The concrete curb outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary outpost—a nondescript government building that screamed "bureaucracy"—was hard and cold, but Tony barely felt it. He sat with his elbows on his knees, his chin resting in his hands, staring at a crack in the pavement with a pout so big he looked like a chipmunk.
Inside that building, just a few hundred feet away, was a corpse. A Skrull corpse. Green skin, ridged chin, pointed ears. A biological entity from another solar system. AND HE COULDN'T EVEN SEE IT!!!!
"It's not fair," Tony grumbled, kicking a loose pebble with his light-up sneaker. "They're in there doing an autopsy, probably slicing it him up with scalpels, and I'm out here sitting on a curb like a... like a kid."
"You are a kid, sir," Jarvis said gently.
The butler was kneeling beside him, a pristine white handkerchief in hand, dabbing at a smudge of grease on Tony's cheek. Jarvis looked remarkably composed for a man who had just stabbed an alien shapeshifter in a speeding car. His suit was slightly rumpled, and there was a frantic energy in his eyes that he was trying desperately to hide, but his hands were steady.
"Technically, yes," Tony argued, leaning into Jarvis's touch despite himself. "But mentally? I'm lightyears ahead of those guys. Did you see the epidermal pliability on that thing? I bet the cellular regeneration works on a sub-atomic level. If I could just get a tissue sample, Jarvis... just one slide..."
"Absolutely not," Jarvis said, his voice firm. He pocketed the handkerchief and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing tight. "Master Anthony, listen to me. We have survived a building collapse, a high-speed chase, and an encounter with a hostile extraterrestrial species. You have been brave, incredibly so. But the fun is over."
Tony looked up, his big brown eyes filled with a desperate, burning curiosity. "Fun? Jarvis, this isn't fun. This is... this is everything! We aren't alone. Do you know what that means? The Drake Equation wasn't just a theory. The Fermi Paradox is solved! There are civilizations out there, Jarvis. Empires! And they have technology that makes my dad's repulsors look like firecrackers."
He stood up, pacing the small stretch of sidewalk. His mind was racing so fast he felt like he might vibrate out of his skin.
"The Kree," Tony whispered, the name tasting like electric ozone on his tongue. "She said she was Kree. That means interstellar travel. Faster-than-light propulsion. Energy manipulation. If we walk away now, we're walking away from the future."
"We are walking away toward safety," Jarvis countered, standing up to his full height. He looked tired. The stress of almost losing Tony—twice—was weighing on him. "Your mother is expecting us. I promised her. We are going to get in a taxi, we are going to go back to the hotel, and we are going to order the largest, most unhealthy dessert available. And we are never speaking of green men again."
Tony stopped pacing. He looked at Jarvis. He saw the fear in the man's eyes. It wasn't fear for himself; it was fear for Tony.
Tony's heart softened. He walked over and hugged Jarvis around the waist.
"I know you're scared, J," Tony mumbled into the butler's vest. "I know. But... I can't go back. Not yet. She's alone, Jarvis. That lady, Vers. She doesn't remember anything. And Fury? He's just a spy. He doesn't understand the science. If I don't help them, they might mess this up. They might start a war they can't finish."
Jarvis sighed, his hand resting on Tony's head. "You have a savior complex, Anthony. It is a very dangerous trait."
"Please," Tony looked up, giving him the full force of the 'puppy dog eyes'—a weapon far more dangerous than any missile. "Just a little longer? I promise, the second it gets too dangerous—like, actual shooting dangerous—we bail. Scout's honor."
Jarvis narrowed his eyes. "You were never a scout."
"I bought the cookies once," Tony grinned. "Does that count?"
"Show me your hands," Jarvis ordered.
Tony hesitated, then showed his hands. They were open.
"Behind your back," Jarvis clarified.
Tony sighed and uncrossed the fingers he had hidden behind his back. "Okay, fine. No crossing. Real promise this time. If bullets start flying, I hide. If monsters show up, I run. But this...all of this could help me figure out how to move forward. Please."
Jarvis looked at the boy. He really looked and saw the same bright eyed look he had when ever Howard taught him about engineerin, finally finding something that challenged him. To deny him this would be to deny who Tony Stark was, and who he would become.
