The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 38: The Ploy
[INFO]Title: The Corrupt and the Pure
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 38: The Ploy
“Let him go,” Steve repeated, his center of gravity shifting lower. If it was clear to Tony he was seconds away from attacking, it had to be glaringly obvious to the Commander.
“No,” the Commander refused. “I was weak twice before, compromising, letting him go. Someone may have called it the right tactical choice, but it didn’t aid the efforts to reach my goal, which is getting him back.” His hold on Tony tightened fractionally, prompting Tony to dig his fingers into the arm holding him prisoner, ineffectively trying to keep the air flowing into his lungs.
Asphyxiation meant weakness, and weakness led to an inability to defend himself - or even make a run for it when the opportunity arrived. The Commander would know that, of course, so maybe it was intentional and not just a by-product of his obsessive need to get his hands on Tony - literally and figuratively.
“You’re never getting him back,” Steve retorted. “In fact, you never had him in the first place. You can keep someone prisoner, but it’s just an illusion that it would make them yours.”
The Commander snarled. “Did you read that in a book somewhere? A S.H.I.E.L.D. manual? I know you never loved anyone - didn’t have the chance. Bucky, perhaps, but it was never the same.” He shifted his head and kissed Tony’s temple, clearly to make a statement. “I’ve made mistakes along the way, but he was never one of them. Breaking into another world to get him back was my only option to repent for the fact that I wasted my first chance with him.”
“I think it’s safe to say you blew it in this world, too,” Steve noted, tone harsh and condescending. It was obvious what he was talking about. “Maybe you had a chance to win him over with your sob-story of how HYDRA fucked you up inside, but raping him just proved you’re nothing but rotting ideals on the inside. You’ll never be capable of being someone he would want.”
The Commander snarled, shifting forward, almost dumping Tony to the side in order to get his hands on his double, but then he halted, clearly realizing what he was doing, and pulled Tony more firmly against him. “Well played, Captain,” he congratulated Steve. “You of all people know how short our tempers are with the right trigger.”
“You think I’m taunting you?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “I’m telling you the truth as it is, and I think you know it, too, if your reaction is anything to go by.”
The Commander was silent for a few seconds. He shifted his hold on Tony, moving his arm so that he could wrap his fingers around his throat. He didn’t squeeze, and dared to caress his thumb across Tony’s skin, as if comforting him. “It hurt you, didn’t it?” he said to Steve. “Knowing what I did to him… Did it make you feel dirty? Like you had partaken in the act somehow simply because you’ll always remind him of me, no matter how this ends tonight?”
“You don’t,” Tony protested, and Steve met his eyes for the first time since this uncomfortable conversation began. “I told you…”
Steve nodded slowly, but he didn’t look like a person who had been convinced.
“Maybe it’s fortunate you never had any desire for him, because I guess I ruined that for you, too,” the Commander taunted, fingers tightening just slightly, clearly punishing Tony for his words.
Steve looked a little sick.
“It wasn’t you,” Tony called out despite the obvious warning signals from the Commander.
“Maybe not, but with enough time…” The Commander squeezed harder around Tony’s neck and nailed his gaze with Steve’s. “The first time you fail at being a perfect person, you’ll see a shadow of that look on his face. And it will grow and intensify as time goes by, because he’ll realize that we are the same, deep down. Same faults.”
“No,” Steve ground out and moved to attack.
Tony opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out, and then the Commander dug his free hand into a pocket of his jacket and withdrew something. It resembled the disc that had dropped Tony the first time they met, but this time he threw it at Steve. On a normal day, Steve would have been ready for it, but he was reckless right now, provoked into an attack, and the Commander’s aim was true: the disk latched onto Steve’s exposed neck and Tony could almost hear the static traveling through his body.
Steve jerked and fell down with a pained grunt, body twitching and trying to fight the weapon that was no doubt meant to disable him upon contact.
“Two can play at this game,” the Commander sneered and turned around, dragging Tony along, clearly intent on leaving Steve lying there, jerking on the ground.
“Indeed!” Thor’s voice called out, and he dropped from the sky right in front of them, startling them both. The Asgardian did not wait, punching the Commander hard, his fist almost catching Tony’s cheek in the process. The Commander jerked back, dragging Tony along, the pressure almost crushing his windpipe for an instant before the other let go.
Thor reached out to jerk Tony away by his arm, the force threatening to dislocate the limb but also prevented him from following the Commander all the way to the ground. “Go,” Thor ordered, shoving Tony in the opposite direction. Feeling once again like a kid being tossed between bullies, Tony fought to remain on his feet, his throat burning as he swallowed and drew air into his lungs.
“Sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. called out via the earpiece.
“Alive,” Tony said, coughing violently after the tiny word.
“I can see that,” the AI replied. Somewhere above them, Tony heard the hum of repulsors.
Behind him, he could hear the Commander and Thor clashing. He turned to look over his shoulder, just in time to see the Commander releasing his shield from his back and bringing it forward just as Thor gave a mighty swing with his hammer.
“Shit,” Tony swore before the pressure wave exploded from the collision point. He was thrown backwards and onto the ground, rolling over his shoulder and almost twisting his neck in the process. His body thudded in a harsh landing, and as he happened to look up, he saw Steve’s body and shield tumbling away as well, helpless against the brutal force that managed to level several trees and one lamp post nearby. The water in the pond splashed violently and some of it landed on Tony before retreating back to the sunken area where it belonged.
“Does he never learn?” Clint swore across the comm.
“Someone get to Cap, remove that disc,” Natasha ordered.
“I’ll go,” Sam Wilson volunteered.
“Let me handle it,” Rhodey argued. “I’ll be better protected in the suit in case those two decide to do that again.”
Tony cleared his throat, trying to find his voice in order to tell his AI to get his suit down here so that he could get inside its relative safety, but before he could, he heard Thor grunt in pain as the Commander delivered a series of kicks, punches and strikes of his shield that left the God of Thunder reeling. With one more roundhouse kick, the Commander forced Thor to take a step back - which left him on the muddy, soaked edge of the pond. The Asgardian slipped, and with a spectacular flap of his cape, went down into the water.
The Commander followed and hauled his shield high before smashing it right into Thor’s face.
Tony grimaced: the force would have been enough to crack a man’s skull wide open and then some, and unsurprisingly the Norse God didn’t get up. However, Thor always boasted how tough he and his people were, and Tony wordlessly ordered him not to be dead since that would obviously put his ancestors to shame.
The Commander stepped out of the water, eyes searching for Tony, but before he could move towards him, War Machine dropped out of the sky. The ground rolled beneath the impact, but Rhodey didn’t wait for the element of surprise to fade, attacking the Commander without a snappy comment or an ounce of hesitation.
Rhodey didn’t go for a repulsor - which would have been Tony’s first choice - instead firing the big gun on his shoulder. Several bullets hit the Commander in the shoulder and upper left arm, and Tony imagined he saw faint sprays of blood in the weak light as the Commander staggered back - then dodged down and attacked War Machine before he could fully compensate.
Tony’s mind screamed at Rhodey to take a step back even if it would unbalance him, to put distance between himself and the Commander, but Rhodey was too intent on standing his ground.
Clearly, he had never had the displeasure of being hit with the famous vibranium shield, and Tony let out a tiny yell as he saw his friend’s head get knocked back by the impact as the Commander struck him under the armored chin with his weapon.
War Machine staggered back a couple steps, giving the Commander time to haul off and strike the minigun with the edge of his shield, almost cutting the weapon in two and effectively disabling it.
Tony saw a section of the armor’s shoulder rise, another weapon preparing to fire, but up close all the Commander needed to do was get his shield up and keep it there to fend off the new attack. A few of the tiny rockets propelled back, almost hitting Falcon who was dropping down from the sky to help Cap. Sam yelled and swerved to the side, almost crashing to the ground before catching himself and landing hard on his back.
The Commander sneered and took half a step back from War Machine, blocking a couple punches before he swiped some blood from his left arm and smeared it all over War Machine’s faceplate with his right, temporarily throwing Rhodey off. It gave him just enough time to adjust his shield and bring it down on the arc reactor in the armor’s chest, a shower of sparks filling the air between them before the power source shut down.
“Okay,” Sam said, voice carrying over the comm, “somebody wanna give me a hand here?” His eyes were on the Commander while his hand was reaching for the disk on Cap’s neck. He seemed to know he wasn’t exactly a match for the Commander, especially with the beating the others had just received.
The Commander sent his shield flying before anyone else could intervene, and Sam ducked reflexively, almost making it out of the way. Tony heard the weak sound of the shield hitting the back of his head, sending Sam face-first into the grass. Tony could hear him groaning, so at least he wasn’t dead, but the Commander seemed to decide he was no longer a threat as he turned back to look at Tony, face grim.
“J!” Tony called out, refusing to admit his tone was getting a bit panicky. He could blame it on the bruises on his windpipe if anyone asked.
