####
"I, Tony Stark, have returned—With gifts!"
With wide arms, Tony grinned inside his helmet, his red cape fluttering. He always loved grand entrances and this was no different. With his entrance broadcasted across the world by the governments themselves, every single living being old enough to understand left from right saw him at the same time.
Wooosh!
He made hundreds of space portals using the Sling Ring. They were massive, truly, truly massive. And then, spacecrafts started to fly in from those portals. Some were humongous, enough to cover entire cities, and some were small. Some looked weird, and some looked so futuristic that even the space empires considered them futuristic.
"Alright, suit up—we're officially stepping into the real space age. Time to book your cosmic getaway." Tony announced with utmost pride. "Get ready to witness—A revolution!"
BOOM!
The spaceships blasted fireworks all around. They were visible even during the day, bright and beautiful.
"Shuttle, transport, freighter, fighter, bomber, scout ship, gunship, assault ship, warship, frigate, and space station—Yup, Star Wars ain't no fantasy. It is our reality!"
It was a frenzy across the world. Stark Industries stocks soared through the roof. Every space company also experienced the same boost. The very idea of a World Administration Council that many were still refusing suddenly felt it was possible and a must.
Those who knew Tony personally smiled.
His fans rejoiced.
His enemies cried.
Tony Stark was back. And he was stronger than ever.
####
It was like a festival across the globe. Congratulatory messages poured into the White House for some reason, as if Tony still lived there. Seeing that, Tony made an online post, reminding everyone that he lived in Stark Tower, not the damn cursed place he so hated now. He was no longer a slave to his post.
Then, congratulations poured into his Stark Tower instead. Random people sent him flowers, postcards, and cars, gifted him jets, and some dude sent him a kiddie tricycle. It was confusing to understand what was even going on.
But Tony didn't settle down in one place. He flew straight to the X-Mansion because there was a person he wanted to meet the most. A little guy, now six years old, whom he promised not to leave behind. He had failed, and he wanted to make amends.
Shhhh~
He descended onto the lawn outside the school's main building. The school had expanded significantly by now and there were a lot more students than on his first visit. It actually looked like a school now with kids of various ages either sitting on the grass, basking in the sun, reading a book, dancing, practicing drama, sleeping, or even playing sports. Of course, the difference was that the kids used their mutant abilities at the same time.
"Mr. Stark!"
The kids shouted towards him, their phones out to click selfies. Tony waved at them and quickly walked into the administration building, where the kids were too scared to follow him.
"Tony!"
"Hey, Hank." Tony greeted the big beast, and soon the others appeared. Charles was still working in Potts' administration so the man wasn't there. But Erik sure was.
"Your return was inevitable. None of us here believed you were truly gone—and now, you've come back with something... unthinkable." Erik walked with the help of a cane. "Welcome back, Tony."
"It is good to be home," Tony said and eyed the teachers. There was an excited Rogue and a few others, but he didn't find Ororo there.
Erik gave Tony a knowing look. "She doesn't live on the grounds. Just east of the school. Bought herself a house—quiet, with a garden. Said it felt like the right place to raise him."
Makes sense if it's Ororo.
"Then I'll be back soon. Got intel to offload." Tony eyed Jean Grey then. "Got some questions for the bird."
Without waiting, Tony went out of the building and jetted off into the sky. At his speed, he arrived at the described place in no time. But the issue was that there were a lot of identical, massive houses.
"Sir, that house is registered under Ms. Munroe's name." Jarvis, being the best buddy there was, instantly searched the directory and marked the house in Tony's vision.
"Good job, Jarv."
As Tony descended towards the large, walled-off backyard of the house, he saw a little boy playing catch with a labrador. Approximately six years old, hair ashen-brown, and his eyes the same as Tony's.
That's my… Dexter.
Slowly, trying not to scare the kid, Tony landed on the soft grass without destroying it with his boosters.
He looks healthy. Does he have mutant abilities? No, he probably doesn't even know me. I'm just some flying metal guy from the news.
"DAD? Mom, dad's here!"
"..."
He knows me?
Tony walked out of his new, space alloy armor, his face a little confused, a little ashamed, and a whole lot excited. He saw the kid running towards him and he just went down on his knees and received him.
"Dexter," Tony murmured, grabbing him into his arms as the boy also hugged him back. "I…"
It was his first time. He didn't know what to do, or what to say. He didn't really have a good father to base himself on.
Let's just be straight and honest.
"I'm sorry, Dexter. I wasn't there all these years." Tony apologized right away and hugged him tighter.
Pat, pat!
Tony felt the kid patting his back as if consoling him.
"It's okay, Dad. I saw the big dark shadow eating you up in that video. It was so scary. Mom said that you went to fight the big bad guys in space."
While holding him, Tony saw Ororo coming out of the house, looking absolutely stunning in her white top and high-rise blue jeans, her curly white hair framed perfectly on her dusky face.
She didn't hide anything, did she?
"Yup, handled the intergalactic drama. The bad guy's grounded—permanently. Earth can chill now."
