"We don't know enough," Tony muttered. "To solve a Universe-Level crisis, we need to know what the crisis is. Is it a supernova? A cosmic plague? A celestial tax audit?"
Fury remained silent. He knew more than he let on. He knew about the Skrulls. He knew about the Kree. And he had a pager in his pocket that could summon a woman who punched spaceships for fun.
But the fear of the unknown was heavier than any known threat.
"At least we have a heads-up," Tony said, trying to find a silver lining. "Forewarned is forearmed. Better than being caught with our pants down."
"Or our suits powered down," Fury agreed. "The scope is expanding. From terrorists in caves to... whatever wipes out half the universe."
Just then, the holographic diary shimmered. New text appeared.
[The curtain has been raised by Tony Stark. There's no going back to the quiet life.]
[Next up should be the 'Palladium Poisoning' arc. Tony struggling on the edge of death.]
[But this time, he wasn't blown up in Afghanistan. He doesn't have shrapnel inching towards his heart. He doesn't need the Arc Reactor in his chest to survive.]
[Without that brush with death, will he discover the true secret his father left behind? A brand new, undiscovered element?]
[Without the Near-Death Experience, can he still become the Iron Man who rivals gods in a mortal body?]
[Or will he just evolve into a 'Toxic Internet Troll'?]
"Pfft!" Fury burst out laughing. "A Toxic Internet Troll? He's got your number, Stark."
Tony opened his mouth to retort, but closed it.
He was a troll. He knew it. He reveled in it. He was rich, smart, and handsome. If he wanted to be a jerk on Twitter, that was his prerogative.
"Hey!" Tony finally managed. "I resemble that remark. But I'm a charming troll."
But his eyes were glued to the rest of the text.
Palladium Poisoning.
Shrapnel in the heart.
A brand new element.
"So," Tony mused, his voice losing its humor. "In the original timeline, I was dying. The reactor that saved me was also killing me. Palladium toxicity."
"And to fix it," Tony read aloud, "I have to find a secret my father left behind."
"Howard Stark," Fury said the name with a mix of respect and nostalgia. "A founding member of SHIELD. A visionary."
"A cold, distant workaholic who never told me he loved me," Tony corrected sharply. "And apparently, a guy who discovered a new element and forgot to mention it."
"If he found a new element," Tony paced the room, his mind racing, "it would revolutionize physics. Clean energy. Infinite power. Why hide it?"
"Why didn't I know?" Tony asked, genuinely hurt. "I went through his archives. I saw his blueprints. There was nothing."
"Maybe you didn't look hard enough," Fury suggested gently. "Or maybe... he hid it for you."
"Hid it for me?" Tony scoffed. "My father didn't do things 'for' me. He did things for the future. For 'The Stark Legacy'. I was just a footnote."
"Or maybe," Fury walked over to the window, looking out at the city lights. "He knew you weren't ready. Until you needed to be."
"He left a puzzle," Fury turned back, his single eye gleaming. "A puzzle only you could solve. Because despite what you think... he believed in you."
"I might know where to look," Fury revealed, pulling a secure tablet from his coat. "When Howard died, SHIELD confiscated a lot of his personal effects. Things deemed 'too dangerous' for the public."
"Including a diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo."
"A model?" Tony frowned. "He left me a toy city?"
"He left you a map," Fury corrected. "A map to the future."
"And if Lucas is right," Fury tapped the screen, "that map leads to a new element. One that can replace Palladium. One that can power the next generation of Iron Man."
"And maybe," Fury added softly, "one that can save the universe."
Tony looked at the diary. Then at Fury. Then at the empty space where his father used to stand in his memories.
"Get me that model," Tony ordered, his voice steady. "I have some chemistry to do."
"And Fury?" Tony paused. "If this element works... I'm naming it 'Badassium'."
"Stick to the science, Stark," Fury rolled his eye. "Leave the naming to the marketing department."