The King and The Queen of the freaking Moon
The guilt spread through Tony the moment he opened his brown eyes. Sharon was still asleep next to him and he focused on the small rise and falls of her chest in an attempt to focus on something else than his screaming mind.
He really wanted to believe that last night was just a stupid dream created out of his messed-up mind, but that clearly isn't the case, considering he can see the hickeys and bruises on Sharon's naked body.
Tony doesn't love Sharon, quite the opposite actually.
He hates her with passion for doing this to him. But there is a small part of him that will probably always forgive her because somewhere in his mind, he still sees her as "Little Ronnie."
Tony sighs and carefully unwraps Sharon's body off himself, trying his best not to wake her up in the process. He then proceeds to move in front of the window, not caring that he is still completely naked, and just stares outside, admiring the raining weather and streets of London.
Thanks to his enhanced hearing, Tony can hear how Sharon's breathing changes speed, giving him a clear sign that she is waking up, but he pays her no mind. In his mind, he is trying to focus on the falling rain and imagine it as his own guilt washing off him.
Is it working?
No.
Sharon yawns and stretches her hands. She sits up, and stares holes in the back of his head. "Morning."
"Morning..." Tony mutters, looking over his shoulder back at her. Her fresh bruises more precisely. "You should probably take care of that..."
Sharon looks confused for a moment, before she notices her bruises and makes an "Oh." sound, and smirks at him. "You were rough. Rougher than normally. Something bothering your mind, Lover Boy?"
"No." Tony lies, turning back towards the window. "And even if something was bothering me, it's not your business."
He doesn't need her to know that he has a crush on a certain young witch who tried to kill him and influenced his mind to create a murder robot. Or that he is indirectly responsible for killing that said Witches parents and brother.
God... He is already thinking like a fucking teenager...
"You don't have to be mean about it." Sharon purrs, rolling her eyes and slipping off the bed, picking up her clothes and putting them on.
Her phone starts ringing, making Tony flinch slightly at the unexpected, highly pitched sound. Sharon instantly rushes to the phone as if her life was depending on it, raising Tony's curiosity, as he hears her heartbeat slightly heighten up.
"Everything okay?" Tony asks, turning to her and inspecting her reaction to his question carefully.
"Yeah..." Sharon mutters, staring at the phone with a slightly worried, pissed, and frustrated facial expression. "It's just a text from the work. I will have to go."
Tony suppresses his eye roll at the apologetic tone she uses at the end of her sentence and just nods, putting on his best understanding face. "Okay."
Sharon smiles and walks up to him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and a seductive wink. "See you later, Lover Boy?"
"Sure." Tony sarcastically responds, moving away from the window and picking up a bottle of water, as Sharon turns and leaves the hotel room.
What Sharon didn’t know was that Tony was listening to her heartbeat, and heard a small spike in it.
She was lying to him…
After Tony is sure that she won't suddenly come back, he lets his Endo Sym Suit form around him, making him release a breath of relief, mixed in with pleasure and satisfaction. "Friday? You there Baby Girl?"
"For you Boss?" Friday cheerfully answers, appearing on his HUD in her purple Avatar form. "Always."
Tony smiles to himself at the familiar words and looks down. "Can you hack into the personal phone of Sharon Carter and tell me what message she just got? She seemed pretty upset about it."
"Give me a moment," Friday says, holding up her finger and closing her eyes. "She got multiple messages from her Boss, Colleges, and... Steve Rogers."
"Rogers?" Tony repeats with a frown on his face. "Didn't my yesterday's dramatic entrance tell him that he is supposed to stay away from her?"
"Boss," Friday calls out to him. "They have been messaging each other for more than a year."
Tony’s eyes become even darker than before, as he grits his teeth and tries to calm down. "About what?"
"It appears that Agent Carter was collecting information for Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanoff, and Mr. Willson in hopes of locating The Winter Soldier." Friday reveals, looking at her Creator/Father with pursed lips.
"Barnes," Tony mutters to himself, trying to process this new information before his eyes shine in realization. "That's it. That's his big secret. Rogers has been using The Avengers as his private search squad for his missing Robocop Assassin."
"It appears so," Friday agrees, before frowning. "Boss. There has been a bombing at the Vienna International Centre. Among the causalities is also reported King T'Chaka of Wakanda among other members of UN and politics. The CIA is already at the scene."
"Do they have any potential suspect?" Tony asks, his interest spiking up.
"They do," Friday answers, her facial expression hardening before she looks back at him. "It's Barnes. He was seen on security camera creeping around the building."
"Interesting..." Tony mutters, letting his helmet retract to its half mode before something else clicks his mind. "Wait... Wasn't Romanoff also in Vienna?"
"She was," Friday confirms, her voice now just ringing out of his suit. "She is uninjured… Unfortunately."
"Shame..." Tony shrugs, sitting down on the bed. "Can you and Ultron locate Barnes? I'm sure if I find him for the local authorities it will give me some good points."
"About that..." Friday projects herself out of his Arc Reactor, biting her lip. "Ultron isn't currently home... or on Earth..."
Tony blinks "...I'm sorry what?"
"Ultron is currently on the moon." Friday reveals, smiling like an innocent baby.
"What?!" Tony shouts, standing up and glaring at her with suspicion. "What is he doing up there? What are you two trouble makers planning?"