Mark 45 landed between Tony and the Commander as if the AI had been waiting just for this moment to make an appearance. The armor came prepared, however, because no sooner had it landed that the chest piece fired, the beam catching the Commander right in the chest and pummeling him backwards.
Tony climbed to his feet, feeling a bit woozy, but he would have had to feel a lot worse not to be able to reach the safety of his armor.
“It is over, Commander,” J.A.R.V.I.S. informed the fallen man through the suit’s speakers.
The Commander spat out a mouthful of blood and got back to his feet.
Tony hesitated, eyes calculating the distance between himself and the suit, as well as the crucial seconds it would take him to get inside and for the suit to seal itself shut and become operational. In his current state, he wasn’t as fast as usual, and the Commander wasn’t going to just stand there and wait for him to be ready.
J.A.R.V.I.S. had to know that because the AI didn’t open the suit to welcome him in.
“You can take him out, right?” Bruce asked over the comm, dread in his voice. The Hulk was their final straw if all else failed, and seeing as Natasha and Clint were still recovering from their previous encounter with the Commander, the pickings were getting pretty slim. Bruce would take the stage if need be, but it wasn’t ideal in the middle of Manhattan with only one target for the big guy to beat up.
Barnes had reluctantly agreed to help if it came to it, mostly for the sake of eliminating the threat posed against himself, no doubt. Steve hadn’t wanted to risk it, though, knowing the Commander’s past with the Winter Soldier. Seeing as the rest of their team had some trust issues on that front, too, Barnes was also standing back, only to engage if all other options were exhausted.
Whether they would deploy him before the Hulk…
Mark 45’s repulsors whined in response to Bruce’s worried question, preparing to fire, and Tony took a step back, knowing the suit needed all the room it could get to maneuver.
“Get in the air and don’t let him get to his shield,” Tony murmured, knowing J.A.R.V.I.S. would catch it.
“Yes, sir,” the AI said and moved to comply.
Instead of even trying to go after the armor, the Commander launched forward towards Tony, with speed that was truly frightening for a guy who had already gotten his fair share of beatings.
Tony looked up, fast enough to make his neck ache, to see that J.A.R.V.I.S. was trying to compensate, but after a certain point the danger of hitting Tony grew too great and the AI opted not to fire. Tony, of course, would have made the shot, but his priorities often clashed with his AI’s, and seeing it demonstrated at a time like this made him want to scream a few profanities.
A whoosh reached Tony right before the Commander did, and the super-soldier went down in front of him. The familiar thud of Cap’s shield hitting a body was like music to Tony’s ears. He looked up to see Steve crouched on one knee, tearing the partially loose disk from his skin before getting to his feet and leaning forward.
“J.A.R.V.I.S., get Tony out of here,” Steve ordered.
“But -” Tony started.
The Commander groaned and lifted himself to his hands and knees.
Tony took a couple steps back and heard the armor fly over him, then land right behind him.
“Sir, please,” J.A.R.V.I.S. pleaded.
Tony grumbled but stepped back into the waiting cocoon, breathing in carefully as it closed around him. His throat felt swollen and talking was painful - as well as swallowing and breathing too deeply.
Outside the armor, the Commander and Captain America were facing each other, both missing their shields for now. It looked like that for the time being, both of them had forgotten Tony was even there.
J.A.R.V.I.S., however, had not, and Tony let out a startled yell as the armor fired up and shot him up to the sky, away from the fight that was still very much happening.
“J, we need to help Cap,” Tony protested.
“Your safety comes first,” the AI argued.
“I’m safe inside the armor,” Tony pointed out. “If it starts looking bad, we’ll re-evaluate the situation.” Really, he was in no condition to have a pointless argument with his AI.
J.A.R.V.I.S. didn’t respond, and Tony would have banged his head against something if he could have, but as it were, he was a passenger inside his own suit until his AI decided to hand over the controls.
Seeing as it had come uncomfortably close to Tony being taken by the Commander again, and how he had dispatched War Machine, Tony kind of saw how J.A.R.V.I.S. might argue the battle field wasn’t the best place for him.
That didn’t mean Tony had to like it, or even agree with it.
to be continued…
Story info
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers & Captain America (MCU)
Timeline: post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Genre: Drama, action, hurt/comfort
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Bruce Banner (Hulk), James “Bucky” Barnes (Winter Soldier), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Summary: When the Steve Rogers from an alternate universe appears in the middle of the Avengers Tower, two worlds are about to collide: one where Captain America became the tool of HYDRA and fell into a relationship with the hero Iron Man - and one where Tony and Steve are tentatively getting along. The latter are forced to reconsider their relationship when the Commander kidnaps Tony to replace his dead lover.
