(MCU) Arcs Collide: Chapter 12 – Good and Bad News

Chapter 12 – Good and Bad News

Tony and Carol were flying toward the Avengers Tower side by side.

“Say, Tony?” Carol’s voice came through the comms.

Tony hummed back, already guessing what she was about to ask.

Carol’s voice was slightly irritated when she asked, “Do you have any idea what the hell that was about?”

Carol was annoyed since they had been deployed on a mission all the way to the other side of the country, only to get there and find nothing. When she called Rhodey for an update, the colonel admitted with fake sheepishness that he had gotten the wrong state.

Carol’s annoyance quickly descended into anger. When Rhodey told her the name of the correct state, she became furious. She screamed at her best friend, saying it would take them hours to get to the new location. When Rhodey told her that Vision and Doctor Strange would take care of it so she and Tony could return home, Tony expected his girlfriend to calm down a little, but the truth was much different.

Hearing those words from Rhodey caused Carol to start cursing. She demanded to know why, if Stephen was available, they had to fly for two hours across the country. At that point, Tony’s brother in all but blood decided to do the best thing he could think of and end the call abruptly, with Carol still cursing.

It’s not that Tony didn’t understand her anger. He did. For the last month, they had both been very busy. Tony had been helping to establish New Asgard with Thor.

Tony managed to make a deal for the Asgardians with both the UN and Norway’s government. Like Friday predicted, Norway was more than happy to give the Asgardians the island in their territory, and after hearing what the ancient mythological species had to offer, the UN was quick to grant them official status as residents of planet Earth.

Tony also used SI to create a partnership with New Asgard. In return for funding their new city, the scientists from Asgard became part of his company along with all the patents they created. Worth it? Yes. Time-consuming? Hell yes.

Of course, Carol had her own troubles with the Avengers. Adding Bruce back was easy enough. Old faces were glad to see him back, and new faces welcomed him with open arms.

Thor was in much the same boat as Bruce but chose to remain only a part-time member of the team due to his new duties as King of Asgard.

Valkyrie was welcomed very warmly. After all, a strong warrior like her, one who fought to protect what she believed in, would always be welcome in the Avengers. She was very popular among the women on the team and had already found a best friend in Jessica Jones. And yes, Tony could see why. Even beyond their shared love and tolerance for alcohol, both of them were drawn to the rough attitude of the other.

Loki, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. Some of the newer faces, like Yelena and Vision, were much more sympathetic and welcoming to him, especially compared to Rhodey’s reaction. But after Thor, Bruce, Carol, and Tony himself advocated for the man, the others decided to give him a chance. After all, if the man who was choked and thrown out of a window by the god forgave him, then they could at least hear his situation.

After hearing his long, painful, and traumatic story, everyone’s attitude completely changed. Jess pulled Loki aside and exchanged some very firm words with the surprised mythical man. Tony didn’t know what she said to him, but he looked at her with such wide and thankful eyes that Tony decided it would be better to leave it alone. Although Tony did notice Loki talking with Jess quietly a few more times, both looked relaxed and happy, so Tony didn’t intrude.

What Tony was worried about was the interest Stephen began showing in the trickster thanks to the god’s magic.

“I’m not sure,” Tony replied with as much honesty as he could muster, which was hard considering it was a lie.

It all started a little over a week ago. And surprisingly, it was Peter who betrayed Tony so deeply.

Flashback

Tony was standing in the main training room with Peter, fighting against Thor to train his strength and instincts.

Kamala was fighting Yelena to train her combat skills. The morphic abilities of the girl were powerful but could become useless in many situations, so it would be good for her to be able to hold her own without her power in play.

Kate was training Lila in combat with a bow and arrow just like the little girl asked. It was already their fifth training session, and the mini-agent could already shoot an arrow. Granted, she had yet to hit any target, but baby steps are still steps. Tony was proud of Kate for taking her promise to Lila seriously.

