dragged ya' down below
down to the devils show

to be his guest forever
peace of mind is less than never

nightmare
avenged sevenfold

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

What once was a still day at work, instantly turned to hell when Dr. Jonathon Ohn received a Further Notice from the man on top himself, Tony Stark.

"He's shutting down *IDRD?!" Ohn shouted, startling the poor assistant who was tasked to deliver the letter to the man. To make it worse, the letter was issued yesterday. You can only imagine the anger Ohn was feeling at the moment, the feeling unfathomable to the observer.

Ohn understood, that's for sure. He understood that men like Tony Stark who are put on a pedestal, despite the destruction that lies behind his name, needed to be knocked down.

Crumbling the letter in his hand, Ohn discarded it to the floor, paying no mind to the muttering mess coming out of the useless assistant's mouth, before storming straight to his department.

You didn't have to see Ohn to know he was coming, you could hear his heavy boots beating against the ground as he stormed through the halls from a mile away. His co-workers did well to step out his way, avoiding his glares as he pushed through the unfortunates who were too slow to move out of his way.

Peering through the double doors, he watched in distraught at the disposal team tore down all of his hard work, throwing it the garbage as if it had no meaning. Something deep inside him twisted and turned in place, the remaining of his patience dissipating as he threw open the doors.

"Mr. Stark!" He clamored, once again startling everyone in the department, but the man himself stayed calm and unnerved. In fact, Tony nonchalantly snacked on his chips as he observed the disposal process. This only angered Ohn further, teeth gritting together as steam practically fumed from him.

"You must be one of the most self-centered men I've ever met if you're just going to-"

Ohn flinched at Stark's sudden movement, sweating at the hand that smacked onto his shoulder. At that moment, Ohn feared maybe his words weren't a great choice, but was only met with a dazzling smile from Stark.

"Do me a favor?"

The frazzled scientist looked down at the now empty bag of chips in his hands, eye twitching in annoyance as Stark dusted his hands free of crumbs. "I have to admit, Dr. Ohn, this is some impressive stuff." The man nods in admiration, not allowing the scientist to get his thoughts in. "Trust me, it was a hard decision to make, but it had to be done."

Letting out a frustrated huff, Ohn shoved the trash into a passerby's hands, weaving around the crew to follow Stark's footsteps.

None of this made any sense to him, down to the sorry excuse Stark used in the letter. How could he throw it all away when he was so close to achieving the impossible? Was he threatened? Did he feel the need to eliminate his competition?

"Not a week ago did your approve my request on manufacturing the Collider, what changed?!" Ohn shouted, a wild look in his eyes as he gripped onto Tony's wrist, everyone in the department stopping to stare in shock.

Ohn wasn't aware what he was doing until Tony pulled his wrist harshly from his hold. And despite his gesture, and despite the ticking bomb about to go off in Stark's head, he continued to be the 'genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist' everyone knew and loved.

"Didn't get the Notice letter, did you?" Tony sighs out dramatically, massaging the tense muscle in his forehead as he mutters, "How awkward."

"If read thoroughly, you would discover that your project lies outside our current guidelines and, therefore, will be terminated." Tony smiles, producing another copy from underneath his coat. "Don't lose it this time, will ya?" And with an awkward pat on the back, Tony waltzed himself out of the emptied Lab.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

"Dangerous." Ohn scoffed behind his glass, taking another swig of the intoxicating drink, unloading his baggage on a complete stranger. "The man can trash half of the city and tells me my work is dangerous." He laughed bitterly, slamming the empty glass onto the table.

"Yes. It's quite the shame, Dr. Ohn." The large-framed man says, pushing another shot towards him. He watched with a small grin as Ohn took the offer, downing it one go as he continues to lay out the ground work. "But I cannot say it surprises me." The man sighs, leaning comfortably into the booth's cushions, hands clasped in a business-like manner.

Ohn scoffs, leaning into his hands with a propped elbow on the table, taking in his surroundings again. The bar they sat in was busy, the faint chatter carrying throughout the establishment. But regardless, the place he was sat in was a secluded area, far from the loud drunks and nosey bartenders; not a soul close enough to hear the plan unraveling under Ohn's unsuspecting nose.

This allowed Jonathon to come to the conclusion that not only does this man have such a big physique, but also a big name around these parts. If the seclusion wasn't a dead giveaway, then the expensive suit and endless drinks had done it for him.

"A man such as Tony Stark could never see the full potential your work holds." The man states, leaning in closer for a dramatic effect. "Me, on the other hand?" He grins, only for it twist in disgust as Ohn belches in his face.

Jonathon backs away from the close proximity, a hand covering his mouth in hopes to keep the fluids in. Maybe he shouldn't have gave in to the endless offer so easily, Ohn was never one to hold in his drinks for long.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his posture as he urges the man to continue with a simple hand gesture. The stranger sighs out, relaxing his tensed jaw as he slips back into his calm demeanor. "With my help, you'll be able to expand to lengths that Stark couldn't possibly provide you to begin with."

Th ex-scientist blinks, leaning back into his seat, mind hazy as the drinks took their toll on him. "What's in it for you?" Ohn slurs, crossing his arms as he sternly stared at the stranger, a comical sight to an outsider.

"I only ask of you to do one, small favor." The man answers, an ominous tone underlining his statement. If Ohn wasn't so drunk out of his mind right now, it probably would have creeped him out-warn him not to be so quick to trust him and run as far away as possible; but lucky for our stranger, all reasonings were thrown out the window at the cost of drinking a little too much.

Maybe it would have been a different story if Ohn were sober. Maybe if he sat down and thought as to why he felt so angry, he could have saved himself from his fate. Or maybe it didn't matter at all. There was no doubt about the sheer hatred he held for the man on the pedestal. Sober or not, that would never change. Revenge outweighed his senses, not a thought spared as he took the outstretched hand before him, sealing the deal.

"What," another gas bubble forms as he slurs, "what did you say your name was?" Ohn questions, something he should have done before deciding to sit down with the man that many called Kingpin. If only he wasn't too busy keeping his lunch down.

The facade drops and suddenly, the ominous underlining nature this man held multiples by a tenth fold, fear smothering the ex-scientist as the man's hold on Ohn's hand begins to painfully tighten.

"Wilson. Wilson Fisk."

note(s):

*IDRD - Inter-Dimensional Research Department. Study's the use of portal accelerators and other tools to create gateways between dimensions. 

welcome back. this story originally started sometime in 2021 and has been abandoned on and off since then. it's been polished and reworked heavily, so please keep in mind some comments might not make sense and some chapters may look worse than others. thank you for being patient with me, and thank you for staying around for so long. afh will have its ending.

originally published on 10/20/22
edited on 7/25/23