Chapter Eleven: Eclipse
The Avengers Tower seemed different than the last time that Tony had been there. Not weird, just different. He glanced up at the sleek, modern building. He remembered being happy and thrilled every time he had parked his car and made him way up. With the Avengers there every evening it felt like he had adopted a bunch of cats. He didn't have to be alone anyone.
Not that Tony had enjoyed having them twenty four seven all the time, but still it was a nice comfort knowing that he hadn't been alone all the time. Now the tower was being hounded by reporters even though Vision and Happy were doing the best to keep them away from the car and Tony. Most of the reporters freaked out when they saw Vision so the wait didn't last too long. Tony's cell phone started ringing and he looked at it saw that it was a call from Rhodey. He must have been out from physical therapy for the day. He had been calling nonstop ever since Tony had woken up from the hospital. He hung up. He didn't want to talk to anybody.
Happy and Vision exchanged gazes, but didn't say a word. Tony had been extra moody lately and the smallest thing could set him off in a heartbeat. Fury had told them to give him space, but that didn't seem to be helping either. He went towards the main floor and saw that it was empty. "Where's everyone?"
"Fury wanted to talk to them, they will be back later," Happy said. "Boss, do you want food or anything? Is there anything that I can do for you?"
Tony shook his head. "I'm fine, Happy you can go. I'll mostly hang in here tonight. The last thing I want to do is deal with the paparazzi."
Happy nodded, though he looked uncomfortable leaving Tony alone. "Uh, sure thing, boss, but call me if you need anything. Anything at all, you have my number."
"Happy."
"Right, sorry." Happy said goodbye to Vision and immediately left.
Vision turned to Tony. "Can I get you anything sir, perhaps I could call a pizza? Or I can make you soup," he started getting weirdly excited. "I just found this most wonderful recipe for onion and potato soup- "
"Not right now, Vis," Tony murmured, his voice slightly on edge. "Is anyone here?"
"No sir, they are talking. . .they are talking with Director Fury."
He snorted. "You mean they are gossiping about me."
"No, of course not. They just want to help sir."
Tony shook his head looking sullen, "Whatever, I'm going to my lab. Don't let anyone bother me."
"But Dr. Banner recommended bed rest," Vision protested weakly. "He said that you should be resting and that you shouldn't be anywhere near your lab."
"Bye, Vis."
"But sir- "Tony ignored him as he went towards his lab. He knew that Vision wouldn't tattle no matter how much he wanted to. Vision still considered Tony his creator and therefore he was still fiercely devoted to him. He went towards his lab, taking in the familiar structure hoping that it would relax him. But it didn't seem to work at all. It just made him feel more anxious. He moved his hands slightly in his lap.
He said the password to Friday and said with specific instructions. "Don't let anyone in Friday under any circumstances unless I authorize it."
"Yes Sir."
Tony sat in his chair in front of the large, screen monitors. "What would you like to watch, sir?"
Tony gulped. "What I caused."
"No! No-are you out of your mind?" Steve turned to glare at the rest of his former teammates. Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Bruce, Wanda and Fury were crowded in a small room in Avengers headquarters. They had been talking about Tony for the past hour, but none of them seemed to reach the right conclusion. They all looked exhausted and in no room to argue. "Sending Tony to a shrink. Forcing him to sit on a couch and discuss his feelings, do you honestly think that, that is going to work."
"Do you have a better idea?" Natasha demanded. "Steve, you may not realize it now, but Tony is at his breaking point. Wether you may realize it or not the course of action that we take regarding Tony is going to determine everything. Tony is already a disaster waiting to happen."
"I agree with Steve," Clint said ignoring Natasha's glare. "Christ, Nat don't look at me like that. We're talking about Tony Stark, the most stubborn, egoistical man that we have ever met with a suit of iron and endless money. Do you really think he's going to listen to us? Do you honestly think he's going to say, 'hey, what a great idea, let me make an appointment with my shrink'?"
"Natasha is right," Fury interrupted him. "Stark, went through a lot of psychological and emotional damage and we need to address that before we lose him for good. Stark already doesn't think before he acts and what he went through can be dangerous. It's better to be safe than sorry and at this point I would rather hog tie Stark to a chair myself than take a risk like this."
Wanda looked at Fury confused. "So we should just lock Tony up and treat him like a psycho? How is that helping anyone, we are no better than HYDRA."
"Listen here, young lady- "
Clint snorted. "Stark is a lot tougher than you may think. I went through the same thing when Loki brainwashed me and yes I felt guilt, but I didn't have to- "
"It's not the same thing," Bucky blurted out. "I'm sorry, but it's not. Steve told me about the whole Loki mess and I'm sorry I know that it's bad, but what HYDRA does, what HYDRA did is much worse. You lose control of everything your life, your memories, your whole person. Unlike Loki who manipulated you with the tesseract those that fall victim to HYDRA usually go through extreme physical and psychological torture. We broke Stark from his brainwashing, but I bet a pretty penny that he remembers everything that HYDRA put him through. I don't care how stubborn and sarcastic and how much money the guy has. That kind of experience just doesn't go away."
There was a stunned silence before Bruce broke it up with a weak cough. "Well, you already know what I think. I don't think we should force Stark to do anything, but some psychological evaluation might help in the long run."
Fury nodded. "I agree with your diagnosis. We'll give Stark a few days to rest before we bring this up. Now I want all of you to keep an eye on him and tell me of any suspicious activity that you find. Do you understand?"
They nodded.
"Good work, team."
They stood up and Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. "Who's staying with Stark, tonight? I say that we rotate turns."
"Vision and I are staying with Stark," Bruce said. "I'll give you the update tomorrow."
-End of Chapter Eleven-
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