Earth 3490

“Look who I ran into!” Steve and Sam turned from where they were trying to salvage their sad excuse for cookies as Toni came into the kitchen with-
“Thor!” Steve gave his friend a hug, while Sam- honestly, didn't look in awe at all. He had been an Avenger for a few months, and not much surprised him anymore. “You must be Sam.” The god smiled, shaking his hand politely, “Toni has told me much about you. I look forward to getting to know you.”
Okay, that had him a bit in awe. The god of thunder. Wanted to hang out with him.
---
“Shit!”
“Toni?!”
“I’m okay, honey.”
“Good.”
---
“Send out the twins.”
---
“You didn't see that coming?”
“Clint!”
---
“Looks like they're lining up.”
“Well, they're excited.”
---
“Please be a secret door, please be a secret door... yay!”
“Ma’am, Captain Rogers is on his way to you.”
---
“Guys, I got Strucker.”
“Yeah, I got... something bigger.”
A beep indicated Steve switching over to their private channel.
“I'm just a few minutes from you, Tones. Talk to me.”
“It’s dark. I don't- it’s too much like-”
The cave. The wormhole. The Mandarin’s basement. The Potomac, when she dragged Steve out of there.
“Two minutes, honey.”
“Hurry. Please.”
She switched back.
“I have the scepter, I'm just gathering their data now.”
----
“STEVE!”
“You... could've... saved... us.”
“Stevie, please-”
“Why... didn't you... do more?”
---
When Steve found her, she was quiet. She walked out of there like she didn't even notice him.
And he didn't like how she looked with that scepter in her hand.
---
“Lab’s all set up, Boss.”
“Actually, Maria, he’s the boss around here. I just pay for everything, and design everything, and make everyone look cooler.”
Steve was really going to have to talk to her about whatever happened in those few minutes.
Not in front of everyone else, though.
---
“He’s fast and she’s weird.”
---
“Toni.”
She sighed, not turning around.
“Steve.”
“You wanna tell me why you haven't been able to look at me since Sokovia?”
She was tense, and even though it seemed like she was mad at him, when he began gently massaging her soldiers, she leaned back into him. They were quiet for a few moments, before Steve figured that she just wasn't ready to talk about it. “Why don't you lie down?” He suggested, already leading her to their bed, “You really should let me massage you more often, I hate knowing you're hurting.”
She shot him an unimpressed look, but got on the bed anyway, throwing her shirt aside and laying on her stomach. If she wasn't going to let him help with whatever was going on in her head, at least he could help with her back.
After nearly ten minutes of Steve commenting on how she needed to relax, and even a “Wow, you sure are a naughty girl, huh?” that got an adorable little giggle, Toni finally spoke.
“You blamed me.” She whispered.
Steve froze for a second, before quickly continuing, figuring she still wasn't ready for a full on Serious Conversation. “Do you want to tell me a little bit more?” He asked softly, and she nodded, but took a few deep breaths before continuing, and he stayed quiet through it all. “The girl. She showed me, um, a vision, I guess. My biggest fear. I know, because I've had nightmares about it. When you were on solo missions in D.C. I didn't tell you because I knew you would try to stay home with me, but- it wouldn't be fair of me, to keep Captain America all to myself when the world needs you, too. But, anyway, she showed me... they, everyone, they were all... dead, and I ran to you, because of course I did, I love them all, but you’re-” She choked back a sob, and Stevepressed a soft kiss to the back of her neck, encouraging her. “You're mine, and I ran to you, and you were dying, but you grabbed my arm, and you said I could've saved you. I should've done more.” She was crying, burying her face in her pillow. “You died, and you hated me.”
Steve couldn't take it. He got up from where he had been on her legs, and rolled her over so she was laying on him. She pushed her face up into the crook of his neck, letting out a loud sob. “I can't- Steve, I have to do something. I have to try.” Steve nodded, squeezing his arms around her. “I know.”
“Don't leave me.”
“I won't.”
“Please, don't leave me.”
“I'm right here. I'm not leaving.”
They stayed like that, Steve continued to whisper to her, until her breathing evened out.
Steve knew that Toni was going to try and use the scepter to create Ultron. Of course he knew about the plans she and Bruce had been working on. She’d been toying with the idea since New York. He also knew there were maybe a million ways it could go wrong, but he had faith. Whatever happened, they’d deal with it.
Together.
---
“Oh, he’s flatlining. Call it. Time?”
