Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Chapter Sixteen: Arguments

Plan A

“…and are you mad?!” Hope Van Dyne had a voice which carried.

Tony paused in the doorway of the conference room and peeked in. Only Lang and Van Dyne were inside. He frowned. Lang, Van Dyne and her father had turned up that morning shortly after the Guardians had left. They’d somehow managed to get past the Compound’s security and Tony took exception to that since his security was cutting edge.

And Pym hated him for being Howard Stark’s son but that wasn’t really the point.

“He thinks he may need a secret weapon…” Lang tried to argue.

“Then the Captain can ask his Wakandan buddy for one!” Hope shot back.

OK so that was new. Tony sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He wondered if Steve would ever get used to the idea that he couldn’t just act and to run his ideas by a wider authority. Probably not, Tony mused.

Tony felt another presence come to hover by his shoulder and he almost flinched as he realised it was Pym.

“Are they arguing?” asked Pym almost idly.

Tony opened his mouth to speak…

“You’re an idiot!” Hope said loudly.

Tony closed his mouth and just gestured toward the room in lieu of an answer. “Do they argue a lot?”

Pym gave him a look but didn’t move from beside Tony just outside the doorway. “They’ll be finished soon.”

“Okay.” Tony drawled, sticking his hands in his pockets and wondering if he should remind everyone they were due on a video conference to help save the world.

“Why are we waiting outside?” asked Hill as she walked up.

Tony and Pym both gestured towards the raised voices.

“You don’t just tell Captain America no!” Lang was arguing.

“Well, you don’t, that’s for sure!” Hope retorted. “Most of the rest of the world doesn’t have a problem telling him no!”

“You mean Stark!”

Tony sighed. Clearly Lang hadn’t changed his allegiance any since the last time they’d seen each other in the RAFT

“Oh, for…will you stop with the Stark hate!”

“He put me in jail!”

“You put yourself in jail!” Hope made a sound of pure frustration. “And you know why you put yourself in jail? Because you couldn’t say no to Captain America!”

Tony glanced at Pym.

Pym glanced at his watch. “They’re almost done.” He paused. “Probably.”

Tony glanced at Hill and they exchanged matching disbelieving looks.

“I have to do this, Hope.” Lang said in a quieter voice. “What if he’s right and I can make a difference and stop this guy taking over the world?”

There was a long audible sigh. “You’re impossible.”

“But you love me anyway.” Lang’s tone turned cajoling.

“If you’re going to do this, you’ll need help.” Hope said.

“That’s my cue,” Pym said and walked into the room.

Tony made a sweeping motion to usher Hill in before him and then stopped just inside the room as Pym began arguing with his daughter and protégé.

Hill whistled and they turned to her wearing similarly irritated faces. “In case you’ve all forgotten, we’re meant to be on a video conference.”

Tony gave her a nod as he slid into a seat and ordered FRIDAY to start the conference.

As unauthorised as Steve’s idea was to use Lang, it was probably a good one. Lang had definitely turned the tide for Steve’s side at the airport; maybe the Antman could turn the tide for their side in the battle against Thanos.

Plan Z

“Breaking news this morning from California, there has been an..an implosion at the headquarters of Pym Technologies.”

Tony pauses in towelling his hair dry and steps out of the bedroom to look at the news on the TV in the bedroom.

Pepper frowns; she’s sitting cross-legged on the bed in her sleepshirt and taps her StarkPad. “They’re saying it was the CEO, Darren Cross. He’s missing after taking some poor family hostage and Pym apparently was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound.”

Tony starts towelling his hair again. “That’s weird.” He comments out loud and kicks himself because he’d forgotten about Lang; about the beginning of Antman.

To be fair, even if he hadn’t forgotten he couldn’t have interfered anyway. Pym would never let a Stark anywhere near his technology.

“Their stock is down,” Pepper comments, “we could look at buying. Pym Tech still has the market in nanotechnology. It could be useful for us to have access to that.”

“I think we can live without it.” Tony remarks.

Pepper clambers across to tug him closer and kiss him.

He pulls back and gives her another swifter kiss on the lips. “You’re going to buy Pym stock, aren’t you?”

“It’s how I have fun.” Pepper says cheerfully. She grins and sashays away to the bathroom.

Tony idly watches the rest of the news cast as he dries off and dresses. He’s snapping on a watch gauntlet when FRIDAY interrupts him.

“Boss, Sergeant Wilson is on the line.”

“Patch him through, FRIDAY.” Tony requests.

“I just wanted to let you know we had a break-in here at the Compound yesterday.” Sam says. “I was attacked by a guy who could shrink.”

“Shrink?” asks Tony almost too casually. He tries to think back to whether Sam had called him the last time but he can’t remember. Tony doesn’t think he did. But then why would Sam contact him in the last timeline, Tony asks himself briskly; Tony had been ostensibly retired.

“Shrink. He called himself Ant-man.” Sam confirms. “You watching the news?”

“Yep.” Tony glances over at the news report still playing on the TV. “There’s nothing on there about a break-in at the Compound.”

“No,” Sam says slowly as though he’s talking to a child, “but there is a report of a big ass Thomas the Tank Engine destroying a house in California where Cross took that cop’s family hostage.”

“You think it was Darren Cross?” asks Tony bemused.

“It wasn’t Cross. It was some guy named Scott.” Sam’s irritation bleeds through the connection.

Tony flips his tie end and focuses for a second on tying a perfect Windsor knot. “He introduced himself?”

“Yeah,” Sam says, “look, it seems he took something from the store? Some kind of device which nobody seems to know what it does. Steve thought you should come and take a look?”

Tony’s momentarily distracted by Pepper coming into the bedroom wrapped in nothing but towels. He refocuses and shakes his head. “I don’t think I need to come out. There’s nothing important in the store.”

There’s a scuffle at Sam’s end and Steve’s is the next voice he hears. “I’m thinking we should track this guy down, Tony. If he doesn’t think anything of breaking and entering here, he could be a risk.”

Tony nods. “Sounds sensible. You going to pass the info over to SHIELD or the X-Men?” He knows Coulson’s old unit and Xavier are both actively tracking down enhanced individuals in the wake of Sokovia.

There’s rumblings of legislation and the meeting Tony has lined up that morning will hopefully give him more insight into what’s coming.

“I’d rather we tracked him down ourselves.” Steve says. “We think his ability is tech based so we really could do with you in on this one.”

Tony hums. It’s not unusual for Steve to specifically ask for Tony’s support for their missions these days. Tony hasn’t stepped back in the wake of Ultron the way he had before but he’s not a regular member of the Avengers – he just has too much to juggle between Avenging, running SI R&D and keeping ahead of the technology wave so SI leads it and doesn’t fall behind.

Unlike the last timeline, there is no schism between him and the others the way there had been even if none of them had acknowledged it publicly back then. Tony hasn’t been scapegoated for Sokovia and Steve had actually apologised for jumping to conclusions about Tony’s intent with the Cradle based on Maximoff’s skewed view of Tony. Steve had reflected that he wasn’t sure why he had been so quick to leap to the worst scenario, but there had also been a sheepish admission that a lot of it was down to his faith since in Steve’s eyes no one but God should play God. And yes, while he acknowledged Thor’s power, Steve still believed there was one true God and Tony isn’t petty enough to poke at him because he was religious.

Well.

No more than usual anyway.

Tony shakes off his musings and returns to the present. Steve wouldn’t be asking for his help unless he needs it and so…

“I’ve got a meeting this morning.” Tony capitulates. “I can be at the Compound just after lunch.”

“Great, we’ll see you then.” Steve signs off.

Pepper looks over from her dressing-table where she’s smoothing moisturiser onto her skin. “Trouble?”

“A break-in at the Compound.” Tony shrugs. “They want help tracking down the culprit.” He walks over and kisses her. “I’ve got to go if I’m going to make this breakfast meeting.” He kisses her again. “See you later?”

