A little too tired of just hanging on

Chapter 07

Despite everything, the first thing Tony built with his new brand fingers was Rhodey's braces. He didn't know if the man would ever get them but it was actually soothing the genius' mind a little. They would make it possible for the military man to walk again and maybe be a colonel once more. Rhodey's feelings about War Machine had been clear, yet, just in case, the braces would also allow the man back in the armour. They would be the only thing left behind once Tony would have moved to his new house on the moon. The compound was going to be sold to the UN. Rhodes would find them there if he ever went to the workshop and only he could have access to it.Tony was pretty sure that the spy twins would try to get anything tech related for Shield. It wouldn't happen.

So, Stark Trek science was actually sound. How funny was that? After many tests with all things from screwdrivers to Dum-E to finally himself, it was clear the beaming technology was working and therefore, opening a lot of possibilities. People of the world didn't want him nearby anymore. Now he had the technology now to do just that. Tony wouldn't go against their will anymore. Not that he had been before.

Building robots was as easy as breathing for Tony, if not easier considering that before Extremis his breathing wasn't all that good. He just had to take into consideration the lack of gravity. Nothing overly difficult. Stark Industries had some satellites up there so he could have a look at the space still. The Hardest thing had been to send the first set of his robots there without alerting NASA or anybody. Somewhere, someone would probably see everything with a simple telescope. Tony just did it quickly. After all, it would only be a flash of light at the pole of the moon during a mere fraction of second.

Once there, in one of the moon crater, the little bots went working a little further away, mainly on the dark side. Out of sight, out of mind for anybody too curious. Anyway, it wasn't like anybody else on the planet could get up there easily, not even Wakanda. The first journey had been the trickiest one for Tony but from now on, he would have proper coordinates to send anything needed. The material for his new building was easy to find in the last of his warehouses. What he didn't have, it was more than easy to get. Money did buy everything.

As soon as the first sealed room was done, Tony moved there and invented quite a lot during the first weeks. He only brought his favourite sofa to sleep on, food and that was it. He spent hours working on things like improving the air and water system but also radars, telescopes and weaponry.. He needed to be self-sufficient. An arc reactor engine was powering it all and Tony already knew that there would be others. For the weaponry, the generator would need to be separated anyway. Siberia had taught him the importance of a back up plan for everything. He had sworn off the weapon business but almost straight away he had created or improved some for the Avengers. Guess that, as long as he wasn't selling them, it was ok in Captain America's book.

Space had scared him for quite a while now. Not the void or the immensity of it. Tony had seen what was on the other side of the portal. The Avengers wouldn't be enough. He wouldn't be enough even if he were to carry all the nukes in the world. Whoever was working with Loki or above the god had more than the means to not only attack Earth again but to completely destroy the planet. Nobody believed him when he tried to warn them. Natasha always dismissed him saying it was his big ego talking. 'Yes, he had been a hero that day, no need to remind them all the time'. But how was it so? Tony had barely given the planet a breather but it meant nothing if the Chitauri, or whoever they were, were still on their way. The Avengers should prepare. A war wasn't won after a lone battle.

After Ultron, things had been even worse. Tony had made the mistake of wanting to protect them all. It wasn't logical. Bruce and he weren't even close to an interface. Tony had been building AIs for the best part of his life. He knew what he was doing. Jarvis, Fridays, the bots and the others had never tried to take over the world. The genius had reviewed everything often and still it didn't make any sense.