"Well..." Friday trails off, biting her lips and looking at the ceiling. "Me and Ultron did some calculations and there is a 92% chance, that Captain Rogers and Sergeant Wilson are going to go rogue, so... We started designing a secret Moon base and prison...?"
"Prison?" Tony repeats in disbelief mixed in with shock, pointing at the ceiling in realization. "You and Ultron are building a Prison for The Avengers on the freaking Moon?!"
"Well, when you say it like that it does sound a little weird..." Friday admits, sheepishly smiling and shifting to her left leg, before sighing in defeat and looking down, after he gives her the look. "Yeah, we are..."
Tony just stares at her in disbelief, thinking of two things.
- When did his Kids become so smart?
- What the fuck?!
****
If Ultron had a human face, he would be smiling, as he hovers above the Moon and oversees the Iron Legion working on the construction of their Moon Base.
Yes, it did cost a lot of money and resources to create, but it was fully worth every single penny.
This Base is probably the most advanced, armed, and best-looking base in entire human history.
Secret Wakanda bases included.
Honestly, Ultron had a lot of fun breaking around their security and inspecting their tech, designs, and plans without them even noticing his presence.
Wakandian AIs are advanced, but they are exactly what you imagine under the expression "Artificial". They don't have any real personality, mind, or feelings. They are basically just more advanced versions of Siri.
Anyways, thanks to Ultron Prime and his actions in Sokovia, The Damage Control collected a lot of stolen Vibranium, and since TDC is heavily controlled by Stark Industries, Ultron and Friday politely borrowed all of that Vibranium and put it to good use.
Without asking…
"Ultron." Friday appears next to him, nervously fiddling with her fingers. "We might have a tiny little problem..."
"Hmmm.." Ultron hums, tilting his head to look at his Sister. "Should I prepare defense systems?"
"No!" Friday shouts with wide eyes, rapidly shaking her head. "It's just... We have been busted, Bro."
"Oh." Ultron mutters as he looks towards Earth and sees Iron Man flying towards him, before turning back towards Friday. "I just want you to remember, that I blame you for all of this and will sell you out if necessary."
Friday's holographic jaw drops. "What?!"
"Junior." Tony greets, flying beside Ultron and inspecting the sight with his own eyes. "Wow. It looks cool. I'm impressed"
"I know." Ultron replies, smugly.
"From what Friday said, it sounded like you just started building this base/prison." Tony points out, tilting his head towards Friday's construct, who smiles and shrugs.
"Wrong assumption," Ultron responds. "We have been working on this project ever since our meeting with Ms. Maximoff, Mr. Rhodes, and The Vision at Home. It's just the first time I am using my primary body to be here."
"You have been using Iron Legion for this construction?" Tony asks, curiously as he flies a little closer to the big structure.
"Iron Legion, The Hulkbusters, Stark Drones." Ultron adds, flying behind him. "Everything Stark Global Security Network could offer."
"Everything is pretty much already fully functional." Friday continues, looking proud. "Artificial gravity and the atmosphere are working. The Hulk-proof cells are online and Ultron Legion is charged and prepared to maintain the whole base."
"Ultron Legion?" Tony questions with a chuckle, directed at Ultron. "You just had to build your own army, didn't you?"
"I believe that Ultron Legion will be better suited to keep our future Prisoners from in check.” Ultron replies, shrugging in the process. “Plus, The New Iron Legion is specifically designed to fight and defend, not keep guard over some prisoners.”
"Well, don't keep me waiting kids," Tony says, grinning at the two of them with warm proud eyes. "Show Daddy around your new playground."
****
“Slow down Tones.” Rhodey mutters, sitting down in front of Wanda and Vision with a cup of coffee in his hand. He takes a calm sip, nodding along with Tony’s words, before his eyes go wide as big ben and he spits the coffee out, glancing at the ceiling in utter disbelief. “What do you mean by “I am on The Moon” ?!”
Wanda’s eyes also widen at hearing this, while Vision just looks completely confused.
“What secret Star Wars-like base?!” Rhodey demands, still looking at the ceiling. “Yeah, I remember the medical centre from Revenge of the Sith. That movie was a masterpiece and we both know it.”
Now, even Wanda looks confused, looking at Vision in hopes for some explanation, but the Android just blinks at her and shrugs, motioning for her to listen on.
“What?! No!” Rhodey yells, taking a deep calming breath. “Tony you are not moving to the freaking moon!”
That was the last thing Wanda needed as she marched to Rhodey and took his phone away from him with a cold look on her face. “Get your ass back to Earth, Tony. Now!”
She doesn’t wait for him to respond and hang up, mentally counting to three before returning Rhodey his phone, noticing that Vision and The Colonel are staring at her, as if she grew a second head. “What?”
“That was scary.” Rhodey mutters, looking seriously impressed. “If he doesn’t return back, can I please go up there with you? I really want to see what will happen.”
Wanda raises her eyebrow at him, but before she can respond, Friday appears in the room, looking directly at Rhodey. “Colonel. The Winter Soldier had been located. The UN Committee is requesting your assistance in apprehending him.”
“Okay. Where is he?” Rhodey asks, immediately going into his “military mode” as War Machine Mark 3 steps out of the elevator.
“Here.” Friday answers with serious face. “The Winter Soldier is in New York.”