DeRanged: Well I won't waste too much time with an Author's Note, I'll only say I don't own them and get on with the show. Enjoy! :)
Chapter Nine: Live Mummies and The Plagues
Tony continued to watch the scarabs pass until every last one had left through the other passage. Turning to check on the others he instantly noticed Steve's absence.
"Pretty Boy?!" he called out, only to feel his heartbeat (which had only just begun to settle) pick up once more, "Steve!" he burst out, Clint and Bucky joining him with their own calls.
Instantly, without a thought to the safety of it, Tony leapt across the gap and headed towards where he had last seen the blonde. Clint and Bucky joined him instantly, and the three of them began to look around for any signs of their missing companion.
Meanwhile, Steve pushed himself back against a rough stone wall, while straining his eyes to be able to pierce the slight darkness around him. Thankfully, it was only a dim darkness and not an all encompassing, inky blackness. Panting and tense, Steve began cursing vividly in his mind ignoring the twinge he felt from what remained of his Ma's teachings.
A groaning noise brought him from his internal ramblings and Steve quickly spun around, prepared for anything while his senses became hyperaware. Glancing around the corner, the blonde felt instant relief when he recognized a familiar white shirt and suspenders.
"Mr. Burns, thank God," Steve said in relief, walking over to the man whose back was to him, "I was just about to get scared," the blonde admitted sheepishly, "I lost everyone-," Steve cut himself off in horror when Burns turned around to reveal two empty sockets where his eyes should have been.
Jumping back, Steve turned to run as Burns called out in a muffled and warped words, "My eyes. My eyes!"
Turning to run, Steve nearly stumbled and fell on his back when the very mummy he and the others found stepped out of the shadows with a familiar pair of eyes. Giving a loud shout, Steve began walking backwards as the mummy continued to walk forward. When his back met another stone wall, with the mummy practically boxing him in, Steve felt as if his stomach had dropped to his toes.
His eyes roved desperately for an escape while the mummy continued to growl as he approached. Over the mummy's shoulder Steve could see Burns crawling blindly backwards, moaning as he spoke, "My tongue! He took my tongue!"
Disgust roiling in his stomach, Steve turned back in time to find the mummy directly in front of him only for the creature to pause, eyes almost softening with hope and love, "Thor?" the voice was gravely and distorted.
Steve wanted desperately for Tony to be there and felt as if he was back to being that 90 lb asthmatic that was weak and unable to fight. He barely registered the mummy's words as a skeletal hand was offered to him, "Come with me Prince Thor."
Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the fear that filled Steve's mind, "There you are!" Tony shouted in equal parts relief and exasperation as he ran forward to stand beside Steve, not having seen the mummy, "Come on! Let's get out of here," the genius shouted, pausing when he noticed Steve hadn't turned away to look at him.
Following the blonde's gaze, Tony jolted back into the wall with a scream of, "Whoa!" when Clint and Bucky came running in with the Americans close behind. Bucky calling Steve's name only for them all to stumble back and Bucky to drop his torch in shock at the sight of the mummy they had found walking around as if he were never dead except for the fact he was covered in rotted flesh and his skeleton was peeking through.
The mummy turned from the new group to crouch and yell at Steve and Tony, his lower jaw almost unhinging like a snake's before it eats a mouse. Tony did the only thing he could think to do next, he screamed back before aiming the shot gun and firing right into the creature's pelvis.
As the mummy spun and fell, Tony shoved Steve forward which jolted the blonde from his stupor and they all ran. Tony and Steve were in the lead, fingers interlocked with Bucky and Clint coming to join them while the Americans brought up the rear.
They quickly reached the exit, running back out into their camp only to freeze when they were met with the muzzles of a dozen riffles with a familiar curly-haired man in the center. Weary hazel orbs met Tony's as he removed his mask and stepped forward, "I told you to leave or die," there was a hint of irritation in the man's soft tone, "You refused."
