Chapter 125: The Epilogue
A/N: The Epilogue. An hour early because fuck it, I can do what I want. Enjoy and make sure to read the Afterword!
-x-X-x-
May 3rd, 2028. Twenty years to the day since he’d come back in time.
Standing there staring out the window of a private space station currently orbiting the planet Earth, Tony Stark finds himself in a strange mood. Contemplative and introspective are the two words he would use to describe how he’s currently feeling right now.
It’s been a little over a decade since Thanos’ death, but just because they’d put down the Mad Titan like the dog he was didn’t mean everything had been sunshine and roses from that point on. The world had kept on turning, the galaxy had kept on spinning, and the universe had kept on churning out threats.
He’d dealt with them, of course… well, they’d dealt with them. Him and JARVIS had handled each and every problem as it arose, in the manner that they saw fit. Some might call that tyrannical. Some might say it wasn’t fair. Some might say he was a dictator ruling over things with an iron fist cloaked in velvet.
… Alright, so maybe he should spend a little less time reading Michelle Jones’ blog. That woman had far too much free time on her hands, but to be fair, she definitely got way closer to the truth than most did. Even with humanity rising to meet the challenge of a broader galaxy, even with the human race taking to the stars, so few people realized who was in charge after all this time.
Not that Tony would have it any other way. Sure, the whole ‘King of Earth’ thing was definitely more out in the open these days than it had been in the past. Especially now that enough humans were interacting with aliens to hear what the rest of the universe thought was happening on ‘Terra’.
However, most humans took it in good humor, treating it like it was one big inside joke for their entire species more than anything to be offended by. Oh yes, of course Tony Stark is the King of Earth ‘wink wink’. Meanwhile, most of the population didn’t understand that the joke, as it were, was multi-layered.
Either that or they just didn’t care. While Tony Stark held no official political office, even having resigned his World Security Council post at this point, he was still widely regarded as one of the most popular individuals in the entire human race.
Honestly, Tony was surprised that he wasn’t more of a polarizing figure by this point. Though to be fair, most of the existential threats that came after him, JARVIS, and Friday because of their Infinity Stones were caught long before they could truly reveal themselves in force, and certainly long before they could show up on Earth to do any visible damage.
Frankly, these days it felt like Peter Parker was the trouble magnet more than Tony. The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man wasn’t so ‘neighborhood’ anymore, having been drawn into more than a few galactic kerfuffles. Sometimes on his own merits, and sometimes because of one of his girls.
The young man, no longer quite so young, had just as many lovers as Tony at this point, with some more interesting characters crawling out of the woodworks even beyond the original group. Felicia Hardy, for instance, wasn’t someone that Tony remembered from the original timeline, but she certainly existed in this timeline, and she and Peter had quite the… interesting dynamic, given that she was also the internationally wanted cat burglar ‘Black Cat’ and he was Spider-Man.
And she was just one of many. Honestly sometimes it felt like Peter was-
Tony is cut off mid-thought by a portal suddenly opening behind him. Turning, he can’t help the smile that comes to his face when he sees his daughter walking out of the portal and into the room. All thoughts of Peter and his chaotic life are pushed from Tony’s mind, as he moves to meet Morgan Stark halfway.
“Morgan!”
“Hey dad.”
They hug for a moment before Tony pulls back and gives her a look.
“Weren’t you supposed to be with your sisters, baby girl?”
His eldest but still teenage daughter rolls her eyes at that.
“I’m taking a break. JARVIS was happy to take over for me.”
Tony gives Morgan a slightly longer look, until she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.
“Friday too.”
At that, he finally relents. While he had no doubt that JARVIS could watch over any number of his children, and indeed knew for a fact that the nigh omniscient AI always was, Tony still preferred that there always be a physical entity of some sort with his girls, preferably flesh and blood. Though Friday was an excellent substitute.
Her and JARVIS had also developed a rather… close rapport over the years. Tony didn’t quite know what was going on between those two, and he suspected it was because they preferred it that way.
For all his power, Tony didn’t know everything, nor could he always be everywhere all at once. Once in a while, he might use the Aether to cheat a little bit though, especially where his girls were concerned. He was by no means perfect, not as a man or as a father, but he did his level best all the same. If that meant splitting himself so he could be at a dance recital and a softball game at the same time, so be it.
“Besides, I wanted to check on you. You shouldn’t be alone, not on a day like this.”
Tony tilts his head to the side at his eldest daughter’s words. Morgan Stark, for all that she wasn’t quite yet an adult, had an intelligence that not only rivaled, but probably surpassed his own. Or, if it didn’t surpass his intellect now, it would in a few more years, Tony was certain of it.
