I don't know what I did with this, I just did XP
Less Tony/Steve here for now. And Wolverine has been added to the mix. It's a chapter talking about Nathaniel, and a memory of Toni.


Title: Bridged Gaps (a 3490 fanfiction)
Author: Mozzarellaroses
Rating: For now, PG-13
Warning/Spoilers: Alternate Universe, Original Characters and Stark-Rogers kids. And partial canon Pym-bashing and character death. And soon to come, incest and rape mentioned. Yeah, like Oedipus didn't already give it away.
Pairing: For now, seemingly one-sided Steve/Tony
Word Count:
Beta: None. Mistakes are all mine, though I pride myself in making as few as possible.
A/N: Just to be clear, this is post-Civil war, post-Invasion, post-Dark Reign and such, and Hank's already Scientist Supreme to a degree that isn't all that important, near the Heroic age, although let's slap continuity in the face and pretend Steve's still Cap. Also, Clint's back to being Hawkeye, although the mighty comics haven't told me what'll happen with two Hawkeyes.  A little Steve/Tony here, though I'm terrible at that xP Also, Hank.

Summary: A hero codenamed Super Soldier appears out of nowhere from another universe to stop her world's Hank Pym. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who took the bridge. Now the super computer, "Oedipus REX" is causing trouble in the multi-verses, as well as the one called Nathaniel, the ultimate weapon.

Part 6: "Under thy shadow by the piers I waited."  --Hart Crane, "To Brooklyn Bridge"

 

Tony found himself thinking of Steve, an incident where he risked poisoning himself just to resuscitate him; while all Toni could think about at that moment was her son. She shut out communications. They had told her to stop, to do nothing. She knew she couldn’t do that.

 

She kept track of James through nanomachinery housed in the upper layer of his dermis, on the right arm. Overkill in Tony’s opinion, but maybe it was the motherly instinct. It was obviously helping out a lot now.

 

The armor hovered over the warehouse in stealth mode, scanning for the tracker and spotting it somewhere below ground. This was going to be difficult, then.

 

Another communication was trying to come through, but Toni ignored it.

 

Was he ever this pigheaded? Tony had to wonder. That was probably a yes.

 

Toni got past security easily, finding resistance when she tried to access the lower areas. Security codes were required, but those were easily generated. The perps were obviously well-prepared for any instances involving the police, maybe even SHIELD, to an extent, but they didn’t know they were messing with goddamn Ironman.

 

Woman. Whatever Toni went by.

 

The elevator was a difficulty, but it was the only way down short of taking repulsors to the floor, but it would only make things dangerous for Junior. As soon as she arrived at the lowest floor, Toni prepped her weapons. Of course, she was met by more resistance than she had prepared for. Not that she had prepared much. Whatever berserker fury the kidnappers had caused in her made up for the lack in weapons; she had beaten nearly all of them by the time she found her son. Junior was unconscious, in a concrete holding cell. Tony used one of her lasers to cut through the glass separating them, but to no avail. Impatiently, Toni destroyed the glass with one hand, safe enough away from Junior.

 

So much for thinking things through. Still, Tony guessed they didn’t have much time left, otherwise, Toni might have formulated some sort of plan. So what did she know that he didn’t?

“Ironman? Well I didn’t expect this at all. Perhaps Rogers, or even the best team SHIELD could provide, but I definitely didn’t expect Ironman, guns blazing, alone. I’m shocked.”

 

And cue the arrogant villain. It was no one Tony recognized, a redhead male, perhaps in his forties, wearing a lab coat and something growing rapidly off his right arm.

 

“You will be.” Toni snarled. Her voice came out in the modulated, low tone of Ironman through the armor, but her threat only made the man laugh. “You couldn’t have come at a better time. I wanted to test the strength of this material through combat, but it seems that your arrival has opened another option for me.”

 

Tony recognized the material as it shifted off the man’s arm. The living metal. It shot out at the armor, Toni dodging at the last millisecond.

 

James was still in the cell. If she could get to him and get away before---

 

Something exploded in proximity to the armor, effectively denting it quite a bit as Toni was thrown against the far wall.

 

“So let me guess, Ironman. That your son? A playmate to Rogers’ child, perhaps? Well he’s definitely a fine young lad. He would make a perfect soldier.”

 

Toni blasted at the living metal, then at the man. Both recoiled. Still, the material was able to latch onto the armor, eating into it like acid, absorbing its properties. Tony felt helpless, waiting for Toni to do something, to act, but she’d fallen.

 

She was muttering protocols, lockdowns and activation. Warning signs were flashing in her head as the living metal reached her extremis armor, but then another activation code that left her mouth changed things drastically.

 

Her extremis seemed to go haywire. The pain was excruciating, and Tony could feel every bit of it, everything Toni felt, the pain in her head down to every tip. Yet, even in the blazing pain, the living metal had stopped. Thousands upon thousands of systems connected by a hive mind were hacked into, information fed into Toni’s brain more than she could handle conscious, but still she kept on.

