The Purpose

30th April 2016

Tony didn't react straight away to the date. He swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. "Friday, can you repeat the date?" He'd heard correctly, right?

"The thirtieth of April 2016. Are you feeling alright, boss?"

Tony numbly got to his feet, casting his gaze around. "I'm fine," he answered, not wanting to raise suspicions. He'd clearly died. He remembered it. It was too visual in his head for it to have been just a dream. So that meant… somehow… and he didn't know how, he'd ended up in the past, specifically just before…

Something gnawed at him. What was so specific about this date that he'd woken up here? What had he been doing in April 2016? Rubbing his eyes, Tony groaned. "This is a mess."

He couldn't tell anyone about this; they'd believe him crazy. But why had he been sent here? Was this a form of hell where he had to relive everything?

"But then…" he muttered quietly, "if I was being forced to live through everything again, why would I have control of my own body?" If this was some sort of punishment for his sins Tony doubted he'd have any control of his body. The fact that he did, suggested that his theory he was in some special sort of hell was clearly wrong, which he was rather glad about.

Glancing around the room, Tony noticed a few leaflets on the dresser and moved to study them, finding them all leaflets on MIT. And then he remembered. A few days from now he would be attending MIT, where he would use newly developed technology from his Research and Development team at Stark Industries, to trial run a potential new device which could aid the recovery of hundreds of people during therapy.

It was an event Tony and Pepper were due at… Wait.

"Shit," Tony swore, already realising right now he and Pepper were on a break. He couldn't simply return to Pepper. Currently, their relationship was dead in the water.

Morgan…

His daughter's face swam into his mind's eye. Morgan was the one thing he loved more than Pepper. And right now her very existence was under threat. She might not ever be born, or if she was, she wouldn't be his Morgan. The Morgan he knew was gone forever.

September sixteenth, 2018. 11:20pm.

Tony started.

"What?"

September sixteenth 2018. 11:20pm.

It wasn't even a whisper. The words just appeared in his head, ingraining themselves into his mind.

It worked out. Morgan had been born in June 2019. Why had the date, and presumably the time of Morgan's conception, suddenly appeared in his head as if he had always known it? He remembered they'd married shortly before that date.

I'd built the cabin before we married. It was my wedding gift to Pepper.

They'd decided to live their lives in the new world they had found themselves in following the Snap. They couldn't put their lives on hold anymore. Pepper had reduced her duties at Stark Industries so she could enjoy married life with Tony as much as possible. They'd started trying for a child soon after their wedding… Morgan had come along quite quickly, surprising them both as they had expected problems due to their respective ages.

But Pepper had fallen for Morgan quite quickly.

Now Tony was in a time where he and Pepper were on a break.

I want my little girl.

September sixteenth, 2018. 11:20pm.

The words reverberated throughout his brain again. He tried to ignore them.

But why had he been sent back here? What was he supposed to do? What was his purpose in being here?

Fix things.

The words appeared in his brain, not knowing where they had come from.

"Ok," he said aloud, "can whoever is putting stuff in my head, please stop doing that?"

All was silent. It was unnerving.

This day was getting odder and odder.

First, he'd died, then the next he was waking up in 2016, seven years before he died.

Tony took in deep breaths.

Think, Stark, think!

"The day I was at MIT was the day of what?" Tony wracked his memory. There was something significant about being sent back to this specific point. Something he could change, if it was the way to fix things.

"Friday, has there been any intelligence reports delivered recently which the Avengers are acting upon?" The quicker way to find an answer was to ask his A.I. Friday was installed within the Compound. She'd be able to determine if they were preparing for a mission or not.

"Intel has been received regarding a possible attack to steal a weapon in Lagos, Nigeria. The suspects include a one, Brock Rumlow, an international terrorist currently wanted across the world for several known attacks," explained Friday. "Would you like me to send you the full intel, boss?"

Tony shook his head. "No." He now knew what he could stop, or rather change.

It was the disaster in Lagos which had accelerated the Accords. Tony could potentially prevent the disaster from unfolding, allowing innocent lives that were originally lost to live.