Complete.
Written for: A story commissioned by Susanne (ChickenHax @ AO3 / starkred @ Tumblr).
Warnings: Rape/non-con, major character death (alternate universe), graphic canonical violence, M/M sexual content, language.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 38: The Ploy
“Let him go,” Steve repeated, his center of gravity shifting lower. If it was clear to Tony he was seconds away from attacking, it had to be glaringly obvious to the Commander.
“No,” the Commander refused. “I was weak twice before, compromising, letting him go. Someone may have called it the right tactical choice, but it didn’t aid the efforts to reach my goal, which is getting him back.” His hold on Tony tightened fractionally, prompting Tony to dig his fingers into the arm holding him prisoner, ineffectively trying to keep the air flowing into his lungs.
Asphyxiation meant weakness, and weakness led to an inability to defend himself - or even make a run for it when the opportunity arrived. The Commander would know that, of course, so maybe it was intentional and not just a by-product of his obsessive need to get his hands on Tony - literally and figuratively.
“You’re never getting him back,” Steve retorted. “In fact, you never had him in the first place. You can keep someone prisoner, but it’s just an illusion that it would make them yours.”
The Commander snarled. “Did you read that in a book somewhere? A S.H.I.E.L.D. manual? I know you never loved anyone - didn’t have the chance. Bucky, perhaps, but it was never the same.” He shifted his head and kissed Tony’s temple, clearly to make a statement. “I’ve made mistakes along the way, but he was never one of them. Breaking into another world to get him back was my only option to repent for the fact that I wasted my first chance with him.”
“I think it’s safe to say you blew it in this world, too,” Steve noted, tone harsh and condescending. It was obvious what he was talking about. “Maybe you had a chance to win him over with your sob-story of how HYDRA fucked you up inside, but raping him just proved you’re nothing but rotting ideals on the inside. You’ll never be capable of being someone he would want.”
The Commander snarled, shifting forward, almost dumping Tony to the side in order to get his hands on his double, but then he halted, clearly realizing what he was doing, and pulled Tony more firmly against him. “Well played, Captain,” he congratulated Steve. “You of all people know how short our tempers are with the right trigger.”
“You think I’m taunting you?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “I’m telling you the truth as it is, and I think you know it, too, if your reaction is anything to go by.”
The Commander was silent for a few seconds. He shifted his hold on Tony, moving his arm so that he could wrap his fingers around his throat. He didn’t squeeze, and dared to caress his thumb across Tony’s skin, as if comforting him. “It hurt you, didn’t it?” he said to Steve. “Knowing what I did to him… Did it make you feel dirty? Like you had partaken in the act somehow simply because you’ll always remind him of me, no matter how this ends tonight?”
“You don’t,” Tony protested, and Steve met his eyes for the first time since this uncomfortable conversation began. “I told you…”
Steve nodded slowly, but he didn’t look like a person who had been convinced.
“Maybe it’s fortunate you never had any desire for him, because I guess I ruined that for you, too,” the Commander taunted, fingers tightening just slightly, clearly punishing Tony for his words.
Steve looked a little sick.
“It wasn’t you,” Tony called out despite the obvious warning signals from the Commander.
“Maybe not, but with enough time…” The Commander squeezed harder around Tony’s neck and nailed his gaze with Steve’s. “The first time you fail at being a perfect person, you’ll see a shadow of that look on his face. And it will grow and intensify as time goes by, because he’ll realize that we are the same, deep down. Same faults.”
“No,” Steve ground out and moved to attack.
Tony opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out, and then the Commander dug his free hand into a pocket of his jacket and withdrew something. It resembled the disc that had dropped Tony the first time they met, but this time he threw it at Steve. On a normal day, Steve would have been ready for it, but he was reckless right now, provoked into an attack, and the Commander’s aim was true: the disk latched onto Steve’s exposed neck and Tony could almost hear the static traveling through his body.
Steve jerked and fell down with a pained grunt, body twitching and trying to fight the weapon that was no doubt meant to disable him upon contact.
“Two can play at this game,” the Commander sneered and turned around, dragging Tony along, clearly intent on leaving Steve lying there, jerking on the ground.
“Indeed!” Thor’s voice called out, and he dropped from the sky right in front of them, startling them both. The Asgardian did not wait, punching the Commander hard, his fist almost catching Tony’s cheek in the process. The Commander jerked back, dragging Tony along, the pressure almost crushing his windpipe for an instant before the other let go.
