Actions

Work Header

I’ve been waiting for you

Chapter 13: Till forever falls apart

Summary:

AOU part dos.

Notes:

Comments, kudos, and feedback are what I love for!!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

13 years old, early 2015

The team began to dig for info into the early morning. Tony and Nat were doing some digging in the lab when Thor, Steve and Clint came in. Steve was showing them something on the tablet.

‘What’s this?’ Tony asked, getting a glimpse at it. Thor pushed it into his chest and Steve told him what it was.

‘A message. Ultron killed Strucker’

‘And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us.’ Tony said passing the tablet on.

‘This is a smoke screen. Why send a message when you’ve just given a speech?’ Nat asked.

The wheels in Steve’s head were turning. ‘Strucker knew something he wanted us to miss.’

‘Yeah, I bet he...yeah.’ Nat said as she pulled up documents on a computer that didn’t even exist anymore. ‘Everything we had on Strucker has been erased.’

‘Not everything.’ Rogers told them. That’s how they began to dig through the old, paper files. ‘Known associates. Baron Strucker had a lot of friends.’

‘Well, all these are horrible.’ Banner said. Tony looked over the doctor's shoulder.

‘Wait, I know that guy.’ Stark pointed at the man in the picture. ‘From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black Market arms.’ Steve gave him a pointed look and Tony rolled his eyes. ‘There are conventions. All right? You meet people. I didn’t sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab.’

‘This?’ Thor pointed at the man in the picture's neck. It has some type of mark on it.

‘Ah, it’s a tattoo, I don’t think he had it.’ Tony said.

Thor pointed at the ink marks on the man. ‘No those are tattoos, this is a brand.’

Bruce went over to the computer and began to look up what the symbol means. ‘Oh, yeah. It’s a word in an African dialect meaning “thief”. In a much less friendly way.’

‘What dialect?’ Steve asked.

‘Wakanada. Wa, Wa, Wakanda.’Bruce stammered out.

Tony and Steve looked at each other, obviously connecting some type of dots. ‘If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods….’ Tony said.

‘I thought your father said he got the last of it.’ Steve told him.

‘I don’t follow. What comes out of Wakanda?’

The two men looked at the Shield on the ground. ‘The strongest metal on Earth.’

——————

On the jet ride to the African country, Tony received a message from a burner account saying that Pepper, Peter, and the Parkers were safe for right now. Their lives would carry on from a safe place. Peter would still tinker with broken parts and watch his nerdy teen movies and Pepper would probably join him to give a sense of normal. Pepper would probably work remotely and do what she can to take care of the family.

They arrived at a sad looking salvage yard off the African coasts. Bruce had the order to stay on the jet until code green was called. The rest would take positions in the ship where this Klaue guy was located. Clint and Nat would stay hidden and the rest would begin with getting Klaue or Ultron, whichever came out first.

When they got to the ship it was already in a slight state of chaos. Ultron was standing in front of the enhanced twins. ‘Stark is, he’s a sickness!’ The bot yelled.

Tony landed and Thor and Cap were behind him. ‘Oh Junior, you’re gonna break your old man's heart.’

‘If I have to.’ Ultron said.

‘Nobody has to break anything.’ Thor said.

‘Clearly you’ve never made an omelet.’ Ultron said.

Tony turned his head to speak to his friends behind him. ‘He beat me by one second.’

‘Ah, yes. He’s funny.’ The boy Maximoff told them, obviously mad about something. ‘Mr.Stark. It’s what? Comfortable? Like old times?’ He looked down at the missiles below.

‘This was never my life.’ Tony told them.

‘You two can still walk away from this.’ Steve said to the Maximoffs.

‘Oh, we will.’ The girl told the heroes.

‘I know you’ve suffered.’ Steve continued, but before he could get far Ultron interrupted him.

The Machine chuckled. ‘Captain America. God’s righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can’t physically throw up in my mouth, but..’

‘If you believe in peace, then let us keep it.’ Thor told him.

‘I think you’re confusing peace with quiet.’ Ultron told them, stepping forward slowly.

‘Uh-huh. What’s the vibranium for?’ Tony asked.

‘I’m glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to reveal my evil plan..’ Ultron said and he waved his hand and a magnetic force pulled Tony forward and then Ultron blasted him into the back wall. Tony shot yo and they began to fight in the small compacted flight area of the ship.

