(MCU) Forged Reality: Chapter 4 - What we owe

Chapter 4 - What we owe

Summary: Tony is released from the hospital and does something both surprising and stupid.

It had been a couple of days since the battle of Sokovia, and Tony was just now being discharged from the hospital wing of the tower. Even though he had already woken up in top shape, practically twenty years younger again, his doctors were wary of any other side effects, so after they determined he was fit to be moved, Nick made sure he made his way to the tower where the medical team was already waiting for him.

Two days of tests later and Tony was cleared to walk around as long as he didn't get himself into any combat situations. Tony jumped on the first opportunity to get away from that bed he was stuck in.

He was also limited in visitation because of the odd circumstances of his recovery, so for the past two days, the only people he saw were Rhodey, Nick, and Pepper.

Rhodey kept him in the loop with what was going on with the Avengers; Nick was keeping him in the loop with a few of their off-book projects. Pepper, on the other hand, was a whole different case.

The first thing she did was to scold him for his reckless behavior; second was to express how glad she was that he was okay. But then came the... heavy stuff. The SI board kept pushing him to get rid of the Avengers.

The team's reputation was at an all-time low now, and it was losing the company money, so the shareholders for the past couple of months were harassing him for selling the initiative's rights to someone else, even though there weren't exactly a line of people waiting to buy them.

Tony had to remind them all that he was the major shareholder and as such it was his choice alone, but with this last catastrophe, the board received the leverage they needed to push Tony to make a hard decision.

In the end, Tony made a compromise with them. He pointed out that the reputation of the Avengers was bound to rise again in the near future and until that would happen, he would use his shares alone to fund them. Once their revenue recovered, he would return the ownership to the entire shareholder group for them to profit as well.

It was a dirty and low trick Tony could admit, but the board didn't even think twice about accepting this offer, probably worried he would realize how foolish it was of him to make such an offer in the first place.

And make no mistake, Tony was very aware of how this offer harmed him while benefiting the rest of the shareholders; normally he would never dare to come up with something like that, far less bring it up. Alas, Tony could feel the clock ticking on the next invasion, and the time the Avengers would be needed again to have even a chance of survival. So, Tony would reluctantly play along for now.

There was one more thing Tony asked Pepper to do while she was there, and now that he was out of that damn bed, he could start working on it.

Tony knew most wouldn't approve of what he was about to do next, and that was why he sneaked around for the past couple of hours until he lost his tail, courtesy of Nick, and managed to get into his personal quinjet.

Tony didn't waste a single moment in sitting at the pilot seat and speaking, "Fri, start takeoff sequences and contact the authorities for entry approvals to Sokovia."

The response was immediate and in the usual Irish calm voice, "On it, Boss."

Tony heard the engines coming to life and the jet slowly began to lift itself from the docking station into the sky. A moment later Tony was in the air and on his way to the last place he should probably be right now.

Tony leaned back in his chair and stared out of the front window at the slowly rising sun. The sky had this combination of red and yellow colors for them that Tony couldn't help but admire.

He almost jumped out of his seat when a voice he didn't expect spoke from behind him, "A bit early for something like that, wouldn't you say Tony?"

Tony turned his chair so fast it almost gave him whiplash; his eyes wide as he stared at the ragged form of Bruce Banner. Tony took a deep breath to calm himself before asking, "What the hell, Brucie-bear, I have a heart condition, and you know it!"

Bruce gave him the usual tired smile of his before responding with, "No, you don't, not anymore at least."

Oh right. Tony forgot about it; he was as healthy as Steve now, no heart condition, no scars, nothing to complain about.

Tony shook his head and asked incredulously, "How long were you here?"

Bruce seemed to consider it for a moment. "Hmm, I'd say about twenty minutes before you came in."

Tony looked at the camera to his right with a raised eyebrow and asked, "And you didn't think to tell me, Fri?"

His AI's voice was mischievous as she replied with mock innocence, "I found no reason or benefit for you to know this detail, Boss."

