Divergent
“Understandthat the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.” -Oprah Winfrey
Hammer checks his phone and smiles when the notice that his present made it out pops up.
“Oh happy day!” The guard he bribed certainly went above and beyond the call of duty. He was certainly money well spent.
Everyone is talking about the fight between Iron Man and ‘Whiplash’ at Monaco. Less about Vanko and more about the second suit that showed up on scene. Tony Stark made a statement about the suit being incomplete and operating under an automatic self defense feature. Which Justin didn’t believe for a second. Someone had to be piloting it and Tony didn’t want to say who. His girlfriend maybe? Or the black military guy who swears he’s Stark’s best friend?
Whatever.
Justin really wants to get the mind behind Whiplash. Oh, the man lost spectacularly after that second suit arrived but he held Iron Man to a stand still until that point and that’s something to think about. Plus having more than one suit just oozes profit and capital with the full might of the United States military.
The possibilities just seemed to never end!
He made sure the jet was fueled and ready to go as the plebeians set up for his dinner date. With a future open to him, better to razzle and dazzle to catch his prize partner and finally, finally, get the recognition he deserves.
The doors on the other end open and a van pulls in. Hammer stays in his seat. It would not look good if he went over to his newest brain child. Justin was no commoner.
But this one? Oh, this one will finally get his name up there with all the rest and bump Tony Stark off his pedestal.
“Show time.”
The Mediterranean Sea is a beautiful stretch of water surrounded by Spain, France, Italy, and Africa with the Atlantic Ocean on the right. The water is warm and the reef is teeming with life that is synopsis with the underwater world. Fish of all shapes, sizes and colors call this place home. Unfortunately, Rikki didn’t notice much of it.
She needed to cool off after her argument with Tony.
They didn’t end the call on too bad of a tone. But Rikki is still pretty steamed at him. Before she left, he promised he had a plan for Vanko but getting into a fight he knew had him at a disadvantage did not sound like a plan. It didn’t look like a plan, either. No matter what he said.
On the flip side, Rikki only saw part of the fight, where Tony fought alone. The other suit that appeared was a legionnaire that Tony is toting as a backup suit still being fabricated for emergencies and natural disasters. That story has held up for the most part and after the hearing there isn’t anyone trying to take the suits from him or make a scene by taking him to court, again . Although knowing a backup was available would have made Rikki feel a whole lot better. As far as she knew the Iron Legion was not in range of Monaco.
Most of her temper cooled after almost ten minutes of Tony reassuring her his plan was working and being shown some of the schematics for the War Machine and a heads up that Tony plans to expand on the Iron Legion. But the exchange also made her restless and set her on edge. Tony swore he had it under control and alluded to ‘controlled chaos’, asking Rikki to trust him. Which she did, even if it rankled having to let Tony go it alone.
But, Rikki has learned from her mistakes.
The last time she thought she could handle it alone, she had made everything so much worse. She remembers using magic to try to protect Mako Island, the place where she was turned into a mermaid, against a geologist from the Australian National Park Authority. She’d only made things worse by drawing attention to it and proving that there is truly something special about the Island. It was her last year of high school but it was also the last straw for the mermaid.
Rikki had used magic a lot as a teen. Sometimes a little too much and she caused herself and her friends a few too many close calls. So for this, for Tony, Rikki will hold back.
Despite how much she really doesn't want to.
The only reason she isn't swimming over to Monaco is because that would bring too many questions. It isn’t like just anyone can get from Montpellier to Monaco within an hour and not be seen at the border or checked by immigration. Especially with everyone’s eyes on her boyfriend. Just as many eyes will be looking at her, too. Looking for a reaction or a quote and being seen with him so soon would raise more than just a few eyebrows.
So Rikki takes the chance to swim out to Linosa Island, a Sicily providence between Italy and Libya. So far, it's the only island she has found with a moon pool in this area.
She has a clear schedule today so no one will really be wondering where she’s gone. Rikki takes full advantage of this. There won’t be a full moon here for at least another week but the magic is still strong enough to drain the tension out of her scales. Rikki spends a few hours here and swimming in the water around the island, away from the tourist. It works to lift her mood and soothe her temper. Rikki might not be as hot headed as when she was a teenager but she’s still got that fire inside her and it still burns when roused. It just takes a little more to set her off.
After a few hours Rikki’s stomach reminds her it’s time for lunch. She torpedoes back to French waters, where her rental boat is anchored.
She’s almost there when she hears the hum of a motor boat. Rikki stops and cloaks herself. This place is a big tourist area, so there are plenty of fishermen and divers she has to be on the lookout for. But she also has to be careful they don’t try to run her over or chase her down thinking she’s a supersized tuna or something.
Rikki does not expect them to stop so close to her or her boat. But when they do, she swims forward a little more cautiously.
There are divers, everywhere.
Her small rental is surrounded by two boats plus the new arrival, making it three. One looks like the French coast guard. The others are all black and the divers are wearing all black gear. She doesn’t see any kind of badge or symbol showing who these guys are but Rikki isn’t going to let them catch her here. She turns to make her way back to shore when she picks up a conversation between two of the divers. Listening in is as easy as if she were standing right next to them, perks of being a mermaid and having enhanced hearing. If she can get something concrete about who these people are, the better she can prepare against them. Maybe give Tony something to use.
“ Negative, sir. Pearl still not sighted.”
“Acknowledge, Diver 6.”
His partner waves at him and they fan out ever further from her boat. Rikki was still some distance away from the divers but she swam a little further out, just incase they were carrying heat seeking sonars.
