The dust and bullets stopped and it was like the world was holding its breath until an airy laugh broke the silence. James was behind a bookcase that had opened into a secret panic room when he hit a button on the desk accidentally, and pulled himself and Tony into it and rolled until they were a tangle of limbs on the floor. James on his back and Tony on top unscratched. The bullet had missed Tony was unharmed and James was so relieved as he threw an arm over his eyes, gun still in hand as Tony laughed relieved himself that he wasn't hit. Tony tucked his head against James's shoulder clutching at his shirt, it was all good, they were fine, and it was such a stupid relief that fell over them. They knew only a few feet away there were who knows how many people armored and shooting to kill them, their friends could be dead, Tony's guards could be dead, Coulson could be dead. But the pain and the relief were like a drug making them forget for even just a moment that they could be dead in seconds and joining the others soon only to later be dragged out in body bags.
James let his arm fall out to the side and looked up catching a grate on the ceiling, a vent and a way out. James scrambled up pulling Tony with him before busting the grate cover open and hauling Tony's ass into the vent before following him and closing the vent again before moving to catch up with Tony. They were scared and relieved but they needed to find everyone and made mental threats that if anyone was hurt they swear to god- A bang makes them freeze it's coming their way through the vents, James pushes Tony behind him and lines up a shot only to get a face full of red hair.
Natasha had bumped into James it was a relief and behind Natasha was Bruce and Clint. The five of them held hands and patted shoulders before catching each other up and making a plan. They were missing Sam, Steve, Coulson David, Ivan and Allia, granted David, Ivan and Allia could hold their own and were to be presumed alive, Coulson was trained in who knows what so he should be fine too. Sam and Steve though weren't and could be anywhere in the house so they back tracked to where they were last seen, it was the pool room. Chlorine filled the vent with hot muggy air and the sound of water lapping could be heard, the waves made patterns where they could be seen through the vent. It was quiet but they needed to check and it wasn't safe to get out of the vents yet so they split up covering the vent in and around the pool room until Clint let out a soft shout.
They or Clint had found Sam and Steve hiding in the locker room granted they were hidden good and would put up a fight but this was better. Clint pried the grate off and stuck his head in whisper shouting at them, their heads whipped around to see Clint before they did a quick check around the room. They dashed from their cover and over to the vent where Clint and Bruce pulled them up from opposite sides of the vent and then placing the grate back on and crawling to an intersection of vents. In the north vent James laid down making room for Tony on top of him and Natasha beside him, In the south Clint and Bruce and in the west Steve and Sam laid down. They needed a plan and Clint said as much,
"We need a plan" It was a statement
"Me and Tony are armed but barley" James said as Tony pulled the gun into view
"What do we do?" It was Sam
"For now let's assume that the adults are fine" Steve
"How about home-aloning this shit?" Everyone turned to Bruce who shrunk back
"That's a good idea, a really good idea" Tony said before chewing on his bottom lip
"Okay I got it this is the plan.."
Sam and Steve would take the control room and barracked themselves in and taking back control of the mansion and monitoring the intruders. Clint and Bruce took a knife and headed for the kitchen to stock up on supplies and the provide air support from the vents. Natasha, Tony and James would go and see if they could do anything about thinning out the intruders and spreading them apart. All adults are to be presumed alive and recovered.
Sam and Steve kicked in the grate and hoped down into the control room and quickly began barricading themselves in and making sure no one could get in and there was one exit, the vent. Once sealed they turned to the monitors and screens and alarm systems, Sam took count and location of the intruders before relaying the information the others using their cellphones and they watched them to warn the others or he spotted him something important. Steve took care of the alarms triggering the silent alarm and triggering the alarms that would call in some heavy-duty reinforcements, before setting off the sprinkles and cutting the lights making the red emergency lights to come on leaving red patches of light here and there. The doors to the house along with windows slammed shut and couldn't be broken or opened.
They began to scramble.
Clint and Bruce left the vent silently before grabbing arms full of things they could use or even things they didn't need stuffing them back into the vent, before following suit and climbing back in the assemble their weapons. Clint used the knife he got from Bucky and Tony to cut things apart before using them somewhere else and so on making well, make shirt weapons. Things like sling shots, stink bombs, smoke bombs, and gathering things to throw, like eggs. Bruce with his knowledge in science made even better bombs that maybe couldn't kill but would defiantly harm and made some gross concoctions too. They suited up and began following Sam's directions to the intruders near them.
They began to panic and act recklessly.
Natasha took the gun and split off from Tony and James and began picking them off randomly and at over one person from one group at a time. James and Tony split up and searched the rooms the goons were grouping around and sure enough the adults were behind door number three safe and sound. Ish. Tony knocked in the gate and cut the ropes freeing them and bringing them in on the plan before disappearing into the ducks again and bumping into James quite hard. James and Tony took a minute to jog themselves straight before untangling and heading back to the intersection they met everyone at in the first place and luckily everyone else had the same idea. From there on things moved quickly police and SWAT arrived and took out the rest of the goons hauling some off in cuffs others in body bags while the adults were questioned and the group of teens piled out of the vents.
