You Could Make a Case for That

This one shows how oblivious some prop-Tony writers are. Tony mentally complains how stupid it is that Sam, Natasha, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Steve were going to take on Hydra. Apparently not noticing how even MORE stupid it was for Tony to take on Thanos with only Dr. Strange and Spider-Man. It also assumes Tony is able to stop the helicarriers with the flick of a switch, which is horrifying considering how bad his security is. It also supports the theory that EDITH wasn't a fluke--Tony Stark is perfectly okay with violating people's "precious freedoms" as far back as 2014.

Note: Set in an AU where Nick Fury and Maria Hill talk to Steve and Natasha before the launch of the Insight satellite.

Tony Stark was not surprised to get a meeting request from Nick Fury. After all, they were TONY'S helicarriers now that he'd spent so much time on the upgrades. Of course, they were also his because he'd put backdoors into all the systems. What Shield didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

He strutted into the diner where Nick had arranged the meeting in a back booth. As Tony slid onto the bench, he noticed how Nick slumped in his seat. Tony asked, "So what do you need me to fix now?"

Nick sighed and said, "I'm hearing some things that make me think that Shield has secrets that even I didn't know about."

Tony said, "Huh. Never thought I'd hear you admit that."

Nick shrugged and said, "I'm not someone who lets their ego stand in the way of getting things done. Especially when global security is involved."

Tony leaned back and said, "The helicarriers are supposed to take care of that. Between the surveillance capabilities, search algorithms, and assorted firepower, my babies can kick anybody's ass."

Nick said, "But what if they fall into the wrong hands? I'm thinking there are some people in Shield that might decide all that power needs to be put to use--and not necessarily on approved targets."

Tony waved a hand and said, "No need to worry about that, Popeye. I've got everything well in hand."

He COULD have told Nick about how easily Tony could take control of the helicarriers. Instead, he just smiled.

Suddenly Nick sat up and said, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Before Tony could react, someone reached from behind Tony, ripped off Tony's gauntlet/watch, and slapped some thick cuffs over his wrists.

As Tony turned to look, Clint plucked the comm/sunglasses off Tony's head and put the watch and glasses in a lead-lined box. Then Clint scanned Tony with a device and after it beeped, said, "All clear."

Tony looked between the two of them and said, "What the hell?"

Nick leaned back and said, "You hacked into Shield as soon as we let you board a helicarrier back when Thor and Loki showed up. Did you really think we'd let you play around our systems unsupervised?"

Clint shrugged and said, "Hey, at least closing him out of the system let you know about the shadowy secret underbelly of Shield."

Tony frowned and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Nick replied, "Hydra. In Shield. Apparently they've been manipulating things behind the scenes for a long time. The Project Insight helicarriers were going to be their declaration of war--on the world."

Clint nudged Tony and said, "Funny how you didn't notice anything while you were in their systems. Then again, you didn't notice us in YOUR systems either."

Tony shook his head and said, "Impossible."

Clint shrugged and said, "If you say so. But all of your system and database hacks were recorded as evidence, and then shut down with extreme prejudice."

He gestured for two people dressed in black to come forward. He said, "Don't worry. I cleared your babysitters myself. You'll be perfectly safe."

Nick stood up and said, "And now you get to sit here for the next few hours while the rest of us take care of business."

The Insight satellite never launched. Natasha, Maria, Cameron Klein, and Sharon Carter were able to dig into the systems and uncover all of the Hydra operatives. Clint, Natasha, Steve, and Phil's team (after they cleaned house) took out every Hydra operative in Shield, starting with Brock Rumlow and the Strike team.

Nick confronted Alexander Pierce. Alexander Pierce didn't survive.

The team found the Winter Soldier in the bank vault when they cleared that Hydra base. Steve and Natasha fought the Winter Soldier while the team took out the rest of Hydra. Bucky managed to regain his sense of self during the battle.

Sam Wilson got involved first by helping Steve find counselors for Bucky and himself. When Sam realized he wasn't quite done being a hero, he requested his wings and joined the Avengers as Falcon the same time Rhodey officially joined as War Machine.

Going through the files provided a lot of information that helped them clear the international Hydra bases. When they reached Sokovia, Steve was able to persuade the twins to give up their plans for revenge and instead work to help their countrymen. Surprisingly, Bruce stayed to help. Zemo and the rest of his death squad were imprisoned by the new, non-Hydra leadership.

Pepper took over running Stark Industries. She was still allowed to use Jarvis, but the AI was monitored so it did not violate anyone's privacy or hack into government or private networks.

Although Tony's misuse of power did reveal Hydra, he was still sentenced for his crimes and denied access to any communications or computer equipment while serving his sentence. He wouldn't find out if he was going to be kept under those restrictions even after he left prison until he became eligible for parole. If he ever did.