New Blood
Tony walked through the halls of the Avengers Tower, following the path Jarvis directed him through. Part of his mind thought about his next course of action. He promised that he would think about visiting and talking with Peggy 2.0 and he did think about it. He thought about it from the moment Christine left his room. He thought about it when he met with Carol Danvers, and he thought about it during the conversation that transpired between The Original Avengers and Sam Wilson only a couple minutes ago. Part of him is happy about how the things turned out between The Avengers. Tony doesn't even know Wilson and he always has a strong distaste towards both Rogers and Romanoff.
In Tony's opinion, Natasha Romanoff is nothing more than a fake. A perfectly shaped mask. A tool. She is also very arrogant with a high sense of self-preservation that puts her above everything and everyone else.
Natasha is also a Black Widow. Black Widows are spies, assassins, manipulators, and sex objects. They were stripped of their humanity at an early age and shaped into the world's best soldiers with pretty faces and incredibly hot bodies. Natasha is no different. She might claim that she changed her ways but in reality, she didn't change at all. The only thing she changed were her loyalties and people who directed her to her new marks... Victims.
There is only one thing that caught Tony's interest about Natasha. Her interaction with Clint Barton.
Tony was always aware that there was some history between Natasha and Clint. Originally he thought that they were simply fucking together, but that obviously isn't the case, considering Tony is now, among many people, also housing Clint's wife and their two adorable children. Tony's second guess was that they were close friends, almost like siblings of sorts, which wasn't so far from the truth. However, Tony noticed something else during their confrontation…
The only time Natasha was upset and looked guilty was only when Clint voiced his disappointment in her. The thing about The Black Widows is that they are, among other things, also trained into submission. They have a few rules that every Widow follows without any questions. Their most famous rule is: Failure isn't acceptable.
Fury is the one who pointed Natasha at her marks, but Clint is the one who spared her life and brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D’s ranks. It's highly possible she may view Clint as one of her Handler or sorts and that’s why her mask slightly cracked during their confrontation. She failed to meet Clint's expectations and that means: She failed her mission.
Tony doesn't think even Natasha herself realizes this. She is too proud of herself to acknowledge the fact she is still living in the mind set The Red Room raised her in. In theory, Tony could try to shift her loyalty towards him, but he doesn't want to. If he wanted a Black Widow, he could find one for himself whenever he wanted because why would he want a Widow who once stabbed him in the neck, infiltrated his company, threatened him and tried to seduce him when he was dying, miserable and vulnerable.
Or that is what Tony thinks Natasha was trying to do before his disaster of a birthday party...
Now, Tony is aware of his own hypocrisy. He wouldn't actually mind having a one-night stand with Natasha. Hell, he would enjoy it and nobody could blame him for it because she is hot and there is no point in denying it. However, he doesn't like people who try to manipulate him, lie to him, and try to hack into his systems when they are supposed to be his friends, or at least his teammates and allies.
Speaking off… Natasha's hacking skills are laughable and Tony had a lot of fun playing with her. He fed her false info on a silver plate and she never realized the truth. But nothing lasts forever and after a few days, Tony got bored with her, so he kicked her off his playground and blocker her out completely. It was actually really amusing watching her tear her hair out when she was wondering what happened to her ‘way’ inside his network. But even when she was the source of his amusement for a while, it still doesn’t change the fact that Tony doesn't want anything to do with Natasha Romanoff ever again.
Then there is Steve Rogers.
Tony grimaced at the thought of that name. He always hated him. Well, not always. Tony actually admired Captain America like every other American child did. But that admiration quickly turned into hate when he realized that his own Father cared about his dead lab rat more than he cared about his him. Alright, Rogers wasn't really dead, but who in their right mind would believe that? It was more than 30 years since the War ended and Tony was born. For 30 years Howard Stark tried to find Steve Rogers and he only managed to find that stupid shield and The Tesseract. Nothing else. Everybody gave up by that point ages ago. Even Peggy Carter gave up, but Howard Stark never did and his obsession only got worse throughout Tony's childhood to the point, Howard, spend months in The Arctic without a single call.
Now, Tony loved pressing his Father’s buttons. At one point in time, Tony found everything he could about Steve Rogers and how The Howling Commandos really operated during the War, because some stories simply didn't make a lot of logical sense to him.
Well, the truth is that Steve Rogers isn't even a real Captain.
Captain America is nothing more than a stage name. Rogers did a few days in a boot camp but he never finished the training before he was picked for The Super-Soldier program by Erskine and the SSR. The only reason why the whole Captain America thing stuck around was simply because it was good for the morale of the other soldiers. Apparently, having a walking steroid in a blue star-spangled outfit with a shield was inspiring for some, to Tony, unknown reason.
Then there was the whole issue of Steve and his application to the army.
Sara Rogers died of tuberculosis, which left Steve at high risk of being a latent carrier of the infection. A test to detect tuberculosis was invented in 1940, but contact with Sarah alone would have made the army reject Steve on the spot. Steve also had his own confirmed health issues in form of asthma, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, heart trouble, and sinusitis. There is simply no way Steve would be accepted to the army because he would only be a liability on the battlefield.
