Chapter Text
UNIT 4, RUBY CREST VILLAS
QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES
Alexandra Maria Brown woke up with a start.
Sunlight was streaming through the window, sprinkling all over the room and all over her face. With a groan, she burrows her face into the nearest pillow and tries to lull herself back to sleep. Miserably failing, she moves from the bed and roughly pulls the curtains, blocking the sun and effectively dimming the room.
Task done, she lies spread-eagled on her bed, eyes closed and contemplative. There used to be a time when things like that never had to be a problem, a time when all she had to do was ask and she shall receive.
A time when the world was at her fingertips.
A time when she used to be a hero.
“Now where did that come from?” she suddenly thought. It was too early in the morning to be thinking like this. Hell, she hasn’t been letting herself think along those lines of thought for a long time now. It has been eleven long years, and there was a part of her life she has succeeded to bury and forget, a necessary act to let herself move on and rebuild her life all over again after essentially losing everything.
And move on she did. When she first arrived in the Philippines, she had been a penniless, pregnant stranger lost in a country that was not her own. Now, she’s a respectable engineering professor, mother to two amazing little geniuses and a naturalized Filipino citizen. She has done quite well for herself and her children and that was all that mattered. She may never be the same as before: rich, powerful and privileged, but nothing will ever make her exchange that for the peace and contentment she has now.
Every once in a while though, like this particular morning, she finds herself missing little stuff from her old life. She missed her technology above any other, and lying there in the confines of her very ordinary bedroom, she allows herself to recall that British, cool voice, imagines talking to him and working with him in her old workshop.
Her old workshop. She feels a tight pinch in her heart as she tries to relive moments spent inside her own fortress. Hours spent researching, tinkering and inventing. A safe haven where she could let loose and simply BE. A place where she can feel safe and shared with the most treasured of her creations. She could get lost in there, hidden away for days or even weeks before Ste-
Blue eyes open with a jolt, willing her mind to stop thinking. No. Stop. Don’t. She cannot allow herself to think of him, or any person from her old life. It hurt too much. But it was a little bit too late in a sense. She can already visualize him, his soft blonde hair, beautiful azure eyes and that stubborn jaw she was so fond of. And before she could stop it, the vision changes as it always did. Hard and icy eyes, jaw locked in a grim scowl, and that soft hair forever away from her fingertips. She was back there, in that moment, watching him hate her, watching him walk away from her, like so many others before him. “We’re over.” His voice echoing over and over again, washing over her leaving her numb with a pain she cannot comprehend.
A knock at her door brings her back to reality.
“Mom?” a cautious voice asks, probably wondering why Alexandra was still in bed when she had a class that morning.
“Yeah, kiddo, I’m awake, just tidying up!” she manages to respond.
A brief pause, then,”Alright, breakfast is already done, so it will be nice if you hurry up before the food runs cold.” Feet shuffle in front the door for a while, before they finally walk away, presumably down to the kitchen.
She waits as the footsteps fade away before releasing the breath she did not notice she was holding.
She was being a fool, a big fool and she needs to stop this stupidity. True, she has lost so much, but it simply doesn’t matter anymore now does it? She has a job she loves, a real family and a new life away from the spotlight and endless responsibilities. Forehead creased, she walks to the bathroom, splashes cold water on her face and looks into the mirror, taking in her reflection.
A young woman stood there, long brown hair falling just below her shoulders, and delicate features filled with weariness.
Shaking her head, she wills herself to just stop thinking. Dwelling over remnants of a long forgotten past was not productive, and it will certainly not do her any good. It was a life that belonged to a Tony Stark, a complete failure of a man, who made wrong choices and lost everything.
The woman in front of her was no Tony Stark, and will never be. She wouldn’t allow it, the world be damned.
Extremis might have had a hand in it, but that fateful day, when Stark chose to fade away into nothingness and Alexandra came into existence, it was her sheer will and determination, the promise to never look back and keep moving forward, that let her survive.
