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Assistant: Title: Mistakes
        Author: MysticWolfShadows MysticWolfShadows 
        Chapter: 2/13 
        Summary: When Tony Stark was 28, he made a mistake. At the time he had thought only one part was a mistake, but it was how he had reacted that had been the mistake. Once he realizes this, Peter Parker Stark would become the best thing in his life.AN: Please, I love to hear comments and it actually helps my writing to hear what you, the reader, thinks of what I've done.
        Contents: Chapter 2
    

    


      
        
          Sooo I added a lot more tags. Usually, I don't like releasing the tags all at once, for people who are reading and keeping up with the chapters as they're posted so things can be a surprise (if I, say, was planning to kill off someone like Peter and had 'Major character death' and 'child death' or 'child suicide' in the tags, it wouldn't be a surprise), but it's been drawn to my attention that some people might not like the main pairings I have set up for this fic. And that's okay, but those that don't need to respect that this is they way I chose to do it, and if you don't like it, don't read it. But the first two chapters can be read alone without problems, if you just want to read about Tony and Peter.Aaanyway, read on and enjoy!*Edit, like, five seconds after posting* There are still tags missing! I only just finished chapter 3! And no, I do not want to panic you! I will not be killing off Peter in the future! I think.
            
            (See the end of the chapter for  more notes.)
            
      
  

  
  
    
    
  Months passed, with Peter turning six, and fixing things with Stark Industries. They were making personal technology, and security equipment like cameras. Jets, even. It was a good turn around, thank god, and it worked. Especially after he started planning for the Stark Expo again. 

  In fact, Tony thought, standing in a jet flying over the Expo on opening night, Tony was thinking about changing some personal things in his life. Maybe move to New York again… So, with a thumbs up to the pilot, he dives out of the jet and lands on a stage. 

  The crowd screamed for him as the suit was dismantled around him. They chanted his name, as he held up his hands, the chorus girls behind him being shuffled off stage. 

  “It’s good to be back. You missed me?” The crowd roared. “I missed you too.” 

  “Blow something up!” Someone shouted at him, and he turned to look. 

  “Blow something up? I already did that. I’m not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me. I’m not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history. I’m not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven’t come across anyone who’s man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day.” 

  The crowd cheered, someone shouting that they loved him. 

  “Please, it’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s not even about us. It’s about legacy. It’s about what we choose to leave behind for our children and  future generations. And that’s why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future. It’s not about us. Therefore, what I’m saying, if I’m saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!” 

  He waited for the cheering to die down before diverting everyone’s attention to the screen behind him. “And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it’s all about, please welcome my father, Howard.” 

  The video began to play, and Tony stepped off the stage. He didn’t care much for his father, but he didn’t want Peter to know that. Family was important to the boy. 

  Especially his father, Tony thought, as he looked at his blood toxicity. It had risen to 19%. Not bad, considering that it had been six months since he first got the arc reactor. Bad, considering that he’d had only 7% just the week before. It was rising exponentially… 

  There was a clatter behind him, and Tony stuffed the tester in his pocket before turning to find Peter and Happy coming up to him. Peter, giddy on adrenaline, ran to him, practically jumping up and down. 

  “Daddy, Daddy!” Peter squealed. “That was so cool! And there were all those dancing ladies, and explosions, and-!” 

  “Whoa there,” Tony chuckled, picking Peter up. “You’re a talkative little jumper today! Tell me all about it later, we’re heading out now. Happy?” 

  Peter giggled, nodding quickly as he squirmed his way out of his fathers grip, running in circles around him as they made their way outside. Peter, thankfully, always stayed within arms reach of Tony of Happy, as the crowd would have been easy to get snatched from. Eventually, they did make it outside, and got into their car. 

  “Come on, you two,” Happy said as he opened the last door. “There we go.” 

  “Very mellow,” Tony joked, Peter still jumpy at his side. 

  “Wasn’t to bad.” 

  “It was perfect.” 

  They walked towards the car, finding a woman leaning against it. Tony’s first thought had been ‘Who the hell is she?’ His second was ‘this is totally a breach of security and Peter’s safety’. 

  “Who are you?” Peter asks for them. 

  “Marshal,” the woman said, pulling out a letter. “And I have a subpoena for Mr. Stark.” 

  “Yikes,” Tony said, picking Peter up to put him in the back seat, where his car seat had been placed. “Happy, get the thing.” 

  “Right,” Happy sighed, taking the letter. “He doesn’t like to be handed things.” 

  “I have a peeve,” Tony shrugged, sliding into the front seat once he was sure Peter was buckled. 

  “I got it,” the marshal said. “You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9 am.” 

  “Can we see the badge?” 

  “You wanna see the badge?” 

  “The kid likes the badge,” Happy said, pointing a thumb back to Peter.

  She pulled it out, smirking. “Still like it?” 

  “Yup,” Peter chirped. 

  Tony laughed, starting the engine. “How far to DC?” 

  “DC?” Happy asked, raising a brow. “250 miles.”

  “Great,” Tony said, reaching to adjust his rear view mirror to see Peter a little better. “Think you can take a nap in the car, bud?” 

  Now able to see Peter in the mirror, Tony found the kid fast asleep. He chuckled, taking off for DC. 

  XxXXxX

  OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT - DO NOT ALTER
  
SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE HEARING
  
TESTIMONY: ANTHONY EDWARD STARK
  

  REGARDING: IRON MAN ARMOR

  SEN. STERN: Mr Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr Stark. Please.

  [Stark turns around. Appears distracted with a child and a blanket]
STARK: Yes dear?
  [Laughter]

  SEN. STERN: Can I have your attention?
STARK: Absolutely. Just gotta… Can’t have the kid getting a cold. He gets all whiny and I make terrible soup. Tastes kinda like soap for some reason.
  [Laughter.] 

  SEN. STERN: Mr. Stark.
STARK: Right, right.
  SEN. STERN: Do you or do you not possess a specialised weapon?
STARK: I do not.
  SEN. STERN: You do not?
STARK: I do not. Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon.
  SEN. STERN: The Iron Man weapon.
STARK: My device does not fit that description.
  SEN. STERN: Well… How would you describe it?
STARK: I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator.
  SEN. STERN: As? 
STARK: It’s a high-tech prosthesis. That is… That is… That’s actually the most apt description I can make of it.
  SEN. STERN: It’s a weapon. It’s a weapon, Mr Stark.
STARK: Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen…
  SEN. STERN: My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.
STARK: Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending or what state you’re in. You can’t have it.
  SEN. STERN: Look, I’m no expert…
STARK: In prostitution? Of course not. You’re a senator. Come on.
  [Laughter.] 

  SEN. STERN: I’m no expert in weapons. We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I’d now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.

  [MR. HAMMER, entering court room.] 
STARK: Let the record reflect that I observed Mr Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance.HAMMER: Absolutely. I’m no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You’re the wonder boy. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad. Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let’s just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we’re here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it’s a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I’d love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain’t Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.
  [Applause]

  SEN. STERN: That is well said Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber.

  [COL. RHODES, entering the chamber.] 

  SEN. STERN: I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?

