Chapter Text
Tony hadn’t been overly happy at the prospect of getting a kid involved. But as Rogers made this worse and worse, it looked like he’d have to. Then, he noticed something. In every film of the kid, so far, there was always someone in the background. It wasn’t something anyone else would notice, in each video it was shown pretty quickly – and he’d had to use his own tech to identify the person – but a woman stood there, arms folded and watching.
She was around enough for Tony to suspect she was some kind of mentor or guardian to the kid.
So, instead of visiting the underage Peter Parker, Tony went to see Lennie Alice.
Lennie Alice lived in the ancestral mansion of her late husband. Beyond that, even FRIDAY had trouble finding the rest of it. It seemed, through some means, her ageing had been decelerated. She also seemed to associate with a lot of masked heroes and vigilantes. Tony didn’t know why that made hope bloom in his chest.
When he drove up to the gate, he expected to have to use the intercom. Instead, the gate opened up immediately. Unsure, but curious, Tony drove in. As he pulled up in front of the building, he saw Lennie Alice waiting for him. She had long medium brown hair and looked to be somewhere in her 30s. She was dressed casually and didn’t seem at all surprised to see Tony Stark paying her a visit.
‘How did you know I was coming?’ Tony asked as he got out of his car.
‘I can see the future,’ Lennie said. ‘I know what’s going to happen and I know what you’re here for. But this is not the place for such a conversation.’ She opened her front door and gestured for him to follow him in. ‘I’ve gotta say, I do appreciate you coming here rather than your first option. Spidey’s sense of responsibility is overblown as it is.’
‘Really?’ Tony asked. ‘Why?’
Lennie paused. ‘He got his powers when he was bitten by a radioactive spider on a class field trip. Shortly after, he deliberately ignored a cry for help and let an armed robbed run past him.’
‘Well, that wasn’t his job,’ Tony said. ‘Especially if the robber was armed.’
‘Which is what I keep saying,’ Lennie remarked. ‘Anyway, in one of those events where it looks like the universe is out to get you, that same robber ended up shooting his uncle dead.’ She shrugged. ‘Kid’s an orphan. His aunt and uncle are practically his parents.’ She went on. ‘He got the idea from it that if he doesn’t intervene in crimes and the criminals get away, things like that would happen again.’
Tony pressed his lips together. What had happened that night was a coincidence. A tragic coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless. And an unlikely one at that. But a kid wouldn’t see it that way. If that was how easily the Spider-kid took on responsibility, then Lennie was right. Keeping him away from this shit-show was the best option.
‘How do you see the future?’ Tony asked, following her into what seemed to be a dining room.
‘An enhancement that utilises the science of cause and effect. When I see visions, I see every alternative. I then have to use balance of probability to work out which is the correct scenario.’
‘So it is fallible?’
‘Yes, but I’ve been using it for over half a century now. I’m not saying I don’t make mistakes. They’re just few and far between because I keep most of my visions to myself.’
It hit Tony. ‘So, your powers are like that movie, Minority Report, but you’re the computer?’
‘Yeah,’ Lennie said. ‘Actually, that’s probably the most accurate depiction I’ve ever seen of what happens when a seer jumps the gun.’
Which made her powers very dangerous, if you thought about it. ‘How much training have you had?’
‘I trained them for ten years before I let myself onto the field. The last thing anyone needs is an undertrained enhanced running amok.’ She walked over and handed him a cup of coffee. ‘Which brings us to the point of your visit.’
‘Yeah,’ Tony said. ‘I’m hoping to bring them in peacefully.’
‘They won’t come peacefully,’ Lennie immediately said. ‘Because this isn’t about the Accords – that’s just Rogers’ excuse. It’s about getting Barnes out of trouble for his years of assassinations as the Winter Soldier.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘I hate to tell you but Rogers is spoiling for a fight. He’s going to force a physical conflict because that’s the only way he knows how to deal with his problems. I mean, come on. When was the last time you saw him seriously try to talk out a problem?’
Tony paused and considered that. It was true. Rogers was known for his speeches, but those all seemed generally to be intended to intimidate whoever he was fighting or to get the Avengers into the fight. But he never tried to reason with anyone. In fact, he shut down all reasoning as fast as he could. Just look how he handled the Accords discussion – he ignored it.
Lennie nodded. ‘He’s bringing in Barton, Maximoff, and Scott Lang.’ She then lifted a finger, held it a moment and then pointed.
