Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. All characters, settings, and original concepts are the property of their respective authors and their associated entities.
I do not claim ownership of these characters, settings, or concepts except what I have introduced myself.
This story is created purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended for commercial gain. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Previous chapter Recap:
[Detective Klein, a 29 year old detective has tragically passed away in a car accident...]-Mainstream Media Article A
[Detective Klein,Renowned by fans worldwide to be the real life Sherlock Holmess has died in an accident...] - Mainstream Media Article B
[It's extremely suspicious that something like this has happened right after Klein's biggest scoop, It is alleged by his fans that it's an attempt to silence the truth...]- A Renowned News YouTuber
[Detective Klein or Detective Predator?? Exposing Klein and how he dms minors...]- Professional YouTuber Clickbaiter
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September 12th, 1995 — 3:12 AM
Location: Stark Mansion, Bel Air, Los Angeles, California
##
Tony Stark jolted upright in bed, the distant creak of something downstairs yanking him from sleep like a mental alarm. His heart was racing, lungs tight, as if he'd just remembered where he left the plutonium. Shadows clung to the corners of the room, the kind that whispered trouble.
Beside him, a slender arm draped lazily across his chest.
"Tony...? What's wrong?" the woman mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.
"Probably nothing, Elle," Tony replied, brushing Claudia Schiffer's hand off gently as he rolled out of bed. He reached for the StarkTech walkie-talkie on the nightstand—military-grade, naturally.
"This is Stark. Hogan, you up?"
A voice crackled through static. "Barely. What's going on, boss?"
"Something weird downstairs. Might be a rat. Might be a ninja. Either way, I'm not putting on pants yet. Check it out?"
"Copy. I'm on it."
Tony set the walkie down and shrugged on a robe. Elle was already drifting back to sleep, tangled in silk sheets and dreams.
"Don't freak out," he muttered more to himself than her. "Probably just the security system showing off again."
Still, that feeling in his gut wasn't nerves. It was instinct. The mansion didn't make that kind of noise.
#
Ground Floor — Stark Mansion
#
Happy Hogan moved through the foyer with the wariness of someone who's opened one too many doors to things that bite. His flashlight swept across polished marble, fine art, and decor that cost more than his yearly salary.
"Who breaks into a billionaire's house at three in the morning?" he muttered, pistol held low but ready. The lights had flickered earlier, and motion sensors flagged the kitchen. Could be a glitch. Could be trouble.
He turned the corner into the open-plan kitchen—and stopped.
There, sitting on the center island like a breakfast guest waiting for room service, was a baby.
Real. Alive. Red-haired, round-cheeked, and wide-eyed. It sat upright with toddler poise, both hands gripping a milk bottle. Its brown eyes blinked slowly, unfazed, studying Happy like he was some mildly interesting wildlife exhibit.
"What the..." Happy instinctively raised the pistol—then froze.
The baby tilted its head, still sucking calmly, as if to say: Really, dude?
Happy lowered the weapon.
"Okay... this is new."
He scanned the room. No broken locks. No signs of entry. Nothing but silence and the soft, rhythmic sipping of milk. The baby didn't belong here. But it wasn't scared. It was... chilling.
"Who leaves a baby on a kitchen counter like it's a fruit basket?"
He holstered the pistol and stepped forward, cautiously. The baby didn't move. Didn't flinch. Just watched him, calm and curious.
Happy reached out and nudged the bottle. The baby slapped his hand, not hard, but with enough attitude to make a point.
"Definitely real," Happy muttered.
He cracked a smile. "Oh, you've got personality. Great."
Reaching for his walkie-talkie, he clicked it on. "Stark, it's Hogan. You're not gonna believe this."
Tony's voice came through, groggy but alert. "Talk to me. Is it a ninja rat?"
"Nope. It's a baby. Sitting on your kitchen counter. Drinking milk."
A beat of silence. Then, confused: "…A baby?"
"Yeah. Human. Real. Big brown eyes. Not a robot. I checked."
"Happy, I haven't even seen a baby bottle since '87."
"Well, you've got one now."
"On a table?"
"On a table."
Another long pause.
"Don't touch him," Tony finally said. "I'm coming down."
"Good idea. Kid's got the vibe of someone who's gonna own a company by age five."
As if on cue, the baby giggled at the sound of the walkie-talkie.
Happy stared. "…Yeah. This kid's different."
#
The sun crept up uninvited, slipping through the sheer curtains of the mansion's living room, casting long golden rays across expensive furniture. The world had moved on from the chaos of 3 a.m., but Tony Stark hadn't.
He stood by the doorway, arms crossed, silently watching the tiny human tornado that had flipped his world upside down.
