Hi everyone! Here is the next installment. I'm not entirely happy with how this one turned out. Also, I don't have professional medical knowledge but I tried to make sure everything was accurate. That being said there might be errors. Thank you for reading!
"I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."
His breath came in short bursts as he stared at the man in front of him. The man who for a long time Tony had counted as a friend, a brother. They had been through a lot together. As a team they had save the world and Tony never thought he would live to see the day where the Avengers fought on separate sides. This was actually happening. It was no longer apart of the dreams he woke up from breathless, damp sheets encompassing him. Tony had been convinced for the longest time that they would be able to talk it out. He had no real reason before to think that they couldn't.
They were both reasonable men. Steve wasn't a bad man and actually Tony looked up to him for his selflessness and honor. Both men wanted to do the right thing in the end and work toward the same goal. But somewhere, the journey toward that goal got derailed and now they were bound and set on different tracks. Presently on this evacuated airfield they were face to face, only a few feet apart but a world of feeling separated them. Tony imagined a giant moat coming between their two factions. He wished it were really there so no one would be able to cross over. He stared at the self-righteous face across from him and all the stress and worry he had been hording inside himself within the past couple of weeks came rushing forward. God that helmet was ridiculous.
Fear clouded over his body and like an addicting mist Tony inhaled deeply. Chaos surrounded him every way he glanced. He was flying toward Steve, coming down hard and slamming his friend's head with his fist. Steve staggered and retaliated with his own hit. T'Challa and Barnes were in hand to hand combat. The kid was facing off against Wanda; holding her own. He even spotted Nat and Clint squaring off in the corner of his eye. Nothing sat right about this and his vision kept shaking and tunneling in. All right Tony, just focus. Make sure they don't make it to the Quinjet, collect Barnes, report to Ross, and make sure your team is all right. Make sure everyone is all right.
Even though he was wearing his suit, his more protective skin, Tony could still feel the punches reverberate through his body. The contusions he got from Wanda's parlor trick via cars earlier were still aching. One of Clint's arrows came rushing toward him. There wasn't enough time to react and it came into contact right above his reactor. A light exploded all around him and the pressure seized his body. A deafening sound followed after as more arrows started exploding all around him. His attempts at destroying each one were useless against the endless barrage coming his way. Clint was such a pain in the ass. He continued his assault on Clint who could run surprisingly fast, ducking between crates in hopes to impede Tony's efforts.
Then the kid had a brilliant idea. Somehow Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, as Friday reminded him, had become an even bigger pain in the ass, literally. The kid's plan was crazy. But crazy enough that it just might work. Tony could see the webbing wrapped securely around the giant's legs from his vantage point in the sky. Rhodey and him flew directly up Lang's body and both hit him squarely in the jaw, snapping his neck back and causing Lang to loose balance. He could hear the kid's infectious laughter from the coms and felt a smile creep its way onto his face. One more down.
The laughter bubbling up from his throat fizzled out as he watched the red and blue suit they had worked so hard on fly through the air and crash into a mound of crates. There was no movement that he could see coming from the splinters of wood and scattered trail of dirt. The anger from earlier melted away and was replaced by nothing. It wasn't even a feeling of numbness, which made a person aware of it by the hole left from the curious absence of feeling. This nothing masked itself in a gentle manner, designed as relief until the person was trapped in an eternity of blankness.
Tony flew down, landing next to her fragile body. He frantically tossed some planks of wood away and oh so carefully wiped some dirt off of her shoulder. His hands hovered over the side of her face and on top of her hand; which was grabbing at her side. What if her spine had broken? If that was the case there was no way he could move her. It would be paramount to keep her still and could cause even more damaged if her body was jostled about. Carefully, without putting strain on any of her muscles Tony slipped her mask off of her head. The eyes that had barraged him with so many questions in the past were scrunched closed, unnaturally tight. Her lips were cracked and a tint of red congregated at the right corner. A strangled sound escaped them. He could see she was attempting to move onto her back. The red colored arms came up in a defensive manner, protecting her body and her eyes shot open when he rested his metal hands on them. The muscles strained underneath his hands as she fought him, punching and scratching in order to fend off the threat she perceived. God, what was he thinking? Bringing her into an actual battle. It was beside the point that she wasn't actually supposed to be fighting.
He tried to speak to her, to bring her back to the present. "Kid, are you okay? Come on, Peyton. It's Tony Stark." Her hands continued their movements. Fear clouded over her face and rooted themselves in her widened eyes, their glassy quality reflecting the harsh sun above them.
His grip remained as gentle as it could be while restraining her and again tried to reach out, "Kid, you've got to calm down." She didn't stop moving and in fact his voice just spurred her, causing her to fight even harder. More pain graced her face as she moved her battered body. Tony wasn't sure exactly how strong she actually was, but thought if she was working at full strength he wouldn't have been able to stop her; suit or no. At least she wasn't as severely injured as he thought because she was moving on her own.
"Peyton, you are okay. Look at me." Her movements were becoming slow and held less momentum as she tired herself out. Sweat accumulated on her forehead and upper lip as her breaths became more laborious and shallow. After a few minutes her eyes started to clear and a glint of recognition crept into them. She looked at him with such an expression of relief, like he had just saved her. Tony swallowed and for a moment forced himself to stare into her eyes while she still wasn't fully aware. To face everything that could have happened. He wasn't a savior. It was his fault the kid was hurt. That she was there on the ground in pain. He turned away, unable to see into those eyes anymore. He needed to get away from here, couldn't bear to face what he had done anymore.
He spoke firmly over the coms, "Get down here Happy. Yeah, it's over. Gotta take the kid back. I can't and I'm telling you to."
