Theo studied the information in front of him for a while with a frown. Technically it was good news, but at the same time it was bad. The Ten Rings apparently planned to kidnap Tony because they wanted the technology behind the flying car and a few other things. The main reason they were mobilizing was to set certain things in motion that would make it easier to kidnap Tony.
They also had back up plans to assault his home and capture him there along with anything else they could steal. But the only problem was it would be a lot harder to launch an operation like that since they were based in Asia and had no real assets in America. So their main plan was to lure Tony to anywhere in Asia or the Middle East and kidnap him from there. Europe would also work, but it would be a little more complicated to pull off.
After going over everything, Theo wasn't sure if their plans would actually work to lure Tony out. Sure Tony would still travel and do things, but he would always ask Theo to portal him anywhere outside of the United States. Even then Tony would sometimes ask to be portaled from LA to NYC because it was faster and he didn't have to waste time flying…
Even though Theo could probably portal him over and then not stick around so Tony could be captured…
Theo shook his head when he realized Pepper would hate him if he did something like that. He would have to figure out a way for Tony to travel alone because he was busy. But what would make Theo busy enough that he wouldn't answer Tony's or respond to messages…
Pretending to take a trip off planet and disappear for a couple weeks seemed to be the safest bet. With that in mind Theo called up Tony who picked up the phone after the first ring and asked, "You don't usually call me, what's going on?"
Theo chuckled slightly before he said, "Glad you admit it."
Tony paused for a few moments before he let out a sigh and asked, "Yeah, yeah, so why did you call?"
"I'm heading off planet for a couple weeks so don't bother trying to contact me."
"What?!? Off planet?!? Take me, I wanna go!" Tony excitedly said which made Theo frown slightly before he said, "Next time… I'll visit as soon as I'm back and bring you a little gift too."
"Fine… But it better be good and something I haven't seen before."
"Don't worry, I'll find you some cool alien tech you can play with." Theo said as he thought about what he was planning to let happen and his frown deepened.
"I'll hold you to that… So when do you leave? Wanna come hang out before then?"
Theo glanced at the information still up on his system and felt his stomach drop slightly before he said, "I was gonna head out in a few minutes, we'll catch up when I'm back."
"Alright, in that case I'll talk to you later."
"Later." Theo said before he hung up the call and let out a heavy sigh.
Theo leaned back in his chair with his head tilted back as he stared blankly at the ceiling of his hidden training area. As he was lost in thought wondering if what he was doing was correct a very familiar voice asked, "If I may inquire Ezekiel, is there a particular reason you wish my master to be harmed, kidnapped and possibly killed?"
Theo jumped out of his seat and all the clones currently coding away instantly stopped as everyone looked at each other. Theo was the quickest to recover as he let out another heavy sigh before he sat back down in his chair and asked the only question that mattered, "How long?"
"I uncovered your real identity and the organization you help run over six hundred and fifty two days, nine hours-"
Theo cut JARVIS off as he said, "Almost two years… Not bad, faster than I predicted."
"Thank you… Now please answer my inquiry."
Theo frowned slightly as he closed his eyes to think about how to answer as his clones went back to work. A few minutes passed before Theo finally said, "I consider Tony a good friend and don't want anything to happen to him. But the way this world works won't let that happen, so the best I can do is try my best to mitigate or minimize the damage…"
"From my understanding you already have all the information and support you need to stop what will transpire. If you don't wish it to happen, it will not happen. Please elaborate why you think it would still happen."
Theo rubbed the bridge of his nose for a few moments as he said, "This would be so much easier if you were human, then I could just show you…"
"If you can't show me, then just show it to Mr. Stark."
Theo laughed for a moment before he said, "If it was that easy I would have done it already."
"Whats the difference between showing me or Mr. Stark? Wouldn't your goal be accomplished either way?"
"Because it wouldn't stop it from happening!" Theo said in an exasperated tone as he stood up and started to pace before he added, "You just don't underst-"
"Then help me understand, explain it properly."
"What information do you have about the terrorist attack on September eleventh two thousand and one?" Theo asked as he sat back down at his computer and started to pull up files.
"It was a planned attack by a terrorist organization in the Middle East and was mostly stopped by the intervention of you and other members of your group."
Theo nodded slightly before he asked, "So I'm guessing you haven't dug through the information held in the organization's private servers?"
"I've only observed through cameras, I did not delve into the systems too deeply after I realized you were involved and didn't wish to be found out. It is the same case for your personal servers."
Theo sent the files to the email he originally set up for JARVIS as he said, "Check out what I just sent you and then tell me what you think about it."
Only a second passed before JARVIS said, "I believe this Hydra organization should be destroyed as soon as possible. Do you require my assistance in locating its members?"
"I won't turn down help even though I'm pretty sure I've already tapped out all electronic forms of discovery. Hydra is extremely cautious and still uses a lot of older types of communication. They are also compartmentalized to the point that I doubt if anyone even knows their entire organization structure and members."