Laura was training Cassie and Holly. The retired agent was, of course, taking it easy on the young girls while still teaching them the basics of self-defense.

Loki was facing the newest member of the Young Avengers, America Chavez. The young girl dropped at Stephen’s doorstep not too long after the big announcement, which took him on some big adventure that his old friend chose not to elaborate on. Since then, she had become his personal student.

Her magic was slightly different from what Stephen was used to, so after talking with Loki and understanding the kind of magic the former god was using, they decided to try giving him a chance to experiment with America’s powers.

While Carol was on a mission with Val, Bruce, and Vision, Rhodey was the one in charge of the training, but he appreciated Tony’s insight as well as blamed him for gathering a bunch of teens up for him to deal with. So the both of them stood to the side and watched as the different sessions advanced.

For the next hour, the training went on, with Peter and Thor being the last ones to keep going. That fight ended when Peter caught Thor’s punch and kicked him to the wall.

Thor just shook off the hit and said with his booming voice, “Well done, man of spider. Your speed is very impressive.”

Peter blushed from the praise and mumbled back, “Yeah, I still need to work on my strength. I barely stopped your punch, and you didn’t even use your lightning mode.”

Tony pulled his hand out of his pocket but didn’t notice that a little black box fell to the floor. He looked at Peter and told him, “You are still young, Underoos, and your body is still growing as well as your power, so don’t stay down.”

When Peter looked at him, he noticed the black box on the floor and used his web shooters to pull the box toward him.

Lila noticed it and, as the curious girl she was, ran to Peter and asked loudly enough for everybody in the room to hear, “What did you find, Cuz?”

This drew Tony’s attention to them as well. Tony was still not used to the kids calling Peter ‘cousin.’ He and his girlfriend MJ were the unofficial go-to babysitters of the team. That way, the couple got a good excuse to spend a lot of time with each other while the parents of said kids got to rest after a long workday. In the last month, the kids decided to refer to Peter as cousin. Because, for one, he didn’t have much of a family and they wanted him to feel a part of theirs, and two, they claimed that he was like Tony’s kid, and because everyone called him Uncle Tony, now Peter was the cousin.

When Tony noticed what Peter was holding and how curious Lila’s gaze was, he began shouting, “Peter, no! Give it back.”

But when Peter looked into Lila’s eyes, he decided to ignore his mentor’s demands and opened the box.

Peter got a peek inside, but before anyone else could, Tony took the box away and hid it back inside his pocket.

Lila pouted and asked with a small whine, “But Uncle Tony, I want to know what’s inside.”

Tony was about to distract her by changing the subject, but then Peter answered absentmindedly, still blinking at his empty hand, “Engagement ring.”

Tony could feel his face heat up and shouted at his protégé, “Peter!”

But Lila, Cassie, and Holly looked at each other and asked in unison, “Engagement ring?”

Kate smirked and answered the girls without hesitation, “It’s a ring someone gives to their girlfriend or boyfriend when they ask them to marry them.”

Everyone turned to look at Tony. Kate kept smirking, joined by Yelena, Laura, Loki, and Rhodey. Thor looked at him in wonder while Peter just kept blinking blankly at him. America and Kamala, with the three young girls, looked at Tony with wide smiles, but Lila had stars in her eyes, and she squealed happily, “Uncle Tony, are you going to ask Auntie Carol to marry you?!”

“Well… I mean… I…” All Tony could do was sputter, which he didn’t enjoy.

Loki chuckled and commented, “So much for the fearless man of iron.”

Tony looked honestly offended and tried to defend himself, “I’m not afraid of asking…”

“I concur with the wizard. You are afraid,” Yelena’s Russian accent pointed out.

Everyone ignored Loki’s, “I’m a god, not a wizard.”

Rhodey looked amused at Tony and said, “Come on, Tones. You should have done that a long time ago. Why are you waiting?”

