Chapter 1
Summary:
Tony Stark was a lot of things.
The world knew him as a genius, a billionaire, a playboy (well more like ex-playboy... he had Pepper now), and a philanthropist; but he was a lot more than that.
He was a superhero.
Notes:
We’re starting off with Tony, baby!!
Just an fyi, no one knows Tony is Iron Man in this AU :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tony Stark was a lot of things. The world knew him as a genius, a billionaire, a playboy (well more like ex-playboy... he had Pepper now), and a philanthropist; but he was a lot more than that.
After Afghanistan, Tony had turned his life all around— well he tried to; he wasn't fully there yet but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?
Turning his company around from a weapons manufacturer to focusing on clean energy had left Tony with a lot of free time. And by a lot, it meant a lot.
Since he no longer was designing weapons, choosing rather to let his staff run his company's affairs— something he hadn't done previously since he wanted to make sure the weapons were created by him and him alone— he was left to his own devices, which in turn, left him bored. Thankfully he had his Iron Man suits to fly around and kick butt in, but even that wasn't enough to fully satisfy his boredom.
There were many days he would lie down in his bed with Pepper sleeping besides him, and wonder what would have happened if he had told the world who Iron Man really was.
How different would his life have been if he didn't have to lie to his girlfriend all the time? How different would life have been if his Rhodey or even Happy knew about his alter ego? Would he be treated differently? With more respect? These types of wonderings would almost make him want to go and reveal himself.
But then he would think about the villains he faced on a day-to-day basis and how dangerous life would be for his loved ones if the world knew who was behind the mask. The thoughts of ‘what if I mess up?’ and ‘what if everyone finds out?’ swirled around his head which usually led to him being on the verge of a panic attack. On those nights he would press himself against his girlfriend, holding her just a tad bit tighter. And if she felt his tears wet her shirt, Pepper thankfully never mentioned it, only choosing to wrap her arms around him and hold him close. On those nights, Tony would fall even more in love with her.
Gosh, he really didn’t deserve her. Especially since he was a big fat liar who was living a double life behind her back.
But still, even though his conscience would prick him about lying to his girlfriend, he continued to sneak out as the self-proclaimed hero he’d become. He couldn’t stop. Not now. He had aided the world in its destruction by making weapons for years. Now the least he could do to pay back for his mistakes was to help make the world a better place; enter Iron Man.
Being a superhero had its ups and downs but seeing the relieved and grateful faces of the people he’d saved was worth all the downs. Though if Tony was to be honest, keeping his identity a secret was way harder than shows and movies claimed they were. Heck, it was almost impossible to maintain his double life if not for the help of his incredible AI, JARVIS. The AI had saved him from multiple close calls.
Anyways, where was he? Ah, right… boredom.
Iron Man wasn’t needed 24/7 and neither was Tony Stark apparently, now that Pepper was the CEO. So in those moments of boredom, Tony either worked on his suits, focusing on making as many improvements as he needed, or he would fly around New York City just for the fun of it.
Of course, he would occasionally help out the NYPD whenever the threat was too much for the police to handle. Those threats being crazy scientists and wackos in animal-themed getups (coughRhinocough).
The police at first weren’t pleased with his help choosing to shoot him with their guns. (Who could blame them though? A strange man in a suit of armor shows up? Heck, even he would pull out the guns.) It didn’t take long for the police to realize that their bullets were useless against a man decked out in titanium alloy. They feared him; and while it would have made pre-capture Tony grin, it made present-day Tony’s heart clench.
So he tried very slowly to gain their trust.
Protecting them, flying them to their destination to save time, helping them out during investigations (that was mainly JARVIS though)— he did anything and everything he could to show them that he was on their side. And surprisingly, it worked.
The police started smiling as Tony flew past, a few of them even waving. They would sometimes even come up to him, asking for help with certain cases, to which he would gladly comply, or they would sit besides him and just talk, chatting about random things.
Behind his mask, Tony smiled.
***
New York City was always full of activity, but many of the times said activity was done by villains. And said villains always had a knack for showing up at the worst possible times—like when he was trying to enjoy a date with Pepper.
They both were clothed in casual wear, yet Tony couldn’t help but wonder how his girlfriend still looked like a goddess in just a hoodie and sweatpants. He chose to ignore the lingering question, shoving it in the back of his mind and instead focused on what Pepper was saying. They were currently in a diner— nothing too fancy since Pepper had said she just wanted a casual date, not that Tony was complaining. Casual or not, he had a date .