Ultron blasted him into the wall, and Tony got a hit on him. The boy slammed a piece of concrete into the suit and it made Tony crash into the glass window of the office area. Tony flew away and got a few hits on the super bot but then Ultron pushed him back. Tony quickly got a small upper hand and blasted the Android backwards.

The robot blasted a hole into the top of the ship and flew out of it with Tony following. He flew into the slightly polluted air and followed Ultron wherever he was going.

‘Whoever is standing we got to move.’ Barton said over the coms.

Something was happening that Tony wasn’t there to witness and he didn’t know if he wanted to. The man in the metal suit rolled in the air as Ultron pushed him away. Tony shot two missiles into the back of the machine and he stumbled a bit. Tony hit him again and he flew into a ship on the ground, making a dent in the metal.

Tony landed and aimed his repulsor at him.

‘The vibranium is getting away.’ Ultron told him.

‘And you’re not going anywhere.’ Tony switched it from repulsor to a missile quickly.

‘Of course not, I’m already there. You’ll catch on. But first you might need to catch Dr.Banner.’ Ultron told him with his red electronic eyes.

Tony blasted this body of Ultron to bits knowing he would still get away. He shot in the air and ordered for any news Hulk related and that’s how he found out the mess escalated.

———————

Everything had become so much worse in a matter of minutes. The little witch messed with something dark in Banner’s head. It must have been pretty shitty because it caused the Hulk to nearly decimate a whole city. They brought VERONICA in and she helped contain Banner and even though it was a worse case scenario, it didn’t do much. Tony brought down the Hulk Buster armor from the satellite and Banner still whooped his ass for a while.

While Tony was battling Hulk he ended up using a whole building that was under construction to try and calm the beast. When they were done and Hulk was out the city looked like a war zone. Stark Relief Foundation was released to the scene to take care of what they could. Hulk and Avengers were trending from the damage done. The team took a hit and they’d have to take a quick break.

They couldn’t go back to the tower for a while or else they would be in trouble. Clint was piloting the Jet and they were flying out Africa. Tony had just hung up with Maria Hill and he walked up to the man in the pilot's seat. ‘Hey, you wanna switch out?’

‘No, I’m good, if you wanna get some kip, now’s a good time because we’re still a few hours out.’ Clint told him, staying focused on the sky.

‘Few hours from where?’ Tony asked.

‘A safe house.’

When they landed it seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere so it would be a good place to lay low. It was out in the countryside with trees all around it. It was a small farmhouse with a barn just a few yards away. The team landed in a small grove and they each made their way out of the plane.

As they were walking up the stairs Thor looked around ‘What is this place?’

‘Safe house.’ Tony answered.

‘Let’s hope.’ Clint said, opening the door. They walked past the entry way and into what seemed to be a living area. ‘Honey?’ Clint yelled into the house. ‘I’m home.’

A woman with long brown hair, who looked very pregnant walked around the corner holding craft supplies. ‘Hi.’

‘Company. Sorry, didn’t call ahead.’

The woman met Clint with a kiss and most of the team looked puzzled at the couple. Tony turned to Thor ‘This is an agent of some kind.’

Barton turned back to the team. ‘Gentlemen, this is Laura.’

Laura waved at them. ‘I know all your names.’

That’s when they each heard fast and light steps coming toward the room. ‘Ohh, incoming.’ Clint said.

Two children came running in an older boy and a younger girl. Clint picked the girl up and wrapped an arm around the boy. It was odd watching the family interact. ‘These are smaller agents.’ Tony said.

The little girl asked about an aunty Nat and Romanoff walked toward the girl and picked her up. It seemed so familiar yet so distant with Tony. Maybe because Peter had gotten older and they hadn’t been like this in forever. There were as many picking little Peter up off the ground anymore and attacking him with kisses. It was more like Peter just snuggled against him. The boy was always a cuddle bug.

Tony missed his kid being little and Tony being able to pick him up and such, but maybe Peter growing up was what made it special. They still hugged all the time and had movie nights where him, Peter, and Pepper cuddled together like one big family. Tony began to think maybe he didn’t hug and love on Peter as much. He would have to start doing that more when this all got sorted out.

