A/N: So, I decided to do this story, despite having many to work on. ~Any who, here we go...~

This chapter has been BETA'd by Daiya Amaya

Metallic Heart 01

No Heart Headline

Many people believed Tony Stark not to have a heart. Slowly, he himself began to believe it when he found himself pushing away the other Avengers...just as his father did to him. But is there one man out there that can change his mind? FrosIron.

Anthony Stark Has No Heart:

That was today's headline, the damned headline of the New York Times. That was just great for one man, the man that was being talked about like crazy. Tony Stark, billionaire, inventor, and the sole person to have an arc reactor on the planet. He was one of a kind in many ways, from being IronMan, to being himself, to being the one with the arc reactor...really, but many people didn't believe the man to actually have a heart. Maybe it was because the arc reactor was his heart in a way...maybe it was because he broke many hearts...maybe it was because...he was just an outcast to the world anymore...

Pepper Potts, Tony's best friend since they were children and secretary/the one that kept him in line, set the paper down. She covered her face with her hands, and whimpered some. This was bad, this was really bad. How this had happened? She had no idea really...but it scared her for how Tony was going to react. She just prayed he would be alright...after all...well...lately he wasn't the same. He had been pushing away her, Rhodey, and even the Avengers themselves. He locked himself in his lab, working on the new weapons he was asked to make for his team. But that was just about it. It really had begun when he had got into an argument with Steve Roger. It had gone badly for Tony, and now the man he had admired since he was a young child...was upset with him, telling him to leave him alone...This was even worse for him to know about this article.

Sir, you really should eat something. JARVIS spoke and Tony woke from his sleep. He had fallen asleep working that night and did not go to bed. He had fallen asleep at his workbench, explaining why he had a knot in his neck now. He sighed some, he wasn't really hungry, and so he chose to ignore the smart mouth AI that he had made. Maybe he should have thought that through... Oh well, what was done, was done now. He had to deal with that. Ah, Sir, Mrs. Potts is coming down to see you. I would suggest at least...combing your hair or something... Tony sighed some and ran a hand through his hair. Oh well, at least now he didn't have to worry about leaving to go talk with her.

The door opened, telling Tony that Pepper was coming in. She walked in a second later, hair back behind her shoulders. She looked at Tony and sighed. "You look like a train wreck." She said plainly. He shrugged some and then glanced at what he had been working on. Rogers' new shield…at least to try and make him not hate him as much… She gripped the paper in her hand, having removed the top page so that Tony wouldn't see the headline and replaced it with the one from the day before. She handed it to him. "Here, you asked for the paper."

"Ah, thanks..." Tony said and looked at it. "...Pepper, this headline is yesterday..." He removed the top page. "Where is it?" He asked, crossing his arms. She paused before sighing some, and she reached into her pocket. Slowly she picked it out and gave it to him, not wanting to do so of course. He took it from her, unfolded it, and then put it back where it came from, the front page. However, his eyes locking onto the headline, he instantly threw the paper down and ran his hands up his face. "What...the...hell..." He hissed, taking a deep breath. "How dare them..." He shook his head some. "Why..." He began but stopped. His eyes darkened. "Never mind, leave me alone Pep." He said and turned his back to her.

"But...Tony-" Pepper began.

"Leave!" Tony snapped at her, growling. Pepper's eyes darkened before she sighed and nodded. She quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. He felt bad for yelling but...god, what was he to do? He was already having enough problems as it was...this stupid article, well he hated it. He really did. Now he had to get down to who dare post this!

Clint Barton walked into the dining room of the Avengers mansion that Tony had given them. He looked like a wreck, paper in hand. Steve Rogers looked up from his coffee as he had been watching the news beforehand. "What happened to you Clint?" Rogers asked and Clint just slowly handed Rogers the paper he had held in his hand. Rogers blinked and took it from Clint. He looked it over a bit, seeing nothing wrong with it.

"Front page." Clint said hoarsely. Rogers blinked and turned the paper around to the front. He skimmed over it for a moment. He dropped the paper then, staring at it for a long moment. He finally hit it across the table, Banner catching it as he walked in. He blinked some.

"What the-" His statement was stopped when he saw just what the other two Avengers had spotted on the paper. His eyes darkened, and silently it was handed to Thor as he walked in. He blinked, taking it…He glanced at the front page. The room was silent…until Natasha walked in, hair messy as heck. She sighed and then looked around, wondering what was going on.

"What is with all of you?" She asked, sighing some. Normally she could never sleep in long because it got too loud with fights and all between the men. She raised an eyebrow as she was handed the paper by Thor. "I don't read the paper you know." She said plainly.

