Malibu, 2008.

DJ Goldstein clicked a few keys on his laptop, brandishing a Iron Man Mask symbol on the top, and over the speakers, the song, "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen blasts through the foyer which amuses the not-so-sober Stark with a happy face on his face.

Rhodey clasped onto the suit, holding him in a lock. "I told you to shut it down!" He yelled at his best friend. However, it had only led Tony to mask himself, and propel them backwards, smashing through a wall into the boxing ring. Tony stood up and began to walk away. "Now, put that thing where you found it before someone gets hurt." He spoke bitterly.

Rhodey picked up a barbell and threw it at the helmet, as Tony slowly turned in shock that his best friend would do such a thing. Rhodey threw more barbells, smashing the glass around him, but still trying to get a feel for the armor in the process. "Really?" Tony scoffed as he picked up a full set of weights. "Sorry, pal, but Iron Man doesn't have a sidekick."

"Who said I was a sidekick!?" Zach yelled furiously, but ducked away from the room as more havoc and destruction occurred. "What is my life right now?!"

In the chaos of the evacuation, Pepper had caught up to everyone fleeing and spotted Natalie in the midst of it. "Natalie!" She yelled for her, and on cue, Natalie turned to her. "Miss Potts!"

"Oh, don't you "Miss Potts" me! I'm onto you!" She shouted at her. "What have you been doing with my son and – you know what – Ever since you came here–" Pepper was briefly interrupted as both Tony, Rhodey and Zach crashed through the ceiling, the two man landing in front of the ladies while Zach fell from another hole.

However, as he fell, he noticed Natalie had taken a fighting stance just as the men dropped, which was rather curious for him. "Pepper!" Happy ran through the fray and came to Pepper's side, but Natalie ran off to another corner while Zach sneakily followed after her.

"YOU WANT IT?! TAKE IT!" Tony shouted as he swept Rhodey off his feet, face planting him into the floor. Once Rhodey had gotten up, the two men traded punches at each other until Tony grabbed Rhodey and smashed him into the music station. Tony then turned to face the scared crowd. They were just there for a night of fun and drinks, but were treated to Tony's drunken rage... and he wasn't finished.

Tony roared at the crowd, scaring them all away, but Rhodey had gotten up once again, and smashed a kitchen sink into him, throwing him into the fireplace, but Tony came out unscated, facing Rhodey once more. He raised his gauntlet with an open hand at Rhodey, but he'd done the same, seeing how Tony had done it time and time again.

"Put your hand down." Rhodey calmly commanded. "You think you've got what it takes to wear that suit?" Tony growled at him.

"We don't have to do this, Tony." Rhodey responded. "You wanna be the War Machine, take your shot." Tony scoffed aloofly.

"Put it down!" "You gonna take a shot?"

"PUT IT DOWN!" "NO!"

"DROP IT, TONY!" "TAKE IT!"

And they both fired a shot at each other, blowing up the remaining glass in the area, and sending both flying into different directions and a blackout inside the house. A few moments later, Tony had woken up to Rhodey still standing, turning back to him, and leaving.

—------------------

Meanwhile...

Zach ventured after Natalie inside the mansion, searching after her. Even with their... recent connection, he felt something wasn't right. And surely enough, he had found her, but something was different. Instead of the dress he had gotten her, he found her in a black jumpsuit.

She had a gray utility belt with a holster attached, and a gun was stored in it. She also had what looked like metal bracelets on her arms, and another belt hugging her curves with an hourglass on it. Lastly, there was what looked like a Hawk or an Eagle on her right forearm, and her red hair was tied back into a ponytail. And just as Zach was admiring the uniform...

She spotted him there, and her eyes went wide.

"This – isn't what it looks like, I promise." Natalie hesitantly explained, as Zach came closer to her. "What is all this..." Zach asked her. "What was with the stance you took after they fell – You're a spy, aren't you?"

Natalie looked down at her uniform and looked back at him. "The whole uniform seems to give it away, doesn't it?" Zach scoffed. "Are you working for Justin Hammer?"

"Like I'd ever work for a douchebag like him," Natalie responded. "You're a really smart guy, but seeing as you've seen – this –" She motioned to herself. "I may as well tell you."