The sad part about all of this is that Steve really believes that he was chosen for the experiment because he was a good man when the truth is a lot darker.
Dr. Erskine did choose Steve because he was supposedly a good man, but he also choose him because Steve never had any real power in his entire life. He was a weak, walking stick, and Erskine believed that Steve would never abuse his new abilities and strength. However, the only reason SSR allowed Rogers to go through the experiment was because it was the first test run for them. Erskine's serum originally created The Red Skull and if the new formula had similar flaws it would be just a waste of a good soldier. Steve on the other hand was expandable. He had no family. Nobody would look for him if he died during the experiment, or they had to stash him somewhere in a remote location because the serum failed and turned him into some kind of a deformed freak.
Only the thought made Tony shiver and feel uncomfortable.
A part of was curious if Peggy and Howard were aware of SSR's intentions. He isn't so sure about Peggy, but he highly suspected that Howard knew the truth for the whole time because he was the one who helped Erskine with the whole project. Howard might've been obsessed with Captain America but this was a time before Howard knew who Steve Rogers was. Howard Stark was never a humanitarian or a human with a high sense for morality. He was a businessman and scientist.
Test subjects are part of every experiment...
"Sir," Jarvis politely called out, snapping Tony out of his thoughts and causing him to stop in his tracks. "You have arrived at your destination. Ms. Carter is resigning behind these doors. Dr. Palmer is currently keeping her company. I believe they are playing cards."
"Cards," Tony repeated to himself and huffed in amusement. "Nah, why not." He reached for the door handle and frowned when he realized that he was so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't even know on which floor he currently is. "Jarvis? Whose room was this before?"
"This room is the room previously used by Ms. Romanoff after the Battle of New York," Jarvis informed him. "Ms. Romanoff reorganized the room to her preferences during the short time The Avengers all lived in the Tower. Colonel Rhodes thought it would be easier for Ms. Carter to resign in somewhat familiar surroundings, considering she was trained by Black Widows during her time in Hydras custody."
"Wait." Tony made a time-out motion with his hands. "She was trained by Black Widows? The Black Widows that were crafted in The Red Room?" He questioned with a frown. His mind immediately drifted back to Natasha Romanoff and her sneaky manipulating tactics. He seriously doesn't want to deal with another Black Widow, even worse. A Black Widow mixed with Captain America...
"Precisely," Jarvis confirmed. "Hydra wanted their newest weapon to be the best, so they found her the best teachers. However, she was trained by Black Widows only in hand-to-hand combat. She wasn't educated by them in any other department." The British AI quickly reassured, fully aware of what his Creator was thinking.
"Awesome..." Tony sarcastically muttered before a thoughtful look crawled up his face. "Do you think she would be able to beat Romanoff hand to hand?"
"It's possible." Jarvis positively responded. "Ms. Romanoff was reportedly The best of The Black Widows, but Ms. Carter was a skilled fighter even before the additional training. Not to mention that she now enhanced with speed, strength, agility, and everything else a Super-Soldier possesses." There was a small pause before Jarvis spoke again. "I do believe Ms. Carter could beat Mr. Rogers in a fight."
"Really?" Tony questioned with an amused look on his face. "You know I'm definitely not one of those Captain America die-hard fans, but, even I have to admit that Rogers does have some pretty impressive moves hidden in his arsenal."
"I'm not claiming that he doesn't," Jarvis said. "Mr. Rogers is a really capable fighter but his fighting technique focuses more on his brute strength, rather than fighting skills. I'm aware you reviewed the footage from the Battle of New York. I'm sure you noticed that his technique was all over the place." Tony made a thoughtful face and gave out a small nod. Yes, he did notice. Well, not he, but S.H.I.E.L.D did notice and wrote it in the official mission report before someone edited it out. "Of course, this is no longer the case, considering Mr. Rogers got additional training during his time as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D from Ms. Romanoff herself."
"So why do you think Peggy could beat him in a fight?" Tony questioned again as he crossed his arms and curiously titled his head to the side.
"Because Mr. Rogers has large holes in the foundries of his preferred technique." Jarvis confidently stated. "Mr. Rogers didn't finish the basic military training before he was picked for the super-soldier program. This training was also focused more on a soldier with a gun, not a close hand-to-hand fighter." Tony nodded along with Jarvis's words because this is true. During the war, the soldiers were trained mainly on how to shoot with guns, crawl in the mud, and operate military vehicles. Not snap someone's neck with their tighs. "The first real professional training in hand-to-hand combat Mr. Rogers got came from Ms. Carter herself after Mr. Rogers successfully managed to rescue the men of 107th Infantry Regiment."
Tony's eyes widened. He never thought about that possibility. "So, you are telling me... that the SSR allowed one of their greatest and most praised assets to be trained by a woman in the 40s when women had significantly lesser rights than men?"
"Well, while that was the case, Ms. Carter was also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and infiltration, something she passed on to Mr. Rogers in the short amount of time they had until Mr. Rogers and The Howling Commandos started going on their missions," Jarvis said with something Tony suspected was proudness in the AI's voice. "She was also the only one, except Colonel Phillips and Sergeant Barnes, who managed to keep Mr. Rogers in check. Ms. Carter was also the one who thought Mr. Rogers how to do the necessary calculations he required to successfully throw his shield in an angle that would redirect it back to his hands."