  COL. RHODES: You’re requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?

  SEN. STERN: Yes, sir.

  COL. RHODES: It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner.

  SEN. STERN: I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read…

  COL. RHODES: You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summery of my final…

  SEN. STERN: Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you.

  COL. RHODES: Very well. “As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.” I did however, go on to summarise that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities and that it would be in our interest…

  SEN. STERN: That’s enough Colonel

  COL. RHODES: …to fold Mr Stark…

  SEN STERN: That’s enough

  COL. RHODES: …into the existing chain of command, Senator.
STARK: I’m not a joiner, but I’ll consider Secretary of Defense, if you ask nice
  [Laughter.] 
STARK: We can amend the hours a little bit.
  SEN. STERN: I’d like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that’s connected to your report.

  COL. RHODES: I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time.

  SEN. STERN: With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we’d be very grateful. Let’s have the images.

  [Images are projected to a screen.] 

  COL. RHODES: Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr Stark’s suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational.
STARK: Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here.
  [Images have changed.] 
STARK:  Boy, I’m good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let’s see what’s really going on.
  SEN. STERN: What is he doing?
STARK: If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that’s North Korea.
  [Video playing.] 

  SEN. STERN: Can you turn that off? Take it off.
STARK: Iran.
  [Video has chan

  OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT - UNFINISHED DUE TO COURT REPORTER SICKNESS

  XxXXxX

  By the time they got home, Peter was wide awake, and they were eating donuts. It seemed like a tradition now, to get donuts when they came back from something big. And with both the opening of the expo and the hearing, Tony let Peter have some extra. Four instead of two seemed fair. 

  “Wake up,” Tony said as they wandered down to the lab. “Daddy’s home.”

  “Welcome home, sir,” Jarvis said. “Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir.” 

  “And welcome home, Baby Boss,” Friday called. “You’ve got some more learning today, if you wanna join the first grade class next year. Mind heading up to the study?” 

  Peter pouted, but went up to the study with a huff. As much as he loved watching Tony work, he loved learning. Even if he pretended he didn’t. So, Tony watched him go before turning to look around the lab. 

  Since the creation of the first suit, Tony had found that he couldn’t stop making them. He had made at least seven, each better then the last in one way or another. The Mark V was always in his car, since it was able to fold down into a suitcase. It was next to something Peter didn’t know about. It was something jokingly called the Iron Lad, meant to look like a plain backpack on the outside, but really be a miniature Iron Man suit for Peter to use if an emergency came up. While the Iron Man was connected with Jarvis, Friday was the one running diagnostics for the Iron Lad. 

  But his near addiction with making armors caused a bit of a crunch for space. The lounge area, with the kitchen and the couch and the TV, was turned into a massive display case to hold the armors. Well, not just that. It was an entrance to a vault, one that he’d already had, under the mansion. The display case held the Mark I, II, IV, V, and VII armors, though the center case slid back to reveal an elevator. 

  With the removal of the original lounge, Tony had to take a step back and rearrange his entire workshop. He had to expand the garage, section it off entirely, to keep his cars. Peter’s little area had to be moved, and with the bit of extra space from removing the cars, Peter’s space became connected with the lounge. Peter had complained about it at first, then gave in, since he wasn’t allowed to build things yet. 

  The kitchen section of the lounge had to be placed outside of the lounge. There was a door into the now shielded lounge right next to the kitchen, of course, but Dummy was mostly in control of the kitchen. Making smoothies, but mostly making a mess. 

  Like right now, Tony realized as the blender whirred to life. 

  “Dummy!” he shouted, only to have the bot turn and knock it over. “I swear, I will donate you to the community college!” 

  Dummy looked down, making a soft whining sound before turning to try again. U went to go get a premade smoothie, rolling through Dummy’s mess as the other bot went to go get another blender. 

  “Jarvis,” Tony sighed, scowling at the smoothie after drinking it. “How many ounce a day of this gobbledegook am I supposed to drink?” 

  “We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir.” 

  “Great… Check palladium levels.” 

  “Blood toxicity, 24%. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted.” 

  WIth a sigh, Tony pulled off his shirt, popping out the core. It was rusted, and smoking, a lot more then the last core had been. 

  “God, they’re running out quick.” 

  “I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core.” 

  He frowned at the rusted core, comparing the reddish brown metal to the shiny silver of the new core. Quickly, he tossed the old one, putting in the new one. The blue jagged lines on his chest were growing longer around the core. 

  “You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that’s keeping you alive is also killing you. Miss Potts is also approaching. I recommend that you inform her-”

  “Mute.” 

  Tony pulls on a shirt, turning away from the door as Pepper comes inside. 

  “Is this a joke?” she asked. “What are you thinking?” 

  “Hey, I’m thinking I’m busy. And you’re angry about something.” Tony paused to look at her, ten started to walk around the lab. “Do you have the sniffles? I don’t want to get sick.” 

  “Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to the…” 

  “Boy Scouts of America.” 

  “...Boy Scouts of America?” 

  “Yes. It is a worthwhile organisation. I didn’t physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it’s not ‘our’ collection, it’s my collection. No offence.” 

  “No, you know what? I think I’m actually entitled to say “our” collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that.” 

  “It was a tax write-off. I needed that.”

  “You know, there’s only about 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about.” 

  Tony paused to point at a bot. “Butterfingers. Hey, stop spacing out. The Bridgeport’s already machining that part.”

  “The Expo is a gigantic waste of time.” 

  “I need you to wear a surgical mask until you’re feeling better. Is that okay?” 

  “That’s rude.” 

  “There’s nothing more important to me than the Expo. Well, besides Peter. Peter is the primary point of concern. I don’t know why you’re-”

  “The Expo is your ego gone crazy.” 

  Tony ignored her, turning as he found a painting of Iron Man leaning against the counter in the lounge. It was really good, and not really a painting. It was a photo, that Peter had taken with the camera he got for his birthday, and run through photoshop. For something by a six year old with a camera and a single photo, it really was amazing. Friday or Jarvis must have finally gotten it printed. 

  “Wow. Look at that. That’s modern art. That’s going up.” 

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Pepper sighed. 

  “I’m gonna put this up right now,” Tony said, looking around. He quickly found a small portion of the wall that was free. Well, besides the painting already there. 

  “No, no, no, no. You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up.” 

  “You don’t like it?” a little voice said from the door. 

  Tony immediately looked over, having jumped onto the counter. Peter looked so hurt, with big eyes turned up to Pepper with a lip that was just threatening to quiver. Tony wouldn’t be able to handle if his little boy started cry, and shot Pepper a pointed look. 

  “She does like it Peter,” Tony said, hanging said painting up. “We both think your photo looks amazing. Aunt Pepper is just worried about what might happen to this dull, super expensive painting.” 

  “Oh.” Peter frowned, thinking for a moment. “Dad, you’ve been really busy. Seem really stressed.” 

  “Where’s this coming from, Pete?” Tony asked as he hopped down, giving the ceiling a narrow eyed glance. 

  “You do a lot of stuff for SI,” Peter explained. “And now you’re really busy with Iron Man, and I love Iron Man, but what if you don’t have time for me?”