Tony looked away, his mind drifting to his breakup with Pepper. The two of them knew each other for a long time, had many common interests, and still, when it came to it, it wasn’t enough to keep them together. Not that Tony missed the relationship or anything, but it made him feel like maybe long-term love was not in the cards for him.

Rhodey seemed to be able to read his mind, which wasn’t surprising considering he’d been doing this since they were in college. He said firmly, “Tones, you and Pep didn’t work out because she couldn’t understand what you went through, and this lack of understanding led to a lack of support. But Carol is different. She understands you and supports you. It will last if you let it.”

Kamala spoke next, her voice in its usual chipper tone, “Yeah, Tony, she is totally in love with you and will say yes. Just ask.”

Laura took a few steps closer and gave Tony a look she usually gave her kids when they were confused before saying gently, “And you deserve to be happy as well, Tony.”

“Aye. Lady Carol is a fierce and kind-hearted woman. I’m inspired, friend Tony. You shall offer Lady Carol to unite in holy matrimony, and I shall do the same with Lady Jane.” Thor’s voice boomed as he approached Tony and slapped him twice on the back. Before Extremis, it would have been painful, but now Tony could take it, and Thor knew that.

Tony looked around at all the encouraging faces. Loki tried to hide it behind indifference, but Tony saw through it by now. “I don’t know how to do that.” Tony grumbled.

Loki and Rhodey exchanged a smirk—when the hell did this happen? Tony wondered to himself—but then they spoke as one, “Let’s play a trick.”

Present

He should have known better than to play along with a plan co-designed by the god of mischief.

Now his girlfriend was angry, thanks to the mercy that the flight back home was good to calm her a little, and Tony was trembling with nerves inside his suit.

He was about to chicken out again when an Irish voice scolded him firmly, “Boss, don’t be stupid. This is your chance. Do it!”

“You just want her to be your official mom.” Tony grumbled.

But Friday heard him and decided to respond, “It’s about 80 percent that for me, yeah.”

Tony looked amused as he asked, “And the other 20 percent? You want a little sister?”

Friday’s voice was so serious that Tony choked on air slightly when she answered, “Eventually, yes. But right now, I want you to be happy, Dad.”

Tony decided to show the same determination he used in Afghanistan, in the invasion against Ultron, and to build the New Avengers.

Tony stopped flying and began hovering a few meters above the landing pad of the Avengers Tower.

Carol noticed him stopping and turned back to hover next to him. “Tony, are you okay?” she asked in a worried tone.

Tony took a deep breath before allowing the helmet to collapse back into the suit, revealing his face with a nervous smile on it.

Carol gave him an odd look and instead of talking with Tony, she asked into her comm, “Fri, are Tony’s vitals the same? He is looking very off.”

Carol was obviously surprised when no answer came from the AI. “Carol.” Tony called at the top of his voice, or at least as much as he could muster.

Carol, now worry completely replacing her anger, answered slowly, “Yes?”

Tony tried to shift a little in the air, but the suit prevented him. Still, he managed to force himself to speak, “There is a question I’ve waited a long time to ask you…”

Carol floated a little closer to Tony, waiting for his question.

Tony’s suit had a small part open like a door, and he reached a hand to take what was hidden in it. With another deep breath, he tried to start with one of his trademark jokes, “I would have gone down on one knee. I hope it won’t affect your answer.”

He showed her the ring, which caused her to gasp, but Tony pushed through, “Carol Danvers, will you marry me?”

Carol blinked twice. Tony began trembling under his suit again until she tackled him mid-air in a tight hug.

Tony felt his entire body relax, his usual confidence returning, and he asked in something much closer to his usual voice, “I take it your answer is yes?”

Carol pulled away with a smirk and said in an amused voice, “Is that why you were acting weird all day?”

Tony smirked and shot back at her, “What’s your answer?”

Both of them chuckled before replying to each other at the same time, “Yes.”

Tony offered Carol the ring with a sheepish smile and said, “I would put it on, but you know, metal fingers.”

