Across the Universe

Alcohol pooled around the bottom of Tony’s glass forming a sloppy ring on his desk. Reclined in his desk chair Tony sat staring at the multiple holographic images he’d had Jarvis position strategically around him. Scarlett had been right when she’d assumed that waiting to check the camera footage of the nearby shops would be a mistake. When Tony had accessed their databases, which had been a simple task for him even inebriated, there was little to be found of note. Either the footage had been replaced with older recordings or had conveniently had an error at the precise time of the incident the night before.

Maybe he’d been too panicked to think with a clear head the night before. Not that he was exactly thinking with a clear head at the moment either, but still he saw the truth now in Scarlett’s arguments. Tony was well versed in the ways of alcohol and it would take more than he’d consumed to really throw off his game. Last night all he’d been able to think about was how much blood Scarlett had lost and how all his fears were coming to light.

“Roll the footage from the news reels again, Jarvis.”

“What exactly is it you’re hoping to accomplish doing that, sir?” Jarvis did as he was instructed and twelve screens in front of him showed varying reporters of age, gender, and ethnicity delivering their coverage of the fire that was blazing behind their news cameras. There was nothing left of the restaurant save for the foundation and ash after the blaze had finally gotten under control. Tony had watched that part of his childhood collapse repeatedly for what felt like hours. Time had gotten away from him somewhere along the line.

“Looking for clues.” He muttered, picking up the damp glass and taking another sip of the alcohol that no longer burned his throat as it once had.

“I’m not sure what you are expecting to find other than further speculation on what truly happened.”

“I don’t know either, Jarvis but it’s all we have.” Rubbing his temples with his left hand Tony didn’t take his eyes away from the screens in front of him.

“If you had allowed Miss Damien and I to hack into the mainframes when she had first…”

“I know! I know that, Jarvis. Why do you think I’m doing this? For my health?” Tony got up from where he sat and stumbled. When had his legs begun to feel like jelly? No matter. With a few steps he was able to regain his balance and walk around the desk. The screens followed him, each muted news report repeating the scene of the fiery blaze from various angles right down until the moment there was nothing left but ash.

“That is exactly what I have been curious of, sir. Why exactly are you doing this?” Tony knew that if he had allowed Scarlett access to Jarvis that night when they’d fought then things would be different. They’d have footage. They’d have clues to who had pursued her and leads to follow. Instead he’d let fear and anger control him and now they were left with nothing but animosity. Scarlett was no closer to putting a stop to MedCo and her ex-boyfriend than she had been when they’d flown home from Russia.

Somehow that hadn’t seemed like such a big problem the last few months. It should have been his main priority upon returning home but distance had muted the problem. Now it was eating away at Tony once again. Was this how she’d felt every day since they’d gotten together? Worried that at any moment Scott could show up and hurt her? Hell, she was likely more concerned that he would show up and hurt Tony! With all the blood and the frenzy of the press that had occurred after the fire Tony hadn’t seen that worry until he’d thrown wild accusations about the room.

It wasn’t Scarlett’s fault that people were pursuing her. There were many things that were her fault but this was not one of them. She’d only been trying to do something nice for him that night, right? Tony kept hoping that if he watched the scenes the news cameras had captured he’d find someone or something in the background that would lead him to the perpetrators. Somewhere he’d read something about how crazy people had a tendency to watch their crimes as they drew attention. They got off on it. And Scott was most definitely crazy, if not insane.

Besides, Scarlett was a skilled fighter. It was likely that there were injured, if not dead, men inside of that building. Not a single casualty had been reported on the news nor had there been a single arrest. He’d even contacted Agent Coulson to see if they’d captured anyone responsible for the fire and had been told there was no sign of them at the scene. Tony was beginning to think that someone had to have come by later in the night to clean up the mess but before the press had arrived. That window of opportunity was very slim and while he’d searched the security cameras for the hours surrounding the event he’d still found nothing of note.

