At 4:34 in the afternoon, "Betty Ross" steps out of the secret government base for the last time. It is an installation which does not legally exist in any document or report, and is one of the most well-kept secrets in American history. In her pocket, she carries a hard drive which contains all the information in the computers of that installation, everything she was told to take.
The first thing she does once she's miles away, and has safely assumed some other identity, is make a phone call on a disposable cell phone which cannot be traced.
"It's done," She says. Nothing else is said; the phone is discarded.
The new mission begins.
A striking figure stands beneath a luminous moon. It is the middle of the night, darkness long since fallen, and his is the only silhouette. He stands upon the balcony of a dingy apartment, in a nowhere town. His identity, his credit card, they're all fake; by morning, he'll be gone, and no one will remember him.
For a moment he contemplates the precipice he stands upon: from this moment on, nothing will be the same. He's been preparing for this for years, what feels like centuries, but though he feels he is ready he still stands in awe that it is really happening. There's a brief instant when he regrets that it must happen; but it is brief. This is the only way.
Someone knocks on the door, pushes it slightly agar. "We're ready, boss." Then leaves. The man lingers in the moonlight for a moment longer, then turns and saunters out the door.
A domino falls - and all the other dominoes begin tumbling down.
In Washington, a member of the Secret Service, standing only feet from the President, suddenly turns and aims his gun at the man in charge of the United States of America - only to turn the gun upon himself a moment later, and blow his own brains out.
Across the country, benk owners awaken to find the vaults to their safes open, their locks unlocked, everything open for the taking, but nothing is taken.
A vicious tornado springs up in the middle of New York City - it lasts only for thirty three seconds. Dozens die.
And at 4:35, a video is released upon the internet.
Tony Stark is hiding in his lab, tinkering away, when pounding feet come down the stairs. Half turning, Tony sees it's Steve, and with a roll of his eyes turns back to his work. He's about to let loose with a witty repartie, until the man speaks.
"Tony!" There's something sharp, panicky in the leader's voice, vulnerable. Something's wrong. "You need to be up here, it's - it's Bruce."
That's all it takes - Tony's throwing tools aside, running up the stairs past Steve two at a time, until he comes to the living room on this floor. Clint is in the kitchen, making eggs, which have begun to burn as his attention has become riveted to the television. The only other person in the room is Bruce, who stands before the TV with shaking limbs, wide eyes barely tinged green, and he seems slightly taller than he should be.
Tony is by his side in an instant - he looks meaningfully back at Steve, who nods and moves to Clint. Both blonds rush away, to what Tony doesn't care, because his only concern is the man slowly transforming in front of him.
"Tony!" The voice is half Bruce, half Hulk. "Tony, they - they have Betty!"
The anguish in his voice draws out Tony's own agony. There was no love lost between him and the scientist, but this? Arms around Bruce's shoulders, he looks at the television, where Betty Ross is kneeling on the ground, a gag in her mouth, tears pouring down dirt stained cheeks. It's a very familiar sight, though last time he was in Ross's place, kneeling on the ground of a cave in Afghanistan. He clutches Bruce tighter.
"Sir!"
Director Fury already knows; he's been informed, and so he pushes the officer aside and runs to his terminal on the ship. Betty Ross has supposedly been with a government installation for the past few weeks, which means that she was either just caught or was never there, and they've been infiltrated. Neither option bodes well.
The video is still playing, live, on the computer behind him, the audio turned up loud. So when a gun shot rings out, he hears it loud and clear.
That turns him back around, his one eye quite wide. The girl's not dead. But the bullet is right by her head, just... hanging there. She's screaming through the gag, though she hasn't been hurt, and the sound is heartbreaking and sharp.
Every so often she gasps, her sobs breaking through the gag, her chest heaving, but she doesn't dare move her head. Fury stalks towards the screen, eye narrowed, as a figure steps behind the captive. Austere, tall, and shadowed, this stranger commands attention, and provokes suspicion all at once. His is an aura that says he is to be feared. A lesser man might be cowed by that.
"We," The figure starts. "did not begin this. But I have resolved to end it." For a moment, he stands quietly, intimidatingly hovering beyond the woman.
"You have taken from us. I will take the same from you. You have attempted to exterminate us, to use us. We shall not stand by and wait to be slaughtered. You want war? You shall have it. We have declared it - and will not be satisfied until our conquest is complete."
He steps forward slightly, and a thin line of pale skin and a thin-lipped smirk become visible. "The Brotherhood has finally found you - and there will be no escape."