  “I’ll always make time for you. In fact, I’ll make time for you right now! Pepper, I just had an excellent idea. You run the company.” 

  “Yeah,” she scoffed. “I’m trying to run the company.” 

  “Pepper, I need you to run the company. Stop trying to do it and do it.” 

  “You will not give me the information in order to-”

  “I’m not asking you to try, I’m asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it.” 

  “I am trying to do it.” 

  “Pepper, you’re not listening to me!” 

  “No, you’re not listening to me.” 

  “I’m trying to make you CEO,” Tony groaned, making her freeze. “Why won't you let me?” 

  Pepper stared at him. “Have you been drinking?” 

  “You know I don’t drink anymore,” Tony said, grabbing a bottle of white grape juice that U brought over, pouring a glass for Peter first, who made excited grabby hands for it. “I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay? I’ve actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not.”

  He held out a glass to Pepper, though she didn’t take it. “Congratulations? Take it, just take it.” 

  “I don’t know what to think,” she eventually said, still staring at them.

  But she took the glass, and they clinked classes, Peter excitedly getting more juice. 

  XxXXxX

  Tony grinned as he watched Peter practice the moves Happy had taught him. He’d been boxing for a while, as a way to defend himself outside the suit, and he’d started Peter on it as well. After all, there hadn’t been any kidnappings yet, but it wouldn’t be too long before someone tried. Tony just didn’t want to make it easy for them. 

  So Tony stood in the corner of the ring, watching as Peter ducked and weaved around Happy. It was clear that even with how new he was at fighting, Peter was the one with the upper hand. Even if Happy wasn’t going easy, Peter was too fast for the big guy. 

  “The notary’s here!” Pepper called. “Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?”

  “I’m on happy time,” Tony said, then laughed as Peter hit Happy in the face with his elbow. “Go easy on him, Pete! Happy’s old!” 

  “The hell was that?” Happy asked, stepping back and away from the giggling six year old. “Where’d you learn that, kid?” 

  “Mixed martial arts,” Peter chirped. “Daddy taught me! It’s new!” 

  “It’s called dirty boxing, there’s nothing new about it.” 

  “All right,” Tony said, reaching out to scoop Peter up by the underneath his arms. “Time for a break.” 

  They turn, Peter giggling and squirming as they get out of the ring. A woman was walking into the gym. She was dressed in a white blouse, tucked into a pair of black slacks. The woman gave him a look that Tony felt was oddly familiar, and Tony tried to figure it out. 

  “I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company,” Pepper said jokingly. 

  “I need you to initial each box,” the woman said, holding out a folder. 

  Tony set Peter down, picking up their water bottles. He handed Peter his, then drank from his own. He frowned at the notary, trying to figure out that look she’d given him. 

  “What’s your name lady?” Tony asked, pushing Peter’s snack box to the boy to encourage him to eat. 

  “Rushman,” she said. “Natalie Rushman.” 

  “You box?” 

  “A bit.” 

  “Happy,” Tony said, pulling up the ropes to let Natalie into the ring. “Give her a lesson?” 

  “No problem,” the bodyguard said, and helped Natalie up. 

  Tony turned, moving to sit at the table. Peter followed after him, with his little box of celery sticks and carrots. Unable to ignore the boys pitiful pleading look, Tony let him squirm up onto the chair with him. 

  “You really shouldn’t indulge him like that,” Pepper was saying. “He’s going to-” 

  “Pepper,” Tony interrupted, still watching Natalie. “Who is she?” 

  “She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that.” 

  ‘I need a new assistant,” he dismissed, tapping at the glass of the table to bring up a search.

  “Yes, and I’ve got three excellent potential candidates. They’re lined up and ready to meet you.”

  “I don’t have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it’s her.” 

  “No it’s not.” 

  Tony ignored her. “How do I spell your name, Natalie?” 

  She glanced up, spelling it out for him. Peter was giving her an odd look, and Tony tapped it into table screen. 

  “What,” Pepper said, “are you gonna google her now?” 

  “I thought I was ogling her.” He brought up the woman’s file, and nearly whistled. The woman had nearly everything he wanted, making quite the interesting resume. He flicked through files, pictures, and wondered how odd it was that the perfect assistant just happened to be their notary. It was suspicious, but Tony needed a good assistant, fast, who wasn’t just a dumb blond but could protect Peter as well. She seemed to be doing pretty good against Happy… “Wow. Very, very impressive individual.” 

  “You’re so predictable, you know that?” 

  “She’s fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?” 

  “No one speaks Latin,” Pepper said, now getting a bit suspicious herself. 

  “No one speaks Latin,” Tony agreed. 

  “It’s a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can’t speak Latin.” 

  “I need her,” he said again. “She’s got everything that I need.”

  From the ring, they could hear Happy saying something. The next thing he knows, Tony is watching as Natalie is flipping Happy over and pinning him to the ground. Pepper screamed, and so did Peter, but for different reasons. 

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Tony nearly cheered. 

  “I just slipped,” Happy coughed out. 

  “Did you?” 

  “Yeah,” the man groans, as Natalie lets him up. 

  “Looks like a TKO to me.” Tony got up, ringing the bell as Natalie steps out. 

  “Just…” She took a deep breath. “I need your impression.” 

  “You have a quiet reserve. I don’t know, you have an old soul.” 

  She held out the folder. “I meant your fingerprint.” 

  “Right.” Tony dipped his thumb into the ink, then pressed it into the page. 

  “So,” Pepper said as she came over after helping Happy. “How are we doing.” 

  “Great,” Tony said cheerily. “Just wrapping up here. Hey. You’re the boss.” 

  “Boss lady!” Peter cheered, grinning. 

  “Will that be all, Mr Stark?” Natalie asked. 

  “No.” 

  “Yes,” Pepper sighed. “That will be all, Ms Rushman. Thank you very much.” 

  Tony turned to Pepper. 

  “I want one.” 

  She sighed, giving him a suffering look. 

  “No.” 

  XxXXxX

  Peter was bouncing excitedly in his seat. Tony was about ready to take a nap, but the kids excitement was infectious. He was getting pretty hyped, to. Pepper looked like she wanted to throttle them. 

  They were in Europe, to watch the Grand Prix. Peter was so hooked up on adrenaline and sugar that it was unlikely he would sleep anytime soon. 

  “You know,” Tony said to Pepper as they got out. “It’s Europe. Whatever happens the next 20 minutes, just go with it.” 

  “Go with it?” Pepper asked. “Go with what?” 

  It was then that Natalie came up to them. He’d tracked her down after she’d left, and had offered her a job. Thankfully, she had taken it, but Tony was more interested in the mystery behind her rather then whatever Pepper thought. 

  “Hello,” Natalie said. “How was your flight?” 

  “It was excellent,” Tony said. 

  Peter hopped up and down by his feet. “It was so cool! We were in the air, and it was awesome and-” 

  Tony laughed, pulling out a rice crispy treat - Good god, the things were like tiny miracles! - and shoved it into the kids hands. Peter was instantly distracted, chewing down on the treat and looking around the room. 

  “We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don’t mind. Okay?” 

