t. stark

Iron and Anger || Betty and Tony

@ironman2point0

Betty had met Tony Stark before a few times. Most memorably had been at her wedding to Bruce years back. She had been different then. Still hopeful about her future with Bruce and confident that everything would finally work out. That had been short-lived, just like everything with Bruce had been short-lived and and always seemed to be. If she hadn’t ‘died’, then something else probably would have happened with Bruce taking off on Betty eventually. It always seemed to work out that way. 

Now, she was different, but back then she had liked Tony well enough. They were both sarcastic, intelligent, and pains in the ass. She remembered laughing at him and with him at her wedding and in the subsequent times thereafter. Red would like him. Probably. Well… Red was about to find out if she liked him, because Red had the body, and Tony was at SHIELD. So when she stepped out of the lab–because Red was done being bored in there–she caught sight of the shorter man and cocked her head. 

That’s Tony Stark, Betty supplied to Red.

“You’re the rich robot suit Avenger, right?” was what that information resulted in. 

Betty’s reappearance in Star City wasn’t old news. Tony knew about it, but that didn’t mean he knew the details. Even he knew it was insensitive to push for information when the subject was an ex-wife. Was that how it worked? Did they skip the divorce, or were they still married? With the rate people came back from the dead these days, he really had to wonder how the legal system was handling that loophole. 

He’d liked Betty. He hadn’t known her remarkably well, but there weren’t a lot of people who could keep up with him. She’d managed it. Then again, perhaps that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise - it wasn’t as if Bruce would bother with someone who couldn’t challenge him in some way, so it made sense that he’d choose a woman just as smart as he was. Being a pain in the ass was an added bonus, in his opinion.

While their underwater mission had been successful in that they’d disabled the grid and made out with information they didn’t have before, there had been alarming discoveries. Ones that had taken awhile to get a more full picture of and even then they didn’t really have a complete one. His kind had stayed partially on that, and he knew that they had work to do. Normally he’d have got right to that instead, but he’d figured he should at least share the…update, all things considered. If he had some kind of bounty on his head, it might not be an option to keep working quietly in the lab.

“It was yesterday,” he admitted, since the alternative was that it had happened on his way there. There weren’t a lot of options, and Bruce wasn’t a liar about things so easily disproved and pointless. “The guy was in a red suit and using bullets. I don’t think he had a clue who I was. I looked him up, though. He’s called Deadshot.”

He did not answer the question about why he could manage to be that casual. It wasn’t a good thing to say, and he didn’t want it to be the conversation. The truth of it was that he would never actually care if someone succeeded in doing it. Over and over he’d wondered what, if anything, could kill him. He’d even tried doing it himself. He had an unspoken, standing dare with the universe to just do it, but so far nothing had managed to pull it off. With Hulk’s recent bid for control again, the desire was bubbling to the surface again after being dormant for awhile. Bruce didn’t want to go…backwards. He didn’t want to slide all the way back, to start losing time, to open his eyes in the middle of nowhere and wonder if the sickness in his stomach was because Hulk had finally gone too far and killed someone.

“I meant to call but I-“ he made a gesture toward his temple, “guess I forgot.”

-

It was difficult for Tony not to get restless. He had to be doing something to keep his mind occupied, otherwise anxiety and irritability began to creep in. Upgrading his systems and downloading data always took time. It was one thing he hated about the lab - most of the time, anyway. A lot of waiting with little payoff. While he hoped it wouldn’t be the case this time, it was difficult imagining a positive outcome when they were working with so many unknown variables. They had no context for the numbers they were getting because it wasn’t radiation they understood. The rules might be different. This was uncharted territory. On some level it was exciting, but nerve-wracking when an entire city was at risk of possible side effects.

But that was forgotten almost immediately at this bit of... expected news. “Who? Do I know him?” The name sounded vaguely familiar, but at some point all a lot of villains started sounding the same. Something about death or fire, maybe insert a great here or there. “If he doesn’t know who you are, then what was he doing?”

He was eyeing Bruce hard, waiting for him to speak. Maybe even daring him to. After all, Tony wasn’t stupid. He knew what Bruce would say and he wanted a reason to snap at him. The news put him on edge. It was another unknown to contend with. Already, he was thinking of where to get information about Deadshot. He could think of about twelve sources right off the top of his head. Thirteen, if you counted Batman. Big if.

“Right. Of course. As one does,” he replied with a shrug, but his tone was heavy with sarcasm. “Ridiculous for me to be alarmed by this information, or at all interested in why this stranger wants to kill you.” Bruce’s attitude about death disturbed him. It made him angry, but he wasn’t sure where to direct the anger or where it came from. All he knew was that he wanted to discourage it in any way possible. “It might be difficult to imagine lately, but I do exist outside the lab.” It was a brief but cutting comment that he quickly moved past. Already he had his phone out and google open. “Anyone know this guy’s real name?” 