"And seeing that my dad was acting like a complete idiot, I don't really have any reason to tell," Zach responded, making her smile and point at him. "Like I said, smart guy." Natalie pointed. "That's what I like about you."

"But here's the truth; My name isn't Natalie Rushman." She explained. "My real name is Natalia Romanova, or Natasha Romanoff and I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." Zach glandered in thought, thinking about why that sounded familiar. "Yes, the same organization Phil Coulson's a part of," the newly revealed Natasha said. "And I was assigned by the director to spy on your dad... and to look after you."

Zach was even more confused, but it was evident Natasha picked up on it. "In your life, there always have been people watching and protecting you," She explained further. "In fact... the big man himself was there to watch you once."

"And I'm hoping you remember me, Mr. Danvers-Stark," a stoic yet vaguely familiar voice struck the darkness, as a man in black clothing, a trenchcoat, and most notably, an eyepatch over his left eye. "I know it's been a few years, but I'm sure you remember your flight to Cambridge."

Zach stood up and walked forwards to the man, and it hit him. "Fury? From the airport?" Zach questioned him, but Fury remained as serious as he was. "I suppose we can add an "exceptional memory" to your skills, now can we? But just as Agent Romanoff expressed, I've had S.H.I.E.L.D. keep our eyes on you." Zach held back a chuckle, seeing the ironic statement.

"She's just one of the many agents assigned to you over the years" Fury elaborated precisely. "And Agent Coulson has been taking time to not have you registered on the Index." Zach opened his mouth to ask, but Natasha had answered his question for him. "That's S.H.I.E.L.D's list of gifted individuals."

"It's a short list to be sure, with a lot of dangerous people and objects on it," Fury explained. "And seeing your predicament, I decided to not put you on it. It's a bitch of paperwork."

Zach looked in between the two spies, and back at Fury. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked. "You've had people watch me for years, and I don't think you'd kill me either."

"I'd prefer to explain your situation between the two of us," Fury drawled, and looked to his trusted agent. "I'll leave Agent Romanoff to talk to you before I explain further; I'm sure she had some things to say." He turned in another direction, walking off to look around.

Zach turned back to Natasha, who took his hand in hers. "I'm truly sorry you had to find out like this," She said quickly to him. "I know what you've been through, and trust me, I had no intention of hurting you more than you've already been – Mmm..." Zach had pressed his lips onto hers, as the two shared a sweet kiss.

Natasha put her arms on Zach's neck, and looked into his eyes, knowing he had forgiven her. "I really like what we had together, everything together," She softly whispered. "And I want to do this, but let's not put a title on things, shall we?" Zach nodded, and she placed another sweet, but short kiss on his lips. "I'll see you soon... Zachy."

With that, she rubbed his cheek, and turned to raise her fist high outside the smashed window to release a grappling hook from the bracelet silos, and repelled herself down. Zach turned back to Fury who took his hands out of his pockets with an object in his hands.

"The reason I didn't have you on The Index is because I made a promise to your mother." Fury's tone changed. "Your birth mother, Carol Danvers." He opened his hand to show him a pager, a long-forgotten device from the 90s, but it had some more bits and pieces added to it. "This was a pager I used when I was a Level Three Agent, same model when I encountered your mother for the first time."

"I did have it taken away from me, for good reason," Fury reasoned. "But I got it back with a few modifications. It's now a way to contact her across planets, but she told me I could only use it when there's an emergency." Zach took a look at the pager, now emboldening a Star symbol like the one he'd seen when he was eleven. "But I'm sure she's always thinking of you, wherever she is."

"I hope so too." Zach responded, as he handed back the pager to Fury, who pocketed again. "And from what we've seen when you and your father battled with Obadiah Stane, " Fury answered. "I'm sure there's a place for you in my upcoming initiative." And Fury gave something rare that Zach hadn't seen from him in the time he was talking to him.

A smile, and his hand on his shoulder.

"Keep a broader view on things," Fury lastly said as he blinked – his version of a wink – before he left him there. Goose – miraculously durable for her species – walked up the stairs of the workshop, and noticed Fury, who meowed at the familiar face. However, Fury was not amused at seeing the creature and muttered, remembering how he truly lost his eye.

"Motherfuckin' Flerken."