‘Sorry for barging in on you.’ Steve told Laura sincerely.

‘Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy not knowing you existed.’ Tony said, sarcasm slipping through.

‘Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off of SHIELD’s files. I’d like to keep it that way. I figure it’s a good place to lay low.

They watched Thor march out of the room and Cap followed him. Only Cap came back in.

Since Laura was letting them stay in their house, the boys let her assign them to work. Cap and Tony were getting ready to chop wood, and Clint and his son were working on the porch.

‘Thor didn’t say where he was going for answers?’ Tony asked.

‘Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things. I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception.’ Steve told him, putting another log down.

‘Yeah, give him time. We don’t know what the Maximoff kid showed him.’ Tony said.

‘“Earth’s mightiest heroes” and they pulled us apart like cotton candy.’

Tony picked up his axe, ready to strike another log of wood. ‘Seems like you walked away alright.’ He told the Captain.

‘Is that a problem?’ Steve asked looking up from his pile.

‘I don’t trust a guy without a dark side.’ Tony said coming down the wood. ‘Call me old-fashioned.’

‘Well let’s just say you haven’t seen it yet.’ Steve told him.

‘You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart right?’

‘Well, I guess you’d know. Whether you’d tell us is a bit of a question.’

‘Banner and I were doing research.’

‘That would affect the team.’

‘That would end the team. Isn’t that the mission? Isn’t that why we fight? So we can end the fight.. so we get to go home!’

Tony pushed too hard and Steve ripped a piece of wood apart with his bare hands. ‘Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time.’

Laura came walking up behind the pair. ‘I’m sorry, Mr.Stark…. Clint said you wouldn’t mind, but our tractor doesn’t seem to want to start up at all. I thought you might…’

‘Ya, I’ll give her a kick.’ Tony began walking away from the soldier toward the barn. ‘Don’t take from my pile.’

He walked to the old wooden building that looked like it was slowly falling apart. There were ropes and targets and tools. Everything any other barn would have. He walked up to the John Deere tractor that was sitting there. ‘Hello, Deere. Tell me everything. What ails you?’ He looked around at the parts to see what the problem could be.

‘Do me a favor, try not to bring it to life.’

Tony threw down the part he was holding and looked over at the man with the eye patch.

‘Why, Ms. Barton, you little minx. I get it Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?’ Tony said walking toward Fury.

‘Artificial Intelligence. You never even hesitated.’ Fury told him.

‘Look it’s been a really long day, like Eugene O’Neill long, so how’s about we skip to the part where you’re useful.’

‘Look me in the eye and tell me you’re going to shut him down.’ Fury commanded.

‘You’re not the director of me.’

‘I’m not the director of anybody. I’m just an old man who cares very much about you.’ Nick said as he sat down.

‘And I’m the man who killed the Avengers. I saw it. I didn’t tell the team. How could I? I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it. The whole world, too. Pepper and Peter were dead at my feet. My kid told me he was sorry in his last breaths. Because of me. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t do all I could.’ Tony ranted.

‘Maximoff girl, she’s working you, Stark. Playing on your fear.’

‘I wasn’t tricked, I was shown. Wasn’t a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on.’

‘You come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony. War isn’t one of them.’

‘I watched my friends die. I watched my soulmates die. You’d think that’d be as bad as it gets, right? Nope. It wasn’t the worst part.’

‘The worst part was that you didn’t.’

Tony looked at him, sincerely. Fury actually may have realized where he was coming from.

———————

They were standing around Barton’s kitchen after dark. Laura was trying to get the kids to bed and Fury was working on a plan with the team. They didn’t have much either. ‘Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he’s building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don’t think it’s just one thing.’ Fury told the team.

‘What about Ultron himself?’ Steve asked, standing in the doorway.

‘Oh he’s easy to track. He’s everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn’t help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.’ Fury told them.

‘Is he still going after launch codes?’ Tony asked, throwing a dart at the target.

‘Yes, he is. But he’s not making any headway.’ Fury said to Tony.

‘I cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare.’ Tony told him. He made the superbot so it didn’t make much sense it couldn’t get access codes.

‘Well, I contacted our friends at Nexus about that.’ Fury said.

Steve looked over. ‘Nexus?’

‘It’s the world Internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there.’ Banner answered him. ‘Fastest access on Earth.’