Matt scoffed in return, taking a swig from his own drink. “Then I’ll be leaving at drink number five,” he replied with a huff of laughter. As much as Tony made Matt want to tear his hair out sometimes, he didn’t actually mind spending time with him. Tony was a laugh and a half, and for Matt, who rarely remembered to smile, Tony always provided a good reminder to see the bright, lighthearted side of things. 

“What have you been up to lately?” Matt asked. “I would have assumed that you’d be throwing a party of your own, but you must have been busy if you didn’t think to put one together this year.”

//

“Your loss. How else do you get work? You should be encouraging me to cause a scene, rack up your bill, right?” There were plenty of instances when Tony used Matt to get him out of tight situations. Normally those were caused by his company or vigilantism, but he was less predictable in his younger years. 

He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t even know it was October. I didn’t leave the lab for weeks.” Time had stopped meaning anything at some point. Bruce wasn’t great at reminding him to do things either. “Count on one next year. Bigger. Better.”

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Selina walked into most places like she owned them, and Stark Industries was no different, even if the woman at the reception was refusing to let her upstairs. “You don’t understand. I’m a friend of Mr. Stark’s—” she started before she caught sight of him coming down the stairs. “Tony, you ass,” she called out. “Will you put me on the damn guest list here? I promise I don’t steal from friends,” she said, pouting at him. Selina, of course, did steal from friends often, but she had made a pact with herself not to steal from Tony, at least. She had no interest in going up against Ironman if it came down to things. 

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Matt had spent enough time around Tony to recognize that voice anywhere. He couldn’t help the light smirk that curved at his features, glad for at least one familiar voice in a sea of unfamiliar ones, especially since it seemed like Foggy had ditched him. Foggy had always been the more social of the two of them, anyway, so that was no surprise to Matt. 

So, he ended up sidling up to Tony near the bar, grateful for someone else who he could latch onto as the more social of the pair, and he gestured to the bartender, asking him to get a whiskey, neat. “I hope you’re staying out of trouble tonight, Tony,” Matt said. “I’m off the clock.” 

-

Halloween wasn’t really Tony’s thing, not outside of the obligatory party or two, and he’d been known to throw a few in his own time. This year, the date snuck up on him faster than he’d expected. There had been no time to plan anything (even when the extent of his part was telling someone else to do the planning), so he’d settled for finding the most decadent event in the city. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be at a place called Opulence. Less opulent than he expected, but he was still having a good time.

The question made him scoff. “What sort of trouble could I get into minding my own business? And on my third drink? Very little. You’re sadly underestimating my capacity to metabolize. Give it time, Murdock - I don’t get feisty until number six.”

starfleet officer, star trek

@ironman2point0

The confrontation with NOVA and the damage that Hulk had caused as a result had put Bruce Banner back on the map in a way he’d hoped he might get away without dealing with again. It had been a tiny, slender hope, true, but a hope all the same. If he’d needed any further proof that his fragile peace in Star City was utterly shattered, an assassination attempt had been a good way to do it. Failed assassination attempt, of course. It’d never be that easy.

Maybe it would make the news again. Maybe Tony already knew. By luck more than anything, there hadn’t been much external damage around the area where it had happened, only some displaced bricks from where he’d scaled the building to reach the man in red. He’d managed to seize control again as Banner before it got too bad, before someone got really hurt, but barely.

He didn’t bring it up until the next day. He’d gone home to his own place that night and spent most of what remained of it sitting at his desk mindlessly playing Minecraft. It was easy to zone into. The repetition took over, and he wiled away enough hours that he was eventually able to fall asleep in his chair for awhile. When he did finally go see Tony the following evening, he looked slightly less...harassed.

“I think someone tried to kill me yesterday.” Think. No, he didn’t think. He also should’ve probably said hello first, or literally anything else, and he’d kind of rehearsed it on the way over and then just...didn’t do any of those things. Bruce pushed a hand back through his hair and added, belatedly, “Evening.”

NOVA might be gone, but that didn’t put Tony at ease. There were still plenty of things they had to contend with, not least of all the radiation the city was being exposed to, and he was doing his best to gather as much data as he could in the meantime. Maybe there wasn’t much to do with the situation other than keep an eye on it, but that didn’t stop him from tumbling down various considerations and possibilities, until he was researching more than he was sleeping. 

The snippet on the news barely caught his attention. He hadn’t thought anything of it since. The reporter didn’t really have an explanation for it and not much time was spent on the story at all. At the time, there was too much on Tony’s mind for him to draw any connection to Bruce or the Hulk. The information lingered at the back of his mind, even though he wouldn’t be able to recall the actual details. 

But it was enough, just enough, that when Bruce announced he’d been almost killed, it was the first thing he thought about. Why hadn’t he considered that the Hulk could have been responsible for that? He should have. If he’d given it some thought, he might have, but he knew the information had gone in one ear and out the other. It was a wonder he recalled it now. 