Alone and helpless she crawled out of the darkness and despair. She remade herself and ran as fast as she can, and no matter how afraid she was, she couldn’t afford to give up then. Not when she had two lives depending on her.
She glances at the picture tucked in the corner of the mirror. A boy and a girl both in white mini graduation suits were tucked under her arms, gleefully showcasing their medals and wearing matching grins. It had been taken during their elementary graduation, her two blonde angels beaming with pride with their respective honors and awards.
Sarah and James. They were her reason for living. All she has done, from the moment the pregnancy was found out, were for her twins. And no matter what happened, their well-being will always come first. She cannot afford to be weak. She was a parent… a mother… and she was willing to die for them.
She finally smiles, the heavy weight in her heart gone and the resolve back in her mind. Tony Stark was nothing but a memory, nothing but dust swept away from existence.
Yes, she was nothing but Alexandra Maria Brown.
Mom to her children.
Alex to her close friends.
Professor Brown to her students.
Just another foreigner in this side of Asia.
A nobody to the rest of the world.
And it was the way it shall remain, forever, if she can help it.
SHIELD HEADQUARTERS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
“Director Hill”, grim faces looked expectantly into Maria Hill’s eyes. She was in another emergency meeting with the council, an occurrence which made the migraine worse every single time.
The past few weeks had been rough and everyone in SHIELD was jittery and anxious. Three months have passed since the new threat to the planet had been detected, and despite all defence mechanisms in place, this new adversary is proving to be not like anything they have ever seen before.
Huge balls of energy, mechanical beasts of pure power and mysterious men in black cloaks. The group of ten had arrived out of nowhere, calling themselves the new Messiah of the world.
Demands have been made, threat issued soon after.
So far, they have followed through with one threat, effectively wiping out 3 SHIELD Special Operations teams, injuring a couple of the Avengers who responded and successfully taking over Latveria.
After that particular show of power, everyone has gone crazy with anger, indignation, fear and worry.
“What do these men want?” another clipped tone asked. Gerard was one of the oldest members of the council. She always hated these meetings with them but with the present state of affairs, she had no choice but to discuss SHIELD’s next course of action in the face of this threat.
“We have yet to confirm the hostile group’s main objective. All we know is that they are insisting an audience with all the leaders of every nation in the world.” Maria tonelessly responds.
“Any new intel on the energy balls they have been using? The mechanical beasts?” Gerard continued with an edge to his tone.
“No sir, but Reed, Banner, Foster and Selvig, as well as other expert scientists we can find, are all working round the clock to get something.” was her reply.
“Hn. Well, I guess we have to use that trump card after all, Judith.” the thin and pale with crooked glasses said.
“Indeed, Jacob.”
Maria raises her eyebrows in confusion. Trump card? What the hell are they talking about?
Looking inordinately pleased with himself, Jacob pulls a file out of nowhere.
“Under the present circumstances, I believe that there is an inevitable strategic move that we can make to handle this problem.” he said.
“Without much further ado, I now put forth into our discussion the proposal to review the case of Anthony Edward Stark AKA Ironman who was sentenced to exile…”, and Jacob went on to reveal their plans for the man.
Maria struggles to keep the shock from showing in her face. The council can’t be serious about this. She never saw this coming.
She had been blindsided. No one ever told her the council was even considering the idea of lifting the exile on Stark.
The council continued a now heated discussion over the war criminal.
She is sure that this was going to be a huge disaster. But as the arguments went on, she saw where the man was coming from. They didn’t really have much of a choice. They were facing an enemy technology advanced in ways that only a genius like Tony Stark will be able to understand and counter in the fastest way possible.
It was simply a matter of choosing the lesser evil.
Yes, after all these years, the world needs Tony Stark. She can imagine the smug look on Stark’s face when they come to collect him.
Maria sighs, if this was happening, she was definitely not going to be the one to tell the Commander nor the Avengers about the new development. It certainly wasn’t going to be pretty for everyone, except Stark.
Lucky bastard. He gets to go home after all these years, after all he’s done.