"Wow..." Tony commented with an impressed look on his face. "I didn't know that..." He muttered to himself with a surprised look on his face because he was pretty sure he knew everything about Steve Rogers from his Father. "Maybe that's why Rogers always preferred to stick close to Romanoff. It's possible that she reminded him of Peggy in a way..."
"That might be the case." Jarvis agreed.
"How do you even know these things?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow directed at the camera. "None of this was written in any files I have read and I have read thousands of them."
"Mr. Carter told me herself," Jarvis replied, making Tony's jaw slightly fall open. Tony was about to question Jarvis, but before he could even say a single word, the AI answered his question without even hearing it. "Colonel Rhodes informed me that Margaret Carter and Edwin Jarvis were close friends who went on many adventures along with your Father in their youth. I concluded that Ms. Carter could find my voice comforting in this time of need, and I was right, of course. She was also extremely amazed by me and praised your programing skills really well."
"Uhmmm. Thanks. I guess?" Tony offered, not sure what he was supposed to say to that.
"Well, I guess you welcome, Sir." Jarvis jokingly and mockingly responded, making Tony chuckle and flip his middle finger to the camera. "If I may say something, Sir... Please don't blame this Ms. Carter for the sins of the original Ms. Carter. They might be the same, but keep in mind they are not the same person. They might share memories, but this Ms. Carter remembers only giving birth and taking care of you in the hospital for only a few days until she woke up in a Hydra base."
Tony closed his eyes and sighed as he hung his head down. "Alright..." He whispered as he reached for the door handle and pushed the doors open. "Let's get this over with..."
****
"...And that's when I left that stupid Star-Prince in the hands of Centurion Ko-Rel." Carol finished storytelling with a soft smile directed at the two little kids who were gaping at her with wide eyes full of amazement. On the couch in front of them sat Rhodey and Maria, who were also looking at Carol with wide eyes. On the other couch next to them were Jane and Laura, who both looked intrigued by the whole story and details about Space.
"And this... Star-Prince, was it?" Laura questioned with a look of uncertainty directed at Carol because she wasn't sure if she heard the name right. "Are you sure he was human? I mean... A normal human without any superpowers?"
"I wouldn't call him exactly normal, but yes." Carol nodded. "From what I know, he was abducted from Earth when he was still a kid. He was raised by one of the exiled clans of The Ravagers." She noticed their confused looks so she explained. The Ravagers are an interstellar crime syndicate comprising of thieves, smugglers, criminals, bandits, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and pirates."
"So... he is a real-life version of Han Solo?" Rhodey asked with a raised eyebrow and a look of disbelief.
Carol opened and closed her mouth as she reconsidered it in her mind. "I guess you could say that..." She quietly muttered under her breath. "Star Wars... Was there a continuation of the franchise?" All of them now stared at her as if she grew a second head, making her feel weird. "Why are you people looking at me like that?"
"Girl... you are in a Tower full of Star Wars fans," Laura stated as she looked over her Kids and Rhodey, who looked as if they just heard something close to the end of the world. "There are three other movies that are the prequels to the original trilogy... I'm sure you will be forced to watch them at one point. Lila might even force you to watch the animated Clone Wars show."
"Prequels? Animated show?" Carol questioned with a dropped jaw. She looked down at Lila and grinned. "Count me in!"
"I'm afraid Star War Marathon will have to wait," Clint spoke as he, Bruce, and Thor walked into the room.
"Dad!" Both Lila and Cooper rocketspeeded from their seats and quickly rushed to Clint, hugging him around his legs.
Clint chuckled and hugged both of his children back, while Thor and Bruce moved around the trio and settled themselves down on the couch next to Jane, who immediately moved into Thor's lap, as The God of Thunder pulled her closer and smiled at her. Bruce meanwhile put his glasses down and tiredly rubbed his eyes, earning him a concerned look from Rhodey.
"You okay?" Rhodey asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Yeah..." Bruce muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. "Just... angry, disappointed. Wilson is just some naive idiot with a hero-worship complex, but neither Romanoff nor Rogers showed any real remorse for their actions. Rogers even had the audacity to say that human casualties are part of a war."
"So, he is an idiot," Rhodey said after a small beat of silence. "Military Strategist my ass. This isn't a war!" He snapped and sharply turned to Maria to glare at her. "Don't tell me this guy actually passed any psychological tests before he joined S.H.I.E.L.D with this kind of mindset because It's obvious he is still stuck in the past."
"He didn't exactly have any psych evaluation..." Maria awkwardly muttered with a grimace. The looks she received were the ones full of disbelief and confusion and it made her flinch. "After Thor and Loki returned to Asgard, Rogers went on a two weeks long vacation around the world. After he came back to the states, Fury immediately put him in charge of Strike Team Delta, with Romanoff as his secret babysitter."
"Why?" Jane questioned. "Why would you guys put him in charge when he was clearly not ready to get back to action? And why would you give him a babysitter?"
