Driven Mad (Book 1 in the MAD Series)(An Avengers Fan Fiction)

Tony Stark

Tony backed away from his Iron Man suit, which now was hung up on the wall for him to get whenever he needed it. He admired it like he had a million times, proud of his masterpiece. He smiled at it. They had won yet again. That was just another battle. There was still the rest of the war to worry about, and Tony figured that if he was correct, then someone would be there to get Helblindi and Malekith out of their prison cells on the Helicarrier, and he guessed that they were going to do whatever it took.

Tony closed his eyes. It was a hollow victory once again. They’d won that battle, but not the war. Tony longed to win the war, to really be victorious. He knew that everybody on the Helicarrier, everyone in New York City, everyone on planet Earth was in danger until it was won. He knew that everyone on Earth depended on the Avengers. That is a lot of pressure… If we don’t win, then everyone could die or live a terrible life. We could obviously avenge the earth if we can’t save it… But I’d really rather win. I think everyone on Earth would rather us win.

Tony took a deep breath, warning himself not to get too deep and let himself hurt. He put a smile on his face, whether it were real or fake, he didn’t know. He’d like for it to be real, but he had a bad habit of wearing his smile like a mask and nobody knew what was underneath. His smile and sarcasm and funny personality was real sometimes, but underneath a war always waged within. Everyday he had to decide whether or not he was really a hero or just another jerk that you occasionally saw on the news. He wondered if people really looked up to him or if they wanted to look up to him but didn’t because of his past or for whatever reason…

He wanted nothing more than to be a symbol of hope and peace to a country that often doomed itself to war. He wanted to be that hope. He had seen what war did to countries other than America. He saw what they did… He wanted war to end permanently. He’d like world peace. He wanted that more than anything. He wanted to be someone more than another celebrity. He wanted to be a real hero. He reached out and touched his suit, knowing that it was the one thing that could get him there, to get the world there…

He gave his suit a final look and turned back toward the door. He saw Pepper standing in the doorway, waiting on him. He smiled at her and headed her way. She met him halfway across the room and gently ran her hands over his shoulders, dusting away bits of dirt and dust that had made its way to his shirt during the battle. Cuts and bruises lined his face, despite his helmet. He had been thrown around like a dog toy throughout some of the battle and not even his helmet could protect him from that. The suit had been scuffed and scratched, but it was still fully functional.

Pepper ran her small hands down his arm and took his hands in her own. He looked down at her and smiled. She smiled back and he felt his soul lift from the despair of his thoughts and soar. “You won.” Pepper whispered.

“I know that.” Tony replied.

“You don’t seem too thrilled about it.”

“I know that too.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It was just one battle… Helblindi isn’t the mastermind of it all, but I have a feeling the real mastermind will come and get him. We haven’t won anything. It’s a hollow victory.”

“Tony… You still won a battle. You’ve hurt them. Hank pulverized every one of the Frost Giants and Dark Elves. The Avengers have lowered the enemy’s chances. The Avengers will win, Tony. You won against Loki…”

“Pepper, Loki was one guy with an army. This is something else entirely. There’s the Frost Giants and Dark Elves and Fire Demons and HYDRA and the Hulk Busters… Honestly, I’m surprised Whiplash and his droids haven’t shown up yet. It wouldn’t surprise me if whoever the guy behind all this brought Obadiah Stane back to life. If I can’t protect you… Nothing is going to matter, Pepper.”