[Location: Horizon Facility – Garden Terrace]
[Time: Next Morning: 8:20]
The sun hung low over the ocean, casting a soft orange glow across the white stone walkways of Horizon Island. The breeze carried the scent of salt and the faint buzz of drones tending to garden systems. Birds, real and artificial, moved through the trees in rhythmic calm.
Tony stopped for a moment, looking at the sun. No matter how many times he sees it, it never gets old. After stretching his body a bit, he resumed his walk.
He walked alone through the winding path toward the overlook. He was wearing a dark hoodie, boots, and a half-empty glass of pineapple juice. He took a sip and moved more slowly than usual. Less of his usual swagger. More weight in each step.
He found them...
Steve was sitting on a bench, wrapped in a grey lightweight jacket. Peggy sat beside him, in a simple t-shirt and jeans, their fingers loosely intertwined. They looked tired but grounded. Like two people who had been underwater for a long time and were finally breathing again.
Tony approached with a warm nod.
"Morning, lovebirds."
Steve stood slowly, offering a small grin. "Tony Stark. I've been waiting to meet you." He extended his hand toward Tony.
He shook Cap's hand with a smile.
Peggy smiled too. "You're looking better. I heard you collapsed due to overwork."
"Yeah, had a nap, some water, an existential crisis. The usual." Tony shrugged, then motioned to the bench. "Mind if I join?"
They both nodded. Tony sat, elbows resting on his knees.
"I just wanted to check in. How are you both holding up?"
Peggy answered first. "Still catching up, but... we're okay. It's overwhelming, sure. Everything's changed. But we're together."
Steve nodded. "Yeah. I'm still adjusting to this time. The tech, the people, all of it. But it's easier when she's here."
Tony gave a small smile. "Good. You two deserve that."
Peggy looked at him. "We've been talking. About what's next."
"And?" Tony asked.
"We're thinking of taking some time off," she said. "Maybe disappear for a while. A quiet vacation. We have... a lot of catching up to do."
Steve added, "After that, we'll figure out the rest. Where we fit. What we want to do. Together."
Tony nodded. "You've earned it. Honestly, if anyone deserves a break, it's you two."
There was a pause. Steve turned to him, eyes steady.
"Thank you, Tony. For everything. For saving my life. For giving this new chance. I don't think I can ever repay you for all this."
"Repay? Let's just say you owe me one," Tony said.
"Just say the word, I'll be there," Steve said, giving a nod.
Peggy reached over, resting a hand on Tony's arm.
"You gave us a second chance. That's not something we take lightly."
Tony tried to wave it off but smiled anyway. "I just put the pieces together. You two did the hard part. But if anyone from Shield asks... this meeting never happened. Got it?"
They both nodded.
Then Tony leaned back with a teasing grin.
"So... when's the wedding?"
Peggy laughed. Steve blinked, caught off guard.
"I mean, you've waited what, 40-45 years? Don't tell me you're gonna stall now."
Peggy squeezed Steve's hand and smiled. "We'll let you know. And don't worry, you're already on the guest list."
Tony gave a mock bow. "I expect good food and chilled beer."
Steve chuckled. "That's a promise I can make."
Tony stood, stretching. "Alright. I'll leave you two to your sunshine and nostalgia."
As he walked away, Peggy called after him.
"Tony."
He turned.
"Thank you. Truly."
He nodded once, his smile softer now.
"Take care of each other. Oh, by the way. You two should check out the northern part of the island. Take the back stairs behind the training building and go straight. You can't miss it. Just make sure to clean up the place after you two leave. Well, see ya..."
...
[Location: Horizon Facility – Residential Wing – Room 12]
[Time: 9:12 AM]
The room was quiet, lit only by the soft blue glow of the projection screen. Harry Osborn sat cross-legged on his bed, wearing a black sweatshirt and loose cargo pants. His eyes were red-rimmed, not from lack of sleep but from watching the same recording over and over again.
On the screen, his father's face stared back: tired, pale, but clear.
"I don't expect you to forgive me, Harry," Norman said in the video, his voice slower than Harry remembered. "I just want you to know the truth. All of it. I was wrong. I did terrible things. I became the kind of man I used to hate. And I let you grow up thinking power was everything."
Harry didn't blink.
Norman's face flickered slightly on the screen. He looked like he wanted to say more, but there was a pause. Then he continued.
"Tony... he saved your life. He gave me a chance to come clean. I took it because I couldn't let you become me. I told him to help you disappear. Far from Oscorp. Far from all this. He agreed."
The video paused there... Harry had stopped it. He stared at his father's frozen face, jaw tight.
There was a knock at the door.
Harry didn't answer.
The door opened anyway.
Tony stepped in and saw the projection still floating, Norman's face paused mid-sentence.
Tony didn't speak right away. He walked over to the wall and leaned against it, arms crossed.
"You've been watching that all night," he said.
Harry glanced over but didn't respond.
Tony pushed off the wall and walked over to the bed. He didn't sit. He stood a few feet away.
"I'm not here to lecture you. Or judge you. I'm just here to talk."
Harry let out a dry, humorless breath. "About what? How I should feel? Or how I should act now that my father..." He couldn't finish...
"No," Tony said quietly. "About what comes next."
Harry's fists clenched on the blanket.
"I watched it all, Tony. Every file. Every video. Every name. I saw what he did to people. To kids. To mutants. I saw the labs. I saw the surgeries. And I saw his face while he did it. Calm. Proud. Like he was building something noble."
