Rise ye sunken ships 3/5
Steve couldn’t think of anything to say to that, had Fury known Peggy too? It all felt too personal to discuss here and now. So he didn’t say anything at all.
“Dismissed.” Fury picked up his glasses again and this time they didn’t look quite so funny.
For the first time, Steve didn’t feel like pestering Tony for food, which to be fair if he didn’t beat Thor there first he was out of luck, let the big guy have a go.
That night he was curled up with Bruce, Thor and Natasha watching America’s Next Top Model (‘Tony, who is Tyra Banks?’ ‘A really good memory, right up there in the top three, I mean that, well maybe top five. It got complicated, still, let me show you.’) Bruce had a notebook balanced on his knees like he was pretending he wasn’t as addicted as the rest of them. There was just something about it that captivated Steve. The birds were not his usual type, so young and vulnerable, but there was something about the viciousness that shone through from time to time that had him rooting for one girl or another.
Natasha was watching it and eating a slice of pizza. The lights casting her skin pale, with a doll-like quality given by her blank stare. Steve knew it had to be her who was reporting to Fury about him, but he couldn’t confront her about it. What would he say? He couldn’t be sure it wasn’t true.
At least Tyra Banks was a good distraction.
~~
Tony was a flurry of manic movement and intent. He was also half in the ceiling and raining dust and plaster all over a junior agent that was holding the ladder steady.
Steve couldn’t help but smile, he grabbed the ladder and nodded at the relieved looking agent. His hair and suit jacket were coasted in plaster and he looked thoroughly miserable.
“John, Jake, what’s your name, pass me the amp-meter, I need something slightly more sophisticated than my phone for this.”
“What’s that look like?” Steve asked, looking at Tony’s expensive shoes and the hems of his jeans.
“Oh, you’re, Steve when did you get there? You were not there before were you? I’m not the best with faces but I think I’d remember you. For the novelty you see?” Tony babbled, giving him a quick smile.
Steve didn’t.
“It’s the yellow one with the square face and the red and black leads.” That was half of the bag of goodies at the base of the ladder. “Do you need me to come down or can you hold it steady?” Tony looked actually interested in his answer so Steve smiled at him.
“I can hold it.”
The one on the left looked promising. Holding the ladder steady with one hand he bent to snag the little meter and pass it up to Tony. Tony gave him a wolfish smile before disappearing back into the ceiling like a gremlin (another movie night favourite). The room was filled with the strum of a guitar followed by something that sounded like a cross between a cat and raw electricity wailing away from Tony’s pants.
“Ah, phone. Steve, back pocket, just say hello and it will pick up.”
Steve blushed to think what anyone walking by would think if they saw him right now. He gingerly fished the phone out of Tony’s pocket while he made fake little breathy moans. “Stop that Tony.” He snapped, shifting the ladder to his other hand so he could press the phone, which looked nothing like a phone to his face.
“Hello?” He said hesitantly.
“Tony, what the hell was that last night?” The voice was angry and female.
“Sorry? Tony’s in the ceiling.” Steve said, trying to sound certain and not at all like he knew anything about whatever happened last night. He didn’t, but it was best to be sure where Tony was involved.
“Tell him he knows the rules, this is the one gala he can’t miss, and he can’t cancel it.” She snapped and Steve figured out that it was probably Ms. Potts on the line. He felt a little better about that, if there was one thing he didn’t want to deal with it was trying to field one of Tony’s angry mistresses, he would jump on a grenade for the guy but he couldn’t do that.
“I know what’s she’s saying, tell her it’s my gala, I can do what I want.” Tony called down, voice muffled by whatever he was doing.
“Tell him that excuse doesn’t fly next week, we have the same argument every year.” Ms. Potts sighed loudly, speaking almost simultaneously. This was clearly a tango they both knew the step to. She was the only person Steve knew who could talk as fast as Tony, and when they talked to each other it was like watching two songbirds trying to compete, each trying to be that much louder. “Just, remind him that he can’t miss his own father’s memorial gala.”
Steve choked on something invisible and hard. He swallowed. “Tell her you’ll go instead, you knew him.” Tony’s voice was muffled with a faint echo from filtering down through the white-wash tile.
“I.” Steve wasn’t sure what to say, it didn’t seem like they could hear each other but they were doing fine without him actually passing the messages. “I knew Howard.” He said at last, sounding normal enough out loud. “Could... I go too? I mean Tony sort of said I could.”
“Oh.” Ms. Potts paused, but only for a moment. “Of course, I am speaking to Steve Rogers I presume?”
“Yes ma’am.” He replied.
“I’ll put you on the guest list and have an invitation delivered immediately.” Nothing short of bullets and explosions could shake her; then again she had worked for Tony for years now. Steve admired that most about her.
They said their pleasantries and ended the call; Tony continued to bang around in the ceiling occasionally mumbling things to himself.
They hadn’t really talked about Howard since that one aborted attempt. It wasn’t for lack of wanting. Tony found a way of out those conversations before they could even really begin like he had a sixth sense for avoiding emotional situations. When Steve did try it was like trying to defuse a bomb with a blindfold, one wrong word and Tony was simply gone.
