I have a new fanfic, Lords & Towers, read it if you're interested.
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~ Leonardo's Studio ~
Leonardo silently contemplated the painting he had just finished. It was the third piece he had completed in recent months, though he hadn't exhibited any of them yet. He planned to unveil them all at once. He wanted the impact to be total.
"Finished?" asked Gwen from the doorway, arms crossed.
Lately, she spent more time at Leonardo's place than her own, so she was up to date on almost everything. He told her many things. More than he should.
"Yes," Leonardo replied without taking his eyes off the canvas. "I'll present them tomorrow... and enjoy the show."
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"You know, I think you enjoy watching Tony Stark's life a bit too much."
Leonardo used to paint all sorts of people. But when it came to Stark, there was something different in the way he looked—almost like his eyes lit up.
"Well, Tony Stark is kind of the main character in this story, you know?" he said with a crooked smile.
Gwen shook her head, amused, and sighed.
"You give him too much credit."
Leonardo didn't argue. He simply smiled calmly. After all, to most people, Stark was just an eccentric superhero with an oversized ego.
But to someone like Leonardo... Tony Stark meant much more than that. He was a turning point.
And there was no way to explain something like that.
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~ Stark Mansion ~
Tony stood in front of a storm of holograms, all rotating around a single concept: reinforcing the security of the Avengers Tower. Magical threats were still a black hole in their defenses, and that frustrated him.
That's when JARVIS's voice interrupted his thoughts.
'Sir, you are once again the main subject of Laplace's paintings.'
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Again? I'm in his new piece?"
'Actually, sir... there are three new paintings. And all three center around you.'
"Three? Looks like Laplace has been pretty inspired" he said with irony. "Show me."
Three paintings appeared before him.
The first showed a man. His face seemed vaguely familiar, though Tony didn't recognize him right away. If JARVIS said he was related to him, he had to be important. But Tony didn't pay it much attention and moved on to the next.
His expression changed instantly.
It was him. Buried under tons of rubble. He recognized the place: the very mansion he was standing in.
He moved to the third.
This time, it wasn't him who was injured. It was Pepper. And she was in bad shape.
Tony felt a knot in his stomach.
"JARVIS. Call Pepper. Now."
'Right away, contacting Pepper Potts...'
A second later, the call connected.
"Tony? Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?" he asked urgently.
"What? Yeah, of course. Why? Did something happen?"
"No... No, I just wanted to make sure everything's alright."
Pepper hesitated before answering.
"Nothing strange has happened to me. But at the company, someone keeps trying to partner with us. We've turned down the offers, but they're persistent."
Tony didn't even hear that part. He only cared about her.
"Perfect. As long as you're okay, handle it as usual."
He ended the call. Pepper stared at the phone, confused.
Tony, meanwhile, turned to his screens.
"JARVIS, contact Fury. Have him take care of Pepper's protection."
'Understood.'
Tony trusted his men. He would've even called Rhodey if necessary. But Fury was more paranoid than he was. If he had already seen the paintings—and he probably had—he was likely already watching her with a full team.
That was enough, for now.
"JARVIS, who's the guy in the first painting?"
'Facial recognition identifies him as Aldrich Killian, founder and director of A.I.M., a private scientific organization.'
"And how is he connected to the other two paintings?"
'It's just a theory, but he may be responsible. Since its founding, multiple A.I.M. competitors have suffered mysterious deaths or bankruptcies. This allowed them to rise quickly—from irrelevant to mid-to-high level enterprise in just over a decade.'
"That sounds shady. Have you accessed their internal channels? I want everything you can find."
'Of course, sir.'
After a few seconds, JARVIS projected a flood of data. There was everything: research, emails, records.
Compromising information. But nothing illegal.
"So they know how to cover their tracks... JARVIS, search from the other end. Check the deaths and try to connect them."
New data began to float. Images of crime scenes, newspaper headlines, police reports. The same pattern repeated.
'Investigations point to a group known as 'the Ten Rings,' but there's no direct connection to A.I.M.'
Tony frowned. He knew that name.
They were the ones who had kidnapped him years ago. The cave, the missiles, the first suit... it all started there.
But according to JARVIS, it wasn't the same group. They only shared the name.
"It can't be a coincidence. If Laplace painted it, there's a connection. Even a subtle one."
He didn't have time to keep thinking. His phone vibrated. Fury.
"Tony, protec—!"
The rest was lost in a deafening explosion.
The mansion shook. Columns gave way. Everything collapsed.
But Tony already had the suit on. His quick reflexes had saved him.
"JARVIS. Status."
'Suit at 67%. All systems functional.'
Tony looked up. A helicopter hovered among the rubble.
It flew straight toward him.
"Last chance. Surrender, or be destroyed."
The response was a hail of bullets.
Tony shielded himself with his arms. His eyes gleamed with a mix of fury and intensity.
"Alright then..."
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+20 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)