Randy's Donuts – The Donut, 2008.

Tony perched himself inside the giant donut of the Randy's Donuts establishment, munching and crunching on a box dozen of donuts. He wore a pair of red Ray-Ban sunglasses, still recovering from his hell of a hangover.

"Sir! I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut!" A voice called to him, as Tony lifted his sunglasses down, seeing Nick Fury, the figure he encountered months ago on the ground, and entering the donut shop.

"I told you, I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band," Tony grumbled, still fighting off his hangover, sitting across from Fury, staring his dumbassery down. "No, no, no – see, I remember, you do everything yourself." Fury retorted. "How's that working out for you?"

"It's – it's – It's..." Tony stumbled before eyeing Fury. "I'm sorry, I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot, do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly, I'm a bit hungover, not sure if you're real of if I'm having–"

"I am very real," Fury leaned in seriously. "I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck– where's the staff here?" Tony brushed off, looking around the donut shop, but as he did, Fury took a look at the marks on his neck, now spreading near his right ear. "That's not looking so good." He remarked as he studied the patterns.

"I've been worse," Tony brushed off once again as he heard footsteps from behind him, reaching the table.

"We've secured the perimeter," a familiar voice to him spoke up. "But I don't think we should hold it for too much longer." Tony's sunglasses leaned down his nose as he saw his "assistant" before him in completely different clothing.

Natalie Rushman – or now rather – Natasha Romanoff was standing facing her "boss", while Tony looked dumbfounded. "Huh!" He exclaimed as Fury grinned. "You're... fired."

"That's not up to you," Natasha retorted calmly and took a seat next to Fury. "Tony – I want you to meet Agent Romanoff." Fury introduced her as Tony put his arm on forehead. It all became clear to him; she was too good to be true, because she wasn't true. "I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. shadow. Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

"And not forgetting to add her mission, just as important as her watching your dumbass," Fury added. "Watching out for your son, like S.H.I.E.L.D. had been doing for years now."

"I'm sorry – my son has been stalked by your group for years? That was why she was around him so much?" Tony asked in confusion. "I know what you told me, but you never mentioned that; I suggest you apologize."

"Your son is very bright, Mr. Stark," Natasha claimed. "He knows the truth now, and yes, that was. He's also very sweet."

"And you've been very busy; you made your girl and your son your CEOs," Fury listed. "You're giving away all your stuff, you let your friend fly away with your suit! Now, if I didn't know better..."

"You don't know better," Tony interrupted him. "I didn't give it to him; he took it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, he took it?" Fury exclaimed as Natasha still smirked. "You're Iron Man and he took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit?" He turned to Natasha. "Is that possible?"

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database guidelines," Natasha explained coyly. "There are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage." Fury turned back to stark with a glare in his eye. "What do you want from me?" Tony asked the two of them.

"What do you want from you?" Fury mocked his tone, while Natasha got up and left. "Nah-uh-uh, you have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with." He pointed accusingly at Stark. "Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with." Natasha returned with a syringe in hand, and through all the talking, Fury snapped his fingers and quickly said "Hit him."

A syringe was jabbed into Stark's neck by Natasha, making him jolt in pain. "Oh, God!" Tony exclaimed in pain as Natasha grabbed him by the chin and moved his head to see the veins on his neck disappearing. "Are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it?" He sarcastically asked. "Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds?

"What'd she just do to me?" Stark asked as Natasha sat by his side. "What did we just do for you?" Fury reiterated. "That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

"Give me a couple boxes of that, I'll be right as rain," Tony remarked, feeling better already. "It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms." Natasha said.

"Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix," Fury added, seeing as there were still signs of them. "Trust me, I know, I'm good at this stuff," Tony reasoned. "I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

"Well, I'm here to tell you," Fury leaned in once more. "You haven't tried them all."

Malibu, 2008

Fury and Tony were standing inside the wrecked mansion, as other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents canvassed the area. "That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology." Fury told Stark.

"No, it was finished," Tony explained. "It has never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my..."

"No. Howard said the arc reactor was the stepping stone to something greater." Fury retorted once more. "He was about to kick off an energy race that was gonna dwarf the arms race. He was on to something big, something so big that it was gonna make the nuclear reactor look like a – triple-A battery."