Tony narrowed his eyes, still staring at the camera for a long moment before heaving a deep sigh and looking back at Bruce, knowing there was no winning this fight against his baby girl; she was too much like him.

Tony tilted his head at Bruce and asked, "Okay, so why are you here?"

Bruce shrugged as he answered, "You're not the only one with a guilty conscience. I want to help as much as I can too."

Tony nodded in understanding before both of them settled into a quiet ride through the sky.

FR FR FR FR FR

Wanda felt in turmoil for the past two days, especially since she had to see her brother constantly twitchy out of nervousness and worry.

Wanda still had a hard time understanding why Pietro began to care so much about what was going on with Stark.

They saw the man was fine, even more than that—he was completely healed not only from the bullet he took for Pietro but from everything else that happened to him in the last two decades. He even looked so hot right now with his young face, and that built body and...

Wait, what the hell?! Where did that come from? He was Stark! A monster! No matter how objectively handsome he was, she shouldn't be thinking of him like that.

She and her brother were staying at the SHIELD carrier for the past two days. Director Fury said something about Stark having something prepared for the Avengers once he woke up, but she wasn't sure why she felt dissatisfaction and bitterness coming off Fury as he said that.

She also wasn't sure what that meant for her and Pietro. Where would they live now? After all, they didn't have any money, jobs, or anything like that, and at some point, Fury would have to get rid of the carrier as SHIELD didn't exist anymore.

Rather than being worried about that, she decided to deal with it when the time came and right now deal with the issue at hand. That issue was her brother who was sitting across from her leaning on the table while tapping his finger on the table, in a manner that annoyed her to no end.

Wanda glared at her brother and hissed, "You are ridiculous, Pietro. You are not really worried about the fate of that monster, are you?"

Pietro raised his gaze to hers, and she was surprised to see him glare back at her as he replied, "Why shouldn't I be worried? The man saved my life and stopped our mistake from killing every single person in our home country."

Wanda's fists clenched as she heard her brother defend that monster, and she snarled back at him, "Ultron was his mistake, not ours. You have to remember, Pietro—he is the monster that killed Mama and Papa!"

Pietro threw his hands in the air with exasperation and yelled back, "Wake up, Wanda! This logic stopped working years ago! Stark might have made the bombs, but he wasn't the one who shot it into our home."

Wanda reeled back in shock, as if her brother had just hit her. How could he say that?! Even if Stark wasn't the one to push the button, he was the one who created the weapon in the first place and sold it to the people who used it like they did just so he could make a little more money for himself.

Before Wanda could retort though, the door to the room they sat in opened and Clint—he told them to call him by his name—walked in with a smile and asked, "How are you doing, kids?"

Wanda, still annoyed from the conversation she had with her brother, scoffed and looked away. Her brother, on the other hand, answered him calmly, "Still nervous. Is there any news about Stark?"

Wanda kept watch from the corner of her eyes as Clint's smile grew a little and he answered happily, "He was cleared by his doctors today and immediately took off from the tower." He then shook his head and added in a mumble, "Crazy man."

She could hear the surprise in Pietro's voice as he asked, "Took off already? Is it really a good idea?"

Clint's smile stayed in place, and he shrugged. "No. But you try and tell Tony that. The fact they managed to keep him in bed for two days still surprises me."

Wanda wanted to comment with something like 'if he wants to kill himself just let him,' but even in her own mind, the words left a bitter taste, so she kept her mouth shut while her brother asked, "Where is he even going right after healing?"

Clint picked up the remote of the television in the room and said, "Funny you should ask," before he pressed a button, and the television turned on.

On the screen was a blonde woman sitting behind a large desk with the words 'Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in Sokovia after the battle' written in large font at the bottom of the frame.

Wanda was shocked, and all her attention was immediately on the screen as the blonde woman began speaking, "Reports began coming in that about an hour ago Tony Stark and Bruce Banner landed near the Sokovia relief center. As all of our viewers surely remember, two days ago a rogue AI with the name Ultron tried to use Sokovia as a meteorite to destroy the planet and all life in it. The Avengers fought the droid and all of his bodies off while evacuating the city. It was only once all of the civilians were cleared from the dropping rock that Iron Man and Thor blew it apart to prevent further damage and loss of life."