Whoever was behind the attack was thorough and had known what they were doing. The only thing they likely couldn’t control was the media. If they could that likely meant it was one of his enemies and not Scarlett’s. Considering the amount of press that the blaze had gotten and how many tabloids were stacked up on his back desk were filled with rumor and conjecture on what had occurred, Tony guessed there wasn’t anyone with a political agenda behind it.

It was the first time in a very long time that Tony hoped someone would prove him wrong. If it was anyone besides MedCo and Scott he could take back what he said and maybe Scarlett could work with him on hunting them down again before they did strike. Why hadn’t they gotten to work on that after they’d gotten home? Scarlett had obviously wanted to at first but then they had adjusted to their life together and it became a sore subject that had been avoided at all costs.

Stubbornly Tony took another sip of his scotch. The images of fire blazed in front of him and anger grew in the pit of his stomach. Whoever had destroyed the restaurant was going to pay. There was no reason the two of them had to live in fear as long as they were together. And Scarlett was wrong! He trusted her! Didn’t he? Naturally, Tony was a very jealous boyfriend but that was just his nature. He liked to have the things that belonged to him in his possession at all times. It was practically stealing to hit on another man’s girl. Then again, he was the type to have done that to anyone in the past. How many women had he been with that had been married or dating someone else? It wasn’t something that occurred to him on a regular basis, at least not back then.

The rules often didn’t apply to Tony Stark. Fame, fortune, and genius allowed him to live a charmed life where laws were made to be broken and the only price he had to pay had dollar signs. After how calm the past few months had been for them, Tony had nearly forgotten how many people hated him. It wasn’t like he sat around thinking about who didn’t like him all day. The list went on and on in his mind of people who could’ve been targeting him. There had been rumors about his new girlfriend for months! When he’d been dating Pepper people had gone after her in an attempt to get to him too, so why would it be any different for Scarlett? For all Tony knew, those behind the fire and the attack on them that night could’ve been targeting him.

If that was the case how the hell would he narrow down the suspects? Somehow it still seemed an easier task than chasing down MedCo. Terrorist organizations like MedCo had spent years in the shadows learning how to navigate them. Tony had spent his entire life in the limelight so how would he make his way through the same shadows? He was a smart guy, obviously, but hiding was something he’d never been very good at. For as long as he could remember he’d been surrounded by the press and his life had been laid out for everyday folk to gawk at. Personally, Tony ate it up, but it wasn’t much paying off at the moment.

Scarlett was good at this sort of thing. She’d remained hidden and out of the eye of police organizations for years. Hell, Tony still had no idea where she was originally from or if Scarlett Damien was even her real name. Sometimes he was afraid to ask. After all, she hadn’t even mentioned her birthday had passed by! The whole day had gone by and she hadn’t made a single comment about how that day should’ve been about her. Tony would’ve whined endlessly that he hadn’t gotten to throw a party if the tables had been turned.

His hand tightened on the glass and he took another drink in hopes of easing his already stale nerves. He couldn’t go and find Scarlett now. She was too mad at him! Besides, he owed her this. After accusing her of putting them and innocent bystanders in danger as well as destroying a monument from his childhood he had to do something for her. Besides, he wasn’t a target when it came to MedCo. They’d made that perfectly clear over the summer when he’d managed to sneak into Scott’s former hideaway and discover some of the atrocities he’d committed all for the sake of “saving” Scarlett.

“Crazy son of a bitch.” Tony murmured, wiping his hand over his mouth. Something frightening struck him just then. Was he doing the same thing? Scarlett had just gotten out of an abusive, controlling relationship that had ended in the worst way imaginable and now things were out of hand between them. He was a controlling dick-bag as she often commented. But he was only trying to protect her! Too much of her blood had been shed already since they’d met. The last thing he wanted was to see her fall in harm’s way. She deserved more than living a life on the run and he’d promised her that he’d take care of her.