 

And then, everything that had given the man power had shifted into Toni’s control.

 

Tony then realized what had happened. Toni had activated REX, used it to control the advanced nanotechnology within the living metal. She had gained a weapon and had beaten her enemy, who was now writhing in fear and confusion at his loss.

 

With a flick of Toni’s hand, the man was encased, trapped as she walked over to her son. James reached out, and Toni took them both away.

 

 ~~~

 

“Shouldn’t take more than a few adjustments to get the neural interface up and running.”

 

Steve stood aside, allowing Toni to work. “Fascinating. Now, how did you enable use of REX without corruption by Oedipus?” Reed asked.

 

“We purged it. We made a program we collaborated on in our universe, you and I, along with Amadeus Cho and Bruce Banner and Hank Pym. It was destroyed along with Oedipus, and I’ve only ever been able to synthesize a frail copy. Pym wasn’t likely to help us by then and Cho was on some other-worldly romp with his god girl-or-something-friend.” Toni said, her brow furrowed in concentration.

 

“Steve.” she called suddenly. “This might take a while. You don’t need to wait around.”

 

“No, I—”

 

Even then, he couldn’t think of a good reason to stay. ‘I want to keep an eye on you because Tony has a knack for getting into trouble when it comes to time travel’ didn’t seem like a good thing to say.

 

He exited through the hallway, half-focused on skirting around the rest of the Avengers for now. He didn’t want to explain, or hear their comments on their new discovery.

 

That didn’t seem to be necessary through, he noted as he passed quietly by the den, where most of the members had gathered. Getting drunk.

 

They were milking Maria of the information, of what they knew of Toni and Steve in their world, and what of them as well. Hank Pym had dropped out of the conversation much earlier, something Maria seemed to be guilty over.

 

They were on varying levels of tipsy and smashed when Steve overhead Maria speaking.

 

“And I’m only telling you this because we may have to wipe your memory much later.” she said. Everyone didn’t seem to mind that statement; it was already agreed to be a wise course of action. “There was this incident with a cult. A cult that worshipped Spider Man, way down in South America.”

 

Everyone broke into laughter at the idea, and it only seemed funnier that it was true.

 

“God, that was a day. First mission James had with the armor. He was sixteen, and the cult thought he was a god. These guys were out of a story book. We had to rescue James from the amorous attentions of sacrificial virgins. In the first place, I really don’t think the usual standard for virgin applied.”

 

Steve walked on, unnoticed by the others, thankfully.

 

The medical bay was quiet. James was there—sitting beside Tony’s bed. He was holding something in his hand. It looked advanced, but old and worn, as though it had been kept for years.

 

James looked up when Steve took a step closer. “He’s really like her. Exactly. Right down to what I always hated about her—about them both. But in this universe or the next, I still love this person.”

 

“I remembered vague things, from when I was too young to understand. Mom would sit me in the workshop while she upgraded whatever it was. When I was taken away, most of my days were spent being trained like a soldier. I knew next to nothing about machinery, but it was something I loved, so I pursued it. A little like the way I pursued my mother as soon as I found out the truth.”

 

“Dad. Steve. I feel like I’m going to lose them.”

 

His face was softer when he was in despair, Steve noticed. He genuinely cared for his mother, and for Tony who he most connected with in this world. “He’s not asleep. He’s being forced into this… this state. Oedipus did something to him.” James said.

 

“Reed is running tests—” Steve began, to placate him.

 

“That doesn’t make things any better. Not until we can stop Oedipus. It’s doing something to him now, but I have no idea what it could be. My scans don’t reach that far. I don’t know why Oedipus didn’t affect me or Maria, but without that program, we can’t destroy the damn thing. ”

 

Steve nodded. Sometimes, there were no words that could ever communicate what he wanted to say, and it seemed to be happening a lot lately.

 

“And then there’s Nathaniel. God, we have too much on our plate, let alone little claws and crackles. He wasn’t harmless when he was a good little kid, and now—if that’s what he’s meant to grow up as…” James muttered to himself, loudly enough for Steve to hear.

 

“You knew him too?”

 

“How could I not? He was m—never mind. I knew him. Not many of us did, but Maria and I took care of him. His powers manifested dangerously, so SHIELD tried to track him down for five years. The first three was spent with Maria hiding him, and the last two was between me and my sisters—twins, the Beths—passing him around like a hot potato. SHIELD was able to discover him though. You, as Director, were royally pissed, but you knew the kid had the potential to be the most powerful weapon in the world. Unfortunately, that was how the Defenders saw it. They and a number of the old Avengers tried to kill him, but in the end, they failed. To placate them, you locked Nate up. Kept him safe in a cage.”

 

Steve frowned, but James kept on. “So I’m not surprised how he turned out. I’m only wondering how he got out. You can guess his vendetta against the Avengers is pretty deep seated, if he’s gone this far. And as Maria said, he’ll most probably go after Wolverine first.”

 

“We already tried contacting him, but no one has seen him for a while.” Steve said. “I’m sure Wolverine can take care of himself. It’s Nathaniel we’re worried about. Whatever he’ll do to take Wolverine down is likely to affect a grand scale.” James said.

 

“We have to track him down.”

 

