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In "The Avengers," Tony wants to see Bruce turn into an "enormous green rage monster" so he pokes him with an electric prod.

Steve saw Stark stick the prod against Banner's side and heard the sound of the electrical discharge.

A moment later Steve watched Banner begin to change, wishing for his shield.

Bruce growled and flushed green. As he grew into the Hulk, he started to hunch over in the low-ceilinged room.

Tony stepped back, faster and faster. He said, "Whoa, big guy!"

Steve shook his head as he shoved Stark behind him. He asked, "What were you thinking?"

Tony flailed his hands and said, "I didn't know that would happen!"

The Hulk roared.

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Tony is VERY lucky he didn't get his way this time!

Pepper gave Tony an uncertain look as she asked, "You're SURE you want me to destroy your old arc reactor?"

Tony waved his hand and answered, "Absolutely. Out with the old, in with the new."

With one last skeptical look Pepper carried the device out of the lab. She sent him a text later saying that she was keeping the cash she got for trading in the melted metals.

A few days later, Tony gasped out his dying breaths on the floor of his lab. His last thought was just how useful that old arc reactor would be right now.

(Pepper and Coulson managed to get the drop on Stane while he was outside his Iron Monger suit. Everybody's got to eat and sleep sometime!)

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Did you see the damage Drunk!Tony was causing at that party in Iron Man 2? He wanted to be blitzed and showing off without anybody spoiling his fun. What if Tony got his way and Rhodey wasn't conveniently available to stop Tony?

Nothing stopped him. People were screaming, shredded by glass and bullets. Furniture, floors, ceilings, and walls were ripped up by Tony's weaponry.

Some people had stopped screaming. They'd stopped moving, too, when Tony kicked at them with his armored boot.

In the morning, he'd look at everything he'd done with horror. He'd also be led away in handcuffs to be fingerprinted and charged.

Tony somehow thought getting drunk would help his situation. Tony was somehow both a genius and unbelievably stupid.

And as usual, somebody else---a lot of somebodies---were paying the price.

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Government contracts come with a ton of regulations, requirements, and serious penalties for non-compliance. And the kind of paperwork that everyone in charge has to sign every few months attesting that they've done their due diligence. It's pretty clear from Iron Man 1 that Tony was in charge in name only, because he couldn't be bothered to actually take care of the business he'd been handed as a rich man's heir. What if Tony got his wish, and never had to deal with his company again, because no one else trusted him with it either?

Tony was lounging on the couch in his office when Pepper stepped nervously into the room. She said, "There is someone outside to see you."

Tony flapped his hand at her and said, "I'm busy...thinking. Tell them to come back on the twelfth of never."

"I don't think that's likely, Mr. Stark," said the officious-looking man who walked into the room. He stepped up to the couch and set a folder in Tony's hand. The man said, "I suggest that you review these documents immediately."

"What's this?" Tony asked as he sat up. He opened the packet and stared at the legalese. He said, "The board wants to---they can't do that!"

"Yes, they can, Mr. Stark," the man said. He pointed at the papers. He continued, "The investigation into your involvement with the mishandling of Stark weapons is still ongoing. But even if you are cleared of those charges, your ignorance of Stark Industries activities over the last 15 years demonstrates clear ineptitude. There is also breach of contract to consider, with Stark Industries bearing substantial penalties. In the best interests of your employees and your company, you're being asked to step down and allow the board to appoint your successor. The transition away from weapons-making will be done under the guidance of someone who has already proven they can be trusted with that responsibility."

Pepper frowned and looked over Tony's shoulder. She said, "They have a point. There are years of audits with your signature on them. If you didn't really follow the regulations..."

"But I own the company," Tony said stubbornly. "I AM the company."

"Not for much longer, Mr. Stark, if you refuse to comply," the man said with a shrug.

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When Thor takes Loki from the quinjet in The Avengers, Tony flies off without bothering to wait for his new teammates or a coordinated plan. He attacks Thor, then disrespects him by mocking his appearance. Of course, the battle is on. It's up to Steve to end the fight and actually ask Thor what's going on and encourage him to cooperate. So what if Steve wasn't able to catch up in time?