  Tony nodded absently, ruffling Peter’s hair as the boy ate his snack. Sure, it would only hype him up with more sugar, might even ruin his lunch, but he’d be quiet for just a bit while Tony got the ball rolling. 

  “When did this happen?” Pepper asked, scowling. 

  “What?” Tony said absently, trying to scrub a bit of marshmallow from Peter’s face as they went to find a place to sit. “You made me do it” 

  “I made you do what?” 

  “You quit,” Tony explained, looking around. “Smile. Look, right there. Stop acting constipated. Don’t flare your nostrils.” 

  “You are so predictable.”

  “That’s the amazing thing.” 

  “Right this way,” Natalie said. 

  “What’s on the docket?” Tony asked her, then saw the best table, near a tv that Peter could watch. “This us?” 

  “You have a 9:30 dinner,” she said, frowning at the table. “And it can be.” 

  “Great,” Tony said with a grin. “Make it us. And I’ll be there at 11:00.” 

  Natalie gave him a sharp nod, hurrying off. Tony, as he wanted to get something to drink and something better for Peter then a marshmallow and cereal treat, went to the bar. Peter followed after him, one hand on the leg of Tony’s pants, and the other holding the treat to his mouth as they went. 

  The bartender looked up, obviously recognizing him, and went to grab things to make margaritas. Tony reached across the bar, knowing better then to become that again, and simply grabbed a cup to put olives in and motioned to get some cranberry juice. 

  “Anthony. Is that you?” 

  The voice made Tony groan, and he turned to find Justin Hammer, with Christine Everhart. He gave Peter the cup, lifting the kid up to sit on one of the stools. Hammer grinned at them, coming up to them with his hands in his pockets, and even dared to greet Peter. 

  “Hey, pal.” 

  Peter looked up at him, and Tony could swear he could practically hear Peter’s thoughts. Should he put the crispy treat in Hammers hair, or throw the olives in his face? 

  “Justin Hammer,” Tony said curtly, getting the man’s attention again. 

  “How you doing?” Hammer asked. “You’re not the only rich guy here with a fancy car. You know Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair. You guys know each other?”

  “Hi,” Christine said carefully. “Yes.” 

  “Hi,” Tony said. 

  “She’s actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair,” Hammer said. “I thought I’d throw her a bone. You know, no one has really got the story behind your kid. Right?” 

  Tony narrowed his eyes. “She’s not interviewing Peter.” 

  “I’m not saying that she’d interview the kid. I just think everyone would like to hear more on this little scandal of yours.” 

  Tony glared at the man, ready to tear him a new one. But he knew that he shouldn’t, not with Peter right there, watching them. So, he smiled, turning to Hammer. 

  “So how’d it turn out for you, when you got your contract revoked-” 

  “Actually,” Hammer was saying quickly. “It’s on hold.” 

  “That’s not what I heard. What’s the difference between ‘hold’ and ‘cancelled’? The truth?” 

  “Yes,” Christine said. She clearly hadn’t liked the way Hammer had been talking about Peter either. “What is it?” 

  “No. The truth is… Why don’t we put that away?” Hammer pushed the recorder away, turning to Tony. “The truth is, I’m actually hoping to present something at your Expo.”

  “Well, if you invent something that works, I’ll make sure I get you a slot.” 

  “Mr. Stark,” Natalie said, as she seemed to appear from nowhere. “Your corner table is ready.” 

  “I actually have a slot this year,” Hammer insisted. “Yes, I do.”

  “Hammer needs a slot, Christine,” Tony insisted, picking Peter up. “Come on, kid. Let’s go wash your hands before we go sit down.” 

  They head off to the bathroom. Peter, being a kid and having chugged nearly a liter of juice on the jet ride over, had to use the bathroom. As the kid took his potty break, Tony pulled out the tester. He pr@cked his finger, taking a breath once he had pulled back, and shook out his finger. His blood toxicity was already 53%. 

  He glanced up, unsure of what to do. The suit was killing him, but the arc reactor was keeping him alive. He didn’t need to be a genius to know that he was going to die. 

  “Got any other ideas?” he asked himself in the mirror. 

  “What did you say, Daddy?” 

  He looked up, seeing Peter come out of the stall to come to the sink to wash his hands. Tony smiled, hiding the tester, and helping him clean his hands. 

  “Nothing,” he said. “Do you think you can make it back to the table without me? I was just thinking that maybe I should race in the car instead.” 

  “Do I have to?” 

  “There’s a TV right next to the table. You’ll get to see me race.” 

  Peter pursed his lips, but nodded, and went off to get to the table after Tony had ruffled his hair and had made for the door. 

  XxXXxX

  In all fairness, it had started out pretty well. He was familiar with driving cars, especially fast ones. He raced Happy to the airport often enough, after all, and he had even designed the engines for a few of the cars on this road. Of all people, he was probably the best one to drive. 

  Then the man with the whips had appeared and had cut up his car. 

  Once he’d recovered from the throw, Tony managed to pull himself out of the seat. He makes his way around the wreckage, picking up a good sized sheet of metal. Once he was behind the man, he went to give him a good whack. The man seemed to expect this and they grappled for a moment before Tony was thrown to the ground. 

  When he saw the petrol on the ground, he moved quickly. The whips came down, sparking the gas alight, and Tony clung to the fence. Then Happy came out of nowhere, slamming the man into the fence as Tony stared down at them. At Happy driving and Pepper in the back seat, and good god, 
  
    where was Peter? 
  

  “Where’s Peter?” Tony asked first. 

  “With Natalie,” Pepper snapped. “Now get in the car!” 

  “I was attacked,” Tony said, moving to get to the door. “We need better security.” 

  “Get in the car,” Happy agreed. 

  “You’re CEO,” Tony continued. “Better security measures. God, it’s embarrassing. First vacation with Peter, and this is how it goes.” 

  A whip came out from behind him, as he opened the door. It was sliced in half, and Tony dropped the half of the door in his hands. It was a clean cut, and wow, how did those whips work? He knew better then to ask, and he stepped back as Happy backed the car up, to smash it into the man again. Pepper was screaming. 

  “I got him!” Happy called out. 

  “Take the case!” Pepper cried out, trying to hold it out through the half of the swinging door. “Take it!” 

  “I got him,” Happy called again. “Give him the case!” 

  “Stop banging the car!” 

  A whip came down, slicing the car in half. There was more screaming from Pepper, and she finally threw the case at him. He set it down, placing a foot on it, before pulling it up to form around him. He turned, quickly, and started in on the fight. 

  Eventually, he pulled the arc reactor out of the man’s center piece, and crushed it. 

  “You lose,” the man was yelling as he was dragged away. “You lose Stark.” 

  Tony watched him go, then turned to go find Peter. 

  XxXXxX

  On the airplane ride back, Tony did his best to cheer Pepper up. Peter refused to be put down, simply clinging to Tony’s shirt and risking it getting ripped if Tony tried to put him down. So he had a baby leech on him as he was trying to make a make up omelet for Pepper. It didn’t turn out very well, but he took it to her anyway, finding her watching Stern on a news. 