‘So what’d they say?’ Barton asked.

‘He’s fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed.’ Fury explained.

‘By whom?’ Tony asked as a dart flew past his face and into the bullseye. He looked over at Barton who just shrugged.

‘Parties unknown.’ Nick said.

‘Do we have an ally?’ Nat asked from her spot on the table.

‘Ultrons got an enemy. That’s not the same thing.’ Fury told her. ‘Still, I’d pay money to know who it is.’

‘I might need to visit Oslo.’ Tony said looking into the kitchen. ‘Find our unknown.’

‘Well, this is good times, Boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you’d have more than that.’ Nat told Fury truthfully.

‘I do. I have you. Back in the day I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing more than our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.’ Fury said, giving a nice speech.

‘Steve doesn’t like that kind of talk.’ Nat said, perking an eyebrow.

‘You know what Romanoff.’ He said, giving her a face back.

‘So what does he want?’ Fury said carrying on with his speech.

‘To become better.’ Steve spoke. ‘Better than us. He keeps building bodies.’

‘Person bodies.’ Tony said. ‘The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we’re outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.’

‘When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.’ Nat told them, very much speaking her opinion but also the truth.

‘They don’t need to be protected. They need to evolve.’ Banner said looking at the painting of a butterfly that Lila made. ‘Ultron’s going to evolve.’

‘How?’ Fury asked.

‘Has anyone been in touch with Dr. Cho?’

———-

The team got their suits on and powered up the jet. Tony was going to Nexus to find what he could. The rest of the team was splitting up.

‘I’ll take Natasha and Clint.’ Steve said putting the vibrating shield on his back.

‘All right, strictly recon. I’ll hit the Nexus. I’ll join you as soon as I can.’ Tony said, fixing his watch.

‘If Ultron’s really building a body…’

‘He’ll be more powerful than any of us.’ Tony finished for him. ‘Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot.’

‘You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me.’ Steve said.

Fury passed them while putting his jacket on. ‘I’ll drop Banner off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Ms.Hill?’

‘She’s all yours. Apparently.’ Tony said and Steve questioned the old man. ‘What are you gonna do?’

‘I don’t know something dramatic, I hope.’

That’s how the team split up and Tony shot off to another part of the world to find answers.

Nexus was all circuit boards and computers. It was a giant maze of technology. In the middle was a single, standard computer. There were a few workers close to him. Two of them were fangirling over him and the other just seemed curious to what he was doing and how he was doing it.

‘A hacker who’s faster than Ultron? He could be anywhere, and as this is the center of everything, I’m just a guy looking for a needle in the world's biggest haystack.’

‘How do you find it?’ The young worker asked.

‘It’s pretty simple. You bring a magnet….I’m decrypting Nuclear Codes and you don’t want me too. Come and get it.’

——————-

Barton arrived back at the tower with the body of the Android. They had gotten a report on Romanoff a few hours earlier that she had been taken. Tony walked into the room as Barton was jumping off the cradle.

‘Anything on Nat?’ Bruce asked.

‘I haven’t heard. But she’s alive or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it.’ Tony told him.

‘This is sealed tight, Barton said looking at the metal box.

‘We’re gonna need to access the program, break it down from within.’ Bruce told them.

Tony turned to Barton. ‘Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the internet? Old- school spy stuff?’

‘There’s some nets I can cast.’ Barton replied, already making his way downstairs. ‘‘Yeah, I’ll find her.’

‘I can work on tissue degeneration if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted.’ Bruce told him, getting started on denaturing the Android.

Tony rubbed the back of his head. ‘Yeah, about that.’

Bruce gave him a look. ‘No.’

‘You have to trust me.’

‘Kind of don’t.’

‘Our ally, protecting the military’s nuclear codes, I found him.’ Tony flicked up a projection of Jarvis’ system.

‘Hello Dr. Banner.’ the AI said.

‘Ultron didn’t go after Jarvis because he was angry, He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So Jarvis went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn’t even know he was in there until I pieced him together.’ Tony explained.

Banner scoffed. ‘So, you want me to help you out Jarvis into this thing?’

‘No! Of course not.’ Tony objected. ‘I wanna help you out Jarvis into this thing. We’re out of my field here. You know bio-organics more than anyone.’