"Just him," Tony asked. "Or Anton Vanko in on this too?"

"Anton Vanko is the other side of that coin," Fury noted. "Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When your father found out, he had him deported. When the Russians found out he couldn't deliver, they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next twenty years in a vodka-fuelled rage." Fury took a sip of his drink. "Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in, the son you had the misfortune of crossing paths with in Monaco."

"You told me I hadn't tried everything," Tony repeated. "What do you mean I haven't tried everything? What haven't I tried?" Fury looked back off to the ocean. "He said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."

"He said that?" "Are you that guy? 'Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart."

"I don't know where you get your information, but he wasn't my biggest fan."

"What do you remember about your dad?"

"He was cold, he was calculating," Tony jogged his memory. "He never told me he loved me, he never told me he liked me, so it's a little tough for me to digest that you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me, and he's passing it down. I don't get that."

"You're talking about a guy who's happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school," Tony grimaced at the memories, not wanting to be Howard to Zach. "That's not true." Fury said.

"Well, then clearly you knew my dad better than I did," Tony said as he began to lean back in his chair, before Fury dropped a delicious little bombshell on him.

"As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"What?" Tony exclaimed, just as Fury stood up and two agents set a case in front of them. " I've got a two o'clock." Fury bluntly stated as he prepared to leave. "Okay, you're good right?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Tony asked, pointing to all the stuff in front of him. "What's this? No, I'm not good!"

"You got this right?" "Got what? I don't even know what I'm supposed to get."

"Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact, only person that isn't S.H.I.E.L.D that knows apart from you is Zach." Fury explained further, just as Agent Phil Coulson arrived. "And you remember Agent Coulson, right?"

Tony acknowledged, and Fury put his signature trench coat back on. "And Tony, remember, I got my eye on you." He warned as he left.

"We've disabled all communications." Natasha told him. "No contact with the outside world. Good luck." She too left after that, leaving Coulson and Tony alone in the mansion.

Tony turned to Coulson with a tilt. "Please," he scoffed. "First thing, I need a little bodywork, I'll put in a little time at the lab." He commanded Coulson. "If we can send one of your goon squad down to the Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, or something like that, that'd be nice."

"I'm not here to do that," Coulson denied with his signature calm smile. "I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave, or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool on the carpet. Okay?"

"I think I got it, yeah."

"Enjoy your evening's entertainment."

Tony took the box of H.Stark down to the workshop, finding blueprints for the arc reactor, newspaper articles and video reels. Into an old-timey video player goes the reel, and Tony sat back as he drifted through everything inside and let the video play.

"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust heath, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here. City of the Future? City of Tomorrow? City of..."

Howard Stark walked back to run through his line, and began again, just as the older Tony flipped through a notebook, crossing through a page with a model of a Tesseract.

"I'm Howard Stark and everything you'll need in the future can be found right here. So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I would like to personally... Tony, what are you doing back there?"

The present Tony watched his father scold his younger self as the mischievous child had taken a piece of Howard's diorama.

"What is that?  Put that back. Put it back where you got it from. Where's your mother? Maria? Go on. Go, go, go, go."

After another outtake, Howard started again with his Stark Expo speech.

"So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I'd like to personally show you... my ass. I'd like to... I can't... This is... I can't... We have this, don't we? This is a ridiculous way... Everything." Howard joked around, but got himself together. The present Tony had reached the end of the notebook, presumably the last page he flipped was the last thing Howard ever wrote.

"Tony. You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you."

Tony looked up to see his father, now without his blazer, and staring into the camera.

"I built this for you. And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out.

"And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be – my greatest creation – is you."

(a/n: goddamn it, who's cutting the damn onions all the time!)

After all this time, Tony finally knew it. His father did love him deep down, even through all the memories he had of him, he finally knew his father cared so much for him. Tony almost felt like he was going to cry, and Howard's final words had resonated with him too as a father.

Some time later...

Tony had acquired the old diorama from Pepper's office, but also learned that Zach would be moving out soon, and going to move to New York with Amara and Jayden, but still kept the title of Co-C.E.O to help Pepper. Tony had felt bad, and had since Zach's childhood room was now full with cardboard boxes. There was a note affirming to him that it had nothing to do with Tony, but it may be time for him to leave the nest once more.

