Only Moreso - Hypomania - 2/3
Series title: Only Moreso - Hypomania
Rating: T
Genre: angst, drama
Fandom: Marvel-199999
Warnings: more mental illness stigma, off screen mention of Tony being tortured (although this chapter proper is pretty much warning free)
Summary: He covers his chest with a palm and winces. "That stings, Rhodey, that hurts my heart. But seriously, my time could be better spent in the lab."
"Right," Rhodey says dryly, "because you spend every waking minute in the lab when you're in a mood like this, instead of drinking and chasing skirts."
"And pants." Tony gives Rhodey a pleased-with-himself smirk. He's not even going to deny that he's in a mood (because he is; he's learned to recognize the signs over the years and how to cope with it). "Don't forget I chase pants, too."
Rhodey rolls his eyes.
A/n: The last two sections are gonna be Steve/Tony, so if that ain't your bag, this is last call for alcohol gen (such as this has ever been gen). And credit where it's due -- I lifted almost all the dialog straight from the script. Of course, since this is set in Tony's head, there's still plenty to see.
"Tony, who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you." Obie asks with a snake-in-the-grass smile.
Briefly too stunned for words, Tony watches as Obie saunters away. His fists clench, his nails biting into the flesh of his palm as he tries to mask his betrayal. Why didn't he see this coming? He should have, he thinks as he tries to ignore the way his stomach is trying to eat itself, choosing instead to focus on the heat flashing through him. Obie can't be trusted and Tony will not allow anyone to stop him from making Yinsen's sacrifice worth it.
Obidiah Stane's days at SI are numbered. The clock is ticking and Tony is angry.
*
What he finds when he goes through the files Pepper got for him is horrifying -- SI has been double dealing with terrorist, drug rings, and insurgents across the planet for years. Tony bites his lip and flushes with appalled shame. He'd been too self absorbed and too weak to pursue the little doubts that niggled at him on bad nights -- is the line we don't cross drawn in sand or carved in stone?
Tony stumbles across the video, which he only vaguely recalls the filming of (he closes his eyes for a brief second when he remembers wooziness and the rough yank of a sack off his head), reading the translation captions at the bottom. Paid us trinkets to kill a prince, huh? Tony smiles bitterly. Thanks, Obie. He pushes that away and looks again at the shipping manifestos. There are so many and he knows the only reason he goes for the ones in Afghanistan right off the bat is because of Yinsen. How selfish of him, he thinks as he has JARVIS run a trace and suits up.
*
It almost feels like being electrified and he can't breathe. Obie turns off his nasty little device and leans close to Tony. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it; there's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." He shifts to rest an elbow next to Tony's head. "When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But I'm so glad that you survived, Tony, because you had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea that it's all yours? Your father gave us the atomic bomb. What kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish and weak as you are?"
Obie puts something heavy against Tony's chest and pushes down around the edges of the arc reactor, and Tony can feel the tug of cords coming loose inside him as Obie pulls it out. The man admires his prize for a moment. "Oh, it's beautiful, Tony -- this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that! This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart," he says pleasedly, grinning as he taps Tony's chest. "Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands." Obie stands up and steps out of Tony's field of vision, and Tony can hear the man's nasty grin. "I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... well, not as conservative as yours." He leans down to look at Tony again and adds, "Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived."
Oh fuck Tony thinks, and an image of a bloody and empty-eyed Pepper dances across his psyche above the pain before barely contained panic sets in.
*
"Time to hit the button!" Tony hollers as he dances around Obie's shots, his stomach churning with fear that he's going to fail Yinsen by loosing.
"You told me not to!" Pepper says, shifting anxiously in Tony's peripheral vision and staring up at him.
"Hold still, you little prick!" Obie calls, frustration starting to tinge his words.
Tony slips, barely catching on to the skylight bars and clinging with all he's got. "Just do it!"
"You'll die!"
And? "Push it!" he urges. If it means taking out Obie, Tony will take dying.
