The Invention Left By A Little Stark | Book 2

3) New Designs

SHIELD was dust at this point.

The organization - once one of the biggest in the world - was now naught but a memory to most. The leaks caused by Natasha changed everyone's perspectives on pretty much everything. However, the one thing that never wavered was the fear of HYDRA. After discovering that they had always been within SHIELD, people didn't trust the government anymore.

On the other hand, all hope wasn't lost. Although SHIELD was disbanded officially, a small faction remained.

Small teams still worked in its name to continue the good parts, fighting against the bad and ensuring the safety of humanity. Perhaps it would make a resurgence in time, perhaps the new SHIELD would remain hidden in the shadows, and perhaps it wouldn't last. Either way, the world was turning thanks to them.

After the argument between Strucker and Dr. List approximately five days beforehand, HYDRA was once again scheming. However, the focus of this particular day would be New York City.

It was early afternoon.

Kids fresh out of school for the weekend were running wild in the parks and streets, tourists were crowding every notable spot imaginable, stray animals were slinking around the alleys, and people were running around to get lunch on their work breaks.

It was chaos, but a good kind of chaos. The kind of chaos that makes you stop and stare, simply immersed in wonder of how far people had come since the disasters of previous years.

The Avengers played a big part in that.

They gained more and more recognition by the day, and other allies were also stepping up to defend their city.

NYC didn't house monsters or aliens anymore. The rumors of gangs and smugglers and dealers were still very real, but they were always dealt with before the trouble got bad. Burglary, heists, speeding, and Karens were still a threat of course but the Avengers and other vigilantes normally let the police handle those ones.

Now, inside Stark Tower, Tony was in his main lab. The employees were at work with the new interns and most of the other staff were on lunch break, leaving him undisturbed.

The Avengers were having a week off after taking care of a rebel group selling weapon tech in Boston. It was a well deserved break.

Steve was out with Sam attempting to find a not dead best friend from the 40s, Thor was off-world, Clint was out of state, Natasha was in the fashion district, and Bruce was on a video call with Tony while at a family reunion.

"Check this out." Tony told his friend, adjusting the view to display his newest creation.

It was an autopilot Iron Man suit with a hulk buster arm. Although it was intended to fly on its own, JARVIS was in control for now.

In front of the suit was a large target strapped to an even larger mannequin bolted to the floor.

After Tony snapped his fingers, JARVIS set the suit into motion. Bruce watched intently, hoping the creation would be enough. The whole point of it was to subdue Hulk after all. If he ever frenzied and lost control, they would need a way to keep him in check.

On the other hand, he didn't approve of Tony's work habits. The man had been up for days at a time just throwing himself into every step and not stopping until it was perfected.

Bruce was surprised as he watched the buster arm deliver a blow to the mannequin target. The top of the mannequin bent back but quickly sprung up again, only to be greeted with a series of punches from the arm. If he had to compare it, he'd say it resembled a yoyo movement.