The Corrupt and the Pure; Chapter 21: The Trail
[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 21: The Trail
The tunnel loomed in the pitch black beyond the reach of the piercing beam of light.
“Which way, Cap?” Clint called out.
Steve looked around. Altogether the area was mostly closed off warehouses, train yards and lengths of tracks that led nowhere. Some of the land had been re-purposed, but it was quiet enough to serve as a viable hiding place.
“Choose a direction you like best and we’ll start with that one,” Natasha stated. “The Commander is likely to pick the same option as you would.”
“Or not,” Steve reminded his team. “He knows who’s after him. He might actively choose something else.” Besides, their similarities were limited, as far as Steve could see. Just because he would think to pick one option over another didn’t mean a HYDRA agent would do the same.
The beam of light moved to the side, away from the gaping entrance of the decommissioned underground tunnel. It was the most tempting option, and the moment the light moved, Steve felt like calling out and redirecting it back towards the tunnel.
It would have been his first choice. There were multiple points to connect to the rest of the underground network, and while getting simple supplies like fresh water might be trickier, there were more exits to be had. More alternatives…
“We just need to decide on a starting point,” James Rhodes spoke up. “If that doesn’t pan out, we’ll widen the search.” The beam of light moved back to the tunnel entrance, and Steve nodded his head in approval. Clearly someone was agreeing with him, even when it wasn’t an actual living being; Tony’s armor was pointing the light, controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S., and it was easy to tell the AI liked the tunnel as their best option as well.
It was also the least appealing one, because it would make their work so much harder.
“The armors cannot enter the tunnel,” Steve said out loud. “While the rest of us go check for signs inside, I want Iron Man and War Machine out here, forming a perimeter. The wider the better. If they come out in the open, we cannot miss them again.”
Rhodes grumbled but didn’t protest; he outranked Steve, but this wasn’t a military mission and the only option for him to enter the tunnel was out of his suit. “They won’t slip past us again,” Rhodes vowed and Steve could hear him getting back inside the armor and then take to the skies, a cloud of dust rising in the aftermath of his takeoff.
Iron Man remained on the ground, still pointing the powerful light at the tunnel. Steve turned to look at the armor, wondering if there was something J.A.R.V.I.S. wasn’t telling them.
“Good luck, Captain,” was all J.A.R.V.I.S. offered him once his eyes landed on the golden faceplate. “I shall inform you of any new developments. However, the signals are going to be weaker underground, and there is a chance of us being cut off from one another.”
“Understood,” Steve nodded, having expected it. For the most part, Stark’s tech had worked flawlessly, but if they ventured too deep, it might become an issue. “Let’s go,” he called out to the others. “Anyone who doesn’t feel like coming in is welcome to stay out here and start a patrol.”
No one volunteered to stay with Rhodes and J.A.R.V.I.S. - not that Steve had expected it. Well, perhaps Bruce, who could put them all in danger if the Hulk was unleashed - or Clint, seeing as he liked to be up and above the action if at all possible, but he also knew the armors had that part covered for the time being.
As the Iron Man armor shut off the light and joined War Machine in the air, the others began to turn on their lights, most of them mounted on their shoulders to leave their hands free. Steve adjusted his own, making the light slightly less bright in hopes that his eyes would better adjust to the darkness.
Judging from the marks on the tunnel floor, people liked to venture inside through the gate that had been cracked open one too many times for it to keep anyone outside. There were old piles of burnt wood from fires and arrays of empty bottles and cans of food. However, after half a mile, such signs vanished and it was just the emptiness around them, silent and somewhat suffocating.
“Someone’s been through here,” Natasha said, checking the tunnel floor.
Steve agreed but said nothing, following the weak footprints further inside.
They ended up following the tracks, finding them here and there, depending on the amount of dust and gravel on the floor. Steve hoped they belonged to the missing guard; he may have simply been injured and in need of assistance, but there was also a distinct possibility he had unknowingly walked into the Commander’s hide-out.
Either way, following the tracks was the best way to proceed as long as they couldn’t find other signs of the Commander or Tony.
“We should be nearing a station,” Bruce called out after several long minutes had passed. He had several maps on a tablet he was carrying, and trying to read it in the dark had caused him to stumble multiple times. Still, Bruce seemed drawn to the screen, perhaps to distract himself from the enclosed space around them.
