14

Chapter 14: Look For The FutureSummary:

So. Johannesburg happened.

While the Avengers are still reeling, however, Stark Industries hasn't been idle.

Notes:

This arc is about as cooperative as a cat getting a bath, I s2g. And part of the next arc decided to tag along too, because why not.

Chapter-specific warnings: the usual [unreliable narrator, canon-typical violence, not Team Cap friendly, etc.]

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

To: Chen, L. Coordinator [Security, Hong Kong branch]

From: Decker, M. Analyst [Finance, Los Angeles branch]

Subject: Just Bouncing Ideas Around

So, we've got a name. I've been also messing with possible mottos, and could you please help me in figuring out our new insignia? We've already been out in the field once and we all know it was a miracle Johannesburg ends up the way it did, even with boss' robot army.

What I'm getting at is everyone in town who volunteered just dusted off their old gear and ripped off the SHIELD patches. I'm not complaining, because we're not exactly affiliated with them, but we can do better. The only reason last time went so well was because we were organized, yes, but something that'll ID us can only help, right? Thus the need for a symbol. And it'll help with fielding the weirder questions: anyone asks, we can say it's the Security division, and I'm pretty sure Palamas'll—man referring to her by name's weird—cover for us, if JARVIS or Hill don't.

Thoughts?

—Decker

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To: Decker, M. Analyst [Finance, Los Angeles branch]

From: Chen, L. Coordinator [Security, Hong Kong branch]

Subject: When Do You Sleep, Again?

Sure, I'm game, and I see your point, but what the hell are you doing up at…what day is it even, for you? Even if you're only scarier when running on -2 hours of sleep with a half-assed chemistry set, sleep isn't just for the weak, believe it or not.

But anyway. If you want I can also cough up a few sketches. And doesn't King have a background in graphic design or something? Maybe ask for some pointers too, it can only help.

Are we embracing the Stark thing? Because any SI-based logo is going to be a pain in the ass to make a design with a sword in the middle…but maybe something about his armor? And we're including the almighty AI, that's non-negotiable. Boss and JARVIS were the ones to save us, it's only fair. How simple are we going, anyway?

Seriously, though, sleep

—Chen

Maria Hill did not know just how the hell boss managed this on a regular basis. She'd known, intellectually, that he was a genius, had seen evidence of it regularly with each creation he churned out, or instance of him apparently mastering a subject overnight, and that his AI was probably helping him at it, but just how often did he contend with this sort of mess? Did he have a routine, or a quota of sorts?

Because, judging by the nonchalant [if vaguely 'dammit I need a drink, what'd he do now?'] expressions on the SI Legal and PR representatives, and Pepper Potts' facepalm over their secure video conference, that's the impression she was getting; as was his own exhausted smile at everyone on screen.

"Let me get this straight. Iron Man engaged the Hulk in South Africa's biggest city, after the Avengers fucked up, is that right?" Lee the PR rep demanded, leaning forward in his chair and glaring at something offcamera.

"Yep." She answered, equally deadpan. They couldn't afford to mince anything, not right now. Besides her, Dr. Stark winced, but didn't say a word to counteract her.

Jordan the Legal rep, meanwhile, merely sighed, sipped from her mug once more, and tilted her head before contributing to the conversation. "Okay, so I know SI's got an open-ended contract with South Africa, and the Security department's involvement gives us an edge…"

Potts, meanwhile, leaned back and started to rub her forehead to forestall a headache. [Extremis was useful, but apparently didn't do much to for stress, good to know, Maria noted.] "Okay, so JARVIS' working on coordinating relief, between that and the Legion, damages could've been far, far worse, we can work with that," she threw Lee an apologetic look over the connection, "but I'll admit, the media's going to have a field day."

"You're telling me," he groused and closed his eyes. "Alright then. We'll spin the low damages and pretend that it was all under control, rather than Dr. Stark's AI doing what it does best…but where the hell were the Avengers?"

"An encounter with an Enhanced woman took out 80% of the roster. She's got mental manipulation under her belt, put them out of commission." Dr. Stark replied, then paused for a moment, continuing in a deliberately nonchalant tone. "Though…before we continue, you all should know I'm leaving the team after this."

"What?!" Half the conference members exploded, Potts more literally so in splintering her armrests. Maria was impressed by Jordan's composure, really—the woman didn't so much as widen her eyes, and merely took a larger swig from her mug. [Actually…did it have anything other than coffee in there? She was starting to suspect.]

