The Benefits of Hindsight

Tony stood there, at the altar, and for a second it felt as if his very brain had to reboot. Of all the things that could have happened today, Vanko appearing at his wedding was something he didn’t manage to think of. 

So much for the benefits of hindsight. 

The formerly peaceful scene had turned into chaos as guests began to react. The first thing to do was to get the area cleared. Looking through the crowd, he eyed the Ancient One who nodded. 

She opened some portals and the X-Men who were present began escorting guests. Vanko himself seemed frozen but a quick look at Charles explained that. 

“Mr. Stark, if I can assist in getting your wedding party out of here?” A woman walked up. It took Tony a moment to recognize Hope Van Dyne. 

“Pepper, get your bridesmaids and go. Happy, get the boys and girls to safety.” 

There were twin protests from the boys at being shoved out of the way. Tony turned to both, quickly kneeling. “You’re too little bambinos. The best way you can help is by helping to keep the guests calm. Let me handle this.” 

It took a moment but she finally got begrudging nods and the pair allowed Happy to lead them off. 

“Platypus! I know it's my wedding day but I’ve got a present for you.” Tony darted to the edge of the arch and revealed a keypad. Entering the code, he opened the secret hatch (he really hadn’t been able to help himself) and took out a briefcase, tossing it to Rhodey. 

Going to the opposite side, he repeated the process and grabbed the second briefcase. 

“Oh, that’s right! You never used this model.” Tony snapped the briefcase open and engaged the sequence. Around him, the armor was built. He saw Rhodey duplicate the process and begin forming the War Machine armor. 

Tony made a mental note to make sure that whole Iron Patriot nonsense never happened. 

In the spirit of keeping his tech from looking… too futuristic, the process for the armor to fully go online was much slower than Tony would have preferred. When he finally was online, he saw Hank, Logan, and Hope Van Dyne helping get people away from where Vanko had already turned on his whips. 

The part of Tony that was a tinkerer wondered how different this fight would be from the previous version. Both the Iron Man suit and the arc reactor were very different than they had been the first time around. Also, he had Rhodey with him for this first fight. 

He also knew who he was fighting and wondered if he’d ever be done cleaning up the messes his dad made. 

“Tony Stark.” Vanko turned to face him. 

“Ivan Vanko.” Tony answered, eyeing the last dozen or so guests that were clearing the area. While there had been very few casualties last time around, Tony was determined to keep that number to zero here. 

Vanko seemed surprised. “You know me?”

“I know our Dads went back a ways. I know your’s turned traitor and ended up spending the rest of his life in Siberia. And I also know that you think my life should have been your’s.” 

“You got everything.”

“Including messes left by both of our fathers. Or did you not hear how I spent the last almost year cleaning up my company.” 

“To make yourself look better, to keep the Stark name on top.” 

The last of the guests had made it inside and several of the X-Men were stationed between Vanko and the guests. 

Tony flipped the helmet up so he could talk face-to-face with Vanko. “What I don’t understand is what you hoped to accomplish here?”

“To show the world you can be beaten. That the great Tony Stark has a weakness.” 

“That didn’t end well for the last person who tried to exploit my weaknesses.” 

Vanko threw a whip in his direction. Tony shut the helmet quickly and caught the whip. Like last time, it shocked his suit. Unlike last time, it didn’t cause a dramatic overload. 

The new core was holding strong.

Vanko pulled back, trying to yank Tony with the whip but a quick fire from Rhodey caused Vanko to go on the defensive. 

He looked around desperately and grabbed the nearest person- a certain white-haired woman Tony knew was literally the worst target for Vanko to have picked- Storm. Tony wasn’t quite sure if the look on her face was annoyance, or if it was indignation. 

Her eyes turned white and the wind quickly picked up. Even from a few yards away, Tony’s HUD was giving him readings on how fast the wind was blowing in an extremely small area. Unfortunately, whatever Storm had up her sleeve was throwing chairs from several rows around. 

Tony had to grab a couple, trying not to damage the property too much. 

Inside the tornado, Vanko seemed frozen. Tony couldn’t quite tell if it was out of fear or confusion. 

Clouds gathered overhead and thunder rumbled. And with as much gravitas as it could muster, a flash of lightning made its way right at Vanko. 

With an indignant huff (which answered his earlier question), Storm stepped away. 

Vanko remained frozen on the spot, his harness sparking, the whips lying virtually useless, his hair sticking up worse than Doc Brown’s. 

Realizing his whips were on the fritz, Vanko rushed at Tony. Tony caught his fists in the gauntlets of the Iron Man armor and held his ground. 

“Here’s the thing, Ivan. Your dad could have been a part of this. We could have grown up like cousins. You might have been in a third set of armor beside me and Rhodey. But he threw it away to get ahead and it cost him.” Tony threw him, sending Vanko flying. 

He crashed into an aisle of chairs and it took him a second to get up. Around his abdomen, the makeshift suit he was wearing was sparking. Storm had overloaded the reactor and it couldn’t take much more. 

Rushing forward, he yanked the arc reactor off of Vanko’s chest and threw it to the side. “It’s over.” 

Vanko spit at his feet.

“Oh, and my dad figured out the next step for that technology. Maybe they’ll let you watch my presentation at the Expo when I unveil it.”