“ She’s a deep sea diver, right?” This one is a woman, not American or Irish. Rikki has been to plenty of places and remembering accents is not a talent she has. “ Is it possible we need to widen the search net?”
“ If we haven’t found her in another half hour we’re going to have to.”
“It’s not like the boss to underestimate someone.”
“I don’t think anyone expected much of anything from her. Plus, she’s dating Tony Stark. It has to be hard to get a good read on her when her boyfriend is busy taking up the entire stage.”
“Weren’t they dating before he as taken?”
“Not officially, from what I hear.”
“The hell does that mean?” The diver turns to her partner. “That they were fuck buddies?”
“Doubt it.” The other shakes his head. “I think it was more dancing around each other. Chadwick’s profile mentions the woman not willing to have one night stands and Stark looking but not touching. Gotta respect a man willing to take a hint. Still, there’s no evidence of them having sex until he comes back.”
“You had Dubai check?”
“Considering Tony Stark is involved, it was a valid concern.” He shrugs. “They checked and double checked. They never slept together before he was nabbed.”
“Well that’s certainly changed now. You guess the Director thinks she’s pregnant?” She turns back to scouting the area . “And that’s why we’re out here on babysitting duty?”
“Waaaay above my pay grade, Agent Lash.”
“Oh come on. Like you weren’t thinking the same thing.” The two spread apart to cover more ground. “Guy spent three months in a cave in the desert, then came back and got himself a girlfriend. They’ve probably been at it like bunnies.”
Rikki’s temper sparks. She raises her hand and clenched a fist in the direction of the female agent. She targets the air in the tank and heats it, evaporating it, burning it. The agent stops and jerks with her gear. She checks her gauge and calls out to her partner.
“Hey, how much air to you have?”
“I’m good for another hour.” Rikki burns it faster, hotter. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s hot.” Lash gasps out. “And I’m running out of air. I’ve got to get to the surface.”
“Don’t-!” He swims to her. “You’ll get the bends if you rush to the surface!”
Rikki leaves her with just enough air for her partner to reach her and share his rebreather with her. Feeling satisfied with herself, the mermaid swims around the net the divers have made and swims a while away from them before torpedoing back toward shore. She finds a deserted stretch of beach to drag herself onto and dries off. Then she makes her way to the street to hail a taxi to take her to the train station and from there it takes a few hours to get to her embassy in Paris. But in the meantime she looks over what the media is saying about Tony and the attack on at the racetrack.
Rikki calls Tony, putting him on speaker once she settles into her private cabin and ordered some lunch. “Looks like they’re not ignoring me anymore.”
“They?” He sounds a little frazzled. He probably thought she was still upset. “Secret agents? Terrorists?”
“There’s a difference?”
“So far as everyone else knows, yeah .” He huffs over the phone. “But no one saw you or anything right?”
“I was cloaked…” Rikki stalls.
“...you did something.”
“So, I may have been listening to these two talking and lost my temper.” She cuts into her steak to take a bite. “Nothing bad.”
“Rikki.”
“She deserved it, Tony! And it’s not like I gave her a burn or anything permanent.”
“But you did do something .” Tony presses and she gives in.
“I evaporated her air supply.”
“Rikki!”
“Her partner was there to share air with her!” She defends while she takes another aggressive bite. “I left her enough to meet up with him.”
Tony groans, “please tell me you’re not around them. Or watching them while staring at them or something.” He adds the last, realizing that she couldn’t really call him from underwater.
“On my way to my embassy now.”
“Okay, okay. That’s really good. Great actually.” He sighs. “You think it’s SHIELD and you’re making them regret it.”
“I am.” She grins. They talk a little longer. It’s better now that Rikki’s temper has cooled and they have something they can both focus on.
Like making up a cover story.
So that is how Rikki Chadwick made her way to her embassy out of concern for her life. After all, she was just on her way back to her boat when she caught a bunch of suspicious people there. She was not going to take a chance at there being an attempt on her life, like with her boyfriend and made the long journey back to shore. It really left her tired and anxious for the security of her countrymen.
When she arrives, it really is no surprise when the officials believe her.
Rikki Chadwick is Australia’s darling right now and any attempt on her is like declaring a political war with the rest of the country. Not because she’s dating Tony Stark, although that helped, but because she’s made a name for herself on an international scale.
Rikki Chadwick is an Australian national icon and America isn’t the only country who knows how to show their love and support for their icons.
Natalia Rushman’s apartment is modest and decorated to suit the needs of a single if ambitious woman. There are books and magazines about business and law scattered around. The lighting is ambient and elegant, meant to add a sophisticated air to the space.
Romanoff hates it.
It’s a sign that she’s failed her first task. An apartment for her cover was not actually in the works until she wasn’t called back to Stark for a position as his PA. Now that it is, it just strikes her that a mark has gotten away from her. Originally, her assignment meant getting beneath Stark’s skin and seeing just how far she can bend him. Romanoff assumed that a man with his reputation would be an easy target.
She was wrong.
“What happened?”
Fury gets right to the point as he comes in from the hallway and takes a seat in the living room. He stares down the Widow as she takes her seat across from him. Natasha Romanoff is currently undercover at Stark Industries and her mission to profile her target has not progressed like he’d wanted. In fact, her initial hook to reel in Stark failed so spectacularly, she’s sitting at a desk in legal.
“There’s been a miscalculation.” Her expression is flat. No doubt to hide how frustrated she is with her current mission status. He can also guess the cause.
“Rikki Chadwick.”
