Forgotten but not forgiven [COMPLETE]

Chapter 1

He groaned as he came to. Fuck, what had happened to him? His head was killing him. He was not at all looking forward to having to open his eyes. That didn't sound fun in the slightest. No, he'd much rather lay here in whatever dark, warm cocoon he was encased in. He could feel it wrapped all around him, a gentle pressure against every inch of his body, and it was oh, so blissfully dark.

"Sir? Sir, are you there? My sensors indicate you have regained consciousness. I must recommend immediate extraction from the situation. The Avengers will arrive on scene in precisely seven minutes."

He jerked in surprise at the voice in his ear, obviously someone speaking through some sort of communication device. It... it sounded familiar, though he couldn't place where he might have heard it before. Well, whatever, apparently it was time to face the music.

"I'm here," he responded, moving to push himself up and blinking his eyes open.

He almost missed the voice's response with the new shock to his system. He had been lying in the rubble of a building that was utterly destroyed. That probably explained why his head hurt so bad, not to mention the rest of him. The cocoon encasing him turned out to be some sort of... suit? Of armor? It looked like it had seen better days, but brilliant red and gold paint held up despite the scratches and dents. What the hell?

"ETA for the Avengers is now six minutes, Sir."

That should probably mean something to him, but he wasn't coming up with anything. He felt like someone had shoved his brain into a blender, it was so jumbled up.

"Right, right," he said, levering himself onto his feet and continuing to stare incredulously at all the damage around him. "And what are they, again? Or who?"

There was a pause from the other end of the line.

"Sir?"

"I'm actually not sure who you are, either, if I'm being completely open here. Sorry about that."

Another pause.

"I am JARVIS, Sir, an artificial intelligence you created to assist you in every way. The armor's scans indicate that you have taken a blow to the head, which is the probable source for your memory troubles. Are you aware of who you are, Sir?"

He wanted to roll his eyes, if he wasn't sure it would hurt to do so. Of course he-

"Uh... actually, no."

"Very well," JARVIS responded, taking this new information in stride. "Given the situation and the rapid approach of hostile forces, I suggest activating the Broken Sword protocol, which will grant me remote control of the suit and allow me to fly you out of the area. Once we have you home, I'll explain everything."

"Yeah, that... sounds like it's probably a good plan. Thanks, JARVIS."

The suit immediately began moving on its own, the knees bending just a bit before rockets activated in the boots and he was shooting into the air.

"Of course, Sir. I will have you home shortly. For now, you may like to know that your name is Anthony Edward Stark, though you prefer to go by Tony."

He waited for a flicker of recognition, a sense of familiarity like he'd had with hearing the voice, but there was nothing.

"Tony Stark," he murmured to himself, still feeling overwhelmed by the fact that he was now flying through the air, in a suit of armor, apparently to evade hostiles known as the Avengers. What even was his life? "Okay, I can work with that."

Hopefully, at least some of this would start making sense soon.

Flying was an excellent distraction from the unsettling emptiness he was met with when he searched his mind and Tony much preferred concentrating on it instead. It was incredible, actually, and Tony couldn't help but grin in wonder as he watched the scenery pass by, the ground shooting past far below. The display within the suit's helmet showed him all kinds of information. There were readouts of the speed, elevation, and power of the thrusters. There was wind resistance and flight patterns for aircraft in the vicinity, the suit's own course adjusting to avoid both collision and detection.