Tony arrived at his West Coast mansion right on time. Quickly, he changed into the sterilized gown and walked into the labor room. But to his surprise, Ororo wasn't even making any loud noises. She merely grunted and scrunched her face, with her brows creased together while she kept pushing.
Although Tony knew it was a painful process, seeing her struggle like that made him not want any more kids in the future. The consequences of one unplanned little white tadpole escaping were pretty grave.
For a moment, Tony froze at the sight of her glistening, ebony face, covered in sweat. Her ashen hair was sprinkled beneath her head, sprawled and shimmering. Somehow, even in that moment, she failed to look anything but gorgeous.
For a moment, her eyes met his, and she let out a tiny smile.
Tony stepped beside her and gave her his hand. He honestly had no clue what to do, but he'd seen plenty of movies to nail it. He let her hold his hand tight while the doctors guided her.
Minutes later, a baby's wails echoed—a boy. Pale chocolate complexion, patchy hair the shade of gray, and eyes bright blue. Chunky, if one had to weigh the boy. More than healthy, actually.
First, Ororo held the baby against her body, bonding effortlessly. Then, Tony received the wrapped baby burrito, awkwardly holding him in his arms. He swore he almost saw a smile on that chubby face. But he was cute, and his own blood.
Even though it was unexpected, Tony felt all the things a first-time father does. Love, fear, worry, a sense to protect that little bundle of giggles. To kick all alien asses so the boy never has to worry about anything.
More than anything. The desire to be the most awesome father to have ever lived. Unlike a certain guy whose name started with an H and shared the same last name as him.
"A perfect mix of us, I guess." Tony finally looked at Ororo. The woman was truly inhuman. Movies told him that women usually fall asleep out of exhaustion once the baby gets delivered. But there was Ororo, perfectly awake, her face flushed and her eyes wide.
Tony got closer to the side of Ororo's bed and leaned down so she could look at the baby, too. Then he asked, "Thought of a name?"
Ororo looked at him as if she wasn't expecting to get that chance. But she seemed rather happy about getting it. "Considering who his father is, I was thinking… Dexter?"
"Hmm…" Tony hummed, staring at the baby's face for a while. "Bit edgy, but hey, with that face? It works. Dexter Monroe-Stark—got a nice ring to it."
Ororo nodded in affirmation before receiving the baby from him. She tightly snuggled him over her chest, keeping him warm.
Seeing that, Tony had an idea. "Look, nothing against the X-Mansion—it's a fine school, great extracurriculars, but too many madmen attacks. How about this? You stay here for the first three years. California—sunny, warm, less 'oh look, another explosion' kind of vibe. I'll have a hundred Iron Guardians on patrol. Call it overprotective, call it paranoia—I call it smart, because, let's be honest, we have enemies. And they're gonna come for Dexter."
Ororo seemed to measure Tony's sincerity from his face before nodding. "Are you planning to tell the public?"
"Yeah, I will. But the kid's a little young for all that right now. Let's wait till my term's up—then I'll have all the time in the world to hang out with Dexter. Plus, I can finally introduce him properly, no more top-secret dad business."
Tony softly caressed the baby's head. "I don't trust most, so… I've asked someone I absolutely trust to come and help. She's worked with me over the years for my philanthropic endeavors. Maybelle Parker. Most people just call her May. She's been my go-to for philanthropic work over the years. Lost her husband a while back, raised her orphaned nephew on her own—kid's a certified genius, by the way. I'll send over his file. But May? You can trust her."
He didn't request May's help for selfish reasons. He did it for Peter mostly. With May away from New York, Peter would have all the time needed to complete his training at the Avenger's headquarters and then at the X-Mansion. However, it was also true that he couldn't think of anyone else he could trust with his son.
Not to mention, when he revealed Ororo's pregnancy to May, the woman was extremely overjoyed, as if she was the one going to have a son.
"Besides that, you will have a 24/7 direct line to me. Just say my name, and whatever gadget is closest will do the honors of dialing me up." Tony wanted to stay longer, but being President meant looking after more than just his own kid. "I'm not about to be the deadbeat dad of the century, not to Dexter."
