Born Of The Same Impulse
Summary: Barely five minutes into the past and Tony has already taken care of Ultron, thus prevented Sokovia, thus – hopefully – made sure that the Civil War would never happen. All things considered, he was doing pretty well!
Then he just had to look up his fellow superhero turned time traveller on the internet.
Star Surgeon Involved In Car Crash, Condition Unknown
Chapter 11
The situation with Tony didn't improve. He wanted them to think that it did – after all, he'd reacted to Natasha's nudge and started to spend more time with the team. But she soon realized that agreeing to socialize wasn't the same as opening up to them.
Tony was acting oddly, and Natasha couldn't explain why. His odd avoidance towards them ever since they'd found the scepter, whatever he'd been thinking when creating Vision, and now Strange? He'd never even mentioned the guy before, and now he was living with them at the tower?
Natasha hated not knowing what was going on. She hated it even more when it concerned someone close to her. Natasha had never had many genuine friends, and she had even less left. This team held most of the very few people she wanted to hold onto.
It felt like one of those people had started slipping away from her without her realizing it.
"Iron Man, what's your status?" Steve asked over the coms, not for the first time since the start of the mission.
Natasha shared a glance with Clint. Normally, it was a chore and a half to get Tony to keep quiet and concentrate during their missions. His chattering on the coms had become expected background noise. He'd never had to be reminded about sharing his status before.
There was a pause. "Right," Tony said, finally. "There's no shielding for any part of the building. Checking for surveillance systems or defense mechanisms now."
"... Got it," Steve said after waiting for Tony to say more, reluctance heavy in his voice.
None of them were stupid. Tony may have had the common sense not to allow a stranger – a civilian – access to the team's coms. But it wasn't difficult to put two and two together and deduce that he had set up a separate line just for him and his new friend, and was only switching to the team's when absolutely necessary.
Natasha wasn't entirely sure what a civilian was able to offer in terms of information or strategic advice that the Avengers couldn't, but despite his superficial attitude, Tony was anything but careless. She hadn't taken him for the type of person to risk the outcome of a mission because of a mindless distraction.
So, if Strange wasn't a distraction, what was he? And why did his presence affect Tony's behavior towards the team?
Natasha hated not knowing, and she wouldn't stand for.
"Guys," Tony said, his voice flickering through the com line at last. "We're not alone anymore." A grunt of surprise followed, but nothing more.
"Iron Man." Steve's voice cut through the silence sharply. "Iron Man, status."
Without waiting for an answer, Natasha and Clint broke out into a run towards Tony's last known location. Steve was most likely doing the same. Natasha felt a frown bubbling up behind her blank expression. If a lack of communication was going to cost them the mission – and Tony – Natasha was going to make him regret it.
"Tony, where are you?!" Natasha caught a glimpse of Steve from afar. He held one ear to his com without slowing down his sprint.
At last, they were given a location. "I found the twins," Tony said curtly. "Backup would be appreciated." There was a dull impact and a crackling sound. Then nothing.
If Tony came out of this in one piece, Natasha was going to kill him.
"Seriously?" Stephen's laughter filtered through the com line, proving that he'd decided not to take Tony's dilemma seriously. "Magic and you 'don't agree'? What does that even mean?"
Tony let out an insulted huff, keeping one eye on the data displayed on his HUD. "No need for that kind of tone. Look, I can make my armor faster, stronger, more durable. But magic? That's just cheating. Suddenly my sensors aren't working and my armor might as well be made out of cardboard."
"You're exaggerating. Besides, we've already established that Miss Maximoff did not have the opportunity to master her abilities yet."
"Iron Man, what's your status?"
Tony almost cursed. "One moment," he said to Stephen, then switched com lines to the one he shared with the Avengers. "Right. There's no shielding for any part of the building. Checking for surveillance systems or defense mechanisms now."
He doubted he'd find any. The twins were on the run and unlikely to have found backup in form of another HYDRA base in such a short amount of time.
By preventing Ultron from going rogue, Tony had made sure that the twins were missing their temporary ally in their quest to destroy the Avengers. However, he had also made it much more difficult to guess their next course of action. Would they be trying to get away from the Avengers first and foremost? Or were they driven by their anger to a degree that would make them fight despite the odds?
His HUD notified him of a life sign: a single, lonely ping before it was gone again. It could have easily been a glitch of his sensors. Tony's tech didn't do glitches.
"They're here," he said to Stephen, and, switching over to the Avengers, "Guys. We're not alone anymore."