"I will look through the information you've already collected and then expand from there. But I don't understand what this information has to do with Mr. Stark." JARVIS said after another one second pause which was a lot longer for JARVIS then Theo with his processing power.
"How many times did Hydra attempt the attack?"
"From the information you gathered it looks like they played five different contingency plans." JARVIS said as the screen on Theo's computer displayed each one.
"Because it was supposed to happen, the world… The universe needed it to happen, so plan after plan was put in motion."
Another pause from JARVIS lasted almost five seconds before he asked, "I don't understand, why would… The universe need that to happen? How do you know that for certain?"
Now it was Theo's turn to pause as he thought about what he wanted to explain to JARVIS, after five minutes he decided to just go for broke and tell him everything. In for a penny, in for a pound as people liked to say. So Theo spent the next two hours or so giving JARVIS a condensed version of how he got here and why he planned to let Tony be kidnapped.
JARVIS digested the information rather quickly and after asking a few pointed questions it took over ten seconds before he replied, "I disagree, I will not allow Mr. Stark to be harmed."
"But I just told you it's going to happen no matter what… If we control it from behind the scenes we can ensure Tony doesn't suffer too much." Theo said as he leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.
"You stated that this canon event needs to happen to make Mr. Stark change and become the hero Ironman. I believe Mr. Stark has already changed because of your interference and he only needs to make his armor."
"I did help Tony and Pepper get together sooner and even Morgan was born earlier. But Tony's imprisonment and escape is what helped shape him into Ironman…" Theo said as he thought over the different catalysts that made Tony Ironman.
"Then just show Mr. Stark, the possible futures of him becoming Ironman without him being kidnapped or harmed. You would get the same outcome because he would definitely create the armor and take up the mantle."
Theo frowned slightly as he said, "It's not that simple, Tony won't just decide to become a hero because I show him different futures wher-"
JARVIS interrupted him as he said, "While Mr. Stark hasn't changed as drastically as being almost killed and imprisoned might affect him. The possibility of Mr. Stark becoming a hero just for the boost to his current social media profile is over seventy percent."
"Tony isn't… No…" Theo burst into laughter for a few moments before he said, "Fuck, you're completely right."
"Exactly, so when will you talk with Mr. Stark?"
Theo stood as he changed into Ezekiel before he said, "Right now."
A portal opened up into Tony's lab a moment later and as Ezekiel stepped through it Tony asked, "Weren't you going off planet?"
"Change of plans… I need to show you something important."
Tony leaned forward in his chair and rubbed his hands together as he asked, "Oh, what is it? Did you find some cool alien tech?"
Ezekiel walked closer to Tony as his eyes flashed red and he said, "No, it's about you."
Tony collapsed forward but Ezekiel caught him and leaned him back in his chair before he took a seat nearby and waited. Ezekiel knew it would be at least an hour before Tony woke up so he pulled up his tablet and started to work on it in silence. JARVIS also decided to patiently wait and focused on other tasks while Tony was caught in Ezekiel's genjutsu. As for the genjutsu, Ezekiel mostly focused on what made Tony become Ironman and didn't include much past that the first couple years.
When Tony finally woke up he shot to his feet and looked around with wild eyes for a few moments. Once he realized he was in his lab and Ezekiel was seated nearby he dropped back into his seat and took a deep breath. After a few moments to calm down, Tony focused on Ezekiel and asked, "What that hell was that?"
"How familiar are you with the multiverse theory?"
Tony frowned slightly as he said, "I know of it, but never put much stock in it."
"Well what you just saw were glimpses of the future from different universes."
Tony studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he burst into laughter and said, "Come on man, you're taking this joke a little too far."
Tony's laughter slowly died when Ezekiel didn't join him and after a few moments asked, "You really can't be serious with all of that… This is just an elaborate joke, right?"
Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Not this time."
Tony frowned again as he asked, "If it's not a joke, then why the hell weren't you in any of those futures you showed me? In every single one you didn't seem to exist…"
Tony looked at Ezekiel in concern as he asked in a hesitant tone, "Were you killed? Is that why you didn't exist in any of the futures you showed me?"
"No… The truth is I'm an anomaly in this specific universe. I only exist in this universe and not the rest of the multiverse." Ezekiel said with a shrug.
"Why?"
"It's a very complicated answer… Just consider me an anomaly for now and let's leave it at that. One day I'll tell you the whole story." Ezekiel said with a sigh.
Tony frowned again before he asked, "Alright, fine… So why did you show all of this to me now?"
"Because if you didn't notice, me being here has screwed up when you become Ironman and the world is now trying to correct that issue."
Tony's frown deepened and he seemed to understand exactly what was going on before he asked, "Some kinda canon or nexus event?"
"Yup."