Agent Coulson walked up. “Want me to take him off your hands, Dr. Stark?” 

Tony hesitated. He couldn’t think of a good reason to say no without revealing information he had no reason to have. And he wasn’t willing to let that slip this early into the game. Too many people knew or suspected as it was. 

But there was a chance that Hydra could get a hold of him instead of Hammer. Or maybe both. Justin would be stupid enough to inadvertently team up with Nazis to get ahead of Tony. 

Coulson was one of the good ones, of that Tony was certain. This would either very much work in his favor or blow up in his face. 

While there were benefits to hindsight, Tony was quickly learning that there were downsides to knowing too much. This was one of those times. Last time, he wouldn’t have hesitated, this time, he knew too much not to. 

But judging by Coulson’s expression, he’d been quiet for a bit too long. “I’d appreciate it, Agent Coulson. Make sure he doesn’t fall into the wrong hands for me. Also, if you get his address, can you forward that to me? I’d like to personally examine his quarters to make sure none of my dad’s old designs have fallen into the wrong hands.”

“Of course.” Coulson cuffed the man and led him away. At least that eliminated one party crasher from his wedding. 

Tony looked around at the disheveled site where their ceremony was supposed to take place. If there was even a wedding to be had at this point. 

Technically, when someone protests a marriage, it voids the license given at the courthouse. The wedding would be off and they’d have to start again. 

Luckily for Tony and Pepper, one of their guests happened to be a judge and was able to grant them a new one. After time for the technicalities and time to reset the ceremony, it had happened without a hitch. 

Now, they were all gathered in the reception hall celebrating. Pepper was in Tony’s arms, and May and Ben were dancing nearby as well. Rhodey had taken Rose for a spin around the dance floor. 

And the kids. 

The three had formed a circle and were dancing in a ridiculous fashion. But Tony could tell by the grins on their faces that they were having the time of their lives. 

And so was he. 

The woman he loved was in his arms, they were married again. Pepper’s parents had Morgan off in a corner, and his boys who he had literally moved through time and space for were feet away being silly. 

“I love that you’re Mrs. Stark again.” He smiled at her.

“I love that I’m married to you again.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “It makes everything that’s coming seem easier to face.” 

“Because I’m not the same egotistical idiot who faced them the last time?” 

She lifted her head, swatting his shoulder. “Partially. But those experiences made you the man I love. But now, we get a second chance. We can be stronger and face what’s coming head-on.” 

“And not dance around each other until the literal end of life as we know it.” Tony twirled Pepper. 

“There’s that too.” She smiled. 

“Dad!” All three kids ran over. “They’re doing a fast one! Dance with us!” 

How could Tony refuse a request like that? He and Pepper joined the odd circle the kids had formed. Whitney Houston rang out over the speakers and the group was happy just being together. 

As the song ended, Tony looked out over the crowd. Already some of these people were closer to him than they’d been the last time around. Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne were both welcome additions to whatever team he would have to form someday. And he was still kicking himself for never reaching out to the Mutant Community in the previous timeline. 

When they all got back from their trip, Tony was actually going to go up to Xavier’s school and lecture to his computer science class. And then to his chemistry class. People were willing to pay a pretty penny to hear about the new element he’d created. But until he revealed it to the public via the expo, he was keeping it under wraps. 

Even the Stark Industries Board was behind him more than he’d ever had them in the previous timeline. Even before they’d had a rushed courthouse ceremony, he’d been trying to find ways to not invite them to the occasion. But this time around, they were welcome additions. 

Looking back at the kids, he noticed that Harley was no longer in the circle, instead Abby and Peter were dancing by themselves. Knowing that leaving either of the boys to their own devices - especially at this age - was a bad idea, Tony scanned the crowd for him. 

“Trouble?” Rhodey appeared beside him. 

“I’ve lost sight of Harley. And unfortunately, those boys take a little too much after me.” 

“The place is swarming with heroes. Plus, I’d like to think that he wouldn’t do anything too over the top at your wedding.” 

Tony turned to his best friend. “See, that’s exactly the time for him to do something.” 

“Wait, isn’t that him up by the DJ?” Rhodey pointed where the boy was talking eagerly with the DJ who nodded. 

“I shudder at what’s about to be played.” Tony eyed him nervously. 

The song ended and the crowd paused and clapped. The DJ took his microphone and with a grin, brought it to his mouth. “I’ve got a special request from one of the sons of the groom. He’d like to include a little of his heritage in the festivities.”

Cotton Eye Joe began to play and he saw Harley rush onto the dance floor and Peter and Abby fall into line. Abby hadn’t quite developed the coordination to be able to do the steps without stumbling, but her efforts were adorable to watch. 

Peter on the other hand, was using some of the grace and agility his powers gave him to be rather adept at the line dance. 

“Come on, Mechanic!” Harley called and Tony was only just able to hear him over the sound of the music. 

Shaking his head, he grabbed Rhodey and they fell in line beside the kids. Tony wasn’t entirely sure of the moves and found himself watching Peter and Harley as the fast-paced song played. 

When he wasn’t watching the kids, he was seeing superheroes, board members, and family all gathering to do a simple line dance. It was a moment he hadn’t been able to have in the previous timeline. 

And for that, and many other reasons on top of it, Tony would cherish it while it lasted.