Lagos

It was an overnight flight to Nigeria. The team had gained permission from the Nigerian government to carry out their mission in Lagos, providing they liaised with the military which Tony was very happy to oblige by, despite Steve's continued concerns. As Steve was in charge of the mission, it was his duty to co-ordinate with the Nigerian military team which was being sent to join them.

As the Quin-Jet began its descent into Nigerian airspace, Tony couldn't help but glance at Natasha, who sat in the pilot's seat. He hadn't had a chance to really study her since everything was happening so fast. Tony had needed to integrate himself into the Lagos mission and he hadn't had much time to do it. He'd thrown himself into his new situation.

Now he had a bit of relative quiet he couldn't help but keep glancing towards Natasha. The last words he'd ever heard from Nat were: "See you in a minute". Those had turned out to be the last words she would ever say to the team before her death. Before her act of self-sacrifice to ensure they gained the soul stone.

But if gaining the soul stone requires losing someone you love, how can I obtain it without doing so?

He shook his head. The dilemma of Vormir would have to be solved some other time. But he would make sure Nat's fate would be changed.

Sadness welled up, tightening his chest. He hadn't been shocked to see Nat when he'd gone to their planning session because he'd already known she was still alive in this time. It had been hard to see her, knowing of the fate which awaited her. A few years ago no one would have thought Natasha would sacrifice her life, but then, Tony mused, no one would have believed it possible for him either. Steve had once made it clear to him; Tony would never do something so heroic. Hours later he had proved Steve wrong.

Truthfully, Tony had been lying down on the wire for years now. So many times he had stared death in the face and had survived. Only this time death had caught up with him and somehow he'd miraculously been sent back to 2016 with vague instructions to 'fix it', whatever that meant!

I'll change it. I'll change it so Nat does not have to die. It was a vow he intended to keep.

Right now, he needed to focus on ensuring the damage to Lagos did not occur again. As long as he played his part Wanda shouldn't have any need to contain a suicide bomb.

They landed at a military base and were then driven into Lagos where they discussed their plan with the military chiefs before they moved to their predetermined positions. Tony was escorted into the Institute where he then helped to remove the biological weapon, preventing Rumlow from getting his hands on it in the first place. Any other materials that could be used to create a biological weapon were also removed to reduce the risk of any being stolen.

Tony crouched low on the third floor, hidden behind the wall of the next room, eyes ready to track anyone who entered the room. He wasn't wearing his suit yet, he didn't need to.

"Any movement?" Tony asked into his earpiece. He wasn't sure on the timings of the attack. They just knew he would strike at some point today.

"Nothing I can see," replied Steve. "Everywhere looks quiet. Nat, Wanda and Sam are all in position."

"Good." Momentarily he switched off his comm-channel, twisting his watch, which was made of nano-tech, to Friday's frequency. She was monitoring the Lagos situation herself in a remote-controlled Iron Man suit, patrolling from the air, hidden by the clouds moving above the city. "What do you see, Friday?"

"Nothing suspicious, boss. Everyone is in place."

"I'll have to keep you on silent but as soon as you detect something abnormal, alert me. I'll see the red light on my watch."

"Yes, boss," Friday acknowledged.

Tuning back to the team's frequency he overheard Wanda say: "You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?"

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature," Nat replied.

"Anybody ever tell you, you're a little paranoid?" Sam interjected.

"Not to my face, why? Did you hear something?" Nat was quick on the response.

"Eyes on target, folks. Best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months and I don't wanna lose him."

Sam snorted. "If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kinda hates us."

From Tony's research, he knew Rumlow had a personal vendetta against Steve and the others. He was also intent on causing as much damage as possible in his previous attacks, probably in the hope of drawing the Avengers out into a confrontation.

The comms went silent until Steve's voice came over again.

"Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it."

"It's a battering ram," said Tony. He'd read the reports, he knew what Sam would report back. "Loaded to the max."

