"Supply and Demand," 1/1, PG, gen, Doctor Who/Iron Man movieverse crossover

[catslash]

Oh my god, it turned into a real fic. How did that happen?

TITLE: "Supply and Demand"
AUTHOR: Cathryn (catslash)
RATING: PG for a bit of language.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1500.
GENRE: Gen. Crossover with the Iron Man movieverse.
CHARACTERS: Martha Jones, Tony Stark, the Master, Pepper Potts.
SUMMARY: Everything has changed, including what it means to be a superhero. Takes place during the year that wasn't.
DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Iron Man belong to their respective creators. I take no credit and make no money.
NOTES: Many thanks to nightanddaze for the beta, as well as starlasoma for inadvertently inspiring me to flesh out the original draft a bit more.
MORE NOTES: My knowledge of the Marvelverse is not what one might call detailed; since I'm operating in the new movieverse they seem to be creating, I just went with what I knew from that. If I've managed to commit any particularly egregious errors anyway, please let me know so I can tweak accordingly.
SPOILERS: Doctor Who 3x12 and 3x13 ("The Sound of Drums"/"The Last of the Time Lords"). General spoilers for the Iron Man movie, but nothing plot-specific.







Tony hasn't heard from Nick Fury in months, and can only assume he's dead. Most of them are, anyway. Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Reed and Sue Richards . . . they all died within days after Saxon gave the Earth to the Toclafane. Tony himself is alive only because the suit can stand up to the best the Toclafane can throw at him.

And that's about all it can do. Tony got hold of some information about one of the Toclafane being felled by lightning, but it might as well have been a meteor strike for all the good it does him. He tried and tried in the beginning, but he couldn't find a way to let the suit harness that much energy without it either exploding or simply frying him alive inside. He gave up after Pepper and Jarvis forced him to see reason - even if he could kill a Toclafane, what difference would it make? There are too many. Billions. To say he'd be outnumbered is the understatement of the fucking millennium.

He didn't let that stop him, though. He couldn't. He just changed his methods. The space he once kept for being Iron Man and all that entailed is underground, locked up tight, secure as it gets. Converting it into a large community living space was Pepper's idea. They worked out the logistics, of getting people there safely and keeping them safe, then they put it into action. He went out in the suit and Pepper in a van, and he kept the Toclafane busy while she herded people into the vehicle. It had worked for a while - longer than Tony expected it to, really, since spraying the Toclafane down with flamethrowers wasn't the most subtle diversionary tactic in the book. He hadn't expected to avoid Saxon's attention for long. He took all the extra measures he could to protect his small group of refugees, and Pepper, too, as much as she would allow at least.

It turned out he didn't have to. One day there was a broadcast, with Saxon looking into the camera and saying Tony's name as though they were speaking face-to-face. He smilingly praised Tony's courage and ingenuity, then said, "I think that deserves something, don't you?" The feed changed to show the distant outline of Japan as Saxon explained that he'd spent the last few days scouring the world for the remaining supplies of Stark Industries weapons. "I found quite a few, and you know, I never would have thought to look if you hadn't brought yourself to my attention. And now I can't help but wonder - what would happen if I used them all at once?"

"No," Tony told the screen, or thought he did, but Saxon continued with bright cheer,

"Let's find out, shall we?"

There was an endless heartbeat of silence, then Japan exploded into flames.

Saxon picked up his narration. "The Japanese are very honorable people, Mr Stark. Well, they were. I'm sure they would applaud your bravery, if they still could. And I'm sure there are more of your lovely weapons lying around just waiting to be used, if you start feeling brave again."

Tony just barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up. He stayed in there for a long time. Then he went to his office, where he's been for the past week, sometimes going through his data in hopes of finding something new, sometimes sleeping, but mostly making a serious dent in his liquor collection. He tries, a couple times, to visit the small colony downstairs, but all he can see when he thinks of them is the image of Japan, burning in his fire. Pepper brings him meals, which he eats only because he knows how hard it's getting to find food. She tries to tell him bits of news, but he shuts her down. He doesn't want to know. He can't even look her in the eye.

A week to the day after Japan burns, Martha Jones shows up on his doorstep. He's heard her name a time or two, distant rumors of someone he assumed didn't really exist. He wouldn't believe it's her if not for the fact that she single-handedly avoided the Toclafane, and managed to get inside without being detected. That gets his attention in a hurry. The fact that she's gorgeous doesn't slip past unnoticed, either. She sits without being invited, saying she heard there were a lot of people here and she has a story to tell. She's absolute ice, not worried in the least about being turned down, and it's that more than anything that makes Tony say,

"How 'bout you run it past me first. I'll even feed you while you do it."

