the event. Jubilee and Storm will be manning the booth for the school while the rest of us are going to be placed in strategic locations throughout.” Charles used a laser pointer to point out spots on the map that Happy pulled up. “Based off the accounts from everyone on the time team, these are the locations that Mr. Hogan believes will be most beneficial to support his team.” 

 

Happy nodded. “Hammer will begin his presentation at 8:00pm EST. Barring technical delays and changes because of the butterfly effect, we will only be minutes in before everything goes wrong. Unlike last time, Tony will not intervene until Vanko plays his hand. But he will make a very public entrance to let everyone know he is on site with the kids judging a competition. That building is one of the safest places on site. Peter?” 

 

Pepper looked over to where Peter stood up, looking far too serious for his young face. But he had always had a serious air about him. “The kid’s area is the safest spot. Once dad makes an exit, Harley and I will lock down the building. The hope is that that will keep any minors still on site safe. We can fit a couple thousand people in there.” 

 

Pepper remembered the chaos and the medical builds that Stark Industries had covered after that event. She hoped to mitigate that. “What are we doing about the bots?” 

 

“If I can answer that.” JARVIS spoke up. “Now that I’m aware of what to look for, I am going to try and place a kill switch into the bots that Vanko cannot find. Sir’s hope is to give Justin Hammer just enough rope to hang himself on before we shut it down.” 

 

Pepper nodded. “Because I don’t like leaving things to chance, we made sure several of the buildings are reinforced to ensure they can hold up if things get dicey.” 

 

She studied the crowd. Some were old friends, others were new. But all of them saw this as a chance to take down a small threat on their way to a bigger one. There was so much coming but she felt so different than she had the last time around. 

 

Last time she had been floundering as the recently named CEO, Tony had been acting erratic, and she felt like she had been drowning. All of that was gone and replaced by a fierce desire to drive Stark Industries further than they had been before. 

 

Pepper wasn’t an Avenger. She wasn’t an X-Man. But she had her role to play in this and she was content in it. Plus, that freed her up to tear Ross apart piece by piece while the others were busy with other pressing concerns. Luke Keener was barely worth her effort and she wasn’t sure there would be enough of him for the internet to hate when she was done with him. But knowing that Abby Keener was upstairs having a tea party with Morgan while being ignored by her deadbeat dad…

 

She ran through her checklist for the week as the meeting devolved into socializing. She leaned back in the chair and sipped her tea and watched everyone mingle. Once upon a time, she might have thought it was lonely at the top. This time however, she found she had a lot more allies. And hopefully, some of these would become friends. 

 

---

 

Clint hated rain - and not in the way that everyone hated a fierce storm. When it rained like this, his chances of missing increased from non-existence to there was a chance. And he hated leaving anything to chance. 

 

He looked around from his makeshift snipers perch and his gaze kept returning to the hammer cemented in the ground nearby. He hadn’t tried to lift it though he knew some of the agents and scientists around the site had. Part of him was curious whether or not he’d be worthy and part of him decided he didn’t want to know. 

 

“Birdbrain, do you copy?” 

 

Clint didn’t betray the extra voice on his coms - he knew the others couldn’t hear it. He activated the earpiece in his left ear. “Copy, Tin Man.”

 

“Gold Titanium Alloy.” 

 

Clint snorted, surveying the scene. “Are you sure about this?” 

 

“Positive. Thor will be coming for the hammer at any moment. From what I heard, last time you weren’t in your perch, you went up as it was happening.” 

 

“Thanks for the heads up so I can get a bird’s eye view.” Clint made a joke but he also noticed that the story seemed to be getting worse. The wind was howling harder and it was swaying his fragile perch. He made a note to discuss with SHIELD how they constructed these from now on. He’d prefer a side perch if it meant it was more stable in conditions like this, despite the decrease in visibility. 

 

There was a snort over the com. “I think our Spider friend is going to regret introducing us this early in the timeline this time.” 

 

Clint grinned but before he could respond, the com in his right ear came ot life. “Agents Down! We have a perimeter breach!” 

 

Looking around, he tried to see Thor. He knew Stark was hiding nearby and that JARVIS had hacked their cameras so he had eyes on the situation. But Iron Man wasn’t intervening in this crisis, merely observing. 

 

“I want eyes up high. With a gun. Now!” Coulson’s voice came the coms. 

 

“I’m already up here, Sir.” Clint eyed the scene. “But I don’t have a visual yet.” 

 

Nor did he have a gun that would kill. He was shooting to tranq if he used that. He still preferred his bow however and had that with him too. For now, he was waiting and watching. 

 

“He’s to your Southwest, Barton.” Tony fed him and Clint had to be subtle to not make it obvious he was being fed intel. 

 

Clint finally got eyes on Thor but just trained an arrow towards him. “I have a visual.”

 

“Wait for my signal, Barton.” 

 

Barton was content to watch the whole situation play out and felt an eyebrow raise when he took down one of the largest agents they had on site. He pressed his left ear. “Even depowered, he packs a punch.” 

 

“I’m not surprised. You should see him in party mode.” 

 

“I’m looking forward to it. He’s approaching the hammer.” 

 

“I see.” Tony went quiet.” 

 

Thor came to his hammer but couldn’t lift it, Barton watched the scene play out before Thor was tranquilized and taken away. Despite the rain pouring down and soaking through his gear, Clinton stared at the agent who was being helped up and the hammer on the ground. 