"Very well," Jarvis relented, adjusting his cuffs. "But I am armed. And if Mr. Fury drives like a maniac again, I shall lodge a formal complaint with the Queen."
"You're the best, J!" Tony cheered.
Just then, the heavy metal doors of the facility swung open.
Nick Fury stepped out into the sunlight. He looked rough. He had shed his suit jacket, his white shirt sleeves rolled up. A thick, white medical bandage was taped over his left eyebrow, stark against his dark skin. He looked like a man who had just had his entire worldview shattered and was trying to glue it back together with sheer stubbornness.
He spotted the duo on the curb and stopped, his one good eye narrowing.
"You two are still here?" Fury asked, walking toward a sleek, unmarked sedan parked at the curb. "I thought I told the extraction team to take you back to the hotel."
Tony sprinted over, Jarvis following at a dignified power-walk.
"We dismissed them," Tony said, falling into step beside Fury. "Because you need us."
Fury scoffed, opening the driver's side door. "I need you like I need a hole in the head, kid. Go home. Play with your Legos."
In Tonys mind he could see a baby that looked suspiciously like Tony, wearing nothing but a large diaper was playing with Legos and put the smallest one in his mouth.
Shaking his head."Legos are for amateurs," Tony retorted, grabbing the door handle before Fury could get in. "I build circuit boards. And right now, you're flying blind. You have a dead alien, a missing super-soldier space lady, and zero clue what you're up against. You're a spy, Fury. You know how to find secrets. But you don't know science like me."
Fury paused. He looked down at the ten-year-old who was blocking his path with surprising confidence.
"And you do?" Fury asked.
"I know from what little i've seen that the Kree are an advanced militaristic society," Tony rattled off, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I know that if Skrulls are here, they're looking for someone or something and she's at the centre of it. You think your lab coats inside can figure out a intergalatic radio signal built using alien tech and parts from a radio store at a glance like me? They're still trying to figure out VCRs. I can help you."
Fury looked at Jarvis. "You're okay with this? Putting a kid in the line of fire?"
"I condone nothing," Jarvis said sharply, stepping up behind Tony. "However, Master Anthony is correct. He is one of the most brilliant mind on this planet, regardless of his stature and age. If you are dealing with extraterrestrial technology, there is no one—not even your own experts—who could comprehend it faster than he can. And frankly, considering you nearly killed us both an hour ago, I believe you owe us a ride."
Fury stared at them. He looked at the bandage in the side mirror reflection. He had been ordered to do the mission alone, to trust nobody.
But Nick Fury didn't like sitting tight. And he had a gut feeling—a spy's intuition—that this kid would come in handly later down the line.
"Get in," Fury grumbled. "But you sit in the back. And if you ask 'are we there yet', I'm leaving you on the roadside."
The drive to the location—a place called Pancho's Bar, according to the intel Fury had gathered from the "witness" accounts of the motorcycle theft—took thirty minutes.
Unlike the previous death race, Fury drove with a brooding intensity. The radio was off.
"So," Tony said, leaning forward between the seats again. "S.H.I.E.L.D., huh? Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. That's a mouthful. You guys really need a branding consultant."
"We're not a brand, Stark," Fury said, eyes on the road. "We're the line between the world and the weird."
"And the weird just got weirder," Tony noted. "You guys have been tracking this stuff since the 40s, right? My dad talks about it sometimes in his study. Peggy Carter. The SSR. But this... aliens? This is new."
"It's classified," Fury said automatically.
" And, why are you eavesdropping on your father, master Anthony?," asked Jarvis while looking back at the boy.
"That's classified," Tony teased, smiling at Jarvis who shook his head with a small laugh while Fury scoffed a little amused. "But your tech isn't. I saw your comms unit. Analog encryption? Really? A ham radio operator could crack that. And your car? The suspension is stiff. If you're going to be chasing shapeshifters, you need independent shocks. I could draft up a design for you in ten minutes on a napkin if I wanted to."
Fury glanced in the rearview mirror. And though he couldn't understand half of what the boy had just said, even he could tell that the kid was a genius.