After being slammed once more to the ground, Tony could admit that maybe this wasn't such a great idea. The big guy with the cape could really pack a punch.

Suddenly Tony felt a weight on his chest. And then he couldn't get up. Tony stared in shock at the hammer resting on his chest. He struggled and shifted, but he couldn't move.

The blond man looked down at him with a nod. The man said, "You are not worthy. I cannot say I am surprised."

Then the guy turned and ran up the hillside to where Loki sat observing the battle.

"Hey! Hey, don't leave me here," Tony shouted. He tried to repulsor the hammer, laser it, fire a mini-missile at it. Nothing worked.

The guy walked back, holding Loki in a firm grip. The guy said, "Do not attack me again. You will regret it."

In a surprisingly complex move, the man lifted his hammer, kicked Tony away, twirled his hammer, and launched into the sky.

By the time Tony sat up the two were a speck in the distance.

Rogers jogged up, also watching Loki's departure with the blond guy. Rogers said, "That was Thor. Brother of Loki. God of Thunder. Prince of Asgard. Defender of Earth."

He continued, "Sounds like someone...useful to have on our side."

Rogers tugged off his helmet and said, "Too bad your only plan was to attack."

Rogers' expression of disapproval made Tony cringe. Hopefully they'd be able to catch up with Thor and Loki soon.

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In Iron Man 2, Tony goes to great lengths to hide the fact that he's dying of palladium poisoning. He doesn't want ANYONE to know what's going on. In the film, NIck Fury and Natasha Romanoff step in with a solution that temporarily pushes back the symptoms, and Phil Coulson gives Tony access to Howard's Shield research, which leads Tony to Howard's discovery of a new element that saves Tony's life. So what if Tony got his way and NOBODY knew he needed help?

Tony died in his lab, slumped over a stack of arc reactors. Silvery lines covered all of his exposed skin.

Pepper swallowed several times and reached out to close Tony's eyes. Their lifeless stare made her shiver.

Phil Coulson put his arm around Pepper. She was so grateful he'd shown up just as she discovered Tony's...corpse.

She said, "I don't understand what happened. Did one of Tony's experiments go wrong?"

Phil shook his head and replied, "I'd guess that something went wrong with the arc reactor. Tech like that wasn't meant to be in a human body long term. Not with the materials it was made from."

Pepper wiped at her eyes and said, "Tony was acting a little strange, but he wouldn't tell Rhodey or me ANYTHING. We would have helped...at least, we would have tried."

Phil nodded and said, We---my boss and I---were starting to think something was up. But there wasn't enough to go on to let us know that Tony was in trouble."

He looked at Pepper and continued, "I'm so sorry."

Pepper nodded and turned away from the sight of Tony lying there, so still. She said, "I think we'll all partly blame ourselves."

Phil sighed and said, "That's true. But we also have to remember that this...this secrecy is what Tony wanted. He thought he could handle it completely by himself. Unfortunately, he was wrong."

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It's interesting that Tony Stark thought he could just kidnap Peter AGAIN, this time to live in upstate New York. And Tony thought it was okay to do that without consulting with May, disrespecting her place in Peter's life. Worse, Peter would have had to register to be an Avenger, so he would have to give up his secret identity. (The Accords, after all, are the REGISTRATION and Deployment of Enhanced Individuals. Even if you pretend Agents of Shield doesn't exist, Peter would still be subject to the Accords now that he would have been an Avenger.) The thing that surprises me is that Pepper went along with it. Did she know that Tony was recruiting an actual child? Or did Tony conveniently forget to tell Pepper the real situation, the way he forgot to mention to Peter what was actually going on in Civil War? What if Peter took Tony up on his offer?

Tony frowned when Peter flinched at all the flashbulbs going off. Tony reached the podium and said, "We're here today to announce the newest Avenger! Let's everybody say Hi to the Amazing Spider-Man!"

Peter weakly waved as everyone started talking at once.

Tony gestured for everyone to return to their seats. As people sat, one man remained standing. He held a clipboard of papers and a book in his hands.

