|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 115• Big Bad Boss Man

"Boss, where have you been? You've been gone for a while." Theo said after lifting his protective mask. Toomes pulled the zipper of his jacket down and shrugged it off his shoulders. He was still trying to let his memories sink in and settle in his mind. What he saw was real; Tony Stark was alive and well. "We've been here waiting for you." Toomes waved his partner's comments away with his hand. He was trying to think. How was that possible? Either he was a really good actor, and they lied to the entire world, or something else happened that brought that bastard back from the dead somehow. His head kept telling him to think about the first option that made the most sense to him, and it would have to anyone. They held a funeral for that guy, the whole world mourned when he passed away. "So, where have you been?" Theo asked him again. "I was taking care of something. The new part ready yet?" Toomes stood beside his partner and looked over his shoulder. "I think so. I can ask Jeff to run some tests with the wings. You should be able to move a lot smoother with this when you're in the suit, but we have to test it since this is the first time we're working with our own energy source." Toomes inspected the little glowing capsule made by Theo and Jeffery, two of his new partners. "I really hope you two did something good here. The last three didn't go so well. I didn't really enjoy getting those phone calls about the little explosion you caused." Theo rolled his eyes. Toomes' lack of faith could be very discouraging sometimes. Not to mention mean and rude. "That's not going to happen now. Okay? I've already run some tests on it and no explosions so far. Have a little faith, would you? I don't see you tearing an alien energy core apart and then putting your own back together using molecules from the aliens." Toomes glanced up and patted him on the back gently. "That is exactly why you are doing it and not me." 

Theo smirked at himself as his boss got up to pour both of them a cup of coffee. They sure as hell could use one. "So, how did it go with Stark?" Toomes sighed in defeat. Tony Stark and Spider-Man showed up to take her away when he was just getting started to get her on his side. He couldn't tell his team like that, he would be so embarrassed and made fun of. Aside from that, no one would believe that Tony Stark was alive and well. At least, he was well enough to come search for his daughter and take her with him. "She escaped." Theo looked at his boss, his expression shocked. "She escaped? Boss, how did you manage to let her escape? The plan was solid." His already sharp jawline tightened. He straightened his back, sitting up straight in his chair, and crossed his slightly muscular arms over his chest. His shoulders look even more broad than normal. "It was." He agreed with his partner. He just couldn't say it; Theo would think he was crazy. There was something strange going on here. He hadn't reacted like that to Stark himself at first, of course not, he couldn't show that he was in shock. How was he still alive? That just can't be. Everyone on the planet knows what happened. Tony Stark died and saved everyone, bringing the world back to the way it was, that's how it happened. It was him, not some kind of AI. "We can get a serious lawsuit up our asses if she talks. Did you think about that? We can get into trouble. You can go back to prison!" As if he doesn't know that. "Fortunately, we might have the advantage. The kid was knocked out; I didn't think she was going to talk any time soon." He set the coffee in front of his partner and sipped his own. But it was too hot and it hurt his lips, making him hiss loudly. His partner chuckled and blew on the hot drink before drinking it. "You said she escaped, though, if she was passed out, how would she have escaped?" 

Perhaps this was the time to tell him. "Don't call me insane, alright? Gotta hear me out on this one." Toomes told him. Just by saying that, of course, Theo was already starting to pull a weird face of distrust. "She was rescued. By Iron Man." Yes, this was the moment where he was going to lose his entire team just by mentioning this. He was already filling up with regret. "I think you lost your mind while you were locked away or maybe you were short on oxygen while you were away or something. I don't know how much time you spent in your suit flying around the city." Theo replied, "Have you gone mad?" He added. Adrian Toomes was not crazy. "Iron Man is dead." Toomes tilted his head slightly. "Do you think I don't know that? But I know what I saw. He came after me, but I told him he should stay with his daughter. She wasn't doing well." He said. "So, you think it was him in that suit? That it was actually him? Come on. You don't actually think that-" Toomes cut him off. "I know what I saw, and I am very aware of what I heard. It was his voice and not some kind of AI. I know it sounds stupid and impossible. Have you never thought about what might have happened out there on the battlefield? We weren't there. Anything could have happened to him. Imagine, just imagine, if he did survive and he's just been hiding out all this time? She's got an insane property." It was a stretch. Toomes knew how crazy he sounded. Tony Stark died. Theo leaned back in his chair and started laughing. "You sound like such a dumbass. I know you're my boss and everything but you sound like a lunatic. You do know that, right?"