“No, no, no. I'm going to live forever! I'm gonna be made of plastic.”
“You'll be made of you, Clint. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference.”
“Well, I don't have a girlfriend.”
“That, I can't fix.”
---
“This could be it, Bruce. This could be the key to creating Ultron.”
“I thought Ultron was a fantasy.”
“Yesterday, it was.”
---
“I see a suit of armor around the world.”
“Sounds like a cold world, Toni.”
“I've seen colder.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Already did. Promise.”
---
“This feels weird. This feels wrong.”
“I am contacting Ms. Stark now.”
---
“Sam!” Toni pulled him down into a hug, “How was Italy?”
“Well, it’s not like I was there to relax,” Sam laughed, “But I did have some pretty amazing pizza.”
“Anything else?” Steve prompted, looking hopeful.
“Next lead will take me to Ireland, tomorrow.”
“Ireland?” Toni let out a laugh, and Sam shrugged.
“Hey, not like it's the weirdest thing Barnes has done.”
---
“How did a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?”
After a second, Natasha decided to play along. “Fella done me wrong.”
“You got a lousy taste in men, kid.”
She smiled, as if she knew something he didn't. She probably did. “He’s not so bad.”
She and Bruce stared at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing.
“So, Helen?” Natasha asked, but Bruce shook his head.
“Still ... her?”
“I think it'll always be her.”
She nodded, looking behind him.
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
---
“Uh, "Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!" Whatever man! It's a trick.”
“Well please, be my guest.”
---
“Please, Stark, by all means.”
“Only if I can reinstate Prima Nocta.”
“No, Toni.” Steve sighed
“No, Toni.” She repeated.
She got up anyway.
---
When they all sat down, Toni leaned in, so only Steve could hear.
“It was good of you, to do that.”
He shot her a look. “I'm sure I have no idea what you mean.”
“It’s weird how attracted to you I am right now.”
“Could you say I'm worthy of your love?”
“...Nevermind.”
“Baby, no!” He made grabby hands as she pretended to leave.
“What are you two whispering about?” Rhodey laughed from the other couch.
Thor couldn't stop smiling at them.
---
“How could you be worthy? You're all killers.”
---
“Who sent you?”
The recording was unmistakably Toni’s voice.
“I see a suit of armor around the world.”
“Ultron?”
---
“I'm on a mission.”
“What mission?”
“Peace in our time.”
---
“Don't turn green!”
“I won't!”
---
“TONI!”
---
“That was dramatic! I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve? With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction.”
---
“He said he killed somebody.”
“But there wasn't anyone else in the building.”
Toni made a choked noise. “Yes there was.”
---
“This isn’t strategy, this is... rage.”
Thor made a move toward Toni, but Steve stepped in front of her.
“Don't you dare.”
“Thor, use your words.” Clint said from behind him.
“I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark.” Thor snarled, and despite herself, she took a slight step behind Steve.
“This isn’t just on her.” Bruce admitted. “I was there. I did more than she did.”
“And I've known about Ultron for three years.” Steve stared the god down. He needed them all to know that even if they were a team, Toni came first.
The velvet box in his pocket suddenly felt much heavier.
---
“We weren't even close. Bruce, were we close to an interface?”
It was just them with Steve in the lab now. The captain had sent everyone away to calm down.
“Well, you did something right, and you did it right there.” Steve nodded toward the work station, but froze when he really looked at the remains of J.A.R.V.I.S. Toni’s greatest creation, destroyed at the hands of her worst.
“Come here.” he said suddenly. He nodded at Bruce to go check in with the others as Toni stepped into his space.
“Whatever happens,” Steve promised, “we stay together.”
Toni nodded, pressing a kiss right over his heart.
“Together.”
---
“You're wondering why you can't look inside my head.”
“Sometimes it’s hard. But sooner or later, every man shows himself.”
“Oh, I'm sure they do. But you need something more than a man.”
---
“Fatalities?”
“Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see.”
Steve looked down at Toni, who was already nodding.
“I'm going to make sure the armor is ready. You go... debrief everyone, on what we know.”
Steve nodded, catching her arm and pulling her to him before she could walk away.
“You're forgetting something.” He smiled cheekily, and she rolled her eyes, but pressed a kiss to his lips anyway.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
---
When she came back, Thor looked like a kicked puppy.
“Stark-” He began, but she held her hand up to stop him.
“No hard feelings, Point Break.”