Time together was rare since Pepper was busy running his company and Tony was busy juggling the responsibilities that came with being the face of Stark Industries and also with being a part-time hero. So any moment they shared together was treasured and held close to his heart.
He took a bite of his club sandwich before almost choking on his food when Pepper said something unexpected.
“Pep, what?” He wheezed out. “ He really said that?”
Pepper laughed at his reaction, handing him a glass of water to help get the food down, which Tony gladly accepted, still eyeing his girlfriend as he struggled to control his mirth. She grinned and opened her mouth to reply but before she could utter a word, the ground shook. The sudden shake made the water in his glass spill all over him, snapping Tony out of his carefree demeanor. He glanced around the room with the same keen attention he usually reserved for Iron Man.
The other diners were starting to panic, many of them scrambling to get their phones while others were glancing at the windows with unease. Suddenly a flash of familiar green whizzed past the diner and a peal of maniacal laughter was heard which sent chills down everyone’s spine. Tony froze, dread pooling into his stomach.
There was only one person he knew who had that crazy laugh: Green Goblin.
Notes:
(NOTE 10/8/24: i added more to this chapter because it felt to short)
I honestly am pretty impressed with how well this chapter flowed. After like a HUGE writer’s block it’s honestly a relief that I still have it in me to write a good chapter lol.
Please also keep in mind that I’m working on the story rn—it’s not completed— so the next chap might take a while.
Anywho, next chap we’ll be introduced to Spidey!!! Yay!!
Anyways thank you for reading!! Hope you enjoyed!! See ya later!! Byeeee
Chapter 2 progress - 17% complete
Chapter 2
Summary:
Tony meets Spider-Man for the first time...
Notes:
Hii yall!!
Back at it with chap 2!!!
Hope yall enjoy!! :)
(NOTE: I added more to chap 1 so pls go back and read it)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tony was sick and tired of the crazy psycho on a hoverboard known as the ‘Green Goblin’—a name the city had dubbed him. (Why that name of all names? Don’t ask him; he had no clue.) Of all the times the dude could show up, why now? It seemed like he wasn’t the only one who had figured out who was outside the diner because now almost everyone was panicking—including Pepper.
A strong surge of protectiveness overtook him at the sight of his lover’s terrified expression along with a call of duty he’d often tried to ignore in moments like these.
“Everyone calm down!” Tony commanded in the loud, authoritative voice of Iron Man. At his order, the frenzied diners and waiters all froze, staring at the 5’8” tall billionaire in surprise. Their momentary pause of silence was all the time Tony needed to bark out orders.
“You!” He shouted, pointing at a random employee. “Is there a back exit here? Or any exit that leads away from the Green Lunatic outside?”
“Uhh… we have an employee entrance in the back,” the waiter answered.
“Good,” Tony replied, mostly to himself. “Alright, you heard the man. Everyone chop-chop! We don't have all day. Get to the exit as quickly as you can. Try to stay away from Gobby; we don’t want to get his attention.”
As the diners scrambled for the back exit, the sounds of chaos outside seeped in—screams mingling with distant explosions, the thundering roar of police sirens echoing through the air. Tony’s heart raced at the thought of Pepper in danger. He turned to face the entrance, ready to confront the Green Goblin. Hopefully, he could knock the man out with a blast and call it a day. But before he could even walk two steps, a hand caught his wrist stopping him. He turned to see his fiancée staring at him with a worried expression. “Tony, where are you going? The exit is that way,”
In the midst of the chaos, Tony had completely forgotten that he wasn’t Iron Man at the moment; he was Tony Stark right now, which meant he couldn’t be gallivanting around as a hero.
Shit.
“Uhh, well, I was… just, um, checking to make sure no one else was… uhh… here?” he replied, internally wincing at how his statement sounded more like a question than a confident answer.
Pepper gave him an odd look before grasping his hand and tugging him towards the back exit. “Well everyone is fine, Tony. Don’t worry. Now let's go before the Green Goblin does any damage.”
Tony stumbled after her, his mind racing for an excuse—anything to make her believe he had to leave without revealing the truth— but his mind came up blank. They both burst out of the store, only to be greeted with pure chaos. Civilians were running around in every direction, panic and fear etched on their faces as they frantically tried to get away from the supervillain’s rampage. Police worked on setting up barricades, shouting orders above the panicked screams. Pepper tugged his hand forward, following the majority of the crowd.
“Come on, Tony. I’ll call Happy to pick us up,” Pepper urged, pulling him forward.