“Any news from the outside?” Steve asked out loud, pressing a finger against the earpiece in his right ear.
“It’s quiet out here,” Rhodes reported back, only minor static affecting the connection.
The tunnel widened suddenly, a platform appearing on their right side. Behind him, the team adjusted their lights, and Clint jumped up onto the platform, his flashlight sweeping the floor. “Someone’s been here,” he reported.
“But they’re not here anymore,” Sam added, hoisting himself up to the platform as well.
Steve continued along the tracks for a bit longer - then noticed a lump in the middle of them. Experience told him it was a human being, too still to be alive, and he walked over to check it, Natasha, Bruce and Thor on his heels.
“Alas, this must be the missing guard,” Thor lamented as they gathered around the body.
Natasha crouched down and Bruce leaned over to get a better look as she moved the body. It was an old man, and only his worn uniform revealed that he was indeed the missing guard. Steve felt a pang of guilt, thinking how unfair it was that the man had met an end such as this instead of living out his days in peace he must have deserved.
“He didn’t just fall and break his neck,” Natasha observed.
“I would say the falling took place after he was dead,” Bruce agreed.
“The Commander,” Steve guessed. He knew how easy it was for him to break a grown man’s neck, and out of the two of them, the Commander would have much more experience with it.
“Cap!” Sam called out, and Steve turned away from the dead man, jumping up onto the platform. Sam and Clint were standing on the far edge of the platform where steps disappeared into the darkness. Steve spied an abandoned sandwich on the floor - odd, considering how hard finding food would be when one was on the run.
“I would say they were definitely here,” Clint mused, pointing at something.
Steve approached and saw what he meant: there was a railing bolted to the wall, and a section of the floor beneath it was disturbed. Someone had sat or lain on the floor, leaving marks in the dust, and it wasn’t for just a few minutes either.
Natasha joined them, taking in the marks. “Tony must have been here,” she decided. “There are marks on the railing: he was tied up.”
“Didn’t put up too much of a fight,” Clint noted.
“Which is smart,” Steve cut in before anyone would suggest otherwise. “Stark knows he can’t just fight his way out of this, so conserving energy is what he should be doing.” He stepped up to the smudged floor and touched it, as if he could draw more information form it. As his flashlight’s beam lit the floor even further, he could see faint smudges on the concrete. He trailed his fingers through it, deciding it was not blood. Not water, either, because it wouldn’t have left that much of a stain, faint as it was.
“We’re on their trail,” Natasha said, as if to encourage him. “Tony’s alive, and seeing as there’s no blood all over the place, I would venture to guess the Commander isn’t keen on hurting him.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Bruce mused as he climbed off the tracks.
Thor relied on Mjolnir to get up, creating a bit of a gust as he soared upwards and then landed on the platform, looking around. “Which way did they go? We did not see their tracks while coming here?”
“Must have gone deeper,” Sam decided and looked down the awaiting darkness of the tunnel where it continued on past the closed station.
“Look for tracks,” Steve ordered. “If they don’t know we’re onto them, they might not be hiding their progress, but just in case, keep an eye out for what might be a false trail.”
Clint and Sam headed up the stairs to check that section of the station, and the others spread out to check the rest of the station and tracks.
“This way,” Natasha called out soon after. “Two sets of footprints - one of them dragging their feet too much to try to be stealthy.” A smile was tugging her lips. “Tony’s trying to make it easier for us to find him.”
Steve hoped that was the case, and not some injury they weren’t yet aware of.
“We can’t just leave the body here,” Bruce mused, standing over the dead guard. He looked apprehensive; he wanted to come and help rescue Tony, but if it came to blows, the Hulk wasn’t their best choice for a fight underground.
“I’ll help you get him out,” Sam volunteered. He looked at Steve, meeting his eyes, letting him know he wanted to be more useful than that, but leaving a man behind didn’t sit well with any of them.
Steve nodded. “Stay in contact.” He looked at Natasha, Clint and Thor. “We move fast and quiet. If he hears us coming, the Commander will disappear.” His eyes lingered on Thor, asking whether silence was something he could do.
Thor nodded, accepting the terms, and the two groups split up.
