Tony Stark (in_extremis) wrote in oh_marvelous, @ 2013-05-09 16:18:00 |
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Restitution
Characters: Normal Tony, Justin Hammer
Setting: S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ
Content: Some mind control stuff, if that bothers you.
Summary: Evil Tony made some changes that Tony cannot get behind, so he's on clean-up.
"Mr. Stark is here to see you."
This whole thing would have been easier if there was more than two people who could be tasked with anything important-- more than two people, Tony thought, that he could trust and were actually around to help instead of cowboying across the planet and saying so clearly with his silence, 'Deal with your own problems'. That was fine, Tony could deal, it would just be long and exhausting and eventually he was going to have to go toe to toe with Justin Hammer, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and real smug for such a tragic life of constant and swift irrelevance. It was coming for him, Tony just had to wait, but until then: there were two people he could trust, and Tony was one of them himself.
Pepper had the most practice at soothing ruffled feathers and carefully managing media releases, no matter the kind of manic episode Tony inflicted on her, so she (despite protests, complaints, and some tears) was in her element as Tony traced his doppelganger's steps and undid all of the more uncomfortable snares he left in the wire. There was one Tony was doing his damnedest to avoid, though, and one he kept on coming back to, dwelling on when he sat alone in the garage, ostensibly working on something brilliant that would keep their stocks from plunging after two months of unreliable indecision. He couldn't figure it. There was too much he was missing in the exchange between his Evil Twin and Justin Hammer. Hammer would never have just given him, him of all people, his company-- not ever, but especially not now when he not only cornered the market on weapons development and had absolute control over how they were used. The ability to create World War III if he wanted to make a pretty penny. Instead, he sat on it, then just handed it to Tony, easy as you like.
Tony really didn't like it.
He was more than prickly by the time he stood outside the temporary-Director's office by still offered a tight smile to the gal at the desk, who didn't seem all that surprised or perturbed by his appearance. She barely hesitated before announcing him to the man inside, then gave Tony a friendly smile that Tony didn't know what to do with other than return. He was still having what he was sure was a one-sided love affair with her when Hammer's door opened and had to raise his chin, straightening his jacket and clearing his throat before he could shake it off and meet Hammer's eye to propose, "Let's go for a ride."