(DxD x Tony Stark) Iron & Myth: Chapter 1 - I am back where?!

Chapter 1 - I am back where?!

A/N: Welcome to my new story—I hope you enjoy the ride!
Before we dive in, I just wanted to point out something important: the first couple of chapters might feel a bit slow and light on the crossover elements. They're a necessary setup for the main story, which truly kicks off in Chapter Three. So I hope you’ll enjoy the buildup and stick around—because the real fun is just about to begin!

The last thing Tony remembered was pain, a very intense pain coursing through his entire body. Then he remembered a bright light just before he could feel a sense of peace consuming him.

What the hell happened?

It took his mind a moment to catch up and when the memories caught up with him he could feel the sense of peace replaced by sadness and anger.

After everything, this is how it ended? With him dying while someone like Rogers got the chance to live on. Wait no, Tony knew the man better than that—he will probably use the time machine to go back in time and stay there with Aunt Peggy, completely disregarding everything Bruce and Tony warned him not to do.

The man won't care about the chances of the world being destroyed, won't care about the husband and kids Peggy did have which he will be erasing—he was selfish like that.

Was Tony some saint? Of course not. But he tried. He did his best to protect the people of the world, no matter what were the odds or who was the enemy, Tony took his stand. And when the people voiced their dissatisfaction he acted so the people could be safe. After the snap he worked hard to stabilize the economy and many other of the issues created for humanity.

Tony had to admit that even he was shocked that it took them only a couple of years to stabilize the entire planet so people could live ordinary lives.

He had a family. Pepper. Morgan. Peter. All of them now will have to go on without him. Did Rogers really think that if they will bring everyone back all the troubles will fix themselves? It was the complete opposite. Tony could think of at least a hundred international problems they caused with this act. Problems that will end up blowing up in everyone's faces.

Why did Tony have to lose the family he worked hard to achieve while people like Rogers and Maximoff get to go home with smiles on their faces and pats on their backs?

Why does Morgan need to grow up without him while Rogers fucks up the timeline and who knows what Maximoff will do without Romanoff and Rogers to pull her back every once in a while.

Tony sighed mentally. As much as it broke his heart there is nothing he could do about it anymore, is there? From now on everything will fall to the next generation, on heroes like Peter. He knows that one day this kid will be a hero better than Iron Man and Captain America combined. He truly was the best of them.

That brings Tony back to his current predicament. Which actually Tony had no idea what it was.

Was he dead? He should be, right? There is no way he could survive the infinity gauntlet—even Thanos almost died snapping the damned thing. So what chance did an ordinary human have?

Still Tony tried to open his eyes. He expected to find himself still in an endless abyss, but instead he found himself in what looked like a lab.

All around him were pieces of robots, loose electronics, tools and screens on top of the table that partially dominated the pretty small room.

Tony himself was sitting at the table and it looked like he just fell asleep on top of one of his projects like he did so many times before.

But many things confused Tony. First he never saw this lab in his life—it wasn't exactly up to his standards either.

Second everything seemed to be so big to him even if logically he could calculate that the room he was in was objectively small. What confused Tony the most was that while the walls seemed to be closing in, the ceiling felt far too high for a room this size.

And lastly the tech on the table was old. He picked up a mother board and frowned—he didn't see one of those since the late 90's. The SI logo at the corner practically insulted Tony that this piece of trash still even existed.

That's when he noticed the fingers that were holding the motherboard. They were so small, and chubby. Were they his?

Before he could freak out about that, the door of the room opened and the last person Tony ever expected to see again walked inside the room.

"Oh, so that's where you were hiding, kiddo—you got your mom worried." Howard Stark said with an amused smile on his face.

Tony was shocked into a state where he could not speak, he couldn't move, hell he couldn't even blink.

His eyes might be burning, but he just couldn't allow himself even a moment away from the sight in front of him. Right there slowly entering the room without a care in the world was his dad, Howard Stark.

But he didn't look like he remembered him from their last meeting—he looked much like the Howard he met during the time heist. His hair had faded to brown with some gray hairs, instead of a full grown mustache he had the beginnings of one.

But unlike the young Howard he knew, this one had much fewer stress lines decorating his face—they seemed to be replaced by laugh lines around his mouth and eyes.

"Why am I not surprised you fell asleep at your lab again?" Tony was still in shock seeing his dad at all, far less speaking to him like that. So the older man's question went unanswered.

Howard leaned over the table and looked at the electrical parts around it with an impressed look. "Ever since that first engine you built last year you don't seem to stop impressing me, my little inventor."