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 21: The Trail
The tunnel loomed in the pitch black beyond the reach of the piercing beam of light.
“Which way, Cap?” Clint called out.
Steve looked around. Altogether the area was mostly closed off warehouses, train yards and lengths of tracks that led nowhere. Some of the land had been re-purposed, but it was quiet enough to serve as a viable hiding place.
“Choose a direction you like best and we’ll start with that one,” Natasha stated. “The Commander is likely to pick the same option as you would.”
“Or not,” Steve reminded his team. “He knows who’s after him. He might actively choose something else.” Besides, their similarities were limited, as far as Steve could see. Just because he would think to pick one option over another didn’t mean a HYDRA agent would do the same.
The beam of light moved to the side, away from the gaping entrance of the decommissioned underground tunnel. It was the most tempting option, and the moment the light moved, Steve felt like calling out and redirecting it back towards the tunnel.
It would have been his first choice. There were multiple points to connect to the rest of the underground network, and while getting simple supplies like fresh water might be trickier, there were more exits to be had. More alternatives…
“We just need to decide on a starting point,” James Rhodes spoke up. “If that doesn’t pan out, we’ll widen the search.” The beam of light moved back to the tunnel entrance, and Steve nodded his head in approval. Clearly someone was agreeing with him, even when it wasn’t an actual living being; Tony’s armor was pointing the light, controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S., and it was easy to tell the AI liked the tunnel as their best option as well.
It was also the least appealing one, because it would make their work so much harder.
“The armors cannot enter the tunnel,” Steve said out loud. “While the rest of us go check for signs inside, I want Iron Man and War Machine out here, forming a perimeter. The wider the better. If they come out in the open, we cannot miss them again.”
Rhodes grumbled but didn’t protest; he outranked Steve, but this wasn’t a military mission and the only option for him to enter the tunnel was out of his suit. “They won’t slip past us again,” Rhodes vowed and Steve could hear him getting back inside the armor and then take to the skies, a cloud of dust rising in the aftermath of his takeoff.
Iron Man remained on the ground, still pointing the powerful light at the tunnel. Steve turned to look at the armor, wondering if there was something J.A.R.V.I.S. wasn’t telling them.
“Good luck, Captain,” was all J.A.R.V.I.S. offered him once his eyes landed on the golden faceplate. “I shall inform you of any new developments. However, the signals are going to be weaker underground, and there is a chance of us being cut off from one another.”
“Understood,” Steve nodded, having expected it. For the most part, Stark’s tech had worked flawlessly, but if they ventured too deep, it might become an issue. “Let’s go,” he called out to the others. “Anyone who doesn’t feel like coming in is welcome to stay out here and start a patrol.”
No one volunteered to stay with Rhodes and J.A.R.V.I.S. - not that Steve had expected it. Well, perhaps Bruce, who could put them all in danger if the Hulk was unleashed - or Clint, seeing as he liked to be up and above the action if at all possible, but he also knew the armors had that part covered for the time being.
As the Iron Man armor shut off the light and joined War Machine in the air, the others began to turn on their lights, most of them mounted on their shoulders to leave their hands free. Steve adjusted his own, making the light slightly less bright in hopes that his eyes would better adjust to the darkness.
Judging from the marks on the tunnel floor, people liked to venture inside through the gate that had been cracked open one too many times for it to keep anyone outside. There were old piles of burnt wood from fires and arrays of empty bottles and cans of food. However, after half a mile, such signs vanished and it was just the emptiness around them, silent and somewhat suffocating.
“Someone’s been through here,” Natasha said, checking the tunnel floor.
Steve agreed but said nothing, following the weak footprints further inside.
They ended up following the tracks, finding them here and there, depending on the amount of dust and gravel on the floor. Steve hoped they belonged to the missing guard; he may have simply been injured and in need of assistance, but there was also a distinct possibility he had unknowingly walked into the Commander’s hide-out.
Either way, following the tracks was the best way to proceed as long as they couldn’t find other signs of the Commander or Tony.
“We should be nearing a station,” Bruce called out after several long minutes had passed. He had several maps on a tablet he was carrying, and trying to read it in the dark had caused him to stumble multiple times. Still, Bruce seemed drawn to the screen, perhaps to distract himself from the enclosed space around them.