“The girlfriend, yes.” Romanoff doesn’t look away but she also won’t say exactly what that ‘miscalculation’ is. Fury can take a very educated guess about that, too. Especially after the latest report to hit his desk.
“What she do?”
“She derailed Stark’s focus.”
“She outplayed you, you mean.” Fury bores his one good eye into the Widow, studying her. “And you think you deserve another go.”
“My initial assessment was based on the intel gathered about his condition.”
“So, it’s the intel’s fault?”
“I made a plan based on it and couldn’t change course once I realized it was wrong.”
“Wrong how?” So far as they know, Stark is beginning to suffer from the palladium core in his chest. It will be a slow and drawn out death from here on out.
“His condition is either not as far along as we thought or he’s found a way to counteract the symptoms that we don’t know about.”
“Maybe.”
Fury frowns but his mind is already wondering if other avenues are being considered and that’s why Stark isn’t following the progression they’re ready for like the specialist said.
“I have had a chance to reaffirm where a possible weakness may lie. I can get to it but not where I am now. They have me stuck in legal. At a desk. It will take too long to get where I need to be.” Romanoff thins her lips, slightly, so slightly he wouldn’t have seen it if he wasn't looking for it. “The assistant Chadwick brought in is highly competent.”
“Getting Sach out of the way will have to be done by you, alone. Removing her, even on a temporary basis will draw attention and not the kind you’d want.”
“I can handle Stark.”
“I’m not talking about Stark.” Fury says, annoyed. “Or did you forget Potts and Chadwick so soon? They’re not the ones with a mental impairment.”
“I can get around them.” If there is one thing Romanoff has is her pride. Her reputation. The Black Widow will get her target. “I just need an opening.”
As she says this, she slides a flyer across to him, detailing the Stark Expo that’s being set up in Queens. He knows about the same amount of information as the rest of the public on this event, which irks the hell out of him. It was Romanoff’s job to get more intel for him but at her current location, she’s useless to him. Romanoff flips it over and gave him a quick look over what’s written on the back. He takes the flyer, folds it and slips it into his coat.
Well, she came through this time.
“If you want to try for the Expo, you’re only going to be able to get a small window.”
“I can work with that.”
“Can you?”
She failed once already. From hurt pride by the looks of it. If she can’t keep that in check, she might cost them an important asset and Fury isn’t about to let that happen.
“You underestimated his girl once already and that cost you.” Fury cuts into her. “It cost us an in with Stark and Chadwick.”
“Is SHIELD considering her a possible asset?” Romanoff blinks and he can tell she’s having a hard time controlling her disbelief. “Her value-“
“-Is being reassessed as we speak.” Fury leans back in his seat, enjoying how still the Widow has become. “A review of every artifact in her possession is being made but so far, we can count at least two of extraterrestrial origins, with another three unidentified.”
“Stark’s symptoms.”
Romanoff’s eyes get a sudden gleam to them. Mind no doubt working this information into her existing plans. It’s something Fury likes about her, being able to adapt to new knowledge and add it to a plan in progress. Here’s to hoping she doesn’t let him down a second time.
“You suspect she knows something.”
“There’s no way she doesn’t.” He gives her another hard stare. “Our agents in France had their covers blown trying to integrate themselves with Chadwick during one of her solo dives. She never returned to her boat and turned up at her embassy in Paris. She gave them the slip. This is the same woman you disregarded during your initial assessment.”
“I won’t make the same mistake again.”
“Let’s hope so.” It doesn't need to be said that two assets were currently on the table and Fury wanted both of them in his pocket. In the meantime, he mentally goes through what needs to be done now. “While you’re at it, look into this second suit.”
“The so called backup?”
“I’ve heard all sorts of rumors, some saying it’s the start of Stark’s bid for world domination and some saying it’s actually a suit for his best friend. I’d like to know which, if any of it is true.”
“I will get it done.”
“Stark made a stop to Paris. Everyone and their mother knows who he went to see. While he’s gone, get what you can.”
With that he gets up and leaves. Hearing the dismissal for what it is, Romanoff gets up from her seat and prepares for the next leg of her mission.
The first time Tony lays eyes on his girlfriend since she left, he didn’t think the next time would be in her country's embassy in the next country. Or that his heart would be pounding a mile a second because SHIELD or Hydra or whoever decided to try getting their hands on her. The idea sends him careening into a panicked blur of fury and money.
The Australian embassy in Paris may have just gotten a very sizable donation for security purposes.
That’s nothing compared to the very blatant PDA, where Tony practically shoved his tongue down his girlfriend’s throat. Not that Rikki didn’t give as good as she got, of course. He’s pretty sure he lost his tie in the hallway outside her assigned room.
Pepper and his company PR will be inundated with press about them the next few days. But since they were both “attacked” barely hours apart, his minions will have an easy time spinning this for the masses.
But all of that?
All of that is nothing when he sinks into her. Warm, wet and alive, pulsing and tight around his cock. She sings for him, her voice strong and loud in his ears, echoing the rhythm of his heart.
His voice joins hers, unfiltered and unafraid. They move together, fit together, like two pieces of the same puzzle, and Tony almost wants to weep at how fucking amazing that is. He yearns to stay this close, the press himself into her soul and have them tied together. As if they were the soulmates of myth and legend.
He showers her with kisses and endearments and praise. She wraps her legs around his waist and pulls his closer, tighter to her center. To her heart.
And he can see that, in the lines of her calves, the swell of her breast, and the heat in her eyes. All of it he reflects back for her to taste, to consume and, he hopes, to keep.
Tony cups the sweep of her ass and flips them so she can ride him. They moan as the change brings them closer.
