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The Battle of New York, once and for all answered the age-old question of whether we are truly alone in the Universe. Suddenly there are more and more threats out there, but from humanity, there were always ‘The Avengers’ ready to defeat the threat so the world could keep on turning. Along the way The Avengers created threats, but they were always there. At least, they were there until the recent Sokovia Accords, when the UN agreed that since the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D, the secret governmental agency tasked with keeping the citizens of the world safe, that there should be better checks and balances.
Needless, to say the Avengers split after that fight at Berlin Airport, with some of the former Avengers taken to a secret prison, this reporter has since learned that, the same Avengers broke out of the purported top-secret secure prison. But the man, the myth and the legend that is Tony Stark, went silent for a few months only breaking his previous silence now to do an interview.
Karen Page: Hello, Mr Stark, it is a pleasure to meet you, as part of the press we feel like we have watched you grow up, certainly within the public eye, even seen your mistakes and indiscretions. As a member of the press we feel like we can understand you, could you fill the public in on what happened in the run-up to the Sokovia Accords and why you signed them?
Tony Stark: Call me Tony, you’re right you’ve seen a good deal of my past transgressions and the relationship with both myself and the press has always carried a bit of an antagonistic tinge to it. The Sokovia Accords were created to keep the Avengers and other super powered beings in line, after all, what is the point of going out to save people, if you’re causing more property damage and loss of life? While I can now admit that as an individual we should be able to expect a reasonable amount of privacy, the collapse of the organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. left the Avengers without anyone to answer to; there was no accountability. That didn’t seem right, so my lawyers and I had been arguing with the United Nations for the past six months about putting the Sovokia Accords document into place, it was at a good place, but as with all things it was hijacked by Secretary Ross.
Karen Page: Can you elaborate on what you mean by hijacked please Tony?
Tony Stark: Certainly, you see the documents were meant to provide a legal framework for the actions undertaken by the Avengers, it was meant to protect both the Avengers and the general public. For example with all of the property damage and loss of life resulting in actions, people wanted someone to answer for those actions, at least in a Court of Law. And because I was the most visible Avengers, the amount of suits brought against S.I was staggering, at one stage you would have thought that I was the only Avenger inflicting that damage. Secretary Ross added in the parts about maximum security prisons; the prisons were only there for Supervillains because we can’t always expect that just because a villain has been caught, that they’re going to turn over a new leaf. These addendums were added last minute Ms Page when the UN were already getting impatient to have the finished document in their hands.
Unfortunately within the Avengers, nobody took time to read the document or to listen to anyone else’s opinions, that led to a massive split through the Avengers, one which you saw boiling over at Berlin Airport. Some of the former Avengers were locked up, and I wasn’t fast enough to save them legally, I managed to get their former convictions thrown out. But because they broke out of the prison, leaving the prison without life support systems, resulting in the deaths of some of the guards and brain damage in some of the others, they are facing an entirely different kettle of fish. Murder is murder Ms Page.
Karen Page: Call me Karen please, Tony you’ve been missing in the public eye since the events at the airport, can you explain what has happened with you since then?
Tony Stark: I can give you some of the highlights, not all as you understand, but I learned some things about my parents’ death, the one moment that led to the kind of person I am today, I learned that what I thought had happened wasn’t what happened. But I learned that my friends weren’t who I thought my real friends. But that’s not the important part; the important part is that I’m stepping back from the super-heroic job. I’m starting to get older, and all of my younger years where I drank a lot and did more drugs than were reasonable are starting to weigh on me.
After that battle, I fought in another battle and far from looking for sympathy, I resulting in heart and breathing difficulties. Consulting with various trusted cardiologists, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be reckless and irresponsible to get into the suit again unless it was a last resort situation.
Karen Page: Yes, I would imagine that would start to happen, what have you been doing in the days since?
