Previous chapter Recap:
J.A.R.V.I.S and F.R.I.D.A.Y was born while Edwin Jarvis had to be hospitalized.
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8th of October, 2000. Location: California Cemetery.
##
The October wind whispered through the cemetery, tugging at coats and rattling the leaves above. A gray veil blanketed the sky, as if the heavens themselves had dimmed in respect. The scent of rain lingered, though the skies held it back for now. All around, people stood in a solemn ring, their eyes fixed on the mahogany casket being lowered gently into the earth beside another, older grave—Ana Jarvis.
Leo stood still, his red hair catching what little light filtered through the clouds. He didn't blink. His Brown eyes were locked on the headstone: Edwin Jarvis — 1916 to 2000, September 30th.
The name carved into the stone didn't feel real. It wasn't just a name. It was Sunday breakfasts. It was warm tea and well-timed advice. It was the quiet presence of someone who never needed to raise his voice to be heard. And now... gone.
This is death
Leo thought.
Familiar. And yet.. so foreign.
He didn't know why the feeling sat so deeply in his chest. Like a memory half-remembered from a dream long past. A moment where breath ceased, where silence overtook everything... but no face, no details. Just that stillness.
The Extremis serum had been progressing smoothly. He had monitored Jarvis's vitals every evening, tweaking things silently when he could, hopeful, cautious.
But one morning, the monitor flatlined. A thin, shrill beep had pierced the air.
Leo had stared.
Not blinked. Not moved.
Just... stared.
He didn't even hear the doctor's words. Didn't process them. The world had muffled itself, fading into an empty hum. Time bent strangely in those seconds, like it didn't know how to carry on.
"Leo."
A soft voice broke into his thoughts, and a warm hand rested gently on his shoulder. He turned, the haze lifting just enough for him to focus.
James Rhodes had knelt beside him, one knee in the damp soil. His sharp military mind were softened by sorrow. His eyes met Leo's, steady but kind.
"People go, kid," James said, voice low and grave. "It's a part of life. Nobody gets to skip that chapter."
Leo nodded slowly, his voice quiet. "I know."
James offered a faint smile, rough and weathered by experience. "What keeps them alive, though, is up here." He tapped the side of his temple. "The memories. Those don't go unless we let them."
Leo's lips curved into the smallest of smiles, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah. I get it. Being smart at my age has... perks. Like understanding way too early what death really means."
James smiled bitterly . "That so?"
Leo gave a small shrug. "Kinda ruins cartoons, though."
That earned a soft laugh. One or two people nearby glanced over, their expressions easing.
Then Tony stepped forward, hands in his pockets, suit slightly rumpled as if he'd been in it for days. He'd said very little during the service. Just stood there, silent, watching the dirt cradle the casket like it was something sacred.
Now, he stood beside Leo, shooting him a sidelong glance.
"Y'know, for someone your age, you're dangerously close to becoming a philosopher," Tony said, raising an eyebrow.
Leo looked up at him. "Is that... a compliment?"
"Sort of," Tony said, waving a hand. "Means you're thinking too hard. Trust me, I tried it once. Gave me a migraine and a midlife crisis all in one weekend."
Leo laughed quietly.
"Seriously, kid," Tony said, resting an arm on Leo's Shoulders "he was one of the good ones. I've known a lot of people who wore suits and spoke with class, but no one had his kind of heart. Not even close. he was like a father figure I never had."
Leo looked back at the tombstone. "He always knew how to treat me, He took me seriously when I wanted to be serious and He accompanied me in my silly ideas."
Tony nodded. "Yeah. That was his thing. Made you feel like you mattered. Even when you were making a mess in the kitchen or accidentally melting the toaster."
"That was an experiment."
"I'm sure it was," Tony said dryly. "The experiment to see how quickly I'd notice the fire alarm."
Leo cracked a sublte grin.
The mood lightened a little, as if laughter had snuck past the grief and gently nudged it aside for a moment. James stood, brushing the dirt off his pants, and gave Leo a nod before stepping back to join the others.
Tony stayed a bit longer, glancing between the grave and the boy beside him.
"You doing okay?" he asked.
Leo took a breath, watching the final shovelful of dirt fall into place. "No," he said honestly. "But I will be."