Eventually he was satisfied with whatever was going on inside the ceiling and Steve realized he’d been musing while staring at Tony’s thighs. Denim seared into his eyes even when he blinked he could see the outline of Tony’s keys in his front pocket. He looked away quickly.
“Thanks, you’re an excellent prop, good thing to see millions of dollars of government funding being put to such good use.” Tony smiled at him, wide and shit-eating. He looked exhausted, the haunted shadows under his eyes deeper than usual. Steve wondered if everything was okay, was he sleeping?
“Just doing my part.” Steve replied smartly. Tony sniffed.
“Any Dick, John or Sarah could hold the ladder and ogle my junk.” Steve gaped at him and Tony laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Look, I need to check a few more of the alarm nodes manually, the initial wiring is messy and won’t hold the power re-flow systems I have coded. If you want to follow me around holding the ladder feel free.”
“That sounds... thrilling.” Steve mumbled.
“I pride myself in being able to show a guy a good time.” Tony winked at him and sashayed down the hall with an exaggerated hip sway that would do his assistant’s ridiculous shoes proud. Best not to ever think about that.
Steve was brave, he was a soldier. “Tony, wait. I need to talk about something.”
“Is this about the dinosaurs? Because I saw the briefing notes, I know Fury didn’t say I could see them, but he never said I couldn’t.”
“No-“ But Tony, being Tony talked right on over him like a runaway car.
“Still, it doesn’t count as stealing if he doesn’t know right? You’re not going to tell are you Cap? Because even if you do there isn’t a system alive that could keep me out if I had the time to sweet talk her out of her secrets. So it’s really like she’s giving it to me, not stealing at all.”
“Tony.” Steve laughed. Fury had to know that Tony would stick his fingers everywhere, wanted or not.
“Hear me out, oh exalted one, I read over the analysis Bruce did on the tissue samples and whatever xenobiologst-slash-palaeontologists were all wet for.”
Tony could mean literally wet, but the chances were slim. Steve chose not to comment on that.
“Same basic structure as earth-life, carbon based, in fact highly their genetic structure in an initial pass shows some of the same major genes as humans. Cells have a lipid bi-layer membrane and the same overall structure. All very interesting for the hippies.” Tony waved his hands about, scrunching his nose around the words. Tony didn’t do organics unless G-forces were involved, and only then to ensure he wasn’t going to mash his own internal organs into a Sunday dinner side, Tony’s words not Steve’s. “But, that does make you wonder, where are they coming from? I refuse to believe that the key to understanding evolutionary life and wiping creationists faces in it comes from Newark.”
“Uhuh.” Bewildered was a good word for it, but he wasn’t about to get a word edgewise when Tony was ranting like his tongue was on fire.
“Damage data, sorry again about the dog they were a lot faster than they looked I didn’t think it would actually catch Fido but to be fair I saved the kid, so that’s like even karma right?-- leads to an overpass which shows no signs of being anything out of a Jules Verne novel, so they had to be dropped there? Right? There must be someone doing this.”
“What you’re saying-“
“What I mean is someone is out there, and they must have the tech to do this and I want it.” Tony grinned at him, lack of sleep met devil may care. “Can I have it?”
“Do you know who has the ability to do something like this?” It was a valid theory, from what he understood from the rambled explanation.
“Genetic experimentation isn’t my forte, that would be you and the Hulk, but I will put our feelers. Yes. I think I have an idea.”
Tony pulled out his phone, Steve could only stand there and watch him, awkwardly holding the ladder while Tony tapped away at his phone. Whatever he was doing in the ceiling could clearly wait for a few more minutes.
“Wont Fury be so mad when I work it out?” Tony bounced on his toes.
“Furious even.” Steve said and Tony threw back his head in a laugh. It was a tactical retreat; in that moment Steve knew he wasn’t going to be able to bring it up today either. Not when Tony was finally warming up to him. Well as much as Tony seemed capable of warming up to someone. Also Steve knew he was awkward, and there was no way confronting Tony was going to be easy. He couldn’t just not do it, he just didn’t have to do it right now when Tony was looking manic with genius and high on whatever problem was racing through his head. He looked a rough approximation of happy.
“Come on Cap, that ladder isn’t going to hold itself and if I fall off a ladder that will be the whole Health and Safety BS completely blown. Then Coulson will tase me blowing the whole thing --twice. Anarchy I tell you.”
~~
Steve had more practice being awkward than most people. He excelled at it. Pinnacle of the human ideal and all that.
He stood feeling out of his depth in a corner of the posh conference room filled to the brim with society’s elite. Women in regal dresses minced around on their spiky shoes, the more daring revealing the curve of their chest or the long sweet line down the back. Dresses certainly were forward now.
It was okay. Steve tried to not look at anything that seemed to be like too much skin. It was difficult but he was doing a bang up job of standing in the corner like one of the many artfully arranged foliage pieces wearing a suit that fit but only just, and desperately wishing there was an easier way to pay homage to Howard’s memory. It helped a little to imagine that Howard would find this completely hysterical.