Last year? First Engine? But he built his first engine when he was four years old—what the hell was going on here? Is this his version of Heaven after he died fighting Thanos?

Howard then shook his head and said in a serious tone, "Even then, always falling asleep here like that is no good, especially not when your mother goes into a panic every day she can't find you in your room during her morning visit. I think curfew is in order, but we will talk about it later—your mom's waiting for breakfast so go wash yourself."

Tony was having a really hard time comprehending the man who would constantly look at him in disappointment to the father who just took another glance at the table and shook his head with a fond smile on his face before leaving the room.

Tony tried to rub his eyes, not sure what he was even expecting when he opened his eyes. When he was still in the same room Tony decided he better play along.

He jumped from his chair to the floor and began heading toward the door when he noticed another thing laying on the edge of the table he couldn't see before. He picked it up to see what was probably the most modern piece of tech in the entire room.

It was a slick black, server hard drive, quite a large and heavy one, which indicated there was a large amount of data stored on it. He turned the drive to see a large label on its other side. And he gasped as he read what it said.

'JARVIS and FRIDAY memories.'

Tony remembered he was supposed to be on his way already. So he put the drive back on the table, letting his mind contemplate the problem while he went on with the mundane tasks like he did for so many years before.

Once he reached the door he noticed the handle was a little higher than he was. Tony was forced to reach up with his arm to turn the handle and leave the room.

He stepped into an equally unrecognizable hallway, though it was much fancier than the lab he just woken up in. It looked like a hallway that wouldn't be out of place in any of the mansions he owned, and oddly with the same design scheme he tended to use.

Because of that he found the bathroom quite easily. After he washed his face off he finally raised his gaze to the mirror in front of him and froze again.

The short brunet hair, the smooth and chubby face, his short stature and how thin his body was.

WHAT THE FUCK?! He actually was five years old! Why? How? Wait... the Infinity stones! Was it their doing? And if so why would they do it to him?

Seeing no way to get answers right now and already having plans, he finished washing up and left toward where he could only guess the kitchen was.

The house they lived in was certainly big and luxurious, but it wasn't a mansion, and he didn't see any staff members so far which he found odd.

When he entered the kitchen he expected to see some of the staff because they were meant to eat breakfast after all—he half expected to find Ana Jarvis near the stove cooking her famous omelet.

He was shocked again, however, seeing his mother. Her curly black hair reaching past her shoulder, her skin smooth and glowing, she was wearing a pink apron on top of her light blue dress. Her smile was wide and her eyes shone as she set a plate with a tall tower of pancakes in the center of the table that was set for three people.

Tony barely processed what he was doing before he was already clinging to his mother's leg with a tight hug and he screamed in a high, childish voice "Mom!"

His mother smiled down at him and said fondly "Ciao, tesoro. You look a little pale, sit and eat something."

His mom was always kind to him and encouraged him, but never before had she directly taken care of him—that was usually Ana or Aunt Peggy.

Tony sat down at the large table—it took up the entire area of the dining room and could easily seat at least ten people, which wasn't that different from his old life, but then the plates were always spread in a way that all three of them sat far from each other, and that was when his parents actually bothered to eat with him at all.

Now though all three plates were set close enough to each other so they could all reach for their shared meal.

Howard entered the room wearing casual clothes, a smile and holding the newspaper. He sat next to Tony and soon enough his mom joined them.

Both of them began eating, while all Tony could do was stare at them with a frown. Soon enough his parents noticed him and stopped eating themselves. Howard leaned a little bit closer and asked, "Everything okay there, buddy?"

"I'm dead." Was the first response Tony gave his father since he woke up, because he could think of nothing else to say.

His mom and dad exchanged alarmed looks before his mom asked softly "Why would you think that, caro?"

Tony frowned. "Thanos. I was fighting Thanos. We were losing. The Infinity stones were the only way. When I got them I could feel it, I could feel them sucking away my life so I could save them all." He looked up at the concerned looks of his parents and finished with a choked voice "It was the only way."

The memory of Strange holding up one shaky finger to confirm Tony's fear filled his mind.

Tony was shaken off that memory when he was engulfed in a tight hug on one side, and had a warm hand resting on his head.

His mom's voice was choked as well as she said "Amore mio, it was just a horrible dream. Nothing like that will ever happen, the world does not rest on your shoulders."

Doesn't it? Tony asked himself.

Without him, Fury wouldn't have restarted the Avengers program. Without him the Avengers would die by a nuke. Without him the Avengers would have been done after the fall of SHIELD. Without him there would be no time heist. Without him Thanos would've won.