Leo sat comfortably on Edwin Jarvis's lap, babbling to himself, occasionally tugging at Jarvis's vest buttons with surprising strength.
From across the room, Happy Hogan approached, holding a slim black folder—the kind that never brought good news.
"Found this in the drop box," Happy said.
Tony gave him a look. Happy knew better than to hand over surprises like that without warning.
Right on cue, Happy set the folder down gently on the glass coffee table and stepped back.
Tony hesitated, then moved forward and flipped it open with a flick of his fingers. Three documents were clipped neatly inside.
The first sat on top, labeled in crisp, sterile type:
DNA Verification – Subject: Leo H. Stark.
He skimmed it once.
Then again.
"Well," Tony muttered, "flawed genes, brilliant IQ, charming looks... this kid's definitely mine."
He glanced at Leo, who was now chewing on Jarvis's tie.
"He's got his mysterious mother's red hair," Tony added under his breath.
Jarvis didn't look up. "And your temperament, I dare say. He's been pulling at my tie like you used to."
Leo squealed and gave the tie another triumphant smack.
"Yeah, Definitely mine." Tony said with a dry chuckle.
Jarvis glanced up. "And how do you feel about that, sir?"
Tony didn't answer. Instead, he moved to the second document, this one sealed in a smaller envelope. He paused, reading the outside aloud.
"'To Leo, when he's old enough to understand.'" His voice dropped. "Guess that one waits."
He stared at it a few moments longer, feeling the handwriting felt familiar. Then he set it aside with unexpected gentleness.
The third envelope was addressed to him. Just Tony. No title. No pleasantries.
He sat down slowly, unfolded the letter, and the moment he saw the handwriting again, it finally clicked inside his head.
Friday Evans.
Her voice echoed in his mind before he even read the first word.
If you're reading this, congrats—you're not dead yet. That's a surprise.
I bet you're reading this while still half-asleep, probably wearing the same shirt from two days ago. And maybe—just maybe—you've got a hangover.>
Tony winced. "It was just one whiskey."
Jarvis gave him a look.
Tony ignored it and kept reading.
Attached was a page written in stanzas. Poetry, of all things.
#
Once, beneath a sky so wide,
A child was born where echoes hide.
No gift of flame, no surge, no storm—
Yet brilliance stirred in quiet form.
A mother's song, a father's hand,
Were swept away like scattered sand.
She does not know the names they bore,
But feels their absence evermore.
The world she knew was torn and red,
Where silent oaths were softly said.
They carved her mind to suit their creed,
And buried roots beneath the seed.
She wore the mask they gave her face,
A perfect mind, a perfect place.
They trained her hands, they dulled her dreams,
And sold her truth for grander schemes.
But even coldest walls may crack,
And haunted hearts can still look back.
A spark once found, not meant to stay,
Now beats with her, then slipped away.
He touched the thread they couldn't break
A laugh, a name, a life to make.
She fled the cage with all she knew,
A stolen truth, a secret due.
A child she bore, a love she swore,
Then vanished through a closing door.
She knows not all, remembers less,
But something stirs beneath the whole mess.
So if you read, and start to trace,
The echoes left in shadowed space—
Remember this: not all are friends,
And kindness sometimes just pretends.
The louder truth may wear a grin,
But masks like these are worn within.
Ask too much, too fast, too loud—
And you might draw the hungriest crowd.
Not all storms howl before they break,
Some only stir when silence wakes.
So tread like flame upon a fuse—
Each step a choice you can't unchoose.
#
Tony read it in silence.
Twice.
Then again, slower—his eyes narrowing with every line.
The paper didn't shake in his hands, but his jaw tightened. Subtle. Controlled. But the weight of it hit like a cold front through his chest.
"She wasn't just running," he murmured. "She was hiding. And not from me."
Happy leaned in. "What's it mean?"
Tony didn't answer right away. He stared at the last stanza, his finger tracing the crease like it held a code.
"I don't know yet," he finally said, voice low. "But this wasn't just a riddle. It's a warning."
He folded the letter with careful precision. Not like a man filing away a keepsake—but like sealing evidence.
"She didn't trust her people" he added. "And if I'm reading this right... I shouldn't either."
He glanced back at the letter. His thumb brushed over her handwriting, and for a moment, he didn't look like a billionaire genius.
He looked like a man who'd lost something he didn't realize he'd had.
Jarvis cleared his throat. "He looks like you, you know."
"Leo?"
Jarvis nodded. "Same eyes. Same stare. Less brooding. For now."
Tony smirked faintly. "Give him time."
Leo laughed, as if in agreement, then gummed Jarvis's finger like a teething ring.