As the man approached, Tony could see the wording on the all-too-familiar cover. Tony said, "Hold it right there."

The man stopped and pulled out an ID. He said, "I'm here in an official capacity from the U.N., to oversee the registration of the new Avenger."

The man resumed his walk until he was at the podium, looking at Spider-Man.

Tony could see the eyes in Peter's mask widen as the kid stumbled back. Peter said, "What? That wasn't---Mr. Stark didn't say anything about---"

"All members of the Avengers must register," the man said. He took out his pen and said, "I'll need your full name for the forms."

"I'm not...I can't...Mr. Stark!" Peter said as he turned to Tony.

Tony glanced at the sea of reporters, then said, "Well, uh, there's a little problem with signing that."

The man simply waited, along with every other person in the room.

Tony shifted and said, "He, uh, that is, Spider-Man is not exactly a man. I mean, he's male, but not quite..."

He ran his words together as he continued, "He'snotexactlyoldenoughtosignanything, OK?"

Tony saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Pepper's jaw had dropped and her eyes were as wide as Peter's.

Pepper asked, "What are you saying, Tony?" She walked up to Peter and laid a hand on his sleeve. She said, "Tony's been calling you a kid. I didn't think...you're LITERALLY a child?"

Peter shifted and said, "Well, I'm in high school---"

"TONY!" Pepper shouted. She whirled and came at him, saying, "How could you even THINK of involving a CHILD with the Avengers? How could you---How could you let me---OH MY GOD! You made me an accessory!"

Pepper grabbed Peter's arm and dragged him from the room. She said, "Friday, erase all video of Spider-Man and lock everyone in here with no outside contact until I arrange to have THIS CHILD returned to his parents."

Pepper glared at Tony and said, "Lock down EVERYONE---Including Tony."

As Friday acknowledged the order, Tony realized that this time he may be too deep in the hole to ever climb out.

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Based on Tony's track record, having Tony in charge of an automated global defense system is a disaster waiting to happen. Even if the Mind Stone WASN'T involved. Some folks have said that Ultron is Tony's version of Project Insight, something that was inherently a bad idea that got pushed through because of people's paranoia. As Wanda pointed out, Ultron (which is based on Tony's AI) couldn't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. I think part of that is because while Jarvis/Vision had Edwin Jarvis for a template, Ultron had Tony. So Tony's flaws became magnified. What if Tony had managed to create Ultron on his own and successfully deploy it?

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Tony said as he watched Thor and the Hulk lift an enormous piece of rubble. Rogers and Romanoff ran into the gap to pull out the survivors...and the corpses.

Rhodey flipped up his faceplate and looked over with a sigh. He said, "I know you didn't, Tony. But you should've run this by somebody before you brought it online. We could've---I could've told you that privatizing world defense wasn't going to be any more successful than privatizing world peace."

Tony flipped up his own faceplace and looked at his old friend. He said, "Ultron was supposed to be our ace in the hole when the next alien army came. Locked, loaded, and ready to take out the invaders."

Rhodey replied, "That's what you meant for it to do. But Tony, you let that thing loose with a blanket 'save the world' order. Most of what puts the world in danger is right here on the planet."

Rhodey frowned as he took in the destruction around him and continued, "Including the people who weren't feeling the whole 'one world under Tony Stark' vibe."

Those people had sent a strong---and deadly---message in the form of missiles. That Ultron had automatically responded to the attack with even more devastating firepower had left the world teetering on the brink of global annihilation. Diplomacy barely saved the day. They were fortunate that the body count wasn't higher.

"At least it was all conventional weapons," Tony said. He shuddered as he imagined the destruction if one of the combatants had actually launched their nuclear weapons.

Rhodey nodded and said, "Yeah, it could have been a whole lot worse."

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RDJ and the deleted scenes confirm that Tony was lying during the pen scene. He couldn't amend the Accords (does anyone really think he has sway over 117 countries?) and he couldn't prevent Bucky from being extradited to Wakanda. What if Steve trusted Tony and then found out the truth? Note that in this scenario, Zemo never gets access to Bucky.