Wasn’t that how Scott had justified the terrible things he’d done? He set her up with MedCo to take a fall so that she would stop taking dangerous jobs, all to protect her. Tony wouldn’t do something like that to her would he? How long had he been afraid that he’d become just like Scott? It felt new, but he honestly wasn’t sure how long the seed had been growing in his mind. Maybe that was partially why Scarlett was being so stubborn.

No, that couldn’t be it.

It had to be something else. Fear was natural in these sorts of situations, wasn’t it? Tony had no idea seeing as the only one he’d ever put in harm’s way before had been Pepper and she had not handled it well. Now it wasn’t that he was putting Scarlett in harm’s way but rather that she simply was in harm’s way nearly all the time. How would he come to terms with the idea of losing her on a daily basis? People lived with that kind of stuff didn’t they? Tony didn’t know, but he didn’t like the idea of having to adjust either. He wasn’t like everyone else, compromise wasn’t even in his vocabulary.

Even if he did managed to get rid of MedCo and put a stop to their nefarious machinations then what would stop one of his enemies from coming after her? Then there was Scarlett’s lengthy criminal record that he had barely scratched the surface of. How many of those demons would come back to bite them both in the ass? It was inevitable that they would be in danger perhaps that’s why it bothered Tony that Scarlett had elected to go looking for it. Wasn’t that what he did as Iron Man? It may have been at first but now things were different. The most important thing about his suits was that he could use them to protect the people he cared about. He wasn’t looking to save the world anymore because he knew it wasn’t something he could do by himself. But Scarlett was someone he could protect.

Maybe it was the fact that he wouldn’t be there to protect her if she ran into trouble on a faraway mission that bothered him. Either way he somehow knew the issue was with him now and not with her. Scarlett wasn’t the problem. He was. He was going to drive her away if he kept it up! How could she trust him so easily when he wasn’t even sure he trusted himself?

From the corner of his vision he could see the footage being replayed over and over again. Something at last caught his eye as he took another drink in an attempt to drown out the annoying voices in his head. He sputtered into his glass and waved his hand toward the screens.

“Pause!” With a shout, Tony cleared his throat. Choking on scotch was not something he recommended. It burned all the way up to his nose. “Rewind just a few seconds.” He waved his hand in a circle in front of him while he coughed up the alcohol that had gone down the wrong way. Setting his glass down sloppily he only barely caught it before it fell off the edge again. Apparently his depth perception was a little bit off.

There was no way he was drunk, not yet. Not him.

“Which one?” Jarvis responded.

“I don’t know.” Turning his attention back to the news feed, Tony examined the screens and tried to recall which one of them had caught his eye. “All of them. With sound this time.” He swung his hand around wildly to gesture to the mess of screens in front of him.

“Sir, I don’t think you’re in the right frame of mind to be…”

“Jarvis if you start lecturing me on what I should and shouldn’t be doing we’re going to have a serious problem.” Tony grumbled. There had been a time when Jarvis had only provided sassy commentary for his misadventures but things had changed since they’d moved to New York. He was hoping to get things back on track for them both. He didn’t need Jarvis to be his conscience.

“Of course, sir.” At once the videos backtracked a few seconds then began playing again, all at full volume. Tony fumbled with the liquor bottle and refilled his glass as he watched the screens blaze by in front of him. Each showed the same scene but with different angles. Then the screens changed. Some focused on reporters, others on photos of him and interviews with others who witnessed the fire at the restaurant that night. Their private life had been put on display for the whole world to see. For months Tony had thought that was what had bothered Scarlett about going public.

After last night he certainly knew better.

With a flick of his left hand he swiped away three of the twelve screens from his line of sight. When they rewound and began again he got rid of four more. Soon enough he only had two remaining screens. Pulling both screens close he expanded them and let them play a handful of times. He stopped the screen on the left and then let the screen on the right play before doing the same with it.

“Jarvis, what do you see in these two videos?”

“Both reporters are female sir, one of average build, one of far thinner making…”

“Not the women in them.”