"Because Natasha is the best at what she does," Clint answered instead. "After New York, The Avengers were a popular hit. The people love us almost everywhere on the globe. With that popularity also came political support. Politicians saw Captain America working for S.H.I.E.L.D in front lines, so the organization got more funding."
"So it was all just for money," Jane concluded with a frown.
"There is a reason why Fury didn't legally kick Tony, Thor, and Bruce off the Team after all those stunts they pulled this last year," Clint said with his lips twitching upwards as he glanced at Bruce, who looked embarrassed, and Thor, who chuckled at the fond memories that came back to him.
"What kind of stunts?" Carol curiously asked as she leaned forward in her seat and put one arm under her chin.
"It's nothing!" Bruce quickly shouted while his cheeks got even more red.
"Nothing?" Clint repeated and burst out laughing. "Boy... I'm almost sad you guys didn't invite me to your vacation in LA." Bruce's eyes widened in alarm and Thor's smile immediately fell from his face as he looked down at Jane, who just raised a suspicious eyebrow at them. Both men frantically started shaking their heads, motioning for Clint to shut up, but Clint didn't notice them and continued. "Seriously, hearing reports of a Naked Hulk trying to surf on a costume Stark board were the most hilarious thing I ever heard." Bruce hid his face in his hands and shook his head while Thor mentally prayed to his Father that Clint will leave the story there. "And don't even let me get started on the fact that Tony rented an entire island so you guys could play a volleyball with some college girls in the middle of a night with fireworks and Asgardian alcohol."
"Clint?" Jane called out with a glare as she leaned over the table while both Bruce and Thor looked like they are three seconds from jolting away from the room. "And when did this... adventure exactly happen?"
"I'm not sure," Clint said as he made a thoughtful face. "Three weeks, give or take. Why?" He finally looked at his teammates only to be met with an afraid-looking Man, who can turn into a Green Giant, and literal God of Thunder. "Why the weird faces, guys?"
Carol chuckled and tilted her head to look at Clint. "I think you just snitched on them."
Clint at first looked confused before it finally clicked to him. "Oh."
"Three weeks ago..." Jane repeated to herself before she turned her gaze upon Thor and Bruce. "So you three had to go on a charity level to San Francisco, right? This wasn't another one of yours 'Boys' nights out', right?" She asked sarcastically. Thor lifted his finger and opened his mouth to defend himself and his friends, but Jane gave him the look and Thor smartly put his finger down and shrunk down on himself. She then turned to Bruce. "And when we are already talking about it... What was that news report of a certain scientist and a supermodel, both naked on top of The Avengers Tower."
Rhodey sighed. "Dammit, Tones..."
"It wasn't him." Jane quickly said. "Tony was sleeping in Bruce's room with two other supermodels."
Rhodey's jaw dropped as he looked at Bruce who was starting to blush from embarrassment. "Dammit, Bruce... I honestly thought he wouldn't break you too... Now I owe 50 bucks to Happy..."
"Sorry..." Bruce muttered with a grimace before he paused and looked at Rhodey. "Wait, what do you mean by, 'You thought that he wouldn't break me too?' Are you saying that he did this to you too?"
Rhodey winced and made a grimace of his own. "If only he did it just once... Although, I was never caught naked on top of a skyscraper."
"Could we stop talking about this..." Laura pleaded and pointed at Lila and Cooper, who were now both playing on their new Stark phones, ignoring everything around them. "There are children present..."
"Yeah, sure. " Clint sarcastically muttered as he waved his hand in front of Lila's face, who didn't even blink and just continued playing her game. "They are clearly listening to everything we say. Every single word."
Laura made a face. "Point taken." She then looked around them and frowned. "Four of you went out and only three came back. Where did Shellhead go?"
"Man of Iron went to see Ms. Carter." Thor quickly answered, desperately trying to change the subject, and hopefully make Jane forget about the earlier conversation. Hopefully...
"Who is Ms. Carter?" Carol asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is she his... girlfriend? Cousin? Sister?-"
"Clone of his biological mother," Maria answered.
"Mother who he considered to be his Aunt his entire life," Clint added.
"Huh?" Carol blinked. "That's... That's actually a new thing for me. Cloning, I mean."
"Yeah... well, we will see how it will go," Bruce muttered as he leaned forward in his seat and focused on Rhodey and Carol. "The Avengers are a bit short on members right now, so Tony, as an official owner of the brand asked me to ask you both if you would like to officially become part of the team."
Rhodey blinked at Bruce. "What?" He then looked between Thor, Clint, and Bruce in disbelief. "You guys want me to join The Avengers?"
"Aye, Son of Rhodes!" Thor loudly beamed with a bright smile. "You are a powerful and honorable warrior and we will be all honored to have you fight on our side."
"We already know that we make a pretty good team," Clint said with an encouraging nod. "We need you, Rhodey. We need you both." He added with a glance at Carol. "We might be awesome." He pointed between himself, Bruce, and Thor with a smirk. "But we need more than four members."
