27

Chapter 27Summary:

Maria Hill does not deserve this shit...

Tony introduces Justin Hammer to Iron Man, Justin doesn't like it.

Do you really think you can convince your mother to let you travel to New York, Shuri?

The Keener family are moving to New York.

Notes:

Utata = Father

Ubhuti = Brother

Chapter Text

What she did do was sit up and dig into her bedside table, pulling out a leather-bound diary. She opened it and began to read, ignoring the fact that the contents were in code, it was a code that she and her brother had created as children and she could read it as easily as English.

What she read confused her. "Stark's involved." She sighed. "Of course he is. What the hell did he do? And how?" She muttered. At least the diary was giving her a clear picture of what was happening within SHIELD and…

"Shit!" She swore. "Stark found Barnes and Rogers, not SHIELD. Goddammit!" This was not the past that she remembered. She would need to speak to them to work out exactly what they planned to do and who else knew.

~~~

April 12th 2007

Maria Hill let her head fall and thump on the desk. Repeatedly.

"You mean to tell me… That none of you have any idea what caused this. And no-one's panicking over that?"

"We've all done our panic and we're in the apathetic stage." Darcy shrugged. "Whoever it was, obviously didn't want to tell us in advance. Or give us much in the way of clues to figure it out. Not much we can do about that, right now."

"We're more concerned with stopping Thanos before he destroys half the universe." Tony added.

"Huh…" Hill grunted. "Fair enough." She lifted her head. "What do you want me to do?" she looked from Darcy to Tony and back. "I mean… Afghanistan isn't likely to happen now, is it?"

"No, SI and IT are out of the munitions field, we still do weapons but they use someone else's munitions." Tony said.

"What about…" She paused, would that watcher, that Thor told them about, be listening? Better to assume he was and talk around him. "New Mexico? Puente Antiguo, wasn't it?"

"Jane and I are still going there." Darcy said. "We'll try and keep everything much as it was last time."

"So, we'd like it if you could keep the SHIELD end happening the same way." Tony said. "I know that you don't have Clint but you do still have Agent Agent. He can keep things in line."

"He can." Hill nodded and paused as something occurred to her. "Who's designing the Jericho replacement?"

"Who do you think?" Tony smirked.

"Oh, God… please tell me you're kidding? Hammer?" Tony gave Hill a bright smile and nodded. "Fuck. He's screwed. If he doesn't die in the attack, there's no way he'd survive the Ten Rings."

"I know…" Tony sighed. "Which is why I'm going to have him tagged and a SRR squad follow the convoy. Just far enough away that Raza and Abu Bakaar won't pick them up. There's no chance for the guys in the first vehicle, so Rhodey's got a group of HYDRA trainees and sympathisers booked for that vehicle. Hammer's likely to be in number two and Rhodey should be in number three."

"If JARVIS is piloting the suits, they can be on scene in less than thirty seconds." Darcy said.

"Rhodey also said that the brass received a tip-off about the attack a week before but never acted on it." Tony said. "I can do the 'I'm not accepting that' thing and personally send a squad. If I'm called on it later, I can go on the attack about 'why wasn't a civilian contractor provided with better protection? I've had nothing to do with Hammer but he's a civilian, in a warzone, shouldn't he be better protected? Would you have done that to me or dad?' Really give them a blast."

"If the military weren't going to do it, you would." Hill nodded. "That should work. It will also give them a first-hand look at how the suits work in a warzone. And cement IT as a defensive supplier, not an offensive one."

"The DoD know that the suits can be weaponised but not to what level." Tony said. "I'm 'working' on improving that, but we're 'struggling' with miniaturising the munitions, given the suit's available space for them."

"Let me guess, you'll continue to struggle until the Chituari invade." It wasn't a question.

"The week before." Tony nodded. "I'll notify the DoD that we've had a breakthrough and are about to start live trials. That way when the curtain goes up, Rhodey will be here, along with Vats and Coultrap and their new suits."

"Which will give the Avengers a four-man flight squad." Hill nodded.

"Oh, there's much more than that." Darcy grinned.

"Oh?"

"I've made a couple suits for the ladies." Tony grinned. "As far as the DoD are concerned, I'll play it off as 'can I make a version that is usable by a woman?' Given the current weight of the suit, that's impractical, but if I can have hydraulics augment the user's strength, it might be doable. But as I won't be ready to present a working version to the DoD, Pepper, Laura and Darcy will be my test pilots."

"And your ground troops?"

"Cap and Bucky will suit up, along with Clint, Nebula, Valkyrie, Bruce, Nat and Lena. May, Jane, Wanda and Pietro will be on civilian defence and evac." Darcy said. "We'll be announcing to the DoD that Wanda and Pietro are mutants, before then."

"The Accords?" Hill asked.

"Yeah, we'll be pushing for them. In fact, the first proposal is with the UN now." Darcy said. "We've broken it down into two sectors. Active and non-active. If a signatory is active, a member of a militia, a government organisation or a group like the Avengers they sign one level of documents. If they're non-active, trying to live as a civilian and don't want to be a part of any militaristic involvement, they sign a second level, it just covers them in the case of an emergency."

"Ross isn't going to like that." Hill said.

"Oh, we're going to use examples that even Ross couldn't find a use for." Darcy grinned.

"Like?"

"Abby Dent can manifest butterfly wings. They're not strong enough to lift her further than an inch or two off the ground." Darcy said. "And Anna Belling can turn her hair into flowers, but only daisies."

"Then there's Josh Mendez." Tony added. "He can grow scales, like a lizard, along his arms and legs. Again, nothing else, just the scales."

"Huh…" Hill nodded. "If you push them and others like them, it might work."

