maskormenace

Recent events have me thinking.

[ Stark says, taking a sip from his cup, before he focuses back on a camera. It's a lot more HD than your usual import camera -- then again, nothing but the best for Tony Stark. ]

In recent months, we've had people showing up, different times, completely different people, and now there's word of people sticking around. That's different, it's never happened before. [ A pause, a sip. ] But who knows, it could be a fluke, right? Or maybe I don't have complete data. Anyone else heard of anything like that happening?

I mean, that's as an aside. I've... I've seen a lot of people hold themselves responsible -- myself included -- for things that someone who isn't them did. Either a person they become, a person they were and aren't anymore -- or a completely different person.

Would you hold them responsible? After my...unfortunate incident I found people were holding me responsible for things that this -- different version of me had done. Is that a constant? Should people be held accountable for things that they weren't necessarily guilty of? If I'm ported out tomorrow, would the Tony Stark that replaces me be held accountable for anything I did over my time here?

[ Another pause then. His finger drums against the glass. ] Anyone have any thoughts?

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[ For a moment, he sounds wistful. ]

They were great. We were a hell of a team back then.

[ There's something-- sad, but proud, in Erik's voice. ]

Yeah.

Well. Thank you, then.

[ For being there for them where Erik wasn't, for whatever reason. Even though this Wanda hates him, for some other reason. He doesn't know why really, just that wanting to throw cars at Tony seems to run in the family. ]

I'd say it's not for you, but that's not the point, I know.

They were good people, back then. [ Were. Of course. ]

We all were.

As far as I know, they still are.

Are you going to tell me otherwise?

Things changed.

[ A pause. ]

It's confidential.

It's about my children.

[ A beat.

A pause. ]

You want to know? Fine.

[ He paused, and there's a shift, the video is a little more real, a little less digitized. It's obvious he half-speaks through the comms as a digital construct, more than a person. ]

Wanda fell in love with a robot created by Ultron -- who was in turn an evil world-conquering robot created by a fellow Avenger. Vision was based on the brainwaves of another Avenger -- Wonder Man.

After falling in love, they quit for a while, and left. Had children -- or Wanda created them herself. Who knows. They weren't the children of a Robot, that's for certain. They were erased, of course, because they weren't real.

Pietro, understandably, wasn't exactly keen on the whole thing, and left for the moon with Crystal. He wouldn't talk to Wanda for a while. They had their daughter, Luna, up there. Anyway, they end up splitting, and Pietro does his whole thing. I'm pretty sure he did some bad things, but it's not important for what happened.

See, Wanda returned to the Avengers. Without memory of the children -- but we remembered. One of us slipped, I think it was Jan, if I remember right from what they told me. It's not important. What's important is what she did after. She killed Ant Man and Hawkeye, she warped reality to where you were in charge. Made me drunk -- in the middle of a long period of my sobriety -- in the middle of a UN meeting. I lost my position as Secretary of Defense for it.

Anyway, she changed reality. To where your family was in charge. So she could have her children. It's only thanks to a few that we returned to normal -- obviously Billy and Tommy came with them -- and... well, nobody remembers. Unless you have access to the specific SHIELD files.

Oh, and when things went back to normal, she almost completely eradicated mutants from the world. [ A pause. ] Probably one of the reasons why Pietro got addicted to Terrigen Mists, by the way. Trying to get powers back, but it wasn't worth it. [ A lift of his shoulder. ]

So as I said: they were good ones. Not so much these days.

[ Wow tell me how you really feel... ]

[ The thing is.

He's almost destroyed the world for his children. He can't even argue with what Wanda did. And to think of being unpowered.

He can't even be mad at either of them. ]

Thank you for the truth.

I want to stress. This is classified.

For a reason.

What, you think I can't keep a secret?

I think when it comes to your kids, all bets are off.

No, you're right.

Your secret is safe.

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