"I'm honored, guys, really..." Rhodey began with an apologetic sad smile. "But I can't accept this without talking about it with my bosses in the Air Force first-"
"Mr. Stark already took care of that, Colonel Rhodes," Jarvis spoke. "You are officially cleared to join The Avengers by Mr. President himself. President Ellis also approved of Mr. Stark's idea of rebranding The Iron Patriot back to The War Machine. Your armor is being repainted as we speak."
"Really?" Rhodey asked with a hopeful smile on his face. "In that case, I'm in!"
"Welcome aboard, War Machine." Bruce smiled and gave Rhodey a small thumbs up.
"You want me to join your little boy band?" Carol asked with slightly widened eyes. "But... we just met?" She awkwardly pointed out as she looked at them all. "How do you guys know you can trust me?"
"We don't," Thor neutrally stated, turning his head to Bruce.
"But Tony for some reason trusts you," Bruce added and exchanged a smirk with Thor.
"That's just creepy," Clint commented as he pointed between Thor and Bruce before he looked at Carol and gave her a small friendly smile. "But they are right. Tony is called The Futurist for a reason. He sees something in you and we trust his judgment. So what do you say, Captain Marvel? Are you in?"
Carol bit her lip as she looked at them all again. For the first time in a long time, she had fun and the only thing they did was just talk to each other about Space and other shit. She loved exploring Space, but she hated fighting in the Galactic War between The Kree and The Nova Empire. But a small part of her was also getting sick of Space already. She was born on Earth and she simply missed it. When she was young she wanted to have a normal successful life as a pilot, but that option was ripped away from her. Perhaps now she can have a normal life and also something more. Something exciting. She took a deep breath and slightly nodded her head. "I'm in, but don't call me Captain Marvel ever again."
"So how do we call you?" Jane asked.
Carol shrugged "Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Lady Marvel, just not Captain Marvel... That era is behind me."
Thor nodded and quickly picked a drink from the table. "To the new beginnings!"
Jane took that drink away from him with a taunting smile. "You are not drinking ever again after that stunt you guys pulled three days ago." Thor pouted and to his outrage, Jane drank his drink and her eyes widened. "Wow, this is surprisingly really good."
"What did I get myself into?" Carol wondered out loud.
****
Tony slowly opened the doors and was met with the sight of Christine Palmer and really young Peggy Carter. The sight actually made him bluescreen for a few seconds. Tony was used to seeing Peggy old with grey hair that barely reached her shoulders. This Peggy is young. She looks like she is even younger than him. She has long dark brown hair, similar to his, and there are no visible wrinkles on her face. She is wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants, but Tony can tell that she has a perfectly fit physique.
Too fit... it made him feel slightly jealous. Maybe he should work out more...
She isn't a walking muscle like Rogers, but she still looked more muscular and stronger than Romanoff. What surprised Tony the most were her eyes. They were dark brown. How the fuck he didn't realize the truth before is beyond his understanding. Maria Stark had bright blue eyes. Howard Stark had a darker shade of green. Most children share the same eye color with their parents. His eyes aren't just similar to hers. They are exactly the same.
"Hi." Tony softly greeted as he awkwardly waved at them, his body still mostly hidden behind the doors, so they only saw his head and an arm. Smooth, Stark. Very smooth. Not awkward at all...
"Hi." Peggy greeted back. Just as awkwardly as he did. Her voice was small, nervous, hesitant, and dare to say even slightly afraid.
"Hey." Christine proudly smiled and patted a place next to her. "Don't stand in the doors like a Stranger. Come in!"
Tony sighed and bit his lips. He finally pushed his body inside the room and settled himself down next to Christine while not taking his eyes away from Peggy. "This is awkward..."
"Extremely awkward," Peggy softly added.
"I will go bring us some coffee!" Christine declared as she stood up and quickly moved towards the doors. It was a weak attempt to give them privacy and they all knew it but neither of them commented on it. "Or a bear..." She quietly whispered to herself as she closed the doors behind her. Unaware that both Tony and Peggy perfectly heard her.
"So... how do you like to be called?" Tony asked after a moment of silence. "Do you prefer to be called Margaret, Peggy, Elizabeth, or something entirely new?"
"Uhm... Peggy feels more natural to me..." Peggy said as she bit her lips. "But you can call me whatever you want..."
"Peggy it is," Tony said, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible because her nervousness was throwing him off his game. The Peggy Carter he knew was always strong and confident. Not vulnerable. But then again, this isn't the Peggy Carter that he knew... "Call me Tony. I hate when someone calls me Anthony or something else."
"Alright... Tony." Peggy tasted the name on her lips. Her shoulders also went a bit higher which gave him the impression that she was a bit more comfortable.
"Do you like your room?" Tony asked.
Peggy's mouth slightly opened and she looked confused. "What?"
"Do you like your room?" Tony repeated and made a hand gesture around them. "It originally belong to Natasha Romanoff, but she won't use it again. Ever." His face darkened but he quickly collected himself and gave her a small smile. "If you want, we can move you to a completely new room. One that you can decorate however you see fit and one that is on the floor with the rest of us and not former-"
"S.H.I.E.L.D agents?" Peggy finished for him and gave him a small nod of her head. "Yeah, I know what's happening. I know S.H.I.E.L.D fell because of Hydra."