Tony's chest tightened—an unfamiliar feeling creeping in. Something real. Something terrifying.
"He's... unfazed by all this," Tony muttered.
Jarvis smiled gently, eyes still on the child. "Children often are. It's the adults who fall apart."
Tony didn't respond. Despite being the brightest mind on the planet, he still couldn't fully process it.
He was a father.
"She left him a letter too," Happy reminded him.
Tony nodded. "Yeah. Means she believed he'd grow up. Believed he'd be safe with me."
Jarvis adjusted his glasses, now marked by baby slobber. "Then I suggest you live up to that expectation. For her—and for him."
"I don't even know if I'm ready for this responsibility…"
Jarvis gently caressed Leo's head. "As they say, the first step to success is realizing one's flaws. And I did help raise one Stark. I suppose I can handle another before I rest."
Tony gave him a crooked smile. "Don't go dying on me yet, old man. I still have uses for you."
##
Montage begins
##
Tony Stark had faced some strange mornings—
—but none quite like waking up with a squirming, red-haired four-month-old in his arms.
"Sir, I believe he needs changing," Jarvis said dryly, holding a bottle with the same poise he'd use to serve a martini. The old butler—nearing a century—still carried himself with the grace of royalty.
Tony, shirt half-buttoned and eyes bloodshot, stared at the infant. "Is there a mute button? Or, I don't know… sleep mode?"
The baby wailed louder.
"So that's a no."
That was Day One.
Leo Stark's arrival hadn't come with baby showers or months of nursery prep. It was sudden. A jarring shift in Tony's curated lifestyle of women, drinks, and world-changing tech. Now? It was diapers, warm bottles, and a tiny human with flaming red hair who had somehow latched onto his now conflicted heart.
#
By winter of '95, Tony had learned three things:
1. Formula smells worse than any chemical he'd ever encountered.
2. Babies do not care how late you partied; they will scream at 5 a.m.
3. Leo's laugh was addictive.
#
"Dada," Leo chirped one morning, chewing on Tony's tie while he tried to get dressed.
Tony froze. "Did you hear that?" he called down the hall.
Jarvis entered like a polite specter. "Yes, sir. He's been saying it since yesterday. Though he also addressed the toaster that way."
Tony scooped Leo up, grinning. "First word. Me. Sorry, Jarvis. Suck it, kitchen appliances."
#
Leo was… odd.
In an adorable, slightly unnerving way. Too focused. Too observant. At eight months, he mimicked patterns. At one year, he stacked blocks in perfect symmetry and once attempted to fix a broken remote with a spoon and duct tape.
"You're raising a genius," Happy muttered, watching Leo jab buttons on a calculator.
Tony shrugged, pride tucked behind a scotch glass. "Runs in the family."
#
By '97, Leo wasn't walking—he was running.
Straight into danger.
"Leo, that's a socket!"
The toddler blinked up from the screwdriver he'd somehow lifted from Tony's workbench.
Jarvis swept in, lifting the boy like superman. "He removed the plate, sir. With… notable precision."
Tony blinked. "Should I be proud or terrified?"
Jarvis didn't miss a beat. "Yes."
#
Despite everything, Tony tried. He really did.
Late nights became earlier. Not all of them—but more than anyone thought possible. He built a second workshop at home so he could tinker while Leo sat nearby, sorting Lego bricks by color.
There were still women. Still parties. But more and more, he left early.
"Where you going, Stark?" a model purred at a gala.
Tony downed his drink, already picturing dinosaur pajamas and bedtime stories. "Got someone cooler to hang with."
"Another woman?"
Tony smirked. "Yeah. He's two. Total heartbreaker."
#
In Summer, 1998.
Leo climbed onto the workbench stool beside Tony and silently pushed over a small metal gear.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Tribute?"
Leo pointed at the mini drone casing. "Missing that wheel-thing. I saw it on the floor."
Tony blinked. "You found it? And knew it went there?"
Leo nodded, calm as ever.
Tony leaned back in his chair, marveling. "Okay. You're officially not normal."
Leo giggled like it was the best compliment he'd ever received.
#
Tony even learned how to read bedtime stories—sort of.
"…and then the caterpillar turned into a StarkTech Mark 1 flutterbug, complete with—"
"Tony," Jarvis warned gently from the doorway.
Tony sighed. "Fine. Butterfly. Whatever."
"I prefer flutterbug!" Leo exclaimed with childish giddiness.
"Hmm, I don't know..." Tony pretended to hesitate.
"Dad, Please..." Leo asked with puppy eyes.
"Okay, I guess I will relent" Tony said with a slight smile. "once upon a time, a genius scientist got trapped in a cave..."