Tony was nowhere in sight. His girl was working the crowd talking to people and teetering on a pair of shoes that Natasha could beat someone to death with.
The beginning of the night hadn’t been so bad, they called up a bunch of fresh-faced and clearly terrified youths who’d won the Howard Stark scholarship for innovation. Tony had been there for that, all blank smiles and sleazy charm that made the crowd laugh. He’d since vanished. He was probably busy. Now it was time for socializing and Steve didn’t know how to talk to anyone outside of the S.H.E.I.L.D. facility and they all gave him a handicap in conversations that a normal civilian wouldn’t know about. He did realize that he was hiding, but it sounded better if he called it recon in his head.
“Hello, I don’t think I recognize you.” She wasn’t quite purring, but it was a close thing. Steve didn’t have a good track record with sexually aggressive women. “And I know everyone here.”
“Good evening.” He tipped his head politely. She was wearing a blue dress of some slinky material that clung to the sharp juts of her hips. Steve was never going to get over how skinny women made themselves, gone were the curves and sweetness of his time. He didn’t understand the appeal at all.
“I don’t think we’ve met yet.” She prompted again and Steve flushed a little.
“Ah, no, I don’t think so. Hello.” She gave him the same slow smile that would have sent smaller men into retreat. Steve has had things size him up to eat that looked less primal in their hunger. “... Are you enjoying the party?” He tried for polite.
“I am now.” Smile. Steve swallowed.
“That’s good. Very good.” He had no idea what to talk about, “did you know Howard?”
“He died when I was a little girl, how old do you think I am?” It wasn’t quite a pout, it was too smug to be a pout. But it did make the lights catch the high sheen of her lips so that they sparkled attractively.
“Young, I didn’t mean that in a bad way, I mean you look young-just. I’m sorry.”
“Calm down big boy, I was just playing with you.” Steve swallowed hard, he could freely admit in that moment if asked, that he was terrified.
Which was when Ms. Potts found him. She swayed over, gave the woman and assessing gaze that was shockingly cold.
“Are you having a nice evening Ms. Everhart? Mr. Rogers?” If a tone could cut hers would have chopped the woman in half, but she was made of stronger stuff than that and nodded her head like she had no idea Pepper didn’t seem to like her very much at all.
“Good evening Ms. Potts.” Steve replied, giving her a look that was probably more desperation than anything else; he should probably feel a little ashamed about that. Pepper’s gaze warmed up a little, painted lips curling in a faint smile as she looked at him.
“I’d like to say after six months as CEO, you’ve done miracles for the image of Stark Industries, it can’t have been easy.” The blonde’s entire demeanour changed, back straightening and chin held high, challenge in her eyes. She was still all predator but she’d scented something she wanted more. Of course, Ms. Potts could wrangle Tony when not even Fury could rein him in eve with all the force of the government of the US of A behind him. Steve was promptly forgotten as they metaphorically circled each other.
“The company has always been strong; Mr. Stark still handles large parts of the research and development divisions in addition to his duties as Iron Man.” The answer was flat; it seemed planned like it wasn’t the first time she’d had to say this.
“And as a powerful woman how do you feel about the over-masculinised aspects of this new wave of ‘super heroes’?”
“I feel better knowing Mr. Stark has found better outlets for his... energy. Steve, if you would walk with me, I need your assistance. Ms. Everhart, have a fabulous evening.” She threaded her arm through his and used her slight weight to tug him into motion. He stumbled after her, being led away from his safety corner by her fingers pressing threateningly against the inside of his elbow.
“Who was that?” Steve asked while Ms. Potts smiled in a politely dismissive manner at a man who waved at them, the expression was the exact same one Tony got when he didn’t want to talk to someone. It was uncanny.
“A vulture.” She hissed back before visibly drawing herself back together, she eased up the grip on his arm a little. “Journalist for Vanity Fair, she specializes in Tony.”
“Where is he? I saw him make a speech earlier.”
“With any luck hiding in a closet with a bottle of wine and a bottle of whisky, if he is still here. If not, he’s in Beijing buying a high-rise to host an orgy.”
“What?” Steve’s mind boggled at so much of that.
“Hope he’s here.” She dragged him towards a door set unobtrusively in the background marked ‘STAFF ONLY’, make no mistake about whom was escorting whom here she was completely behind the wheel. “I’m going to need you to drag him out of whatever hole he’s climbed into. He’s heavier than he looks and Rhodie or Happy normally does this with me but they can’t right now and Tony needs to give a speech.” She didn’t look angry, just resigned. Steve had figured by now that they had a set pattern for the day.
They did find Tony, and he was actually in a closet with a bottle of red wine. It had stained his mouth a deep red and he flicked his tongue against his lips staring up at Ms. Potts blurrily.
“Pep. You found me, I was beginning to wonder if I would need to find the door handle myself. It’s wily.” His smile was wide and completely unfocused. He looked well and truly trashed.
“Oh Tony, you know the drill by now, it’s time for your speech. Just like last year Tony.”
“Like pulling off a band-aid right?” He slurred, the words, stopping to repeat himself slowly. “Help me up.”