Martha downs her meal with the speed of someone who's used to having to pick up and run on a moment's notice, then starts talking. She explains about the story she's been telling around the world, the way it all has to tie together, and how it relies on the man Saxon's been keeping on the Valiant as a pet. Tony thinks it all sounds like the longest long shot he ever heard of, but the role of the Archangel Network doesn't surprise him. He'd used it for a little while, but switched services when Jarvis had found some fucked up thing he couldn't figure out in Archangel's frequency. Tony had notified SHIELD, just in case, and last he'd heard they'd been hitting roadblock after roadblock trying to investigate. Funny how being right isn't really cheering him up.

"Okay," he says when she's finished. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Feel free to spread your story around. I don't see as it'll do any harm. These poor bastards could use something to hope for."

"You don't think it'll work," Martha says.

"Not a chance in hell," Tony says bluntly. He considers. "Well. Maybe one chance in hell."

"That's all I need," Martha answers. Her tone is matter-of-fact and her face calm and poised, without so much as the faintest flicker of doubt in her eyes. Tony looks at her and mentally upgrades the odds to two chances in hell.

"There's one other reason I came here," Martha continues. "The part of the plan that'll get me where I need to be when this happens." She looks him in the eye. "The part that only you and I know about. I need to control exactly when and how this information gets leaked or we're all done for."

"I can keep a secret. Shoot," Tony says.

"I need a gun. Or something that looks like one. And I thought, who better to ask than Tony Stark?" She explains the plan to fool Saxon with a fake weapon, and the need for a realistic-looking prop. When she's done, Tony finds himself smiling, wide and genuine, for the first time since Japan.

"Jesus, you've got balls," he says admiringly. She raises an eyebrow and he shrugs unapologetically. "I'll make you the best fake gun you ever saw, and I'll throw in some data I've got on how to kill a Toclafane. Don't get too excited, it's next to useless, but it's yours if you want it." He pauses for just a second to take in the pleased look on her face, then continues, "I'll have my assistant get you situated - I assume you want to talk to the others as soon as you can?"

Martha nods and Tony calls Pepper over the in-house comm. Martha gets up, then pauses. "Tony."

"Yeah."

"Don't blame yourself for Japan. He would have done it anyway."

"I -" He stops, swallows, tries again. "Yeah. I know."

She gives him a small, sad smile, then turns to follow Pepper out of the room. Pepper is kind enough to refrain from addressing Tony as he stares at his desk, but her voice as she speaks to Martha is friendlier than he's heard her sound in some time.

Tony takes a deep breath before he can let himself sink too far down. He has a fake gun to design, one that has to look alien and real if it's supposed to help save the world. It'll probably all come to nothing, but that's no reason to give it less than his full attention. First, though, he'd like to watch Martha talk to the refugees, see how much of what she told him gets passed along in the official campfire version. See if they wonder the same thing he does: What can one girl from England possibly do that he and the others couldn't?

That, he thinks, is why the gun has to be perfect. Because he wants very badly to know the answer.

Comments

[rhianona]

What a fascinating crossover! I really like how you integrate Iron Man into the Who universe. Very well done.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It started life as a completely random drabble, and I just couldn't seem to leave it alone. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Oh, and I love your icon.

[nightanddaze.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I read this like, half an hour ago, but still:

High-pitched seal noises!

*claps and rolls in Doctor Man*

[catslash.livejournal.com]

*tosses you a fish*

[altorogue.livejournal.com]

Martha Jones + Tony Stark = ULTIMATE WIN.

Seriously, I love stories of people resisting the Master during that year- and I LOVE this.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

There are so many fandoms with so many characters who would not knuckle under without a fight, and it's really interesting to contemplate how they would function in this little rogue timeline. I'm glad you liked this, and thanks so much for commenting!

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

*squee*! Oh, you make it so very much canon.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

I can't believe how much it developed. I seriously did not expect to get an entire story out of this.

[torn-eledhwen.livejournal.com]

What a great crossover idea! Really well executed too. Nice work.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This was a lot of fun to write and expand on, and I enjoyed finding ways to make the universes fit together. Thanks for commenting.

[syien_island]

Kudos to you! I loved the Iron Man film and was really hoping to see who'd do a really good crossover between it and my fave, Doctor Who. Absolutely brill.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

You can thank my MP3 player. *g* A few days ago, it played "Back in Black" and "I Can't Decide" close together, and I thought, "Heyyy . . ." And then the idea kind of ate my brain. I'm glad you liked, and thank you for commenting!

