Heroes are heroes because the world would not be able to handle them if they were villains.

In another life, Tony Stark does not come back from Afghanistan burning with relief and guilt and a need to fix things, but angry and hurt and knowing he will never not hurt. He decides the world will be the same.

The first person to fall to the new world order is Pepper Potts. It is quick, and painless, and it is one part mercy and one part a declaration of love, because Tony Stark knows exactly what he's doing and where it's headed.

He is not much more lost or damaged than the Tony Stark who became Iron Man- Yinsen's death just hit a little harder, the cracks the Ten Rings left were a little deeper, Howard's neglect stayed a little closer to heart. It is enough.

When Tony Stark is Iron Man, he is the glue that keeps the Avengers together. When he is not, he is the paint thinner.

Tony Stark is a genius- the world doesn't quite realize what's happening until it's all but over and SHIELD is shattered and Nick Fury's remaining eye has been carved out by a laser one photo-receptor at a time.

Thor does not pick up Mjolnir after he is banished to Midgard, and Asgard descends further into chaos than Loki can fix. Even without Thor, he still falls into the void, because Sif and the Warriors Three think to challenge him on the Bifrost. It is not a noble battle. When Odin wakes, they pay the price for their treason.

Steve Rogers doesn't adapt to the twenty first century- he adapts to Tony Stark's way of thinking, because the world is a sick corrupted place and he trusts Howard's son more than the people who tried to trick him with badly dated ballgame broadcasts.

Natasha Romanoff does call Bruce Banner in, but only because it is a calculated risk on Tony Stark's part to let SHIELD last that long. It works. So does the removable cage in the Helicarrier.

She does not get the chance to recover her compromised partner, but Clint Barton recovers his free will just long enough to see her blood on his hands.

Tony Stark uses Loki's own scepter to subjugate him long enough to get him hooked into an IV and pumped full of enough addictive drugs and sedatives to put the Hulk out of commission.

It's not just a nuke that goes through the Chitari's portal. Loki Liesmith and Bruce Banner go with it.

The rest of the Nine Realms look on, and conclude that Earth is ready for a High form of War. Tony Stark is nothing if not adaptable, and he rises to meet their challenges.

Rises to their challenges and thrives on them, because there is no unifier like a common enemy, and now all of Earth looks to him to lead them. Asgard, in an attempt to avenge their lost princes, does Tony Stark the biggest favor anyone ever has, because it is not Tony all of Earth's people are rallying against, it is them.

Tony Stark rises to the Nine Realms' challenges, and thrives on them, because Tony Stark is ready for a High form of War, and the rest of the Nine Realms are not.

In another life, Tony Stark is not the Merchant of Death- he is its harbinger.