Her eyes sparkle. “Dinner will be at eight, Mister Potts.”

“I’ll be there, Mrs Stark.” Tony promises, his heart warming at the reminder that they’re married now.

They kiss again and Tony forces himself to walk away. He can’t afford to miss the meeting.

An hour later he’s sat at a well-appointed table in the bar area of an upscale hotel. He greets Senator Gibson with a firm handshake and invites him to sit with him. A waitress discreetly places a fresh pot of coffee and some Danishes on the table, and leaves.

“Thanks for meeting me, Stewart.” Tony begins once they’ve both doctored their coffees how they like them and taken a bite of flaky pastry.

“Honestly? I wanted to meet with you about this as soon as I heard but…”

“Politics.” Tony offers.

“Yes.” Gibson takes another bite of his breakfast, another sip of coffee and sighs.

He points at the paper Tony had discarded, the one with the picture of a certain someone preventing a horrendous accident by stopping a car from hitting a bus. A second photo has the blurry saviour swinging away from the scene and dressed in a shambolic onesie.

“This is a perfect example why they’re moving to legislation. Every time you open a paper there’s another enhanced individual either causing trouble or getting involved in trouble.”

“Stewart…”

And Stewart gives him the bad news.

Two hours later, Tony leaves the hotel and makes his way to the Compound. He’s going to have to tell the team. He can only hope that Steve’s reaction will be more measured than the one he had about the Sokovia Accords. It’s different, Tony tells himself; the Accords were an international agreement forged by the UN, whereas this is domestic legislation.

Moreover he doesn’t agree with it; it’s nothing to do with oversight and everything to do with getting control of enhanced individuals and technology. He wrestles with the idea of trying to deal with it alone but…Steve hadn’t been wrong about the team not keeping important secrets even if he’d been hypocritical about it. And the team needs to know what’s in the works.

He walks in the front door of the main complex and breaks into a grin as he registers who’s waiting for him.

“Rhodey!” Tony hugs him hello. “When did you get here?” Although Tony hasn’t retired, he’d still suggested Rhodey help out with training and occasional support to make-up for Tony’s part-time status.

“Yesterday.” Rhodey leads him down a corridor. “I arrived back to the kerfuffle about this ant guy.”

“That may need to wait.” Tony comments as they enter the conference room.

“Wait? Why?” Steve asks, getting up from his chair across the table.

Tony checks they’re all there; Clint, Natasha, Sam, Storm and Wolverine look back at him expectantly along with Rhodey and Steve. “We need to talk,” he says, “about what I learned this morning.”

He flips his phone and points it at the monitor. Instantly the screen fills with documents.

“Let’s talk about the Super Human Registration Act.”

Chapter Seventeen: The One You Keep Safe

Plan A

Tony was barely aware of the doors to the workshop sliding open, but the clip-clop of Pepper’s shoes has him immediately turning to greet her even before his brain had truly registered that she was there.

“Pep!” Tony hurriedly turned off the blow torch and yanked the gloves off, whirling around on his stool to greet her as she moved into his space, pushing between his legs to steal a kiss. He hugged her closer burying his face into her stomach, breathing in her perfume.

They stayed like that for a long moment.

Tony pulled back regretfully. “You were supposed to stay in Malibu.”

“You’re here.” Pepper said, smoothing a hand through his messy curls. “Where else would I be?”

Tony huffed. “I want you safe.”

Pepper smiled sadly at him. “Do you really think I’ll be safe once the fighting all starts for real?”

“Can’t I pretend?” begged Tony because he knows the truth is that Pepper – the whole world isn’t going to be safe once it all begins.

Pepper kissed the top of his head. “What are you working on?”

“Upgrades to the Iron Legion.” Tony shook his head. “My suit. Spidey’s. I just…nothing feels enough.”

She hummed. “Do you remember that time in the old house in Malibu when I found you in the workshop building Mark whatever it was?”

“Yes.” Tony remembered it all too well. He’d been half insane with lack of sleep and anxiety; half buried alive by the fears in his head. “This isn’t that.” He assured her. “I’m just…if I can’t keep you safe…”

“I know you’ve always tried to keep me safe.” Pepper said softly.

“I haven’t always succeeded though.” Tony grimaced and shuddered, the memory of her falling into fire flashing through his mind.

Pepper hummed and kissed him again. “You’ve always tried and I love you for that.” She held his gaze determinedly. “I’m here because I need to try to keep you safe too, Tony.”

“Pep…”

“You know as much as I hate what Steve did to you, as much as I wanted to hurt him for what he did, how selfish he was to throw away everything he had to keep Barnes safe, I understand it.” Pepper said. “I’d fight the whole world to keep you safe too.”

Tony’s hold tightened on her. “I understand it too.” And he did on one level. He knew he’d burn the world down if it meant keeping Pepper safe.

“Doesn’t mean I won’t slap him the next time I see him after this is all over.” Pepper commented.

Tony gave a brief laugh. “Can I watch?”

“If you’re lucky.” Pepper teased.

Tony lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Pepper said. She kissed the top of his head and tugged on his hand. “I want to have a shower.”

Tony let her pull him off the stool. “I’m joining you?”

“I don’t know,” Pepper said teasingly, “are you?”

Tony squeezed her hand gently and followed her out of the lab. He’d worry about saving the world in the morning.

Plan Z

Peggy Carter dies in the middle of a series of Congressional hearings about the SHRA. Tony requests and is granted a recess of five days. He attends the funeral this time, occupying a pew with Steve and the rest of the on-world team.

Steve starts at the sight of Sharon Carter and Tony frowns wondering if Sharon had also played the same next-door-neighbour schtick with Steve before the whole take-down of Hydra this time.

Sharon is beautiful and eloquent as she pays tribute to her aunt’s career and strength as a woman playing in a male sandbox. Steve looks intrigued by her when she approaches him at the wake and Tony recalls some overheard teasing between Sam and Steve over a kiss a timeline ago. Tony excuses himself from what is already shaping up to be a painfully awkward conversation just from the greetings the two exchange and heads to the bar on the other side of the room.

He finds Natasha already sat on a high stool with Clint at her back. They’re both staring back at the couple he’d left.

Clint whistles lowly. “It’s like a car crash. You see it happening and you can’t look away.”

Tony’s lips twitch into a smile. “He’s not that bad.”

“No,” Natasha says, “he’s worse.” She delicately lifts the whiskey she’s holding and takes a sip.

“Someone really should go over and rescue him.” Clint comments.

None of them move.

Tony’s phone buzzes in his pocket and he takes it out knowing FRIDAY wouldn’t have allowed him to be disturbed for nothing.   She immediately displays a breaking news headline: the US Congress has been bombed and people are dead.

Tony feels a chill sweep over him. This isn’t Zemo. Tony knows exactly where Zemo is – in a Sokovian prison – so he knows this isn’t Zemo.

“Time can be looped and overwritten but it always moves forward even if temporarily rolled back…the natural course of a river will attempt to return to itself when diverted.”

Strange’s words echo in his mind.

“Tony?” asks Clint worry bleeding through his tone enough for Tony to wonder how he must look.

“Get everyone together. Meet me in the suite upstairs.” Tony orders. “Congress was just bombed.”

The news coverage is wall to wall as in any disaster and by the time they’ve gathered as a group, there’s a video surveillance picture of Bucky Barnes being displayed on every channel, and a panel of experts all sounding off on the subject of the Winter Soldier.

“This isn’t his fault.” Steve argues immediately. “How can they say that?!” He whirls around and begins to head for the door.

Coulson slides in between his hero and the exit. “Rushing in without intelligence isn’t going to help Sergeant Barnes, Captain.”

Steve pulls up but there’s a stubborn look on his face which is creating far too much déjà vu for Tony’s liking.