"I knew that you knew," Tony stated. "I just expected you to be a little bit more... Angry about it?"
"Why would I be?" Peggy asked. "I remember building up that organization but it wasn't really me, was it?" She said and it came out a bit harsh. "Brining in Zola was a mistake and deep down she knew something like this would eventually happen. S.H.I.E.L.D got what it was destined to get." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not happy about those innocent lives, but I'm not angry about its collapse."
"Wow," Tony muttered, visibly surprised. "I honestly didn't expect you to say this, considering your template traded me for her work." He said more bitterly than he originally wanted.
"I'm sorry," Peggy muttered, surprising him even more. "I'm so sorry for what she did..." She repeated but it came out like a broken and sad whisper. "I don't- I don't understand why she would do that! I remember the feeling she felt when she held you in her arms for the first time. She was happy!" She snapped much to Tony's shock. "This is what she always did, dammit! She was the source of her own unhappiness!" She began to rant and Tony had a feeling she was no longer talking to him. "She was the one who was never able to tell her brother how much she admired him until it was too late. She was the one who was never able to tell Howard how she really felt about him! Not me!" She breathed heavily and hang her head down. "Not me..."
"Hey..." Tony gently shook her by the shoulder, making her look up at him and allowing him to see her unshed tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to upset you."
"I'm so sorry..." Peggy whispered again as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Tony sighed and settled himself down next to her. "Look, I admit, I'm pissed and every part of me wants to fly to Washington and give her peace of my mind... But you are not her. You are not the one who made her choices. You are your own person and I will tread you as such. Okay?"
"How can you even look at me?" Peggy quietly asked as she swallowed a sob.
"Well, it helps that you look crazily young and have no grey hair." Tony joked with a quick fake chuckle, trying to lighten up the mood and calm the woman in front of him down. He will have to have a chat about her mental state with Christine later... "How old even are you? I mean physically... No offense."
"40." Peggy quietly answered. "38 if we count the time I was created and 1 if we count the years I was awake."
"That's... weird," Tony stated with a grimace. "You don't look at it. I would guess you 35 at most and even that is a stretch."
"Thanks. I think..." Peggy muttered.
"It was a compliment." Tony clarified for her. "You have a niece. Her name is Sharon Carter. The other you practically helped raise her."
"I read about her." Peggy quietly said. "But, I don't know... I don't feel any familial connection to her. Maybe it's because I never saw her in person or because I had no memories of her..."
"It's okay," Tony quickly reassured. "She is a brat anyway. She also has a crush on your ex-fling. Which is in my book weird as hell."
"ex-fling?" Peggy questioned with burrowed eyebrows. She was clearly and visibly confused.
"Steve Rogers." Tony spit the name out with disgust. "Turned out my old man was right after all. Captain America lives."
"I know," Peggy admitted and finally wiped her tears away. "I saw the footage from S.H.I.E.L.D's Helicarrier during that alien invasion. I'm sorry about how Steve talked to you. He always had a temper but I would never think that he would try to pick a fight with Howard's child... Not after everything Howard did for him."
"Would you like to meet him?" Tony asked.
"No," Peggy answered without hesitation. "Whatever there was between Steve and Her was only a crush and nothing more. I'm not her and I hold no attraction to him. Not after everything I saw. Her life also didn't stop after his death. She lived a long life and for a while, she was even happy until she ruined it again..."
"You are talking about Dad?" Tony wondered out loud. "What was their relationship anyway? I tried to look for some clues but I found nothing. I know they were very close friends but I never would've guessed they..." He cleared his throat and pointed at himself. "You know..."
"Slept together?" Peggy finished for him and her lips twitch upwards a little.
"Yeah..." Tony uncomfortably grimaced and even slightly winced.
"Well, you know Me and Howard..." Peggy began but stopped and frowned when she realized what she just said.
"You can talk in the first person." Tony quickly reassured. "I don't mind." He didn’t lie. He seriously didn’t mind. He found it extremely weird but he wanted to know the whole story about his conception.
"Alright..." Peggy nodded and licked her lips. "You probably already know me and Howard knew each other for a really long time. At first, we were just friends. He got into trouble and Me and Mr. Jarvis helped to clear his name. After that, we had a few more adventures before we started building S.H.I.E.L.D. The romance happened somewhat naturally. One day we were just having a drink and the next thing we know we-" She stopped herself and snapped her fingers two times. "You know." Tony grimaced because he indeed knew what she meant. "We never officially dated, but we did everything a pair would do. We went on vacations, spent weekends together, and supported each other when we needed it."
"So, you two basically dated without the official word," Tony concluded with slightly widened eyes. He seriously didn’t expect that. He thought that they were more like friends with benefits who had no real feelings for each other.
"I guess you could say that," Peggy admitted and smiled. "Anna Jarvis used to tease us about it. Howard tried to make it official on a few occasions but..."
"That's what you meant by "she was the source of her own unhappiness" wasn't it?" Tony guessed.
"Yeah..." Peggy sadly nodded. "She knew he loved her and she loved him too, but she was too afraid to admit it to herself and to him. I guess he had finally enough and got over her later on..."