“Old habits, sir.”

“Smart ass.” Folding his arms over his chest Tony scrutinized the paused screens of the videos and narrowed his eyes. “They show the fire but no interviews with any of the victims. No photos of me, no photos of Scarlett. Surprisingly both actually focus on the damage that was done instead of the gossip angle. One even reported the history of the place instead of the chaos that had erupted.”

“I suppose American media deserves an apology, don’t they?”

“If you’re not careful I’ll make you Canadian.” Tony walked closer to both the screens but ignored the sassy retort from his computer. There was something in the videos that bothered him. It wasn’t a scene or an angle or even the story that was being reported. On the corner of one of the shots was an SUV. It was a darker color, though Tony couldn’t tell if it was black or blue because there wasn’t enough light in the shot.

He allowed the scene on the right to play a little further before pausing it again and sure enough he found the very same vehicle. Jarvis was silent as Tony zoomed in on the object of focus.

“Do you see that, Jarvis?” Momentarily Tony forgot about the fog of alcohol hovering over his senses and focused solely on the black truck in the video. He’d given up hours ago on actually finding anything and had instead decided to wallow in self pity. It was the first time in the history of his alcoholic stupors where wallowing had paid off.

All hope wasn’t lost, at long last. He could possibly find who was behind the attack the night before and maybe lay some fears to rest.

“Running the plates now, sir.” The zoomed in video came into focus thanks to enhancement provided by Jarvis.

“This is it, Jarvis.” There was suddenly a skip in Tony’s step as he walked back to his desk and retrieved the glass of scotch he’d poured. It was no longer to drown his sorrows but rather to celebrate his victory. He sat on the top of the desk and waited for Jarvis to do his magic. The computer had been so skillfully designed that Tony rarely had to do any of the actual code work himself any longer, though he could if it was necessary.

“The car was paid for in cash on a lot in the city, sir.”

“Damnit.” Tony closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Perhaps celebration had been a bit premature.

“But there are video cameras in this lot, sir.” Jarvis pulled up the camera footage which was silent, of the auto dealer’s offices. Sure enough, Tony recognized the man purchasing the car. It was Scott Aaronson, Scarlett’s ex. Much had changed about him. His hair was long and shaggy, rather unkempt, and he’d bulked up further. Even from the lousy camera footage Tony could see the cold blue in his eyes like nothing he’d witnessed on prior occasions. Maybe it was a side effect from whatever drugs he’d been taking.

“Son of a bitch.” Tony shook his head. He’d hoped to feel relieved after discovering who was behind the fire at the restaurant but instead he felt guilty. How was he going to break it to Scarlett that what he’d accused her of was actually the truth? MedCo was the reason the restaurant had gone up in flames and while he’d partially known that to be true since it’d happened he’d secretly been hoping it wasn’t. Now it would confirm the fears he’d sparked in Scarlett’s mind. She was already drifting further away from him as time passed. Wouldn’t this build the wall even higher?

What would he do if he lost her? Could he even go back to being the man he was? Living a life of unfulfilling sexual encounters and spending money endlessly to fill the void he wasn’t even aware he had. At one point his life had been so crazy that he’d been willing to take increasingly dangerous risks just to feel something. Tony hadn’t realized what a mess he’d been until he’d had time to step away and reflect on that man he’d been. He didn’t want to be that man again but he was sure he would revert to his old ways if Scarlett were no longer with him.

“That’s not all.” Jarvis spoke, breaking Tony out of his increasingly panicked thoughts. He breathed in deeply. Apparently that was something he’d forgotten to do while he’d been lost in his head and it had caused an ache in his lungs.

“What else did you find?”

“Paperwork with signatures and digital scans of photographic identification. I have Mr. Aaronson’s false identity. What’s more is that I’ve traced the vehicle to a parking ticket issued in upstate New York earlier this month.”

“A parking ticket?” Surprise was thick in Tony’s voice.