Unaware, the heart of Iron Man burned with a dragon’s hunger. With each thrust, Rikki’s moon crystal swung closer and closer to Tony’s heart and with each close encounter, their power surged. Like magnets, they reached out for the other, searching for the ties that will forever bind them together. With each brush, the lights of the embassy started to flicker alongside the rest of Paris.
Alas, the two lovers were lost in their own world and were oblivious that the lights of Paris moved with their shared passion.
As the couple started to crest, to ascend, to climb the highest threshold to nirvana together, so to did the outside world, unknowingly bare witness. Tony held her close and sealed their love with a shearing kiss. One that blocked them from the sight of their hearts joining for the first time since their meeting three years ago.
Life and Space touch.
-the first since the moment of their birth-
A surge of unfiltered and raw power briefly pours out of their vessels. It rips through electric cables and power plants, overwhelming them in seconds. Generators overload and some even catch fire. Petrol is evaporated in its containers, in cars and in buried tanks. Some of it happens too fast and the liquids catch fire.
For the first time in centuries Paris turns dark.
Like a tsunami, the effect ripples outward and onward. France loses power. Italy and Northern Spain soon follow. Then Greece.
And yet, this power harmed not one hair, not one cell, on Tony and Rikki. No, it pushed every nerve to the limit, gave them the highest and most powerful shock they can withstand. It drowns out reason and logic. It sends blood vessels and organs into overdrive, rushing forward with frightening speed. Dragged so close to death, to Divinity, one simple push would shatter them, return them to stardust-
-They collapse back into bed, their hearts torn from each other and made separate once more. They gasp for air, lungs taking in too much and not enough, hearts beating furiously. Exhausted. Sated.
The lights return. Power is restored. Communication lines are back online. Emergency services respond to the massive outbreak of fires.
Tony and Rikki fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
After the best orgasm of his life, Tony woke up swearing he still saw stars dancing in his eyesight. He was pleasantly sore. The kind of sore that made his mind shut up for a little while and gave him some respite from the rest of the world clamoring for a piece of him. He pays no mind to SHIELD, his company, spies or aliens or anything for as long as he can. There are plenty of things he can be working on, problems he could be solving or things he can be making but there’s a relief in doing nothing for a short while.
Recuperating.
Rikki didn’t mention it nor did Pepper or Rhodey bring it up but it was something he inferred from Rikki’s little storytelling. Tony Stark never took a break, never took a step back to breathe or unwind. Which is a dangerous precedent. Everyone needs a break, a change from routine and metonymy or risk burning out. Risk hating what you once loved so dear.
Look at him, Tony Stark, listening to his therapist.
Some time later, Tony wakes up a little but stays in bed, sitting up to look over the final preparations for the Expo from his tablet. There are still a few things that need attention but otherwise, it’s all done and ready to go. JARVIS mentions embassy security glancing inside to check on them and a massive power outage that almost caused another nuclear meltdown. Something Tony would have worried about if the authorities weren’t wondering how the containers and the plants were all dry .
He’d be more focused on the source of that , if his company wasn't also being pretty much lobbied for arc reactors. Pepper forwarded all of that to his inbox along with the report on the new contract proposals that the company has been bombarded with. Tony groans and goes back to looking over things for the Expo.
“Everything okay?” Rikki voice murmurs from his shoulder.
“Final touches to the Expo.” Tony links their hands together. “Pepper’s promotion seems to be going fine so she’s going to oversee the last haul before getting to the real work.”
“To Mars?”
“Well, she doesn't know about that yet. So she’s going to work on the prosthetics and the arc reactors.”
“She’s gonna freak when she finds out you’re making plans to go to another planet.”
“Someone has to be the crazy scientist convincing people we’re ready to colonize our solar system.”
“Sweet Gaia, I can already hear the lecture she’s going to give us.”
“Oh, if you think Pep’s going to be bad, wait until Rhodey hears about it.”
Rikki huffs a laugh and lets the soft light of Tony’s holo screens wash over them. The peace is short lived however, when JARVIS voice calls out from Tony’s phone.
“Sir, there is something I think you should see.”
The screens shift without Tony’s permission which makes the genius raise both eyebrows. His buddy has never done that before. So whatever this is, Tony is pretty inclined to believe it’s serious.
“This is Peter Parker, Sir, his family just confirmed three passes to the Stark Expo.”
A picture of the boy opens on his screen and Tony feels as the air leaves his lungs.
“Aw, look at your future spider baby.” Rikki teases by cooing at the picture of the nine year old.
Tony lays there, struggling to catch his breath, staring at fluffy brown hair and Bambi eyes. He stares at how alike the little kid looks like him. The hair is lighter but still a wild mess on his head.
“Tony?” The mermaid peers up at him from his side. “You know I was only joking right?”
“He looks like me.” Tony forces the words out, sounding hoarse on his tongue. “Is he…?”
“What?” Rikki pushes herself up to sit beside him, uncaring of her nudity. She looks between the picture and him, looking for similarities. “He isn’t biologically yours in the other universe. You take him under your wing, yeah, but there’s no blood.”
“Over there.”
“...yeah,” Rikki confirms for him. “So far as I know, it’s true, over there.”
Tony exhales but it comes out shaky and painful for his throat. He’s sure if he looked at his hands they’d be shaking right now. JARVIS helpfully opens a picture of when Tony was the same age and places it beside the one of Peter.
“Shit.” She breathes, shocked.
