Chapter Text
In hindsight, Tony really should've seen this coming. The fact that neither him or Bruce thought to ask some questions or run some tests before everything went to hell is embarrassing as scientists.
Now Tony is looking at 50k in equipment broken, (not that the old currencies were still in use.) and one teenage son of a super soldier sulking in the canyons where Bruce used to live. Something about 'Too dangerous to be around others'.
For someone who is acting as a beacon for others like his father, he really takes after his mother in more ways than Tony thought at first.
Sure James always had the thick, luscious, bright red hair like Natasha, but now that Tony really looks, he sees more of Natasha than Steve in James.
James is sly, cunning and clever. He'll isolate himself impulsively, and only seek others out once he gets his bearings and remembers how he was trained.
If he runs into a problem, he won't stop trying to solve it, trying multiple different angles, and he'll get that glint in his eyes when he has a solution.
But most importantly, if he thinks he's compromised or a danger, he'll leave until someone can talk him out of it.
Whenever Natasha got captured, unless she was absolutely sure she wasn't compromised, she would have SHIELD lock her up until they could be sure she wasn't.
Back to the matter at hand, he needed to rebuild some machines, and make some special razors for James. Pym Jr. should have some spare materials, and could help him rebuild some of the machines. Maybe also help him with the razor? If not he can ask Azari, or even Bruce, for help.
But first, "Francis!" Francis appeared in the doorway and looked around. "Geez, did a tornado come through here or did you build another killer robot?" He asked. "Neither, James is going though puberty." Tony replied. "And what, destroyed all your stuff out of frustration at the human body? I know I've wanted to before, but i didn't think someone could actually do it. What actually happened?" Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "How much did your father tell you about the old avengers?" He asked. Francis tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Not that much now that I think of it. He mention names like 'Iron Man', 'Vision', 'Hulk', 'Black Widow', 'Thor', 'Black Panther', 'Captain America', 'Giant Man' and 'Wasp'.
"I know that you are Iron Man, and Torunn Thorsdottir is the daughter of, yknow, Thor. I can guess that Giant Man and Wasp are Pym's parents, Azari is Black Panther's son, and Captain America and Black Widow are James' parents. Why?" Tony took a moment before answering: "Do you want to hear a story about the old avengers?" "Sure old man."
---one movie opening story later---
Francis rubbed his eyes. "So let me get this straight. You used to tell the others the story of the old avengers and how their parents died, as a bedtime story, almost every single night, and the codename you gave yourself is 'The Knight'? Are you sure you didn't mean 'The Knightmare'? And no wonder they all have a self sacrificing problem, you told them every night that they were basically humanities only hope, and that their parents were counting on them even in death! It's not good to put that kind of pressure on small children!"
Tony stared in disbelief. "That's your takeaway from the story? A critique of my parenting skills?" "No, i just thought that it needed to be said. Anyway what does this have to do with James' puberty?" Francis asked.
Tony looked around, having completely forgotten about the current predicament. "Ah yes, right, the Soldier, James' dad, had something called 'super soldier serum' mixed with his DNA during WWII to fight against Hydra and the Nazis. Which is a history lesson for another time, so don't interrupt!
We never thought to check whether or not it would affect his passed down DNA, and apparently it does. James has super genes from his dad and they didn't kick in until today.
Also he thinks he's a danger to everyone around him, so he had me drop him off in the canyons where Bruce was staying so he can sulk 'without hurting anybody he cares about.'"
Francis understood why Tony needed him now. "So you want me to go talk some sense into him, and see if he's actually a danger to anybody."
"I don't think he's actually a danger to anybody, but yes, please go talk some sense into him." Francis started looking around the room, "Do you know where my dads Baby Boom Box is?"