~~~

June 2nd 2008

"Oh God, oh God, oh God." Justin Hammer moaned and rocked back and forth on the field hospital gurney.

"We're not getting anything out of him but that." The medic sighed. "If you can get through to him, it would be much appreciated Dr Stark."

"Give me a few minutes alone with him?" Tony asked.

"I can't do that. I'm sorry." The medic shook his head.

"What about… within sight but not hearing?" Tony asked. "Rhodey can represent the Air Force."

The medic looked to the base commander, who nodded.

"We can do that but only a few minutes." The medic said.

"Five is all I need. Either this will work or it won't." Tony shrugged.

"Go for it." The medic nodded and Tony quietly opened the door into Hammer's room and positioned himself where the other man could see him.

"Hey, Justin." Tony said and the other man paused and blinked before drawing in another breath. "So, how'd you like the suits?"

Hammer blinked again and tilted his head. "… Stark…?"

"Yep." 

"They caught you, too…?"

"Nope. I got you out before they got you."

"What?"

"The suits are mine. They're used predominantly for Search, Rescue and Retrieval. What do you think?"

"The… the suits… are… are yours…? They're not… they're not some terrorist's…?"

"Nope, they're SR&R suits. We have three sizes, child, adult… which is what you and I fit… and tall… for the oversized thugs." Tony shrugged.

"They're yours…?"

"Yep. All mine."

"I'm… I'm safe…?" 

"Bagram Air base in Parvan provence."

"Still in Afghanistan…?"

"Still in Afghanistan." Tony nodded.

"US Air Force base?"

"US Air Force base." Tony nodded, again.

"Safe…" Hammer slumped back against the pillows.

"For the moment, yes." Tony agreed.

Hammer sat up quickly and studied Tony. "For the moment?"

"The suits are mine, each and every one of them has a tamper alarm. If even one alarm goes off and implicates you, I will have that suit snatch you up and take you to 30,000 feet and eject you. Without a parachute. Are we clear?" Tony let Hammer see what facing Iron Man was like.

"Clear." Hammer replied instantly. "Absolutely. Completely hands off. No touching the suits. Crystal clear." Hammer nodded fervently.

"Great, I'll send you a drone, you can make some cameras for it. We've sold the design to the DoD and they want alterations that I won't make. Right up your alley, Just-in-time."