Tony gave him a long look before nodding once. "Good. Because I've got a whole stash of Jarvis's tea hidden in the back of the pantry, and it would be a crime not to honor him with a proper cup later."
Leo looked up at him. "With sugar?"
"As much as you can handle."
They shared a soft smile, one small flicker of warmth in the cool, gray day.
#
The sound of gravel crunching under Leo, Tony, and Happy as they made their way back toward the sleek black car parked near the cemetery gates. The air was crisp with the scent of turned earth and old stone.
Tony adjusted his coat collar, glancing sideways at Leo with a half-smile that didn't quite mask his exhaustion.
"Well," he said, unlocking the car with a click. "Broadcasting Jarvis's funeral for the entire tri-state area didn't exactly work. No mysterious red-haired women in trench coats throwing emotional fits in the middle of the graveyard. Sorry, kiddo—looks like your mom didn't take the bait."
Leo paused by the passenger door, his hand hovering near the handle. "Maybe she's here," he murmured, shrugging. "Just good at hiding."
Tony opened his door, raising a brow. "Touche. That's the Evans gene in action. Vanishing like a magician after curfew."
He ducked into the car, leaving the door ajar as Happy climbed into the driver's seat.
Leo was just about to follow when something pricked at the back of his neck. A sensation like someone whispering without sound.
He turned around slowly.
The cemetery stretched out in muted tones—trees swaying gently, headstones worn with time, and just beyond the last row of graves... movement.
He squinted.
There, partially veiled in shadow beneath the trees, a figure stood. Too far to make out clearly, too still to be natural. Yet Leo's enhanced vision captured just enough—red hair glinting faintly in the breeze, eyes hidden beneath a hood or hat.
His heart gave a small jump. He stepped forward instinctively like a lost child finding his mother.
But then—
A sudden, sharp throb.
The world tilted ever so slightly.
Leo blinked hard. His hand touched his temple.
What was I just—
Leo looked around in confusion.
"…Leo!" Tony called from the car. "Unless you're taking root out there, might wanna get in before Happy turns into a popsicle."
Leo blinked again. "Right." He gave his head a small shake, like brushing off a bad dream, and opened the door.
The warmth of the car welcomed him as he slid in beside Tony.
The door shut with a soft thunk, and the vehicle pulled away from the cemetery, the silence inside buffered only by the soft hum of the engine.
But Leo's thoughts were far from calm. That moment—he knew something had happened. He had perfect recall.
That was one of his advantages. Emotions, visuals, words, even smells—they all stuck in his mind like ink on fresh paper. But just now?
Nothing.
There was a gap. An emptiness where a memory should've been.
He frowned slightly, staring out the window.
Tony glanced at him, then leaned back into his seat with a stretch. "So, news from the construction team. The Malibu mansion's coming along nicely. We'll be sunbathing on the cliffs in, oh… two months, give or take."
Leo's face brightened a little. "Really? The ocean view's done?"
"Just about," Tony said, grinning. "You'll have your own little corner for brooding over sunsets and reading impossible science manuals like a miniature Bond villain."
Leo smirked. "I was going for the mysterious batman, but Bond villain has a nice ring to it."
Tony chuckled. "Hey, we both know if it weren't for your genius foresight to make Jarvis and Friday's servers portable, moving would've been a complete nightmare."
Leo leaned back, pretending to flick an imaginary speck from his sleeve. "Of course. I plan ahead. Unlike some people who try to install ten million-dollar servers into walls."
Tony threw up his hands. "One time! One time I hardwired a satellite dish into the bathroom ceiling and suddenly I'm reckless."
Happy groaned from the front seat. "You are reckless, boss."
Leo laughed. "You kinda are."
Tony grinned. "Mutiny. I feed you, fund your gadgets, and this is how you repay me."
Leo gave him a small smile, the earlier tension in his chest easing just a bit. "That's family for you."
The car drove on, the city slowly replacing the quiet calm of the cemetery. But deep in Leo's mind, a thought echoed.
Something—or someone—was watching.
And they didn't want to be remembered.
##
The silence in the wooded grove beyond the graveyard was deep and still, broken only by the rustling of leaves overhead and the faintest trace of wind brushing against worn stone markers.
Friday Evans stood at the edge of the shadows, her crimson hair tucked beneath the hood of her coat, blending her presence into the gloom. Her sharp blue eyes flicked toward the two children beside her—
one with a haunted gaze, the other with energy buzzing under his skin like a storm barely contained.