Tony sat on the edge of the desk across from him.
"He started it to find a way to cure you... But... Well, he lost his way somewhere in between..."
Harry looked down at his hands. They were shaking. He pressed them into his knees to stop the tremble, but it didn't work.
"I don't know who I am without him," he muttered. "Even after all this… even after what he did… part of me still wants to believe he loved me. That some part of him was trying to protect me."
Tony didn't interrupt.
Harry looked up, eyes bloodshot. "He killed people, Tony. He hurt so many. But he also tried to fix it in the end. I don't know how to reconcile that. One minute, I hate him. The next… I miss him."
Tony nodded slowly. "That's normal. You lost your dad. Doesn't matter what he did. He was still your father."
Harry wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve. "Is that what it's like? Losing someone like that?"
Tony met his eyes. "Yeah. It's exactly like that. A thousand questions you'll never get answers to. Regrets. Anger. Guilt. But also... moments. Memories that won't leave you. And it doesn't make sense how they coexist. But they do."
Harry swallowed hard. "You think I'm gonna turn out like him?"
Tony leaned forward, voice calm and steady. "No. Because you're asking that question. He never did."
Harry blinked. That hit something.
Tony continued. "You've got a clean slate, Harry. No Oscorp. No lab rats. No expectations to be the next king of a broken empire. You can build whatever kind of life you want now. I made sure of it."
Harry looked at him with something like disbelief. "Why?"
"Because your dad asked me to," Tony said. "For the truth."
Harry stared at him. His lips parted like he wanted to speak, but nothing came out. He didn't cry. He just sat there, frozen in a storm that hadn't passed yet.
Tony stood up, pacing slowly toward the window.
"You know, I used to think my dad never cared. That all I was to him was a PR piece and a potential successor. For years, I kinda hated him. He used to drink too much, and all those yelling... I knew he was going through some hard times. Yet... Then one day, I looked in the mirror and saw his shadow. And I realized something."
Harry turned to him slightly.
Tony kept his eyes on the window. The ocean shimmered in the morning light.
"It's not about escaping your legacy. It's about choosing what part of it you carry forward, and what part you bury for good."
Silence filled the room again.
Tony looked over his shoulder.
"What about you, Harry?" He asked. "Are you going to carry the name of Osborn and rebuild everything from scratch, all the good parts like what Oscorp was when it started... Or just bury everything and disappear? Take the shortcut."
Harry looked down at his hands again, quiet for a long moment. The storm in his chest hadn't passed, but Tony's words cut through it. Not like a blade, more like a lighthouse. Something to steer toward in the dark.
"I don't know," Harry finally said. "I don't want to be like him. But I don't want to pretend he didn't exist either. If I run, I'm just erasing everything. If I stay and try to rebuild... I'll always be in his shadow."
Tony walked back across the room, leaned against the wall near the door, arms crossed.
"Then don't rebuild Oscorp," he said simply. "Build something else. Take the good ideas, leave the name behind. You're not your father, Harry. You're not your past. You're just you. And what you do next... that's what defines you."
Harry gave a half-nod. It wasn't an agreement. Not yet. But it wasn't denial either.
Tony pushed off the wall and walked toward the door.
"I left something on the server. Private file. Your access only. It's a full breakdown of Oscorp's clean tech research, the stuff that wasn't poisoned by greed or military contracts. Solar fields. Medical drones. Neuro-assistive tech. Your father may have drowned in ambition, but some of his scientists had good ideas. You decide what to do with it."
Harry looked up, caught between confusion and gratitude.
"You're giving that to me? Just like that?"
Tony shrugged.
"I'm not your dad, Harry. I don't need to own you to help you."
He stepped out into the hallway, then paused, turning just enough to glance back.
"By the way... You are going to stay here till things calm down. If you are bored, then there's a workshop three floors down. Empty. Clean. All yours. Enough space to build whatever the hell you want. Or, if you want to stretch your legs, just go to the training building. See ya..."
Tony left the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Harry sat there, staring at the frozen image of his father still projected in the air. Then, slowly, he reached forward... and turned it off.
The room went quiet.
He sat in that silence for a while, thinking.
Then he stood. He didn't know what he would build yet. But for the first time in a long time, he knew he wanted to try.
...
[Location: Horizon Facility – Command Deck – Later That Morning]
Tony stood with Natasha near the central balcony overlooking the island. The sun was higher now, casting long lines across the ocean's surface. Drones flew in tight formations, keeping watch. The breeze was cool, not cold. Clear skies stretched for miles.
"You good?" Natasha asked.
Tony nodded slowly. "Yeah. For now."
She studied him for a moment.
"You did right by him."
Tony didn't respond. Just looked out at the water.
"You think he'll be okay?" she added.
Tony finally spoke. "That depends. Some people spend their whole lives trying to fix the mess their parents left behind. But Harry's got a chance that most people don't. He knows where the line is. And he knows what happens when you cross it."
Natasha rested her arms on the railing beside him.
"Yelena will leave for the Celestial Island in a day or two, Melina is guarding your dad, I'll guide the girls and take out the outside trash in a couple of days max... So, I was wondering," she asked. "What's next?"
Tony took a deep breath.
"Next. Stark Expo. Dad's already out there setting things up. And," He grabbed Natasha's waist and pulled closer. "...we are going to meet some new people who will join us in our space adventure."
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NEXT: Stark Expo & Space Arc
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