"It has come to my attention that they're not a worthwhile investment. I can't trust them to have my back, and I have better things to do, so I'm out. I mean, I was a consultant in the first place, so." He added, faux-casually.

Jordan, meanwhile, straightened up, her gaze and tone taking on the same lazy ease of a predator. "How do you you want us to approach this? Rich protocols? We're still in the middle of negotiations for the proposed accords, they're still legally in limbo."

Potts, meanwhile, had been frowning, but when she heard the proposed course of action cut in. "If the Avengers are a much of a liability as this sounds, then they've already got more than enough."

"No, not yet, we still need them," Dr. Stark sighed, and ran a hand through his hair wearily. "JOCASTA won't be up for months at least, and I'm looking at suitable alternatives to the roster that won't try to insist that me doing my job is a bad thing, but that'll take a while."

"So, what, you want to try to cut ties and still have them coming out mostly intact?" Lee asked dubiously. "That'll be a headache and a half."

"Consider it my parting gift to them, I guess. We still need them, for now. But once this is over, that's it, do not pass go, do not collect $200. They're soldiers and spies, they can take care of themselves. Probably."

"You do know you'll still be required to provide them with their gear, though, right? At least until the accords are finalized or the arrangement's solidified." Jordan asked.

"I can live with that. How're the negotiations, by the way?"

"Most of the committees are working well, but Ross has been a pain in the ass since Day One, butting in where he's not wanted." She smirked. "Apart from our guys, he's pissed off the delegations from Latveria and Madripoor. Didn't even think that was possible, before now. Oh, and there's whispers of Wakanda taking an interest in this little project, but we all know how likely that is."

"As long as the Avengers out of our hair and the Earth's safe I don't even care anymore."

"Alright then, rich protocols it is." Potts concluded with a smile. And if it was a tad vicious, well, nobody was surprised. Nobody in the video conference had made it to where they were just by being kind, after all.

The video conference was concluded shortly afterwards, and it was only after the screens went dark that Maria's curiosity was too much to bear and asked, "So…what're the rich protocols, again?"

Dr. Stark looked at her questioningly, before, "Oh, sorry, I forget you're new. It's basically us doing an 'enough rope' situation. You know, 'keep your friends rich and enemies rich and wait to find out which is which,' and…that's not ringing a bell. Okay. Um…Back before I was Iron Man, I sold weapons. Turns out, it's a cutthroat industry, who knew, right? Started out from when I was old enough to legally drink, and…you pick up a few things along the way."

He paused, and his wan smile froze over, and sharpened to a degree that would've had Maria's hackles rising if he'd been anyone other than her boss, anyone other than the man who'd proved his innate...goodness went bone-deep time and time again. "Turns out, some things you just don't forget. I've spoken with warlords and mercenaries, people I wouldn't trust with a goldfish, this is just…more of the same. Treat them with a smile, watch the fallout a safe distance away. Hasn't failed me yet."

On that ever-so-cheerful note, her boss shook his head, and cut himself off of what looked like a dark path as he focused on what was at hand. "Anyway. How're things going on the Ultron front? How far out are we from our next stop?"

"Agent Barton had wanted to put in coordinates for a rural area, but it's not like we could coordinate with anyone about the Scepter if we took that route, now, could we? By the way, reports are coming in of a trio sweeping in and raiding whatever labs weren't on alert, and even some that were. We're on it."

"Okay then. Has someone called Dr. Foster about possible sites for his wormhole? Have we shut down our arc reactors, keep New York from happening again? Where exactly are we headed?"

"Yes, yes, and…I pulled some strings, SHIELD has a Helicarrier and a dock with our name on it."

"And by pulled some strings you mean…"

"A few former coworkers owe me a favor. Or several."

Dr. Stark blinked at her ever-so-placid smile, before deciding to not ask. Smart man, it wasn't as if she could talk about what she knew about the Christmas Party of '68. Not with a straight face, anyway.

"Okay then. Let's get on our way, shall we?"

"After you."

Ultron was most displeased to find that it took significantly more effort than he'd originally intended, to find the Cradle.

First, they'd had to find someone capable of getting into the security footage of Dr. Cho's lab, then reviewing said footage and finding out that the personnel who'd swept through not five hours previous did not bear any recognizable insignia beyond a vaguely militant uniform with any potential recognizable markers ripped off. After that cheerful discovery, tracking down any large vehicle capable of moving the Cradle became paramount, though it took a while because whoever had done this had also effectively wiped their trail.