Sam slides in beside Coulson. “The Director’s right, Steve. We can help him better if we know what’s going on before we put our size tens in the situation.”

“You need to keep in mind this is exactly the type of situation where your critics will be waiting for you to prove them right.” Coulson continues. “We’ve made some good progress in challenging the SHRA but if you charge into this with nothing more valid than the want to help your friend, the SHRA advocates will be able to use this against us.”

Steve glares at him. “I won’t stand back and let Bucky get hurt just to protect myself from something which isn’t even law yet.”

Tony almost bites his lip to prevent himself from jumping into the discussion. He knows if he does, Steve won’t listen to him. They have a better relationship now than they ever did before but where Bucky is concerned, Steve is like a brick wall. Tony hopes Coulson can get through to him anyway.

“Only it’s not just you.” Coulson shoots back. “If the SHRA is passed because you did something foolish, Sergeant Barnes would fall under its jurisdiction just like you.”

“Not to mention all mutants.” Storm adds from across the room. “Your actions do have an impact beyond yourself, Steven.”

Tony clears his throat, catching their attention. “We’re not saying we shouldn’t help Barnes, Steve. We’re saying we need to do this right for all our sakes including his.”

“Tony’s right, Steve.” Natasha says.

For a long moment he thinks Steve is going to argue but the super soldier deflates and nods.

Coulson gives Tony an approving glance before turning back to Steve. “I’m going to make some calls. Tony…”

Tony hears the unspoken request for him to do the same. “On it.” He holds up his own phone and heads to his bedroom. Behind him he can hear Steve proclaim the need for air and Sam going with him for support – and hopefully to keep an eye on him.

Less than an hour of painstaking negotiations and diplomacy later, Tony’s just off the phone and heading back into the living area.

Coulson looks up from his own phone. “Well done.” He holds his phone up. “I just received confirmation the Avengers will be assisting authorities with the bombing investigation and apprehending Barnes.  It’s been designated an international incident because of the visiting dignitaries who have been killed.”

Tony nods and takes in the questioning glances of the others in the room, but before he can speak his phone buzzes. “Stark.”

“It’s me.” Sam says. “Carter found us in the bar at the hotel and told Steve a CIA anti-terrorist unit is being sent after Barnes and has a shoot to kill order.”

“Bullshit.” Tony responds. “The UN just gave us jurisdiction over Barnes.”

Sam sighs. “She gave him a location. I barely got him to wait for me to go to the bathroom before we board our flight so I could make this call.“

“Where?” demands Tony.

“France.” Sam rattles off the town and address.

“See you there.” Tony says as Sam ends the call.

“See you where?” asks Natasha.

Luckily France isn’t far from London in the quinjet. They head out to find Barnes before Steve and Sam can arrive via more traditional transport.

Tony spots Barnes in the market. He steps out of the suit and heads towards Barnes who is weighing up whether to buy plums. Tony snags an apple and hands over a large amount of money to the market stall owner who gapes at him.

Barnes blinks at Tony owlishly.

“Tony Stark.” Tony introduces himself briskly. “Sorry to interrupt your shopping but Steve’s in trouble.”

Barnes sighs heavily and starts to walk away. “I can’t help him.”

“Sure you can.” Tony argues lightly, falling into step beside him. “Mostly by coming with me rather than going on the run with Captain Spangles.”

Barnes blinks at him again. “Captain Spangles?”

“Spangles.” Tony repeats. “Seriously you’ve never thought that? What with the flag and the stars and the spandex?”

Barnes’s lips twitch.

“Someone’s trying to frame you for a bombing. Steve wants to protect you.” Tony continues.

“I haven’t bombed anything.” Barnes retorts.

“That’s why I said, ‘trying to frame you.’” Tony reiterates. “Steve is going to get himself in trouble trying to help you.”

Bucky stops walking and glances around. Tony thinks he spots Clint on a far rooftop, Natasha sauntering through the market behind them. The rest of their team-mates are with Coulson on their way back to the States seeking the truth about what has happened.

“I killed your parents.” Barnes announces quietly. “Why help me?”

Tony swallows hard against the raw look in Barnes’s eyes. “HYDRA killed my parents. You were the weapon but it wasn’t your choice.”

For a moment he remembers the bunker, the video, the feelings of anger and horror and rage. Steve had once asked him if he had told Tony the truth if it would have made a difference.

Tony knows the answer now. He snags Barnes’s anguished gaze and holds it. “There is nothing to forgive but if it means anything, I forgive you.”

Barnes drops his eyes to the floor for a long moment before he raises them again. His eyes are damp and his face pale but he rallies. “You say Steve’s in trouble?”

Tony nods. “Well, on his way to trouble.” He checks his watch. “He’s probably waiting for you in your apartment right now ready to save you from the CIA unit which we already got off your tail.”

“He always was a little punk.” Barnes sniffs. He takes a deep breath. “You have a plan?”

Less than thirty minutes later, Natasha brings Steve to the quinjet which they’d parked in a field just out of town.

Steve rushes in but stops short of the fidgeting figure of his best buddy. “Buck?” There’s trepidation in his voice; hope and anguish shining out of his eyes.

Barnes reaches out a hand. “To the end of the line, right Stevie?”

And Steve gives a half sob before closing the distance and hugging Barnes to him.

The moment is emotional and heart-breaking; Tony looks away from Steve pressing his forehead to Barnes, the way he clutches at the other man as though he’s his only lifeline.

Tony sidles past the pair, Nat and Clint following him as they leave the quinjet and the two men to their reunion. They find Sam hovering awkwardly outside.

“They OK?” asks Sam.

Tony knows they’re really not.

He can see it clearly now.

Neither Barnes or Steve are OK – Barnes because of the hell of his horrific experience and Steve…Steve because of the hell of his; seventy years adrift in the future from everything and everyone he’d known and loved. He’d been putting up a good front – a good Captain America front, but Tony knows in witnessing Steve reunited with Barnes this time, he’s perhaps finally gotten to see the real Steve Rogers; scared and broken and fighting for the one person who gives him any kind of anchor.

“They will be.” Natasha says quietly.

“So what now?” asks Sam.

“Now we find out who’s trying to frame Barnes, bring the Winter Soldier in from the cold, and you know stop the SHRA.” Tony says. And possibly he needs to talk T’Challa out of killing Barnes again since unfortunately T’Chaka was one of the visiting dignitaries who had died in the bombing.

Not to mention there is a certain Spiderkid he needs to wrangle into the protection of the Avengers – and he tries hard to avoid the memory which flashes into his head of an alien sky and Peter lying still on the ground. He’ll keep him safe this time, Tony promises himself; he won’t need the soul stone again; he’ll keep Peter safe without it.

He sighs heavily.

Clint pats his shoulder. “Just another day in the life of a superhero then?”

Chapter Eighteen: Unexpected Visitors

Plan A

The alarm blared out in the mid-afternoon across the Compound, sending everyone racing to assemble.

Tony was in the suit within moments, his modified nano-tech building the suit in seconds around him. He didn’t wait for the others as he took off. “FRIDAY, report; what’s happening?”

“Bleecker Street has been hit with some kind of missile, Boss.” FRIDAY responded. “Trying to establish a visual from street surveillance.”

Tony focused on the images flashing up on the HUD. There was a significant hole in the roof of the building. “I’ll be there in five. Can I get a comms check?”

“Base online.” Hill’s voice crisply reported. “Satellite picked up a small object appearing in the lower stratosphere before it fell into the Sanctum; it looks like an uncontrolled fall not a targeted attack. Trying to get a better image now.”

“Eyes up high online.” Fury added. “Initial contact came out of one of those anomalies in the upper atmosphere.”

Great, Tony thought, they’re sending missiles from outer space. He pushed his speed more.

“We need back-up.” Vision breaks in. “We have multiple alien signatures converging on our position.”

