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The battle was over. The dust had settled. Hammer was in jail, and Vanko was dead. Iron Man had saved the day. But not without help.
Help came in a lot of forms that night. It came in the form of S.H.I.E.L.D. with Agent Romanoff, Coulson, and Director Fury. It came in the form of his best friend Rhodey, who suited up in an armor of his own just for tonight. In the form of his on and off again girlfriend, and now CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts. And in the form of a very unlikely Ally.
"He really had no reason to be there." He said aloud.
A young kid, no more than 10, in an Iron Man mask. Standing up to one of Vanko's robots like it was a toy from his box.
"Nice work, kid."
He had a bravory that impressed Tony.
"We can keep an eye on him, you know. If you want." Coulson told him.
"Yeah, do that." Tony repled, resting his chin on his hand. "Kid's gonna be something."
The battle was over. The dust had settled. Steve and Barnes had escaped. But not without help from Agent Romanoff and a rag-tag group of former Avengers. After the battle had ended, with the rest of "Team Cap" under arrest, Tony reflected at how well his team had handled the situation. Especially the kid.
With the help of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony had been keeping an eye on the kid since the Stark Expo Disaster 5 years ago. Eventually passing the duty on to F.R.I.D.A.Y. Sortly after the accident, Tony built him a suit. Knowing he'd need it, sooner or later.
He was right.
The kid had shined today. At 15, and with barely any fighting skills, he'd went toe to toe with Captain America. Even with the inexperience, he almost won. The kid was strong. And had brains. He proved that when he took down 100 foot tall man dressed like an ant.
"Your kid needs to more careful." Rhodey told him.
"But other than that.." Tony led on.
"Other than that he's great." Rhodey repled with a slight irritation to him.
"He'll learn." Tony returned, resting his head on his hand. "Kid's gonna be something."
The battle was over. The dust had settled. Toomes was in prison. And Stark Towers inventory had been saved. This year had really been big for the kid. Especially the last 6 months. He had not only taken on the likes of his hero, Captain America, alongside his other hero, Tony Stark. But, he had also learned to handle his powers better, taken down a criminal Mastermind, and had asked out his crush, Liz Allen to Homecoming. It was too bad her father had been the criminal Mastermind.
Tony had felt like complete hell for ignoring the kid. He had been trying really hard to impress him. Waiting to be needed again by Mr. Stark. If only he knew he had impressed him. 5 years ago. And almost everyday of the last 6 months.
Tony watched as the kid stared in awe of the new suit. He knew he had wanted nothing more than to be an Avenger. He had invited press to properly introduce the kid to the world.
It took Tony by surprise when he opted to hang low instead.
Today, Tony was impressed again.
"He's learning." Tony said to Pepper, resting his head on his hand. "Kid's gonna be something."
The battle was over. The dust had settled. Nothing could have predicted today. Nothing in the last 10 years could have predicted what came today. The kid had learned a lot in the last 2 years.
Today he went toe to toe with aliens. The Children of Thanos they called themselves.
It didn't matter what they were. The kid's only goal was to beat the bad guy, to protect his city, his home.
It didn't stop there.
The kid was on top of his game. Quick thinking and an old movie saved Stephen Strange.
The battle with Thanos was intense. Team work and quick thinking had got them within inches of the Gauntlet.
They had almost won.
The snap happened.
One by one everyone around Tony had started disappearing.
"It was the only way." Strange told Tony just before fading away.
Then Tony heard it.
"Mister Stark." He called out. "I don't feel so good."
He was held through his cries. All the way to the end.
Tony Stark sat on his knees, holding what was left of Peter Parker up to his face. As tears rolled down his face, he whispered.
"Kid was gonna be something."