CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. I WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR RUINING THE MOVIE.
I saw Civil War on Thursday and got this scene stuck in my head. It's short, likely not written very well, but I will blame that on writing it at 2AM.
Disclaimer: The world belongs to Disney, including all featured characters.
He couldn't let this happen.
He had not fought for nothing. Fought his own friends only for Zemo to turn them against each other again.
And yet, if he let up his relentless assault for one second, Buck was dead. Steve had seen the look in Tony's eyes—the look of blind, murderous rage. The world right now was all black to Tony, and the lone speck of white was that Arc Reactor in his armor. The moment Tony was given an inch of room, he'd walk over to Buck's prone figure and crush his windpipe.
Just as Buck had been forced to while the Winter Soldier carried out his mission.
Steve dodged a clumsy punch and slammed his shield into the stoic face of Stark's helmet. He followed it up with a flurry of blows that followed no set pattern other than a common purpose: keep Tony against the wall.
He rained blows down at a pace that no normal human could match in neither strength nor speed. His fists impacted with enough force to break concrete, his shield enough to bend metal even without it being made of vibranium.
But it wasn't enough.
Suddenly, Tony started to block his blows. Then he was being forced to the defensive side of the fight. Then he was being hit by punches he couldn't see.
The next thing Steve knew, his shield was gone, and he was on the ground. His head was spinning, ears ringing. The intense pain in his side told him a few ribs were cracked. If Tony had been punching him at full power, his spine would have been snapped in two.
He'd given an inch.
No.
Steve raised his head and saw Tony standing between him and Buck. His shield was on the ground at Stark's armored feet, and that stoic metal face was staring right at him. "It's over. "
Steve heard the strain in Tony's voice. The pain. There was no compromise in that voice—no mercy. Tony wanted more than anything to kill Buck—Steve's best friend in life—and avenge his parents. He didn't want to fight more. He didn't want to hurt Steve any more than he had already. But he wasn't going to let Steve stand in his way.
This was not the Tony Stark who Steve had come to consider a great friend. This was a man standing at the edge of oblivion. Steve couldn't let him step into that abyss.
And he'd be damned if he didn't get Buck out of here alive.
Steve forced himself up to a knee. Tony raised an armored hand, repulsor glowing. "Stay down. Final warning."
Slowly, his body protesting his every movement, Steve picked himself up fully and brought his fists up. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't let one friend kill the other. "I could do this all day."
The repulsor brightened, the hum that accompanied it growing louder and louder. Just as Steve was about to duck the blast of energy, Buck came to life. He grabbed at Tony's ankle, pulling at it—and catching Tony off-guard—just enough for the repulsor blast to go wide.
Now Tony was the one who had given an inch.
Steve rushed forward as Tony knocked Bucky out with a savage kick. The super-soldier rolled, took up his shield again, and swung it right at Stark's head.
Only it never connected.
In a move that was too fast and precise for Tony to have pulled off on his own, Stark spun and ducked. His fist connected with Steve's midsection a fraction of a second later.
Steve felt something break, all air forced out of his lungs. He didn't see the uppercut that nearly sent him onto his back. Or have time to counterattack before his shield was ripped from him by armored hands strong enough to give Thor a moment's challenge.
But he did feel that shield hit him in the side of the head.
Steve collapsed in a heap, vision darkening for a moment, barely able to make out the shape of Tony standing over him, shield in hand.
"I told you to stay down."
Steve's own shield connected with his head again. His brain was swimming in blood, and so was the rest of him. Everything hurt. Everything felt wrong. He knew he wouldn't be conscious for much longer; regular beatings in Brooklyn gave him a good feel for that. His brain was swimming in blood, and so was the rest of him.
He'd failed the man who always came to his rescue during those beatings.
He'd failed his killer.
Steve retained consciousness just long enough to hear a sickening snap at the other side of the room.
Then he knew no more.
As I said above, short and probably not written very well. Also pretty one-sided to Stark. One question I had when I left the theater was, "What if those countermeasures lasted more than a few seconds?" Tony's armor in Civil War is based heavily on the Bleeding Edge Armor, which has the ability to see 360 degrees around Stark. That, the already-mentioned theoretical question, spawned this. I likely will not progress it any further than this; I have too many projects going as it is.
So let me know what you think, and thanks for reading.
See you soon, though likely not on this. But maybe one day I'll get bored and write up something for it.