Thor reached out to jerk Tony away by his arm, the force threatening to dislocate the limb but also prevented him from following the Commander all the way to the ground. “Go,” Thor ordered, shoving Tony in the opposite direction. Feeling once again like a kid being tossed between bullies, Tony fought to remain on his feet, his throat burning as he swallowed and drew air into his lungs.
“Sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. called out via the earpiece.
“Alive,” Tony said, coughing violently after the tiny word.
“I can see that,” the AI replied. Somewhere above them, Tony heard the hum of repulsors.
Behind him, he could hear the Commander and Thor clashing. He turned to look over his shoulder, just in time to see the Commander releasing his shield from his back and bringing it forward just as Thor gave a mighty swing with his hammer.
“Shit,” Tony swore before the pressure wave exploded from the collision point. He was thrown backwards and onto the ground, rolling over his shoulder and almost twisting his neck in the process. His body thudded in a harsh landing, and as he happened to look up, he saw Steve’s body and shield tumbling away as well, helpless against the brutal force that managed to level several trees and one lamp post nearby. The water in the pond splashed violently and some of it landed on Tony before retreating back to the sunken area where it belonged.
“Does he never learn?” Clint swore across the comm.
“Someone get to Cap, remove that disc,” Natasha ordered.
“I’ll go,” Sam Wilson volunteered.
“Let me handle it,” Rhodey argued. “I’ll be better protected in the suit in case those two decide to do that again.”
Tony cleared his throat, trying to find his voice in order to tell his AI to get his suit down here so that he could get inside its relative safety, but before he could, he heard Thor grunt in pain as the Commander delivered a series of kicks, punches and strikes of his shield that left the God of Thunder reeling. With one more roundhouse kick, the Commander forced Thor to take a step back - which left him on the muddy, soaked edge of the pond. The Asgardian slipped, and with a spectacular flap of his cape, went down into the water.
The Commander followed and hauled his shield high before smashing it right into Thor’s face.
Tony grimaced: the force would have been enough to crack a man’s skull wide open and then some, and unsurprisingly the Norse God didn’t get up. However, Thor always boasted how tough he and his people were, and Tony wordlessly ordered him not to be dead since that would obviously put his ancestors to shame.
The Commander stepped out of the water, eyes searching for Tony, but before he could move towards him, War Machine dropped out of the sky. The ground rolled beneath the impact, but Rhodey didn’t wait for the element of surprise to fade, attacking the Commander without a snappy comment or an ounce of hesitation.
Rhodey didn’t go for a repulsor - which would have been Tony’s first choice - instead firing the big gun on his shoulder. Several bullets hit the Commander in the shoulder and upper left arm, and Tony imagined he saw faint sprays of blood in the weak light as the Commander staggered back - then dodged down and attacked War Machine before he could fully compensate.
Tony’s mind screamed at Rhodey to take a step back even if it would unbalance him, to put distance between himself and the Commander, but Rhodey was too intent on standing his ground.
Clearly, he had never had the displeasure of being hit with the famous vibranium shield, and Tony let out a tiny yell as he saw his friend’s head get knocked back by the impact as the Commander struck him under the armored chin with his weapon.
War Machine staggered back a couple steps, giving the Commander time to haul off and strike the minigun with the edge of his shield, almost cutting the weapon in two and effectively disabling it.
Tony saw a section of the armor’s shoulder rise, another weapon preparing to fire, but up close all the Commander needed to do was get his shield up and keep it there to fend off the new attack. A few of the tiny rockets propelled back, almost hitting Falcon who was dropping down from the sky to help Cap. Sam yelled and swerved to the side, almost crashing to the ground before catching himself and landing hard on his back.
The Commander sneered and took half a step back from War Machine, blocking a couple punches before he swiped some blood from his left arm and smeared it all over War Machine’s faceplate with his right, temporarily throwing Rhodey off. It gave him just enough time to adjust his shield and bring it down on the arc reactor in the armor’s chest, a shower of sparks filling the air between them before the power source shut down.
“Okay,” Sam said, voice carrying over the comm, “somebody wanna give me a hand here?” His eyes were on the Commander while his hand was reaching for the disk on Cap’s neck. He seemed to know he wasn’t exactly a match for the Commander, especially with the beating the others had just received.
