Sparrows and Iron

Chapter 19

"Why does Tony hate me?"

Howard's question caught Jenny off guard.

"What do you mean?"

He scoffed softly. "Please... You know what I'm talking about, Jenny. My son. Why does he hate me?"

Jenny sighed. "You should be asking him, not me."

"And just how do you propose I do that? He won't so much as look at me, nevermind talking to me."

The way he fiddled with the wrench as he spoke reminded her so very much of Tony.

"Howard... He..."

The man watched her expectantly.

"You were never really a father to him, Howard. You were always so focused on finding Steve Rogers or keeping your business going. You never had time for him, and when you did, it was just to berate him for not being good enough or to place the blame on him during a drunken rage."

She hadn't meant to say so much. It was risky, telling him all of this, but the more she spoke, the angrier she got.

"So if he hates you, it's safe to say that's it's your own fault."

Howard gaped at her, trying to process it all, but that dumbfounded expression only drove her further in spite.

"Oh, and just so you know, Steve will get found. Just not by you. It'll be after you go, and completely by accident because once you're gone, the world gives up on Captain America. You don't get to see him again, and you waste your life chasing after your dead friend instead of focusing on your very much living, vulnerable young son for nothing."

It was silent for a bit, until Jenny could no longer stand Howard's stunned expression. Quickly, she stood and walked away. What had she just done?

---

The machine was ready just a few days later. It looked a lot shabbier than the one from the alternate timeline that Not Jenny's Tony had built, but it would do the job. As much as she was hoping to avoid it, Howard pulled her aside a few hours before she and Tony were set to go back home.

"I've been thinking about what you said."

"That's not comforting, Howard," she said earnestly. "I've probably changed things by telling you all of that."

Howard shook his head. "If you tell me the rest of what happens, I can make sure things stay on course. Minus neglecting my son."

Jenny considered him carefully. Her powers of perception were slightly dampened here, but she tried her best to tap into them. There was a moment where her eyes flashed gold, then...

"Okay. But swear to me that no matter what I tell you, you will hold to it."

The man nodded solemnly. "Anything. He's... He's happy with you. I could never take that away from him."

She sighed. "Okay... get a pen and paper."

---

Tony was still ignoring Howard as he got ready to turn the machine on. Jenny watched him sadly.

"Tony, don't you want to say goodbye?"

"Not really."

"Tony..."

He looked at her, almost pleading. "Jenny... I can't."

She ran a hand through her hair. "Okay..."

Just then, Howard approached them.

"Ready to go?"

He was trying to be cheerful, but what Jenny had told him concerning how he met his death - and at whose hands he would meet it - was obviously getting to him. By the frown on Tony's face, even he could tell, but he said nothing.

"Yeah," Jenny said softly. "We're ready..."

Howard nodded and flipped the switch. This portal was much more controlled than what had essentially been a black hole that HYDRA had created. This was simply a swirl of gold sparks that circled a doorway of inky blackness.

Tony looked at Howard, seemingly debating something.

"Goodbye, dad..."

Howard gave him the faintest of smiles. "Goodbye, son."

With that, Tony took Jenny's hand, and they stepped into the portal together.

Almost immediately, the two of them were thrown against the hard ground outside of the HYDRA complex. Everything was deathly still until Pietro appeared beside them.

"What was that explosion? Are you alright?"

Tony and Jenny blinked and looked around. They were back.

"It's a bit of a long story..."

But that story would have to wait. Just then, a sleek, black jet landed a short distance away.

Jenny looked over towards the quinjet where the other Avengers were immediately on alert, but with a jolt, she realized she knew that jet. With an even greater shock, she realized that she could feel the connection that had been dormant for so long.

"Papa?" she whispered, staggering to her feet, still disoriented. As quickly as she could, she shook off her confusion and rushed towards the jet.

The ramp descended, and it was as if all the air had been knocked from her lungs. Her father was there, and so was Hank. The two of them stared at her, and she stared back.

Professor X's face slowly morphed into the expression of a man who has just found the final piece to a mystery.

"That psychic disturbance... The rupture... That was a time portal, wasn't it?"

Holding back tears, Jenny nodded. "Yes Papa... I'm back..."

She glanced back at the confused Avengers and laughed softly. "And I think we have a lot of catching up to do."

Her father smiled gently. "Indeed we do..."