  “Mute,” he said, setting down the plate, and sitting so Peter was in his lap. “He should be giving me a medal. That’s the truth.” 

  “What is that?” She asked, sounding tired. 

  “This is your in-flight meal.” 

  The look she gave him made him smile. “Did you just make that?” 

  “Yeah,” he said, turning to smooth out Peter’s hair. “Where do you think we’ve been for three hours?” 

  “Tony, what are you not telling me?” 

  And there it was. He’d never been able to keep anything from Pepper, not for long. But he couldn’t tell her, not here with Peter sitting on his lap. So he sighed, carding his fingers through Peter’s hair as his son fell asleep, still clinging to him. 

  He had missed so much of Peter’s life already, of those first five years where he had stayed as far away as he could to keep from becoming his father. Tony had been so afraid of doing what his father had, he hadn’t realized he had been worse then his father. And now, with the Palladium poisoning… He’d miss the rest of Peter’s life before he could even make things right. 

  “Tony?” Pepper said, drawing his attention. “What aren’t you telling me?” 

  “It’s nothing,” Tony said, looking out the window. “It’s really nothing, Pep.” 

  She didn’t look to convinced, but she didn’t press the question further. 

  XxXXxX

  When they got back to Malibu, Tony managed to get Peter to bed without waking him up. Natalie and Pepper watched him as he went to his lab, but didn’t say anything. He sat in one of his cars, researching Ivan Vanko for what felt like hours. 

  At some point, he felt his chest tighten, and he heard someone at the stair. Peter? No, just Rhodey. He let out a breath, not really hearing what his friend was saying, and went to get up. Not a good idea, as he almost instantly fell. 

  “-ey,” he heard. “Hey! You alright?” 

  “Yeah,” Tony gasped out. “I should get to my desk.” 

  He felt Rhodey pull him up, felt himself be half dragged towards his desk. Tony was dropped into a chair, taking a deep breath and telling Rhodey to get the cigar box from his desk. He pulled out the arch reactor, coughing as it smoked. 

  “Is that supposed to be smoking?” Rhodey asked. 

  “Neutron damage,” Tony managed to say, replacing the core. “From the reactor wall.” 

  “You had this in your body? And how about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?” 

  “Road rash.” He replaced the reactor, wincing at the taste in his mouth before reaching for one of his health smoothies. Tony could see Rhodey giving him a strange look. “What are you looking at?” 

  “You,” Rhodey said crossing his arms. “You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it’s unnecessary. You don’t have to do this alone.” 

  “I know,” Tony said, leaning back in his chair. “The games getting dangerous, and-” 

  “Game?” Rhodey practically hissed. “You think this is a 
  
    game
  
  ? Tony, you-” 

  “I 
  
    know
  
  ,” he stressed, running a hand over his face. “Being Iron Man, it’s a part of me. And this guy, Vanko… I’m sure he’d not done yet. He’ll be back. Hell, even more guys will probably show up. But I need to-” 

  “What do you mean ‘not done? The guys in prison, you’re safe, and they guys-” 

  “Rhodey, you’re not listening to me, I’m-” 

  “Not listening?! Tones. I’m trying to talk some sense-” 

  “I’m trying to ask you to be Peter’s godfather!” 

  The room went still, and silent. They stared at each other, Tony looking tired and exhausted. Rhodes clearly didn’t know what to say, and slumped into a chair behind him. Then, he looked up, narrowed his eyes at Tony. 

  “Why?” 

  And Tony let out a laugh. It was a thick, choked sound, because hell! Tony had barely let Peter out of his sight since he’d come back from Afghanistan. Tony hadn’t even showed any sign that he was thinking about what happened when he was gone. In fact, Tony had acted as if he’d be there for the rest of Peter’s life. 

  “Being Iron Man is dangerous,” Tony finally said, leaning back in his chair. “The thing with Vanko showed me that. And if more guys show up, I need to be ready. If I can’t be there for Peter, I need someone who can. Think you can do that for me?” 

  Rhodey gave him a skeptical look, and Tony held up a hand, hearing small feet on the stairs. “Don’t answer yet. After the party.” 

  Tony turned, grinning as Peter opened the glass door with his access code. “Hey, Pete! Up already?” 

  “Aunt Pepper said that it’s time for you’re birthday party!” Peter chirped, grinning. “You and Uncle Rhodey have to come upstairs!” 

  Tony nodded, getting up from his chair and heading for the stairs. He shot Rhodey a look, the message clear. Think about it. 

  The party, unlike the ones in the past, was private. They had it in the evening, rather then at night, and only close friends rather then whoever wanted to come inside. Hell, Tony even cooked. There was a grill by the pool, so he figured he could do up some hotdogs and hamburgers. Rhodey had to take over after the first few burgers were turned into charcoal hockey pucks. 

  For fun, they played darts, talked and posed for Peter to take pictures. It was so disgustingly normal, that Tony was almost laughing. For once, he wasn’t smashing drunk on his birthday.

  Though, he did cut a watermelon in half with a katana. Pepper had been confused, since she didn’t know where he would even get a katana. Rhodey, on the other hand, remembered their college days quite clearly, and was happy to tell Pepper and Natalie about their real life fruit ninja game. Tony had to deal with Peter’s pouting that he didn’t get to play with the katana, but Peter was easily distracted by watermelon slices. 

  All in all, his party went well, and Tony was a bit sad to see his friends, and employees he supposed in Natalie’s case, go at the end of the night. Rhodey stayed, even helped with bathtime as Peter was sleepy and sticky. Once Peter was tucked in, asleep after the fun evening, Tony walked with Rhodey down to the lab. 

  “So?” he said, moving to type into the vault control panel. He knew Rhodey’s answer, and he wanted to give his friend a little thank you present. 

  “I’ll do it,” Rhodey said. “But, Tones, you gotta promise me that you won't do anything reckless. Don’t go dying just because you have a backup plan. If you need help, with anything, we can- Hey!” Rhodey seemed to have finally noticed the suit coming out of the vault. “Are you taking off? 
  
    Now
  
  ? We’re having a serious conversation here.” 

  “As much as I hate serious,” Tony said, moving over to prick Rhodey’s finger, making the man glare. “This suit’s not for me. Figured I’d give you a little present, to say thanks. Been thinking about giving you a suit for a while. Just have to finalize the biometric locks.” 

  The man gave him a confused glare. “For me? Tony, what…” 

  “Call it a thank you, for agreeing. And for all my sh@t you’ve put up with over the years.” 

  He put in the final touches for the biometric locks, so only Rhodey could access the suit. When he turned, to gauge his friends reaction, he got a hug, and what sounded like sniffles. Tony chuckled, patting him on the back before sending him on his way. 

  XxXXxX

  The next day, Tony started by finally telling Peter about the baby suit. He’d had it in the works for a while, and it was mainly just something to help keep Peter safe if anything happened. Currently, it had no offensive gear, and was pretty much just a light suit that Peter could wear and be safe in. 