[butterflykiki.livejournal.com]

Ow freaking ow, and god, did you nail Tony's voice, and what a cool, cool way to tie him into the DW canon, and god, the bit about Japan killed me. And now I am imagining Tony's glee and delight when the whole thing finally works.

*hugs Tony and hugs Martha the Marvelous, as usual*

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. I almost wish Tony could remember that moment where everything comes together, but it wouldn't really be worth having to remember everything else. I started out with this not really intending to write a story, but just fooling around, so I decided to see how many things I could tie in from the DW arc and was surprised at how well it worked. Plus I've always wanted to know where Martha managed to get that gun. *g* Thank you for commenting!

[americanleaguer.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, why is Iron Man all over my flist right now? Apparently I need to go see it.

So I (obviously) haven't seen the movie, but I'm vaguely familiar with the comic, and this just rings so true in both 'verses, dude, like, you make it a completely natural story, like they both intended it that way.

So this rocks pretty hard.

Also you need to write more.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

YOU NEED TO GO SEE IT.

It's kinda freaky how they fit together so well, isn't it? I barely had to do any twisting and poking. There are things in that story arc that a brief alliance between Martha and Tony would go a long way toward explaining, and it's easy enough to claim that the majority of the Marvelverse superheroes are dead. They're created to deal with comic book supervillains, not the nastiness and sheer volume of the Toclafane. I can only think of, like, two superheroes who, lacking a heavily armored Iron Man suit, would even be equipped to survive the Toclafane, let alone deal with them. And one of them (Superman, obvs) is DC, so I don't have to worry about him. (The other is Wolverine. Regenerative factor for the win. Or the fail, depending on one's perspective in this instance.)

I am writing plenty. It's just all either stalled or annoyingly lengthy epic crap that I would not lay odds on my ever finishing. I think half the point of this is that it was something short that I could finish.

[majorenglishesq.livejournal.com]

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHA!

good.

NAO WRITE MOAR!!!

i have to go watch the Drums episodes again. only seen 'em once. maybe i have to watch all of season three again. OMG. i'm turning into one of those Saxon fans. SO. EVIL.

also: WRITE MOREEEEE

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

This icon is awesome.

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

This story is ridiculously awesome, as I'm sure you know.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Well, obviously, yes. ;) Thanks!

[livii.livejournal.com]

This is just fabulous; true to both sources in equal amounts, and very plausible. Great, great work; will be reccing.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you! They ended up fitting together so well, it feels like I hardly had to do any work. I'm pleased you enjoyed it enough to rec it. :D

[gypsyliz.livejournal.com]

This is right on, and awesome! Please write more in this universe! Excellent story, and seriously - I want to see some more plot with this. Please? *hands you cookies, brownies, and lots of wine...* /grin

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I had such a good time writing this. I can't say for sure whether there will be more or not, but cookies are always appreciated. *g*

[orange-crushed.livejournal.com]

That's... awesome.

You fit it into canon very well- the gun (where DID the gun come from) and the burning of Japan. So in-character for Pepper to be sheltering refugees; and poor Tony- feeling useless, wondering about the next step.

I would never have thought of this in a million years- go you !

[catslash.livejournal.com]

It all fits together so well, is the thing. Once the idea popped into my head, the universe just built itself. I was more watching its development than participating in it. And I quite enjoyed writing it all down. I'm happy that other people are liking it, too. Thank you for commenting!

[vitruvian23.livejournal.com]

Interesting. It occurs to me that Tony *would* actually be able of generating an electrical arc capable of taking the Toclafane down. The DW story references the energy of the lightning bolt that took one down as 510 megajoules (actually fairly close to the energy output of a typical bolt of lightning), while the power capacity of Tony's first miniaturized arc reactor in the movie was about 3 gigajoules per second, almost six times as much, and his newer model was more capable than that. Of course, a lightning bolt takes considerably less than a second, but that's what things like capacitors are for. Presumably he could avoid problems with waste heat the same as he does with the arc reactors themselves...

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I rewatched the movie and episodes after I posted this, heard the actual numbers, and thought, "Oops." I'm not really that worried about it, though. Comic book and scifi science are a tad more flexible than actual science. (Read: They do whatever the writers want them to do. It's tradition. *g*) If I decide to do more with this, I might fix that, since plotwise it doesn't make much of a difference, but I'm a lot less troubled by it than I would be if this were a more realistic fictitious setting.

Thanks for pointing this out, though. It made for an interesting comment to read.

[twoseamfastball.livejournal.com]

So, I don't really do the whole fanfic thing, but this was kinda cool as shit. (what can I say, you put something on my flist, odds are good I will read it. I'm such an internet jackal)

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Heh. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. It's neat to hear something like that from a non-fic reader.