"Just look at the front page…read over it." Clint whispered softly. Natasha sighed some before she did just that. She softly began to read the paper, not noticing the headline just yet.

"Many people wonder still, does Anthony Stark have a real heart? Well, we looked into this matter. Slowly we have figured out from many things that Mr. Stark does not have a heart. If he did, he wouldn't have made weapons for S.H.I.E.L.D, he wouldn't have been pushed away by his own father, and he wouldn't have broken so many hearts. Not to mention he was once known as "The Merchant of Death" when he gave away weapons. Then look at what keeps him alive! He does not wear a normal heart inside of him now does he? No he has his arc reactor to keep him alive. He does in fact, not have a working heart inside of him without that. Not to mention, have you ever noticed how he appears to push away those he appears to care about? I mean, remember Rhodey? His so called 'friend'. He did just that to him, pushed him away!" Natasha stopped reading for a moment and took a deep breath. "In conclusion, many people believe that he does not have a heart at all, over 75% of the people we asked about it, said that if he wasn't Ironman, he would be nothing but a heartless man…thus, Anthony Stark has no heart." To the three men that had not read that, they were still. Clint sat down and took a breath.

This is the second time," he began, "that this has happened to Tony that I know of. It first happened when he got the arc reactor…then now. Why would they suddenly bring it up again? It's…" He trailed off and closed his eyes. "It's not true. No man that has saved the world could have no h-"

I'm sorry to interrupt you all. But Mrs. Potts would like to speak with you… JARVIS spoke and Clint glanced at the others. Rogers nodded.

"Yes, go ahead and put her on the line JARVIS." Rogers murmured softly. It was a few moment before there was static and Pepper's voice could be heard then.

"Hello? I'm assuming you can all hear me…now I wanted to speak about Tony…" She began and then paused some; a response was what she was waiting for. Banner gave a small 'keep going' before she continued again. "I know you probably have all seen the paper by now…I was wondering what you guys think we should do. Listen, I know you are not too happy with him Rogers, but he really needs to not be alone right now…he's pushing everyone away. It makes me worried for what will happen later on…he's locked himself in his lab again as well…" She sighed.

Clint, having known Tony for a long time, in both good and bad ways, frowned. He knew that when Tony locked himself in his lab, it was normally not a good thing. It either meant he had a lot to work to do, which he knew he didn't right now, or he was in emotional trouble in some way or another…that was it of course. "So, he's holed up in there again?" He asked.

"Uh-huh." Pepper sighed once again. "And um…he saw the paper. I tried to keep him from seeing the 'you-know-what' article…but he insisted to see it…and I'm afraid that didn't help at all…so…could you maybe all…try and get him out? Please! I'm begging here! I don't want him to try and kill himself or something! Roger at least make up with him for the fight! Please! He's working on all of your weapons at that!" She was worried for Tony at the moment, he was even worse than normal. Roger paused before he sighed. He supposed he was a bit harsh with Tony…but why did it matter so much if he made up with Tony? "Roger…ever since he was young, he looked up to you. His father told him many stories about you when he was a child, the one subject that his father…actually cared about him. I think, the fact of what you said to him, really hurt him…you need to please."

Now that was one thing that Roger had never been told by anyone. He hadn't known of how much Tony looked up to him, or the fact that it was the one thing that he and his father seemed to get along about. Howard, did he really push away his own son like that? Roger would never have expected that from that kind of man. He was nice to him, so why not his own son? He didn't get that at all. "Fine, I will…just for that Pepper." He sighed some. He had been a bit harsh yes...

Loki mused to himself as he walked about. He had to wonder what all of the commotion was currently about. He was in another form, looking like a normal human as far as he was concerned, and not the villain that the world had come to know. He saw that people were talking, holding papers, and he wondered what the headline was. He took one, paid for it, then walked over to a bench. He sat down and looked at it. Well now, what had he just stumbled on? Tony Stark...had no heart? He winced, why was he felling...a pain in his chest? He didn't know, and it scared him. He had to find out. Time for a trip to wherever the man he was seeking happened to be...

A/n: Well there you have it everyone. This was chapter one of "Metallic Heart". Next chapter we will see what happens next of course. Anyways here is the pairings, however you know FrosIron is the main one xD

Pairings: FrosIron (Loki/Tony.S), Soon to be past Tony/Pepper.P, Clint/Natasha, Implied/Some Roger/Tony, Thor/Jane, Banner/Betty. Any others wanted? Request them~