"Tony, you don't need to overwork yourself. I don't blame you for anything. You don't need to feel responsible if you don't wan—"
"Hush…" Tony pressed his finger to her warm lips. "Don't make me repeat myself. Dexter's mine as much as yours. Now, cut the overthinking and get some shut-eye. I've got to dash back to DC and check on my minions."
Ororo didn't voice her doubts and silently nodded. She would have been lying if it didn't feel weird. Being a mother without being married. Still, it was rather comforting that Tony Stark wasn't as immature as he made himself appear in public.
"Take care, Tony."
"Oh no, by all means—you take care."
With that, he retreated from the room and allowed her some rest. Of course, he left behind Iron Guardians armed to teeth to keep the mansion safe.
####
New York, Central Park.
Frank Castle loved his family dearly, and to spend some quality time with them, he brought them to Central Park for a nice, small picnic. It was a warm day, and there were many more people around. Playing with their kids, laughing, and chatting.
But then, Frank noticed something. All of a sudden, a lot of rough-looking men entered the crowd. Men with tattoos, men in clothes not suitable for a sunny day in the park. Men who clearly didn't belong there.
Shhhhh!
Before he could react, he heard loud engine noises from the sky, and out of nowhere, ten Iron Guardians descended from the sky. Strangely, the Iron Guardians emitted red laser beams that each targeted the men who didn't belong there.
"Surrender! Any abrupt movement will lead to lethal retaliation! Surrender! Lie down on your stomach, hands behind your head! Surrender!"
All the Iron Guardians shouted those orders at the same time. The robotic voices were almost uncanny, scary even. But Frank reckoned they were meant to sound scary. Strangely, other than the likely criminals, most civilians didn't appear scared. Rather, people were busy recording the Iron Guardians or taking photos from a distance.
"Get behind me!" Frank shouted at his wife, son, and daughter. "Quick!"
Slowly, almost a dozen men who were spread around in that area began to get down on their bellies and surrender.
"DANGER!"
But then an Iron Guardian bellowed a warning out of nowhere and shot a needle-thin laser from one of its fingers as the metallic palms were spread like a tiger's claw. In an instant, one of the criminals who was about to take out his gun fell down, limp, eyes rolled back, his mouth foaming as if his brain just got fried. There was no blood involved.
Seeing that efficiency shocked Frank. The Iron Guardians probably killed or disabled a man for life without alarming the civilians around. Without turning the huge crowd into a stampede. From the beginning to the end, the Iron Guardians had complete control over the situation.
Moments later, NYPD vans came over, searched the men, seized their weapons, and took them away. A few Iron Guardians stayed behind, took pictures with the people for five minutes, and then flew away.
"That was so cool!" Frank Castle Jr. shouted, stepping out of his father's shadow. "Dad, we should have taken a picture too!"
Frank didn't respond.
"Dad?" Frank Castle Jr. shook his father's arm and woke him from the stupor. "Dad?"
"W-What? Yeah, let's do that next time." Frank mumbled and looked towards the sky.
New York City was no longer the unsafe, overcrowded city anymore, it seemed. He couldn't recognize the city, and it'd just been 4 years of Tony's influence. Cars were different, gadgets were different. There were barely any homeless people left in the city.
More than anything, crime had fallen to an all-time low. The fifth round of Iron Guardian expansion had taken place recently. Which meant that New York State had 50 Iron Guardians protecting it at all times, and the city had 10 alone.
Frank personally never cared about Tony Stark. The man seemed like those usual spoiled, rich brats. But he'd felt the man's actions change the world personally. The Afghanistan pullout was done during his recent tour, after all. And somehow, Afghanistan was still doing just fine without American troops.
"Dad, have you seen President Stark before? He came to our school last year and gave us all watches. He's so cool!"
Frank looked at his daughter. Even she was all praise for that man.
"I guess… He is."
Frank muttered and sat down again to resume his peaceful picnic. Though in his mind he reconsidered the message he received the last night. The Veterans Affairs' order to go and receive PTSD recovery aid, free of cost.
Maybe I should.
______________________
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