[gileonnen.livejournal.com]

I kind of love how all of your Doctor Who crossovers are set during That Year. It's a very smart choice, just for showing the sheer ingenuity of which characters are capable--and you never fail to wring true emotion from it. Excellent work!

[catslash.livejournal.com]

ICON. <3

It's a source of endless fascination for me, ficwise and characterwise. Putting characters into the world created by the Master to see what they would do can be very revealing and provide no end of fascinating interaction. There are tons of fandoms that could be crossed into this with some very interesting results.

Plus, you know, it means I get to write Doctor Who fic without having to worry about writing the Doctor, which I am not so good at. *g*

[loafing-oaf.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with Iron Man at all, but I still really enjoyed this. In fact, it's made me want to see Iron Man, so that I can read this again with a better knowledge of the characters.

Very deftly woven in with the end of season three and already feels like canon.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

You should definitely see it. It's one of the rare comic book movies that puts crazy concepts like character growth into the plot. Plus there's fun dialogue and some great acting.

I'm pleased you enjoyed this without having seen it, though. That gives me the sense that I pulled it all off pretty well, which makes me happy. Thanks for commenting!

[munnin-odanin.livejournal.com]

I got lost wondering and ended up here by accident. I’m glad I did. Well written with brilliant characterisation. Mind you – I’m always going to be looking for the Stark Industries logo on that gun now.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

If you find it, look real close, because underneath it says "FUCK YOU" in smaller letters. Tony was quite disappointed that the Master destroyed the gun before he got a chance to read Tony's message. ;)

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. This was fun to write and it's cool to see other people are having a good time with it, too. Thank you for commenting!

[mselfie.livejournal.com]

This is just brilliant. You really got Stark's voice (and alcoholism!) down. Allow me to geek all over your story by pointing out that in Marvel's Civil War, Stark was on the side of the Man(tm) and therefore I can totally see him still being standing at the end. As much for his sturdy armor and building as for the fact that he's always on the side of the sure thing (which wasn't exactly explained in the movie, but apparently came through enough for you to pick up.). So, um, yay!

(also, in reference to an other comment, I've always wanted to see Wolverine meet Jack, but that can't possibly be set in the Year That Wasn't so it's likely to never happen.)

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Ooh, comics history! *reads attentively* That's really interesting. I wasn't really thinking that logically, though - I just knew there was no way that Tony, especially after everything he went through in the movie, could side with the Master. He feels a strong sense of obligation to use his intelligences and resources to help people, magnified by the fact that he contributed, however inadvertently, to the sales of weapons to terrorists. And the Master is basically the biggest scariest terrorist ever. I can't see Tony siding with him no matter what the odds look like, and I can't see him knuckling under for too long, either.

Of course, my interpretation is hardly the be all and end all, and I really like that the fic works well from a completely different perspective. I'm happy to have gotten a good review from a fan of the comics, and thank you for commenting!

[debxena.livejournal.com]

I thoroughly, but thoroughly, enjoyed this. Fantastic crossover, and very nicely done indeed.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was a blast to write.

Oh, and I love your icon. :D

[cindergirlgrimm.livejournal.com]

After posting a question about any IM/DW crossover fics on dw_ficsearch I was sent here, to this amazingly perfect story. I love how you provide backstories to things that left people wondering (seriously, where did the 'I Can Kill A Time Lord' gun come from?) all while attempting -and perfecting- a crossover. Not always easy.

AMAZING!!!

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it. I was amazed at how well these two fandoms fit together, and it was fun to tie in a few random things that had been established on the show. The gun made me go, "Duh, of course!" when I thought of it. *g*

Thanks very much for commenting!

[wizefics.livejournal.com]

OMG. I love this so much it kind of hurts.

Awesome, sheer awesome.

Fantastic job.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I loved writing it. Crossovers are addictive once you get started on them, and occasionally you come up with one that works so perfectly it practically writes itself.

Thanks for commenting!

[beatrice_otter]

This fic? This, is awesome. And it explains where she got the gun ... probably can't go to Radio Shack and pick up spare parts to cobble it up with, after a year of the Master's rule.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Hee. Probably not. That was a plot hole I was all too happy to fill in. I'm happy you enjoyed the fic. Thanks for commenting!

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Brilliant crossover.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[mulder200.livejournal.com]

Excellent crossover! It's so fun reading adventures about the TYTNW. Not fun in a good way because it must been horrible for Martha but I live reading about strong iron willed humans.

[catslash.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. It holds a certain fascination for me, because there's so much potential story in it and it's so interesting to explore how different characters deal with the situation.

I'm glad you enjoyed the fic. Thank you for commenting.