---
“You know at the end of the day, I answer to you.”
Natasha nodded, strapping a gun to her thigh.
“Stay safe. That's an order.” She said, in a poor imitation of Iron Woman.
Clint laughed, saluting.
“Yes, ma’am.”
---
“Everything we had on Strucker has been erased.”
“Not everything.”
---
“Wait. I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms.” Maria shot her a look, and Steve all but growled at her.
Caveman.
“There are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very ‘Ahab.’”
---
“This is a brand.”
“Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way.”
“What dialect?”
“Wakanad- Wak-”
“Wakanda. If this guy got out of there with some of their trade goods...”
“Your father told me he had the last of it.”
“I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?”
Toni and Steve turned to where his shield was leaning against a box of files.
“The strongest metal on earth.”
“Where is this guy now?”
---
“I only deal with the man in charge.”
“There is no man in charge.”
---
“Stark is, she's a sickness!”
“Aw, junior. You're gonna break your mommy’s heart.”
---
“Ah, this is funny, Ms. Stark. It's what, comfortable? Like old times?”
“This was never my life.”
---
“Captain America. God’s righteous man,”
“Don't talk to him.”
“Pretending you could live without a war.”
“Don't talk to him!”
“Sorry, would you prefer if I took this time to explain my evil plan?”
---
Steve was in a hospital. How had he gotten here? Weren't they just-
The nurse ran up to him, looking frazzled.
“Captain Rogers.” she gasped, out of breath. “We tried- your wife-”
His wife?
“Toni?” she nodded.
“We tried, but the serum, along with Extremis, we couldn't...”
No.
“They're both gone.”
They?
“We couldn't save her, or your child. I'm sorry.”
Until her face morphed into a sick smile.
“You killed her.”
“Steve!”
A sharp slap, and he was back in the warehouse. Toni was looking down at him, concern written all over her face, but she was okay, she was alive-
“Barton, Cap is down. How’s Nat?”
“Not better.”
“Uh, guys?” Bruce spoke up from the jet, “The girl tried to do her... thing, on me... I knocked her out, but her brother came and grabbed her. They're gone”
Toni was still trying to get Steve to look at her properly. “Nicely done, Brucie. Find Thor, we’ll meet back at the jet. I think we’re going to have to have a talk about feelings.”
“Aw, no.” Clint moaned.
---
“He's still not responding.” Bruce kept snapping his fingers in front of Steve’s face.
Nothing.
“Well, he's holding my hand, so something’s going on in that head of his.” Toni squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. “Good.” She told him, kissing his shoulder.
Bruce still looked concerned. Thor and Nat had been up for the entire hour they'd been in the air. “Brucie, why don't you give us some privacy, I think I can get him to talk.” Bruce nodded, closing the door to the small medbay behind him.
“Stevie? We’re all alone now.”
She watched him carefully. They had him lying down, and he was staring straight ahead.
The witch showed them their worst fears. What would that mean for Steve?
“Stevie.” She tried, “Remember those tests we ran, after A.I.M? We wanted to see just how stable Extremis was and if it could still infect anyone else. Remember?”
She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.
“Stevie, Extremis isn’t an STD. It isn’t genetic, either. Killian’s reports were clear, they hadn't made it that far.”
That did get something to flicker across his face, but he still wasn't looking at her.
“Maybe we will have kids, one day. I'd like to see you with a baby girl. We wouldn't name her after any family, she’d be the first. But it would still have meaning. Brooke, maybe? Like Brooklyn?”
He squeezed her hand, and his eyes were drooping.
“You're tired.” It wasn't a question. “Go to sleep, Love. Barton’s flying us to some safe house, he says we have a few more hours to go.”
He shook his head, not much, but enough.
“Do you want me to sleep with you?” She asked gently, “I know I always like to hold you when I have a nightmare. Honestly, I can't even remember how I got through it before you.” as she spoke, she climbed into the small bed with him, putting her head over his heart. “Steve.” She guided him with a gentle hand on his cheek until he was looking at her. “We stay together.”
He nodded, speaking softly.
“Together.”
---
Steve was holding her tightly when they landed.
She opened her eyes, looking up at him. He still wasn't smiling, but at least he wasn't just staring blankly anymore, and he looked like he had slept well.
“Love?” His eyes snapped down to her, which was good.
“I like the name Brooklyn.” He whispered, and she smiled widely, leaning up to press her lips to the corner of his mouth.