‘And you just assume that Jarvis’s operational matrix can beat Ultrons?’ Bruce questioned.

‘Jarvis has been beating him from the inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron’s perfect self without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to.’

‘I believe it’s worth a go.’ Jarvis spoke up.

Bruce shook his head. ‘I’m in a loop! I’m caught in a time loop. This is exactly where it all went wrong.’

Tony walked up to him. ‘I know. I know. I know what everyone’s gonna say. But they’re already saying it. We’re mad scientists. We’re monsters buddy. We’ve gotta own it. Makes a stand.’ Bruce shook his head but Tony continued. ‘It’s not a loop. It’s the end of the line.’

That’s how Anthony talked Bruce into helping him create whatever came next. The Android and Jarvis mixed together in a scientific concoction. They would be powerful enough to stop Ultron.

Bruce worked on the body and Tony worked on getting the AI into the mind of the Android. ‘This framework is not compatible.’ Tony told him.

‘The genetic coding tower is at 97%. You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.’ Bruce said checking the plugs.

Cap stepped in right at that moment of their work and of course for some damn reason the Maximoff twins were behind him. ‘I’m gonna say this once.’

‘How about none-ce?’ Tony spoke up.

‘Shut it down!’ Rogers yelled.

‘Nope, not gonna happen.’ Tony told him as he continued clicking away on the computer trying to finish the work.

‘You don’t know what you’re doing.’ Cap objected.

‘And you do? She’s not in your head?’ Banner questioned pointing at the girl.

‘I know you’re angry.’ The girl told him.

‘Oh, we’re way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.’ Bruce said with all seriousness and a straight face.

‘Banner, after everything that’s happened…’ Steve said but Tony interrupted him. ‘It’s nothing compared to what’s coming!’

‘You don’t know what’s in there!’ Wanda objected and Steve yelled at the same time. ‘This isn’t a game!’

In a flash of blue all around the lab, Pietro pulled the plugs. It stopped their work and the computers went blank. ‘No, no, you were saying.’ But as quickly as Pietro raced to unplug everything, he fell to the floor below.

‘I’m rerouting the upload.’ Tony said as he attempted to get back to work. Steve threw a shield around, damaging the screens. Tony called a gauntlet and blasted the Captain backwards. Next he had a chest and back piece attached to his body.

Steve jumped at him ready to fight, but Tony shot him and which ended up with them both colliding backwards. Tony fell through a pane of glass. He hopped back up and ran back into the fight, when Thor was there, standing on top of the cradle.

His hammer was up in the air and there was lightning all around crackling. He forced it into the cradle, causing it to over power at an alarming rate.

Out of nowhere the cradle was blasted open and everyone was pushed back by the wave of energy it released.

The velvet colored body stood up slowly looking around at each hero. When it focused, it stared at Thor before jumping at him. Thor pushed it through the glass and it soared into the living area that was still being fixed from Ultron's first mess.

The team cautiously made their way to the Android. It slowly calmed down and landed. It nodded its head at Thor. ‘I am sorry. That was odd. Thank you.’

The red thing made itself a cape and relaxed a little bit more.

‘Thor. You helped create this?’ Steve asked.

‘I’ve had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center is that.’’ Thor explained himself and pointed at the yellow and golden glowing gem in the middle of Thor’s visions head.

‘What? The gem?’ Bruce asked.

‘It’s the mind stone. It’s one of the six infinity stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.’ Thor told the team.

‘Then why would you bring…’ Steve began to object and Thor interrupted him.‘Because Stark is right.’

‘Oh, it’s definitely the end of times.’ Tony heard Bruce mutter.

‘The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron.’ Thor told them.

‘Not alone.’ Vision started.

‘Why does your vision sound like Jarvis?’ Steve questioned.

Tony answered him. ‘We reconfigured Jarvis’s matrix to create something new.’

‘I think I’ve had my fill of new.’ Steve said, obviously tired of the lies and secrets.

‘You think I’m a child of Ultron?’ The vision asked.

‘You’re not?’ Rogers questioned.

‘I’m not Ultron. I am not Jarvis. I am… I am.’ He looked at Bruce and Tony, because it was true. He was a mix of Tony, Bruce, Jarvis, Ultron, and the stone. He wasn’t just one, he was all.

‘I looked in your head and I saw annihilation.’ Wanda told the Android.