"I'm not even supposed to be here…" he muttered quietly. He was trying to remember where he should have been. "Friday, when did I get here?"

"Last night, boss. You arrived after everyone had gone to bed. However, you have agreed to hold a speech at M.I.T on the third of May."

"Right…" Tony chewed his bottom lip, thinking. "Do we have a date when Rogers will act on the intel on Rumlow?"

"The intelligence suggests the date of attack will be the same day as your M.I.T speech, boss."

He'd have to postpone the M.I.T speech. He had to be in Lagos, otherwise what was the point in sending him back to this point in time if he wasn't going to be there to prevent a wider catastrophe?

"Friday, send my apologies to the Director of M.I.T that due to unfortunate circumstances I will have to delay my appearance for a few weeks but notify them I will be contributing a large donation to the faculty and the students."

"Yes, boss."

That was one thing dealt with.

The next was to get himself involved with the Lagos mission.

And, technically, I'm not even part of the Avenger's rota anymore. And I need to fix things with Pepper.

Tony showered first, taking the time to inspect his body, noticing the scars he'd received during his fight on Titan did not mar this body. It's because that hasn't happened yet, idiot! Tony kept glancing at his right arm. This arm had held all six Infinity Stones, had wielded them to ensure Thanos' ultimate destruction, and yet it looked fine.

A part of him was still trying to comprehend the situation he had fallen into, how he could go about altering things so they did not follow the same path. Was he in an alternate timeline or was he in the timeline he'd died in? Tony didn't know, yet he had the feeling the rules of time travel did not apply in this case. Why be sent back if he was just going to create an alternate reality with his actions?

"But I also know where all the Infinity Stones now are," he muttered. "I could collect them before Thanos does…" It was a thought he'd have to wait to consider. First, his biggest priority was ensuring the team didn't split. The Avengers needed to be whole if they were going to counter Thanos.

Tony dressed in a suit and went for a walk around the Compound. It was business as usual as Stark Industries also had a few floors to themselves for research and development. In fact, once Tony and Pepper had got back together, Pepper had moved the majority of her work to this base so she could spend more time with Tony as he negotiated the Accords and worked in tandem with the one hundred and seventeen countries that had supported them. But right now, Pepper was on the other side of America, working out of Malibu.

It was part of a way for them to maintain their distance from one another as they took a break.

Tony swallowed, remembering how hard he had taken their break-up the first time. He wanted to fix things with her now but Pepper needed the space. She needed to see he was trying to reign in his compulsiveness to be Iron Man. The Accords had helped with that… and what Steve had done to Tony in Siberia had brought her back…

Steve.

The Winter Soldier. Zemo.

"Shit." It wasn't just the Accords Tony had to consider this time around. It was the wider problem that had split the Avengers further.

The framing of the Winter Soldier.

The death of Wakanda's King.

He stopped in his walk around the Compound, moved to the window and pulled out his phone. "Friday," he instructed quietly, "can you begin a world-wide search for Bucky Barnes?" He already knew where he was but he needed the evidence if he was going to exonerate Bucky from suspicion if, in the event, Tony was unable to prevent Zemo from attacking the signing of the Accords. "Tag him, and record his every movement. And begin a secondary search for a man of Sokovian birth called Helmut Zemo. Tag him too and let me know if he drops off your radar."

"Yes, boss," she replied.

"And," as if it was an afterthought, "find and locate Stephen Strange. Again, keep tabs on him."

He needed to know where Strange was. He didn't want to be surprised like last time.

He knew I was going to die. That's why he spared me. That realisation had struck Tony on the battlefield when he had seen the wizard raise his finger towards him.

Just one way to win, and it had all hinged upon Tony's willingness to sacrifice his own life.

But did he see this? Did he know I'd be sent back?

It didn't matter if Strange had known, only that Tony had acted when no one else could.

If it meant Morgan surviving without me, I'd do it again.

God, he wanted to see her again, but right now, she didn't exist. It was impossible to see her. All he had was the memories he'd made of her in the last four years of his life.