"Well, that was interesting," Natasha said as she settled onto a stool.

Tony shook his head and said, "I can't believe it fell apart so quickly."

Natasha lifted a brow and said, "What were you expecting? You told Steve that Barnes would be sent to the U.S., then he finds out T'Challa already had permission to haul him to Wakanda."

Tony frowned and said, "I thought Cap's speech was a little harsh."

Natasha snorted and said, "Steve's known for those little world-shredding pep talks. That he found a media outlet to report all of the human and civil right violations we were racking up doesn't really surprise me."

Tony shifted to look at Natasha more closely. He said, "A little warning would have been nice."

Natasha shrugged and replied, "I would have thought 'Don't intern our teammate or use Barnes to blackmail Steve into signing the Accords' would have been obvious. Of course, I couldn't warn you because you didn't bother to tell me what you were doing."

Tony slumped down into his chair and asked, "Do you think they'll come back?"

"Not really," Natasha replied. She continued, "Sam went with Steve to Wakanda to protect Barnes during the investigation and trial. Clint freed Wanda and is helping her start a new life somewhere else. With Vision going with them..."

Tony said, "You, Rhodey, and me will be the only Avengers left."

Natasha stood and said, "You and Rhodey, actually."

She gave Tony a long look and said, "It's pretty clear that the Avengers aren't going to be able to influence the Accords at all. So I think I'm going to take T'Challa up on his invitation to visit Wakanda."

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Tony is pretty dismissive of Coulson in The Avengers, saying he should have waited. Let's see what might have happened if Tony got his way and Loki wasn't delayed those few minutes before dumping Thor AND there was nothing to bring the Avengers together.

Coulson stood before Fury and said, "I'm sorry, Sir. Loki escaped while I was waiting for backup."

He paused, then continued, "Stark is already gone. Romanoff and Rogers are with Barton."

Fury eyed the agent, then turned away and looked to Maria Hill. He asked, "Any word on Banner or Thor?"

Maria looked up from her screen and replied, "It looks like the capsule landed over some pretty deep water. I've dispatched fighters, but I don't know when divers or rescue craft will get there. Banner's location is unknown."

She couldn't know that Thor was floating face down in the water, Mjolnir lost at the bottom of the lake. Or that Banner would land somewhere else, without transportation or someone to give him a pair of pants nearby.

Instead of deciding to work with his fellow heroes, Tony decided he could go it alone like always. His battered suit and broken body were never found in the rubble, because the World Security Council nuked New York.

But Phil made it out okay. He spent the rest of his life wondering if things would have been different.

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We know that Tony's calling out the Mandarin failed spectacularly, with Pepper's life at risk as well as Tony's own. But what if the Mandarin/Killian had taken up Tony's challenge to go one-on-one? Ironically, Tony probably was thinking of making it puny human vs. Iron Man. But Killian wouldn't blindly walk into a trap, would he?

Tony strode from the car into the house. He walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink, wondering how the Mandarin would react to his challenge.

He figured he had 20 minutes or so before Pepper arrived to yell at him for his recklessness.

Tony shifted the bracelets on his wrists, secure in the knowledge that his suits were a thought away. He said to himself, "Come and get me, you bastard."

"I'm already here," a voice said behind him. Tony whirled and saw the handsome man who'd visited Pepper---Aldrich Killian. Tony frowned and asked, "How did you get in here?"

Killian smiled and said, "You'd be surprised how resourceful I can be." He smoothed his white suit and stepped into the center of the room. Then he asked, "Shall we get started?"

Tony stepped forward and said, "Wait---YOU'RE the Mandarin? The Mandarin is some surfer boy gone bad?"

Killian nodded and said, "Of course. Now, you called me a coward and a dead man. By coming here I've already proved you wrong in your first declaration. How about we see how wrong you are about the second?"

Tony laughed and said, "Oh, you made this too easy." He summoned a suit with the flick of his wrists.

Nothing happened.

Tony paled and swallowed. He backed away as he called, "Jarvis! Need a suit right now."