“That's good.”
---
“What is this place?”
“A safe house.”
---
“Uncle Clint!” Two children squealed as they both pounced. He caught one in each arm, spinning them around.
“Did you bring Auntie Nat?”
“Why don't you hug her and find out?”
“I'm sorry, Auntie Nat?” Toni voiced what they were all thinking.
Natasha fiddled with a chain around her neck, holding up the gold ring hanging on it. Clint had a matching one.
“Is, um.” Bruce cleared his throat, looking awkward. “That what happened in Budapest?”
---
“Thor.”
“I saw something in that dream. I need answers, I won't find them here.”
---
“If you're sleeping here, some of you are gonna have to double up.”
“I’m sure we’ll manage.”
---
“So, where’s Mr. Barton’s Sister?” Toni smiled, nudging Clint’s shoulder.
“He’s been out of the picture since Lila was 2.”
“Clint, you should've said something. We can help.”
He sighed. “I just don't want anyone to be able to trace them to us. In any way.”
She nodded, understanding.
---
“This... is the next me.”
---
“Clint.”
Natasha was sitting on the bed they always took when they visited Laura.
“You gonna tell me?” He asked, coming over to sit by her.
She nodded.
---
“Thor didn't say where he was going?”
They were cutting firewood, Toni had her Iron Woman gauntlets on for extra strength as she swung her ax.
“Said he wanted answers.”
“Well, we don't know what Maximoff showed him.”
“Yeah. ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’, and she pulled us apart like candy floss.”
“No.”
“No?”
“She pulled us apart like cotton candy.”
And then, despite everything, they were laughing.
“Can you rip one of these?” She asked suddenly, gesturing to the block of wood in his hands.
“Um...”
“C’mon,” She took a step toward him, smiling slyly. “I bet you could. You wouldn't even need to use Extremis, just those crazy muscles.” She was teasing now, but Steve could never back down once he knew she wanted something. “Come on, I've always loved how strong you are. I like knowing that if you wanted, you could just pick me up and-”
Oh.
Steve stared at the two pieces of wood on the ground, looking at Toni almost guiltily.
“How soundproof do you think the walls are?” She asked quickly, and Steve chuckled.
“We’ll be quiet.”
“...Maybe we should wait.”
“You're evil.”
---
“Was Hill ever not working for you?”
“Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down.”
“You're not the director of me.”
---
“When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.”
“They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve.”
“How?”
“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”
---
“You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me.”
“Aw, where’s the fun in that?”
She grew serious, suddenly, taking his hand.
“Steve, what if-” she took a deep breath. “What if after this, we go home, and just... stay there? No more fighting.” She saw the look in his eyes, and before he even had a chance to answer, she cut him off. “Just- something to think about. Okay?”
She walked away, shooting one last statement over her shoulder.
“I’ve been told I look very good in white.”
---
“How could you?”
---
“You're a madman.”
---
“We have to move.”
---
“Dr. Cho!”
He’s uploading himself into the body.”
---
Leave me alone!”
---
“You're not a match for him, Cap.”
“Thanks, Barton.”
“Don't listen to him, sweetie. You're doing great!”
“Thanks, Toni.”
---
“We got a window. Four, three...give 'em hell.”
---
“Cap, do you see Nat?”
“If you have the package, get it to Toni!”
“Do you have eyes on Nat?”
“Go!”
---
“Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he got that from?”
“Probably the Hulk. Or maybe you.”
---
Of course, he knew Toni would try something again. And he knew she would get it right this time.
If she didn't, they’d deal with it.
Together.
---
“Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes? I found him.”
---
“You want me to help you put J.A.R.V.I.S. into this thing?”
“No, of course not! I want to help you put J.A.R.V.I.S. into this thing.”
---
“We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. You gotta own it. Make a stand.” She grew serious. “Bruce, buddy, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn’t know I was right. I mean, c’mon, it’s J.A.R.V.I.S.”
Bruce nodded.
“Okay.”
---
“Shut it down!”
“Steve, my love, why is the little red riding witch in my lab?”
“If she tries anything, I’ll knock her out.” Steve assured her, glaring at Wanda.
“Toni, are you sure about this?” Clint appeared behind them.
“Barton, you gotta tru-”
A flash, and Pietro was dropping a pile of wires in the middle of the room.
“You were saying?”
---
“I'm sorry, that was... odd. Thank you.”
---
“Why does your vision sound like J.A.R.V.I.S.?”
