Chapter 20
Tony was locked up in his lab, keeping himself busy with work. He didn’t want to think about anything right now.
“Boss, Miss Potts wants to meet you,” Friday informed.
“Let her in,” Tony said.
Pepper walked in.
“Tony, did you tell Helen that you don’t want to date her?” Pepper asked.
“Yes,” Tony said, not looking up from his work.
“Why? What happened?” Pepper asked.
“Peter doesn’t like me dating her,” Tony said casually.
“Is that Peter or Stephen the real reason?” Pepper asked.
Tony put his tools down, sighed, and looked at Pepper.
“Both,” Tony said, crossing his arms.
“Tony, are you out of your mind? You’re wasting your life for him while he’s being selfish and living his life…” Pepper started.
“Stop saying that, Pepper. If he was selfish, he wouldn’t have given birth to Peter while sacrificing his job when he was at the peak of his career. He wouldn’t have stayed with me after Afghanistan, even when I was an ass to him. He wouldn’t have left Peter with me when he left. Stephen is not selfish. If anyone is, it’s me,” Tony snapped.
Tony calmed down and said,
“Pep, I know why you want me to date Helen. Maybe it’s because you care about me, and you want me to be happy. But I won’t. Maybe I can pretend I am, but I’ll never truly be.”
“Tony, I just want you to be yourself. We miss you,” Pepper said.
“I was happy because I was with Stephen. And that’s gone. I can never be the old me,” Tony said.
“If you really want him, why don’t you go and talk to him? You still have time,” Pepper said.
“I don’t have the courage to ask him back into my life after what I did to him,” Tony said.
“Tony, it’s better if you ask him before it’s too late. And I thought Helen could be your date because I know what kind of person you’re into. But I should’ve realized she’s not Stephen,” Pepper said, feeling guilty.
“Hey, Pep, I know you’d never do anything bad for me. It’s okay. And I’m sorry for snapping at you,” Tony said, hugging her.
Pepper hugged him back and said, “I haven’t filed the divorce yet. So, go and talk to him. I’m sure he still loves you.”
“Okay,” Tony said, smiling.
“Boss,” Friday’s voice interrupted them.
“Yes?” Tony asked, pulling away from the hug.
“Times Square is under attack. Many civilians have been trapped there,” Friday informed.
“Any Avengers there?” Tony asked, alarmed.
“No one yet. I’ve sent messages to everyone,” Friday said.
“I should go,” Tony said, clicking his arc reactor and suiting up.
“Tony, please be careful,” Pepper said.
Tony nodded and flew away.
"Papa, can I give yellow here?" Peter asked.
He was coloring while Stephen sat near him. Wong was watching the news.
"Yes," Stephen said.
"Papa, why is Uncle Wong always watching the news?" Peter asked.
"Uncle Wong is checking if the city is safe or not. He will save the city if bad people are attacking," Stephen said.
"Like the Avengers?" Peter asked.
"You know the Avengers?" Stephen asked, chuckling.
"Yes, they are the heroes. My friend, Ned is an Iron Man fan. He has lots of action figures of him," Peter said.
"Oh? Are you an Iron Man fan?" Stephen asked, still chuckling.
"I don't know. I always ask Daddy about the Avengers, but he never talks about them," Peter said.
"But you're my hero, Papa. You saved me that day," Peter said, grinning.
Stephen smiled and kissed his head.
"Wong, chill. Not every day is a battle day," Stephen said.
"Stephen, you wanna see this?" Wong asked.
Stephen looked at the TV.
"Papa, that's Iron Man!" Peter said excitedly.
"New York is witnessing another attack this fine Sunday morning. The attackers have taken many civilians hostage. But our hero, the Avenger Iron Man, has arrived to save us, fighting alone," the news reporter was saying.
"Oh god! He is alone. Wong, I think I should go," Stephen said, worried.
"Stephen, the Avengers will help him. Why would we interfere?" Wong asked.
"Didn't you hear that? He is alone, and there are lots of attackers," Stephen said.
He took Peter in his arms.
"Pete, Papa has to go now. Will you stay with Uncle Wong?" Stephen asked.
"Papa, are you going to fight bad people?" the boy asked, pouting.
"Pete, Iron Man is alone. We need to help him, don't we?" Stephen said.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Peter said.
"I won't. I will come back soon," Stephen said, kissing his head.
"Wong, please take care of him," Stephen said.
"Okay. You better come back unhurt. We're short of masters at Kamar-Taj," Wong said.
"Sure," Stephen said and walked through a portal.
"Pete, your Papa will be okay. Shall we watch cartoons?" Wong asked.
The boy was nervous but nodded his head.
"Fri, how many of them are here?" Tony asked, scanning.
"There are 60 with weapons, Boss. I suggest you stand back until the Avengers reach. They are on their way," Friday said.
"Nope. They are hurting the civilians. I should distract them," Tony said and shot one of the terrorists.
Their attention shifted to Tony, and they started firing.
"Boss, they have missiles with them," Friday informed.
"I can see that, Friday," Tony said, annoyed.
"You can't hold them off for long," Friday informed.
"I know, but there is no other way," Tony said, continuing to shoot.
One of the terrorists shot at Tony, damaging his suit, and a bullet grazed his right shoulder.
"System compromised," the warning began.
Tony could see the man preparing for another shot and realized he couldn't stop it. He braced himself. So, this is it—after fighting countless battles, Iron Man ends like this.
Suddenly, a golden shield appeared in front of him, stopping the bullet.
"Stephen?" Tony asked, surprised.
"Where is the rest of your boy band?" Stephen asked.
"Why are you here? It's dangerous. You should go back," Tony said.
