Tony looked up as Fury strode determinedly into the living room of Stark Tower. The other Avengers – Natasha, Clint, Steve, Thor and Bruce – who were sitting next to him also turned their eyes to the door at the Director's unexpected arrival.

"Stark," Fury rumbled, his good eye narrowed and sending Tony a hard look. "We need to talk."

"Wow, Patcheye, I'm honored," Tony replied dryly, giving Fury a sweet 'I don't give a shit what you have to say' smile.

Fury levelled the Billionaire with a glare. "I'm serious, Stark – "

"You're always serious," Tony cut in with a sigh.

The Director stiffened, his teeth grinding together in irritation at the disrespect shown. His eyes twitched the slightest amount before he stood taller and sucked in a calming breath, regaining control. "I've found some useful information on that AI of yours, Stark. JARVIS, I believe is its name." He flashed a small smirk, watching Tony intently, a hint of a threat in his words.

Tony didn't so much as blink in discomfort, or show any indication on what he was feeling at the moment. Natasha watched him closely, calculatingly, as she wondered what Stark would do. Clint glanced at Natasha, eyes silently questioning, as Steve looked confused but observed Tony as well. Bruce gently placed a hand on Tony's arm, trying to comfort and calm him at the same time, while Thor was too busy watching the magical moving box – which he found out was called a 'TV' – before he noticed that everyone else was distracted. Turning to look, he frowned in confusion.

Tony simply stared at Fury with emotionless eyes and a blank face, looking for all the world like he didn't care. On the inside, however, he was seething with outrage. What did Fury find out about JARVIS? What did he want with JARVIS?

If he so much as touches JARVIS' first firewalls, SHIELD won't need to worry about people taking over the world because SHIELD won't exist to worry about things like that. Tony thought fiercely, jaw set in anger as he narrowed his gaze at the Director.

"And what exactly was this information about, Fury?" he demanded softly, coldly.

Thor, Steve and Clint looked at Tony with surprised faces, while Natasha scoffed. This tone was something they had never heard from the Billionaire before.

The redheaded spy raised an eyebrow at Tony, amused. Was he really trying to intimidate Fury? Well, it'd take more than just a cold tone to do that.

"I found out from two of my top agents talking in the medic bay about just how...powerfulyour AI really is." Fury stated, staring at Tony with his piercing one eye, trying to get his point across.

Tony took a sip from his cup before he put it down and looked at the Director with an arrogant expression and a smirk, seemingly ignorant. "Jealous, Nicky-boy?" he sneered, his eyes swarming with emotion before he closed them off again.

"Stark, what ever gave you the idea to create something so powerful and let it run around on its own free will? Do you have any idea what problems could arise if someone were to hack into JARVIS and use it as a weapon?" Fury growled lowly, his patience thin.

Tony shook off Bruce's hand and stood up, walking calmly to the bar before turning to Fury. "First off, Cyclops, JARVIS is a 'he'. And secondly, if you already know he's sentient and self-aware, did it ever cross your pretty pathetic excuse of a mind that JARVIS would never just let himself get hacked into by some lame lackeys like the ones SHEILD employs?" he finished by sending Fury a cold, deadly smile.

When Fury attempted to answer, Tony rudely cut him off again, "Oh no, JARVIS wouldn't, he's much too smart for that. He wouldn't let anyone hack him. I made sure of that because Iwrote his code! I taught him everything I know! He knows everything because I took the time and effort to teach him. He's not just some computer that can't think for himself, he knows what's right and wrong, and like hell I'll let anyone live if they ever try to hack into JARVIS." His words were a promise, a warning and a threat.

Natasha snorted and looked at Tony scornfully. What could he possibly do to anyone; all he had was his intelligence. Of course, his intelligence was something to be reckoned with – and she supposed he could build some mass weapon of war, but that could take a while.

Tony turned to her and shed a smile full of malice and coldness her way. "You don't think I can do that, Agent Romanov? I knew who you were from the beginning, Miss Rushman. You thought you got into Stark Industries because of how you looked all innocent and sweet? No, I knew who you were, I knew why you were there, and I know what you are capable of doing. You were raised to be an assassin since you were ten; you killed your first person at twelve. I gave you a front that I wanted you to see; I played you for my own gain. You think you're all bad because you were trained to kill?" His voice was smug as he watched the light in Natasha's eyes darken dangerously. The muscles in her jaw set hard and her fingers convulsed into fists, no doubt longing for a blade that she could silence the Billionaire with. Her reactions, although subtle, were satisfying, even if her expression never changed and she didn't seem affected to the untrained eye.