He made his way towards the conference room where he hoped to find the Avengers in a planning session for their mission to Lagos. Tony smiled and acknowledged everyone he passed, noting that they seemed pleased to see him.

Feeling a bit of nerves bundled in his stomach, Tony pressed open the door of the conference room and walked inside.

Steve, Natasha, Sam, and Wanda sat around a table filled with maps and diagrams and photos, discussing how best to stop Rumlow's attack. They all looked up as he entered. Surprise flickered across Steve's face and Natasha's eyes widened. Wanda looked indifferent and Sam raised his eyebrows.

"What? Didn't know I was in town?"

"It's good to see you, Tony, but as you can see we –" began Steve.

Tony cut him off. "I'm here to help."

"You have an M.I.T speech scheduled," said Natasha quietly.

Tony turned his attention towards her, noting the suspicions in her eyes. "I didn't know you had a personal interest in my schedule. Do you keep tabs on me, Agent Romanoff?"

Her lips twitched but she didn't reply, just kept watching him which he found a little unnerving.

"Do you want to join the Avengers again?" asked Steve, casting his gaze around the table.

"I never really was an Avenger… Just a consultant. Friday clued me in on the intelligence you received and I thought you might want an extra hand?" He wasn't going to push his way into the mission. If Steve didn't want him there then he wouldn't be part of the mission but it wouldn't stop him from going to Lagos and preventing the catastrophe that was sure to come if he wasn't there.

"To be honest…" Steve hesitated, "… it would be great to have you with us, but I think the Iron Man armour would stand out."

Tony had expected this. He could easily develop the nano-technology. He knew how to do it. "I have some new tech which only needs to be deployed into a suit when it is needed. I can be undercover as much as the rest of you."

Steve nodded. "If that's the case then… great, take a seat. We're still going over the bare basics of the mission."

Pulling out a chair next to Sam, Tony sat.

He didn't fail to notice Nat's continuing glances at him or the suspicious frown she wore whenever they made eye contact. Tony shook off the feeling and got to work.

"Have we accounted for Rumlow wearing a suicide vest and attempting to take out as many of us as possible?" asked Tony. They'd planned most of the mission. Wanda and Nat would be undercover in the main square, watching for any suspicious activity. Sam would be on a roof whilst Tony and Steve would be in opposite buildings and watching the street from above.

"He's not gonna be wearing one, Tony," answered Steve. "Rumlow wants to cause as much destruction as possible. Killing himself is against his character."

"If he was to detonate in the middle of a crowd…" Tony pointed out. "Mass casualties. Can we take the risk?"

"Stark has a point," pointed out Sam. "We cannot blindly assume he won't wear a suicide vest. What if he does and innocent people are killed in the blast? We need to plan for this eventuality. We cannot sweep it to the side."

Steve frowned, leaning forward. "If he does wear one, he will look to cause maximum damage to the market. We'll need to prevent him from making it that far."

Tony folded his arms across his chest. "Then we need to keep this to inside the building he is targeting and neutralise him before he can escape. I think it is better off I am stationed inside the building they are targeting."

"What if he's not going to hit the Institute for Infectious Diseases?" asked Natasha. Tony had already raised the point of Rumlow's possible target was the Institute rather than the local police station located close by. "There are several targets he could be after. This could all be a ploy to lure us there."

"It isn't. The intel is solid, you said it yourself," noted Tony.

"The intel only states he's after a weapon," said Wanda. "There is no solid proof of what building he is going for."

"I know it's going to be the Institute for Infectious Diseases." Tony knew he was bold in saying this. "He's after a weapon. The worst weapon Rumlow could go after is a biological one which would cause maximum damage if unleashed upon the general public. His only logical target is the Institute."

Steve still looked unconvinced. "In other countries, he's been in, he's attacked the local police stations and there is one close to the Institute. He could easily steal weapons from there."

"I think Tony is right," said Natasha suddenly. "Logic dictates he'll be after the biological weapon. He already has enough weapons, why add more of the same when you can obtain something different and far more destructive? If Tony is wrong, there is no harm in him being inside the Institute, is there? He can still join whatever skirmish we get into if Rumlow's target isn't the Institute."