Steve repairing his friendship with Tony was more important to Bucky in the grand scheme of things that establishing any kind of repertoire himself. That said, it wasn’t as if he relished the idea of things being nebulous and unsaid forever. There wasn’t exactly a handbook for figuring out how to navigate the situation, though. All he knew to do was offer an out in the beginning, and if Tony didn’t take it, he didn’t take it. They could…go from there.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he settled down on the stool and turned so that his left side was facing Tony. Choosing to go to see him and ask him to do anything at all with the implant put Bucky in a more vulnerable position than he wanted to let on. It was his damn arm, after all. He could get along without it, but he was keen on doing more than just getting along. He was giving up some measure of control over the situation just by being there. Maybe that was a kind of olive branch on its own.

Considering it had been Tony that blasted his first arm clean (no, not clean) off his body, he was lucky to even have one. Not that he was going to say so. “Home Depot never restocks,” was what he ended up answering instead. He’d been a funny guy once, or at least decently funny, but that was a hell of a long time ago. A lifetime, really. He tried sometimes anyway. “I’ll keep checking.”

“Home Depot? Try Lowe’s. More inventory and next day delivery,” Tony shot back, not missing a step in the exchange despite the awkward situation. Having a normal conversation was beyond what he expected. Most people looking in might assume it was a tactic of avoidance, but it held much more weight than that. There was a time when he seriously doubted his capability to interact with Bucky beyond a strict, professional capacity. 

The work on his arm was meticulous, but quick. A lot of it was electronic interference and necessary rewiring. It was something he could have accomplished in half the time he managed to actually do it, however, and that was the only indication that he wasn’t feeling as casual about this meeting as he let on. It was shaking him up a bit. Nothing that he was unwilling to handle or face head on, but it’d been a while since he let those particular feelings surface. 

@ironman2point0

Natasha had been remiss not to drop in on Tony after he had so elegantly appeared at the Avenging League meeting out of nowhere in March. At first, she had been busy with Clint, then mourning him in a manner that felt much worse now that he was alive but still gone to her in so many ways. Regardless, she needed to reconnect with people again. Her life couldn’t just be Steve and James with the occasional Wanda thrown in.

When she had dropped in on Tony, it was under the guise of work. She was on the Infiltration team for the League and he was studying the inhibitors. Really, though, there were a few ulterior motives: reconnecting for her own sake to remind herself that she still had friends, a family. And also to ensure that he was coping. Natasha knew all about Tony Stark’s vices. She should have checked on him ages ago.

“You’re a tough man to find when you want to be,” she remarked, catching him as she stepped from the hallway adjacent to his lab. She couldn’t get in the conventional way without his okay, and she didn’t know if he would consent to seeing her or not. So she had simply slipped into the shadows to wait, as was her way. Now, she gave him that faint hint of a smile.

Getting into his home was one thing, but the security for Tony’s lab was something else altogether. It wasn’t so easily hacked. He’d also been spending an inordinate time there even now that the mission was over and NOVA wasn’t even in the city anymore. The inhibitors were still his focus. The ability to knock out enhancements was extraordinary, but that type of power didn’t come from nowhere. What Bruce was seeing on his readings were more than a little alarming. It warranted further research, in any case, and he would keep going until they got answers. 

Lend Me Your Ears and I’ll Sing You a Song || Steve and Tony

@ironman2point0​

It was later that evening, when Diana had confirmed that he could stay with her, that Steve finally took a moment out on her terrace to call Tony. He was still struggling with the feeling that he had failed in everything and he didn’t know if this call would help anything. But he did know that he wouldn’t leave Tony to find out secondhand. And he knew his best friend wouldn’t judge him. He knew that Tony would listen, like he always did when Steve really needed him. He was sure Tony hadn’t missed calls like these, but he had given the other man a little bit of a reprieve when he had thought that Bucky and he were finally okay. What a moron he was.

Now, he pulled out his phone, feeling cold in spite of the humid and hot air. Leaning back against the chair he sat in, he sighed hard and pinched the bridge of his nose as he let it ring it out. He didn’t know what the hell he was going to do, but here he was. He’d have to think on his feet. Good thing he’d been throwing himself headfirst into stupid situations for years now.

“Hey, Tone,” he said quietly.

Now that Tony was making public appearances again, it was close to impossible to keep his schedule clear. He had a fundraiser to attend tonight. Stark Industries was donating to homeless youth for Christmas. All of the early decorations made the entire event feel surreal. He gave the obligatory speech, cut the check, and decided to test out the biggest gift on display with other toys that would sit for months before even being wrapped. The whole thing wasn’t set to air until November.

He was in the middle of trying to drive the thing back up to the platform when his phone started ringing. It was turned off for the interviews, but he’d immediately switched the sound back on the second the camera stopped rolling. There was too much chaos going on for him to take his eye off of it for a second longer than necessary. When he saw Steve’s name on the screen, he immediately answered it and tucked the phone against his shoulder so he could steer the tiny car with both hands.