A sound escaped the kid and he moved so he could look at her again. She stared for a second. Then smiled at him causing her lips to crack and blood to congeal in the crevices. A smile for him. She had no business looking at him, much less with a pleased expression. He had led her into this fight. Led a fifteen-year-old child into a fight with superhuman adults. All their provisions and safety measures didn't mean shit when this was the result. "You promised me you wouldn't fight, kid. I took you at your word." He could see her trying to shrug, which caused his expression to sharpen. How could she be so nonchalant about it?
"I'm sorry Mr. Stark. I am, but I don't regret it. You needed all the help you could get and I could give some, Sir. I wanted to." She was so naive; Tony bet she didn't even comprehend what could have occurred. Ant-Man hadn't even been trying to knock her down at the moment and look at the results. "Plus, I made that sick entrance. Did you see me take Mr. Captain America's shield?" She had made a noise that kind of sounded like a laugh but just rattled around in her chest, turning into a violent cough. Her head thumped back to the ground and she winced at the feel of the gravel. He gathered her mask and silently lifted her head up a bit. Not an expert at hair he tried his best to gather it out of the way and tucked the folded mask where her head came into contact with the ground.
"Kid, I will never forget that. Friday got it all recorded and I will be watching it on repeat. You have. You should have listened to me." No response. "Can you get up?" He held out his hand and prayed she could get up. Reaching in response, she grasped it tightly. So similar to how she did at the cafe where they first officially met. How long ago that day seemed and how shocked he had been upon meeting her. Over and over again she had proven to him not only that she was an amazing hero but also that she was just an all around good person. One that made Tony want to be better.
Over his coms he heard Rhodey yelling for backup and the sounds of the fight came through it, disintegrating the peaceful moment. Reality came back to Tony and distracted as he was didn't notice the slight flinch Peyton made when she stood up. He still had a fight to win. This wasn't the end yet.
"Come on kid. Happy's going to get you back home. I have to take care of some stuff here." He made sure that she was standing and okay before blasting off. Not even letting himself look behind to make sure that she would find her way. Happy could find her, he told himself.
They were going after the Quinjet; they had to stop that plane. This was their last hope. He could feel the turbines pressure more closely now. The air gliding around his suit feeling heavier the faster he was going. Friday informed him that Falcon was on their tails but he wasn't worried. Their main goal was in front of them. Almost there! Then he saw Rhodey falling from the sky. It wasn't even a decision in Tony's mind. He spun around and started flying full acceleration after him. Rhodey's voice came over the coms, this time a heady panic was present. He pushed his suit even harder and he held his arms as tight as they could go against his body, trying to control the shaking.
Impact.
The earth spread out underneath the robust, silver suit, dust erupting from underneath and settling like a halo on the raised edges of the depression. Tony landed besides his friend leaving his own indentation and without thinking tore his friend's mask off. Rhodey's eyes were shut in what looked like a peaceful sleep. The only thing giving it away was the bruising around his nose and a trail of blood leaking from there and down the side of his face under his suit. The shaking in Tony's hands became fiercer as he hastily gathered his vitals.
Heart rate was faint but still beating with major contusions and severe whiplash. And then the worst came. The words spinal cord injury appeared in front of him. A diagram came back showing some of the lumbar nerves highlighted; L2-L5 affected. Friday in her most clinical manner informed Tony of all the repercussions of such an injury could have. Paralysis was one of the words that Tony kept circling back to. Loss of function. Friday made sure the paramedics were on their way and he sat there, his friend in his arms.
The doubts began to crowd around him, yelling their hateful words. What if he couldn't fix this? He wasn't god and there was only so much one man could do. What if this was the limit? What if this went too far and there was no way to help Rhodey? Oh, Rhodey. His best friend had always been there for him. Throughout it all Tony could always count on the man between the ups and downs, and there were a lot of downs. If nothing else in his life, this pushed him over the edge and he was sure his spot in hell was now cemented in stone.
Images came faster now and Tony's worst fears came true before his eyes. A dark mahogany box sat at the end of an isle. People clad in black lined the pews and bowed their heads. The blurred images of two chocolate-eyed children, whom would never be, appeared before him. Their beautiful faces burning the accusations and sadness on the back of his eyes. Tony remained crouching in the dirt while the nameless children stared. Time seemed to slow for him as people rushed back and forth around the site. Medics came and with care pried his hands off of his friend and carried him from the ground. They put him on a stretcher and transported him out of his sight. Tony stayed there, kneeling in the dirt, arms at his side, fingers dragging in the earth. His arms empty now.
Tony's mind was whirling not allowing the words to sink in past the tempest inside him. There was no way this could actually happen and to all people Rhodey. His Rhodey. What if it was worse than Friday had thought? He had to fix this, make sure Rhodey was okay. Tony could do anything. Fixing things was his thing. All he had to do was create another suit, another something to help his Rhodes out. He could do this. He had built his company up from something harmful. Had created the Iron Man suit inside a cave in the desert. If there was a way, Tony Stark could find it. A sob worked its way up his chest and droplets darkened the maroon color of the suit on his chest. He hadn't realized it had started raining. His vision blurred and another sound came from him. As her wiped his face the metal on his gloves came back slick and he realized the droplets were coming from him. This was his entire fault.
He stood up then, the metal suit encasing his cracking knees and aching ribs, which both simultaneously protested the movement. His cheeks now tacky and dried up. First though, he needed to get to Rhodey and make sure he was going to be okay. Make sure he got the best medical attention. And then, once again, he had to get to work. The sky loomed closer as he fly upward. He programmed the autopilot and closed his eyes, seeking some peace from the giant war he had just created. He found none.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it! I hope your Friday goes quickly and happy early Mother's Day!
Let me know what you think.