"I knew it!" Dexter stopped hugging and looked at Tony with so much pride. "I'm gonna tell everyone in my class."
"You know what, I'll take you to school tomorrow morning on that bad boy." Tony pointed at the Iron Man suit behind him. "We'll fly."
"Really?! Yay, yes, please! I'll eat all my veggies tonight, I pinky promise! Oh oh—I'll go do my homework now… I'm a super good boy!"
Tony chuckled and let Dexter go back into the house. At that point, Ororo walked up to him, and he gave her a soft, warm hug, the 'more than friend but less than lover' type.
"You told him everything?" He asked.
Ororo nodded, eyeing the house, and then the dog still running around in the backyard. "I saw no point in keeping it a secret. You're his father, and you wanted to be one."
Tony nodded gratefully. Hearing 'Dad' from Dexter just shifted something in his heart. "Let's not keep a low profile anymore. He's our son, it's a fact, and the world's gotta catch up. Don't worry, I'll commission four Iron Guardians to watch over him from a distance at all times in stealth."
Ororo took a sigh of relief and agreed right away. "I can feel a little less worried with that. He does need someone to watch over him. Dexter is… not normal."
"What do you mean?"
"He has the X-Gene—confirmed. And it's starting to wake up. I think it's tied to electricity. He's short-circuited every electronic toy I've bought him. I had to switch to an old truck—newer cars don't survive five minutes with him inside."
"..."
Tony blinked dumbly, and then slowly felt excited "Our kid controls electricity? That's… wow. That's amazing. If he picks up electrical engineering, great—the sky's the limit. But hey, no pressure. He can be whatever he wants. I'm just saying, I might know a thing or two that could help."
Ororo smiled and walked to Tony's side. She grabbed his arms and led him into her home. "I hope you'll keep your promise this time. Take him to school in the morning."
"Oh, I'll do a lot more than that."
####
The next day, Tony woke up early, took a bath with his boy, made a somewhat unhealthy breakfast, and helped him dress up. Then, he suited up, stepped into the Iron Man suit, and grabbed Dexter tightly in his arms.
"Say bye to your mom."
Dexter waved like crazy, excitement unable to be contained.
Shhhh~
"Aaaaaaa!"
And then, Tony slowly rose into the air. The boy in his arms screamed like it was a rollercoaster, loving every moment of it. And those screams made Tony's non-existent heart happy.
"Got something more for you, Dex," Tony said once they started flying towards the school. Of course, the school was too close, so Tony took a few detours over the nearby forest and parks.
Shhhhh~
Right then, thirty Iron Guardians came flying and took an arrow-shaped formation around Tony, with him at the front tip.
"Woooooah! There's so many of them!"
Tony made the boy giggle and scream in excitement until his face turned red. Then, when he dropped Dexter at school, he also brought down the thirty Iron Guardians. Simple to say, Tony never left Dexter's school that day. He stayed behind, played with the kids, and made the kids play with Iron Guardians, boosting Dexter's aura.
He took selfies with the teachers, flirted with a few, and in general, became the favorite. How could he not when he bought everyone pizza and ice cream? That day, Dexter went to each kid and pointed at Tony, announcing, "That's my dad."
Sure is a little narcissist. Takes after me, I guess.
Later that day, Tony flew into the sky again, holding his son. But also, twenty of Dexter's classmates were in the arms of the Iron Guardians. They all requested it. Sure enough, they flew low and slow for them, and dropped the kids at their home one by one.
The parents never got angry as they got to shake hands and take a picture with Tony Stark. Then, as evening approached, Tony finally returned home to Ororo. And honestly, he could see himself doing that every single day.
Right away, Dexter went to his mom in the kitchen, telling her everything that happened in the school. She made him sit on the kitchen counter as she cooked dinner.
I can see it now… Why they all prefer this sort of life.
But also, seeing Ororo and Dexter smile, he realized something more.
This is worth protecting… with my life.
Tony stayed the night again at Ororo's place. He ate dinner, and helped Dexter with his homework, even though he didn't need any. Told him a story of one of his space adventures until he fell asleep.
Ororo and he maintained distance. Sure, they sat together side by side on the couch to watch a movie, but other than a kiss on his cheek from her, it went nowhere. And he was content with it. It was the thought and the feeling of comfort that mattered.
In the morning, he left early before Dexter woke up. He didn't have the guts to see Dexter's sad face.
And as expected, when Dexter woke up, he asked.
"Mom, where's dad?"
"He left for work, Dex."
As expected, Dexter's eyes filled up. "B-But…"
"Oh, he left you a gift." Ororo went over to a kitchen cabinet and took out a box.
Instantly, all the tears were gone and Dexter shredded the gift wrapper and opened the box. Inside, he found a custom-fit, perfectly sized for him, an Iron Man helmet. Full with a mini-Jarvis and other sound effects. It couldn't be destroyed by Dexter's abilities.
"I LOVE DAD!"
To that, Ororo couldn't help but pout for a moment.