Tony Stark: Well, it has since come to my attention since that fight, that companies who either provide services or produce goods for those with disabilities can easily add on a few noughts. Now whether this is because there are more safety regulations and testing, but for whatever it was, it just didn’t seem right to me. And the reason I discovered this was because my friend Colonel James Rhodes was very badly injured in that Battle, and there were so many adaptations that he needed, so I thought that hey I’m an engineer and an inventor, I can maybe create things safely was high on my list. The things that I was creating were good, and I wanted to get them out there into the world, so I started to market the things, after all, if I could create something that was big stronger, a bit better, then maybe someone else will want to buy them.
Karen Page: That’s a bit of a niche market isn’t it, though? You can’t be hoping to make a lot of money there.
Tony Stark: Well, that’s the thing with being a billionaire, I don’t need any more money, and I’m still in the Green Energy market. There aren’t enough options for customisation when it comes to disabled items. For example, I had started researching hearing aids, and while I didn’t feel entirely comfortable creating the mould bit that goes into your ear and plays the sound, I could try to create the microphones, i.e. the bit that goes behind your ear. For children’s hearing aids, there aren’t enough customisation of how that looks, so I thought that to make it easier for young children or even adults, so I could design them to make them a wider range of different colours and finishes.
Karen Page: Yes, I’ve seen the pictures of the prototypes that you sent through, I noticed that even though you have since separated from ‘The Avengers’, you still use their colours in your work, are you still allowed to do this without getting into trouble?
Tony Stark: Yes, because you see after the Battle of New York, at Stark Industries we realised that we still held the intellectual trademark to Captain America, through a weird and paranoid act of Howard Stark, so we bought out the trademarks to the rest of the Avengers. This act allowed us to control their copyright and materials released and I can’t very well say no, I won’t release that simply because I’ve fallen out with the persons, now can I?
If I can make life a bit easier for the parents with kids with disabilities then I should put aside my own ego and create things. After all what am I but an inventor?
Karen Page: Fair enough, do you keep those profits for yourself?
Tony Stark: No, because I don't need that money, the profits are all donated to charities specialising in helping both children and adults with disabilities. They also go to help fund some of the relief efforts after the Avengers inevitably have another collective temper tantrum.
Karen Page: Fair enough, can you release any more information on what you expect to sell better?
Tony Stark: Well, we don’t have concrete numbers in yet, but I expect that Captain America will be big among boys and Black Widow among girls, because who wouldn’t want a strong role model when they were growing up, right?
Karen Page: Very well Mr Stark, thank you for the article and I’d like to thank you for your time.
After the interview, I could get no closer to an answer on what caused the Avengers split leaving this journalist to conclude that it’s not up for public consumption whatever might have happened after that fateful fight at the airport. Whatever may have happened, it has become increasingly clear that we can’t depend on the Avengers to bail us out if we ever get ourselves into trouble. But it’s more than likely that we may have to rely on ourselves, our armies but maybe more than ever the vigilantes that we have seen popping up all over the world.
Tony tossed the newspaper article aside, as he rubbed his face in his hands, there was a reason he may never feel completely safe again. Who needed enemies when you had friends who might beat and leave you for dead in the frozen Siberian Tundra? Tony would probably always be thankful that May Parker had invited him for dinner. She had became concerned when he didn’t show, mentioning it to a scandalised Peter (who knew that aunts could ever have dinner with men) who after inquiring to a creepy Vision (really who knew that robots could be so creepy) where Mr Stark was.
Maybe Tony should simply cut his losses and become friends with people who maybe actually gave a damn about him, and not for the material value he could provide.
Tony hadn’t been lying when he said that he had taken a step back from the superhero business, but he was still working with the superheroes. Upon reflection, he had come to the realisation that he should not have brought Peter Parker into this battle. Though at the realisation, that Peter Parker was Grade Eleven in High School, he could at this age technically he could enlist in the army with his parent’ s permission, Tony wasn’t sure if Peter Parker could be hailed as the most mature of 17-year-olds. Which was shocking because he didn’t look seventeen, he didn’t act it at times; it was an all round crazy situation. Still, he wanted to keep his young friend safe, so he worked on making the flimsy suit he did his weird shooty-flying thing around Queens, New York.