The Commander sent his shield flying before anyone else could intervene, and Sam ducked reflexively, almost making it out of the way. Tony heard the weak sound of the shield hitting the back of his head, sending Sam face-first into the grass. Tony could hear him groaning, so at least he wasn’t dead, but the Commander seemed to decide he was no longer a threat as he turned back to look at Tony, face grim.
“J!” Tony called out, refusing to admit his tone was getting a bit panicky. He could blame it on the bruises on his windpipe if anyone asked.
Mark 45 landed between Tony and the Commander as if the AI had been waiting just for this moment to make an appearance. The armor came prepared, however, because no sooner had it landed that the chest piece fired, the beam catching the Commander right in the chest and pummeling him backwards.
Tony climbed to his feet, feeling a bit woozy, but he would have had to feel a lot worse not to be able to reach the safety of his armor.
“It is over, Commander,” J.A.R.V.I.S. informed the fallen man through the suit’s speakers.
The Commander spat out a mouthful of blood and got back to his feet.
Tony hesitated, eyes calculating the distance between himself and the suit, as well as the crucial seconds it would take him to get inside and for the suit to seal itself shut and become operational. In his current state, he wasn’t as fast as usual, and the Commander wasn’t going to just stand there and wait for him to be ready.
J.A.R.V.I.S. had to know that because the AI didn’t open the suit to welcome him in.
“You can take him out, right?” Bruce asked over the comm, dread in his voice. The Hulk was their final straw if all else failed, and seeing as Natasha and Clint were still recovering from their previous encounter with the Commander, the pickings were getting pretty slim. Bruce would take the stage if need be, but it wasn’t ideal in the middle of Manhattan with only one target for the big guy to beat up.
Barnes had reluctantly agreed to help if it came to it, mostly for the sake of eliminating the threat posed against himself, no doubt. Steve hadn’t wanted to risk it, though, knowing the Commander’s past with the Winter Soldier. Seeing as the rest of their team had some trust issues on that front, too, Barnes was also standing back, only to engage if all other options were exhausted.
Whether they would deploy him before the Hulk…
Mark 45’s repulsors whined in response to Bruce’s worried question, preparing to fire, and Tony took a step back, knowing the suit needed all the room it could get to maneuver.
“Get in the air and don’t let him get to his shield,” Tony murmured, knowing J.A.R.V.I.S. would catch it.
“Yes, sir,” the AI said and moved to comply.
Instead of even trying to go after the armor, the Commander launched forward towards Tony, with speed that was truly frightening for a guy who had already gotten his fair share of beatings.
Tony looked up, fast enough to make his neck ache, to see that J.A.R.V.I.S. was trying to compensate, but after a certain point the danger of hitting Tony grew too great and the AI opted not to fire. Tony, of course, would have made the shot, but his priorities often clashed with his AI’s, and seeing it demonstrated at a time like this made him want to scream a few profanities.
A whoosh reached Tony right before the Commander did, and the super-soldier went down in front of him. The familiar thud of Cap’s shield hitting a body was like music to Tony’s ears. He looked up to see Steve crouched on one knee, tearing the partially loose disk from his skin before getting to his feet and leaning forward.
“J.A.R.V.I.S., get Tony out of here,” Steve ordered.
“But -” Tony started.
The Commander groaned and lifted himself to his hands and knees.
Tony took a couple steps back and heard the armor fly over him, then land right behind him.
“Sir, please,” J.A.R.V.I.S. pleaded.
Tony grumbled but stepped back into the waiting cocoon, breathing in carefully as it closed around him. His throat felt swollen and talking was painful - as well as swallowing and breathing too deeply.
Outside the armor, the Commander and Captain America were facing each other, both missing their shields for now. It looked like that for the time being, both of them had forgotten Tony was even there.
J.A.R.V.I.S., however, had not, and Tony let out a startled yell as the armor fired up and shot him up to the sky, away from the fight that was still very much happening.
“J, we need to help Cap,” Tony protested.
“Your safety comes first,” the AI argued.
“I’m safe inside the armor,” Tony pointed out. “If it starts looking bad, we’ll re-evaluate the situation.” Really, he was in no condition to have a pointless argument with his AI.
J.A.R.V.I.S. didn’t respond, and Tony would have banged his head against something if he could have, but as it were, he was a passenger inside his own suit until his AI decided to hand over the controls.
Seeing as it had come uncomfortably close to Tony being taken by the Commander again, and how he had dispatched War Machine, Tony kind of saw how J.A.R.V.I.S. might argue the battle field wasn’t the best place for him.
That didn’t mean Tony had to like it, or even agree with it.
to be continued…
Story info