"We don't know –" Steve began but was cut off.

"Stark's right, Steve. Max capacity," confirmed Sam.

"Go now! He's not hitting the police! It's the Institute!"

Tony wanted to make a smarmy remark that he had been right, but now wouldn't be the right time. "I'll suit up. If Rumlow makes it this far…" Tony trailed off as he heard a loud crash followed by gunshots as the assault on the Institute began.

"We need him alive, Stark!" Rogers ordered over the comms.

"You do not need to remind me!" hissed Tony as he activated his suit, pressing his fingers on the Arc Reactor magnetised to his chest. Nanonites ran down his entire body, forming red and gold armour, swirling and clicking into place, locking the suit together. The helmet shut down over Tony's face and the display appeared in front of him. He could have created the Mark 85 but had settled for the Mark 50 instead. He wouldn't need the advanced armour for a few years yet. And he'd rather not raise too many suspicions.

Windows smashed in the room next door to his and gas started to flow out from canisters that had been fired through. Tony was thankful they had evacuated the building, fewer injuries that way.

"Tony! Rumlow's inside!" Steve's voice came over the comm.

"Got it." Tony moved quickly out of the room, knowing Rumlow would be coming this way. They were not on his floor yet but he could detect people heading towards his level. He headed back towards the lab where Rumlow would head to. Ducking into the room and locking the door again behind him, Tony pivoted and hid beside a cupboard, hidden from view from anyone entering the lab.

He didn't have to wait long before someone punched the door down and walked into the lab wearing heavy black armour with a gas mask on and they marched towards the case where the bioweapon should be.

Tony stepped out from his hiding place, blocking Rumlow's exit as the man turned to face him as soon as he saw the case was empty.

"You shouldn't be here!"

Tony smirked from within the helmet. "Sometimes things do not go to how you plan them, do they? You're lucky I knew exactly what your target would be and could make the necessary arrangements to prevent you from stealing the biological weapon." Raising his right arm he pointed his Gauntlet at Rumlow. "Surrender."

Rumlow didn't respond verbally. He simply attacked.

Tony reacted swiftly, firing his repulsor at Rumlow who ducked, running straight towards him. Tony stepped to the side, reached out and grabbed Rumlow, commanding the nanonites to clasp onto the man's wrist, twisting his arm back behind him.

Rumlow attempted to turn back, nearly snapping his arm in the process, using his other arm, covered with another specialised gauntlet, to punch Tony in the chest.

Tony stood his ground. The Mark 50 was highly durable, not as strong as the Mark 85, but enough to deal with insignificant threats like the terrorist before him.

Rumlow tried again, struggling to free himself from the iron grip.

"I gave you an option. I suggest you take it," reiterated Tony. He knew Rumlow wore a suicide vest. If he was going to detonate it, inside this building would be better. All the explosive materials were gone. The only people injured would be the attackers. If Rumlow managed to escape…

"Never!" From Rumlow's free arm, a large knife slid out of their holdings and he swiped along Tony's mask, barely grazing the faceplate. And then he pulled, hard, snapping his own wrist as he pulled free from Tony's grip on his other arm. Rumlow stepped back, breathing hard. "He should have been here instead of you!"

He means Steve… Tony realised.

"If I can't escape then I can cause as much damage as possible!"

Tony spied the detonator button as Rumlow turned and ran, out of the lab and towards the nearest window.

"Shit!" Tony fired his thrusters and flew forward. "Steve! Incoming!"

Tony spread his arms and grabbed Rumlow around the waist as the man reached the window and leapt out of it, depressing the detonator at the same time. Instead of falling, Tony flew out into the open air as his whole body was encased in hot heat as something tore apart in front of him. He felt intense burning through the suit and then the nanonites were blasted away, exposing his flesh to the air, as heat swept over and through him. He was thrown back by the force of the blast, windows shattering behind him and he fell through the air until he hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Natasha twisted her body, her legs wrapped around one of her attacker's neck, punching them on the head as she swung them down, flipping back away from them and sliding one leg underneath and tripping another attacker up.