Tony couldn't really understand why the man was so focused on him when they met, but he kept his silence while keeping a keen eye on the situation. He noticed Clint step up minutely to stand evenly with him, the archer's eyes a pair of icy chips analyzing their possible enemy. All Tony would have to do is say the word.
The leader speaking again, drew Tony's attention mainly to him, though his genius brain easily took stock of everything. One part thought of an escape plan, one thought of a possible attack plan, while another was calculating the possible losses in both plans, and finally a final part was focused on the leader's words.
"And now you may have killed us all, for you have unleashed a creature we have feared for more than 3, 000 years," the man practically snarled, his eyes flashing green as they had done in Tony and his battle.
"Relax," Tony said casually, mainly to see the leader's reaction to see if his suspicions were confirmed, "I got him."
The leader sneered and there was pity in his gaze, "No mortal weapon can kill this creature," well shit, there goes all Tony's hope that this was just a result of some dick searching for treasure to keep to himself, "He's not of this world."
"That's what I was afraid of," Tony groaned under his breath as two men from the group before them dragged a groaning Burns between them. The genius winced sympathetically at the man's state, but at least he would live to see another day…figuratively speaking.
He ignored the Americans accusations and the leader's response. At an order the men lowered their weapons and made their way back the way they had escaped. The leader paused beside Tony, "Know this," the man said in a low, conspiring tone, "This creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep, and he will never stop."
With that last ominous warning the leader disappeared within the tombs with his men leaving them all standing in the dark desert. After a few moments, Clint and Tony exchanged looks before Tony spoke up authoritatively, hand tightening its grip on Steve's which still hadn't left his, "Let's get the hell out of here."
Soon enough they had the camels saddled and ready to ride. They all climbed atop and set a brisk pace to escape the ruined city, none looking back. Tony and Steve rode close while Clint had his bow out the entire ride home.
Fort Brydon – Cairo
Tony stood in Steve's doorway, watching the blonde pace heatedly across his hotel room floor. He knew the blonde blamed himself for the mummy, and while in part it was the blonde's fault for reading the book there had been a larger player pulling the strings. Debating with himself, Tony finally stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
"You know, it's not your responsibility to stop him," he said calmly, amber orbs calm and stony, "And it wasn't your fault," he added.
Steve stopped and turned fiery, angry blue eyes onto the shorter man, "I'm the one who read the book, I'm the one that woke him up, I'll be the one to stop him," the man practically snarled.
Tony didn't even flinch, having faced much worse, and spoke steadily, "So I'm to blame as well for letting you read? Is Bucky to blame for lifting that key?" he demanded.
Steve leaned back in shock, "What? No!" the blonde sputtered, but Tony wasn't willing to give ground.
"Do you know how many times I've faced things like this?" Tony demanded in a weary, dark tone, "Do you know how many times I've had to watch innocent people die because they got a martyr complex like you? Do you realize how much I would hate myself if you were added to the list of people I couldn't save?" Tony's voice became desperate at this part, his eyes entreating now, "Please," he whispered to the shocked blonde, "Go home with Bucky."
Something in this caught Steve's attention and the blonde stepped forward, eyes challenging, "With Bucky? But not you?" his eyes demanded an answer.
With a sigh, Tony shook his head, "Steve," the quiet use of his name had the blonde focusing his whole attention upon the genius now, "My contract was to take you out to that city and bring you back. I've done that," the genius said calmly.
Steve felt as if he had been slapped and then punched in the gut, "Is that all I am to you?" he said brokenly, blue eyes watering against his will, "A contract."
Tony's eyes widened, "What?! No!" the genius's vehement rebuttal soothed the blonde somewhat but brought more confusion until the genius spoke again, "Clint and I have training for these situations, Steve. You and Bucky don't. You two need to leave to get somewhere safe."