An energy pulse darted his way and forced Tony to dodge with a grunt of surprise. The attack missed his shoulder by inches.
"Hello there," he said, attempting to salvage his dignity by righting his body into a proper, defensive stance. "Can't say I'm overly thrilled to meet you in person."
"I cannot say the same about you, either." Wanda's eyes were narrowed with a furious gleam to them. Red whisks of magic hovered all around her as though Tony's mere sight made her control over it slip. "Do you know who I am?"
"I do." Tony schooled his pained expression into one of grim resignation. What wouldn't he give to be able to skip this part. "I'm sorry about what happened to you."
Wanda paused. Perhaps she was surprised at the confession. "An apology isn't worth anything. It can't change what happened."
"No," Tony agreed. "I suppose it can't."
To Wanda's credit, she didn't waste time with an evil, deranged monologue about her motivations or plans to make Tony suffer a violent, gruesome death. This already put her up high on the list of people who'd tried to kill Tony out of vengeance.
"I found the twins," Tony said over the coms while dodging a barrage of menacing red. "Backup would be appreciated."
Pietro was too fast for his sensors.
A blow knocked Tony to the ground, the sheer momentum of it forceful enough to pound a dent into his armor. Tony suppressed a grunt and rolled to his feet – only to fall back when electricity twitched over his armor and made his HUD shut down with a flicker.
Pietro must have planted an EMP device on his suit. A souvenir from their time with HYDRA, perhaps? They couldn't seriously expect him to not have prepared for moments like these.
After mere seconds, JARVIS' voice was the first of his suit's functions that came back online. "Rebooting now, sir."
"They aren't attacking," Tony muttered, frowning at the lack of physical assault on his armor. One would have thought they would have taken the opportunity of him being trapped and motionless in front of them.
The first thing Tony saw once his HUD flickered back to life was Wanda bend over his armor, frowning and surrounded by swirls of deep red. A dull feeling of apprehension settled in his gut at the thought of what she'd been trying to do, closely followed by relief at her failure.
"Nice try," he said, heaving himself up from his lying position. Wanda jerked back as though burned. "I'd wish you luck trying to breach the armor. Unfortunately you're not gonna get a second chance."
Wanda took Pietro by the arm and retreated several steps, a calculating gleam in her eyes. Tony took on a fighting stance, preparing for whatever she was going to try next.
A few whispered words to her brother, and Wanda and Pietro disappeared in a blur.
Tony narrowed his eyes, not willing to move out of his defensive position immediately. His com line rebooted and gave him something else to worry about.
"–ony! Tony? If you don't say something in the next few seconds–"
"It's fine," he said, cutting off Stephen while checking his armor for damage. He peeled off the metal disc that had latched onto it like a parasite – now useless. "I'm fine, don't worry. The armor held up. She couldn't get through it."
"Where is she now?"
"Bailed with her brother. Probably a tactical retreat after their little plan didn't work out."
Tony didn't particularly want to know what exactly that plan had entailed. Nothing that involved Tony's head being screwed with sounded like something he particularly wanted to experience.
"What does your team think about it?" Stephen asked, and made Tony wince.
He wished he could simply put Stephen on the same com line they were using. Splitting his attention like he was doing now clearly wasn't working out.
"The twins made a run for it," he said over the Avengers com line. "The girl, Wanda, tried to do something and it didn't work out. They're probably regrouping now."
There was a muffled hiss that sounded half like a curse, half like a breath of relief.
"You can't just go radio silent like that, Tony!" Steve snapped, concern lingering behind the frustration. "We were this close to sending the Hulk after you!"
Tony cringed. "I'm flattered," he said, "but fine. No need to bother Bruce on my behalf."
"It's not about that. We need to–" Steve cut himself off before he could finish the sentence. He didn't sound happy when he added, "We'll talk about this later. Let's just focus on the rest of the mission."
Tony suppressed a sigh. He really needed to figure out a way to introduce Stephen to the team as a member, not as a random acquaintance.
"Entering the building now," Natasha said. "It looks like an old research lab. Abandoned, but lots of supplies left lying around."
"Maybe they were looking for something?" Tony thought out loud.
If they'd been here before, they might have come back in the knowledge of something worth retrieving. Some sort of device? A biological weapon? Tony genuinely hoped they wouldn't be dealing with a Winter Soldier situation.
"If this is an abandoned HYDRA base, they might know their way around." Natasha said.
Meaning that they might already have gotten what they'd come for.
"We've got a problem." Steve's tone of voice immediately put Tony on edge. "There's a bomb that's set to go off in two minutes."