The first attempt was a false start; he teetered wildly until Steve caught him and hauled him up by the shoulders. He was lighter than he looked, or maybe his personality took up so much space that he just seemed larger than he was. Steve held him steady with an arm around his elbow, Tony listed a little to the side before correcting himself.
“Hey there Cap, I didn’t see you. Come to watch the freak show? Oh hey, have you ever seen me pee in the suit, it’s awesome.” The conviction with which he said that really should have been funny but Steve was actually worried that Tony had managed to poison himself this time. Steve did sort of wonder how Tony went bathroom with the suit on, but figured that Tony was a genius and had something figured out. Or he just held it.
“You’re not wearing the suit right now Tony.” Ms. Potts said severely and Tony twisted so he was resting his head on Steve’s shoulder and could look at her properly. He kept leaning left but Steve had a strong grip on his shoulders and waist now. It was lucky that the gala was happening in the reception hall so there was no one in the hallway when Tony emerged blinking from his closet. Of course with the reputation that Stark had made for himself in public it wasn’t like anyone would be shocked by the photographs, still Steve was thankful on Tony’s behalf. He didn’t want anyone to see Tony like this.
“Right, see I knew that.” He smiled fondly at Pepper. “But you reminded me. What would I do without you?” She made a huffing sound but didn’t answer him.
“You’re going to feel awful tomorrow.” He mumbled to Tony. Once during the war he’d hid Bucky in an old barrel of wine, and he’d come out looking less green than Tony but smelling much the same.
“I feel awful now, what’s the difference? It doesn’t matter.” Tony had looked awful at the beginning of the night and he was a rumpled mess now, and not in the way he usually did (like he’d been rolling in bed a moment before) but actually awful. Steve hadn’t been human by the strictest definition for a long time, but he could remember the weak sickly feeling writ all over Tony’s face.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” He sort of meant it as an honest question and sort of as an observation on Tony’s life style. From what Steve could tell Tony hadn’t been sleeping well in the last few weeks.
“It’s tradition, right Pep? You don’t mess with tradition.” Steve looked at her over Tony’s head and she just blinked at him like this was completely normal talk. Between the two of them, someone had to realize that alcohol poisoning was not an acceptable tradition, no matter what Tony said Steve wasn’t biased about these things because he couldn’t get drunk himself.
“Steve just get him backstage, I’ll do the rest from there, I need to find a stool.” With that she’ veered off down an adjoining hall, determined clicking echoing back to them.
“I don’t see why she doesn’t get the stool ready in advance; I can never stand for this part.” Tony made a sort of laugh like a deflating balloon. “Watch, all those idiots will clap anyways because that’s what tonight is about.”
“What?” Steve asked as Tony tried to shrug him off but Steve gripped him harder, hauling him closer he was bigger than Tony he couldn’t escape unless Steve wanted him to. His suit was being wrinkled beyond comparison and the seams were straining at the rough treatment, but it was holding together. He’d had to ask Coulson as politely as he could where he could get a suit and the other man had looked him up and down like he was measuring him with his brain and said it would be taken care of.
“Me, making a fool out of myself while they judge. It would make my father proud.” It was said with a smile so fake it made Steve’s teeth hurt. “This is Howard’s night. I’ve managed to disappoint him from beyond the grave, it’s about tradition you see. This was my mother’s favourite wine, she died on the same night.”
“Tony, that’s-“
“A long time ago.” Tony managed to shake him off, standing on his own before beginning a jerky sort of shuffled down the hall, one hand trailing the wall as a balance point. “Also, shut me up. I get drunk and I talk, and usually it’s only Happy here and he’s bound by contract to keep my secrets. Drunk secrets. I kissed a girl and I liked it” Tony sang softly to himself.
“Your mother, she wasn’t your biological mother was she?” This was probably emotional manipulation. Tony was vulnerable and Steve was an awful person because he was going to press that to his advantage; this was a now or never kind of moment.
“That old rumour? Get with the times Encino Man.” Tony ginned at him maliciously and Steve bit the end of his tongue. It was probably better that he didn’t understand the reference. “My biological Mom was too busy for me, died before I could disappoint her too.”
“She’d never be disappointed in you.” It came out harsher, almost a snap. Tony stopped, rolling along the wall until his back was flat against it, resting his head steady and he could try and focus on Steve’s face. “She would have loved you.” His expression was somewhere between anger and acute sick.
“What did you know my mom too?” Moment of truth. Not for the first time Steve wished the champagne he had been sipping earlier would have some sort of physiological affect on him.
“I loved Peggy Carter.” Past tense still hurt like ripping something from inside him, but it also felt so good to say out loud to someone who knew her or at least meant something to her.
Tony burst out laughing so hard he knocked himself off balance and his knees hit the tiled floor with a loud crack that made Steve wince. It looked painful, but Tony didn’t seem to care
“You’re fucking kidding me. That’s a pretty sick joke Cap, I need more drink. Stat.” The words came out between giggles. Steve wasn’t sure what to do, so he stood there and watched Tony turn progressively more flushed as he gasped for breath around the hysteria. It hurt Steve’s chest something fierce. There was a small vicious part of him that wanted to shake Tony until he stopped laughing. This was supposed to mean something, fix something. Steve felt worse than ever.