‘Look again.’ He said to her.

Barton walked in and scoffed at the teenager. ‘Her seal of approval means Jack to me.’

‘Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself all came from the Mind Stone. And they’re nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side…’ Thor said and Cap interrupted him. ‘Is it?’ He questioned and turned to the vision ‘Are you? On our side?’

‘I don’t think it’s that simple.’ The vision stating the truth it knew.

‘Well, it better get simple real soon.’ Barton told him.

‘I am on the side of life.’ Vision told them. ‘Ultron isn’t. He will end it all.’

‘What’s he waiting for?’ Stark questioned him.

‘You.’

‘Where?’ Banner asked.

‘Sokovia.’ Barton told them. ‘He’s got Nat there, too.’

Bruce started walking toward the Android. ‘If we’re wrong about you, if you’re the monster Ultron made you to be…’

‘What will you do?’ Vision asked and received no reply. ‘I don’t want to kill Ultron. He’s unique and he’s in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he’s built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a Monster. I don’t think I’d know if I were one. I’m not what you are, and not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.’ And the Vision finished his speech and held the hammer out for Thor to take.

Everyone around the room looked confused. They didn’t know what to think and were dumbstruck. Thor was standing there not knowing what to do either. The heroes looked at each other for a moment before Thor took the hammer back and the Vision began to walk away. ‘Right.’ Thor said and walked up to Tony and patted him on the back. ‘Well done.’

Cap looked at each of them. ‘Three minutes. Get what you need.’

Tony grabbed the suit and all it’s pieces to be loaded onto the jet. He pulled out Flash drives that had uploaded AI’s to them. He looked between all his choices before picking FRIDAY. And Irish voice came in and said ‘Good evening boss.’. He uploaded the schematic to his suit so she’d be ready for him.

He took out his favorite picture of Peter and Pepper. It was the two of them at the aquarium, when they were looking at the fish. When Tony snuck the picture when they weren’t looking. Peter was pointing at the fish describing them to Pepper who was kneeling beside him.

His favorite people had a reflection of the blue from the water on their faces. You could see the bright colors of the different species when you focused on it. None of that was Tony’s favorite part of the picture though. He absolutely adored Peppers smile as she watched the boy. He loved the wonder that filled Peter’s eyes and the smile that was spread across his face like butter. His brown unruly curls taking up part of the photo.

He was doing this for them and maybe when he was done he could take a break for a little while. Not be Iron Man and just focus on family. There would be no more needs for Hydra missions. No more getting called into work randomly. Just his favorite people and him. That’s all.

When he was done he could run up to Peter and give him the biggest hug. He’d kiss Pepper and she’d tell him he was a jerk for making her worry. Then Tony would take Peter down to the lab and they’d work for a while. Peter would talk about school and everything would be alright. When they were done in the lab they’d head upstairs to get some food and watch a movie with Pepper. The adults would let the 13 year old choose as per usual. That’s how it always went. Peter almost always chose a Star Wars movie too.

Pepper would lay on his left side against his chest and Peter would have his head his lap and Tony’s right arm would be going through the chestnut brown curls.

Everything would be right in the world.

But they had to finish the mission first.

‘No way we all get through this. If even one tin soldier is left standing we’ve lost. There’s gonna be blood on the floor.’ Tony told Bruce and Steve.

‘I got no plans tomorrow night.’ Steve said.

‘I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man’s the one he’s waiting for.’ Tony said.

Vision walked behind him. ‘That’s true. He hates you the most.’

They all loaded into the Quinjet. They put their earpieces in and went to their spot on the ship.

Steve looked at them. ‘Ultron knows we’re coming. Odds are we’ll be riding into heavy fire. And that’s what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia.’ He looked at the twins. ‘They didn’t. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that’s not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron’s been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us…. Ultron thinks we’re monsters. That we’re what’s wrong with the world. This isn’t just about beating him. It’s about whether he’s right.’ Tony and Steve made eye contact and nodded.

They weren’t the problem and maybe they couldn’t fix the world. But they could try.

Notes:

This chapter is shit again so I apologize. I gave 3 good chapters last weekend and then there’s this.

Also I’m super busy next week so idk if I’ll get another chapter out next weekend but I’ll do my best!!!

Sorry darlings, love you 3,000