Steve acknowledged Natasha's point. "Ok, Tony, change your starting position to inside the Institute but stay on comms. If we need you, we'll call you."

"Sure," shrugged Tony. His main priority was to ensure Rumlow didn't leave the building with the biological weapon. If he succeeded he'd save countless of lives. And he'd spare Wanda the indignation of being put on house arrest for her unintentional mistake. If it did come to it and Wanda still did make a mistake which injured and killed people, Tony would talk to her directly, instead of sending Vision as a messenger.

Steve poured over the maps. "Can anyone think of anything else?"

"We need to notify the Nigerian government about this intelligence," advised Tony. "Otherwise we will be entering a country illegally."

"That hasn't mattered before," declared Steve. "We're the Avengers. We are helping people. The more people who know of this intelligence the easier it is for someone to betray us. We cannot trust any government to let us do our jobs properly."

Tony sighed. Of course, Steve would see it that way. "Things change. The Sokovia incident has caused ramifications throughout the political world. People are demanding for something to be done to keep us in check."

"What are you saying?" enquired Wanda hesitantly.

Tony sighed. It was better to have this conversation now rather than later. He should have warned them before about the Accords but he'd assumed Steve would have kept up to date with all the developments of the world. He hadn't expected Steve, or any other member of the team to know nothing about the Accords when Tony had brought Ross to them to discuss the implementation of them.

"I'm saying we cannot simply go to another country without permission and act within their borders without notifying the correct people. There is legislation being drawn up which will affect how we work as a team. We will have to answer to a panel of people if things go wrong, submit reports of our missions, work with the panel if places do not wish for our help. The Accords are good and bad. They'll be coming in regardless of what you think, Steve. It's better to work with them than to become a fugitive and being unable to help people without becoming a hunted man yourself."

"Tony has a point, Steve," agreed Natasha, leaning across the desk. "It's worth notifying the Nigerian Government. If something doesn't go to plan –" she glanced at Tony, "we've covered ourselves, right?"

Tony nodded emphatically. "Any fallout will not be so bad because we will have had permission to be there."

"What if they say no? I'm not going to let some official dictate how I go about saving the world."

"Wow, Steve, wow." Tony had forgotten how Steve could be stubborn. "Look, I know you find it hard to trust the government after Hydra infiltrated SHIELD but do not make yourself a criminal. How can you help people if you are constantly on the run? We need to stay a team and if that means taking the bad with the good, then we should. The Accords will become law, whether you like it or not."

"Tony, you're respected. Can you make the call?" Natasha eyed him directly.

"Sure." Tony figured he would be the best one to do so. Steve didn't have the diplomacy skills Tony had learned over the years.

Wanda frowned. "But why would they listen to Stark? He's not respected… He's hated."

Tony wanted to laugh. "I'm not hated. I may have been for a while after Ultron, especially after the first few months, but I've shown I am willing to atone for my mistakes. 75% of the relief aid for Sokovia comes from my own pocket. It's because of Sokovia and what happened there is why I am willing to work with the governments on the Accords. They should have the right to refuse our help, especially when it isn't world-ending scenarios." He narrowed his eyes, scrutinising Wanda. "Don't forget I've kept your part in Ultron quiet." He placed his hands together and cast his eyes around the room. "Look, the Accords are something we can discuss after Lagos, but I do believe it would be in our best interest to inform the Nigerian government of the threat. And, they may give us extra help to capture Rumlow."

"More people the better, Steve," intoned Nat as Steve reluctantly nodded.

Tony smiled at her.

For the next two days and nights, Tony worked hard to replicate his nano-technology. He hadn't invented it until the beginning of 2018, just before Thanos arrived, but there was no reason why he couldn't establish the suit now. He'd already started the bare basics of it.

He needed a portable device to carry around with, one that could be easily hidden and activated at a moment's notice.

With the new Arc Reactor ready, Tony attached it to his chest, with little nanonites clinging to his skin to hold it in place. They didn't hurt, he barely felt it.

Smiling steadily, he slipped out of his lab. He needed to prepare for the mission.

They'd be leaving in a few hours.

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