“What did you do, I only left you alone for five minutes! We need to be back stage two and a half minutes ago,” Pepper (she was Pepper now, eyes snapping with anger) “Tony, get up.”
“Yes,” giggle “ma’am.” He clawed his way up the wall. “I can walk myself, you, stay over there. You... dirty... dirty man.” Tony started off down the hall on his own, losing the wall from time to time as he swayed in the other direction but making a good clip despite the pronounced stagger. Pepper arched a single perfect eyebrow at him before trotting off after Tony making off sort of clucking sounds.
Steve found his way back to the main room, sitting down hard in his little corner and listened to Tony lie through his teeth. He was sitting on a stool, one arm hooked around it so he wasn’t swaying too visibly. Two ladies next to him were talking lowly ‘this is my favourite part, he’s pissed again isn’t he?’ ‘Do you think I could get him to take me home?’ Someone else was filming it on their phone. Still he was startlingly eloquent for his blood alcohol content, must be all the practice.
Try as he might Steve couldn’t imagine Tony young, not with all the naivety that came with being a child; he would need to look it up one day. Did Peggy visit him? It was hard to believe that she’d meant to get pregnant, not when Stark was married to Maria (from what he could piece together from google Howard married Maria around when Tony was born). There wasn’t such a thing as a mother who didn’t love her child. He’d pictured their children, their life together; and in his idle fantasies she was a ferocious mother. She would have loved Tony with her whole heart. Only the fact that she didn’t stick around after he was born and Steve wasn’t sure why.
Ms. Potts came on after him to usher him off the stage, saying a few last words to the audience and to congratulate the winners of the night again on their achievements. Steve clapped with everyone else and decided to call it a night when he saw Ms. Everhart catch his eye; clearly scenting some sort of story in him (she was right of course, but he wasn’t at liberty to tell it).
~~
“I’m sorry.” JARVIS said, and he sounded actually contrite. “I’ve been given orders to tell you in the event that you attempted to visit the mansion that Tony is in Thailand, or Japan, maybe Canada. Or that he has the plague, which would you like deterred by today Captain Rogers?”
“So he’s inside.” Steve frowned at the monitor that showed a video feed of him standing in front of the doors apparently talking to himself.
“Affirmative.”
“But he’s told you to tell me he’s got the plague?” Steve frowned harder.
“Or that he had business away, both of which I have told you.”
“Is he mad at me?” They hadn’t spoken since the fiasco at Howard’s dinner. Tony had shown hide nor hair in headquarters. He missed movie night. Steve had never been avoided before and he was finding that he didn’t really like it.
“It’s not my place to speculate on Mr. Stark’s moods.” JARVIS said politely. “However, should you wish to visit in a few days I am sure he will be back from his trip and have gotten over the plague.” Despite himself Steve couldn’t help but smile at the dry accented tones. Leave Tony to make his AI more human than he was.
“I’ll do that. Thank you, have a nice day JARVIS.”
“And you too Captain Rogers.”
Except that the first thing he got upon returning to HQ was Natasha in a pair of jogging pants and a pony tail, standing in the middle of the lobby surrounded by people in suits and still looking like the most professional person there. “Emergency meeting, follow me.”
“Do you have any idea what’s it’s about?” He followed her into the elevator where she glared at the lone man in there until he scurried out looking pale. Steve would have apologized to him, but being bullied by Natasha and Coulson was some sort of hazing ritual (as Clint explained it in great and vivid detail then tried to explain to Steve that this didn’t break some sort of human rights code.)
“Stark’s called us to assemble.” She made a face like she was sucking on a lemon. “If it is something frivolous I am going to dig out his eyeballs with a spoon and feed it to Loki’s demon dogs when they attack as a special treat. Genius or not I will not put up with his shit.” She spit the curse word.
“Would he do that?”
Natasha pursed her lips and looked at him. “It’s not outside of his personality. You that know your faith in him is displaced.” It wasn’t really a question, and she was pinning him to the glass walls with her startlingly green eyes.
“I think he’s capable of it.” Steve hedged.
“What I can’t figure out is why you’ve fixated on him. If this is about owing Howard for the serum he won’t thank you for it. You’re only going to hurt him when he fails you.”
“It’s not that.” Steve began, but the doors dinged open and Natasha stepped out, Steve following on her heels. It wasn’t so much being a gentleman to let her go first as she was faster than him. “It’s complicated.”
Natasha gave him a flat look over her shoulder before she nodded curtly. “Yes sir.” She was putting her trust in him. The thought was a little disconcerting because he knew her point was a valid one. Tony was volatile and prone to fits of emotion that made him difficult to handle.
Tony was bouncing on his toes when they made it into the conference room, he was wearing a pair of dark aviators that hid his eyes, and a pinstripe suit all undone; he looked like he might have actually slept in it at some point.