“Yeah yeah, sure,” Tony replied absentmindedly, eyes drifting to where the police were trying—and failing—to take down the villain. His heart clenched as he watched multiple police cars blow up from the Goblin’s pumpkin bombs. In moments like this, he wished that his identity wasn’t a secret, so that he could just pop into his suit, and no one would even blink twice.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when a civilian bumped into him, shoving past him in their hasty retreat. “Hey, watch it,” Tony shot back, but paused, an idea coming to mind. He glanced down at his hand, still intertwined with Pepper’s, before letting go. I’ll be back soon, he promised before turning towards the villain and pushing against the tide of panicked civilians.
Hopefully Pepper wouldn’t notice that he was missing until after the fight. And if she did notice sooner than he wanted, he could always say that he was lost in the crowd.
A familiar pang of guilt shot through him as he ironed out his excuse, or rather, lie .
He'd rather give up Iron Man completely than keep Pepper in the dark and miss hanging out with the love of his life, but sometimes the world had other plans. Tony grabbed his phone from his back pocket, unlocking it. “JARVIS?” He called out.
“The suit is already here, sir,” his AI stated.
Tony let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thank you, JARVIS,” he breathed, climbing up the nearest fire escape to get to the roof where his suit was. “Where would I be without you, bud?”
“You’d be nowhere without me,” his AI sassed, a bit of snark in his voice. Tony rolled his eyes at the unnecessary comment as familiar metal encased him. Visuals showed up in his mask, letting him know that he was all set. “Alright JAR,” he said, blasting off the ground. “It’s Iron Man’s time to shine,”
***
Finding Green Goblin was easy. Stopping him, on the other hand, was currently a work in progress.
The police were still trying to stop the madman, shooting at the villain and trying their best to protect the civilians, but there was only so much a mere human could do against a literal supervillain.
“Hey officers,” Tony greeted, flying over to where the police were. At his greeting, their faces lit up with relief and hope, the trust in their eyes warming his heart.
“Iron Man, thank God you’re here,” one of the officers—Jeff?? Jefferson??—breathed, smiling up at him. “We need some help,”
“That I can see,” Tony teased lightly, before growing serious. “You all get away from here and make sure that there are no civilians anywhere close.”
The officers all exchanged glances, their brows furrowed with worry and uncertainty. Some of them shifted nervously, as they surveyed the damage. “Are you sure about that?” Jeff asked, his voice tight.
“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but if we want to stop him, I need you to trust me on this.” He then turned to look at them, humor leaking into his voice. “After all, when have I ever failed you guys?” He added, hoping to lighten the mood.
They hesitated, torn between instinct and the trust that had slowly built over the past encounters. Jeff sighed, walking up to him. “Alright Iron Man, you do you. We’ll leave you alone, but just…” he hesitated before placing a hand on his shoulder. “Just be careful, man. Okay?”
Despite knowing that he couldn’t see it, Tony smiled, touched by the captain’s concern. “Of course,” he answered with a nod. “You be careful as well,” Just before he could take off, another officer grabbed his arm, stopping him in place.
“Iron Man, wait,” she said, eyes wide.
“What’s wrong?” Tony asked, confused at the officer’s actions.
“It’s just… we know that Goblin just attacks the city ‘because it's fun’ and that he’s usually alone but… today many of our officers mentioned that it seemed like he might be working with someone. So… just watch your back, ‘k?”
“Of course,” Tony nodded, his mind racing as he processed the new information. Goblin had a sidekick now? He took off, soaring. He mused on this for a while but suddenly the screens in front of him flashed red. “Sir, look out!” JARVIS called out. Tony maneuvered sharply, narrowly avoiding a pumpkin bomb as it exploded in a cloud of green smoke.
Right . He still had to take care of Goblin.
“Iron Man,” the said villain greeted in his usual raspy, sinister mocking tone. “How nice of you to finally show up,”
“Yeah yeah, whatever Gobby,” Tony snarked, rolling his eyes. “Can we just get to the part where you get your butt kicked and get thrown in jail?”
Green Goblin only laughed in response, twirling a pumpkin bomb in his hand. “Oh-ho-ho-ho, aren’t you the comedian? Well jokes on you Iron Man, but today is a special occasion. I’m not going down so easily,”
Tony tensed, readying his repulsors. “Oh? Special occasion, huh? What, is it your birthday? You want a cake or something?”
Without any warning, Goblin hurled a bomb at him. Thanks to JARVIS’ quick report, Tony dodged to the right, the bomb exploding behind him. “Oh, come on, Gobby, you can do better than that,” he taunted, flipping midair and launching a barrage of repulsor blasts toward the villain.