Tony’s phone rang. He hesitated before answering it. And he was promptly told that Barton and Maximoff had just broken out of the Compound, throwing Vision down 19 floors of solid concrete. Not only was Tony horrified, but he now believed entirely in Lennie foresight powers. He checked on Vision and then hung up.
‘Who’s Scott Lang?’ Tony asked.
‘Some San Francisco ex-con who fancies himself a modern Robin Hood,’ Lennie said. ‘He’s out on parole and Hank Pym decided to use him to stop this terrorist who was going after the Pym Particles. You know, rather than being an adult and calling the Feds.’
‘What are Pym Particles?’
‘Some cute little biology tech that lets you shrink to the size of an ant or grow really massive. Pym’s really paranoid about people stealing them and zones in on Starks in particular because he didn’t like your old man.’
Tony cocked an eyebrow. ‘Dad’s been dead 25 years.’
‘So he transferred his suspicion to you. I think the old coot may need a nurse.’ She tapped her forehead. ‘Well, in all fairness, just about everyone was fooled by HYDRA.’
‘Come again.’
Lennie smiled and leaned back. ‘It happened in S.H.I.E.L.D. Pym and his wife, Janet, were members of the original team of Avengers.’
‘So there was a team before this one?’ Tony huffed. No wonder it was so easy to scoop up the name when SHILDRA fell.
‘Yup. Anyway, they used Pym Particles to be Ant-Man and the Wasp. Howard expressed an interest in the particles. Pym said no. Next thing you know, Pym’s blustering in accusing Howard of stealing them. Howard huffs and rolls his eyes and the immediate assumption is that he’s guilty. This was in 1989.’
Tony suddenly found himself flashing back. He’d been walking past his father’s study and he’d heard his father ranting inside about how everything was apparently his fault. At the time, Tony hadn’t paid it any mind. Now, though, Tony wondered if it was possible that this incident was what Howard was upset about.
Lennie drew him back to the present. ‘The other two who had knowledge of the ordeal, aside from Carter, was Alexander Pierce and Mitchell Carson.’
Tony inclined his head. ‘Didn’t they turn out to be HYDRA?’
‘Yeah.’ Lennie drawled. She slapped her hands on her legs a few times. ‘So! That’s who Scott Lang is. Also, Romanoff thinks bringing in T’Challa will be a great idea – you know that guy who happens to be on a personal vendetta to kill Barnes? Yeah, him. But the minute it looks like he might actually kill him, Romanoff will zap him.’
‘I thought you kept most of your predictions to yourself?’
‘I do, unless I’m certain. If someone’s already got a plan in their head, I see them constantly acting on this plan.’
‘So she’s already got the plan in her head?’
‘Yup.’
Tony sighed. ‘She’s gonna turn the moment this becomes convenient, isn’t she?’
‘In her defence, she has been most thoroughly dehumanised since early childhood,’ Lennie said. ‘Hell, you function better than her even with all your PTSD. All she knows how to do is seduce, manipulate, and kill.’
Tony looked over at her. ‘She made a personality profile on me, once.’
‘Oh, I know. Like I said, she was dehumanised. I got a few friends, we hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. and got our hands on it. Spent the next 20 minutes laughing at it. But Black Widows are notorious for being cocky and narcissistic.’
Tony cocked an eyebrow.
Lennie shrugged. ‘You’ll find you’ve becomes like your father in that regard, Tony. Or hadn’t you noticed that every time something goes wrong, it’s magically your fault?’
Tony was so stunned, as he found himself flashing back and finding that – yes, every time something did go wrong in the Avengers somehow it was Tony’s problem too. ‘They did that to dad too?’
‘All the damn time.’ Lennie frowned. ‘No wonder he was a bitter old man. I mean, the Howard Stark I knew of in my youth was quite a different creature. You Starks are just easy to blame. You’re smart, you’re rich, you’re powerful, and you have a guilt complex that puts the Taj Mahal to shame.’
Tony didn’t like to admit it, but it was something his friends – his real ones: Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy – were constantly exasperated by. He felt guilty too easily and he felt responsible for everything. Maybe it was time he started listening rather than just brushing the whole thing off. Maybe he ought to stop taking responsibility for the Avengers.
‘Well, I don’t feel guilty for Maximoff’s personal tragedy.’
‘And so you shouldn’t. That woman shouldn’t have powers. She should be in a mental institution. I’m half tempted to set Jones on her.’