The Secrets of Petra (Parker) Stark

7

Before anyone could act, an explosion blasted through the ship, sending everyone flying in all directions. 

"Put on the suit," Steve said.

"Yeah," Tony agreed.

Argument forgotten, the two men ran into the hallway to get the Ironman suit and see what they could do to help.

"Somebody's got to get outside and patch that engine. That's where we were hit and if we lose another one, we won't be in the air for much longer," Maria Hill said through the comm links. 

"Stark, you copy that?" Fury asked, knowing that Tony was always listening in through the suit.

"I'm on it."

Everyone got to work, following Fury's orders to either keep the Helicarrier in the air, or to deal with the intruders... Or the Hulk.

It was a stressful, draining fight, and Loki and his men escaped, but they all made it out alive.

Well, almost all of them.

"Agent Coulson is down," Fury's somber voice rang through the comms.

"A medical team is on its way to your location," an agent started.

"They're here. They called it."

Tony froze. No. Nonononono. After everything, everything, he had to lose Coulson too.  Especially when Coulson had an idea of what happened to Anne. Do not misunderstand, Tony had grown fond of Coulson and his death shook him to the core, but losing that information of where his daughter is made it that much worse.

How was he going to tell Pepper?

Nick Fury called Steve and Tony to the meeting table. Steve's eyes were fixed on the table and Tony was staring off into space, numb. There was a thick silence all around the Helicarrier. Everyone was mourning. 

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket," Fury stated, breaking Tony out of his thoughts. "I guess he never did get you to sign them." Fury tossed Coulson's now blood stained Captain America trading cards onto the table. Steve picked one up to examine. "We're dead in the air up here," Fury continued. "Our communications, the location of the cube, Banner, Thor... I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye."

Somehow, Tony knew that Fury was not referring to the one hidden behind an eyepatch.

"Maybe I had that coming. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring a together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea."

Tony looked away.

"In heroes."

Unable to take it anymore, Tony walked off. He allowed his legs to take him wherever they wanted to go. Tony ended up in the area where Loki had been imprisoned. Where Phil Coulson died. Tony gazed into the open abyss where the cage had fallen with Thor into it. He heard footsteps coming from the entrance of the room.

"Was he married?" Steve asked. 

"No."

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He was. The best. But he was an idiot."

"Why? For believing?"

Here we go again. "For taking on Loki alone."

"He was doing his job."

Tony scoffed. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..."