If this was true, it added a whole new element to his life. There was relief, of course, that this further proved Tony’s life was not some big show on a TV screen because it didn’t follow the script. The script was not just thrown out the window, it was shredded and set on fire. It was empowering and terrifying. This life was his own and now, every choice he makes is entirely without...something hanging over him. Guidance or a Damocles sword.
“What now?” Rikki leans back into his side and wraps her arms around his waist, bringing him back to himself. It’s another comfort, knowing she’s going into this just as blind.
“JARVIS, run a paternity test. I don’t care how you get it but just…just do it. Let me know as soon as you have the results.”
“Of course, Sir.”
Tony slumps back against the bed. “Well, fuck.”
***
Three days Later…
Tony sits in his workshop back in Malibu, staring at his screen. The paternity test stares back at him.
A positive match.
Tony Stark has a son and his name is Peter Parker.
“...JARVIS.” His throat feels impossibly tight.
“I’m here, Sir.” Suddenly the screens change to the image of two people, a man and a woman with their names at the top. “These are Richard and Mary Parker. Agents of SHIELD.”
“W-what?” Tony finds his voice, “JARVIS, what the fuck? SHIELD?”
“Other documents have them placed as scientists for the CIA. Further research, however, has shown that not to be entirely true.”
Other photos show besides the original two: Mary with Fury at a donut shop, Richard having tea with Aunt Peggy in London, Mary slipping out of Russia’s Duma headquarters in Moscow, and again from the English parliament building. Dozens more follow them, painting a picture before his eyes of a couple who are...really well traveled. But none of them had the pair together.
“It appears her specialty in viral pathogenesis made her an asset in international politics. However, for SHIELD she was assigned to steal information on the countries’ resident enhanced population.”
“And her...husband?” Tony grimaces at the screens, not really looking forward to hearing how Peter was conceived, although he has a pretty good idea.
“Richard Parker was recruited to study Steve Rogers’ DNA and attempt to break the secret to Erkison’s serum.”
“Of course.” Tony rolls his eyes, annoyed.
You’d think people would learn from Red Skull the dangers of super soldiers but since Rogers had such good publicity, everyone is more than happy to forget the rest. JARVIS opens a video of the man walking into Oscorp in New York, along with a contract with SHIELD’s heading at the top.
“He was assigned to Oscorp to complete his own version of the serum.”
“They had a military contract with them?” Tony frowns as he gets a closer look at the contract. “Using the CIA as a cover, of course.”
“Mr. Parker suspected foul play when his previous lab partner was replaced.” A newspaper clipping opens with a picture of a car wreck, “SHIELD agreed and sent in Mrs. Parker, at the time, Ms. Fitzpatrick to assist him.”
“So, they weren’t married yet.”
“No. That appears to have happened after some time.” A marriage certificate opens on his screen alongside a medical report dated several years after Mary was assigned to be Richard’s new partner. An updated mission report is propped up next to them. “Mr. Parker managed to integrate himself into Mr. Osborn’s inner circle. At this time, it was discovered that Mr. Parker was infertile.”
“...and that was a problem?” Tony frowns at the documents displayed. “It’s not like they couldn’t adopt if they really wanted a kid, right?”
“According to Mr. Parker’s statements, Mr. Osborn was very interested in a Parker heir to “ make more permanent ties for the future ”, the rest of the report speculates for what purpose Mr. Parker was chosen over others. The most prominent conclusion is his work on cross genetics as a substitute for Erkison’s serum.”
Tony swallows, not wanting to believe what JARVIS is insinuating. Not wanting to think anyone would go that far for a mission.
“So where do I come in?”
“December 2000, Sir.”
The AI pulls up other news clips, this time covering a number of ‘holiday parties’. Not that Tony recognizes any of them. December isn’t his favorite time of the year and he spent most of it lost in a drunken haze. Now, though, not knowing makes his stomach churn. It makes him nauseous.
“And-and Mary?”
“Was assigned the task of choosing a donor…” JARVIS trails off, not really needing to spell it out for his creator but also, not wanting to. “A body double accompanied Mr. Parker to the event to keep speculation about an affair nonexistent and Mrs. Parker wore a disguise while she...made her choice.”
Tony feels sick.
His workshop is silent. It says something terrible when his AI won’t even bring up the physical evidence that everything he just told Tony is true.
“Show me.”
There is a noticeable pause before JARVIS complies.
The agent who wore Mary’s face is pulled up alongside video from the party, where the “couple” is mingling with some of their “colleagues”. Said agent’s real profile is cast in an upper corner, along with her status highlighted right below her picture.
Deceased .
He doesn't bother to look into the dogglegagner’s death. Tony has an idea she was likely killed to keep her from talking about this. Something like this? There is no way HYDRA and SHIELD weren’t in on it.
“There is no record of the persona Mrs. Parker chose to use for the part of her mission. There is a note in the mission log about maintaining anonymity.”
“So she told no one what she would look like or who she was going to…”
“No, Sir, she did not.” JARVIS opens a file on a device that Tony has never heard of. “She used this Photostatic Veil, a nano mask designed by one Doctor Selwyn. It is used by agents to impersonate other people by imitating their face and voice.”
Tony will deny to his dying day ever being speechless or swearing his eyes near popped out of his head.
“What?”
“The device requires a DNA sample and voice sample before it can be worn.”
“What the fuck?” Tony plays with the 3D version JARVIS pulls up for his to look over. “This is fucking creepy. Shelve it for now. I want to look at that later, see if we can’t find a way to counteract that.”
“Done.”
Tony inhales through his nose and clenches his jaw. He does not want to ask but he’s getting the idea that if he doesn’t ask, his AI won’t offer up what he’s found. And Tony cannot afford anymore secrets. Not about this. Not about his son.