  When Peter found out, he instantly squealed and asked for some special changes. Tony, unable to deny his child anything, made the changes and they sent it to fabrication. It was still light, much lighter actually, and went from being a suit to a set of three robotic spider legs run by Friday with a HUD like visor for Peter. Since it was a lot smaller then the actual suit, it finished quickly, and they went out to go run some quick testing. 

  Quick testing, actually, turned out to be them going to a donut shop in the middle of nowhere, and renting the place out for the day. Peter’s robo spider legs helped him climb up and down from the donut that they were sitting in, and worked well. It helped a bit that Peter was already pretty good at climbing things. 

  As they were sitting in the donut, Friday holding the box with two of the legs, and securing Peter on the donut with the other, black vans rolled up. Tony recognized Nick Fury walking up, and raised a brow over his sunglasses. 

  “Sir,” Fury called up, sounding equal parts bored and amused. How even?! “I’m gonna have to ask you and the child to exit the donut.” 

  “We’re field testing,” Tony called back, taking another bit of his donut. 

  “Yeah!” Peter cheered, leaning back and 
  
    giving Tony a heart attack 
  
  as he flipped upside down to hang from the donut with only 
  
    one robot leg. 
  
  “We’re field testing!” 

  Fury rose a brow, and Tony decided that maybe Peter had had too much sugar for the day. He lifted up and out of the donut, grabbing the two other legs to lower Peter to the ground as he pouted. At Fury’s less amused look, Tony shrugged, and followed the SHIELD director into the shop. 

  “I told you I don’t wanna join your super-secret boy band,” Tony said, as they were sitting down by the window, where Tony could watch and make sure Peter didn’t get hurt. 

  “No, no, no,” Fury groused. “See, I remember, you do everything yourself. How’s that working out for you?” 

  “It’s…” Tony trailed off, looking from the eye patch to Fury’s real eye. “I’m sorry. I don’t wanna get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly I haven't slept in a while. I’m not sure if you’re real or if I’m having-” 

  “I am very real. I’m the realest person you’re ever gonna meet.” 

  “Just my luck,” he sighed, leaning back. “What do you want?” 

  Fury pointed at the lines of Palladium poisoning on Tony’s neck. “That’s not looking so good.” 

  “I’ve been worse.” 

  Behind him, he hear footsteps. He had the oddest feeling he knew who it was… And sure enough, when he looked up, it was Natalie. 

  “We’ve secured the perimeter,” she said. “But the boy is rather… excited about seeing Agent Coulson.” 

  Tony smiled. “You’re fired.” 

  “That’s not up to you.” She sat down next to Fury, giving him an impassive look. 

  “Tony,” Fury said with a grin. “I want you to meet Agent Romanov.” 

  “I knew something was wrong with her,” Tony mused, sipping at the coffee he had gotten. 

  “Then why did you hire her?” 

  “Because I needed someone who could also keep Peter safe.” Tony turned to Romanov. “I suggest you apologise.” 

  “You’ve been very busy,” Fury said, redirecting the conversation. “You made your girl your CEO, you’re giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. You made your kid a tiny spider suit. Now, if I didn’t know better-” 

  “What do you want from me?” Tony asked, watching as Romanov got up. 

  Fury scoffed a laugh. “What do we want from you? What do 
  
    you 
  
  want from 
  
    me
  
  . You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the centre of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with.” He looked behind Tony. “Hit him.” 

  There was a sharp pain in his neck, and he jerked, wide eyed as he looked up at Romanov. 

  “Oh, God, are gonna steal my kidney and sell it?” Romanov grabbed his face, turning his head. “Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds?” Tony turned to Fury. “What did she just do to me?” 

  “What did we just do 
  
    for 
  
  you,” the man corrected. “That’s lithium dioxide. It’s gonna take the edge off. We’re trying to get you back to work.” 

  “Awesome,” Tony said, taking a deep breath, because good 
  
    god, 
  
  he would get to see Peter grow older then six! “Give me a couple of boxes of that. I’ll be right as rain.” 

  “It’s not a cure,” Romanov said, dashing his hopes. “It’s just abates the symptoms.” 

  “Doesn’t look like it’s gonna be an easy fix.” Fury, the b@st@rd, was f@ck@ng smiling! 

  “Trust me,” Tony hissed. “I know. I want to live to see my kid grow up, because hell knows I was a sh@t dad for long enough. I’ve been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I’ve tried every combination, every permutation of every known element.” 

  “Well, I’m here to tell you, you haven’t tried them all.” 

  XxXXxX

  When they got back to the house, Tony was left with Agent Coulson, a bunch of boxes of his dad's old stuff, and a few things that he didn’t know about his old man. With a warning from Romanov, or Natasha, that there was no more communications, Tony huffed and turned to Coulson. 

  “First thing,” Tony said, watching as Coulson was showing Peter a few of his tools. “I need a little bodywork. I’ll put in a little time at the lab. If we could send one of your goon squad down to The Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, or something like that, that’d be nice. And get a hot chocolate for Peter.” 

  Coulson looked up, holding that looked to be a tazer just out of Peter’s reach. “I’m not here for that. I’ve been authorised by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. Okay?” 

  “You do realize my kid is right there, and any threat to Peter’s safety will cause the house to be shut down, meaning you’ll never get out?” 

  “I do.” Coulson actually smiled. “Enjoy your evening’s entertainment.” 

  And with that, Coulson was gone, leaving Tony to drag the box left to him down the stairs on his own. Peter tried to come with him, asking questions and what not, though Tony got him redirected to go do his lessons upstairs with Friday. 

  Setting the box on the lab couch, Tony flipped it open, pursing his lips as he found old arc reactor blueprints, newspaper clippings and old expo tapes. He put one on, and flipped through his dad's notebook. He didn’t find anything, unsurprisingly. 

  He tossed the notebook aside, sighing as he tried to think. 

  “Tony,” his dad said on the tape, drawing his attention. “You’re too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you. And someday you’ll realise that it represents a whole lot more than just people’s inventions. It represents my life’s work. This is the key to the future. I’m limited by the technology of my time, but one day you’ll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is, and always will be, my greatest creation is you.“ 

  The tape ended, flicking around the reel as Tony took a few deep breaths. His dad was an ass, but he’d still… Tony stood, knowing exactly what he needed, and moved to the stairs. 

  “Friday!” he called. “Tell Peter to get ready. And tell him to pack an overnight bag to.” 

  “Right away, Boss.” 

  XxXXxX

  When Tony got back from getting his dad's stuff from Pepper, and after convincing Peter that he would be at the Expo, he took the boards of the Expo model and set them up in the workshop. He examined it, blowing some dust off it, and having Jarvis making a digital scan. 

  With a few spins, and color coding, he turned it on its side. He mused to himself, and Jarvis. He flicked away footpaths, trees and shrubbery, landscaping, parking lots. With a laugh, he arranged the pavilions on the sphere, blowing it up. 

  “Dead for almost twenty years,” he mused. “And still taking me to school.” 

  He slapped his hands together, pulling up the Mark VI. Jarvis warned him about the possibility of using an unknown element. Then, he suggested doing scans. 

  “Yeah,” Tony said absently, getting up to head for the door. “You do that. I know it’s gonna work, so I’m gonna go take a shower. Get me everything from projects Pegasus, Exodus, and Goliath. Get ready for a major remodel. We’re back in hardware mode.” 