“What’s most peculiar sir is that the ticket was paid for and dealt with legally under his pseudonym Ronald Tarscit. The registration for the vehicle is under the same name.”

“Legally paid for? Really?” Tony was more confused than ever. He was beginning to regret the amount of alcohol he’d consumed and yet he reached for the glass behind him and brought it to his lips. If he couldn’t figure out what was going on then he was certainly going to drink enough to stop caring about it. The hangover would be killer but it would be well worth it if it created the desired effect.

“Legally. I have pictures from the courthouse if you like. He appears with his legal counsel to take care of it before he’s even received a ticket in the mail.” Jarvis seemed just as astonished as Tony was.

“Probably because the address he’s using doesn’t exist and the ticket would never arrive.” Tony sighed, nodding to a screen on the side with an error that Jarvis had produced comparing the information on the car dealer’s paperwork with a geographic location program he’d rigged up ages ago.

“Or he was trying to remain under the radar.” Jarvis brought up the information from the courthouse and the paperwork filed by his attorney. Photographic stills from the video footage entering and exiting the courthouse appeared to his right. Tony saw Scott’s lawyer and at once stood at attention. This was the woman Scarlett had described as the head of MedCo down to the letter. Severe, with her hair pulled back out of her face, tall, thin, but strong and menacing. She would definitely pass for a lawyer if need be.

“Marcia Edwardson.”

“Edmonton.” Jarvis corrected.

“That’s what I said.” Tony sighed and got off of his desk, again stumbling before hurrying around to the other side where he slid in his computer chair. At first it slid too far then comically he scooted back to his desk and began typing away at the holographic keyboard laid out in front of him. “But yeah, that. Head of MedCo. Only one that remains according to Scarlett.” After they’d returned to New York Scarlett had told Tony the whole story from beginning to end. There had been some confusion on the details up until that moment but it had been cleared up at long last that first night they’d arrived home.

“We should hope. S.H.I.E.L.D. claims to have recovered Mikhail and Erick.” Jarvis chimed in, sounding rather pleased with himself for his discoveries. After all the disappointment in the last twenty four hours they had finally made some progress.

“So they’re together in the country. In upstate New York, possibly.” Tony mused over his next course of action. “They’re trying to lay low and keep the authorities off their scent. I thought for sure they’d go global after S.H.I.E.L.D. came after them.”

“Undoubtedly a kink was thrown into their inner workings when they lost the facility in Russia. They were not ready to go public. Perhaps they are rebuilding, sir.”

“Yeah, that could be true.” Tony nodded but then winced, his head spinning. He clearly was not keeping up with his alcohol intake. Usually he didn’t experience this level of dizziness until he was feeling high as a kite and the spinning seemed like a delightful game. “Laying low, but to what end? They can’t accomplish much on American soil.”

“Unfortunately that cannot be discovered in any of the papers and files we have uncovered. Undoubtedly it has to do with you and Miss Damien. Otherwise why would they take the risk of remaining in the United States?”

“What else could they possibly want from her?” Tony growled under his breath. Hadn’t she given up enough for them? Then again, considering the damage they’d done to MedCo and their facilities in the last six months it was possible all they required now was revenge.

“Her life.” Jarvis responded hauntingly. It was the only plausible end. Maybe that was why Tony was really so scared for Scarlett. Every scenario he’d played out in his mind with her since they’d met ended in death. Her history was too volatile and the enemies she made were too powerful and wicked. The only way to keep that from happening was to protect her. Scarlett had run out of bridges to burn and he was sure that deep down she knew that too. It could have been why she had decided to join S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. They could possibly offer her the way out she’d been looking for.

After last night Tony knew there was only one way out when it came to MedCo. Scott and Marcia had to go. The whole damn operation had to be wiped out. That was what Scarlett had been thinking when she’d chased them overseas in the first place. She knew eventually it would come down to that. There was no way for her to keep living with them still after her and Tony understood that now. Once he’d accused her of being selfish and hell bent on revenge but now he saw the truth behind her actions. He knew, knew, he should tell her what he found.