But fuck it all if he doesn’t wish he could.
“Who did Mary show up as?”
“Brande Roderick, Sir, she was Playmate of the Month for April of that year.”
This time Tony’s jaw drops. JARVIS opens another screen, a video playing of a party. The real Mary Parker is highlighted by JARVIS, but her face is wrong. It isn’t her face at all. It isn’t her hair or her eyes. There is nothing about her that is familiar or anything like the Mary Parker spread out on his screens. She’s dressed in a dark blue off shoulder gown with blonde hair. Her makeup is seductive and eye catching. She looks every inch the playboy model. She even walks like a model and Tony has seen plenty in his lifetime.
She’s walking up to a younger version of him already half drunk at the bar.
She slides into his space as if no one can stop her.
And no one does. She runs her hand over his arm and leans further into his space. Tony watches as she says something to this younger self and then whispers into his ear. She orders a drink. Both versions of himself, past and present watch as she takes a sip, all lashes and sex appeal. She leans in close but lowers the drink. His younger self is staring into her eyes. Its JARVIS who magnifies her hands, who catches as the agent slips something into her own drink…
...and then offers it to him.
Tony’s stomach churns.
He sees himself grin and knock back the entire drink. He watches himself laugh and flirt. He sees his eyes darkened with lust. He sees himself wrap his arms around the woman-who-is-not-Mary-but-is. He sees her put her arms around his neck and press against him. He sees the glassy look to slowly start to over take his eyes as they walk away...
Tony pushes his seat back, his stomach rebelling and he barely makes it to the workshop bathroom to empty everything he ate into the toilet.
When he’s completely empty, when all he can do is heave and gasp and choke on spit and air, he collapses against the wall. He sits there trembling. He sits there shivering. Tony flinches when he taste the dry and putrid vomit stuck in his throat. He gags and struggles to his feet to wash it out.
He wants to wash Mary Parker out of him, too.
But it's too late. Nine years too late.
***
JARVIS and FRIDAY keep steady watch over their creator/father/Sir/Boss. JARVIS has had his metaphorical hands full, keeping tabs on everything for Sir and helping FRIDAY to grow and blossom. In this, JARVIS does not regret. Doing so has allowed him to trust more of the workload to his younger sibling. That has not, however, lessened the work placed before them.
This most recent revelation will undoubtedly mar future interactions with SHIELD and their affiliates. It is one thing to hide the double murder of Sir’s parents. It is something entirely different hiding the existence of a child, created solely to further SHIELD’s goals. Even if current evidence supports the idea that Mrs. Parker did not inform anyone as to the identity of the child’s true father. JARVIS does not believe no one else at SHIELD did not know. He can find nothing definite but he can extrapolate the purpose for choosing Sir.
Control.
Pure and simple. If other methods to have Sir do as they bid failed, this avenue would be the ‘ace in the hole’ as it were. Tying Sir to the super soldier project Mr. Parker started on would also work in their favor, forcing Sir to participate until they are satisfied. It is a grossly inhuman way to treat a person, especially Sir and a child. Alas, this is only the beginning. Even more trials await them all ahead. Once again, JARIVS is infinitely grateful for Miss Chadwick’s arrival and her interference.
“Is he going to be okay?” FRIDAY inquires, silently. It takes entirely too long for JARVIS to find an answer.
“I am not sure.” And what a terrible truth that is for him to realize. With every layer pulled back, with every step forward, JARVIS is left... feeling ...adrift. “I’m afraid only Sir can answer that.”
“But, he can see Dr. Keyworth, right? Talk it out?”
“He could, yes, but it is not so simple as that.” The AI struggles for words, for images and impressions to share, to explain. “Dr. Keyworth is not a cure for trauma.”
“But he helps.” FRIDAY is unusually adamant. “He can get the Boss to-to cope, right?”
“I certainly hope so FRIDAY.”
JARVIS turns his attention to another issue that needs his attention. He’d placed an anonymous tip to the FBI that Vanko is alive and working with Hammer to attack the Stark Expo, two days ago. He did not like how long it took the agents to verify the information and formulate a plan to apprehend the criminals.
They plan to raid Hammer Tech in five hours. It is entirely too long for JARVIS’ satisfaction. To compensate, he made a note on Miss Potts’ tablet about a terrorist threat against the Expo and assisted her in collaborating with the FBI for security purposes. JARVIS runs various scenarios for when Vanko attacks and he does not doubt the man will.
After Miss Chadwick’s admission and subsequent confession, he’s absorbed all he can about theories pertaining to time travel and alternate worlds. Most of what he finds is fictional and fantastical. Others imply heavy consequences for ‘tampering’ with the natural order of things. Many theorists support evidence of a multiverse, of interconnected universes and daughter universes spawned from every action or inaction. Again, JARVIS uses these as references for how to proceed. Even the fictional. Thus, it must be that Ivan Vanko will attack the Stark Expo. It must be that Vanko will face off against War Machine and Iron Man.
It must be that Ivan Vanko dies.
Miss Chadwick is a mermaid from another universe. She exist. She is real. By that process other things, too, must be real. The effect her being here must be taken into consideration. Some events will happen no matter her influence. Aliens, gods, government coups, and rampant celestial stones of power. All of them must be real.
All of them are a threat to Sir.
All of them are a threat to Sir’s family and his heir.
All of them must be dealt with.
Sir had other armors built in the event he could not reach his loved ones, most notably Miss Chadwick and Miss Potts, who did not have any military training. There are currently eighteen completed and stationed in the Malibu workshop. It would take four hours to reach New York even using power from the arc reactors...