"He was happy with Mom." Tony quickly reassured. "I mean Maria as my Mom..."
"I know..." Peggy remorsefully said and looked down. "I'm happy for him. I'm aware you two weren't close, but he did deserve happiness after everything he had been through..."
"I wouldn't know," Tony muttered to himself and looked away from her. For a while, they set in complete silence until Tony stood up and offered her his hand. She stared at it for a while and he rolled his eyes. "Come on. We are going on a little trip."
"A trip?" Peggy questioned with a raised eyebrow as she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "To where?"
"Outside to the city. You need some clothes of your own. Consider it as a chance to get to know me and a few other people that we will drag along." Tony answered "as he started leading her to the doors. "Jarvis? Tell Christine to not bother with that bear and let her know to meet us in 30 minutes at the bottom floor."
"Done," Jarvis reported back. "Should I call anyone else for you, Sir?"
"Maybe…," Tony muttered as he stopped in his tracks. "First, tell me, did Bruce already invite Honeybear and Carol to join The Avengers? If so, what did they say? Are they in?"
"Both Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Danvers accepted the invite," Jarvis answered with a pleased tone.
"Good!" Tony exclaimed with a grin. "I love when things go according to the plan!" He said to Peggy who was looking at their surroundings in awe. "Anyway, tell Brucie-boy and Carol to join us on this little shopping trip. Carol doesn't have any clothes either and I'm sure Bruce will need a couple of new shirts... Maybe even a new pillow now that I think about it..." He muttered the last part to himself as he remembered waking up in Bruce's bed with two supermodels three days ago before he passed out thanks to his new abilities. That gave him an idea. "Small change of plans. Tell Christine, Bruce, and Carol to meet us down in 5minutes. We will need to hurry up because I have already planned something else for us later."
"Something else?" Peggy questioned as she quickly caught up to him and walked beside him.
"It will be a surprise," Tony smirked.
****
"What did you get us into?!" Bruce whined as he rubbed his eyes and released a frustrated breath. "Have you not learned that we DO. NOT. GO. SHOPPING. WITH. GIRLS!"
"How was I supposed to know it would end up like this?!" Tony defended himself as he placed another magazine down on the table between them. "We are shopping for two girls who weren't on a shopping spree for two decades! Never in Peggy's case!" He added and rubbed his nose. "How was I supposed to know that Christine would be like this?"
"We have been sitting here for two hours!" Bruce shrieked and almost ripped some of his hair off. "I'm not known for my patience, Tony." He said with a hint of green in his eyes. "What the hell are they even still doing in there?"
"I don't know." Tony shrugged and pulled his phone out. "Girl stuff. Christine said that she is going to 'find their style'. Whatever the fuck that means..." He paused and winced as a look of horror crawled on his face. "Boy... can you even imagine what would happen if we brought Jane along too?"
Bruce also winced and shivered in his seat. "Don't even joke about things like that... I swore that I would never go with her to any kind of shop ever again..."
"Cheers to that, buddy." Tony nodded his head in approval.
"Boys!" Christine called out as she finally walked out of the dressing room with a smirk. She dramatically bowed and moved slightly to the left. "I present to you! Carol Danvers and Peggy Carter of the 21 century!"
Tony and Bruce exchanged confused looks before Peggy and Carol walked out of the dressing room. Peggy's clothes looked a little bit more ordinary. They were still clearly super comfy and expensive but she obviously didn't go overboard. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with a black jacket on top with black jeans. Carol on the other hand was wearing a black leather jacket that revealed her cleavage with black skin-tight pants that hugged her curves and tights like a second skin. To make her even more seductive, she also had a pair of sunglasses and high heels.
"Bloody hell," Tony whispered to Bruce, neither of them taking their eyes off the girls. "You know... I feel like these two hours were worth the sight."
"Uhmmm." Bruce hummed and slowly nodded his head. "You both look beautiful, girls."
"Thank you." Peggy smiled.
"Yeah, thanks..." Carol said and slightly frowned as she lifted her sunglasses up. "Why didn't you two join us? We had fun and champagne."
Tony blinked at her. "I'm sorry, what?"
"We had champagne," Carol repeated a bit slower with a small smile.
Tony frowned and pointed an accusing finger at Christine with outrage on his face. "You little she-devil! You left me and Bruce here with only magazines when you three had champagne in there?!"
"Sorry, we just forgot about you two?" Christine offered with an innocent smile. "But I'm sure you two had fun while waiting. Maybe next time you won't lie to Jane about going on a charity event when you in reality went to play volleyball on a private island with college girls."
Tony gasped and turned to Bruce with betrayal in his eyes. "You and Thor told her?!"
"I did not! I’m not that suicidal!" Bruce frantically defended himself. "Clint snitched on us!"
"Is it because we didn't invite him?!" Tony raged on. “I did call him once…”
"No!" Bruce shook his head and scratched his nose. "He just didn't realize that Jane didn't know about it..."
"Bloody hell..." Tony cursed under his breath. “We are doomed…” He quickly grabbed the bags collected behind Christine and jerked his head to the exit. "Chip chop. We have a job to do."