"You got a lot of opinions for a kid barely into school," Fury said, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "You ever think about a summer internship? We got a science division. They could use someone who knows how to fix the suspension."
"I have a job," Tony said smugly. "I'm the heir to Stark Industries."
"And currently," Jarvis interjected from the back seat, "he is a student with a bedtime. We are respectfully declining any recruitment offers, Mr. Fury. The last thing the world needs is Anthony with a security clearance."
Fury chuckled. "Fair enough."
They pulled up to Pancho's Bar. It was a dive, dusty and sun-bleached, with motorcycles parked out front.
"Stay close," Fury ordered, stepping out of the car.
Tony hopped out, smoothing down his black t-shirt. He felt like he was in a movie. Lethal Weapon, maybe. Or Men in Black, if that movie existed yet. On that note did the aliens from that movie exist as well, should he make his own version of men in black !!
An older teenage Tony wearing a black and white suit with sun glasses kicked the door down, holding one of the MIB pistols in his hand looking around. " This is agent S, put your tentacles behind your head and lay on the ground !!!". He ordered while looking at the squidward looking alien with a flute in its mouth.
They walked in. The interior was dim, smelling of stale beer and leather. It was a pilot's bar. Pictures of jets and squadrons covered the walls.
"Slow down, Anthony," Jarvis whispered, grabbing the back of Tony's shirt as the boy tried to rush ahead.
Tony scanned the room. It didn't take long.
She was standing in the corner, bathed in the light of a neon beer sign. She had ditched the Starforce uniform for civilian clothes—jeans, a leather jacket, and a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt. She looked less like a space soldier and more like the coolest person Tony had ever seen.
She was staring intensely at a framed photograph on the wall. A picture of a sleek, experimental jet.
"There," Tony whispered.
They approached her. She didn't turn around. She was traced the name on the photo with her finger. Pegasus.
"Where's Pegasus?" she asked the bartender, her voice rough.
"That's classified," Fury's voice cut through the air.
She stiffened, but she didn't attack. She turned slowly. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the trio. The Spy. The Butler. The Kid.
"Not like the file I started on you," Fury continued, leaning casually against a high-top table. He looked relaxed, but Tony noticed his hand was hovering near his hip.
"You've had a rough day, Agent Fury," she noted, looking at the bandage on his eye.
"Oh, you should see the other guy," Jarvis quipped drily. "Wait, you can't. He is currently being dissected."
Fury ignored Jarvis. "It was a typical nine-to-five. Until someone blew up a Blockbuster and hijacked a train."
She stared at him. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a welding torch. She looked at Fury, then at Jarvis, and finally her gaze landed on Tony. For a second, her expression softened, but then the soldier mask slammed back down.
"It's awkward," she said, crossing her arms. "But I gotta ask."
"You think I'm one of those green things," Fury finished for her.
"Can't be too careful," she said, her eyes shifting to Tony again. "Skrulls are tricky."
"You want a cheek swab?" Fury asked. "Urine sample?"
"No," she said. "DNA matches. Skrulls simulate it."
"Then what?" Fury asked. "My AOL password?"
"Skrulls can access recent memories," she explained. "Of the host they simmer."
Fury laughed, but it was a sharp, angry sound. "You want to get personal? Alright. Let's get personal."
He pulled out a chair and sat down. Jarvis ushered Tony into the chair next to him, while the butler remained standing, ever the sentinel. Carol sat opposite them.
"Where were you born?" she asked Fury.
"Huntsville, Alabama," Fury replied instantly. "But I don't remember the date, on account of being a baby."
"Name of your first pet?"
"Mr. Snoofers," Fury said with a straight face.
"Mr. Snoofers?" Tony snorted, covering his mouth.
"It was a cat," Fury defended. "Move on."
"Bread," Carol said suddenly. "Toast or diagonal cut?"
"Diagonal," Fury said. "I'm not a heathen."
She nodded, seemingly satisfied. Then she turned her gaze to the boy.
Tony froze. Up close, without the photon glow and the dust of a collapsed building, she was... breathtaking.
She didn't look like the actress from the movies in his past life. She didn't look like Brie Larson. She looked... otherworldly. She had strong, angular features, eyes that held the blue fire of a supernova, and a presence that made the air feel electrically charged. She was beautiful, yes, but in the way a thunderstorm is beautiful—terrifying and magnetic.