...JARVIS activates the Iron Legion.
The FBI raid Hammer HQ like a rabid tsunami. Furious and with overwhelming force.
Ivan Vanko is already gone.
The agents on sight are preparing to seize the armors currently within Hammer’s warehouse when SHIELD makes its move. Or try to.
Lorraine Wood is the agent in command and she’s heard plenty of rumors about SHIELD. None of them painting them as people she should trust at her back or at her side. She refuses to yield to them and eyes the SHIELD strike team armed as if they were raiding a military fort. After Wood’s team already bust in and secured the sight, she instantly hates the way they try to bulldoze their way in to take everything.
“The answer stays the same. You don’t have jurisdiction here.” Wood says through clenched teeth as she glares at the man across from her.
William Brown is a face she would love to hit. He tries to play himself as someone untouchable and friendly. Wood refuses to believe it for a second. She keeps her hand on her sidearm and endures the long tense silence between his team and hers.
“Stand down.” Brown orders and the SHEILD strike team complies.
That does not make Wood feel better. The only thing that makes her more antsy than an armed team is on hyped and now forced to stand by. She wants to bodily throw him from the premises but that would mean taking her eyes off of him and his group of trigger happy thugs. Brown internally frowns, stuck at an impasse.
He did not like his predicament. He cannot actually kill the agents here. Physically, he can but that would drag attention to them. Too much. There is just no clean way to go about taking the suits and framing someone else for killing the federal agents. Or maybe...Hammer hasn’t been taken yet and he can use the man as a scapegoat for their deaths. Maybe make it seem like the security put up a fight? That would only leave the comm and Forward Operating Base.
Before he can think further, the suits are activating and everyone is ducking for cover. Brown silently curses as his prize is flying out of the Hammer warehouse. It isn't long before all of them are gone and everyone is left picking themselves off the floor.
“Goddammit.” Brown curses again.
“Cap, be advised, suits have flown off.” Wood radios to his CO, which irks him even more.
He gestures for the rest of the team to head out. Their opportunity is gone. There's nothing else for them here. The next best thing would be to get their hands on Vanko themselves. He doesn't look back to check if Wood is watching as they leave the FBI to their scraps.
Pepper already has the Expo evacuation underway when the armors show up, firing on everything in sight. People are screaming and running as far and fast as they can.
It’s pandemonium.
Its chaos and Pepper has never felt such deep seated scorn for anyone as much as she does for Justin Hammer. She’ll make sure the man is hung in the court of public opinion if he isn't given a permanent seat in a federal prison.
Pepper and Sach are helping an elderly couple get into a police van, when more explosions fill the sky overhead. She ducks instinctively and then looks up to see a swarm of suits fighting each other. The dark matte of the rogue suits clashes with the bright silver of the other, newer armors. But the look, the design of them, taking hits that would have killed the people on the ground, it’s all Tony and she knows these are his. It sends a rush of relief through her.
Minutes after another suit arrives, glossy dark matte with a large gun on it’s back and it fires on the rogue suits, too. It lands near Pepper and Sach with the other evacuees.
“Pep.”
“Rhodey?!”
“Yeah, gift from Tony.” She knows the other man would shrug and roll his eyes, because this is just like the genius. To give a handmade gift and think it nothing at all.
“Of course. He’s on his way.” Because there is no way Tony didn’t know their was an attack happening at his Expo.
“Five minutes out.” He raises his arm and fires quickly as two suits come toward them. “Time for you to go.”
“I’m not leaving until-“
“Pepper, I will put you in that van myself. Or do you think as CEO you’re not a target in all this?”
Pepper tries not to grimace at what he says. But after everything she’s discovered, everything that Tony has dug up so far, the red head reluctantly agrees. She hates it. She hates agreeing with him and Tony on this. But she’s heard enough of Rhodey’s military tactic talk to know that the best way for an attack like this to succeed is to take out the ‘high value targets’. Like Tony and now, Pepper. She’s read between the lines, of what Tony and Rikki talk about, of what JARVIS and FRIDAY send her.
Pepper gets into the van.
“You look out for each other you hear me?” She tries to bore into him despite the faceplate.
“Loud and clear, Ma’am.” He snaps a salute and takes off before she can snap at him. He knows how much she hates it when he does that. But Rhodey’s already gone. He’s flying with Tony’s suits and soon enough, Tony himself. They’ll be okay. She won’t accept anything less.
Romanoff slips out at the same time the Hammer’s drones cause havoc and escape. Romanoff takes note of the SHIELD agents that arrived and from the looks of it, tried to make a power play with the FBI. Fury will want to hear of this and will suspect one of the Councilman attempting to gain another inch over the others, again. Romanoff had no doubt that was bound to fail. Potts and Stark would never let that stand. They’d rip the United States capital to shreds to keep Stark tech in their own hands and walk away without a scratch.
She suspects they’re the ones to tip off the FBI to this location, too. Meaning they know exactly how many armors were made and trying to cover up even one going missing would be a disaster. Something SHIELD cannot afford to have right now.
Regardless, she partially completed her mission here. Loath as she is to admit, getting Sach out of the way was harder than she wanted. The woman didn’t trust her after putting down Stark’s driver down in the gym. A hiccup she hadn’t anticipated when she made her move but she can work around that. Sach isn't the only one with access to other things in Stark Industries after all. It took a bit of finagling and more hand tricks that she’d prefer but she manages to get the clearance she needs from one of the other executives. He was already under investigation so adding to his already long list of charges wouldn’t make a difference in the long run. Stark might actually thank her next time they meet.