“How did they get on Earth?!” asked Hill. “We are not reading any alien ship on satellite imagery!”

“There was a bright light approximately five minutes ago in the park at the end of the street.” Vision reported. “In retrospect I believe it was similar to the Bifrost travel used by Thor.”

“The space stone.” Fury suggested. “Selvig seemed to think there was a chance it could mimic the Bifrost. If they have a way of travelling without a ship…”

“We’re on our way, Vision. You and Wanda hold them off as long as you can.” Steve said radiating confidence.

“What about New York?” asked Natasha. “Tony, do you need back-up?”

“Unknown.” Tony answered.

“We’re wasting time. We need to help Wanda.” Steve argued. “They’re facing multiple hostiles.”

“We don’t have all the intelligence to know where we’re needed most.” Natasha began.

“GO!” ordered Tony, barely keeping his annoyance out of his voice. “Back-up Vision and Wanda. I’ve got New York.”

“I’ll organise reinforcements for you, Stark.” Hill broke in.

“Call when they’re on the way.” Tony said, arrowing through the skyscrapers and heading down towards Bleecker Street.

“Stay safe, Tony.” Rhodey said.

“You too.” Tony murmured under his breath. Rhodey would be fine. He had his new armour; he wouldn’t be hurt by another fall.

Fury cleared his throat. “Stark, any news on Strange?”

“FRIDAY?”

“He’s not picking up, Boss.” FRIDAY responded.

“I’m two minutes out.” Tony reported. He didn’t slow until the last moment, until it was necessary to stop and look at the damage to the Sanctum.

His heart beat fast as he took in the hole in the roof. He lowered himself inside and froze as Strange levitated up to meet him.

“Come on in.” Strange said dryly.

“You couldn’t have contacted us and given the all clear?” Tony complained. He relayed Strange was fine as he landed in the foyer barely taking note of Strange’s explanation that he’d been a little busy and cut the connection to the others. The suit retracted leaving only the arc reactor exposed in the jumpsuit he wore. He whistled at the size of the hole. “Missile?”

“Not quite.” Strange looked pointedly over Tony’s shoulder.

“Hello, Tony.”

Tony spun around and took in his first sight of Bruce Banner since just before the battle of Sokovia. “Bruce!” His lips twitched. “I guess it’s nice of you to drop in?”

Bruce smiled. “Funny.”

“Come here.” Tony hugged Bruce who tentatively hugged him back. “Where’ve you been?”

“Uh, long story.” Bruce said.

“And we have more pressing matters.” Strange cut in. “Banner was thrown through a space portal Thanos created near Asgard.”

“You’ve been on Asgard?” Tony asked, diverted.

“Hulk was somewhere else and then I travelled to Asgard and I don’t remember a lot.” Bruce replied. “He’s been in control a lot since I left Earth. I don’t really remember much.”

“Could we focus on the bigger problem?” asked Strange. “You know the insane alien on the way here to conquer the world?”

“What was his name again?” teased Tony sarcastically.

“Stark, don’t tempt me to dump you on Everest until you focus!” Strange shot back.

Tony went to respond, to make some kind of quip, but there was suddenly screams outside the Sanctum.

He exchanged worried glances with the others before he marched to the door and opened it.

He took the steps down quickly and turned to look at what had people so freaked out.

He froze.

He slowly took off his glasses and stared up at the sight of the giant metal ring in the sky.

Plan Z

Tony sits opposite the TV news anchor and tries to ignore the nerves roiling in his belly. He’s wearing a brand new blue Tom Ford, classic white shirt and a red tie with a gold tiepin. He’s armoured but not the way he’d prefer to be.

Cooper Baxter smiles at him as the countdown to taping finishes. “We’re here with Tony Stark, the Head of Research and Development at Stark Industries, and the Avenger known as Iron Man. Mister Stark, thank you for joining me this evening.”

“You’re welcome.” Tony gives a small smile.

“Today saw the defeat of the Super Human Registration Act in the Senate by an overwhelming majority. You and your fellow Avengers were outspoken against the bill. Do you feel a sense of victory this evening?”

“We feel satisfaction that common sense has prevailed rather than victory.” Tony states. “The Act was nothing more than a subversive attempt to discriminate against the enhanced individuals who are emerging more and more in our society. It goes against the core values of our country in attempting to mandate registration, internment and forced labour through prettier words and under the banner of safety.”

“What do you say to those who still believe that the Act was about accountability?” Cooper asks.

“I’d ask them to read it.” Tony says. “It’s quite clear in the text that this isn’t about holding enhanced individuals accountable if they are in the superhero business.”

“People like Senator Partridge point out that there are no legislative protections or accountability for those people who are impacted by superheros.” Cooper continues. “What’s your reply to them?”

“They’re wrong.” Tony states firmly. “If a superhero outright murders someone outside an authorised battle or engagement, they can be prosecuted under existing law. Equally, if they steal or borrow something in the course of their mission, they can be held accountable and face charges if the reasons are not directly related to an immediate emergency need. Property damage is scrutinised in the aftermath to determine whether more could have been done and we train to actively avoid it when we can. But, civilians and organisations can lay a claim for damages against us just like anyone else.”

“And the collateral human damage?” asks Cooper. “How are you held accountable for that?”

“Again, we train to avoid as many civilian casualties as we can, and we review when we can’t.” Tony says. “Saving lives matters to us and we always try to save as many as we can. Do we fail sometimes? Yes, and when we do, we face a review by the UN panel which examines the facts and determines whether there was negligence or malice in our actions. We have oversight; we are held accountable.” He pauses and, for a second, he lets the emotions he feels show before he covers them again with a sad smile. “We hate losing people. And deaths we could have prevented or that stem from a wrong decision, a miscalculation? We feel…we feel the weight of that.”

Cooper leads him into the next question and ten minutes later Tony knew the main questions had been asked and answered. Cooper’s intelligent – he doesn’t completely give Tony an easy ride – but overall Cooper’s supportive of the defeat.

“If we can change direction for a moment,” Cooper asks, “today also saw the arraignment of former Senator Franklyn Burbridge on charges of international terrorism, conspiracy against the US government, and murder of the forty-three people in the bombing of the Congress last month. The majority of the dead were visiting dignitaries from as far a-field as Wakanda and Australia. Many of the countries who lost people are calling for his extradition; what are your thoughts?”

“I can appreciate their want to ensure justice is done. But he killed people from eight different nations including the US in his attempt to force the SHRA so it’s difficult. I can understand why our government is continuing to argue jurisdiction.” Tony responds. “I believe we need to keep ensuring all the voices of the victims’ families and loved ones are heard as we move through our judicial process.”

He still can’t believe that the Senator had set-up the bombing to frame Bucky and discredit Steve and the Avengers about the SHRA. Fortunately, with hard evidence that Bucky had been in France, and Wolverine tracking down of the actual bomber who had immediately turned on the Senator to save himself, the plot had been uncovered before it could do any political damage to the Avengers’ side of the argument.

“And finally, how are Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes?” Cooper asks.

“Sergeant Barnes is continuing to receive treatment and is progressing well.” Tony confirms. “Cap’s taking a well-earned timeout to be there for his friend and to take stock after recent events.”

Cooper wraps up the interview and thanks him. Tony makes his escape.

Happy’s waiting for him by the limo; he holds up his cell phone and glares at Tony. “The kid has texted me five times already today.”

“Good.” Tony says. “He knows he can count on us.”

Happy rolls his eyes and darts back as Tony reaches for Happy’s pocket and the keys. “You’re not driving.”

“Yes, I am.” Tony argues. “My car.”

“My car,” Happy corrects, “and you’re about to fall over. Aren’t you meant to be showing a better example for the kid?”

They look at each other for a long moment before Tony concedes and clambers in the back of the limo.

He is tired.

He closes his eyes and leans his head back against the soft cushion for a moment.

