Iron Man ~ Iron Man 1 & 2

xiv. Avengers Initiative

Tony sits on the other side of Director Fury's desk in a warehouse that S.H.I.E.L.D. has set up shop in. The billionaire slides over a file that contains the preliminary report of the Avengers Initiative. Tony lifts it up off the desk and is about to open the file when a hand pushes it back down onto the desk. The billionaire looks up to see Fury in front of him as the man with the eyepatch says, "I don't think I want you looking at that." The director takes a seat at the desk before he continues, "I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore." He picks up another file and holds it up while informing Tony, "Now this, on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you." Fury hands the file over to Tony, who takes it from the director's hands. The man with the eyepatch leans back into his seat as he instructs the billionaire, "Read it."

Tony opens the file and reads from it, "Uh... 'Personality overview. Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior.'" The older Stark looks over at Fury and says, "In my own defense, that was last week." Fury gives Tony a look before the billionaire sighs and reads more of the file, "'Prone to self-destructive tendencies.' I was dying." Tony looks back over to the director, who stares the billionaire down. "I mean, please. And aren't we all?" Tony looks back to the file, reading another of Natasha evaluations, "'Textbook narcissism?'" Tony looks over to Fury and confirms before he turns back to the file, "Agreed. Okay, here it is. Uh... 'Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.'"

The billionaire closes the file and places it down on the desk as he looks over to Fury before he says, "I gotta think about it."

The director just stares at the older Stark as he orders Tony, "Read on."

Tony opens the file back up before he furrows his brows as he reads, "'Tony Stark not... Not recommended?'" The billionaire glances at Fury, who leans further back into his seat. Tony looks back to the file and shakes his head, "That doesn't make any sense." The Stark looks over at Fury while asking with a confused tone, "How can you approve me but not approve me?" He closes the file and Fury looks away as Tony adds, "I got a new ticker. I'm-I'm trying to do right by uh," Fury gets out of his seat and walks around the desk to Tony, "Pepper and Amelia. I'm in a stable-ish relationship."

The man with the eyepatch leans on the desktop next to the billionaire as he says, "Which leads us to believe at this juncture we'd only like to use you as a consultant."

Tony looks away before he gets onto his feet and holds out his hand to the director. Fury shakes Tony's hand before the billionaire states, "You can't afford me." Tony gives a short smile before he turns to walk away. After a few paces, he turns around and takes a step toward the director as he speaks, "Then again, I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favor." Fury furrows his brows and cocks his head, urging the billionaire to go on, "Rhodey and I are being honored in Washington and we need a presenter."

Fury nods his head before he says, "I'll see what I can do." The man with the eyepatch gets up off the top of the desk as he walks back to his seat. A smile crosses Tony's face before he turns around and leaves the warehouse.

•••

As Tony and Rhodey are being honored in Washington, Senator Stern stands at the podium and reluctantly speaks into the numerous microphones, "It is my honor to be here today to present these distinguished awards to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes and Mr. Tony Stark, who is, of course, a national treasure." Senator Stern gives the press a fake smile as Tony and Rhodey look over at each other with wide grins on their faces. When the senator pins the award onto Rhodey's suit jacket, he says, "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel, for such an exceptionally distinguished performance." He rubs the dark skinned man's shoulder before continuing, "You deserve this."

Rhodey nods his head as he replies, "Thank you, sir."

Senator Stern grabs the next medal before walking over to Tony and says as he pins the medal on the billionaire, "Mr. Stark. Thank you for such an exceptionally distinguished performance. You deserve this."

The senator gives a fake smile as he stabs Tony with the pin, causing the billionaire to yelp out in pain, "Ow!"

Senator Stern cocks his head and feigns an apology, "Oh, sorry. Funny how annoying a little prick can be, isn't it?" The senator turns away from the billionaire before he stands between both men and says, "Let's get a photo." He wraps his arms around the shoulders of the two heroes as he smiles at the crowd, who start applauding. Tony wraps his arm around the senator's back as a man with a camera runs over to them to take their picture. The billionaire throws up his hand into a peace sign as the senator shakes his head before rolling his eyes.

•••

In New Mexico, a car drives through the sand and the dried out plants before it comes to a dead stop. Coulson gets out of the car and walks a couple paces in order to look down from the ledge at the scene before him. Multiple cars and people surround a crater that has formed in the desert ground. The agent takes off his sunglasses and turns around before he brings his phone up to his ear and speaks into it, "Sir, we've found it." In the middle of the crater sits a mythological hammer that is stuck in a rock that protrudes from the ground.

A few miles away from the crater sight, a beam of multicolor energy comes from the sky and beams into the sand below. Once the energy has disappeared, a mythological marking has been burned into the sandy ground as a woman in armor is kneeling down in the sand. The dark haired woman lifts her head up, flipping her hair out of her face as she looks around at her surroundings. A smile crosses her face as she says, "Midgard. Finally." Without another word, the woman gets up to her feet and spins around, looking at the sand around her. When the woman doesn't see anything nearby except for vast amounts of sand, she lets out a heavy sigh. She turns around once more before inevitably picking a random path through the sand and walks in that direction, hoping that she is going the right way. The dark haired woman makes her way to what she hopes to find some sort of civilization with one hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys!! This is the last chapter of this book. I hope you guys really enjoyed reading it. Let me know your thoughts. Next week I will post the third book of this series. Have a great rest of your week!!