James and Steve went down first before helping Clint, Bruce and Sam down who brushed off whatever they covered themselves in and stretched out the cramps they got from being in the ducts. Steve helped Natasha out and Tony braced his hands-on James shoulders as he pulled himself out of the vents head first, because he's stupid, and luckily James caught him around the waist before they both crashed. Instead they wobbled a bit trying to stabilize themselves before fixing themselves up and joining the rest at the doors and heading out they weren't far from where everything was going down. And it made it easy to get caught up in the questioning and being checked out by the medics on site, and of course though things didn't quiet down until much much later.
When things settled down it was already the next evening an entire day was lost to these goons and their lame tactics but none the less things were going to be changed and they needed to eat. Coulson and the others headed for the kitchen while Tony headed to the office to make somethings changed before he would join them and obviously, James joined him. In the office Tony and James righted the office and Tony found his cell which he used to call and set up about six meeting for later in the week to change the way things were going to go down including what's going to happen to the company.
It's not until much later that things happened Coulson and the others left for the compound not long after they ate, and cleaning crews were called for the mansion. Tony showered and changed into a suit, a three piece all black suit and black shoes before taking one of the unharmed cars to the SI tower. Huge changes were made in the following few days, Pepper became CEO and Tony took to the shadows of the company, the guards were called off to make it harder to find Tony, then mansion was closed off and so were the other large well known places that the Starks owned. Tony moved into a nice apartment near the outskirts of the city and kept a low profile until things cooled off to like freezing, he had to many high-profile moments for a while thank you very much.
(*~*)
Tony's apartment was a three-bedroom loft style in a brick apartment building for the middle wage and slightly above; the walls were light grey and beige trim and cabinets, the kitchen was all new and modern, so were the bathrooms. The overall look was clean but Tony brought in some of his own things which brought life and color into the apartment even if they didn't quite match the overall theme. Bright colored furniture well used, bright dishes, old and new books stacked in corners where they didn't fit on shelves, machines and machine parts where everywhere like literally everywhere. There was a huge TV and about twelve computers, six tables and StarkPads, and seven cell phones, and three little robots that tided up after him and kept him company. Tony only kept two cars low key but still expansive and had a little flare and of course his own security system that were controlled and checked by himself personally, and Pepper kept the fridge and pantry stocked.
(*~*)
Everyone slowly started to move on and went their own ways. Sam, Steve and James entered the army and were often deployed around the world fighting or on reserves. Bruce went to college and then started working in a lab famous for Biophysics and Gamma radiation. Clint when and joined a secret agency possibly FBI or CIA, Tony didn't snoop on it. And Natasha went and joined a ballet company for a few years before she joined Clint at whatever Agency he had entered. And Tony never really left the apartment, he did his robotics from the apartment which he had redone to suit his needs, and did the odd military tour or flew around the world to learn something or go to something Pepper made him go to. Tony still made weapons but he also started doing clean energy and making the medical field better, even for field use and of course making things to better defend troops overseas.
Tony had shut himself away in a sense but no one could ever figure out why and no one tried to stop him because he did what he needed to do, and he hasn't been in touch with any of the teens since the night they left. And now Tony's 22 and its 5 years later. Tony had gone off the deep end into drugs, alcoholism, sex and whatever else before Pepper forced him into rehab and of course the tabloids covered it. Like they covered seven suicide attempts by various means, abusive relationships he ended up in, attacks on his life and whatever else Tony did. It's after Tony's second stint at rehab that things change;
Tony walked out of the rehab gates and down the stairs stretching his arms over his head and closing his eyes and he felt the stretch. He jogged down the long concrete staircase to the parking lot and entry lot converse deck his feet and his legs were wrapped in black skinny jeans his wallet in his pocket connected to his jeans by a silver chain. Phone in his front pocket and white t-shirt finished it off but he wasn't expecting a crowd to arrive just the usual black car with tinted windows. No instead he got an angry Pepper in her grey dress and petti coat tapping her stiletto heel, and a gang of teens that had grown up, not cool Pepper, not cool at all.
Tony looked them over from left to right; Sam had grown now pushing six foot and muscles he didn't have before; he had tinted sunglasses on and wore simple jeans and a t-shirt and oddly leather dress shoes. Clint was taller but only maybe hitting 5'11 and had grown muscles too but his were less noticeable, he wore sneakers and cargo shorts with a tank top on and his arms were crossed over his chest. Bruce was closer to Tony's height about 5'7 and of course wasn't notably stronger but Tony can guess, he wore a green polo shirt and kakis with runners and he was looking down fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Steve was a shock he matched Sam and James height and was about as buff as James and of course had the all-American hair and clothes, blue jeans and a tight white shirt, he didn't look very impressed. Surprise, not. Natasha was pretty, just like he remembers like Bruce she was close in height and slim but she had muscle definition, her hair was long pulled back into a pony tail and she was wearing a pair of yoga pants with sneakers and a blue button up. James was last he grew in every aspect of the word and now had a handful of tattoos, his left arm was missing and replaced by a very complex sleek robotic one. His hair was longer brushing his shoulders and of course had his resting bitch face on, dressed in a leather jacket dark grey T and ripped jeans stuffed into combat boots.
