I Will Follow You Into The Dark~ On Hold

Chapter 27

There had been a few points of time where Tony had been petrified. One was hearing about his parents' deaths. The guilt that suffocated him afterwards was enough to kill him. He had spent weeks, months even, struggling with the concept that he was never going to be able to apologise to his father. He had grown up thinking that old man Howard hated him, that he was a mistake; and the last conversation that the two male Starks had before Howard and Maria had left only further proved it. His mother was his only parent, that was until his godmother Lilja, and his two aunts, Peggy and Freya came into the picture. One minute, his mother was there for him, the next, he only saw her at graduations or at family dinners. But no matter their time apart, he knew that she loved him.

The next most frightening point in his life would had to have been his time in the hospitality of 'The Ten Rings'. He had almost died in those caves. However, it was in those caves, saying goodbye to the memories of his loved ones that he came up with the arc reactor, the device that not only saved his life but also birthed the hero, Ironman. One of the first people he saw were Pepper and Lilja. They had picked him up from the airport, along with Rhodes. Those three meant the whole world to him; and they still did.

The third time he feared for his life was when he was flying up into the portal during the battle of New York. God, he was petrified, but there was no way he was going to let countless of citizens die because of a bunch of bureaucratic assholes decided that a nuke was the way to eliminate the Chitauri army. Too many lives had already been slain by those beasts and Loki, or so they thought at the time.

Thinking back on his past experiences, Tony was left with a sense of revelation. It was a frightening thought that he, Tony Stark, self-proclaimed hero, Ironman, had something in common with the God of Mischief and Lies. Both their fathers seemed to have felt indifferent towards their sons, while their mothers always loved them while standing by their husbands' sides.

Tony still suffered PTSD from all three of those incidents; but the worst had to be seeing Lilja on that hospital bed, slowly perishing away from a toxin that couldn't be cured by anything, except for the power of the mind. He had watched as both Loki and Strange failed, his hope dwindling with each unsuccessful attempt. How the Mystic Art Wizard expected him to be able to help, he didn't know but he owed it to Lilja to try. Standing by her bed, he gripped her hand, his eyes glaring into Strange's while the rest of the room waited for them to connect with the loving soul that held a piece of them all.

He watched as golden discs took over his blurry vision. They were standing on a rooftop, his eyes blinking several times. Groaning, Tony watched as Strange narrowed his eyes on a man who stood before him.

"Strange, the Ancient One warned me you would be returning. You cannot be here." The man called out to them. Tony watched as Strange groaned and shook his head.

"Wong, why is she preventing me from helping Sigyn of Asgard?"

The man shrugged, "When does she ever explain herself? All she said was that the woman had to see the consequences of her death."

The words sent a shiver of fear down Tony's spine. He wanted to run into the room and hug his family member, demand that she fight it, so she could come home. Tears ran down his face as he turned away, sniffling. The man, Wong, handed Strange a sack of papers.

"The Ancient One will let you know when it is safe to return." With those words spoken, Strange dragged Tony, who definitely fought him, back through the portal that led them back to the healing rooms of Asgard.

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