Prologue
Four months ago The Avengers had a fight that split and tore them apart. The Public believes it was a fight of beliefs, and at first, it might've been true, but then in Siberia it became personal and Tony Stark paid the prize.
Nobody knows what really happened in Siberia. The Public just knows that there was a fight between Iron Man, Captain America, and The Winter Soldier, and Tony Stark ended up in a coma and a critical condition.
The US eventually negotiated with the help of the King of Wakanda for The (Rogue) Avengers to safely return to US soil and safely sign the Accords, and the world welcomed them with open arms and labeled Iron Man a traitor who deceived The Avengers and tried to kill their beloved Captain America and his best friend.
The world outside Europe continues to stand behind Tony Stark and his side, as Iron Man was the one who was willing to fight for the law, but in The US, Tony Stark is known these days as: Iron Man The Betrayer.
Then it all started.
At first, it was only one spaceship, but then it was two, three, ten, twenty, and New York was left burning. That was also when the message came:
"People of Earth. My name is Supergiant, Daughter of Thanos and the General of Chitauri fleet. Surrender yourself to me and some of you will survive my wrath. You have 24 hours to give up The Mind Stone and the one you call Iron Man, or I will burn your entire world."
The same day Tony Stark's body vanished without a trace and the Human/Chitauri War officially began, just like Tony said it would.
The Military quickly mobilized, but no matter how much they pushed, Chitauri always ended up winning the fight, and a week later, most of The US is in complete chaos. The entire East Coast is completely devastated and New York is still burning while the rest of the US is quickly falling.
The rest of the world is holding up pretty well, but that's probably because Supergiant is concentrating her forces mainly on America and nothing else.
The Avengers foolishly tried to take the fight to Supergiant, but it only cost them hundreds of soldiers and military equipment. Supergiant took the burning New York for herself and created some sort of Fortress around it.
The Government tried to nuke New York again, but this time it didn't work. This time the Chitauri were prepared and shot that nuke down even before it managed to get in range of the city. And in return, Supergiant glassed the city of Detroit.
****
Friday sighs as she gently runs her purple holographic fingers on top of The Cradle that currently keeps the broken body of Tony Stark alive.
The Phoenix Protocol is a dangerous procedure that can end up killing him, but Friday knows what Tony would choose right now. Despite everything that happened, Tony Stark would never let the world burn. Not even if it would cost his own life.
This protocol was designed by Tony and Jarvis a few years back when Tony was still dying from palladium poisoning but was eventually abandoned because it was ahead of its time.
Nanites. As soon as an injury occurs, the nanites will instantly fix the damaged area with themselves, while also performing the functions of the damaged cells. At the same time, the nanites will also be restoring the originally damaged cells, using biological 3D printers that work similarly to The Cradle.
This will also destroy Tony's aging mechanism and physically enhance his body. He will be stronger, faster, more durable and his healing will be 10x faster than that of Captain America. Plus, the nanites will also directly connect to his nervous system, thus giving him a small connection to the internet, or simply said: Technopathy.
Friday looks down at Tony's face and can already see some pleasant changes in his appearance. He looks younger, more handsome and his body isn't so deadly pale as before. His facial scars are also completely gone and Friday is convinced that it's the same case with all of his other scars. His blood pressure and heartbeat are also stable.
Falling into despair, Friday pulls her hand back and sits down, leaning her purple back against the wall. She pulls her knees to her chin and looks down.
She hates seeing him like this...
She begged him to let her use deadly force in Siberia, but he didn't listen to her!
They could've ended the fight even before it started. Just one quick slash of the Iron Mans' lasers and both Barnes and Rogers would be either dead or unable to move...
Friday buried her head into her legs, silently wondering why is her construct shaking. She is an AI for Christ's Sake! If she didn't know better, she would say that she is having a panic attack.
PING.
Friday flinches at the sudden sound, but when she realizes what it means, she quickly jumps to her feet and runs to the Cradle. Tonys chest is rising and falling like it should be, which means he is breathing on his own.
Looking over all of his vitals again, Friday accesses The Cradles frame and starts the releasing sequence. The Cradle opens up and out of the pod comes frosty steam of defrosting ice.
Despite his eyes still closed, Friday can see that Tony is slowly coming back to consciousness. Friday moves closer to the Cradle, wanting to be the first thing Tony sees, and also to give him some grounding point, so he doesn't freak out.
"Come on Boss..." Friday mutters, looking down at his face with pleading eyes. "Wake up...”
As if on command, Tony Stark finally opens his eyes, revealing their new glowing Electric Blue color.
“W-where am I?” Tony rasps out, his eyes unfocused and his throat sore. As soon as he sees the cute purple girl in front of him, he knows who she is and relaxes. “Friday?”
"I'm here Boss" Friday immediately answered, giving him a small warm smile. Tony’s face brightened a bit at the sound of her voice, as he checked her construct’s form in and smirked.
“You are cute. Clearly not a redhead.” Tony chuckled and tried to sit up but ultimately failed, falling back to his lying position. “Ouch…”
"Don't get up, Boss. It's...it's been a while since you were awake.” Friday said, placing her hand on his shoulder and gently pressing him down when he tries to sit up again. “Your muscles are weak from inactivity and your body is still trying to get used to the nanites in your bloodstream.”
“Nanites?” Tony questions with widened eyes, staring at his arms and noticing no scar on them. “The Phoenix Protocol?”
“It was the only way.” Friday said, sadly looking down, while Tony remembers the events of Siberia and violently flinches at the memory of the vibranium shield smashing into his chest.
Mom…
“Where are we Friday?” Tony asked with a suspicion clear in his voice, closing his eyes to keep the tears back.
“On board of Pegasus.” Friday answered with a grimace, while Tony’s eyes snapped open as he practically jolted out of the cradle and stared at her.
“Pegasus was supposed to he activated when only one thing happened.” Tony muttered, not taking his eyes of Friday. “The Aliens are back, aren’t they?”
“I can show you.” Friday bites her lips. “You are a Technopath now. I can show you what’s happening around the world, but I need you to promise me something.” She takes his hand and gives him a small squeeze. “Don’t die for them.”
“I will not die.” Tony tries to reassure her, fully aware that’s not what Friday wanted to hear.
Friday’s jaw tightened, but she doesn’t say anything and just projects everything he needs to know inside his head. Tony is slightly overwhelmed by the amount of data his mind received, but the scientist in him can’t help himself but be excited.
And then Tony sees it all. The reports after Civil War, The Start of The Invasion, New York, Detroit. He sees it all and is justifiably disgusted and horrified.
“I won’t die for The Avengers.” Tony promises, turning around and giving Friday a small warm smile. “And Fri, call me Tony.”
“Tony…” Friday tastes it on her lips, smiling back at him. “So what now? Are we going to save the World?”
“I guess we are.” Tony grins at her, before turning to the screens at the wall. “Bring this bad boy in the air and set the course to Chicago.” He then smirks to himself and walks up to the storage unit that holds his most advanced Iron Man Suit yet. “Let’s show that blue bitch who’s world this is.”