"Tony, are the walls . . .melting?" Pepper asks a few days later as she looks up from sorting the mail.

"No, it's just an effect of the nanos. . .Clint already tried walking through one." Tony's voice says a few seconds later. Pepper sighs and looks up at the ceiling in a 'tell me again why I haven't killed Tony yet' gesture. Sam snickers as he comes out of the stairwell. He and Steve had been out for a run.

"Has SHIELD found all the AIM bases yet?" Steve asks as he checks his mail.

"They think so, right now they're sorting through all their research and plan on parceling it out to scientists they trust." Tony yells from nearby.

"Which lets you out." Clint yells from nearby. Tony just looks at the wall, silently trying to glare him to death by telepathy as everybody laughs.

"It will be a few years before all the research is looked over. I'm sure most of it is crap."

"Did Peter send out his application for graduate school?"

"Yes, I doubt there will be problems getting in right away."

In Massachusetts the government looks at the list of schools that have to be torn down. "Can't help it gentlemen, start pulling out all the supplies that are still good, pull out anything that can be salvaged, and we'll start tearing them down in the spring. New York has already proved that schools can run two shifts."

"And with so many schools gone, the remaining schools will be getting more money."

"Community gardens?"

"Yes, if the land is good the land can be used for those or greenhouses."

"Do we have a list of factories that are in danger of closing?"

"Yes, the ones marked with x's are the ones we desperately need to stay open but they don't have enough employees. As it is they've had to shut down one shift and transfer the employees to the remaining shifts."

"Can't they get enough new employees to flesh out three shifts?" A man asks.

"No, and it's not like a store where you can ask them to work a few extra hours."

"If they had enough personnel for the third shift, would they have enough supplies?"

"They should. . .they had extra with only two shifts but they might run out with three if they didn't get in their normal supplies."

"Which would make sense. . .which big business seems to lack sometimes."

Snickers and nods from the others.

"Stark is getting in more supplies. . .he has to be taking over the world." Anderson wails in congress a few days later.

"Mr. Anderson, sit down and shut up or you will be removed. This is congress. . .not a playground." The vice-president snaps. "You have repeatedly claimed that Tony Stark is trying to take over the country yet you haven't shown an ounce of proof."

"Or a lick of common sense." Somebody mutters quietly to the person beside him. They stifle a laugh so they can continue to hear Anderson being lectured.

"But he could be taking over the country. . .look at everything he's buying." He consults a list. . .his face growing longer and longer as every purchase comes out as something needed for Stark or New York.

"But he HAS . .." The vice-president waves a hand and security drags him off. "Mr. Anderson, you were warned to sit down and shut up. . .you chose to do neither."

"Why the fuck would Stark want to take over the country when it's full of morons like him." Somebody mutters during a break.

"Amen. . .or the idiots who whined because he saved them from the aliens." Another man mutters. "Stupid fools. . .would they rather have been killed by the aliens? Or died when the fucking council bombed New York?"

"Ohhhh. ..that never would have happened." Somebody else drawls sarcastically. "These are the morons who claimed that the Holocaust never happened either."

"I'm surprised nobody is trying to sue to control super-heroes."

"You mean make them register? That would never work. . .nobody would do it unless they had to and there's still such a thing as free will."

"And that would still leave super-villains. The government wouldn't be able to control them."

"Amen."

"Okay ladies, gentlemen. Back to work. First of all. . .supplies to those areas hardest hit by this latest round of sickness."

"They're coming in. . .slow. Because somebody won't honor his contracts." A man turns to glare at another.

"Sanders. I told you to stop glaring at Macahe. His factories are working on short crews to get supplies to other areas. Your areas are not affected so you have to wait." the vice-president snaps.

"But we've got empty spots in stores." he whines.

"So does everybody else you fucking fool." Somebody else snaps. "Grow the fuck up and get over yourself. People are dying, getting them medical aid is more important than some empty store shelves. No matter how much your wife and daughters whine."

The rest of the reports are laid out.

"Body bags?"

"Our factories have another batch ready as needed."

"But they're not needed, his plants could have been working on other things." Sanders wails.

"Yes they were, cemeteries are full and mass graves are filling as well. Many areas are having to dig second ones." the vice-president snaps.

"They. . .they are?" He whimpers.

"Yes moron, we're looking at millions of deaths on top of the millions that already died in the last epidemic."

"B. ..bu .. .but I thought you were exaggerating the deaths." He wails. "To excuse the fact that factories are laying down on the job."