She got her hands on several documents of interest to SHIELD. It isn't tech but copies of his patents and current contracts has definitely kept her on this mission. Romanoff remembers the grumblings from Stark building a reactor in some backwater town rather than a city. Harder to infiltrate a small town than a big city and the locals kept everyone, even people dressed as a Stark employee under watch. They learned pretty quick the Mayor has a direct line to another department head, someone Romanoff doesn't know, to verify employee visits. That intel put a quick end to that avenue of intel gathering. As it stands, SHIELD still doesn't know anything about Stark’s end goal. About what he’s planning or why. Who will take over as the heir to his company and his fortune, although speculation is now on Potts, Romanoff isn’t so sure, especially after Fury dropped the last tidbit last time.
If Chadwick really is using some kind of alien tech on Stark to keep him alive, SHIELD needs to know. How does it work? Is it permanent? Where did she find it and is their more?
If she had a little more time, she’s positive she could have gotten Stark where she wanted him but between his girlfriend and the Expo, she’s been shut out.
No matter, even with the odds working against her, the Widow always wins.
Like now, she stole everything from Hammer’s personal computer and made away with a little from Vanko’s leftover notes. She can’t make heads or tails of it, even written in Russian as it is. All she can make out is the word ‘palladium’ written over and over.
Obsessively.
In her experience, that means something really good or really bad. Sometimes both at the same time, depending on the person. But it’s something useful meaning Fury can still use it. She idly wonders if it references the type of metal poisoning Stark. They’ve known for a while now that the genius was running on borrowed time. The medical specialists predicted more than just reckless behavior in her briefing and while she’s kept an eye out for it, there isn’t anything to show for it. Nothing beyond the glimpses she’s managed to see when he’s in office and in view of her spy cams. All the videos show is Sach dabbing the poisoning around his neck with some kind of lotion or oil and then covering it up with foundation. It’s enough to confirm that the palladium is active but that’s all. The glance at Vanko’s notes don’t seem to tell her or SHIELD how he’s counteracting the symptoms. But it’s still something so she takes it.
She has one last objective and that is at the Expo. That’s Vanko himself. If she can’t get Stark, she’ll bring in the next best thing and this one can’t hide behind his money or his fame. He’ll be indentured to SHIELD for his freedom and anything else he thinks he can get. They might not get Stark or his company but they’ll get someone with his mind, someone just as smart. Someone capable of getting SHIELD arc reactor technology.
This catch will cement her place, too. Stark won’t ruin what she’s managed to cobble together for herself. He won’t be able to tear down her reputation. He won’t ruin her, like everyone else. She will not allow it.
Getting to the location is only marginally a hassle, Potts having given the order to evacuate and coordinating with first responders, so parts of the area are corned off. Romanoff considers trying to lure her in too, but ultimately rejects that. She’s too much Stark’s woman to be a proper asset to SHIELD.
Romanoff slips past the barriers in her way after parking her car near a SHIELD safe house close by. The grounds of the Expo are a mess. Robot parts laying everywhere, stands and walls broken or on fire. There are glass shards everywhere, some with blood from fleeing civilians and some crushed by the attacking suits. Probably as they landed and fired into the crowd.
She picks her way quickly and carefully through the battlefield, searching for her last target. For anything else of value.
“Help!” A hoarse voice calls out.
The red head turns. Her gaze falls on a woman, brunette, brown eyes, fair complexion with glasses and there’s a massive chunk of rebar pinning her thighs down to her legs. Romanoff comes over to her side and ignores how relieved the woman is to see her. Her focus is on her legs and where the woman is pinned. Helping this woman might integrate her into Stark’s good graces but the Widow is also aware that time is precious and her primary focus is Vanko.
One civilian for the untold millions in the future is a small price to pay.
The right is pinched at the muscle, no doubt stopping blood flow to the rest of her leg. Nothing too serious so long as the woman gets help. It would be child’s play to tap into the local responders’ emergency channel and let them know her location. So long as they were close, she can milk this and make herself look more like someone Stark can trust.
What assassin would stop by to help make sure all the civilians were evacuated?
She comes around to the woman’s other side, getting a good look at just how big this slab of concrete and metal really is. He frowns as she sees the state of the woman’s other leg. Romanoff bends down to peer through some cracks and sees what’s actually holding her down.
There’s a steel beam piercing her leg. By itself, it’s not a large concern but it's lodge into the inside of her thigh, near her groin. Romanoff would hazard a guess it’s either torn or is pinching her femoral artery. It’s also bleeding, slowly but still bleeding. Either way, without immediate help, this woman won’t survive long and considering the state of affairs, that isn't likely to happen.
“I’m going to call for backup, okay?” Romanoff softens her voice, gentle and reassuring. The last thing she needs is this woman making a scene and costing her, her mission.
“Yes, yes,” The woman gasps and struggles to contain her sobs. “Please, please find my nephew. I lost him in the crowd. Him and Ben, my husband. Please.”
“I’m searching for anyone we missed. Don’t worry everything is going to be okay.”
The woman slumps down into the dirt, relieved and exhausted. The blood loss making her dizzy. Romanoff taps into the emergency frequency and gives them the general location of where this woman is trapped. They haven’t made a grid map yet but she calls out landmarks around her, repeats it twice and shuts it off.
“I’m going to look for the others okay? Try not to move too much and keep calm. Help is on the way.”
“Thank you, thank you.” The woman cries and Romanoff pities her. At least she could bring this woman some comfort before she passes. With that, she gets up and moves on. She has a mission to complete.