Considering the possible radius, it wasn't enough time to evacuate. By this point the twins were likely far, far away from their intended grave.
"On my way," Tony said, and, switching over to Stephen, "The twins planted a bomb. I'm going to try and diffuse it before it goes off."
If all else failed, JARVIS would be able to take over his suit and carry it high enough not to be a danger anymore.
Tony caught sight of Steve and slipped out of the armor, sprinting to where he was crouched down in front of a piece of machinery. "Alright, what have we got?" Tony muttered, already mentally reviewing the most likely model and ways to diffuse it.
Tony stared at the broken computer monitor in front of him. There wasn't anything explosive within sight.
"Is this a joke?" He turned to Steve, his heart pounding madly in his chest.
He had time to spot glowing red eyes and widen his own in alarm before he was tackled from the side and his surroundings blurred.
As sudden as it had started, it was already over. Tony stumbled as his involuntary ride halted in his tracks, catching himself on a nearby tree and heaving as his stomach protested at the ruthless change in location. He doubted that Pietro Maximoff would care if he pointed out that a regular human body was not built to move at his level of speed.
"I gotta say," he said as soon as he was sure he wouldn't puke all over his shoes, "I'm impressed. Using Cap to lure me out of the armor? Wow. Bonus points for being creative and unpredictable."
Tony's mind was racing. JARVIS would have seen what had happened and notified the team. Without the armor, they wouldn't be able to find out his location. The research base was nowhere in sight, so Tony couldn't say how far away Pietro had brought him.
JARVIS would be able to locate him – unless, of course, he currently had a brainwashed Captain America to deal with. He didn't know how far Wanda's manipulation went.
The twins' stares were starting to unnerve him. "So," he said, even though the smart thing to do would have probably been to shut his mouth. "What now?"
"You look different than we'd expected," Pietro said. Hate shimmered in his eyes in the same way Wanda's did.
Tony didn't have to look down at himself to know what he meant. His hair would be ruffled, his face flushed from the exercise of steering the armor. He was fairly sure there was a stain of motor oil on his undersuit from the last time he hadn't bothered to change while working on one of his projects in the garage.
All in all, he didn't look anything like his TV presence, like the Merchant of Death the twins had no doubt imprinted in their mind as the cause for all of their suffering.
Tony stood no chance fighting bare-handed against both meta humans – or even one of them. He supposed that left one course of action to attempt to ensure his continued survival. Stalling.
"If I'd known I'd be kidnapped today, I would have put more effort into how I looked." Tony didn't think he'd be successful trying to reason with either of them. In different circumstances, perhaps. Being on his own and at their mercy would only make them take his words as the rambling of a desperate man.
He'd try his hand at making them gloat, instead. "What did you do to Cap?" he said, pretending not to know how Wanda's powers worked. "How'd you make him help you?"
"Does it scare you?" An ugly, self-satisfied smirk tugged at Pietro's lips. "Being confronted with a power you cannot understand?"
Taunts instead of gloating. Well, Tony would take what he could get.
"He is defenseless," Wanda said. "We could put an end to this. We could end him, right now."
Her tone of voice made Tony pause. Before he could debate whether or not it was wiser to keep his mouth shut, he'd already started talking. "You sound really unsure about this, you know?"
Wanda scowled at him, magic twitching around her fingers as though it wanted to refute his words. However, she made no move to come closer.
It dawned on Tony then. Despite all the questionable choices the twins had made since their family had been killed, at this point in time they had never murdered someone in cold blood before. Manipulation and brainwashing was not the same as actively stopping another person's heart – especially if it was outside of battle, without the justification of them fighting back.
Even if it meant a higher chance of getting out of this alive, Tony didn't actually know where to go from here.
Wanda and Pietro weren't children by any stretch of the imagination, but Stephen was right in that they needed someone to guide them. That someone couldn't be Tony.
"You don't have to do this," he said quietly, already knowing that nothing coming out of his mouth would make a difference. He'd lived through this exact situation, and Tony hadn't listened to Barnes, either. Logic and reason went flying out the window when confronted with the person you believed to have taken your family away from you. "There are other ways."
"None that are worth losing the satisfaction of finishing what we have started."
Tony clenched his jaw. There was no doubt in Pietro's voice.
His sister, however, still hesitated. Noting the same, Pietro briefly laid his hand on her shoulder. "I'll do it," he said, and disappeared in a blur.
Tony didn't stand a chance. There was no way to keep up with Pietro's speed, nor to brace himself for the blow. Without the armor and with Pietro's power, a single punch would shatter Tony's rib cage.