"So you know it's dangerous and still came alone," Stephen said, glaring at him.
"I can handle it," Tony said stubbornly.
"And I can see that," Stephen scoffed.
"Stephen, please go back. Peter will be worried," Tony pleaded.
"I'm not leaving you alone. And Peter is safe with Wong," Stephen said, attacking the terrorists with his magic.
Tony knew how stubborn Stephen was, and there was no point in arguing with him.
"Okay, can you cover me? I’ll go and rescue the civilians," Tony asked.
"I’ll go; you cover me," Stephen said.
"Stephen, they have weapons, and you don’t have armor," Tony said, frustrated.
"You can’t make a portal, can you? I can, and it’s the easiest way to rescue," Stephen said.
"Fine. Please be careful," Tony said, tired.
Stephen flew to the ground while Tony distracted the terrorists by shooting at them. Stephen created a portal and began rescuing civilians. However, one of the terrorists spotted him and shot him in the chest.
"Stephen!" Tony yelled.
Despite being hurt, Stephen managed to rescue everyone to the other side and closed the portal. But he collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
Tony flew to Stephen and knelt beside him.
"Steph, come on. Open your eyes," Tony called, but Stephen lay unconscious.
The rest of the Avengers arrived.
"Tony, is he okay?" Steve asked.
"He’s bleeding. Somebody bring a stretcher!" Tony shouted.
"Bruce, please stay with Tony. I don’t think the Hulk needs to be unleashed here. We can handle it," Steve said.
Bruce nodded and checked Stephen’s pulse.
"Tony, we need to hurry. His heartbeat is dropping," Bruce said.
Tony didn’t wait for the medical team. He carried Stephen in a bridal style and flew to the hospital.
Tony rushed inside the hospital while the doctors approached and started giving first aid.
"Tony?" he heard a familiar voice.
"Christine? Thank God you're here. Stephen... He has been shot, and his heartbeat is slowing," Tony said, panicking.
"Hey, it's okay. We'll check on him," Christine said calmly.
"Prepare to remove the bullet," she instructed the nurse before heading inside.
Tony sat on the bench, feeling devastated. He should have saved Stephen. Stephen got hurt because of him. He was worried about what he would tell Peter.
Bruce came to Tony and sat beside him.
"How is he, Tony?"
"I don't know... I should have gone there to rescue him. I let this happen," Tony said.
"Tony, stop it. It's not your fault. Stephen will be okay," Bruce said, putting an arm around him.
"I'm scared, Bruce. I can't lose him. Not again," Tony said, crying.
"Hey, it's okay. Come here," Bruce said, hugging him.
Then he noticed Tony's arm bleeding.
"Tony, you're hurt. You need medical attention."
"I'm okay," Tony said weakly.
"No, you're not. Come with me," Bruce said, guiding him to his feet.
Bruce treated the wounds on Tony's forehead and shoulder.
"Bruce, I need to check on Stephen," Tony said.
"I will check. You need to rest," Bruce said firmly.
.
Tony glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was 6:30."Bruce, I need to go and pick up Peter. He'll be worried if he doesn't see me," Tony said.
"He’ll be more worried if he sees you like this. I'll go and pick him up. Don’t worry," Bruce said calmly and helped
Tony lie down on the bed.
Tony was exhausted from the fight and fell asleep quickly.
Bruce went to check on Stephen.
"Doctor Palmer, how is Stephen?" Bruce asked.
"He’s still under observation. He’s lost a lot of blood. We can’t say anything for the next 24 hours," Christine said.
"Oh? Is there a chance of vascular dementia?" Bruce asked, worried.
"Yes, or he could slip into a coma. But we can’t say anything yet," Christine replied.
"What should I tell Tony?" Bruce asked sadly.
"Let’s wait and see. We’re doing our best," Christine said.
Bruce nodded.
"Uncle Wong, why aren’t Papa and Daddy coming back?" Peter asked, worried.
"Pete, they might be busy with something," Wong said.
"Pete is scared," the boy whimpered.
"Hey, don’t cry. Let’s go and check," Wong said.
Wong was about to make a portal when he felt someone enter the Sanctum.
"Pete, stay here. I’ll check who it is," Wong said and walked away.
He saw Bruce standing there, looking surprised at the Sanctum.
"Doctor Banner?" Wong called.
"Oh, hi, Mr. Wong. Tony gave me this location. I’m here to take Peter," Bruce said.
"What happened? Are Stephen and Stark okay?" Wong asked, worried.
"Stephen has been shot. He’s admitted to the hospital, and Tony is also injured," Bruce explained.
"This idiot never listens," Wong muttered.
"Peter is asking for them. What will I tell him?" Wong asked.
"I was thinking of taking him to the hospital. Maybe Tony can explain," Bruce suggested.
"Alright, I’ll come too," Wong agreed.
.
When Wong and Bruce reached the hospital with Peter, Tony was lying on the bed, his right hand and forehead bandaged.
"Daddy!" the boy cried and ran toward the bed.
Bruce helped him climb onto the bed, and Peter started crying.
"Hey, Pete. Daddy’s okay. It’s just a small oowie. It’ll go away," Tony said, consoling the boy.
"Did the bad guys do this?" Peter asked, whimpering.
"Who told you that?" Tony asked, frowning.
"Pete saw it on TV. Papa went there to help Ironman. Where is Papa?" Peter asked, crying.
"Papa... he also got hurt a little. The doctors are treating him," Tony said hesitantly.
"I want to see Papa now!" the boy cried louder.
"Yes, yes, I’ll take you. But not now," Tony said, hugging him with one arm.
The boy kept crying, and Tony couldn’t hold back his tears either. He hugged his boy tightly.