She was the best of him, as well as the best of Pepper. She was the product of two truly amazing people, along with being the first human being born from two genetically enhanced individuals. Morgan hadn’t needed an injection of the Extremis Super Soldier Serum or any of its different versions… she had Tony and Pepper’s blood flowing through her veins. She came out already super.
Tony had known from the very beginning that Morgan was special. Her earliest years had prepared him for all of his other daughters to be just as special, in the end. At this point, there wasn’t a single ‘normal’ kid among the bunch… and Tony wouldn’t have it any other way. That wasn’t to say he would have treated a ‘normal’ child of his any lesser… but, well, he certainly enjoyed the intelligence all of his baby girls had shown so far.
None more so than Morgan, who on top of being a certified genius, had grown up more emotionally mature and rounded than Tony ever could have hoped for.
Tony smiles slightly and shakes his head as he finally responds to Morgan’s words.
“It was twenty years ago, Morgan. I’m over it.”
Looking at him intensely, Morgan shakes her head.
“It was an inflection point, dad. You don’t just get over those sorts of things.”
Hm. Well, given he was up here all alone staring down at the Earth, Tony supposed his very bright, incredibly brilliant daughter had a point. Sighing, he gives her a grin.
“Alright then. Join me.”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, letting her lean her head against him, they move back to the window together, gazing out at the planet below together. For a time, they just share in one another’s presence, talking about minor things. Such as Morgan’s latest series of experiments with Shuri, and Tony and JARVIS’ latest terraforming efforts.
Finally, a comfortable silence falls between father and daughter for a long moment… until Morgan breaks it.
“Do you ever think you’ll tell mom the truth, dad?”
Tony blinks, a little caught off guard by the question. It’s not often that he finds himself truly surprised these days, but if anyone is capable of startling him, it’s certainly Morgan. Brow furrowing, he gives his daughter the side-eye.
“The truth about what, Morgan?”
In comparison, Morgan keeps staring forward, down at the Earth. She doesn’t look him in the eye, even as she speaks clearly and concisely.
“The truth about your circumstances, dad. About it being time travel, and not visions.”
One could hear a pin drop as silence falls between them. Tony goes completely still for a long moment, his mind racing a million miles an hour. His first instinct is to blame JARVIS and to wonder why he would have told her… but no. Even before Morgan is finally turning to him, Tony knows that’s not the case.
“No one told me, daddy. I figured it out myself. I put all of the pieces together on my own, okay? It wasn’t JARVIS or the Ancient One or anyone. Only me.”
Letting out a shuddering breath, Tony reaches for his firstborn’s hands and takes them in his own.
“I believe you, Morgan. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re far, far too inquisitive for your own good. You get that from me, of course.”
Morgan hesitates for a moment, before biting the bullet.
“Will… will you tell me? How bad it was?”
He wants nothing less, truth be told. However, at the same time… he remembers his own early life, so very long ago now. He remembers a father who didn’t encourage his ingenuity and curiosity nearly as much as he should have, and a mother who didn’t really have time for him. He remembers an upbringing that, while in no way abusive, also wasn’t what he would have wanted for himself, let alone his own children.
With that in mind, he nods slightly.
“We failed, Morgan. Me and… others. People who stood both against me and alongside me at different points. We tried to come together to fight Thanos, and we failed. He collected the Infinity Stones. He wiped out half of all life in the universe. He… the original Pepper was on a plane when he did it. A plane that suddenly had no pilots. And she was pregnant… with a sister you’ll never get to know.”
Tony swallows thickly, a tear running down his cheek. Morgan looks stricken and as his head drops, hers falls forward, their foreheads connecting to one another as she squeezes his hands with her own, holding onto them with all her considerable might. Neither of them says anything for a long while, until Morgan finally breaks the silence once more.
“You should tell her, dad. Mom deserves to know.”
Here, Tony can’t help it… a smile spreads across his face as he looks into his daughter’s eyes and sees his own iron resolve reflected back in her gaze. She knows this hurts, but she’s so convinced that she’s right, so confident that she’s figured it all out… he laughs a little bit, causing her determination to falter, her lips tugging downward into a frown.
They pull apart as Tony finally grins.
“And what makes you think that she doesn’t already know, Morgan?”
The look of baffled stupefaction on his teenage daughter’s face is something to behold. He watches as she goes through denial and disbelief quite rapidly, before settling on pure incredulity. She knows better than to call him a liar, but at the same time…
Tony just shrugs, still grinning.