He didn't have the time to so much as close his eyes. Pietro materialized in front of him, his fist raised as though he planned to punch a hole straight through his body.
Then he was gone.
Wanda cried out in surprise and rage as Tony struggled to comprehend what had happened. A quick peek down at his body proved that Pietro hadn't so much as caused a scratch. Surely, he hadn't abandoned his sister? But where was he?
Only then, through the wild pounding of his increased heart rate did Tony notice the labored breathing behind him. As well as the shimmering, lightly orange shield that built a barrier between him and Wanda.
"S-Stephen?" he said, whirling around to face his unkempt, oddly flustered looking friend. His hands were a shaky mess, but he held them raised in front of his body, pointing at the barrier. Tony could do nothing but stare. "How did you get here?"
"JARVIS told me what happened. Nobody could reach you anymore." He shrugged, the carelessness of the gesture ruined by his strained breathing. "So I portaled."
"You've never been here before," Tony said, not quite sure why he was arguing something that had saved his life.
Stephen met Tony's eyes, a mild daze clouding his glance. Apparently he hadn't quite registered what he'd managed to do himself. "I know. I pictured you."
Before Tony had the chance to latch onto that discovery – he and Stephen would have a field day exploring the new possibilities it opened up for his powers – a snarl tore them out of their conversation. Something impacted with Stephen's shield and made him flinch, but he managed to hold onto it.
"Where did you send him?!" Wanda cried, her voice audible despite the barrier between them. She did not look happy at having seen her twin disappear into a portal right in front of her. "Where is he?!"
"Safe," Stephen said, "but momentarily incapacitated."
While his voice sounded as confident as it always did, Tony's eyes kept being drawn to the shaky quality of his stance. The two portals he had conjured – the one to bring him here and the one to send Pietro somewhere he couldn't cause trouble – seemed to have taken a lot out of him. And that wasn't even considering the still active shielding spell.
"Can you make another portal?" Tony murmured, quietly enough that Wanda wouldn't hear.
He winced as another of her attacks made contact with the shield.
Stephen paused, considering the question. Without taking his eyes off their opponent, he muttered back, "Unlikely."
Tony pressed his lips together in a narrow line. Even if Stephen did manage to make another portal, they had lost the element of surprise. Wanda would know that it was coming, and would be able to defend herself.
Tony quickly reviewed the tools he had at his disposal. Without his armor, he couldn't defend against Wanda's power any more than he could against Pietro's. But without Pietro's speed to overwhelm him, he had at least a chance to fight back.
"Distract her for me, will you?" he muttered, mentally starting to wipe up a half-baked, desperate plan.
Stephen's lip curled in discontent. "And how do you propose I do that?"
"Preferably without getting close enough to be brainwashed."
Stephen scoffed at the admittedly unhelpful advice.
"Try to keep her talking," Tony added, "goading her with her brother might work."
"It might also enhance my chances of being killed faster." Stephen paused. He looked down at his hands, then at Wanda. A calculating glint twitched through his eyes, his expression growing tight with apprehension.
Tony was about to remind him that they didn't exactly have a lot of time to work with when he broke out of his thoughtful silence on his own.
"I have a better idea," he muttered, his tone suggesting that he wasn't using the word 'better' out of conviction.
His tone put Tony's teeth on edge.
"I don't know how well it will work. I should be able to buy you some time, at the very least. In the best case," Stephen paused. "Well. I am not entirely sure which is the best case."
Tony definitely didn't like the sound of that. "Stephen," he said, pushing urgency into his voice, "what are you going to–"
Stephen's barrier shattered like glass, and Tony wasn't sure whether Stephen had dismissed the spell or whether Wanda had finally managed to break through.
Stephen didn't bother with hand signs his broken fingers would have been unable to form. In this case, he didn't appear to need them. He punched the air in front of him into shards, cracked like a broken mirror. Both he and Wanda – caught up in the range of his attack – were surrounded, making it look like they were inside a mirror room at a carnival.
Stephen thrust his hands downwards and the shards disappeared, taking him and Wanda with them.
Tony was left behind, staring at the spot they had disappeared from.
A/N: Had some trouble as FFN kept mixing up the documents and used the wrong one for the chapter. Hope the issue is fixed now.
Whelp. Endgame... certainly happened. And it only took a hastily written three-part fix-it to recover from the pain it caused me :P Feel free to check it out, two parts of it are already posted.
Beta'd by the wonderful Igornerd, To Mockingbird and PyrothTenka!
Please take a moment to let me know what you thought!
~Gwen