---
“I'm not Ultron, I'm not J.A.R.V.I.S., I am... I am.”
Steve looked over to where Toni was trying to hide the hurt in her expression. They would have to talk about the loss of J.A.R.V.I.S. later.
---
“Everything in my programming is telling me that you are the closest I have to what humans call a mother. I am on the side of life. Your life, Ms. Stark.”
Toni let out a small laugh, turning to Steve with tears in her eyes.
“Didn't I tell you we’d have kids someday?”
---
When Vision handed Thor his hammer, Toni couldn't help the surge of pride she felt.
“You did it.” Steve whispered.
---
“No way we all get through this. If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. It's gonna be blood on the floor.”
“I got no plans tomorrow night.”
Toni frowned, turning to him.
“You mean you weren't going to surprise me with dinner at Masa?”
Steve turned red, mumbling something Toni couldn't hear as she laughed.
“Stay safe. That's an order.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
---
“Come to confess your sins?”
“I dunno, how much time you got?”
“More than you.”
---
“Sokovia’s going for a ride.”
---
“Okay, look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you're good, I'll send your brother to come find you, but if you step out that door, you are an Avenger.”
---
“You can't save them all. You'll never...”
“You'll never what? You didn't finish!”
---
“Alright, we’re clear here.”
“We are not clear! We are very not clear!”
“Alright. Coming to you.”
---
“I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it.”
“I didn't say we should leave.”
---
“Fury, you son of a bitch.”
“Ooo, you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?”
“He does more than just-”
“Not the time, honey.”
---
“This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?”
This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be.”
“This is not so bad.”
---
“You think I can't hold my own?”
“We get through this, I'll hold your own.”
“You had to make it weird.”
---
“I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast, I am...running out of things to say! Are you ready?”
---
“Avengers, time to work for a living.”
---
“Is that the best you can do?”
---
“You had to ask.”
---
“Even I can tell the air is getting thin.”
Toni motioned toward his star, but Steve shook his head.
“Not yet.”
The other Avengers looked confused, but shrugged it off.
---
“We get one shot at this.”
---
Steve saw Ultron aiming for Barton. He saw the Maximoff kid running to block the shots. Without thinking, he slammed a hand against the star on his suit, running towards his teammate as the armor began building itself around him. He flew the last few feet, holding his shield up and taking all the bullets, before Thor’s hammer smacked the bot away.
He landed on the ground in front of them, and felt all eyes on him as he stood up.
His armor was sleek like the Iron Woman, but it was painted blue and silver.
“Iron... Cap?” Clint asked, staring at the star that shone brightly, powered by his very own arc reactor.
Behind them, a building exploded. Pietro looked on in horror.
“Our home.” He whispered, horrified. All they had...
Distantly, they could hear Wanda wail.
---
“They're doomed.”
“Yes. But a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts. It's a privilege to be among them.”
---
“Nothing lasts forever.”
“Trouble, Miss Romanoff. No matter who wins or loses, trouble still comes around.”
---
“First Hulk takes off to ‘find himself’ or whatever, and now you're leaving, too?”
“I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position...”
“Triple Yahtzee?”
“You think you can find out what's coming?”
“I do. Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained.”
He smiled at the two of them.
“When I get back, we will have some fun.”
And then he was gone.
“That man has no regard for lawn maintenance.”
They both stared at the design on the ground for a bit, before Steve spoke.
“But if you put the hammer on an elevator-”
“Will it still go up?”
“Elevator’s not worthy.”
And then they were laughing.
“So,” Steve took a step towards her once they calmed down, “I- I have something I wanted to ask you. For a while now, actually.”
He looked so nervous, as if she didn't know what was happening, and as if he didn't already know her answer.
She loved him so much.
And because she loved him, she turned to him, a confused look on her face.
“Yeah, Steve?”
And because he loved her, he saw right through it.
“How long have you known?”
“About a year and a half.”
“Do you still want the ring?”
“...Gimme.”
---
“How do we look?”
“Well, we’re not the ‘27 Yakees.”
“We’ve got some hitters.”
“They're good. They're not a team.”
Toni smirked.
“Well, why don't you beat ‘em into shape?”
Clint and Natasha looked at them, caught off guard.
“What about you two?” Clint asked.
“We will be going back to New York. Don't worry,” Steve smiled, “We’ll come back.”
“Yeah, we just have a few things we gotta take care of.”
---
“Avengers!”
---