Worlds Apart

Chapter 13

A/N

I know not all of you may be in or from America but today is Thanksgiving here and so I just wanted to say real quick that I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving (or just a good day in general if you don't celebrate) and that I'm so thankful for all of you who have read and/or interacted with this story! I am having so much fun writing and sharing this with you all, and I hope you all decide to stick around! :)

I also just wanted to throw it out there real quick that I started another story, so if you like my writing and want to see more, please feel free to check it out! It's called "The Asgardian Lost in Time" and it's already up on my page!

Enjoy the chapter!

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When Max looked up to the night sky and saw the ball of light and fire emanating from Tony Stark's suit zig-zagging through the fireworks display and towards the stage as "Shoot to Thrill" by ACDC played over the loudspeaker, her heart fluttered with excitement and she found herself having a hard time keeping herself still and calm. Of course, getting to meet Pepper Potts (and then Tony Stark) was something of a miracle in and of itself, but this...this was just insane.

Sure, she might have seen this scene at least a dozen times over the years, but getting to see it in person was something else entirely. Max had gotten a small taste of that feeling when she saw the news broadcast where Tony had come out to the world as Iron Man, but this was so different.

For one, this was in person and not on a small hotel television screen, and secondly, she knew what was going on this time. It wasn't until after the broadcast that she'd learned she was in the MCU, so she didn't get to appreciate it quite like she was getting to now.

Finally, in a blaze of glory, Tony landed in a "Spider-Man pose" - for lack of a better term - center downstage, then rose to his feet and stood with his feet apart and his arms spread out into the air. Watching Tony in his suit of iron - or rather, his suit of a nickel-titanium alloy if Max remembered correctly - stand there with the lights display and themed dancers behind him made Max experience an incredible mixture of awe and nostalgia.

After a few moments, the circle platform he'd landed on began to slowly spin and mechanical arms began to take the armor off of Tony's body, starting with his helmet. The crowd went wild over the sight. Finally, perfectly timed with the ending of the song, in true Tony Stark fashion, Tony was completely stripped of his metal suit and instead stood in his actual suit, looking behind him as the dancers circled around him and hit their finishing pose.

The crowd continued to cheer, a few even setting off some noise makers, and began to chant his name.

"Oh, it's good to be back!" he said, beginning to clap along with the crowd as he turned around to face them. "You missed me?"

"Blow something up!" one voice said, slightly louder than the rest of the crowd, and apparently close enough to the stage that Tony was able to hear it.

"I missed you too- Blow something up? I already did that," Tony replied. The cheering died down some, allowing the opportunity for Tony to start his speech. "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me."

The crowd began to erupt with cheer once again and Max found herself subtly mouthing along the words that came from Tony's. She was kind of surprised just how much was coming back to her, considering it had been just about six months since she had seen or heard anything relating to the Marvel films, but she was thoroughly enjoying herself nonetheless.

"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history." Tony spread his arms wide in acceptance of the audience's praise, before letting them fall back down at his side once again. The cheering became loud enough that Tony began having to raise his voice to be heard over the roar of the crowd. "I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea, because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day!"