The suit wasn’t bulletproof (really WHY WAS HE EVEN GOING FIGHTING CRIME IF HE WASN’T WEARING KEVLAR, NO MATTER HOW QUICK YOUR REFLEXES ARE YOU CARRY PROTECTION ALWAYS, whether outside or into the bedroom) or even stab proof. So Tony had to work on creating a suit that allowed Petey Boy to remain agile and flexible while he still travelled around fighting crime.
And Tony still snorted every time he thought about that, because when had his life become even more Sunday morning cartoons special. Damn it he thought he had grown up into an adult.
“No, no Dum-E, is that on fire? Not’s it bloody well not and if you use that fire extinguisher again on me I WILL DONATE YOU TO A COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR CALTECH HOW DOES THAT SOUND?” Tony shouted at one of his robots, when Dum-E began to pull up his favourite accessory, the humble (and cursed) fire extinguisher.
“Still, not giving up on the old Caltech/MIT rivalry huh Tony?” Tony heard a man’s voice lightly ask.
“Ha, no, how are you feeling old? How’s the back?” Tony tried to deflect turning to face Rhodey as he wheeled himself into the lab. Tony might constantly threaten to send U and Dum-E to community college, but at least they knew to keep the floor of the lab clean and free from any obstructions. The countertops might be a mess; Tony had a habit of not tidying away unfinished projects, normally being unable to have a project hold his attention for longer than half an hour.
“You know how it is my man, I saw the newspaper article, what are you doing man?” Rhodey asked his friend throwing the paper at a nearby lab table. Apparently, Rhodey’s hand-eye co-ordination still needed a bit more work, at least the paper managed to fly wide from the table and hit U directly in the little camcorder.
“Well, okay then, you clearly need to go through another MRI to see if your inner ear was affected in that fall.” Tony joked watching as his best friend sarcastically smirked at him before continuing “I’ve been working on developing you a new chip for your spine, which will allow you get onto your feet with a new walker until the muscles in your leg.
In the meantime, I’ve been working on setting up a college scholarship. I feel guilty that I took Peter Parker in that battle scenario and his aunt didn’t know, so I want to pay for some of his college applications. And buy him a new computer because of that hunk of junk? No just no. That thing was awful and deserves to be burnt and maybe buried at the bottom of the ocean. So he’s getting the newest Stark Industries computer” Tony started to grumble a bit before Rhodey cut in knowing that Stark would keep going all day if he was allowed.
“Can’t fool me Tony, you do have a heart after all”
“Don’t spread it around, I’ve got a reputation to keep” Tony called out after Rhodey.
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Steve, finished the article threw aside his newspaper, on one level still relieved that nothing bad had happened to his old friend. Reading between the lines, he could that Tony Stark was still acting cagey and resolved himself not to worry about his former friend was doing. It wasn’t Steve’s fault that Tony had gotten injured following the fight in Siberia because Tony really shouldn’t have attacked Bucky, he may never have outright said that his parents mistreated him growing up, but could Tony mourn for people who may have mistreated him? Tony knew that Bucky would always come first for Steve, he had no one to blame but himself for the beating he had received.
Still, it did make Steve more than a little nervous every time he saw on the news that New York had been attacked, he hoped that his friend was safe. Every time he saw a breaking news banner on CNN he glanced towards his phone, the phone that he sent the phone to Tony has resolutely stayed quiet, didn’t Tony know he just had to ring, and Steve would try to help him out?
Questioning Natasha Romanoff was just as fruitless if the woman knew anything she wasn’t saying. Steve knew that Natasha was still able to flit around the world, he knew that she had on occasion talked to Tony but she wasn’t telling Steve. Didn’t Natasha know that everything had worked out for the best? Sure, they might be blocked from leaving Wakanda, sometimes they couldn’t even leave the small house that T’Challa had given them, it was too dangerous to go outside unless they had an armed escort from the Dora Milaje, sometimes not even then.
Everyday started to blur into one when Steve had spent his time alternating between staring at his phone, willing Tony to grow up and call, and watching over his best friend. Steve shook his head; he would ignore the whispers that it was creepy to keep watch over a frozen, comatose man, but he had missed so much of his friend’s life, he couldn’t be expected to do anything else.
Tony would see he was in the wrong, he would call.