Clint threw a glare at the Billionare, vehemently wishing he could shut him up in his own way while Thor was impressed at how much Tony was baiting the Black Widow – who the Demi-God consider a worthy opponent. Bruce's eyes shifted between staring concernedly at Tony and annoyed at Fury, while Steve's eyebrows rose in disbelief, knowing the arrogant Playboy was pushing his luck.

Fury, on the other hand, stood and watched quietly, his single eyes trained between the quarrelling pair. He would only intervene when it became necessary, but for now he decided to stand back and watch how Natasha took things. In a way, this was training: if she couldn't keep a level head around an ally – or as much of an ally as Tony got – how could she handle her enemies?

"I killed my first person when I was four!" Tony continued his voice nothing but an offence hiss. "I was taken from my house – oh yes, poor little rich boy. Well guess what? Howard could care less if I was alive or dead. The stupid kidnappers honestly believed he would pay to get me back. I was locked up in a dark, metal room with no windows, no light, no water or food for days. I was their favourite sex toy because I was so tight, and because I begged and pleaded with them to stop! I was three when I was kidnapped; I turned four in their captivity. I thought that Captain America," he spat out the name as though it was acid, "Would come to my rescue like my father said he did for the weak. The first three weeks I might have believed he would, but after five months of torture, rape and beatings, I gave up hope. Heroes don't exist. If you can't save yourself, then no one will. But I had to doeverything in my power to get out alive. You see Rodgers," he turned on the Super soldier with a nasty sneer, making Steve stiffen in annoyance. "You were absolutely fucking right:I'm no hero. But I never said I was, because heroes don't exist, and anyone to believe that is a child, a stupid, naive child."

Turning away, Tony straightened and smoothed out his expression, voice little but a monotone as he continued. "One day, I saw the door opening after six months in their hands. I saw a knife; I grabbed it. I felt the person's warm blood spill over me, splash on the floor; turn the once-dark ground flooded with light from a lamp a beautiful crimson colour. The more blood I drew the happier I was...I killed him, I killed the rest, and I laughed while I did it." He murmured nostalgically, as though he was recalling a happy memory. "My childhood ended that day. I came home after eight long months in the hospital, I destroyed all my toys, my child books and all my Captain America things Howard gave me." Tony then turned his attention to Fury, smiling a cold, hard smile once again, letting the Director see the seething rage beneath his mask, which made Fury's expression harden.

"And if you so much as breathe about JARVIS, you so much as do something to him; I willend you, Fury. You and your SHIELD. I will make sure you never see daylight again, you'll have me as an enemy, you'll find out what it's like to have me as an enemy, and then I'llpersonally show you the way to hell." His voice was nothing but a snarl, soft and cold, his face expressionless and his eyes full of spite. "You touch JARVIS and I'll kill your sister and your nephews. Don't worry, I can kill children, Merchant of Death and all – and the heartless part also..." he paused, eyes cold. "You know your way, see that you get out."

Turning back to the bar, he refilled his glass before walking toward the exit, pausing at the door. "Oh, and Fury? Perhaps it's not JARVIS you should worry about. Just remember whocreated him." He flashed a deceivingly cheerful grin and then vanished from the room.

The team sat dejectedly after Tony's departure, their minds distant. The room fell into silence as Fury stormed from the room, before Natasha lifted her eyes from gazing at her hands and stood, walking over to the window. She turned and glanced over the others, observing them silently. Thor sat troubled, a deep frown etched into his features as he mulled over Tony's words, finding a chilling truth to the man's threat. Steve, sitting dazed and silent, his lips pulled down in worry as his downhearted emotions played out across his face – Tony's spiteful words had cut him deep. There was Bruce, still and staring mutely into his cup of tea, his eyes full of mixed feelings: worry, sadness, anger. And then Clint, who met the intensity of her eyes with his own and fisted his hands in anger.

What Tony had said was true: it wasn't JARVIS they needed to worry about, but him, Stark himself. He survived a brutal past; he made JARVIS...What else could he do, if he was able to bring life to a machine?