"I can do that." The blonde perked up.

"You can. Just remember… no touching my suits. Ever."

"No touching the suits, ever. Clear." Hammer nodded rapidly.

"In that case, you're as safe as any other serviceman in Afghanistan. Have a good day, Justin." Tony smiled brightly at the man and left the room. "Coffee, Rhodey, I need coffee."

"Come on, Tones, mess is this way." Rhodey led Tony from the medical facility and into an adjacent building. "Coffee." Rhodey pointed at the cafeteria.

"I have no idea what you said but… whatever it was worked." The medic that had been treating Hammer flopped down onto a seat opposite Tony and Rhodey. "He's up and about, scribbling away in a notebook. Something about cameras…?"

"Oh, yeah." Tony snorted. "I told him that I'd sold a drone design to the DoD and they wanted to alter the cameras and it would be right up his alley."

"It worked."

"I also told him that if I ever caught him playing with my suits, I'd have one eject him at 30,000 feet." Tony went on, cheerfully.

The medic's eyes widened and he seemed to not know how to respond to that.

~~~

October 16th 2009

"Utata, no." T'Challa begged his father. "Shuri's barely ten years old. She's far too young to-"

"Ubhuti!" Shuri gasped in shock. "I was twenty, T'Challa, twenty! Just because I am no longer that old, does not mean that I am a child."

"But you are in the body of one." T'Challa replied. "Do you really think that Ramonda will let you travel from Wakanda to New York without her? Whether I am with you, or not?"

"Ugh…" Shuri dropped her head into her arms and smothered her scream.

"I understand, kitten." T'Chaka said. "If you can get your mother to agree, I will permit T'Challa to take you to New York, but…" He gave her sly look. "You will be enrolled in school and you will attend, as though you are a child. No complaints and no dodging classes."

Shuri lifted her head, her expression going from excited to horrified, the longer her father spoke.

"Oh, no…" She whined.

"Oh, yes." T'Chaka's smile was calm, he was fairly confident that Ramonda wouldn't agree but on the off chance that she did…? Shuri had always hated her lessons.

~~~

September 3rd 2010

"Sir? Angela Keener is requesting to speak to you."

"What? Keener?" Tony blinked away equations and focused on JARVIS. "What?"

"Sir, Angela Keener wishes to speak to you." JARVIS repeated.

"Did she say why?"

"All she's said so far, is that it's in regard to Master Harley." JARVIS answered.

"Put her through, I guess…?" Tony wasn't sure about this.

"Stark?" The woman asked.

"Yep." Tony replied.

"What did you… No. What was sitting on our sofa and what did Harley say you were, 'technically' speaking?"

"Iron Man and I was 'dead', according to the newspaper he slapped on my chest." Tony replied.

"Oh, thank God…" The woman sighed. "I'm Angela, Harley's mother and I don't know where else to turn."

"What happened?" Tony demanded, his attention fully on the call, the equations for a new sniper scope completely forgotten.

Angela took what sounded like a scared breath. "Harley is out in the garage, after school he came home and… he's been bullied at school by EJ for the last few weeks but today was… he came home with a black eye, barely acknowledged me or Amelia. He went straight to the garage and when I went out just a few minutes ago, he's ranting and raving about the mechanic not having been kidnapped and that made think about the dream I had last night and… I don't think it was a dream, was it?"

"Alien invasions and people turning to dust?" Tony asked.

"Yes, aliens invaded New York and you flew a nuke into a wormhole, according to CNN, and Captain America was with you and the Avengers fought the aliens. Then Washington happened and some company called SHIELD is all over the internet and Captain America is wanted for treason and there's aircraft carriers falling from the sky… and the Avengers split and you and the Captain are fighting and then there's more aliens and… and… and everything turned to dust… And you died… you died protecting us. All of us."