Killian shook his head and said, "I don't think so. Did you think I would let you hide behind your toys? This is just you and me. I'm not even going to use MY weapon of mass destruction, as tempting as it would be to burn you to a crisp."

Tony clenched his jaw and said, "Bring it."

The two traded punches as they roamed around the room, smashing into furniture and breaking glass.

Tony wasn't a slouch in the physical fitness department. He trained outside of the suit.

But he also spent almost 20 years partying it up. After a few minutes it was clear that Killian had the advantage in speed and power behind his blows. He also seemed to know just what Tony was going to do. He blocked Tony's shots almost before Tony made them.

Killian said, "I studied you, Tony. Set a goal of being better than you. Nice to see all that hard work paying off."

Tony grunted as he was flung to floor again. Then he gasped as he felt a shard from the broken glass coffee table pierce his back. He screamed when it dug deep into his insides, slicing as it went almost completely through him.

Killian stood and watched Tony as Tony bled out on his mansion floor. Killian said, "I've wanted to punish you for so long. And it's satisfying, but really not as...important as I expected. Especially when I have so many other goals to achieve."

He smiled and continued, "But I can spare a few more moments to watch you die."

As Tony gulped his last breaths, he could only be grateful that Pepper wasn't here to see this. But he could imagine her screaming, "I could have told you this was a bad idea!"

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When I first saw Civil War and saw Bucky staring into the camera at the end of the Siberia fight, I thought he was dead. It's chilling how many prop-Tony folks thought Tony was perfectly justified in murdering Bucky. It says a lot about them and how they pretend their fave's hurt feelings are more important than an innocent man's life. What if Tony got his way and succeeded in his revenge murder?

Silence filled the bunker as Cap struggled to his feet and turned away.

Tony moved to sit up, still furious.

Cap whispered, "Bucky."

Tony turned to look when he heard the clang of the shield hitting the floor of the bunker. He saw Cap on one knee with his helmet off. Cap had fingers pressed to Barnes's throat as he pressed his ear to Barnes's chest.

Cap's face scrunched up as he sat up and whispered again, "Bucky." He bowed his head as he covered his face with his hand. Quiet sobs echoed in the room.

Horror filled Tony as he realized that Barnes wasn't blinking or breathing. Barnes was still staring up, but Tony felt like those dead eyes were pinned on him.

Tony said, "I didn't...I didn't..." But he couldn't finish the sentence. He couldn't say "I didn't mean to" because he obviously intended to murder Barnes. He couldn't say "I didn't think this would happen" because obviously when you try to shoot missiles and lasers in someone's face and attack them with a flying tank, bad things are going to happen.

Fear filled Tony as he wondered if Cap would kill Tony now. If Tony thought it was OK to kill someone for a murder committed by a brainwashed POW 25 years ago, then he couldn't really complain about Cap taking revenge for a murder committed by someone who CHOSE to murder Cap's friend right in front of him. Tony felt like he was going to vomit as he waited.

He swallowed as he watched Cap gather Barnes's body up and stand. Cap didn't close Barnes's eyes. Tony felt like Barnes's dead eyes were still watching him. Tony reached out and grabbed Cap's arm as he walked by.

Tony said, "You have to believe me. I didn't...you KNOW why I had to. You know what HE did. I was just...I...Cap..."

Cap didn't answer Tony or even look at him. He just stood there until Tony let go. Then Cap walked out.

The bunker was very quiet as Tony sat alone with Cap's shield, Barnes's arm, and the blood on Tony's hands that he knew he'd never be able to wash away.

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So many prop-Tony folks blame Steve for Tony’s alleged “abusive” childhood. They claim that Howard loved Steve as a son (despite them being similar in age) and that Howard complained all Tony’s life that Tony wasn’t more like Steve.

There’s no evidence of that at all. Besides, because someone was mean to you does not excuse you being mean to someone else, and Tony was mean to EVERYONE.

But let’s suppose Howard really DID love Steve as a son...

Note: Set before Iron Man 1. If I ever run out of prompts, I may expand this into its own fic.