 ~~~

 

“Don’t you dare cry. No one will pity you. No one will love you. Don’t let them take control of your life. Do what you must, but do it on your own terms.”

 

Words he lived by. Everything he did was for himself, like right now, tracking the ever-moving scent of his major genetic donor. A soldier of SHIELD taught him obedience. A fallen son like himself taught him intransigence and will. So under orders, he would fulfill his life’s mission.

 

The Avengers had been unable to contact Wolverine, and the man himself had caught his scent half an hour ago. He stopped where there were less people to harm. Typical Wolverine.

 

Nathaniel advanced, unnoticed by anything but his target until his arrival. Wolverine just stood there, waiting for him to make his move.

 

“I don’t know what your business is here, bub, but I’d like to find out why the hell you’ve been stalkin’ me for the good of an hour.”

 

“Just wanted to see what you were like for myself.” Nathaniel said. “Before I kill you again.”

 

“Again?”

 

Logan stared the young man down. He looked painfully familiar, and had more scents than one person should have. “You’re not from around here, are you, kid?”

 

“No.” Nathaniel murmured before disappearing from his place. Logan’s eyes widened just as he felt something stab through the back of his neck.

 

 ~~~

 

“Logan never changed. He was around while I was growing up. Best babysitter ever.” Maria laughed. Ironically, her face turned sober as soon as she stopped. “Something bad happened one time, when I was still sixteen. It was a SHIELD retrieval; someone had gotten to Logan. I was their secret weapon back then, when they were naïve enough to let me in on the mission. I got out pretty damn scathed, took four months to recover before I had to take off for the next three years. Logan hasn’t spoken to me since this thing with a cave, and...”

 

She downed her drink, then the entire bottle. “I should hate him, but I just miss him.”

 ~~~

“He has claws.” Bethany murmured. “Of course he has claws; Wolverine DNA was the first from my injections.” Maria said. “Yeah, but you took Spidey DNA next. I don’t see him sticking to walls.” Elizabeth said.

 

“Don’t jinx it. Where’s James?” Maria wondered.

 

“His last communication was an hour ago. He said he was close. Maybe he’s having a hard time finding us?” Bethany suggested. “I hope so. That means SHIELD won’t find us easy either.” Elizabeth said.

 

As if on cue, they heard someone above them, traveling the paths downward into the cavern. Elizabeth grabbed Bethany’s hand instinctively, clutching tightly while Maria took a gun from her pack. The midwife was deeper into the cavern, sleeping in one of the little niches scattered across the underground. Maria was too weak to fight, but the gun was specialized. Hopefully, it would be enough.

 

When the figure emerged, the Beths calmed down. Maria remained rigid.

 

“Mister Logan!” Elizabeth and Bethany greeted.

 

“Logan.” Maria said, not lowering the gun. “What do you want? I told you before; I don’t want to be found yet.”

 

“I’m not here to rat you out, kid. Would’ve done it the last time. I just thought I smelled some trouble, the kind that was in you up until a little while ago, from what I can see.” Wolverine responded. Restlessly, the baby began to grab at the empty air, looking oddly like he was sniffing. “The baby’s got a lot o’ scents, Maria. You gonna explain that to me?”

 

“Not to sound impertinent, but why should I explain, Logan? You said you’d leave me alone. You promised that you wouldn’t tell anyone where I was, and that you’d let me handle this on my own. It’s my business.” Maria responded. “That was until I found this.” Logan said harshly, throwing something to her. It was a folder, its contents slipping out when it hit the floor in front of Maria’s feet.

 

It was clear by the label what Logan had brought her. “This stuff doesn’t matter now. Just DNA records. The important information was lost in an explosion.” Maria said, putting her gun aside. “How could you make a genetic cocktail outta yourself, kid? Says there you were twelve when they started you on treatments. What the hell did you think you had to prove, juicing yourself up with stolen material?”

 

“I don’t need to explain to you everything that I choose, Logan.”

 

“I just wanna know why.” Logan said seriously, covering the distance between them and putting a hand on Maria’s shoulder.

 

“You… don’t… Fine. Fine. Logan, I thought maybe I could preserve the Avengers. They were heroes. I know the legacy is passed per generation, but there was something in them, in you, that couldn’t be replaced. That’s what I thought. I didn’t intend to use any of the material, I didn’t want to synthesize it into my blood to use the power. I just wanted to keep it long enough to find a worthy person to pass the responsibility onto.”

 

“But you didn’t.”

 

Maria shook her head. “That’s the price I paid. My child.”

 

“I’m more like my mom than I thought.”