“That’s about everyone.” He clapped. Thor smirked at him, he was sipping from a massive mug that said in block letters ‘Don’t bug me before my coffee’. A gag gift that showed up in their tiny kitchen one day with a note that simply read ‘Reuse me’ on it; probably Jane or Darcy. Clint was lounging across his chair and propped on the one next to it. Natasha kicked his chair as she walked by and he flipped her off lazily. He looked pretty tired for mid-afternoon. Bruce was sitting at the end quietly, blank look on his face that said he was pretty deep in his own head, and it would be best to bring him out of it slowly. Coulson was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way. It’s in your contract; not even in the fine print, size 24 bold, you need to be a good boy.” Clint said grinned at him, lazy and languorous like a large cat.
“Yes mother.” Tony snapped, flinched, paused, coughed, and waved his hand in a sharp dismissive motion. “Whatever.”
“Stark.” Natasha arched her eyebrow at him.
“Don’t look at me like that; it makes me think you’re skinning me with your eyes.” He snapped at her, looking put out.
“That’s because I am.” She said back and Tony clutched at his chest.
“That hurts you know. It’s a good thing I know how good you are at pretending.”
“Just get on with it.” She hissed at him as Coulson walked into the room to take his seat and Tony sort of shrugged.
“Good news, I think I know where the dinosaurs are coming from.” He tapped some keys on his phone and something in the ceiling whirled to life projecting an image on the white wall. There was a photo of a white haired old man in a floppy hat with a cane. “Meet John Hammond, tycoon from the amusement park industry and amateur geneticist, well more like a hobby, he dabbles I assume. Tell me Dr. Banner can you be a geneticist dabbler? I believe this is your field. Anyways a number of years ago he heard of my hobby of programming AIs and approached me. He wanted to make life-like dinosaurs for his theme park, wanted me to code them. I was busy changing the world and told my AI to tell him where he could shove it, which may have been a bit of a dick move in retrospect.”
Clint snorted, while Coulson remained unimpressed looking. Steve on the other hand knew what it was like to get the brush off from JARVIS, and if he could catch Tony he’d need to talk to him about that.
“Anyways, he didn’t hold it against me; a few years ago he came looking for investors in a new shady project he was running. I think Pepper showed him the door that time, Stark Industries had enough to do at the time, and about a year ago we met at a dinner, notable only because when I threw up on the waiter it was because of shrimp and not gin, and he’s talking about how his new park was almost ready to open and there was still an investment opportunity. Yadda yadda, something about a new park that was part amusement part safari but with an edge that was going to blow away anything on the current market. So I called him up a few days ago, he agreed to give me a sneak peak.”
“You what?” Coulson and Steve hissed at the same time and Tony grinned at them, it shouldn’t be possible to look that much like an asshole.
“Well I asked him if he knew anything about the dinosaurs running around on the streets.”
“That was not the proper channel of authority Mr. Stark.” Coulson looked a step away from shooting Tony on the spot.
“Coulson’s right Tony, you should have come to us before approaching directly.” Steve got the feeling that Tony was glaring at him through his mirrored shades. His lips pressed into a thin irritated line, shifting from the smug smile.
“You are not allowed to do that, not after what you did.” Tony pointed at him, “I am not listening to you at all, in fact, you’re not even here.”
“Mature.” Steve snapped at him his temper threatening to flash up. Everyone was staring at him now with varying degrees of curiosity.
“As for you,” he looked at Coulson, “I wasn’t briefed in on this mission -seeing as I am a consultant and all that-- so it was officially just one genius billionaire checking up on those less handsome, less brilliant, and frankly less filthy filthy rich than he. Which honestly covers just about everyone in the world. I talk to who I want to.” Steve bit back something harsh-‘doesn’t play well with others’.
“Stark.” Coulson bit.
“Agent.” Tony smiled back, unrepentant, clapping and rubbing his palms together. “Anyways, as it turns out, the company he contracted to help with the genetic engineering, one Transgene Incorporated, turned out to be a little on the shady side, which he seemed actually shocked by. He thinks they kept some of the samples for further tampering, and those are the ones we have been seeing.”
“Could they have escaped from his park?” Natasha tapped her long varnished nails on the glass table top as she spoke. It was the same rhythm that Tony tapped against things when he was thinking. Steve wondered if it meant anything.
“Improbable, the park is on a small island in South East Asia where the ethics laws are less strict, given he’s lost a few staff moving the creatures. Besides if you were an escaped dinosaur living the high life, why would you choose to go to Newark? Anyways the company has an R&D around here and the creatures spotted seem to be modified, bigger and more vicious than the initial breeds. It’s not like we have any other leads right now.”
“Excellent.” Clapped Thor. “Perhaps they have more of those lizards, they are a most interesting adversary. I think I’d like one.”
“Me too big guy.” Tony grinned at him. Steve was still angry, mildly impressed at what Tony was capable of when he put his mind to it, but mostly angry at him for behaving like a child.
“Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, there was a call, a small herd of flying creatures has been spotted circling the Empire building, they can spit acid. They have already killed three civilians and put several more in the ER. The two of you are to take care of it, the rest of you are to head to the facility and investigate.”
“Hey. That was my lead.” Tony protested. “I never said you could have it.”
“Deal with it,” Coulson snapped. “You’re needed elsewhere, Avengers Assemble. Tony, shut up, get your suit and get to work.”