Tony sighed and stopped at the second landing placing a hand on his hip and jutting it out a bit, he was very unimpressed these people were barley in his life and she had rallied them for what?
"Pepper really? Not cool Pep, not cool" Tony said in a monotone voice
"I had no choice Tony! This is going too far" She was angry and upset pleading with him
"Oh really?" not the best time to be sarcastic Tony
"I can't handle you anymore" Pepper was almost crying
"And who asked you too? Huh? What Pepper?" Tony was a bit nasty placing a hand his ear like he couldn't hear
"Tony-" She didn't get to finish
"This is shit. I'm calling another ride" Tony stands up full posture then and takes out his phone
"Alright that's enough!" A new voice, Clint
"Excuse me Blondie?" Tony chided like a white girl
"Look we only wanna help Tony" Steve
"Oh sure apple pie, that went so well five years ago" more white girl attitude
"Tony you're being a bitch" Clint again
"God what are you my dad?!" Tony was now focusing on them
"No we-"
"Shut up Roger Rabbit"
"Anthony Edward Stark, you will listen to me and do it well" That new voice sent chills down his spine, as Howard himself stepped out of the car that had come in during the commotion
"What the Fuck!?" Tony nearly dropped his cell
"Get down here now" Howards voice was ice and he didn't raise it once
"OH My God" And Tony sprinted
Tony dropped the cell and spun on his heels before sprinting in the direction of the rehab doors where he could at least lock them and have some time to get out of there but no Howard had thought of that. Tony was slammed into by two huge dudes dressed in black and wearing wires, one of them tossed Tony over their shoulder and headed back to the cars. But Tony was trying his damn hardest to get away screaming, kicking, hitting, hell he tried everything, but no monster muscles hear had a grip of steal. Pepper was arguing with Howard and so were some of the others, he decided to call them the avengers after a show he watched not too long ago. But no one could stop them from literally tossing Tony into the back seat and locking him in as he scrambled to get out of the car but the muscle men simply got into the front and Howard joined him in the back. He was locked in with Howard and suddenly he felt the sharp sting of a punch as Howard literally started beating him.
All Pepper and the others heard when the car sped away was screaming from both Tony and Howard and the soft noise of someone being hit. Pepper was immediately on the phone with police and everyone else split into groups of two taking vehicles from motorcycles to hummers and sped off after them. They needed to try hard since the car was breaking the speed laws and had already disappeared from sight but if they thought about it and put the pieces together they figured they would head for the mansion where it all started. With that idea, they headed towards the mansion hoping to intercept the car and get Tony out alive and hopefully not to beaten. Pepper had joined the police and headed for the mansion as well to catch Howard when he got there if he made it around the 'avengers' that is and someone hadn't got Tony yet, Pepper was trying not to cry in this whole mess. No one caught them before they reached the mansion and arrived minutes after word rushing the car with the police and some went to Pepper as she fell down hands to her mouth.
They followed her gaze and watched as James pulled an unconscious Tony from the back seat of the car bloody and bruised, while police hauled Howard out the other side of the car with some difficulty. James carefully pulled Tony out and into his arms bridal style as Tony's head lulled onto his shoulder and his hand hung limp by his side, blood dripping from the tips of his fingers. James was shaking slightly as he pulled Tony out, eyes never leaving his prone form as he tried not to look into the back seat, which was undoubtedly covered in blood and probably a little wrecked as well. Once he had Tony in his arms he quickly moved over to the approaching ambulance as Clint held Natasha back from going after Howard, Bruce helped Pepper up and Steve and Sam helped the police detain Howards goons.
Tony put up a fight though that was clear since Howard himself was quite bruised and even had a shoe print on his face from where Tony must have kicked him. No one knew how Howard got out or how he got to Tony, but it was clear he wasn't over losing Tony and everything else since the second he got his hands on Tony he was beating him.
Tony screamed as the goons threw him in the car and scrambled to open the door pulling at the handle, pounding on the window and even kicking the door put nothing happened until the goons stepped in and started the engine. Howard climbed in and grabbed Tony by the neck before slamming his fist into Tony's face, who screamed when Howard started to beat him viciously. Tony fought back he kicked Howard and punched back, hell he even bit Howard at one point buy Howard had the upper hand and Tony slowly lost the ability to fight back as Howard continued to dish out years of punishment and anger. Tony was out of it before he could hear the sirens following the car and Howard screaming at the goons to lose them, it was nothing after a while just black nothingness.