Steve shook his head, "There won't be anywhere safe if the creature gets completely reborn," he said firmly, "He'll consume the world. I'm staying with you," the blonde told him stubbornly.
Tony's gaze grew exasperated and determined, "No you won't Steve!" he said, "You don't have training, what are you going to do?" the genius demanded.
Steve jutted his chin out, "Then you can train me. I'm not leaving Tony," the steel in the blonde's tone told the genius it was a lost cause.
"Fine!" Tony huffed, the genius spun on his heel and stalked out. He couldn't believe how stubborn the man was, he just hoped Clint had a better time with Bucky and that the brother would be able to wear down Steve.
The genius left an equally frustrated blonde to go to the bar in the hotel proper, dodging through the crowd only to bump into someone. Looking to the side to apologize, Tony felt a grin spread across his face as he pat the older man before him on the shoulder, "Hey Jarvis!"
"Anthony," the man's soothing British tone instantly calmed Tony's frayed nerves as only he could do as the former British airman followed Tony to the bar, where the genius sat beside Clint, "Clinton," the man greeted the archer, ignoring his wince, "What have you two gotten into this time?" the man asked in a knowing tone.
Tony gave him an innocent look before instantly deflating beneath the knowing, worn blue gaze. This old man had been Tony's only father figure growing up and could tell anything about Tony's day or about Tony himself just with one glance at the man. It was equally irritating and comforting.
"Another wonky case of mumbo-jumbo gone awry," Tony mumbled, accepting the shot Clint poured him, the archer looking as exhausted as Tony felt.
"Hm," the old airman said, taking Clint's own shot and throwing it back before setting it on the bar again, "Well, I'm sure you'll fix it as always, young Sir," the old butler teased, before growing serious, "Should you need me, I'm always here for you Anthony."
With those last words Jarvis left the two men to their drinks. They threw back shots in silence before Tony finally spoke, "How'd it go?" the genius asked hopefully.
Clint gave Tony a single glance that told him everything and with a groan Tony let his head fall to the bar with an audible thud, "Those two are stubborn asses," he muttered into the bar.
Clint snorted, lifting his shot glass in silent toast, "I'll drink to that one," he said tiredly before throwing it back.
Suddenly they were joined by Daniels and Henderson, while Daniels spoke from the other side of Clint, "Well we're all packed but the damn boat doesn't leave until tomorrow morning."
The archer snorted, setting his shot glass on the bar and filling both his glass and Tony's, "Running away I see," he murmured without judging, he knew these men weren't equipped for this. It was an empty taunting.
"Yeah, well you don't have a walking corpse after ya," Daniels snapped while Tony lifted his head and turned to Henderson who seemed extremely melancholy and distressed, "How's your buddy?" he asked softly.
Henderson didn't even look at Tony, though his gaze revealed just how close he and Burns really were, "He had his eyes and tongue ripped out, how would you be?" he spat, before drinking from his glass deeply and leaving.
Tony sighed, lifting his glass in a silent prayer he threw it back before offering it to Clint to be refilled as Bucky appeared where Henderson had left.
"You know," the man began accepting a glass from Clint with a nod of apology as well as acceptance, "we appreciate you two caring about us."
Tony sighed and nodded before lifting his glass and indicating the other three to lift their own in a toast, "For luck," he explained, "because we'll all need it."
Soon enough their glasses met with a clear clink and a mocking, "Good luck, boys," from Daniels before the four of them shot it back only to spit it back out which was quickly copied by many people around the proper.
"Sweet Jesus!" Daniels said, wiping his mouth and looking into his glass, "That tasted just like…," he trailed off when he realized.
Tony finished for him, dropping his glass to the floor with his eyes trained on the fountain, "Blood."
Bucky's dark tone left a large tension surrounding them, "'And the rivers and waters of Egypt ran red and were as blood'," the man quoted solemnly.
Instantly, Tony and Clint's eyes met, "He's here," they said together before Tony ran out to locate Steve.
