Tony Fighting For His Son

{A/N: As promised, here's the extra chapter for all those amazing comments! But this time, I want to raise the stakes a bit—let's aim for 10 comments for the next extra chapter, deal? 😉 Keep the love coming, and I'll keep the chapters rolling!}

"I want an explanation. Now!" Steve barked, his face a storm of disappointment and frustration.

Behind him, Thor and Black Widow were giving Tony and Bruce equally sharp looks. Neither of them liked where this was heading.

Tony sighed dramatically, his moment of joy thoroughly ruined. He shoved his hands back into his pockets, already anticipating the long, grueling lecture ahead.

Meanwhile, Bruce kept his head down, still avoiding eye contact. It wasn't going to be a fun conversation, that much was obvious.

Steve's expression was priceless, though—he looked like someone had punched him in the gut. Tony sighed, glancing at Bruce, his eyes clearly screaming, "We are so screwed."

"Okay… so, you remember how we got invaded by an alien army a couple of years ago?" Tony started, waving his hands around like he was telling a bedtime story. "Well, Bruce and I, we, uh, started to—blah, blah, blah…"

Fast-forward ten minutes later.

Now, all the Avengers were seated around a sleek glass table, trying to look like a civilized group of adults. In reality, it was more like Steve and Tony bickering while the others did their best to look neutral—except for Rhodey.

He was attempting to show off his "neutrality," but everyone could tell he was biased towards Tony, subtly nodding along and chiming in whenever it looked like his friend needed backup.

Black Widow and Hawkeye sat to the side, ready for action. Natasha had her gun casually on her lap, and Clint's bow was leaning against his chair, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.

Of course, everyone knew if things went south, they'd probably be the first to get grilled like kebabs. But hey, that's the job.

As for Thor and Ultron? Well, that was a different story.

"Do you know how the Bifrost works? Does it run on solar energy or dark energy? Can you summon it at will?" Ultron was peppering Thor with questions like an overly enthusiastic child.

Technically, Ultron was both a child and a cosmic being, so his curiosity made sense. He wanted to know all about Asgard and the Bifrost, which used to be his favorite realm back when he was Azatharok.

It wasn't just power that Ultron—or Azatharok—was hungry for; it was knowledge too. If there was one thing he couldn't resist, it was the chance to learn about powerful forces like Asgard.

"For the last time, I don't know!" Thor barked, his patience running on fumes. His hand gripped Mjolnir tightly, and it took every ounce of his self-control not to smash the robot asking him these endless, annoying questions.

Every answer Thor gave seemed to lead to more questions, and at this rate, he'd either give in or throw Ultron halfway across the planet.

Ultron just stared at him, unbothered by Thor's growing frustration. If anything, he was amused. After all, his interest wasn't about politeness—it was about learning.

"So let me get this straight," Steve said, his voice strained with that classic I'm about to lose it vibe. "You and Bruce built an AI—by copying patterns from Loki's scepter—to create a robotic army for yourselves?"

He slammed his hand on the table, though it was more of a stern-dad slam, not a full-on Hulk smash. He fixed Tony and Bruce with his best disappointed-parent glare, like they'd just set the toaster on fire trying to make Pop-Tarts.

Before Bruce could even mutter a word, Tony jumped in, hands raised like a man trying to explain why there's a jet in his garage.

"Not an army for ourselves, Cap. For everyone. A global shield. To protect us from future dangers. You know, space gods, giant worms, possibly talking raccoons—whatever's next."

"By keeping everyone under control?" Steve shot back, raising an eyebrow. You could practically see the gears turning in his head as if he were trying to figure out whether Tony was serious or just auditioning for Bond villain status.

Cue the classic Steve vs. Tony staring contest. You could almost hear a cowboy showdown whistle in the background. If this were a cartoon, tumbleweeds would be rolling through the room.

Bruce, meanwhile, looked like a guy who'd just realized he left the stove on at home, nervously shifting in his seat. He glanced between the two like someone trapped in an awkward family argument at Thanksgiving, thinking, Please, no one bring up politics... or Ultron.

Sigh... Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly trying to summon every ounce of patience left in his super-soldier system. "Stark, listen, the idea and dream you're trying to fulfill? It's madness. Dangerous, even."

He paused dramatically, casting a glance over at Ultron, who was still pestering Thor about the physics of the Bifrost.

Thor looked about ready to throw Mjolnir at him just to make it stop. "Who knows, one day Ultran might decide to turn a city into a meteor and wipe out humanity with it."

Tony snorted, rolling his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't get stuck. "First of all, his name is Ultron, not Ultran. And second, look at him."

He pointed at Ultron, who was now asking Thor if the Bifrost ran on solar power or dark energy. "Does that cute AI look like it could pull off something like that?"

"Yeah... he 100% can," Steve replied without missing a beat.

Tony's expression dropped, and a vein on his forehead practically throbbed in sync with his rising annoyance. "Oh? Well, then you're dumb."

"No, I'm not," Steve shot back, straight-faced.

"Yes, you are," Tony snapped, folding his arms like a grumpy child being told no dessert after dinner.

Steve blinked at him, his expression deadpan. "No, I'm not."

And just like that, an entire hour passed, filled with bickering, sarcastic remarks, and more than one sigh from Bruce as he watched Tony and Steve go at it like they were an old married couple.

Thor had even resorted to answering Ultron's endless questions just to drown out the sound of their arguing. Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged exasperated looks, probably wondering how they ended up here in the first place.

Finally, after what felt like a century, Tony and Steve stopped. Both of them were visibly tired, with Tony slumped in his chair and Steve rubbing his temples like he had a headache.

And after all that?

They finally came to a conclusion.

Which was…

"Agree to disagree."

"Classic," Natasha muttered under her breath. Thor grunted in approval, glad that he could return to contemplating smashing Ultron without the background noise of constant bickering.

"Yeah, this totally wasn't a waste of time," Clint added dryly, eyeing the clock as if to double-check that an hour had really gone by.

Bruce? He just let out a long sigh, relieved it was finally over.

"Well, I still think you're wrong, Cap," Tony said, just to sneak in one last dig.

"And I still think you're reckless, Stark," Steve replied.

"Good talk," Tony said, standing up and stretching like he'd just finished a yoga class.

"Productive as always," Steve deadpanned, but at least his voice had softened slightly.