She didn't look at them when she spoke. "You shouldn't have done that."
Wanda Maximoff flinched. She was only eleven, but she understood more than most. Her eyes—lowered, afraid of being abandoned. "I thought they saw us," she murmured. "I panicked…"
Friday let out a quiet sigh, not of anger, but weary acceptance. "I'm not blaming you," she said, finally turning toward the girl. "But panicking doesn't help in such a situation, One single mistake and You could have turned My son into a living vegetable."
"I am sorry..." Wanda said in guilt, biting her lower lip.
Friday didn't Reply, The silence was enough to show her disapproval.
"Did they actually see us?" Pietro asked, his silver-white hair catching the filtered sunlight, voice calm but laced with concern.
Friday paused before briefly nodding
Wanda's eyes widened "Wait… they did?"
Friday finally met their eyes, her expression unreadable, a quiet storm behind her gaze. "Leo saw me."
Both twins went still.
Wanda blinked. "He… noticed you?"
"Not fully," Friday admitted, turning away and watching the car disappear beyond the curve of the road. "But his instincts picked up on it." She snapped her fingers softly. "And then it was gone. But for a moment—he knew I was there."
The weight of that realization hit the twins like a stone tossed into still water. They glanced at each other, silent yet filled with that same guilty presence.
"It worked," Friday murmured, more to herself than to them.
Pietro frowned. "What did?"
"Something I wasn't sure if it had transferred. But now I know it did."
"You mean…" Wanda's voice dropped in realization. Friday had already shared some of her backstory with them.
Friday nodded. "He is showing the early symptoms of what I have. Enhanced cognition, instinctive perception, adaptive memory, Possibly even cellular regeneration... He's beginning to tap into it. Earlier than even I expected."
There was a quiet pride in her voice. But it was tangled with something else—guilt and perhaps fear.
Wanda stepped closer, hesitant. "Is that good?"
Friday's lips thinned. "It means he'll survive what's coming. And if I'm not around to protect him… maybe he'll be able to protect himself." She looked away, her voice barely a whisper. "But it also means he'll be a target. Just like me."
The twins stood in silence for a moment, the weight of her words grounding them.
"We're going back to base," she finally said, her voice composed again. "We still have training to finish."
Wanda nodded, determination replacing her earlier guilt. "Yes, ma'am."
Pietro grinned, already stretching his legs. "Race you back."
Friday gave a faint smile as the twins turned toward the tree line, their figures soon vanishing into the forest.
Her gaze lingered a moment longer on the road where the car had once been, her expression unreadable. Before she quietly walked towards her parked Motorcycle.
#
Word count: 2112
Author's note:
Initially I was contemplating between Letting Jarvis Survive vs letting him die. Both had almost equal amount of value to my story.
According to Google, Jarvis was supposed to die in 2021 in the MCU. But idk if it was Gemini making it up. That also did make me hesitant But Thankfully my friend told me to go ahead with my idea instead of worrying about what happens canonically. That's the point of a fanfic. An what if.
I hope it was unexpected and refreshing than the usual wish fulfilment fanfics. I won't hesitate to end characters aside from Leo if it means it would be more beneficial for the story.
Now, I am sure someone will ask this soon and since I don't wanna explain it in a chapter because it would feel wasteful and forced.
This Pietro is indeed the X-Men movie version with cool feats. He is an Alpha level mutant. That bombing incident already traumatized him enough to awaken it, he was just in too much stress to realize it. Mental block basically.
Wanda is both a mutant (Unsure of her rank) and also the scarlet witch. The latter she hadn't realized yet.
No they are not related to Magneto. Well sort of but that's spoiler territory.
Current schedule: 28th (This chapter), 30th (Next Chapter), 2nd Of may (Next chapter).
Weekly Challenge: 25 Power stone/Heart for 1 extra chapter. (upto 4 at max)
Monthly Challenge: 100 Power stone/Heart for 1 extra chapter. (That's all)
Heart is from scribble hub, Since it doesn't reset weekly, only individual chapter hearts will count.
Power stone is from Web novel
An ideal Example: Let's say you usually get 15 chapters per month. If you complete the challenges then you get upto extra 5 chapters that month. Thus it could be 20 chapters a month.