Tony stomped down the corridor to the conference room. He’d been having SUCH a good week. A new lawyer with red hair and short skirts had been shadowing Pepper all week. And the looker had come with a dorky personal assistant that Tony had spent hours making fun of for his grandpa wardrobe, depression beard, and pathetic lack of pop culture knowledge.

Now his day--his life--was ruined and he was cursing his lawyers in his head.

He could still see them trying not to smirk as they informed him he was about to lose EVERYTHING.

The lead lawyer had said, “Mister Stark, the terms of your father’s will were quite clear. Everything was held in a trust. You administered that trust provisionally. You signed the declaration of understanding every year on the anniversary of the probate of your parents' will. Are you now claiming you didn’t read the document before you signed it? For seventeen years?”

The second lawyer had said, “Mister Stark, we thought you were aware of Mister Obadiah Stane’s whereabouts. He will not be able to ‘fix’ this situation for you. The efficiency of SI employees’ use of resources was compared to the company’s inventories and invoices. Major discrepancies were found. Mister Stane has been taken into custody on suspicion of some serious charges. In fact, I do not think the district attorney has decided yet whether to treat you as a potential witness or a co-defendant. Note that we are associated with the trust, so we cannot act as your personal legal representatives in any criminal matter.”

The third lawyer had said, “Because all work you did during your role as administrator of the trust was considered the intellectual and physical property of Stark Industries, there will be serious restrictions on what you are allowed to do as a private citizen not associated with the company. You cannot work on anything that may threaten Stark patents, including alternative energy designs such as the arc reactor, as well as the unique propulsion and weapons systems your father created. The question of your program known as Jarvis hasn’t been resolved.”

As Tony opened the door to the conference room, he stopped as he heard Pepper speaking.

She said, “So you really can’t see any way of keeping Tony involved here?”

A somewhat familiar male voice replied, “Miss Potts, I appreciate your attempts to look out for Tony. But I’ve just spent the last week observing him. I understand Howard may not have been the best parent, but that doesn’t excuse Tony’s actions or attitude.”

The voice sighed and said, “He’s a bully. His favorite hobby seems to be making fun of people who can’t fight back. Why would I force ANYONE to put up with that kind of treatment, including myself?”

Tony edged into the room and saw the redheaded looker lawyer lounging on a corner of the table, holding a folder of papers.

Red handed the papers to Pepper and said, “Howard’s will was very clear, but we found a little wiggle room. Howard started his company in 1938 with five thousand dollars. It was a huge sum for that time. We’ve arranged for Tony to have access to the modern equivalent of that amount--IF he agrees not to contest the will.”

Pepper asked, “And if he does contest it?”

Red shrugged and said, “Then we go to court. Our team is confident it will be a short and easily decided case, but Tony’s welcome to explain how he never noticed he was only a secondary, provisional heir. Howard was VERY forceful in describing how Steve Rogers was a great man and far more worthy of Howard’s estate and company than his drunk, disrespectful, waste of space biological son would ever be. Of course, Tony may also need to explain all of the quarterly documents he signed about Stark Industries’ finances and what he knew about the illegal weapons trafficking, so he might be a little busy.”

Tony fully entered the room and looked toward the head of the table. And came face-to-face with a man Tony should have recognized last week, even under the beard and dorky clothes.

Steve Rogers sat clean-shaven in a dark suit at the head of the table. The man Howard considered a beloved son.

Captain America was about to strip Tony of everything and toss him into the street.

Rogers looked up, and Tony had the feeling Rogers knew Tony was there the whole time.

Rogers stood, then nodded toward a seat at the table as Red picked up a second folder.

He said, “Hello, Mister Stark. Thank you for joining us. I’m sure by now you’re aware of the terms of Howard’s will and that you won’t be invited to stay with Stark Industries. If you’d have a seat, we’d like to discuss your limited options...”

Chapter Text

Prop-Tony folks use this claim to say Wanda knew Von Strucker was Hydra. Wanda may be considered telepathic, but her powers don’t work like that. There’s zero scenes of Wanda “reading minds” other than knowing what people’s visions were. Plus if Wanda COULD read minds, she’d have known what Tony planned to do with the scepter--so she would have NEVER let him walk away with it.