" ~ I just died in your arms tonight, it must have been something you said~"
He could hear the song 'died in your arms', playing in his head just looking at her.
Tony felt a blush creep up his neck. He hated this body. He hated being ten. Inside, he was a man who appreciated beauty, who could charm a room( NOT!). Outside, he was a kid with knobby knees.
Dammit, Tony thought furiously. This is cosmic irony at its finest. I'm sitting across from the most powerful woman in the universe, and I look like I should be asking for a juice box.
"You," Carol said, pointing a finger at him. "The small one."
"I have a name," Tony squeaked, then cleared his throat to drop his voice. "I'm Tony."
"Okay, Tony," she leaned in, her eyes intense. "Where's the strangest place you've ever slept?"
Tony stared at her. He got lost in her eyes for a second.
"Are you single?"
The words left his mouth before his brain could hit the emergency brake.
The silence that followed was absolute.
"Oh, sweet mother of pearl," Jarvis whispered, covering his eyes with his hand. He looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
Fury stared at Tony, blinked once, and then threw his head back and roared with laughter. It was a genuine, belly-deep laugh that startled the bartender. "Hah! The kid's got moves! I'll give you that, Stark, you got no fear!"
Carol looked stunned. Her mouth opened slightly, then closed. She looked from Tony to Fury, then back to Tony. A slow, amused smile spread across her face.
"You're confident," she said, shaking her head. "I like that. But you're a little young for me, soldier."
"I'm an old soul," Tony smiled charmingly and confident, though his face was burning hotter than a repulsor beam.
"Right," Carol's smile vanished, replaced by the interrogation mask again. "Let's make sure that soul belongs to a human. Are you a Skrull?"
"No! I'm too handsome" Tony said, offended.
"Where were you born?" she fired off.
"Manhattan. Long Island," Tony answered.
"Date of birth?"
"May 29th, 1970."
"Mother's maiden name?"
"Carbonell. Maria Carbonell."
"What's the chemical formula for..." she paused, trying to think of something hard, "combustion?"
"Which kind?" Tony shot back, getting annoyed. "Hydrocarbon? C-x H-y plus O-2 yields C-O-2 plus H-2-O plus heat. That's first-grade stuff. Ask me about quantum entanglement."
"Why are you here?" she pressed, leaning closer, her voice dropping to a growl. "Why are you following me? Who sent you?"
"No one!" Tony shouted. "I just wanted to see the tech!"
"Or maybe you want the coordinates," she accused, her fist suddenly glowing with that familiar amber light. The heat radiating from it was palpable. "Maybe you're a scout."
"That is quite enough!"
The voice was cold, British, and utterly deadly.
Carol blinked, looking up.
Jarvis was no longer standing at ease. He had moved with a speed that belied his profession and age. In his hand, the sleek black handgun was level, the barrel pointed directly at the bridge of Carol Danvers' nose. His finger was on the trigger. His eyes were hard as flint.
"You will lower your hand, Madam," Jarvis said, his voice void of any warmth. "You will lower it now, or I will demonstrate that British etiquette has its limits."
He looked like James Bond. He looked like John Wick in a three-piece suit. He looked absolutely terrifying. SO COOL!!! Tony thought looking back at Jarvis with starry eyes.
Carol stared at the gun, then at Jarvis. Her fist pulsed. "You think a bullet can hurt me?"
"I think," Jarvis said softly, "that if you threaten my boy one more time, we are going to find out exactly how durable your eyes are."
The standoff lasted three seconds. The air crackled with energy—both alien and kinetic.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Fury stood up, stepping between them with his hands raised. "Everybody cool it! Put the gun away, Jeeves. Put the nightlight away, Starforce."
He looked at Carol. "He's a kid, lady. He's not a Skrull. I checked him myself. And the butler? He's just... apparently very protective."
Carol glared at Jarvis. Jarvis didn't blink. Slowly, reluctantly, the glow faded from her fist.
Jarvis held his aim for another second, then smoothly holstered the weapon inside his jacket, adjusting his lapel with a sharp tug. "My apologies for the breach in decorum. But the interrogation was becoming... excessive."