Pepper pushes the button and it all goes dark.
Next >>
Rating: T
Genre: angst, drama
Fandom: Marvel-199999
Warnings: more mental illness stigma, off screen mention of Tony being tortured (although this chapter proper is pretty much warning free)
Summary: He covers his chest with a palm and winces. "That stings, Rhodey, that hurts my heart. But seriously, my time could be better spent in the lab."
"Right," Rhodey says dryly, "because you spend every waking minute in the lab when you're in a mood like this, instead of drinking and chasing skirts."
"And pants." Tony gives Rhodey a pleased-with-himself smirk. He's not even going to deny that he's in a mood (because he is; he's learned to recognize the signs over the years and how to cope with it). "Don't forget I chase pants, too."
Rhodey rolls his eyes.
A/n: The last two sections are gonna be Steve/Tony, so if that ain't your bag, this is last call for alcohol gen (such as this has ever been gen). And credit where it's due -- I lifted almost all the dialog straight from the script. Of course, since this is set in Tony's head, there's still plenty to see.
"Tony, who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you." Obie asks with a snake-in-the-grass smile.
Briefly too stunned for words, Tony watches as Obie saunters away. His fists clench, his nails biting into the flesh of his palm as he tries to mask his betrayal. Why didn't he see this coming? He should have, he thinks as he tries to ignore the way his stomach is trying to eat itself, choosing instead to focus on the heat flashing through him. Obie can't be trusted and Tony will not allow anyone to stop him from making Yinsen's sacrifice worth it.
Obidiah Stane's days at SI are numbered. The clock is ticking and Tony is angry.
*
What he finds when he goes through the files Pepper got for him is horrifying -- SI has been double dealing with terrorist, drug rings, and insurgents across the planet for years. Tony bites his lip and flushes with appalled shame. He'd been too self absorbed and too weak to pursue the little doubts that niggled at him on bad nights -- is the line we don't cross drawn in sand or carved in stone?
Tony stumbles across the video, which he only vaguely recalls the filming of (he closes his eyes for a brief second when he remembers wooziness and the rough yank of a sack off his head), reading the translation captions at the bottom. Paid us trinkets to kill a prince, huh? Tony smiles bitterly. Thanks, Obie. He pushes that away and looks again at the shipping manifestos. There are so many and he knows the only reason he goes for the ones in Afghanistan right off the bat is because of Yinsen. How selfish of him, he thinks as he has JARVIS run a trace and suits up.
*
It almost feels like being electrified and he can't breathe. Obie turns off his nasty little device and leans close to Tony. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it; there's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." He shifts to rest an elbow next to Tony's head. "When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But I'm so glad that you survived, Tony, because you had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea that it's all yours? Your father gave us the atomic bomb. What kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish and weak as you are?"
Obie puts something heavy against Tony's chest and pushes down around the edges of the arc reactor, and Tony can feel the tug of cords coming loose inside him as Obie pulls it out. The man admires his prize for a moment. "Oh, it's beautiful, Tony -- this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that! This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart," he says pleasedly, grinning as he taps Tony's chest. "Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands." Obie stands up and steps out of Tony's field of vision, and Tony can hear the man's nasty grin. "I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... well, not as conservative as yours." He leans down to look at Tony again and adds, "Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived."
Oh fuck Tony thinks, and an image of a bloody and empty-eyed Pepper dances across his psyche above the pain before barely contained panic sets in.
*
"Time to hit the button!" Tony hollers as he dances around Obie's shots, his stomach churning with fear that he's going to fail Yinsen by loosing.
"You told me not to!" Pepper says, shifting anxiously in Tony's peripheral vision and staring up at him.
"Hold still, you little prick!" Obie calls, frustration starting to tinge his words.
Tony slips, barely catching on to the skylight bars and clinging with all he's got. "Just do it!"
"You'll die!"
And? "Push it!" he urges. If it means taking out Obie, Tony will take dying.
Pepper pushes the button and it all goes dark.
Next >>