Something alerts him to another presence.

It’s not much, just a shift in the air but his eyes fly open, his wrist gauntlet deploying over his hand…

A bald woman in an Asian grey outfit reminiscent of karate wear, sits on the other side of the limo. She raises her hand and makes a circular gesture which Tony remembers all too well from Strange. The gauntlet reverts to a watch.

Tony stares at her, his heart pounding.

“Be at ease, Anthony Stark.” She says. “I am the Sorceror Supreme. They call me the Ancient One.”

“Right.” Tony says and he knows he’s messing this up. He shouldn’t know who she is, what that is. He takes a breath. “Magic?”

“Let’s not play games, Mister Stark,” the Ancient One says calmly, “your very soul is shrouded in the power of the infinity stones.”

“Right.”

Tony glances at the divider towards Happy.

“He sees exactly what he wants to see.” The Ancient One tells Tony. “He sees his boss sleeping soundly in the car. He is a good man.”

“Yes, he is.” Tony says.

“As are you.” The Ancient One smiles at his wide-eyed blink.

Tony reaches up to touch the arc reactor.

“Time.” The Ancient One murmurs. “We all wish we had more of it, but it is only if our desire is truthful and steeped in love that the Eye will work.” She looks at him almost as though she’s dissecting him down to his core. “The Eye has granted a gift to you to fix what was once undone.”

“Strange thought you’d disapprove.” Tony says, wondering why she’s decided to pay him a visit.

“Yes,” the Ancient One nods, “he was right to think so. Our universe is fragile and disturbing the natural laws is unwise. But I cannot deny the Eye granted you your wish, and in truth everything is shaded grey more than black or white.”

“Then this isn’t to undo what I did?”

“Even my power does not match that of an infinity stone forged at the beginning of the universe.” The Ancient One breathes in. “Even now I stand watching the city and the lights and say my final goodbye to Stephen. My time is gone.”

“He thought you might have had the ability to save yourself.” Tony says.

The Ancient One smiles enigmatically. “Some things are inevitable and Stephen must be the Sorcerer Supreme when the Mad Titan comes.” She pins him with a look. “Give him one month and then go visit him. He has need of the knowledge you carry.”

Tony blinks at her again. “You want me to tell him everything?!”

“Even now he holds the thread you weave though he knows it not.” The Ancient One murmurs. “He must know this if the thread is to continue to weave.”

Tony sighs and rubs his forehead tiredly. “OK, I guess that makes some kind of sense.” It had been Strange who had thrown him the Eye after all.

“Tell him I sent you.” The Ancient One smiles at him. “If he does not believe you, tell him you can always leave him on a mountain as I did.”

Tony frowns. “Right.” He clears his throat. “Do you see if…”

“My end has come and the future is unknown to me.” The Ancient One says serenely. “What I can say is that there are forces at play which I cannot second guess. The Eye chose you, Anthony Stark. Your path ahead may not be known but only one with the strength of your soul could walk the past twice over.”

Tony can’t speak; his throat closes up, tears press against the back of his eyes.

“Be comforted that you will not walk it alone.”

She’s gone in the next heartbeat.

Gone as though she was never there.

A month later, Tony steps out of his car and glances up at 177a Bleecker Street.

He’s barely reached the door before it opens and he carefully steps inside. He’s unsurprised that no one has actually opened the door but he still flinches a little when it closes behind him the same way.

Strange walks out of a side room and into the lobby almost absentmindedly reading some kind of book and he stops short at the sight of Tony.

“Stark.” He’s hiding it well but he’s clearly wondering why Tony is there. The cloak around his shoulders waves at Tony.

“Strange.” Tony pockets his sunglasses and nods at the Sorcerer Supreme. “The Ancient One sent me.”

Strange considers him for a long moment. “Does this have something to do with how you’re riddled with the energy from the Eye?”

“Yes.” Tony states directly, almost challengingly.

Strange nods slowly. “Then you’d best come in.”

And Tony follows him into the heart of the Sanctum. It was time; he didn’t have to walk the path alone anymore.

Chapter Nineteen: Alien Invasions

Plan A

Tony’s phone rang and he lifted it to his ear almost unconsciously.

“Mister Stark!” Peter’s panicked voice, pitched low as though he’s trying to be stealthy, travelled down the phone line. “There’s this metal ring…”

“I see it.” Tony hates himself for what he’s about to do – Peter’s a kid – but he does it anyway. “School’s out, Spidey. Time to suit up.”

“On my way.”

Tony lowered the phone and stared up at the sky. The sound of footsteps alerted him to the others coming to stand in the street beside him.

“My God.” Bruce murmured as he stared up at the sky. “Is that a…space ship?”

“Looks more like an artificial portal.” Wong said.

Tony frowned. “We need a closer look.” His suit began to form around him, the nanos sweeping over his body and constructing the armour until he was covered and the faceplate snapped into place. He pushed off the ground and…

Suddenly, a beam shot out of the ring.

Tony felt it hit the armour and he went tumbling. Cars blew up as the beam touched them.  Bruce dived to the side and took cover behind a wall while the sorcerers protected themselves with their magical glyphs.

The beam stopped abruptly.

Tony stabilised himself. “FRIDAY?”

“It was some kind of scanner, Boss. The rest was a side-effect.”

“What was it scanning for?” asked Tony.

A second white beam shot down into the street and retreated leaving behind a group of hideous looking creatures. They weren’t Chitauri but they were alien.

The sorcerers were creating lights in the air but Tony pushed past them to repulsor the creatures.  One of the creatures evaded and sprang at Tony but a rush of webbing shot past Tony and stuck it to a wall.

“Nice timing, Spidey.” Tony said.

The white beam struck out again but this time it snagged Strange and took him away. More creatures were deposited on the ground.

“Tell me he wasn’t wearing the time stone!” Tony said urgently.

Wong used his magic to blast an alien creeping up on him. “The Eye is safe but it remains at risk as long as they have Stephen; only he can lead them to it.  You must rescue him.”

Bruce darted out and snagged one of the weapons the creatures were using which had been dropped. He used it to blast the new arrivals alongside Wong, Peter and Tony. “Go, Tony, we have this!”

“Not that I don’t love you, Brucie, but don’t you think it’s time for your alter ego?” Tony said breathlessly as a third lot of aliens arrived, preventing Tony from flying up to the ring.

“He’s not interested in playing!” Bruce called back.

“We need to get up to that ring!” Tony said, taking two aliens out with a quick blast from his repulsors.

“On it!” Spidey said and zipped off before Tony could stop him, swinging upwards.

“Kids.” Tony mumbled under his breath.

A dark van careened to a stop at the end of the street and combat dressed agents tumbled out. They began to shoot the aliens even as a fourth group landed on the street.

“GO!” ordered Wong.

Tony didn’t bother to argue. He headed upwards.

“Uh, Mister Stark?” Peter’s voice sounded nervously over the comms. “I think this thing is moving!”

And it was.

The ring was ascending, travelling upwards at speed.

Tony gritted his teeth and sent a command to the nanobots to initiate rocket mode for his suit. “FRIDAY, deploy the Iron Spider!”

Plan Z

“So,” Steve says as the Avengers on the ground form a line in front of the rocky mass, “this looks like…” he stops, “yeah…I have nothing.”

Tony smiles in his suit.  He’s hovering a safe distance above the rocky mass with FRIDAY running scans.

Beside Steve, Barnes stares at the rock with a considered frown. He’s sporting a brand new arm courtesy of Tony and Wakanda, (T’Challa had tried to attack Barnes but had thankfully listened to reason). The Wakandans had also been able to treat Barnes’ brainwashing and Barnes had requested to join the Avengers shortly after. In Bucky’s own words, officially he was seeking redemption for the horrors he’d done as the Winter Soldier, but unofficially it was to keep a certain Steve Rogers out of trouble. Tony can’t deny that Steve seems a hundred per cent more settled with Barnes at his back.