Tony flashed them a dirty look on his way out the door, Steve didn’t envy Natasha for her mission. It wasn’t going to be an easy one; Tony was going to be in a tiff. She stood up and made for the ready room where her outfit and weapons were stored. Bruce stared at Coulson with that tight lipped look he gave whenever he was mentally grappling with the fact that he was going to have to knowingly unleash the monster. What it must be like inside his head.
“Let’s suit up too.” Steve stood.
“Woah, woah, not so fast, what did you do to Tony?” Clint was staring at him, eyes like a bead on his face, sniper scope precision when he was interested in something. “This sounds big; whatever you did really put his panties in a real twist. I want to know. I mean this is Stark.” At least he was blunt.
“It’s personal.” Steve said, but Clint just sort of smiled at him. Steve liked to think that meant he would drop it. But he knew better, and he knew Clint was better at getting secrets out of people than that, his smile showed a little too many teeth to be sincere. “We don’t have time for it now.”
“Sure man.” Clint pushed himself standing in one graceful sort of twisting motion. “Let’s roll.”
Thor gave him a soft look. “Brothers in arms shouldn’t fight, nothing good ever comes of it.”
“I know.” Steve smiled at Thor and he nodded in return.
The Captain America suit wasn’t designed to be easy to put on, it was designed to be difficult to get through. Some sort of really snazzy high-tec weave. Steve figured the best way was to simply not get hit. He wiggled into the tight outfit, letting the whole thing zip up the side, fastening hidden by the material itself.
“Dude, do I like need to be worried about you seeing my wang?” Clint leered at him out of the corner of his eye.
“What?” Steve’s fingers slipped on the small zipper.
“I mean, that’s got to be it right? This weird little romancing thing you and Tony have been doing has finally come to a head, ba-dum cha, and you pulled something overly kinky with him. Did you not honour his safe word? Because that’s totally not cool.”
“What?” He repeated and frowned hard at Clint. Then stopped because he dropped the jeans he was wearing along with his pale blue boxers displaying his pale bottom. Steve glared at him sharply. “Not funny.”
“Well I’m just saying, I am a high quality piece of ass and if you’re working through sixty years of homosexual liberation, I think I have the right to be a little worried. Better watch out Thor, you are grade A prime man-meat.”
“Should you wish to engage in delicious sexual contact with me Captain Rogers, I am bound to inform you that my Lady Jane would also like to take part.”
“I- What?” Clint sputtered and Thor clapped him on the back booming with laughter. It was impossible to tell if he was joking or not. Steve wasn’t sure which one he wanted to believe if he was going to be honest, the idea left him feeling more than a little uncomfortable. Not because it was true, but the implications, and yes that was in the briefing note, things like that were okay now. Still. Repress and ignore. “I- you can’t just drop something on us like that. I am never going to get rid of that mental image now.”
“Stop messing around.” Steve pulled the cowl down over his face, sealing up the seams with a touch and Clint wiggled into the black outfit, fingers flying over the catches with the ease of repetitive motion. He hooked himself into the harness and pulled on his gloves. Thor managed to pull on his battle armour quite quickly for how complicated it looked.
“Do you think anyone would notice if we took one. I’m sure Stark could find a place to put it.” Thor grinned looking gleeful again. He always did go into a bit of a sulk whenever something would remind him too strongly of Loki.
“I’m sure he could.” Clint said. They were suited up and from there it was only a quick flight of stairs up to the helicopter pad.
“They would make a most wondrous pet, one of those big ones from before, I wish to see one.”
“Roger.” Clint said, shooing the pilot out of the seat so he could strap himself instead, he flicked through the pre-flights quickly. The control panel was confusing; it was full of dials and switches, gauges all spilling out numbers. Between Clint and Natasha they could handle any sort of land, air or sea vehicles, their files were inches thick and in parts redacted almost completely in some parts. Now they were valuable assets. Steve had crashed a plane once, he couldn’t even drive.
“Switching to live com, Hawkeye checking in.”
“Thor, Prince of Asgard.”
“Captain America checking in.” The radios were tiny, and yet the feed was so clear it was like standing next to them.
The jolt of the helicopter lifting off always made his stomach dip. The rotor made the whole body vibrate before it reached cruising speed. Clint pulled them high into the afternoon sky tipping forwards and flying off to the East.
“Black Widow’s report incoming:” Hawkeye said, the helmet obscuring him from view almost completely. “Five more civilian deaths, Iron Man is on the scene, Hulk and Black Widow ETA five minutes.”
“Keep in contact as long as you can.”
Steve wasn’t worried, no more than he ever was going on a mission, meaning there was always a small part of him that knew just how easy it was for everything to go wrong at any given moment. Thor aside the others were all fully mortal. Honour their choices.
They arrived onto a scene of chaos, sirens were blaring all around the massive complex, wailing with a rising and falling pitch that seemed to indicate panic universally. The whole building was squat and completely uninteresting from the outside. It looked like any of the surrounding area’s buildings. Few windows, and a large loading bay attached to the side. This was the direction they approached from as it would probably offer the easiest access in a pinch.