Leo didn't know why but he vaguely felt that specific scenerio was familiar to him. As though he had watched it somewhere.
#
Late 1999.
Four and a half years old, Leo had a new habit—perching on Tony's lap as he soldered circuits. No questions. Just watching.
"I think he gets you," Happy said once.
Tony looked down at Leo, now dozing off against his chest with a wire coil clenched like a teddy bear. He smiled softly.
"Yeah," he murmured. "And maybe… I'm starting to get him too."
#
December 31st, 1999 – New Year's Eve.– 9:27pm, Bern, Switzerland
#
Tony stood in the living room, adjusting his tux cuffs while sipping neat whiskey. The car outside idled in the winter chill.
"Ready to crash a grown-up party?" he asked over his shoulder.
Leo stood by the doorway, already dressed in a tiny tux with his homemade gaming console holstered to his belt—sleek, silver-edged.
Just as he was about to reply, something tugged at him, after a brief deliberation he hastenedly went to his room.
He opened a drawer casually, fingers brushing past prototypes and sketches until he found the two things he needed: his modified smartwatch and a matte-black spider drone, barely the size of a Salt shaker.
Slipping the watch onto his wrist, he gave the underside a silent tap. It blinked once in acknowledgment, syncing instantly with the drone. He cupped the spider briefly in his palm, its tiny red eyes flickering alive. Silent. Alert. Then, with a practiced motion, he clipped it under his jacket cuff—out of sight, but ready.
"Everything okay?" Tony called, looking at Leo after he came close
"Yeah, Forgot my smartwatch" Leo answered half truthfully.
Tony raised a brow at Leo's odd behavior but he let it slide without thinking much about it.
Jarvis's voice came from the hall just in time. "Sir, the car is prepared. I'll be accompanying young Master Leo tonight, as discussed."
Tony nodded. "Good. Babysitting duty, Jarv. Try not to let him hack the Pentagon on your watch."
"I shall endeavor to limit his access, sir."
Tony turned to Leo and knelt to straighten his bowtie. "Alright. Two soda. No rewiring the sound system. No hacking anyone's phone, or brain, or ego."
Leo gave him a wide-eyed 'Innocent' smile. "I don't know what you mean... I'm just a kid."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "A kid who made a working taser out of an electric toothbrush."
"Not my fault,The idea seemed interesting at the time" Leo shrugged with a tiny smirk.
Tony lightly chuckled, ruffled Leo's hair and walked to the front door. "C'mon, Agent Red. Let's go make this party interesting."
Outside, Leo glanced up at the sky, then back down at his smartwatch. He flicked through a hidden interface—just a quick diagnostic. The spider was synced. Stealth mode: active. Visual link: stable.
He let the screen fade back into a harmless watch screen.
Tony caught the look and nudged him as they got into the car. "First party. Nervous?"
Leo shook his head. "Excited."
"For the fireworks?"
Leo smiled faintly. "Something like that."
As the car drove into the night, New Year's lights glimmered in the distance. Leo's gaze stayed on the horizon.
He knew he was about to make a drastic change that would influence the future of his timeline but he oddly felt in peace with it.
##
Word count: 2937
Author's section:
Few clarification since they would most likely be asked.
1. This is a timeline primarily based on MCU with the actors who played them irl most likely portraying them for easier visualization and my own preference.
2. That being said, I have made my own changes to ensure this fanfic would be more interesting and not just my mc addon on top of the canon MCU plotline. Thus consider this an Alternative MCU
3. Yes, there does exist a fanfic already where the mc is Tony's Son but tbh it was quite disappointing to read. I had read upto 300ish chapters only to realize the whole fanfic was just MCU plotline but in text format with the added reaction of the mc of that fanfic. So I decided to write my own version of this idea since I liked it so much.
4. Don't worry about the TVA, It's the comic version or perhaps this is an alternative timeline after Loki sat on that lonely throne for his glorious purpose. Either way, just know that they won't be a headache... For now.
5. Yes, there is romance but still debating between who would be his wife. Wanda, Jean Grey, Galactus's daughter- oh wait I am spoiling.
For what other franchises I have added.. well read and find out aside from the subtle teasers, it would be much more interesting if I just made you read them rather than just list and name drop them. (side note: Would also help me retcon ideas or franchises just in case I decide that it doesn't fit into the timeline)
Although I am currently struggling to come up with the main villain for Avengers 2, Which was supposed to be Ultron but that isn't quite happening now that Leo exists, so I would appreciate it if you could suggest some great villains who could be scaled before Thanos arrives to clap half of existence.
No need to worry about their powerscaling, as long as they are within earth and they would make a compelling story, I would gladly hear them out.