Carol shook her head affectionately, took the ring, and slid it on her finger.

Tony leaned in for a kiss, which Carol gladly accepted.

As they were kissing, fireworks began appearing around them. But there was no sound, and the colors were really odd—red, gold, and blue.

Both Tony and Carol looked down to the landing pad only to see Loki standing there. His arms were stretched out with green flashes leaving his palms. His face was clearly showing his displeasure in his magic being used in such a manner, but Rhodey stood next to him with a big smile and patted Loki’s back.

Tony and Carol landed a short distance in front of the two. Loki stopped with his light magic when they started their landing.

Carol’s eyes narrowed when she saw Rhodey and began walking angrily toward him. Rhodey kept smiling as Carol screamed, “So you were in on that?”

“In on that? It was our idea!” Rhodey proudly proclaimed, pointing at himself and Loki, while Loki managed to read the situation better and began shaking his head in denial of Rhodes’s words.

Rhodey eventually noticed Carol’s expression as well, and his smile froze in place before she began hissing, “So sending us across the country and back for no reason was your great idea?! You are lucky I love Tony so much because with how pissed I was, there is no guarantee I would even hear his question.”

Rhodey began walking backward slowly while Carol kept advancing on him until Friday’s voice stopped everyone, “Boss, you have a priority call from Director Coulson.”

While Rhodey mumbled ‘saved by the AI,’ Tony spoke, “Pass him through, Fri.”

A moment later, Coulson’s concerned voice sounded through all of their comms, “Tony, another spaceship entered the atmosphere.”

Carol was the one to respond to the man, “Are they hostile, Phil?”

If Coulson was surprised Carol was in on the call, he didn’t show it in his reaction, “As far as they say, no.”

Tony was surprised. “They answered the calls?” he asked.

“No,” Coulson began informing, “They initiated contact first. Called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. They claim they have to speak to Iron Man.”

Tony turned to Carol and Loki and asked, “They were the ones you were talking about, right?” After receiving a nod from both, he asked, “Are they friendly?” A double shrug. Great.

Tony gave it a moment of thought before replying with a sigh, “Fine, Agent. Send them to the tower. We will be waiting.”

“Copy that,” Coulson responded before hanging up, presumably to go back to talking with the so-called guardians.

Once the line died, Tony immediately asked Friday, “Which Avengers are in the tower now, Fri?”

A short moment later, the Irish voice replied, “Currently, apart from the four of you, Vision is available, as well as Mr. Cage, Ms. Belova, Ms. Bishop, and the Young Avengers team.”

“Where are Jess and Val?” Rhodey asked, confused.

Not even a moment later, Friday was already ready with an answer, “Ms. Jones received a call for help from her sister, and Ms. Valkyrie volunteered to help her deal with it.”

Carol sighed before issuing orders. She was the one that had the greatest grasp of that group, so she would be the best judge for the team needed in this case. “Sweetie, tell Vision and Luke to come up here and send Laura, Yelena, and the teens to protect each other and the kids if it comes to it. And talk with Karen so she will make sure Peter and Kamala won’t do something foolish.”

“You got it, Mom,” was the immediate response from the AI.

A couple of minutes later, both Luke and Vision came out to the landing pad.

Luke was wearing his usual black hoodie and dark jeans. Vision now had a nano arc-reactor in his forehead instead of the mind stone. His eyes were now blue instead of the old orange, but luckily all of his abilities remained intact. Shuri, with the help of Scott and the Young Genius Squad as they called themselves, successfully performed the operation to remove the infinity stone and remove the possibility of Vision being a target.

All of them waited for ten more minutes when a big orange and blue spaceship appeared above the tower and began landing in front of them.

When the doors of the ship opened, a group of seven very different people walked out, or more like limped out. They all looked like they had just escaped a furious fight.

The green one looked around in a hurry, and when her eyes landed on him, she walked a couple of steps forward and said something that froze Tony’s blood, “Thanos is coming.”