Wanda easily made a connection with Stark’s mind. She saw the alien creature swimming and dead heroes.

As Stark reached for the scepter, she saw his thoughts and gasped.

She grabbed Pietro’s arm and said, “Quick--get the scepter. Do NOT let him have it.”

A second later Pietro was back by her side with it. She said, “Get us out of here.”

A few moments later they were out of the building and in the woods.

Pietro set her down. He waved the scepter and said, “You said let him have the scepter, then don’t let him have the scepter--what changed your mind?”

Wanda said, “I read his mind. We thought the only thing the scepter could do was enhance humans--and Stark trying that should kill him. But that’s NOT what he wants to do. He wants to use the scepter to launch flying armors that would be under HIS control.”

Pietro gasped. Then he asked, “So what do we do?”

Wanda frowned and said, “I saw something else in Stark’s head. He thinks Von Strucker is HYDRA.”

Pietro took a step back and said, “No! Impossible.”

Wanda said, “It’s what he believes. We KNOW Stark does not care who he harms. But what if we’re wrong about Von Strucker and Liszt?”

Pietro scoffed and said, “What? The Avengers are fascists!”

“According to Von Strucker,” Wanda replied.

Pietro crossed his arms and said, “I don’t believe it.”

Wanda said, “There’s a way to find out. Get us close to some of the others and I can check their thoughts.”

After reading the minds of Thor, Captain America, the Black Widow, and Hawkeye, the twins were convinced that they had been tricked by Von Strucker.

They turned over the scepter, but made sure the others knew of Stark’s plan. And insisted that the twins must stay with the scepter to guard it from Stark.

It resulted in an easier life for everyone.

Chapter Text

Tony originally wanted to go to Titan with just Dr. Strange, not even Peter. And he thought they could take on Thanos all by themselves, because the Guardians showing up was an unexpected lucky break.

What if Tony wasn't so lucky?

Peter dodged another flying chunk of rock and ran around a hill of debris to take a breath, grateful that the big purple guy had at least let them go back to being...them.

His time as a puddle of sludge was going to give him nightmares for sure.

He couldn't help think that this Thanos person was playing with them. Thanos wasn't doing anything other than flicking his gauntleted hand to fend off their attacks. Then he would throw a rock or make the ground disappear. But tit for tat. It was pretty obvious that Thanos could turn them into dust no problem.

It was also pretty obvious that NOBODY should have listened to Mr. Stark. Leaving the PLANET and heading somewhere you didn't even know if you could BREATHE was like the definition of STUPID.

If only Peter had grown up enough to tell Mr. Stark that BEFORE they left Earth.

Then there was an awful scraping kind of sound and everything went still.

Peter scrambled over the pile to look over and gasped.

Thanos had broken off Mr. Stark's high-tech sword and stabbed Mr. Stark with it. Right through the heart.

Mr. Stark's face was frozen in shock. He wasn't breathing.

Thanos shook his head slowly and said, "This is not what I wanted. But it's what you forced me to do."

Then just as slowly he lifted his head and focused on Dr. Strange, who was backing away. Even the guy's CAPE looked terrified.

Suddenly a golden circle started opening up behind Strange. Peter ran toward it and dived through before it was even open enough for Mr. Wong to pull Dr. Strange back.

The portal snapped shut as the three of them tumbled to a wooden floor in a room Peter didn't recognize.

Mr. Wong put his hands on his hips and said, "What the HELL were you THINKING?"

Dr. Strange slowly got to his feet as the cape shook itself and settled around his shoulders. Strange said, "I don't know. Maybe I wasn't. I was caught up in Stark's insistence that his plan was the only way."

Strange looked at the two of them and continued, "In hindsight, going to another planet to try to sneak up on Thanos was...ill-advised."

Wong said, "You think?"

Strange's expression turned grim as he said, "And Stark paid the ultimate price for his foolishness. So now we must face Thanos and his army WITHOUT Iron Man."