 

This didn’t make sense. Clint was trained to sit, wait, and watch but even he was running low on patience. He didn’t like not doing anything about situations despite one of the people he trusted most telling him it was necessary. 

 

It felt odd to have a role to play and to almost feel like he was an actor in a play that he didn’t have the script for. 

 

“Barton. Come down for a debrief.” 

 

Barton secured everything and prepared to lower his perch. “On the way. Any chance I can have a cup of coffee waiting?”

 

He had a feeling it would be a long couple of days and he wasn’t sure how much sleep he’d be getting tonight. 

 

---

 

“Who are you?” 

 

Tony whirled around to see Loki standing beside him in a simple black suit. He must have appeared because JARVIS would have warned him otherwise. He’d hoped to avoid a confrontation with the first major villain he’d ever faced. The man who helped him see what was coming. Someone who reminded him of what was a stake. 

 

Loki brought up a lot of memories that Tony did his best to bury. 

 

“Tony Stark also known as Iron Man.” Tony stepped out of the armor, crossing the distance to the god. He didn’t want to give the impression that he had anything to hide. Besides, wasn’t everyone encouraging each other to face their fears? 

 

“And you are?” 

 

“Loki, Prince of Asgard.” It was hard to imagine that and had Tony not seem him in his full regalia multiple times, he’d doubt it. But now, knowing what to look for, he felt a slight aura coming off of the man. He hoped that JARVIS was taking readings of the energy, perhaps it was the magic coming off of him. 

 

“Here to pick up your brother?” 

 

Loki gave him a grin, different from the one he’d seen at the battle of New York. This was a slightly different Loki from the one he’d face in just a couple of years time. A lot would happen for both of them before they got there. “I think not. He is not welcome in Asgard.” 

 

“Why is that?” Tony wasn’t about to tip his hand, or his knowledge to Loki. Maybe after New York he’d reconsider. But right now, there was too much at stake. 

 

“He disobeyed an order from our Father. And now Father has fallen into the Odin sleep. With Thor disowned, Asgard falls to me. I cannot undo his last command so early in my reign.” 

 

“Sounds like you came out on top in this family dispute.” Tony crossed his arm. “I don’t appreciate my planet being used for your family squabble however.” 

 

“Be careful how you address me, Mortal.” Loki sneered at him. Once upon a time, that would terrify him. And if Tony was honest, he was still a bit nervous to be facing him like this. But he also had heard how Loki’s story ended and he knew where he was and where he was going. Hindsight was weird like this. 

 

“So why are you here?” It was hard to play dumb. It was not his strong suit and as he was almost always the smartest person in the room, he wasn’t overly familiar with the sensation. 

 

“To check on my brother. Why are you here?” 

 

“It’s my job to keep an eye on things, especially in this part of my planet.” Tony was thankful for his vast history of being nonchalant. It was helping him keep his cool. Sure, he was going up against the god of lies but he also had spent a lifetime (and then some considering the years that never were), wearing masks of his own. If he passed this test, he wasn’t sure if it was the victory some may think it was. 

 

“There’s more to your story, I sense it.” Loki studied the man. “I was going straight to my brother but you caught my attention. I assume that the humans in the facility don’t know you’re here?” 

 

Tony shrugged. “Contrary to popular belief, I do have moments where I can be subtle.” 

 

“Well, Tony Stark, I imagine this won’t be the last time we meet.” Loki’s wary look had turned into a wary grin. 

 

“I have a feeling you’re correct, Your Highness.” Tony held out his hand, Loki shook it. A moment later, Tony was alone with just his suit. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and had to watch the facility for a moment while he tried to get his hands to stop shaking. Seeing Loki this close had brought too many memories to the surface and reminded him not only about what was at stake but what was coming. 

 

And as he studied the facility below, knowing what was coming for Loki, he hoped he made the right decision to not intervene. And he hoped that Thor and Loki might forgive him when they found out that he’d known. 

 

---

 

Clint watched the cameras as Thor appeared to talk to himself. However, Tony alerted him that Thor’s brother Loki was there and hiding from their cameras. The conversation didn’t seem to be going well seeing how Thor was reacting. 

 

Despite his non-traditional education, Clint knew a bit about Norse mythology. He wasn’t sure how to compare the image of an actual mythological figure with the man in front of him. 

 

But he’d heard from both Nat and Tony how he was the real deal even if he didn’t appear that way now. 

 

When had his life gotten so weird. Time travel, aliens, and magic? 

 

What was next? 

Notes:

Thank you guys so much for your patience and the comments. You have no idea how much they mean to me.

I lucked out and didn't need surgery which was a blessing. Graduated PT too since I last updated and at this point, it's building up endurance and strength in my knee. That will come with time.

I'm working on the next chapter, it's giving me a bit of grief but I hope to have it for you soon.

As always, I have to thank the wonderful Fae for checking in on me, talking things through with me, and keeping me sane when it comes to mapping out a timeline for this. This series wouldn't happen without them.

I'll see you next time!

Notes:

First, a special shoutout to Fae, who always helps keep me on track.

Secondly, I'm going to shift to an every other week posting schedule with the hopes that part 3 will be posted with more consistency than part 2 was.

See you next time!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Turn Back Time