“I told her a little over a decade ago Morgan, shortly after I killed Thanos. You were right of course, she did deserve to know. And frankly, even eight years was far too long for me to keep the truth from her. She wasn’t happy about it, but in the end, she understood. I truly am the luckiest man in the world, to have a woman like your mother by my side.”
“But… she… you…!”
Shaking his head, Tony chuckles. Over the years, as Morgan’s intelligence had steadily reached incredible heights capable of rivaling Tony himself, it was undeniable that she’d surpassed her mother. Pepper had taken this with grace, not at all bothered by the fact that her own daughter was almost certainly smarter than her by a couple of magnitudes. She’d never cared how much smarter Tony was after all, so why would she mind all that much?
And yet, it was obvious that Morgan’s immense intellect had, no pun intended, gone to her head just a little bit. She loved her mother immensely, that much Tony knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, but it seemed she’d started to subconsciously infantize Pepper in her mind, seeing her as someone to be protected and looked after, rather than a capable woman in her own right.
Sighing, Tony places a hand on his daughter’s shoulder.
“Morgan… you are very, very smart. But you still have a ways to go, young whippersnapper.”
As his teenage daughter’s nose wrinkles at the incredibly outdated parlance, Tony just grins.
“And even once you finally surpass me, daughter dear, you must always remember that your mother is a shark among humans and always will be. Understood?”
A little crestfallen, but quick to rally, Morgan hangs her head while also smiling slightly as she sighs.
“… Yes dad.”
“Good! Now, I think you’re right… there’s no reason for me to spend a day like today all alone!”
With a snap of his fingers (mostly just for show), Tony creates a portal off to the side. Morgan looks at it curiously.
“… Where are you going? Can I come?”
Shaking his head, Tony steps away from his daughter.
“No, I think you have some bratty, inquisitive sisters to get back to babysitting, Morgan Stark. As for where I’m going, I’m going to see your mother.”
Morgan blanches at that, her eyes widening in sudden terror.
“Wait! Please don’t tell her about what I said! It’s embarrassing!”
Yes, Tony imagines it would be a little embarrassing, being caught white knighting for your own mother when she didn’t need your help. Which was precisely why Pepper already knew about it. But Tony doesn’t tell Morgan that. Just like he doesn’t let his rebellious teenage daughter know that he and Pepper already know about her going out at night sometimes to sidekick for a certain Spider Duo.
Instead, he just gives his teenage daughter a wicked grin.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that sweetheart. Your mother and I aren’t going to be doing much talking.”
Morgan’s eyes widen again, this time in a whole new manner of terror as she turns a little green in the gills.
“DAAAAAAD!”
Tony just laughs as he steps through the portal having partook in that most ancient of traditions… grossing out your kids by reminding them that yes, you and their mother DID in fact bone in order to bring them into this world in the first place.
He reaches the other side a moment later, where Pepper is already waiting for him in bed, wearing a set of gorgeous lingerie. Fortunately the portal Tony used to get here was the opaque Space Stone variety, or else Morgan might have seen something truly upsetting for her.
Regardless, Tony’s own clothing flickers away as he climbs onto the bed and joins his beautiful, wonderful wife there in a lover’s embrace. And as he slides into Pepper and she wraps her legs around his waist, he knows, for all the uncertainty that the future will hold, that everything is going to be okay.
He’ll make sure of it.
-x-X-x-
A/N: The end. What a wild ride guys. Gonna do a little Afterword here I think.
First things first, thank you all so very much for your support. This story has proven to be the most popular thing I've ever written on pretty much every website I posted it to.
Frankly, it still boggles my mind that I can top my previous fics. Two years ago, Maidenless No Longer was the most popular thing I had written and felt like my magnum opus. Even to this day, I know some consider it my best work, despite other stories like A Savage Nature managing to surpass it in popularity.
But this one definitely has all of those beat. I'm not sure if I would call it my best work ever, but I feel pretty damn good about it for how long it got, all things considered.
On the subject of length, I know some people wanted this story to continue for another hundred chapters. I get it. But honestly, given that there were multiple points where I was already feeling burnt out in the latter half of the 125 chapters we did get here, I'm just glad I managed to reach a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion in the first place.
Ultimately, I think things need to be able to end. If there's one thing that MCU post-endgame has shown us, it's that a good thing can very much be ran into the ground until the things that made it good are barely visible anymore amidst all of the dirt.
I've had my fair share of stories that I let go way longer than they needed to over the years. Stories that I ran into the ground and can only look back on with regret, if I can bring myself to look back at them at all.
But I'm happy saying that this story is not one of them. Even though it's now my longest free write ever by a wide margin, I'm satisfied with what I made here.
I hope you all enjoyed the journey with me as much as I did. Thank you again for reading.