  He came back from his shower, feeling refreshed and ready to wreck his shop. Tony was building a neuron collider, to synthesize a mostly synthesizable element. Coulson came down, not looking very amused, and entered the workshop. 

  “Heard you broke perimeter,” the Agent said. 

  Tony didn’t even look up. “Yeah, like three years ago. Had to drop my kid off at his aunt's to go see the expo. Can’t have the kid running around while I’m f@ck@ng up my stuff. Where you been?” 

  “I was doing some stuff.” 

  “Yeah? Well, me too and it worked.” He placed a level on the pipes, frowning at the unevenness. “I’m playing for the home team Coulson, you and all your Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Now, are you gonna let me work or break my b@lls?” 

  Coulson doesn’t reply, not at first, then Tony hears the scraping of metal. “What’s this doing here?” 

  Tony turned, frowning. But he knew exactly why the shield replica had been there. Peter was still obsessed with Captain America, still made Tony tell one of Aunt Peggy’s old stories about the guy to get him to go to sleep. He’d been planning on turning the replica into a clock or something, for Peter’s next birthday, but… 

  “That’s it.” Tony said as he set down the thing he’d been holding. “Bring that to me.” 

  Coulson looked surprised. “You know what this is?” 

  “It’s exactly what I need to make this work. Lift the coil. Go, go. Put your knees into it.” Tony wedged the replica under the coil. “There you go. And… Drop it. Drop it.” He placed the level on it, pleased. “Perfectly level. I’m busy. What do you want?”

  For a moment, Coulson stared at him. “Nothing,” he eventually said. “Goodbye. I’ve been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico.” 

  Tony would never say it out loud, but he’d miss the guy. “Fantastic. Land of Enchantment.” 

  “So I’m told.” 

  “Secret stuff?” 

  Coulson smiled. “Something like that. Good luck.” 

  “Bye. Thanks.” Tony held out his hand, letting the man shake it. 

  “We need you,” Coulson said, still holding his hand. 

  “Yeah, more than you know.” 

  “Not that much.” And with that, Coulson was gone. 

  XxXXxX

  The new core worked, which was good news. Only, it was ruined by Vanko calling in. 

  In a flash, he had the new reactor in, and was in the suit. He could taste coconut, and metal, and boy was that weird. But he had bigger problems, and he needed to get to the expo before Hammer could get on stage. 

  Sadly, he was too late, Rhodey standing in front of a horde of drones. And had a machine gun attached to his back. Rhodey, no. The suit, the beautiful suit! 

  “We got trouble,” Tony said as he landed, next to his friend. 

  “Tony,” Rhodey sighed. “I’m here on orders. I know you don’t approve of Hammer, but he’s got a military contract, and-” 

  “I think he’s working with Vanko.” 

  “Vanko’s alive?” 

  Tony didn’t respond, instead stepping up towards Hammer. “Where is he?” 

  “What?” Hammer asked, clearly surprised. 

  “Where’s Vanko,” Tony pressed. 

  “Who?...” Hammer asked, trying and failing to act innocent. 

  “Tell me.” 

  “What… What are you doing here, man?...” 

  “Whoa,” Rhodey was suddenly saying. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” 

  The drones behind Rhodey were suddenly taking aim at Tony, the guns locking onto him. 

  “Is that you?” Tony asked, tensing to take off, already knowing the answer. 

  “No, I’m not doing that,” Rhodey insisted. “That’s not me. I can’t move. I’m locked up. I’m locked up!” 

  Tony lifted up, the drone guns following him. Jarvis pulled up the coding for Rhodey’s suit, and he let out a breath. The biometrics were working. Vanko was trying to get in, but he couldn’t without a DNA scan. The suit was locking down as a defense. 

  “Get out of here,” Rhodey was saying. “Go! This whole system’s been compromised.” 

  Tony laughs. “Alright. Let’s take this outside.” 

  He zips out of the main building, the drones close behind. Or, at least, the ones that could fly. Jarvis started in one getting Vanko completely out of Rhodey’s system. He breezed past a few buildings, barely dodging a swarm of bullets. 

  Below, Tony could see the streets dissolve into chaos. Drones rained explosives down onto the crowds, who screamed and scattered and clustered together at exits. He didn’t see Peter or Pepper, and hoped to god Natalie or Romanov or Natasha, or whatever he was supposed to call her had gotten them somewhere safe. 

  He had thought to soon. 

  “Boss,” Friday said urgently as Tony dodged shots from ground drones. “Baby Boss, directly below! Drone locked on him!” 

  Tony cursed, swerving as Friday turned his lock onto the right done in the screaming crowd. And there, in the coat Tony had zipped up for him, the shoes Tony had tired, was Peter, without his spider legs backpack and wearing an Iron Man mask. He dropped down behind Peter, shooting the drone before it could shoot Peter. 

  “Take that off and get inside,” Tony ordered sharply. “Now!”

  Peter turned, yanking off the mask just in time for Tony to see his wide eyes. Then, Tony took off, as the drones got close again, and Peter took off for cover. At least that was one crisis averted. 

  He led the drones away from the Expo, away from Peter and Pepper and panic civilians. They dived through a parking garage, and Tony lost a couple of them, though they set off literally every care alarm. 

  “Incoming call from Miss Romanov,” Jarvis told him. 

  “How’s Rhodey’s suit coming?” Tony asked, swerving to go after a drone unit that had peeled off towards the Expo. 

  “Not well. Miss Romanov, Sir?” 

  “Put her through,” Tony eventually replied. 

  “Stark,” Natasha’s voice filtered through. “You got your best friend back.” 

  “Awesome,” Tony said, ready to lose the last few drones. “Hey Rhodes, what’s your-” 

  A heavy metallic thunk filled his ears as Rhodey barreled into his side. They went spiralling off course, leaving the drones to smash into the metal globe. Tony let out a sharp hiss of pain as they practically bounce across the water of a river. Rhodey remained on his back, groaning. 

  “Thank you,” Tony grit out, “very much, Agent Romanov.” 

  She ignored his pained sounds as he got up. “Well done on the new chest piece. I am reading significant higher output and your vitals all look promising.” 

  “Yes,” he agreed, feeling his back pop as he sat up. “For the moment, I’m not dying. Thank you.” 

  And then it got bad again. “What do you mean you’re not dying?” Pepper asked as her own ID popped up. “Did you just say you’re dying?”

  “Oh, Pepper,” he said, trying to play it off. “Is that you? No, I’m not. Not anymore.” 

  “What’s going on?” 

  “I was going to tell you,” Tony tried. “I didn’t want to alarm you.” 

  “You were gonna tell me?” Pepper demanded. “Does Peter know? You really were dying?” 

  “Daddy’s dying?!” a squeaky little panicked voice called from behind Pepper. “Daddy?! Daddy, are you okay?!” 

  “I’m fine,” Tony said as Peter’s teary eyed face appeared in the camera’s view. “Oh, no, Peter! Don’t cry! I’m fine. I’m-” 

  “But you’re dying!” 