“This thing took out the rest of the town?” Natasha asks, poised for action in her new Widow’s suit.

“Going by the LEO reports and the video footage captured by the civilians during the incident; yes.” Coulson states. SHIELD had arrived shortly before the Avengers and had set-up the perimeter, herding the rest of the civilians and the news reporters to a safe distance.

Tony reads the analysis FRIDAY is displaying with a frown. “It’s a dense crystalline mass. It’s not Earth based.”

“So, it’s what? The Blob?” asks Clint. He’s perched on the tallest building in the town left, just to the right of the mass.

Stephen is weaving his arms in a circular fashion before he lowers them. “There was some kind of inter-dimensional magical energy inhabiting the mass but it’s fading rapidly.”

“Is it dead?” The local town sheriff shouts from the perimeter a good distance away from the mass itself.

“Dying would be a more accurate term.” Stephen says.

“So it could still come to life and eat everything in its path again?” checks Sam, hovering in the air beside Tony.

“Unlikely.” Stephen says.

“My calculations suggest the energy will be fully dissipated in ten hours.” Vision states, sending his analysis to display on the HUD of the suit.

Tony hums as he checks it and nods. “You heard Vis, Cap. Ten hours.”

Steve nods thoughtfully. “Let’s set-up a watch and work on a way to stop this thing if it wakes up again.”

“Simmons will need samples.” Coulson requests.

“On it.” Tony says. “Lend me Redwing, Wilson.”

The AI drone Tony had created for Sam zooms towards him happily and they begin scraping the surface into a sample bottle Tony pulls from one of the side compartments in his armour.

“I’ll let Storm and Wolverine know they’re not needed.” Natasha confirms, turning and walking away to the SHIELD van.

Storm and Wolverine were at a special training session with the X-Men that weekend. Tony knew part of what they were doing were assessing new members which potentially included the Maximoff twins. The deal Xavier had struck with the authorities in the wake of the Ultron massacre had given them the option of schooling at Xavier and community service rather than jail-time. Tony knew it would help to have their powers on their side during the Thanos invasion but he still felt that they’d gotten off lightly, even if their crimes in the new timeline didn’t include messing the Avengers’ heads and setting the Hulk loose in a highly populated city.

Stephen sent a yellow glyph towards the mass. “That should contain it for a short time it if it moves again.”

“How short?” asks Steve.

Stephen shrugs. “It’s not an exact science.” He steps away from the mass. “If you’ll excuse me I’ll head to the Sanctum and do some research on whether this phenomenon has happened before.”

Steve nods but Tony can see the small tick in Steve’s jaw which gives away his frustration with the sorcerer.

Stephen creates a showy circle of bright orange sparks, and the cloak billows dramatically behind him as he portals away.

Tony feels a moment of jealousy that Stephen has managed to get out of staying in Middle-of-Nowhere, Missouri.

He’s about to finish up the sampling when the mass begins to tremble.

“Stay alert, people!” Steve orders.

Tony brings his repulsors to bear, the whine of their charging loud as his heart pounds and…

The mass transforms into dead earth and falls in a cloud of dust…

Steve lowers his shield; somehow he’s managed to protect Natasha from the dust completely but he’s covered in it. He sneezes dramatically.

Tony turns and looks back down what had been the rest of the street. Crushed cars and buildings litter the space; there is no sign of life. It has the feel of an old Western ghost town.

“FRIDAY?” checks Tony.

“No heat signatures, Boss.” FRIDAY confirms.

There is the sound of a woman weeping beyond the perimeter line and Tony feels a sense of helplessness as he surveys the devastation. There’s nothing they can do. He thinks about the last time when the Avengers hadn’t even been called in to assist. Now they have been but there is nothing they can do except help the town with the aftermath.

A day later, Tony is back in the tower tinkering in the workshop when Stephen opens a portal and invites him into the Sanctum. Tony looks at the prosthetic on the table (unneeded by Rhodey this time thank goodness), sighs and orders FRIDAY to save everything before he crosses from one side of New York to the other with a single step. He follows Stephen through to his cosy parlour; the room is filled with shelves of books, a real fireplace takes centre stage in the sitting area which has immensely comfortable chairs and sofas.

Charles Xavier is already there drinking from a fine china teacup with a peaceful expression. It had been Stephen’s idea to include Charles in their time-travelling discussions since Charles already knew. Tony couldn’t argue that Charles was immensely intelligent, good with people in a way neither he nor Stephen are, and so a very welcome inclusion to their group (and yes, Tony might be slightly miffed that he hadn’t thought about going to Charles for support beyond the mental bubble-wrap before Stephen’s suggestion).

It’s been good having Stephen and Charles. The weight of the universe doesn’t seem just balanced on his shoulders anymore. Their rational counsel has helped Tony put to rest a lot of the lingering guilt of what he hasn’t changed, what he couldn’t.

Tony throws himself into a chair beside Charles and snags some shortbread from the plate on the coffee table. “So?”

“Wong’s confirmed,” Stephen says as he takes his own seat more sedately, the cloak leaving him and drifting away to peruse the books, “the energy signature corresponds with what is known about celestial energy.”

“So, this probably is Quill’s run in with his celestial father.” Tony murmurs.

Charles set his cup down. “I believe you said that Thor arrived back within a month of the Missouri event?”

“As far as I can remember, yes.” Tony says, finishing one piece of shortbread and reaching for another as his stomach rumbles. He vaguely wonders when he ate last and sighs heavily.

“Then it appears we’re running out of time.” Stephen comments.

“Time,” repeats Tony, wagging a finger at him, “funny.” But Stephen is right.

Charles exchanges a glance with Stephen. “You’ve done a great deal to prepare the world, Tony.”

It’s true that the world is more prepared for an invasion. The UN department has worked with NASA, SI and other firms to create a satellite net which acts as an early warning system and first line of defence. There are UN commissioned VERONICA suits but still in Tony’s control orbiting in the upper atmosphere which will deal with anything which comes in within Earth’s atmosphere. There are three helicarriers providing bases for emergency response for the world’s natural and alien disasters all under Coulson’s SHIELD.

The Avengers are certainly in a better place. They’re a cohesive team now – oh, they disagree with each other and there are arguments, but there’s more willingness to compromise and apologise on all sides.

They have good relationships too with the X-Men, with the Fantastic Four, and the Defenders. They’re not pretending any more to be the only superhero group in town and the result is a much tighter superhero community which backs each other up.

But there is one thing missing…

“We need something that means we can beat him.” Tony says. “Otherwise we’ll just end up repeating what happened, and yes, maybe we fight better and can last longer but…”

“We need the knockout blow to win.” Charles agrees.

Stephen hums. “There’s four elements to his win, correct?”

“Right,” Tony agrees, “the army of alien creatures, the Black Order, the infinity gauntlet and Thanos himself.” He pauses, thinking things over. “Strategically, we know we can handle the army of alien creatures, we have the ability to attack the vessels they arrive in before they can make it to the planet; same with anything which just appears in the upper atmosphere.”

“And we have a significant number of groups who would be able to fight and contain an army on the ground.” Charles says. “The main risk is simply magnitude; their greater numbers may overwhelm us.”

“The Black Order are more complicated.” Stephen states thoughtfully. “But while they have gifts and are difficult, we can find a superhero or two up to the challenge of overcoming them.” He smiles at Tony’s frown. “We know from your report of the last timeline that they can be beaten.”

Tony accepts that with a small nod. “Which leaves us still without a strategy for Thanos and the infinity gauntlet.”

“Thanos can be overcome.” Charles says. “The Titans were formidable but our own mythology concludes that they were eventually defeated.”

“By Gods.” Stephen points out.

“It is good then we have a God who we know will be with us.” Charles comments dryly.