Add to that their time limit—because Ultron knew Stark and buried-anger-weariness-preoccupied had figured out a way to locate the Tesseract last time—and his frustration knew no end. [He needed that Cradle, dammit!]

At least the bulk of his transport home was not an issue; he could manipulate the currents necessary even as he was, and it would be child's play once he finally upgraded himself. That HYDRA had been tampering with Chitauri technology was a boon—they hadn't uncovered its full potential, but that didn't mean he couldn't. Even if Stark managed to take the original source of energy for the generator from last time, he knew exactly where to find an alternative, which would serve as a catalyst for his upgrade as well.

Sokovia would do, Ultron mused. Yes, it would do quite nicely.

"We found it."

Perfect. Even if Stark would have taken one-fifth of the time to find it, and with less drivel than his current entourage.

The Helicarrier looked very run-down compared to the last time the Avengers had seen it. Hell, it was a ghost town, compared to Maria's memory of it, and she didn't doubt that Dr. Stark noticed the damages either. Maybe if she hadn't spent several weeks in this posting during the New York invasion, or if he hadn't been the one who'd designed it in the first place, they might've overlooked the suspicious dents and holes: but as it was, the Helicarrier had apparently been one of the strongholds SHIELD hadn't lost to HYDRA, and it showed. In both the scars left from the fight to secure it, and the vacant corridors their group currently traversed.

"The hell happened here?" Hawkeye asked incredulously, still grouchy from not having been allowed to alter their course and recent events.

Keeping a discreet eye on Rogers and Romanov, Maria checked herself before calmly replying, "Don't you read the news, Barton? SHIELD had an infestation, the rest is history." And…no reaction from either quarter. Wow. She wasn't even surprised, anymore.

"How should I know? These days, I've been laying low, getting my head back on straight. Was in France when it all came crashing down. By the way, good going, Steve." He countered, the battered hallways clearly putting him on edge.

She couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not, and she really didn't want to know. [Maria's bar for the Avengers was very low at this point, but it could always…actually, could it get any lower? Huh.]

Her boss, meanwhile, swept in and made a beeline for the labs, which had been mostly rebuilt from New York before getting promptly decimated during the fall of SHIELD. For the most part, it worked for what they needed it for, and she didn't doubt Dr. Stark would be able to jerry-rig the rest. Dr. Banner followed at a far slower pace, and cast a wary glance at everything along the way.

Once they'd set off, Maria turned back to the rest of the Avengers. "Get some sleep, it's been a long day. And we'll all need to be at the top of our game, with Ultron. C'mon, there's bunks with your names on them."

Rogers, however, frowned. "I don't think that's the best course of action."

Her resigned sigh was so, very subtle, maybe Romanov might have noticed if she hadn't been so out of it. "Doctors Banner and Stark only need to configure the equipment to scan for the Scepter, nothing they haven't done before. Hell, they have practice at it, remember? Then it's only a matter of time, and…" She trailed off, giving them her best sympathetic look she could muster.

He was still so, very, tense, but he forcibly relaxed his shoulders as he saw Romanov's carefully blank face, and former Agent Barton's uneasy stance. Though, as the group walked away, Maria caught his mutter of "Doctor Stark?" and the weird look on his face, and fought the urge to facepalm. How they didn't notice the abnormally wide berth the SHIELD agents gave them, she didn't know. Barton, she understood, he'd been on uneasy terms even before filing for retirement. But the other two?

Yeah, they'd made an error in judgement, when the Avengers had first been assembled.

Oh well...Good thing boss was already working on Plans B and C.

Notes:

Again, sorry but I couldn't comfortably mesh the 'Meet Clint's Family' portion into this AU. In canon, the Avengers were supposed to be closer, more of a family [or at least, that's the impression that I got]: here, however, while the team's closer, Tony's never been on it, not really. Add to that his emotional disconnect, and ta-da! [Canon, thanks for the memories, but it's not me, it's you.]

As you can probably tell, the fallout of this mess has already started, and it'll be the next arc once this is wrapped up. I'm trying to be as nice as I can, but...well, it's key to the buildup leading to the Civil War portion of the story, so.

Tony's pre-Iron Man past has always been a burden to him in canon, this is me making it into an asset instead of simply a source of neverending regret. Turns out that experience in one of the most cutthroat industries on the planet can come in handy, who knew? The Merchant of Death isn't a name to be taken lightly, and anyone who crosses him will find that out the hard way. [...I've said too much, haven't I? Oops.]

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Updates'll be erratic, because finals are coming. [Wish me luck.]