“Any news from the outside?” Steve asked out loud, pressing a finger against the earpiece in his right ear.
“It’s quiet out here,” Rhodes reported back, only minor static affecting the connection.
The tunnel widened suddenly, a platform appearing on their right side. Behind him, the team adjusted their lights, and Clint jumped up onto the platform, his flashlight sweeping the floor. “Someone’s been here,” he reported.
“But they’re not here anymore,” Sam added, hoisting himself up to the platform as well.
Steve continued along the tracks for a bit longer - then noticed a lump in the middle of them. Experience told him it was a human being, too still to be alive, and he walked over to check it, Natasha, Bruce and Thor on his heels.
“Alas, this must be the missing guard,” Thor lamented as they gathered around the body.
Natasha crouched down and Bruce leaned over to get a better look as she moved the body. It was an old man, and only his worn uniform revealed that he was indeed the missing guard. Steve felt a pang of guilt, thinking how unfair it was that the man had met an end such as this instead of living out his days in peace he must have deserved.
“He didn’t just fall and break his neck,” Natasha observed.
“I would say the falling took place after he was dead,” Bruce agreed.
“The Commander,” Steve guessed. He knew how easy it was for him to break a grown man’s neck, and out of the two of them, the Commander would have much more experience with it.
“Cap!” Sam called out, and Steve turned away from the dead man, jumping up onto the platform. Sam and Clint were standing on the far edge of the platform where steps disappeared into the darkness. Steve spied an abandoned sandwich on the floor - odd, considering how hard finding food would be when one was on the run.
“I would say they were definitely here,” Clint mused, pointing at something.
Steve approached and saw what he meant: there was a railing bolted to the wall, and a section of the floor beneath it was disturbed. Someone had sat or lain on the floor, leaving marks in the dust, and it wasn’t for just a few minutes either.
Natasha joined them, taking in the marks. “Tony must have been here,” she decided. “There are marks on the railing: he was tied up.”
“Didn’t put up too much of a fight,” Clint noted.
“Which is smart,” Steve cut in before anyone would suggest otherwise. “Stark knows he can’t just fight his way out of this, so conserving energy is what he should be doing.” He stepped up to the smudged floor and touched it, as if he could draw more information form it. As his flashlight’s beam lit the floor even further, he could see faint smudges on the concrete. He trailed his fingers through it, deciding it was not blood. Not water, either, because it wouldn’t have left that much of a stain, faint as it was.
“We’re on their trail,” Natasha said, as if to encourage him. “Tony’s alive, and seeing as there’s no blood all over the place, I would venture to guess the Commander isn’t keen on hurting him.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Bruce mused as he climbed off the tracks.
Thor relied on Mjolnir to get up, creating a bit of a gust as he soared upwards and then landed on the platform, looking around. “Which way did they go? We did not see their tracks while coming here?”
“Must have gone deeper,” Sam decided and looked down the awaiting darkness of the tunnel where it continued on past the closed station.
“Look for tracks,” Steve ordered. “If they don’t know we’re onto them, they might not be hiding their progress, but just in case, keep an eye out for what might be a false trail.”
Clint and Sam headed up the stairs to check that section of the station, and the others spread out to check the rest of the station and tracks.
“This way,” Natasha called out soon after. “Two sets of footprints - one of them dragging their feet too much to try to be stealthy.” A smile was tugging her lips. “Tony’s trying to make it easier for us to find him.”
Steve hoped that was the case, and not some injury they weren’t yet aware of.
“We can’t just leave the body here,” Bruce mused, standing over the dead guard. He looked apprehensive; he wanted to come and help rescue Tony, but if it came to blows, the Hulk wasn’t their best choice for a fight underground.
“I’ll help you get him out,” Sam volunteered. He looked at Steve, meeting his eyes, letting him know he wanted to be more useful than that, but leaving a man behind didn’t sit well with any of them.
Steve nodded. “Stay in contact.” He looked at Natasha, Clint and Thor. “We move fast and quiet. If he hears us coming, the Commander will disappear.” His eyes lingered on Thor, asking whether silence was something he could do.
Thor nodded, accepting the terms, and the two groups split up.
to be continued…
Story info