“It looks like we have arrived just in time.” Thor walked up to the gate and simply jumped over the seven foot fence, his red cape spilled out behind him like a banner and he landed gracefully for someone of his size.
“Show off.” Clint hissed. He scaled the fence like one of those weasel things they had in Europe, twisting and wriggling through the barbed wire without too much trouble to land lightly on the other side himself. “Let’s go.”
Steve looked at the fence. He probably couldn’t get through the barbed wire in the way Clint did, nor was he really sure he could do it the same way Thor did. He backed up a few meters, took a run at it and used the shield to clear the top of the barbed wire it scraped across the surface but was no match for vibranium, flipping in the air to land on the other side the whole fence rattling behind him.
“The judges give it a six out of ten, better luck next time kid.” Hawkeye laughed, and he was sprinting towards the large loading bay doors. Thor clapped Steve on the back and took after Hawkeye at a loping pace. Steve took off after them resisting the urge to smile at their antics. Honestly.
The door didn’t hold up under Thor’s hammer, he had no care for the privacy laws of mortals; there were giant lizards on the other side to be had.
The inside was pretty bland, lit orangey with emergency lighting and little else. It was a little anti-climactic actually, with all the sirens Steve had expected a little more from the inside. A few steps in and they all tensed as something in a doorway moved, but it was only a man.
“Help, you’ve got to help.” The security guard was covered in blood, eyes wide and clutching a wound at his side which was painting his whole midsection in dark red. “They’ve escaped.”
“We’ve come to help.” Steve said, trying for soothing holding out his free hand in a calming gesture. The man was obviously rapidly going into shock. “What can you tell us about the situation?”
“Something, something is attacking.” He sagged against the wall, staring out past them to the ruined door. “I don’t know what happened. The quarantine systems failed to initiate, the power went down. They got Paul while we were investigating, they, they ripped him apart.” He said the last part softly like he wasn’t even sure himself of it.
He pushed off the wall and towards the exit without looking back at them. Steve hoped he made it to safety.
“Split up, we need to quarantine as much of the area as we can and subdue the threat, Hawkeye, see if you can get the systems to work.” If the man was right there was a way of closing off the area, the top priority was to stop any more from being released to the public.
“On it.”
The building was a mess, the surface floor was mostly offices but something had been through here, there were drag marks on the floor, fresh blood browning around the edges with time. Something that had crawled out of into the air vent, the metal grating was pushed outwards as if it had been hit with something strong. He didn’t have a chance of following it, he would never fit inside the air vents. There wasn’t much else to be found on that level. There were a lot of computer terminals but he wouldn’t be able to get information out of any of them so he pressed onwards instead.
While the building looked squat and boring from the outside the fire escape schematic he found on the wall indicated that the facility had many large basement levels. On emergency power none of the elevators he found were functioning, but he did find a door, the lock was no match for his foot when he kicked it in. The next locked door he hit the handle straight off with his shield and it opened nice and easy after that.
It was the first basement level were things got interesting. The walls were concrete wash, and the doors were larger less office more industrial. That was where Steve ran into the first creatures, they were short, stumpy and plated like turtles with an attitude problem, there was only two of them, not too bad odds. It crouched low when he stepped around the corner making a braying sort of sound to alert the other. Its tail came up and swishing behind it, the tail looked deadly, the end seemed to be made of knotted bone the rest thick and meaty; would probably pack quite a wallop if it hit him with it. The slightly smaller one was behind and it hissed at him.
He threw the shield and it slammed right into the armoured head of the larger one. It staggered to the side, short stumpy legs giving under the pressure as it listed sideways. The shield banged low off the wall and flew back towards his knees where he caught it. The second one moved fast for its odd shape, jumping sideways and swinging at him with the ball. It slammed into the shield and the impact travelled all the way up his arm and he grit his teeth, lashing out with a swift kick to the creature’s sturdy head.
“Report from Black Widow,” Hawkeye’s voice echoed a little down the line like he was standing in a large room. “They have almost dealt with the situation at the Empire State building. S.H.E.I.L.D. has dispatched transport; she’ll meet up with us as soon as she can. Iron Man and the Hulk are down.”
“What happened?” Steve, kicked it again to keep it at distance, throat closing up in a small wave of acute panic, and slammed the edge of his shield right into its face. He didn’t have time for them.
“It seems the acid they spit got into the suit at close range, and disrupted the flight mechanisms. The Hulk was injured attempting to slow Iron Man’s fall.”
Steve stamped on the other one’s head until it stopped moving. Worry made his stomach churn; he shouldn’t Tony after all was too stubborn to die. (But that hadn’t saved Peggy or Howard now had it?) Enemies both neutralized so he continued onwards.
“Any luck with initiating the quarantine protocol?” He’d need to think about Tony later, the mission must always come first, there might be more survivors that needed his help.
“I have found a pocket of scientists in hiding, they informed me that the quarantine mechanism should have activated but as it should have triggered there was a problem with the power. The system needs to be reset basement level 3.” Thor joined the conversation.
“On it.” Hawkeye replied.
Part 4