Carol let out a breath, sitting back. She looked at Fury, re-evaluating him.
"You act like a grunt," she said, "but you handle them like their handler. You're a full-blown Colonel, turned spy, turned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent." She smirked. "You must have pretty high clearance. Where's Pegasus?"
Fury adjusted his bandages. "I know where it is. But we can't just walk in. I need to get the files."
"Then let's go," she stood up.
"You're coming with us?" Fury asked.
"You're my ride," she said.
They were back in the car. Fury was driving, Carol was in the passenger seat. Tony and Jarvis were in the back, Jarvis still looking ruffled and Tony looking exhilarated.
"So," Fury said, merging onto the highway. "You said you're a noble warrior hero?"
"Kree Starforce," Carol corrected, looking out the window. "We defend the universe against threats. The Skrulls... they're a plague. They infiltrate planets, destabilize governments, and take over. We stop them."
In the back seat, Tony scoffed. It was a quiet sound, but in the small car, it was audible.
"Something to say, Stark?" Carol asked, glancing back.
"Noble warrior heroes," Tony muttered, looking out the window. "That's what the Romans said. And the British Empire. History is written by the victors, right? What do they say, it's 'For the good of the galaxy', sure. But usually, that just means 'for the good of the Kree'."
Carol narrowed her eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about, kid. You haven't seen what the Skrulls do to border planets."
"Maybe," Tony shrugged. "Or maybe I just don't trust anyone who says they're the only 'good guys' in the universe."
Fury eyed Tony in the mirror, impressed again by the cynicism. "So, what do the lizards want with Dr. Lawson?"
Carol hesitated. She looked down at her hands. "We believe... we believe Lawson was Kree. Intelligence suggests she was undercover here. Developing a Light Speed Engine at Pegasus."
Tony sat up straight. The cynicism vanished, replaced by the engineer.
"Light Speed Engine," Tony repeated, his voice hushed. "You mean FTL? Faster Than Light?"
"Yes," Carol said.
"Holy cow," Tony breathed. "Do you have any idea what the energy requirements for that would be? To move matter beyond the speed of light, you'd need an infinite energy source!"
Fury swerved slightly. "A what?"
"An infinite energy power source," Tony waved his hand fast. "Theoretical energy matrix. If Lawson cracked FTL, she wasn't building an engine but a way to end energy scarcity. No more oil. No more coal. Clean, infinite power. That engine... it's a key to the next stage of civilization."
He leaned forward, grabbing the back of Carol's seat. "If the Skrulls get that, they don't just get a fast ship. They get the power to be gods. And if the Kree get it..."
"We would keep it safe," Carol said defensively.
"Right," Tony said dryly. "Safe." Meanwhile in his mind" As safe as Red Skull with the cosmic cube. Don't know how that went ask Captain Hydra".
Fury looked between them. The kid knew more about the stakes than he did.
"That's..." Fury shook his head. "That's the craziest thing I've heard today."
"It's still early," Carol murmured.
"So," Fury pressed, "You want to get the engine to stop the Skrulls. Before they become unstoppable."
"Yes," Carol said.
"And?" Fury asked.
Carol looked at him. "And what?"
"And I've seen a lot of soldiers," Fury said softly, his voice losing the spy edge and becoming human. "I know the look. You aren't just on a mission, Vers. You're looking for something. You're lost."
Carol didn't answer. She looked at the passing desert landscape.
"I have flashes," she whispered. "Memories. Being here. Flying planes. Dr. Lawson... she wasn't just a target. She was... important to me."
Tony watched her. He saw the vulnerability. He remembered his own past life, the fragmented memories of a life cut short. He felt a sudden kinship with this space warrior.
"We'll find out," Tony said softly. "We'll go to Pegasus. We'll find the records. And we'll figure out who you are."
Carol looked back at him. She smiled, and this time, it reached her eyes.
"Thanks, Tony."
"Don't mention it," Tony smirked. "Just... if you remember you have a husband, let me down gently. And if you don't than wait till I get a phone number."
Jarvis groaned audibly. "I am going to have a stroke before we reach the state line."