Yet Tony was still hard at work, synthesizing the model into a hologram because now Tony had seen the model for what it truly was. An atomic model.

"I'm discovering... correction... I'm rediscovering an element, I believe," Tony told J.A.R.V.I.S. "Lose the landscaping, the shrubbery, the trees," He told himself as he flicked everything off. "Parking lots, exits, entrances. Structure the protons and the neutrons using the pavilions as a framework." J.A.R.V.I.S had now modeled it to resemble a nucleus, as Tony expanded it in his chair, watching the atoms around him. He gasped in amazement as he snapped it back down to fit in his hand.

"Dead for almost twenty years... and still taking me to school," Tony joked.

"The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium." Jarvis confirmed to him.

"Thanks, Dad." Tony solemnly appreciated him.

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesize."

Yet that didn't stop Tony. With Zach's help, the two managed to create a process by which the synthesis could be possible. Coulson had been reassigned to New Mexico for something he claimed had to do with a "unmovable hammer," so Tony was semi-off-the-hook from potential tasing.

Before he left, Tony had instructed him to use a prototype of Captain America's shield (something Zach was over the world to find), but had used it to make the coil perfectly level.

An hour later, their prismatic accelerator was complete. Zach was using his powers to make the accelerator work, while Tony was keeping it stable and in check.

Just as it was reaching maximum power, Tony turned the prism within into a chamber with a triangle inside, powering it enough as it glowed harder and harder until...

The triangle was now glowing on its own. The father and son turned to each other in excitement as they both rushed to the device holding it, while Tony picked it up from the inlay with a pair of tweezers and into an arc reactor.

"Congratulations. You both have created a new element."

—-----------------

"So, you're really gonna be moving out?" Tony asked his son, who nodded. "When did that happen?" Zach shrugged. "Kinda been in the works for a little bit," He admitted. "Gotta get back on my feet somehow, gotta – be my own man, y'know?"

"It's going to be my old place in New York, just readjusted and everything." Zach explained. "It's big enough for Jayden to run around, Amara to work from home, and anything else." Tony nodded in response and walked towards his son. "You know I'm proud of you, right?" Tony asked him as he put his hand on his shoulder. "Of everything you've done. Every single thing, I'm proud of."

Zach simply couldn't find the words. It had been so long since they had a good old heart-to-heart. "Thanks, D-Dad." Zach's voice broke, just as Tony offered him a hug. "Just do me a favor, alright, kid?" Tony asked him, as he nodded. "Don't make me a grandpa this early, okay? Zach chuckled at the statement. "Oh, definitely. I don't want to be a dad just yet, the uncle title is good enough for me."

"Incoming call with a blocked number, sir."  J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up, as Tony got up towards the phone. "Our phone privilege has been restored!" Tony exclaimed in joy as he picked up the phone. "Lovely... Coulson! How's the land of enchantment?"

But it wasn't Phillip J. Coulson. It was someone from "far beyond the grave."

"Hey, Tony, how you doing?" Ivan's voice rang through the workshop. "I double-cycle."

"You what?" Tony asked for clarification, as Zach couldn't believe Vanko was still alive. The whole world believed Ivan Vanko died in a prison explosion. "You told me double cycle's more power. Good advice."

"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy," Tony rebuttuted, before muting his speaker to motion to Zach. "Trace him."

"Now, the true history of the Stark name will be written," Ivan bitterly announced. "Jarvis is accessing the Oracle grid." Zach told his father before getting a ping. "He's on the Eastern Seaboard."

"What your father did to my family over forty years," Vanko continued his monologue. "I will do to you in forty minutes.

"Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out." Tony argued back, just as Zach got specific locations. "Tri-State area, around Manhattan." He spoke up.

"I hope you're ready," Ivan growled and ended the call. "We've got to run some tests, Dad," Zach said as he donned his supersuit. "We don't know much about this new element."

"Let J.A.R.V.I.S run them, and assemble the suit while he's at it." Tony commanded for Jarvis, as he plugged in the new triangular design into his chest. He groaned at the sensation of the element,  now powering him and keeping him alive. "Wow, that tastes like coconut!" He shouted as the reactor beamed brighter and brighter. "And metal... oh, wow, YEAH!"