Goblin let out a peal of gleeful maniacal laughter as he soared on his glider, effortlessly weaving through Tony’s blasts. “I don’t need to, Iron Man. Today, I’ve got help.”
Tony narrowed his eyes while his AI was doing a quick scan of the place, looking for another heat source. “Help?“ he repeated. “What, did you drag Rhino into this mess again? Or is it that octopus knockoff?”
“No, no,” Goblin sneered. “This time, it’s someone new.”
“Sir! On your right!” JARVIS cried out, just as Goblin finished his sentence. Tony scrambled out of the way, narrowly dodging a punch that shot out from the shadows.
He whirled around just in time to see a figure leap through the air, landing on a nearby rooftop. Whoever it was, they were quick—too quick to be normal. He didn’t get to dwell on that line of thought for long before he was suddenly ambushed by both parties.
On a regular day he could easily win against Green Goblin but today that was a challenge thanks to the villain’s new mystery friend.
The new villain was relentless, launching quick strikes that caught Tony off guard. He tried to evade the punches while also keeping an eye on Goblin, but it was nearly impossible to focus. “JAR, a little help here?” He grunted, narrowly dodging a fist aimed at his head.
“I would recommend that you get rid of Green Goblin so that you can deal with the newcomer,” his AI responded. Tony gave a small nod before activating his repulsors and blasting off the ground. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, internally wincing at the destruction he saw. Thankfully there was no one else around so he could fight without the fear of any casualties. He swerved, avoiding another bomb, before flying down and lifting a damaged police car above his head. He then chucked the vehicle at the Goblin, smiling as he hit his target.
Tony was always careful when fighting villains, knowing that despite their evil intentions, they were still human. But for Goblin he gave his all, knowing that the villain was enhanced and was able to withstand Iron Man’s strength. In fact, in one of their previous fights, Goblin had realized that Tony was holding back and threw a full-blown tantrum, demanding that Iron Man fight him “for real” as though this were some kind of twisted game. It was then that Tony realized how downright insane his opponent was.
A blow to his flank snapped him out of his thoughts. Tony gasped in pain, clutching his side. He didn’t even get time to recover before the masked sidekick threw another punch. This time JARVIS took control of his suit, moving him away from the villain.
“Sir,” his AI started, voice taking on a concerned tone. “I’m detecting that your ribs are bruised. The punch was quite strong,”
Tony blanched, surprised. Bruised ribs? What the heck? How strong was this guy to be able to hurt him through the suit? “It’s fine, JAR,” he reassured, gritting his teeth and blasting the masked man. “I’ll ice it when we get back,” But as he re-engaged in the fight, the throbbing pain in his side reminded him of what was at stake. He could practically hear Pepper’s voice in his head, urging him to stay safe.
Speaking of Pepper, “Can you just lose already?” Tony whined, dodging a punch. “I really should be getting back to my girlfriend right now. She must be so worried,”
At his words, the masked man immediately pulled back, stopping a punch that would have surely given Tony a concussion had it landed. “Wait! You’re a human ?!!!” The man cried out, horrified. Wait no. Not man… that wasn’t a man’s voice… it was… it was a child’s. He didn’t have time to dwell on that revelation before Goblin, still trapped under the car, started screaming at the kid. “What’s wrong with you, boy?!!” The maniac screeched. “Finish him off!” The masked juvenile hesitated before throwing another punch, except this one was noticeably weaker than his previous blows. Tony dodged before landing a kick at the crook, knocking him to the ground. Kid or not, he was still aiding a supervillain.
“Alright kid, cut to the chase,” Tony said, aiming his repulsors at the masked man. “What are you doing hanging out with Green Whacko-do over there?”
“I’m his partner in crime!” The kid (he was definitely a kid, no way an adult’s voice cracked that much) cried out indignantly.
Tony blinked before staring at the kid incredulously. This kid…? Partner in crime? Really?? “Huh,” he stated. “Well alright then. Guess you’re going to jail as well.”
“What?!”
“Sorry kiddo, actions have consequences. So jail time it is for— ack! ”
One second he was hovering over the ground lecturing the minor and the next, before he could even blink, a sticky residue was blasted over his mask obscuring his vision. Blinded, Tony found himself falling down right onto a garbage can. Great.
Hesitantly he opened his mask just enough to peek outside with no one able to see him, only to find the street empty with no sign of Green Goblin or the kid.
They had escaped.
Notes:
Welp!! finally done with the first set of introductions!! Next chap we'll meet Peter :)))
Anywyas thank you for reading!! Feel free to comment :)
Byeee have a great dayyyy <3333