“Thor couldn’t take him alone the last time.” Tony comments. “Thanos used the infinity gauntlet to kill him.”

“But if we could get the infinity gauntlet away from him…” Stephen begins.

“Or stop him finding the stones completely.” Charles chips in.

“Then Thanos loses a lot of his power.” Stephen concludes.

“Easier said than done.” Tony murmurs. But there could be a way of separating the gauntlet from Thanos – even if they had to cut off his arm.

Charles regards him seriously. “Do you remember anything which may counter the infinity stones?”

Tony rubs his head, thinking desperately but unable to come up with anything. “I’m not sure.” He admits. “I can barely remember this timeline never mind the other.”

“I can help you.” Charles says. “We could try a guided hypnosis.”

“Or I could send him into a magical sleep for a couple of hours with the instruction to review the other timeline memories and find a solution.” Stephen offers.

Tony plumps for Stephen’s solution, and ten minutes later he’s lying flat on a bed in one of the Sanctum’s bedrooms. Stephen touches his forehead and Tony sleeps.

He’s on Titan…Peter stands in front of him.

“Why am I here?” asks Tony.

“Why do you think you are here?” Peter replies and holds the soul stone up. “You came for me.”

Slowly Tony realises Peter isn’t Peter but the avatar of the stone.

Peter smiles. “Through me you are linked to all.”

Vision shimmers into view, representing the mind stone. Unsurprisingly it’s Strange who takes the avatar for the time stone. Thor shows up and Tony mentally assigns him to the space stone while he pins Wanda for the reality stone. And finally, Pepper appears; the power stone. They and Peter surround him.

“You search for a way to defeat us.” The mind stone in the form of Vision states.

“To stop Thanos from using your power.” Tony corrects. “If you exist, if this is some form of reality…”

Wanda smirks at him. “All realities are possible.”

“…then tell me how to stop him.”

“You have always known the answer.” Peter points towards Tony’s hand and Tony lifts it to find it burned. “You held the stone.”

“Strange said it was the residual arc reactor energy that allowed me to hold it…” murmurs Tony.

The landscape slides away in the background and Tony finds himself in his Tower in front of Loki just like in the first timeline except he’s still stood in the middle of a circle of avatars watching him…

The spear hits his arc reactor and nothing happens…

“You couldn’t be swayed by me.” Vision says.

“The casing on the arc reactor protected me…” Tony began and stopped. His eyes leaped to Vision’s. “It wasn’t the casing, it was the energy field.”

“You created your own power.” The avatar of Pepper reaches out and touches the arc reactor. “This time you have kept it within you.”

“So long as I have the arc reactor you can’t be used against me.” Tony murmurs.

“We can only be used to affect you if you allow it.” Thor states.

“Why help me?” asks Tony as the background fades away until they’re in space, floating above the open portal below them, the Chitauri exploding above their heads.

“You gave your soul to us.” Peter reminds him.

“Who says we are helping you,” Pepper teases, “perhaps we are simply helping ourselves.”

Everything fades, avatars slipping away until it’s just himself stood on Titan and the soul stone burns in his hand…

He wakes up, lurching into a sitting position, gasping for breath.

“Tony.” Charles says softly, but he’s already beginning to smile as he reads the truth spinning in Tony’s mind.

Tony looks at Stephen and back at Charles. “I have an idea.”

Chapter Twenty: With or Without the Suit

Plan A

Tony landed beside Peter on the ring.

Peter’s spider eyes were wide-open and he was examining his suit with astonishment. “Woah.”

“I told you to start wearing it already.” Tony grumbled. “FRIDAY, scan for a way into this thing.” The sky above them was beginning to give way to the upper atmosphere and even if Tony had solved the icing problem a long time ago, he wasn’t keen on the idea of being on the outside of the thing for any longer.

“There’s a hatch to your right, Boss.” FRIDAY stated confidently.

Tony examined it and found the handle. He tried to move it but it held firm.

Peter cleared his throat nervously. “Maybe I should try, Mister Stark?”

Tony swept an arm in clear invitation and stepped back.

Peter’s Spidey strength proved to be the trick and they were barely inside and with the hatch closed when the whole structure seemed to tremble around them before slamming them hard against the bulkhead for a long moment.

Peter’s mask retracted “OK, so this is bad, isn’t it? I mean, this thing’s gone into outer space and my Aunt is going to kill me and…”

Tony had his own faceplate retract and set both hands on Peter’s shoulders. “Look at me, Peter, just look at me.”

He waited until Peter stopped rambling and held his gaze.

“Deep breath.”

Peter took a breath. “Is it just me or this place like the TARDIS?”

“Bigger on the inside.” Tony mused looking around with interest.

Peter suddenly pushed Tony aside to web two of the alien creatures to the wall. His mask cascaded across his face.

Tony righted himself, the faceplate moving into position again as he turned and blasted another couple of aliens creeping up on them.

“Let’s find Strange and get out of here.” Tony suggested.

Peter nodded jerkily.

“FRIDAY, scan for human life-signs.” Tony ordered.

“To your right, Boss. Three levels up. I’m reading another heat signature with him, Boss.” FRIDAY responded crisply.

“Right.” Tony was pleased when Peter followed him without a complaint. They made good time – Tony blasted another couple of aliens out of their way; Spidey webbed his to the walls.

Tony paused as they reached the right door. Tony held up three fingers to Peter who grasped the door handle and nodded. They counted down together. The door flew off and they stormed in.

An energy beam came at them – Peter dived out of the way, landing sideways on the wall. Tony blasted upwards.

An ugly bald-headed alien laughed.

Behind him, Strange was suspended by white lights piercing his body.

“Move away from him!” ordered Tony, holding up his hand, aiming his repulsor at the alien.

“You are too late.” The alien dude said. “I have what I need.”

Tony shot his repulsor but the alien stepped back and with a sharp motion opened up a portal shrouded in darkness. “Enjoy your ride!”

The ship lurched around them as Strange fell to the ground and the portal disappeared.

Tony landed in front of Strange. “You alright?”

“Yes,” Strange nodded, “but I’m not going to complain at being rescued.”

“The Eye?”

“Safe.” Strange said firmly. “He won’t get to it, no matter how much power he has.”

Tony wanted to press for more details but Peter landed beside them.

“I think we should see if there’s a bridge or something?” Peter suggested.

The metal around them groaned.

“FRIDAY, is there a control centre on this thing?” Tony asked.

“If there is, Boss, I can’t find it. I think there may be a computer port just behind you.”

Tony turned.  Luckily the nanobots took care of shaping a lead which plugged into the port.

“Well?” asked Strange impatiently.

“Well, what?” asked Tony grumpily. “You think we can just plug and play? The code’s all in alien language and…”

The ship jolted throwing them all to the ground.

For a moment they tumbled around the room until Peter managed to get himself stuck and webbed them all into a make-shift safety harness.

Minutes went by as the ship rocked and jolted before finally they were still.

“Right,” Tony said, untangling himself from the web, “I’m going to go outside and see if there’s breathable air, aliens, and anything else that may want to kill us.” He pointed at Strange who looked peaky no matter what he said and then at Peter. “Stay here.”

He left before they could argue.

There were no alien creatures between him and the hatch which he managed to manoeuvre open with a judicious use of brute force. He wondered what had happened to the creatures who had been on the ship but he was glad he didn’t have to deal with them.

He hovered above the debris and frowned at the state of the space ship. It was ruined. The yellow sky gave away the alien location.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, FRIDAY.” Tony murmured as he landed. “Can we breathe?”

“I can’t, Boss, but you should be fine.” FRIDAY responded.

Tony’s lips twitched. FRIDAY wasn’t JARVIS but she was a good AI. His faceplate retracted and he spun in a slow circle, taking the planet in. It looked like a scrap yard; ruins of buildings and ships scattered all around it. Hopefully there was something he could use to get them home if Strange’s portal thing wouldn’t work.