Peter swallowed as he realized Mr. Stark really was gone.

Wong sighed and said, "At least Banner got in touch with Rogers' team. We're all gathering for a last stand."

Peter felt himself straightening as well as he felt a little bit of hope. Maybe together, the heroes of Earth could still win.

Chapter Text

The selfishness and recklessness of Tony Stark is simply amazing. He has anxiety. Does he seek professional help? Nope. Instead he decides to inject himself with devices that call and control his suits. Does he tell Pepper? Nope. Instead he just hops into bed with her and almost kills her.

What if it wasn't "almost"?

Tony shifted on the hard chair. The orange jumpsuit chafed.

He still stank. No matter how many days passed, no matter how many showers, he still smelled like smoke and burned...

He was grateful when the door opened and one of the SI lawyers walked into the police interrogation room.

The gray-haired white man had been retained by Dear Old Dad, back in the day. Now he was the head of the law firm.

Which just confirmed all over again how much legal trouble Tony was in.

The man set his briefcase on the table and took a seat beside Tony. The man asked, "Are they treating you acceptably?"

Tony nodded. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Yeah. No problems there."

Million-Dollar Matlock replied, "Good, good." After opening the briefcase, he pulled out a set of papers and pushed them in front of Tony, saying, "This is the version of events the criminal defense consultants agreed on based on our discussions the last few days. Review it and let me know if there's anything that you...can't sell on the stand, if it gets that far."

Tony read through the pages, wincing. Then he said, "That's not...yeah, I can sell that."

The lawyer stood up and went to the door. He came back with two more suits.

Lawyers, based on the briefcases. Both looked to be in their 30s. One was a small Asian woman and the other was a doing a good impression of Mr. T without the chains and Mohawk hairstyle. They wore identical grim expressions.

The woman said, "I'm ADA Lau, this is ADA Brooks. I remind you that the Miranda warning is still in effect."

Brooks said, "We're going to the grand jury this afternoon."

Lau nodded and said, "The District Attorney wants us to argue for Murder 2."

Tony launched out of his seat and shouted, "No! It wasn't my fault! I--"

The lawyer yanked Tony into his seat and said, "Quiet, Mr. Stark."

Then the lawyer folded his hands and said, "I'm surprised that this is even being considered as a criminal case. Mr. Stark was under considerable strain--"

Brooks looked right at Tony and said, "Mr. Stark used a weapon of mass destruction to kill a sleeping woman he'd spied on and had an argument with earlier in the evening. And you don't think there was anything criminal about that?"

Lau shrugged and said, "We have all of the footage of everything that happened in your house and the SI office the last few days, Mr. Stark."

She opened her briefcase, took out a file, and opened it. After glancing at the contents, she looked at Tony and asked, "Mr. Stark, did you voluntarily inject yourself with 48 computer implants?"

Tony cleared his throat and said, "Yes, but--"

The lawyer grabbed Tony's arm and glared. Tony shut up.

Lau continued, "Did you ignore your AI's request for time to calibrate the system before injection, and ignored the safety materials the AI had compiled for your review?"

The lawyer said, "Don't answer that."

Brooks asked, "Did you inform Pepper Potts of any of your actions? Did you give her the opportunity to decide if she wanted to be in the same room with a man who could call and fire a WMD with a mere thought?"

Tony shook his head and then put his head in his hands.

Lau closed the file and said, "We also have all of the footage--at your home and the SI offices--regarding Aldrich Killian. And your reaction to his re-entry into Ms. Potts' life."

Brooks shrugged and said, "The DA thinks that the information is relevant to events...in terms of motive."

Tony lifted his head and glared at them. He asked, "Why are you here?"

Lau replied, "To give you the opportunity to plead guilty. There will be jail time and financial penalties. You will NEVER be allowed to work on or access your technologies again, but you would avoid a trial."

Brooks asked, "Do you really want the footage aired? The photos of the crime scene to be public record? Does Ms. Potts deserve that?"

Both lawyers stood. Lau said, "Think about it."

As the door closed, Tony tuned out his own lawyer's words and let his head fall back into his hands.