"Yeah, that sounds about right…" Tony sighed. "No, it wasn't a dream. If you remember and Harley remembers… What do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know…" Angela whispered. "It's so hard… when Mike first left, I had nothing, just the two kids and a rental that was falling apart around us."

"And now?"

"I moved back into my grandparents' old place, but it's not much better." Angela huffed. "I haven't had a chance to repair anything and I'm working two jobs just to make ends meet and I'm right back where I started and I don't know what to do…" She was almost crying.

"Is your grandparents' place important to you?"

"No, I hated them and I hate being here." Angela answered. "If I hadn't needed a roof over our heads, I wouldn't have come back here, ever."

"How long have you been there?"

"A month, just a month. We left LaFollette when the county had our rental condemned."

"Pack your stuff, I'll have a jet at McGhee Tyson in two and a half hours and a car at your place in three hours." Tony started.

"Oh but…"

"But nothing, Angela." Tony overrode her. "If the place means nothing to you, don't stay. Come here, you can have an apartment in Clint's building or… hey, you ran the café, didn't you? Eventually, I mean."

"After you and Harley nearly destroyed Rose Hill? Yes, Hetty broke her leg and couldn't manage it. Why?"

"Behind Steve's place there's an old café." Tony answered. "It's been closed for a few years, according to some of the older locals. We bought it, figured that maybe one of our kids might like to reopen it, one day. It's got a small apartment above it. Small being the operative word. It's got three bedrooms but they're all the size of shoeboxes. If you want it, it's yours. You can reopen the café, if you want."

"But the children?" Angela asked. "Where would they go? While I'm working?"

"With us. We have a collection of the horrors, now. Buck and Darcy have four and another on the way. May and Happy have two. Clint and Laura have Cooper and Lila. Pep and I have Morgan. And that's just the smaller kids. In college we have Pietro, Wanda, Lena and Nat. Not to mention that Buck, Steve, Clint, Sam, Riley and I aren't much better."

"Day care?"

"Yes. Laura's mostly in charge of the monsters." Tony replied. "With a pair of helpers to make sure she doesn't get swamped."

"And she wouldn't mind?"

"Nah, she's already got a few extras, just employee's kids. We like to keep things in-house, where we can."

"So, the café…?" It was a leading question.

"Would save us having to order from outside, all the time." Tony answered, honestly.

"Alright." Angela whispered. "I can do that."

"Great." Tony grinned. "I'll get someone on route in a couple of minutes." JARVIS flashed up a message via a hologram. "Oh, cool. So, Bucky and Steve are on route and will take a hire car from the airport, it should take them less than an hour to get to you."

"So… less than four hours and they'll be here?"

"About that."

"And all I have to do is pack up myself and the kids?"

"And someone has to tell Harley." Tony grunted.

"I don't suppose… you'd do that…?" Angela asked hopefully.

"Uh… yeah… I suppose, I could do that…" Tony hesitated.

"Great, just let me call him in." Angela pulled her phone away from her head and Tony heard her yell for Harley. He also heard Harley argue about not wanting to talk to anyone and Angela telling him to take the damn phone.

"Yeah, what?" Harley snarled and Tony smirked, he knew how to deal with this, with a grumpy pre-teen like Peter.

"Don't argue with your mother, kiddo, you'll lose."

The line went silent for a few seconds. "Mec-Mechanic?"

"Keenster." Tony replied. "Go pack your bags, all of them. You're moving in, kiddo. You, your mom and that sister I heard about but have no proof exists, yet."

"Amelia exists." Harley argued.

"So you say." Tony huffed.

"I do say." Harley said firmly. "And she… You know what? No. What the hell happened, Mechanic? I went to your funeral and then I wake up in 2010. How?"

"I don't know, yet. We haven't figured it out."

"We?"

"Ah, yeah, we…" Tony grimaced again. "There's quite a few of us, now."

"How many?"

"Worry about that when you get here. For now, go pack. The Keener family's moving to New York."

"Oh, shit." 

"Language, kiddo, you're not a teen anymore." Tony snickered and ended the call. "Thanks, J, I needed that."