Her earpiece crackled and Tony's voice came over the line: "Steve! Incoming!" That could mean only one thing. Rumlow was on his way…

There was an almighty crash overhead as Rumlow leaped out of the third-floor window but then Tony was there, grabbing hold of Rumlow as his body exploded spectacularly. Tony was thrown away from the force of the blast and she could see his suit melt in the devastating heat of the explosion, exposing the front of his body to the debris and flesh and blood of Rumlow's body and parts of the Institute as the windows around it shattered from the heat. The building shook and a part of the wall crumbled forward, landing in the foyer in front of her.

Tony was thrown back, his body falling before he hit the floor with a thud.

"Tony!" Natasha scrambled for her feet and rushed over to him. He was lying completely still, half of his suit torn away from the force of the blast and his face was slightly burned and bleeding. "Come on, Stark, don't do this to me! I still need you!" She felt for his pulse and was relieved to find a strong heartbeat at the base of his throat. Relief swept through her. Not all was lost. Though how Tony had got here…

No, she'd dwell on it later.

She hadn't expected him to turn up.

She'd been expecting someone else.

"Why do you… still need… me…? Agent… Romanoff?" coughed Tony as he opened his eyes slowly, coughing.

"No reason," she said. Now was not the time.

"Stark!" Steve was running over, as was Wanda and Sam. "Is he alright?"

Natasha nodded. "He is. He just got caught in Rumlow's suicide bomb," she smiled, relieved. "But he stopped it from becoming something worse. If Tony hadn't been inside the building when he attacked…"

"Rumlow could have escaped and caused a lot of damage in the marketplace," relented Steve. "You were right, Tony, about where he intended to hit."

Tony winced as he tried to sit up. "Yeah, well, maybe you'll listen to me more, now."

Natasha couldn't help but chuckle. "Come on, you've averted a wider catastrophe. You need medical."

Thankfully Tony had only suffered minor burns, his suit having taken the majority of the explosion as it was ripped from him in the blast. On the ride back to the Avengers Facility, Tony had spent the flight with a cold compress over parts of his face, arms and chest where the explosion had most affected, after running cold water over the areas first. He took some antibiotics to reduce infection and instructed Friday to order in a soothing cream which would help the skin heal faster. The damage was not too severe once he was cleaned up.

Once they arrived back at the facility, Tony asked Steve to write a report for him as he could use it with his negotiations regarding the Accords. He promised Steve they would sit down and discuss the positives and negatives of such a panel operating the Avengers, but first he needed to rest and heal from his injuries first.

Making his way slowly to his room, Tony sat on the edge of his bed, glancing around. He'd prevented a wider tragedy from occurring. The Wakandan Aid Relief workers hadn't died. He'd stopped Rumlow from ever reaching the marketplace and becoming a danger, and therefore ensured Wanda did not use her powers to throw Rumlow away. Though the original incident had been unfortunate, Tony had wanted to avoid that specific situation again, because it was partly the reason why the Accords had been pushed quicker through the processes to become law. Now, the Accords wouldn't be implemented as quickly, meaning T'Challa's father wouldn't die at the signing of the Accords.

Just one simple change had a butterfly effect.

One thing did nag at him, however: the enigma that was Natasha Romanoff.

He'd already suspected something off about her. She had seemed quite relieved he was still alive after the blast and some of the words she'd said to him, as he stirred from consciousness, resonated with him, and his suspicions had been raised further.

If I died and came back here, why not Nat too?

He heard movement from behind him as his door to his quarters opened and soft footsteps entered.

"Hello Tony," Natasha said.

Tony turned slowly to face her, taking in her soft red hair around her shoulders and her green eyes shining brightly, a gentle smile on her face.

He leaned back, a teasing smile at the corner of his lips. "Tell me, Agent Romanoff, how was Vormir?"

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