In New York one of Massachusetts government walks out of the elevator at Stark Tower.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me Mr. Stark, Professor Richards. I know you gentlemen are busy. Trying to take over the world." he snickers. Tony rolls his eyes as Pepper snickers. Reed blinks.

"Some fool in congress is whining that of course we have to have a cure for dumbass's disease and aren't giving it out so we can take over everything."

Pepper snorts. "Tony can't run his own company without mucking it up, he's ruin a country." She waves them off.

The meeting lasts most of the day but by the time they're done a good proposal is hammered out. Stark would take over the factories in the worst shape, bringing in robots to take over one shift so they could ramp up their production on necessary items.

Thanksgiving comes and despite the wailing, whining, gnashing of teeth, and beating themselves with hairshirts the morons who couldn't live without black friday sales found out that life didn't end if nobody was waiting in lines days before the sale.

"So that's it, we've got a dozen factories we're going to be starting third shifts with robots after the first of the year. I'm sure people will start wailing about automation taking jobs. . .even though nobody lost their jobs except to death."

"Some people will never be satisfied." Weasel says. He looks at Phil. "Any problems with some of the mercs helping SHIELD?"

"Some ruffled feathers as a few old timers are ignored. They can't order them to do anything and anytime they tried they either got laughed at or threatened. Or were introduced to Wilson and shuddered." Snickering from everybody who'd spent any time with the mouthy merc.

"Anderson. . .I'm not telling you again!" The president bellows. "Leave Stark the hell alone. He is NOT trying to take over the country. He wouldn't want the fucking headaches of dealing with morons like you."

"But he's bringing in robots to take over factories."

"Only third shifts . .when those factories don't have employees."

"See. . .he already . . ."

"SHUT UP!!!!" the president bellows. "The factories lost so many employees to death they had to move everybody to the other two shifts to keep them running."

"Th. . .they did?" He wails. "Couldn't they just hire more employees?"

"No moron, they couldn't just hire more employees. People already have two and sometimes even three jobs thanks to all the deaths."

"But they could have worked an extra shift."

"Would you want to work sixteen hours a day?" the president says sarcastically.

"Nooooooo. . .I . . .I guess not." he slumps. "So Stark gets to do whatever he wants?"

"He's helping the rest of us." The president says through gritted teeth. "Instead of being a brat like some people."

"But if people start being hired by the companies?"

"Stark will take his robots back."

"Ohhhh!"

The president just points to his door and Anderson skulks out. "Goddamn moron." he mutters, going back to the work he'd been doing when the fool had burst into the oval office.

Meanwhile in New York Pepper is leaning back in her desk chair. Tony's off for the day, at the Baxter building working on something to clean water in Africa. And other areas that are just as bad off but don't get the attention that Africa does thanks to footage of children having to walk miles for water every day.

"Add DC to the list of states going to be opening schools next year." Clint says as he walks in. Pepper smiles and does just that. "Rumor is it more states have had enough of their elected officials blubbering and are demanding that schools at least be inspected."

"And I'm sure states are digging in their heels about that since there's so many schools that are in bad shape." Sam says as he comes in with Doc Samson. "And Clint proves it's not just big cities."

"States are having to spend money on essential services now and not their pet projects."

"Roads."

"They should have been putting the money away they use in schools."

"That would make sense . .. which is probably why so many states are still on the 'welllllll, he had to have had a good reason for shutting down the schools' bandwagon. Unfortunately for them. . .that just makes them targets of ridicule." Doc Samson snorts. "Pepper, receipts for the latest textbook expo."

"Thank you Leonard."

Tony comes dragging in a week later, waving a hand at Pepper. Natasha says something in Russian that makes Phil snicker as she drags him to a nearby room and pushes him to a bed.

"One of these days he will actually remember to sleep." Pepper snorts.

"Doubtful. But good news, the president is going to be holding a special announcement in a few minutes, rumor has it he's ordering schools to reopen next fall. He gave Congress a chance to do it themselves and except for a few states they just sat there."

"Awww, seniors will only be graduating four years late." Peter cooes as he walks in.

"I doubt many seniors who would otherwise have graduated will be returning to school." Phil says dryly.

"No, not after all this time. . but I'm talking about the kids who are in school now." Pepper nods. "It's going to be over a decade of kids being older than they should be when they graduate."

"I'm sure somebody will whine that kids are going to be in school getting an education instead of working. . .in a factory if that old fool Anderson got his way." Natasha says as they wait for the announcement. More than one person is snickering at the scathing comments the president says about most of congress not getting off their asses and reopening schools on their own initiative like other states had. Somebody actually tries to say that 'he had to have had a good reason to shut down the schools' and ducks away from the disgusted looks the reporters give him.