  “I’m not dying! I’m fending off a Hammeroid attack. We’ll talk about this later, okay, Bud? We’ll sit down, you and me and Cap-Plush, and we’ll have a little talk, okay?” 

  Peter sniffled, but nodded. 

  “Okay. I’m gonna see how you’re Uncle Rhodey is, okay? Gotta hang up. Stay with Pepper, and get your bag, okay kid?” 

  Peter nodded again, and the video cut out. 

  Tony let out a sigh, turning to walk over to Rhodey’s prone from. He chuckled, tapping at the faceplate. 

  “Rhodes?” he said. “Snap out of it buddy. I need you. They’re coming. Come on, let’s roll. Get up.” 

  The helmet snapped open. “Oh, man. You can have your suit back.” 

  “Not a chance,” Tony said, holding out a hand for Rhodey to take. “You okay?” 

  “Yeah, thanks.” There was a pause. “So… you’re dying.” 

  Tony threw up his hands. “I’m not dying!” 

  “Not anymore?” 

  “No!” 

  “Great.” 

  Tony resisted the urge to sigh. “They’re coming in hot, any second. What’s the play?” 

  “Well, we want to take the high ground, okay? So let’s put the biggest gun up on that ridge.” 

  “Got it.” They both moved towards the ridge. “Where do you wanna be?” 

  “Where you goin’?” 

  “What’re you talking about?” 

  “I meant me.” 

  “You have a big gun. You are not the big gun.” 

  “Tony, don’t be jealous.” 

  “No. It’s subtle all the bells and whistles.” 

  “Yeah. It’s called being a badass.” 

  “Fine,” Tony sighed. “All right. You go up to. I’ll draw them in.” 

  Rhodey started towards the ridge. “Don’t stay down here. This is the worst place to be.” 

  “Okay, you got a spot. Where’s mine?” 

  “It’s the 
  
    kill box
  
  , Tony. Okay This is where you go to die.” 

  There was a roar and drones started to surround them. They shared a look, and their face plates snapped down. Drones rushed at them, firing at them from all directions. For military drones, they had the aim of f@ck@ng Star Wars Stormtroopers, nearly every shot missing them as they tore down drone after drone. 

  The fight was more of them trying to show off. Rhodey was firing with three guns, and then Tony would follow up with growing up three drones at once from the inside out. Then Rhodey tried to how odd with a missile, and Tony used his lasers. 

  “You should probably lead with that next time,” Rhodey said as he looked around them. 

  “Yeah well, I can only use it once,” Tony said. “Kinda a one off.” 

  Then Vanko showed up. In a full f@ck@ng suit. Then Rhodey tried to use f@ck@ng HammerTech.

  They spent a while getting tossed around, and Tony ended up getting choked out like a b@tch. Then so was Rhodey. And then they crossed the streams. 

  Tony was pretty sure he might have gotten a concussion. 

  Vanko chuckled, lifting his head. “You lose.” 

  Red lights flashed, and beeping began. Tony went wide eyed. 

  “Peter!” 

  He took off, Friday connecting him. Tony could see them, and shouted into the comm. Peter looked up, the legs of his backpack extending instantly. Tony grabbed Pepper, Peter jumping onto the back of the suit and clinging with the help of the legs. 

  As they took off, the drones exploded. Tony flew both of them to a rooftop, breathing hard and his helmet sparking. He landed, Pepper pushing away from him and Peter sitting on the roof as he coughed, smoke swirling around them. Tony yanked off the helmet. 

  “Oh my god,” Pepper gasped. “I can't take this anymore.” 

  “You can’t?” Tony asked, trying to find where he put the oxygen mask in Peter’s backpack. “Look at me! I’m messed up six way to sunday and Peter might have asthma. Friday, does Peter have asthma?” 

  “Baby Boss does not have asthma,” Friday sigh. 

  Pepper stared at him. “I quit. I’m resigning. That’s it.” 

  “What did you just say?” He managed to put the mask on Peter’s face. “You’re done? That’s surprising. No, it’s not surprising. I get it. You don’t have to make excuses.” 

  “I’m not making excuses. I’m-” 

  “You actually were just making excuses. But you don’t have to. I mean, I’ll never have time Peter, but hey I can figure something out.” 

  “Tony, no, I-” She took a deep breath, glancing at Peter who was looking up at her rather pitifully. “I’ll stay. I’ll handle everything, just…” She smiled. “Go get Peter checked out, alright?” 

  “Already on it,” Tony said, turning to let Peter onto his back again. “Come on, Spiderling.” 

  Peter smiled, tired, and jumped on, the oxygen mask still on his face. 

  XxXXxX

  A few days later, Tony found himself sitting in a SHIELD briefing room. He had gotten Peter a check up with a doctor friend of Tony’s, who, while strange, gave them both a clean bill of health. Natasha explained everything to Pepper, or at least as much as she was allowed. 

  He noticed some SHIELD folders on the table, and pulled one to him to look at. There was the SHIELD logo, then ‘Avengers Initiative’ underneath. It was a preliminary report, probably for Fury’s super secret boy band. That Tony totally didn’t want to join. Because, seriously, solo work is awesome. Though… fighting with Rhodey had been pretty cool… 

  Maybe just a peak wouldn’t hurt… 

  “I don’t think I want you looking at that,” Fury said, easing the folder out of Tony’s hands. “I’m not sure it pertains to you anymore. Now this on the other hand,” he held up another folder, “is Agent Romanoff’s assessment of you. Read it.” 

  Tony took it, looking it over, and reading it over. 

  “‘Personality overview. Mr Stark displays compulsive behaviour.’ In my own defence, that was last week. ‘Shows signs of dependent personality disorder.’ I was dying, I wanted to be around my kid. Is that a crime? ‘Textbook narcissism’?” Tony glanced at Fury. “Agreed. Okay, here it is. ‘Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.’” He set down the folder. “I gotta think about it.” 

  “Read on,” Fury said instead. 

  Tony frowned. “‘Tony Stark not… Not recommended’? That doesn’t any sense. How can you approve me, but not approve me? I got a new ticker, I’m doing what’s best for me and Peter, I have a good working friendship with Pepper.” 

  Fury stood, walking around the table. “Which leads us to believe at this juncture we’d only like to use you as a consultant.” 

  Tony pursed his lips, then smiled. Standing, he offered his own hand, letting Fury shake it. 

  “You can’t afford me,” he said, then turned to leave, but paused. “Then again, I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favour. Rhodey and I are being honoured in Washington and we need a presenter.” 

  The man chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

  XxXXxX

  The look on Stern’s face had been priceless, but the grin Peter was giving him as he got his award was infinitely better. 

  
  

    
      
        
        
          So end of chapter two and done with Iron Man 2! Next up, the Avengers!I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Iron Man 2 is one of my... less liked in the MCU, it's just really bad, in my opinion, but I was trying to make it more clear on how codependent that are? Not sure if that came across, so tell me how you think I did in the comments! Also, tell me you love little Peter with the spider legs! Like, seriously, I kinda wish someone could just draw the donut scene, I would love them forever!PS-31 pages and 11049 words!'
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