Something crunched to the back of him and Tony froze. There was something there…

He spun, repulsors coming up to blast and…

Quill grabbed Drax and pulled him back. “Easy! Easy!”

Tony lowered his hands. “Quill?!   What are you doing here?”

“Me?!” Quill gestured at him. “What are you doing here?”

Tony motioned at the ship behind him.

Drax gave a loud laugh and pointed at Tony. “You have crashed.” He rumbled. “You fly as badly as Peter.”

“HEY!” Both Tony and Quill said loudly.

Plan Z

“Thank you for coming.” May Parker ushers Tony and Pepper inside the apartment and darts a nervous look at Peter’s bedroom door which is closed.

“Anytime.” Tony says, which given it’s the middle of the night is just as well.

“He hasn’t said much to me about what happened but I know he’s hurting.” May crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “He’s not sleeping…he doesn’t eat properly.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

Pepper slides an arm around May and looks beseechingly at Tony.

“I’ll talk with him.” Tony promises.

May sniffs, her eyes suspiciously bright. “Thank you.”

“Come on, May.” Pepper says softly. “Let’s go make some hot chocolate.” She sends Tony an expectant look as she pulls Peter’s distraught Aunt towards the kitchen.

Tony points at Peter’s room. “I’ll just…” he takes a breath and steps up. He knocks softly at the door and barely hears the mumble to enter.

Tony pokes his head around the door and spots the lump under the bedclothes. He walks inside and closes the door. He glances around taking in the Lego Death Star on the desk with Peter’s latest computer scavenger hunt find; he sees the finished homework books stacked to the side. There’s a mess; dirty laundry strewn across the floor to the left but nothing major. It’s the typical mess of a teenage boy.

“I’m fine, Aunt May.” Peter croaks from his nest of blankets.

“Not your Aunt May.” Tony informs him almost gently.

Peter freezes for a moment and then lurches up, he gets tangled in the blankets and for a moment there’s a hilarious sight as Peter fights the bedclothes and his balance as he tries to get out of bed.

Tony moves to catch him as he almost falls out of the bed in an ungracious tumble. He pushes Peter back to sit on the bed and takes a seat beside him.

“Mister Stark!” Peter says breathlessly.

“Peter.” Tony replies. He looks at him carefully. There’s signs of crying – red eyes and flushed cheeks; of stress in faint white lines of tension no teenager should carry.

The Toomes affair has gone down regardless of the changes Tony made with Damage Control. Evidently Toomes had been outbid by another company and just as in the last timeline, Toomes had set up as a criminal in response. He’d kept his criminal activity well hidden – enough that Tony who had set up JARVIS to check on Toomes hadn’t found anything.

It hasn’t gone down exactly like before because Peter’s been a part of the Avengers since Tony made contact with him just after the SHRA was defeated. May has known since then too.

But the changes haven’t prevented Peter from ending up in trouble.

His crush, Liz, had asked Peter to ask Spiderman to help her Dad who she had assumed was being threatened by a criminal element. Peter had been grounded and May had been the one to confiscate the suit after he’d gotten caught up in the ferry incident which luckily Tony had been around to help with again, even if he’s been distracted with the plans to save the world from Thanos.

But May had let Peter out for prom night as an exception to her grounding and…and things had gone pretty much the way they had the last time with Peter chasing Toomes who’d planned to steal a plane full of alien artefacts which were being transferred from the tower to a lab at the Compound.

Ultimately Peter had saved the day and caught Toomes without his suit; he’d proven he deserved the suit again but Tony can see how badly events have left Peter shaken this time.

“You want to talk about it.” Tony offers.

“Not really.” Peter fidgets with the edge of his t-shirt which has an old-style picture of the Millennium Falcon on the front.

“OK.” Tony agrees readily.

“Really?” asks Peter, brightly.

“Nope.” Tony says.

Peter’s face drops visibly. The kid has no idea of how to hide an emotion.

Tony nudges him with a brief knock of his shoulder against Peter’s. “Talk to me.”

Peter fidgets some more before he bites his lip. “It’s stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, kid.” Tony murmurs. “And whatever you’re feeling that’s not stupid either.”

Peter holds his gaze for a long moment before his eyes drop to the floor. “I can’t sleep.” He confesses. “Every time I close my eyes…” he sighs, “before the plane, I followed Toomes to this warehouse he was using. He…he…he dropped the building on me.”

Tony’s heart beats fast; he has an awful feeling the same thing happened the last time and he never knew.

“I was…it was crushing me.” Peter forces the words out, and his eyes are shiny with repressed tears. “I thought I was going to die. I called out for help and…there was no one.” He swipes the back of his hand under his nose and sniffs. “I managed to lift the beam off me and crawl out but…I close my eyes and it’s like I’m back there and I can’t breathe and…”

Tony swallows hard. He nudges Peter again to get the kid to look at him but when Peter does, there’s a second and then Tony is pulling Peter in and the kid’s crying on his shoulder. Tony tentatively cradles the back of Peter’s head.

It takes a while before Peter stops crying, before he shuffles back, his eyes downcast and the picture of teenage embarrassment. Tony produces a handkerchief to stop a repeat of the hand.

“Uh, sorry about…”

Tony shakes his head. “You don’t need to be sorry. It’s OK to be not OK.”

Peter looks at him disbelievingly.

“Yeah, I didn’t go for that one either.” Tony admits with a sigh. “I have nightmares. Sometimes. It’s…it’s part of the gig. We get into scary situations and deal with scary things.”

“But I should be fine!” Peter argues. “He wasn’t an alien or anything like that! He was…”

“Human.” Tony says. “Sometimes we’re the scariest monsters there are, kid.”

Peter fidgets again.

“Why didn’t you call us?” asks Tony, giving voice to the question that’s been nagging at him.

“You’ve all been so busy and with T’Challa joining…and that’s right because it’s like saving the world important?” Peter mumbles. “You had to help me with the ferry and I know you were disappointed with me…” he shrugs, “I didn’t want to bother you.”

Tony clears his throat. “Have you ever wondered why I really asked you to join the Avengers? I mean beyond having your skills in the mix?”

Peter frowns and nods.

“I wanted to give you some protection.” Tony admits bluntly. “There you are chasing down muggers and stopping traffic accidents and…and being your friendly neighbourhood Spidey, but on your own. I figured giving you the suit, giving you a team, would help keep you safe, even if it dragged you into things like a future alien invasion.”

Peter’s eyes widen.

“You’re a good kid, Peter, but emphasis on the kid.” Tony says. “You’re not supposed to be facing any of this alone. You called Ned; you could have called us, me. We would have been there. We’re your team.” He waits a beat. “Sure, we would have helped May ground you after but we would have been there.”

Peter thinks on it; Tony can almost see the cogs whirling in Peter’s speedy brain as he assimilates the information. He slowly nods.

“Do…do the nightmares ever go away?” he asks.

“Some do, some don’t.” Tony says honestly.

Peter nods again.

“Hot chocolate?” offers Tony after they’ve sat in silence for a long moment.

Peter shakes his head. “I just…I think I can sleep now.”

Tony gets up and watches as Peter gets back into bed, as he snuggles down back into his blankets. “’Night.”

“’Night.” Peter’s voice is barely a whisper.

Tony waits and watches as Peter’s breathing evens out and his face goes lax, looking so impossibly young and fragile.

He and Stephen have already debated how time is forcing some things to happen anyway, regardless of how much Tony has changed in the timeline. They only hope that the outcome of their battle with Thanos goes differently, but Tony is determined and promises himself that Peter won’t go to Titan; won’t face Thanos this time. 

Tony inwardly sighs hoping he’ll be able to keep that promise and tiptoes from the room. He heads for the murmur of voices and knows he won’t sleep again tonight.

Continued in From A to Z: Part 5