The image on the screen then shifted to one of Stark lying on the ground in Sokovia, a pool of his own blood growing around him as the woman spoke again, "As some of you must have heard, Tony Stark sustained a fatal injury while protecting one of his team members as well as two Sokovian citizens. A message came earlier today that after experimental treatment, Tony Stark not only recovered from his injury but enhanced his body. He was discharged from medical care only at the early hours of this morning and immediately left toward Sokovia."

The image showed Stark and Banner exiting the jet they came in, although the main focus seemed to be on Stark and his new appearance.

The woman in the news seemed to be shocked as well from seeing the picture before she composed herself and spoke in her usual calm voice, "You might ask why the two Avengers returned there after the battle; well, this is what they had to say..."

Immediately after she said that, the image on the screen changed into a video of Stark and Banner standing next to each other with many microphones and cameras pointing their way. Stark was the one to take the lead and speak, "My friend and I are here today to help the good people of Sokovia in any way we can, nothing more, nothing less."

Then a female voice with a foreign accent Wanda could recognize asked off-screen, "I have heard that the Maria Stark Foundation has already begun working on helping Sokovia and its people."

Stark didn't smile but kept a calm demeanor as he answered, "Yes. Currently, the board members of the foundation are discussing how the money will be best spent to help their people. But as heroes, it is our duty to show up when people need our help."

"Help?!" An outraged voice with an unmistakable Sokovian accent shouted off-screen. "There is no one left to fight and no more buildings to destroy, so how can you help?"

If the comment angered or hurt Stark, he didn't show it; rather, he replied to the accusation calmly, "Even outside of battle, many of our members have other skills that can prove useful. My friend here has seven PhDs, at least one of them in the biological field; he will be able to treat anyone who requires medical assistance. While I would like to offer my services as an engineer to any project that will require it."

Another reporter then jumped in with a question, "Are you doing it because you are feeling guilty of creating Ultron in the first place?"

This time Wanda did notice Stark flinching at the accusation, but before he could answer, a deep voice she recognized spoke, "Allow me to correct you."

Fury stepped into the frame to stand on the other side of Stark, his eye glaring at the reporter who asked the question. Without waiting, he kept speaking, "Tony Stark and Bruce Banner have been commissioned by SHIELD and the WSC to create a peacekeeping AI under the project name Ultron. Once SHIELD fell, the project was shelved and not worked on in the past year. A week ago, the Avengers were called to retrieve the scepter of Loki that was stolen by Hydra and was experimented on..."

Wanda felt cold sweat starting to go down her neck; if Fury revealed her involvement in the creation of Ultron, she and her brother would have to go on the run or face life in another prison.

Wanda was surprised when she noticed the flash of an annoyed look Fury shot Tony before he spoke again, "Those experiments, as we later found out, awakened some alien consciousness that resided within the scepter. Once in connection with the Avengers' tower system, the alien intelligence took over the unfinished project and created a new being that called itself Ultron. Neither Tony Stark nor Bruce Banner has any blame in the creation of that monster."

Wanda was shocked again. They... well, they didn't lie about the events, just their order, while omitting large parts of what happened in between them, so she and Pietro wouldn't even be mentioned.

That annoyed look Fury shot Stark... was it him that convinced the dark man to spare the twins? And if so, why would he do it?

Before she could think any further about that, Stark's voice cut through her thoughts again, "Like I said before, guilt or no guilt, I feel it's my duty as someone who has been called by many a hero to help those in need with whatever talents I have. This is the only reason we are here, for the benefit of the people of Sokovia."

Another wave of voices from every direction flooded her ears just before the footage was cut. The screen returned to the blonde woman who spoke, "Those are the words of a true hero if there ever was one. To anyone who wants to read more about those words and their true meaning to the man who said them, I suggest reading the article I will publish later today called 'The True Man of Iron.' I was Christine Everhart, thank you for tuning in."

With that, Clint pushed the button again and the screen went black.