Backed Into A Corner [BXB]

Chapter 1: Uncle Tony

Tony Stark was quietly enjoying a single malt scotch on the rocks in his tower. Things were peaceful right now. Too peaceful and too quiet. Just hours before, Phil Coulson had totally ruined his date and given him a mission to save the world. Now Pepper Potts was off doing hell knows what, hell knows where and he was all alone.

He would be tinkering right now to cure said boredom but one Ms. Pepper Potts had stormed into the lab and corralled him into a little break then left again. So here he was. Sipping on a malt. Bored.

He sighed softly as the room spun a little around him. The amber liquid in front of him shimmered in the lowlights of the penthouse. In a drunken haze, he watched the liquid in the cup swirl lazily.

Crime in the city had been pretty low lately between the new NYPD initiative they'd implemented and the threat of Iron Man flying in and saving the day. The worst part was that he didn't even have to save the day! Baddies were scared enough not to cause trouble and usually, he'd be grateful because obviously, he didn't have ALL the time to stop petty thieves but right now he was drunk and bored.

And Tony has never been a good bored person. Or drunk person for that matter.

"If nothing interesting will happen, then I guess I'll just make my own interesting," he muttered. He got up unsteadily and swayed a little on his feet.

"Jarvis-s," Tony slurred. "S-Suit me up."

He stood up and started walking towards his gigantic balcony thingy where his suit station was.

"Sir, are you sure that's a good idea in your current state?"

"'M fine, Jar. Suit me up, suit me up! 'M ready n' rearin' to roll," he grunted, still walking dangerously close to the edge.

"As you wish, sir," the AI answered as warily as the robotic tone allowed. Though it was heavily speculated, the AI had some semblance of feelings. And when Tony stepped into his more depressive and self-destructive moods, the AI felt especially concerned, for sometimes there was nothing to be done except waiting it out and hoping everything would return to happier times.

Tony grunted as the pieces of his suit started to come together around him. What had started out as a clumsy-looking and chunky armor had evolved into a sleek piece of art. Even the motions of getting into the suit had become a sight to behold. He felt the security of the suit around him and like all the times that Tony Stark went away and Iron Man came out, he felt a familiar clarity and sense of glorious purpose. The sun was setting in front of him as the faceplate settled into place last.

"Scan for anomalies in the city," Iron Man commanded.

"Scanning..." the suit replied. "Ah. It appears there is a fire going on between 7th and 8th Avenue and the authorities won't get there for another 15 minutes. It appears to be an electrical fire in an apartment complex. Best get a move on, sir," JARVIS commented.

"On it. Thanks, Jarvis." That was all he needed to hear as the red and gold suit took off into the air gracefully. Inside the helmet, Tony had displayed a map of the city with his destination in sight.

When he arrived at the fire, an hour passed by in a blur. Before he knew it, everyone was out of the building safely and he could return back, less bored, and more tired. He continued to fly aimlessly around the city looking for more places he could help. He needed more. He needed to be needed.

After a while of stopping minor crimes, he received a call from Pepper.

"Tony, there is a boy back at the tower attempting to see you under the name Percy Jackson. Would you like the front desk to turn him away?"