"What job?" Carol curiously asked.
"You, new girl, are going to field with Rhodey, Thor, and Clint," Tony began as they exited the shop. "Me, Bruce, Peggy, Christine, and against my sense of self-preservation, Jane, are going to California, Los Angles."
"Why Los Angles?" Bruce questioned with confusion heavy in his voice.
Tony smirked. "I'm glad you asked-"
"Tony!"
All of them turned around and saw two girls with wide smiles waving at them from the distance and quickly approaching them.
"Son of a bitch." Tony whispered and quickly looked at Bruce. "Quickly. We need a battle plan. Do you remember their names by any chance?"
"No." Bruce shook his head and bit his lips. "It was something on L, I think… At least the third one isn't with them."
"Good for you!" Tony sarcastically snapped. "But it still sucks for me." He signed and licked his lips. "Operation: Casandra?"
"I'm not running with these bags." Bruce shook his head. "Plus, we are in the middle of New York. People might get spooked if they see two Avengers running with hands full of bags."
”Fuck… you are right.” Tony muttered with a frown.
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Christine asked with a raised eyebrow before it clicked to her. She looked at the two girls who were quickly closing in on them and then back at Tony with disgust. "Seriously? Those are the girls you slept with before the whole info dump?"
"Yeah." Tony shamelessly nodded. "Hey! Cut the judgment." He said at the look Christine have him. He jerked his head to Bruce. "At least, I woke up in my own bed."
"You woke up in my bed." Bruce reminded him.
"At least I woke up in a bed!" Tony hissed back and took a few calming breaths. "Alright... Keep calm. You have trained for these kinds of situations almost every day during your teen days. Think, Tony. Think..." He looked around them and his eyes landed back on Christine. He titled his head to the side and smiled at her.
"What?" Christine questioned with suspicion. Tony started to move closer to her and she immediately jolted away. "Absolutely not! I also have a public life, you know. I don't need to be seen as another one of your... whatever you call them."
"Come on, help a buddy out, Christy." Tony pouted and gave her puppy eyes that had no effect on her. He sighed and was prepared to turn around and meet his unfortunate fate, but luckily Carol moved to him and put her arm around his waist, pulling him slightly closer. "What are you doing?" He asked as he looked at her. "Not that I mind...You smell nice." He dreamingly whispered, feeling slightly dazed. “God… Is that the smell of heaven?”
”Smooth, Stark. I’m charmed and blown away by your compliments.” Carol sarcastically said and rolled her eyes. “I’m just helping you out, now stop sniffing me and wrap your arm around me, otherwise they might not get the right message."
"I knew I liked you for a reason." Tony grinned as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer.
"Could you not..." Peggy uncomfortably pleaded and looked anywhere but at them. "Please, I do not want to see this happening. Like ever."
"Come on, lighten up, Peg!" Carol teased as she pinched Tony's side, making him yelp. He growled at her and she innocently shook her head. "No, no, no. No growling or glaring at me, Honey. Your side chicks are almost directly behind us." She seductively whispered to his ear and Tony quickly took a side glance behind them, seeing that she was right. He rolled his own eyes and quickly leaned down to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making Peggy slightly cringe and Carol fake a giggle. "See, I knew you could be romantic, Honey."
"You know it, babe." Tony cheerfully exclaimed, fully aware that both girls were now at a hearable distance from them. Just as he planned, they both stopped in their tracks and stared at the backs of his and Carol’s head with wide eyes. Seeing as they were no longer following, Carol pushed herself away from Tony who winked at her. "Thanks for the help, Care." He turned and glared at Christine. "It's good to know at least one of my female friends has my back!"
"Oh, cry me a river." Christine taunted with a laugh.
"You welcome," Carol waved it off. "Consider it my thanks for the clothes and the room at The Avengers Tower."
"Anything for the best female Avenger," Tony responded with a grin.
"You don't even know what I can do." Carol reminded him with amusement written all over her face.
"Oh, but I do," Tony responded with a smirk. "I read the file Fury had on you in S.H.I.E.L.D's database. Cosmic energy and energy absorption and manipulation. Impressive stuff. I even know that your power originated from The Tesseract."
"They did," Carol quietly confirmed. In her mind thinking about the fact that Fury had a file about her.
"Mine came from an element designed after The Tesseract, so I guess we are similar in a way." Tony thoughtfully pointed out.
"You have powers?" Peggy questioned with wide eyes.
"Telekinesis," Tony answered with a nod. "It's a completely new development. I can't even properly control it right now. Luckily, I know someone who can help me and can also help us with this whole info dump thing."
"Who?" Bruce curiously asked.
"Susan Storm-Richards," Tony said with a small smile while Bruce's eyes slightly widened in shock and also excitement. "As I said earlier, Rhodey, Thor, Carol, and Clint are going to stay here and continue with the rescue missions alongside Jarvis, Hill, and The Iron Legion, while the rest of us are going to Los Angles where we will solve all of our problems." His smile turned into a grin as he patted Bruce on the shoulders. "Prepare your swimsuit, Buddy, We are going to visit The Fantastic Four."