starkingenuity | (Reply)

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Tony was part of the greater bit of him that felt human instead of a monster, even if he knew himself to be the latter. Nothing he'd done made him feel any less of a monster, not since he stopped being around Tony. He'd forgotten for a while; he'd paid for it. No, innocent people had paid for it. Everything dragged him deeper and deeper, always the vague idea that he would always be trapped in this prison, unable to free himself even through the most basic ways that everyone had available to him.

But Tony had been the thing that had made the prison bearable, for all that he felt selfish for taking it.

"...lovely mental image," Bruce said dryly, though that does bring about a small bit of surprise. "I didn't expect you'd keep them," he admitted, glancing off to the side again. The Legion. Maybe it wasn't a fair thought; they were the closest thing to children Tony probably would ever get.