"Well, that's that. I'm sure school districts will wail about having to publicly announce the condition of their schools."

"Which people with a brain already know but having to say it officially seems to make it ten times worse. Because the districts don't have excuses for why they let the schools get so bad in the first place."

"Did he give the Department of Education the money they wanted?" Tony asks a few days later after he's slept himself out, showered, and ate something besides protein shakes.

"Yes. American schools are getting higher on the list of schools. . .but not because they're getting better."

"Nope."

Stark is shut down for Christmas and a couple days afterwards the elevator opens and secret service agents try to walk out. The operative word is try since Pepper has the security measures on. They start to complain and two voices in unison tell them to shut up.

"Mr. President, we weren't expecting you."

The president turns and glares at one of the secret service agents. "You told me you'd called them."

"But you're the president." He yelps. "They can just lump it."

The other man lectures him for his stupidity for a good fifteen minutes. "I'm sorry Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark." Tony had arrived after Pepper had turned on the security measures. "My moronic agent was supposed to have contacted you about a meeting with Massachusetts and New Jersey's governments. Did you even bother to tell them too?"

"Y. . .y .. yess. .. they're .. .they're supposed to be here." He whines. Security alerts Pepper and she lets them up.

"I'm sorry gentlemen, my secret service agents are morons. Normally Horace would have handled this but he's on vacation with the government shut down for Christmas. They were supposed to have let you know this meeting was to go over everything that was going on here."

"Sir, you can't let her in here. . .She's a foreign national and assassin." One of the agents yelps as Natasha rolls in a cart of food from the cafeteria.

Natasha just gives him a look and he gulps.

"Boy, if the Black Widow wanted me dead I never would have got on the elevator."

"The only one in danger here is . .." she looks at Stark. Who grins at her. The president hides his own grin.

The governor and Phil arrive an hour later and they start talking over everything.

"I don't care . . ." the president thunders later that night when they return to DC. "When I tell you to call them to set up a meeting, you don't arbitrarily decide on a day, tell the others to be there, then leave the man who is supposed to be holding the meeting not knowing there's going to be a meeting."

Christmas is quiet, Tony and the others walking the streets to look at the decorations the city had put up.

"Thank god you are back Horace." The president sighs when his assistant returns to work. "My secret service agents bungled things up to hell and back."

Horace just looks at the other man. "I wanted a meeting with Stark, Director Coulson, the governor of New York, the government over New Jersey, and the government over Massachusetts. They didn't even bother to contact Stark and tell him about the meeting. That he was supposed to be hosting. Then they wailed because they didn't have food and drink waiting on us, didn't kiss their useless asses. . ."

Horace moans.

"Why the hell did I get talked into four more years in this place?"

"The others who wanted the job just wanted to go back to the way things had been. Nobody would have voted for them. Just like they wanted people to be up in arms over you reopening the schools despite their objections and being stunned when their 'precious' constituents didn't flock to their sides. They wanted to overturn your executive order but even they knew they'd be out on their asses if they tried."

"And they couldn't have that." Brandon sighs. "Damn it Larry, you made a helluva mess people with damn sense have to fix. And surrounded me with mind-sucking leeches who don't want to do anything." Horace chuckles as he settles in at his desk.

"Okay gentlemen, what's the latest on the deaths?"

"Bad, we hit four billion dead worldwide before Christmas. The death rate is nearly forty percent in the areas that didn't get hit the first time."

"Half the world dead in less than five years."

"Yep." the head of the CDC sighs. "And his pet mad scientists are blubbering that their damn disease never should have done this."

"Are we any closer to a cure?"

"Nope, or a vaccination. They just told that old fool what he wanted to hear whether it was the truth or not."

The list of schools and other buildings that need to be torn down grows by leaps and bounds, most people have the decency the be ashamed of how they'd let them go to pot like that.

"That will fill landfills." More than one person wails in congress.

"Stark has a way of taking care of the waste that can't be recycled. If you have it set out by a certain date they'll dispose of it. Otherwise, it's your job. Shut up Anderson. . .I'm sick of hearing you blubbering that this means Stark is going to take over the country for sure. Get over it.. . and yourself." Snickering from the others. "Because Stark is tired of your bullshit and is going to send his friend Natasha after you if you don't leave him alone." More snickering as Anderson gulps. "But he could be trying to take over the country." he whines softly.