But he wasn’t going to.

Maybe he’d feel differently about it when he wasn’t drinking but he highly doubted it. Scarlett had been through enough when it came to MedCo. She had suffered enough. They were going to keep coming after her one way or another. Marcia and Scott wanted her to come after them when the time was right. They had baited her that night by attacking her at an important moment when she’d finally felt safe. Tony had accidentally prevented Scarlett from falling right into their trap. Scott knew far too much about Scarlett for his own good. He was going to try and manipulate her and he had almost succeeded.

Tony would play the game by his own rules, not by theirs. When the time was right he would go after them but for now he would gather as much information as he could and keep Scarlett safe. Jarvis seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him either that or he’d taken his earlier criticism of his behavior to heart. Keeping secrets was probably not the best way for Tony to fix the rift with Scarlett but he couldn’t think of any other way to keep her safe.

It seemed as though keeping her safe was going to be the reason they ended up apart in the long run. First Scarlett had run away the night before and nearly broken the whole thing off and now Tony was getting so caught up in his thoughts he wasn’t sure how to let her in without hurting her further. Trust really was the issue. Scarlett had been right in some ways but wrong in others. It wasn’t about trusting her.

Tony didn’t trust himself.

That was a pretty big blow for Tony Stark’s ego. He’d always thought so highly of himself and here he was finding out that maybe that wasn’t so well deserved. Genius was a fickle creature and he was going to have to sort this out on his own before he could explain it to anyone. If he couldn’t make sense of what was going on in his mind how could he expect anyone else to understand?

“Close it all out, Jarvis.” Tony wiped the screens out of the air and they went flying but bumped comically into an invisible wall and bounced back into place. The computer didn’t respond and instead left the screens open. When he didn’t comply Tony ignored him and typed away at the computer. The only thing he could think to do was try to follow some of Pepper’s advice.

“Jewelry? Really, sir?” Jarvis sounded skeptical but didn’t close the screens as requested. Instead he inflated them.

“Darts, Jarvis.” Tony didn’t bother looking up and instead kept searching various retailers online. It was likely he would have to go in person to some of these jewelers if he wanted to see what they really had to offer. He wasn’t buying her forgiveness, not as far as he was concerned. No, Tony had missed Scarlett’s birthday and he really was sorry for having said something so nasty to her the night before. While it hadn’t come out the way he’d intended it to, it had been partially correct in his accusations. There was no way he could apologize for something he wasn’t wrong about.

He’d been the one to push her into the public eye and for that he was truly sorry. Then to make matters worse he’d dug the metaphoric and literal knife just a little bit deeper and blamed it all on her when it’d gone wrong.

“I said darts.” The anxiety in Tony’s stomach grew like a cancer and spread through his mind with the help of the scotch already in his system. Lying wasn’t going to fix anything. She was already drifting away from him! How much longer could he expect things to last anyway? He was already buying her apology jewelry.

Hadn’t he just convinced himself it wasn’t apology jewelry? Jarvis produced holographic darts but said nothing in response. One by one Tony threw the darts toward the screens. Half of them missed but the ones that hit the targets popped like balloons and rained down in colorful sparks throughout the lab like fireworks.

“I think you are making a terrible mistake, sir.” Jarvis finally spoke when the rest of the screens had finally disappeared from view. Tony ignored the computer and continued searching and bookmarking webpages. They were no longer searches for jewelry but the models wearing them. He sipped the alcohol and slipped further into the confusion in his mind.

It’d been a long time since he’d made some bad decisions on his own. Maybe it was about time he took a spin around Manhattan. Without Scarlett by his side there was no risk to his life or limb. There was a very slim chance he could continue being the man he was without her and if he kept drinking like this he was sure he could be.

After a few more minutes he wasn’t even sure why he was on the computer anymore. Soon enough his worries would be gone. Scarlett had been the problem and now alcohol was the cure.