As he ran he finally noticed the blonde's tall, broad form walking underneath a walkway as the man read, with a few books tucked beneath his other arm, "Oh Pretty Boy!" he called out, sprinting to get to him as Steve turned with an equally irritated and curious gaze.
"Look Tony if you're still trying to talk me into leaving, it won't-," Tony cut the blonde off by grabbing the blonde's shoulders and shaking his head, "We have a problem," Tony said seriously before there was an extremely loud rumble. They turned to the courtyard in time to watch in horror as large balls of flame rained down and hit people and the ground in large blasts.
Grabbing Steve's hand and enlacing their fingers naturally, Tony yanked the dazed blonde forward and began to run. When they reached a set of stairs they paused only for the sound of a familiar whimper to draw Tony's attention.
Turning he saw Hammer trying to sneak back upstairs and with a snarl, scaled the stairs in a couple steps and had the coward pinned to the wall, "Hammer, you little shit, where have you been?" he demanded, suspicions high.
A distinct, eerily familiar roar from upstairs distracted him enough to allow Hammer to push past him and Steve to run off. Pulling out one of his guns, he offered the other to Steve who accepted it gratefully before they grabbed hands again and climbed the stairs as fast as they could.
Recognizing the room, Tony felt instant caution and moved briskly but no less wearily through the hallways and into the spacious living room of the suite the Americans had bought. Steve's gasp drew Tony's attention to Burns' mummified corpse sitting in one of the chairs in his robe and blindfold looking like a Halloween decoration.
A cracking and growling noise drew Tony's gaze and gun muzzle towards the creature that stood in front of the roaring fire place, body contorting and jolting about. Tony and Steve watched in a horrified daze as muscles began to cover the creatures form, covering most of his bones, though there were still places that revealed the bones and decay beneath.
The creature turned to them and roared once more, much to Tony's annoyance. The bastard had stolen a tongue the least he could do was use the damn thing! The creature began walking toward them and instantly the two men began firing, though the creature seemed particularly intent on Tony's form. Suddenly an arrow flew over Tony's shoulder and impaled the creature's forehead only to have the thing roar again and push Tony in the chest therefore sending him sailing into Clint and the others who had just entered.
Then, the creature turned from the heap of men and focused his attention on Steve who was out of bullets making the blonde throw the gun at the creatures head and back away quickly into the bookcase that covered one of the walls of the room. The creature didn't seem fazed by the hit, though his eyes (which were now a miss-matched blue and brown) flashed with hurt, as he continued to approach Steve who hit the bookcase too soon for his liking.
Why was it he always ended up in these situations?
Then the creature spoke, "You saved me from the undead," the being said, leaning closer to Steve and breathing putrid breath into the blonde's face and causing him to flinch away slightly, shoulders hunched, "I thank you," with that, to Steve and Tony's horror, the mummy began to lean in as if to kiss the blonde.
Suddenly, a meow off to Tony's left and the off-key hit of piano keys drew everyone's attention towards the piano in the far corner to see a familiar white cat walking across the keys.
They all watched in bemusement as the creature seemed to recoil and gasp fearfully before spinning about like a top, arms crossed over his head and face before turning into a large sand storm that filled the room for moments until it escaped through the open window.
Tony stood up quickly and ran to Steve who seemed to collapse into the shorter genius who surprisingly held the larger man up. The genius's eyes never left the window as the others gathered around and Steve trembled in his arms.
Clint spoke up in exasperation and bluntness, "Tony, you're right. Mummies fucking suck."
DeRanged: Well, that's all for this week! Sorry it's today. I tried to do it Saturday and it didn't really work out as I had hoped. *flinches a bit* I fell asleep in the middle of the day and didn't have as much time to write as I would like. But I have done it! Two chapters for my two reviewers and my many thanks to those two as well as my followers! :D thanks guys! I hope you enjoyed, and as always: review!