The bullet, which had been hovering by Betty Ross's head the whole video, suddenly drops to the floor with a disarming clink of metal. Then the video ends.
Bruce is now more green than pale skinned, and his clothes are ripped in multiple places. He's hunched over the ground, gripping it with meaty fingers that tear the floor like butter. Tony's still with him, kneeling at his side, and he hasn't stopped talking since the transformation began.
"Bruce, Bruce it's all right, she's alive!" Tony insists into his ear; or where his ear had been, as it's risen a foot above the ground. "She's still alive, we can save her!"
He's not sure his friend can hear him, but he's not going to leave. He's not the kind of asshole who leaves people when they need him most, not anymore.
"Tony!"
Oh, shit on a stick, this isn't good, because that's Rhodey, who the Hulk has never met before and who has never met the Hulk, and this is not the kind of situation he wanted to introduce them in, so Tony stands and turns to tell him to go, now - only to find Rhodey already halfway across the room, gun drawn. "Rhodey, no!"
"Tony, run, now!" The airman, bless his stupid heart, is trying to save Tony but when will people begin to realize he doesn't need saving, not from the Hulk, who has never hurt him and has in fact saved his life multiple times, and he should really be saying these things aloud to reassure Rhodey but it's all happening too fast and he needs to get Rhodey out of here - !
Hulk growls, and with that spins round and flings an arm out. It's lucky he hasn't grown to full size yet, as he barely misses hitting Rhodey upside the face. "Rhodey, get the hell out of here!" His friend turns to Tony with eyes like dinner plates, asking him with speaking what the hell is he thinking, but Tony just gestures to the door. The Hulk moves, and Tony braces himself to watch as his best friend is squished into a pancake by the maybe-love-of-his-life, only the arms don't go for Rhodey.
Suddenly he's got a big, green limb wrapped around his middle, and he's being pulled to a broad chest before the Hulk collapses against the far wall - which begins to crack under the strain - and remains there, glowering at Rhodey. Rhodey is staring, mouth agape, at the sight, likely ignoring all the good advice Tony is currently shouting at him.
"What did I tell you? Get the fuck out of here before he changes his mind and I have to clean your remains out of the carpet!" Tony screeches. "Go, go, go!" Rhodey seems to finally get the idea because he's stumbling for the door.
"I'm coming back with help, Tony, I promise -"
"Oh just shut up!" With a roll of his eyes, Tony settle against the Hulk because it's unlikely he's going anywhere anytime soon. "I'm fine, safe as can be! Just go!"
Finally he's gone, and the world is quiet. Tony's heart is pounding in his chest, he's covered in sweat, and feels like he just ran a marathon, but everyone's okay. They're all alive. Glancing to the TV, he realizes that in the chaos the Hulk had pounded it to pieces, but if that's the only collateral that comes from this situation Tony will be quite relieved.
It takes only a moment for him to realize the Hulk is being uncharacteristically strange. Usually, when threatened, he runs for the hills, bellowing and rumbling. Tony tries to turn in his embrace, and sees - sees that big head hunkered down, messy green hair hanging over wet eyes. Something in Tony's chest cracks, beneath the reactor. For a moment he thinks he's never felt so much, for anyone, but here he is being assaulted by a maelstrom of pity, love, sorrow, and uncertainty because a big green man is crying.
"Hey," He whispers softly, and begins trying to move. The Hulk's grip tightens and he yelps. "Lighten up! I'm not leaving, you big lug, I'm trying to turn around and hug you!" He's not sure that the concept gets through, for a moment, but then the grip lessens and he can move.
So he turns, throws his arms around the Hulk's neck as best he can, and lets the big guy cry. He's never been good at comfort, or openly sharing emotion, or being open about feeling or any of that bullshit. Yet here he is, comforting the Hulk, comforting Bruce. If it were anyone else, he'd have left with a sharp remark and the stomp of his feet.
Yeah, he's got this love thing going on really bad.
Not hours later, the Avengers are gathered in one of the meeting rooms in the mansion, along with Rhodey, who stands by Tony's shoulder like a sentinel, arms crossed, turning to glare at Bruce every so often. But at the same time, his eyes are surprisingly soft and searching, as if looking for something in the way Bruce and Tony sit side by side, and lean into each other. He's protective and he's confused by this new Tony Stark he's seeing, and he's not sure whether to thank Bruce Banner for this change or to put a court order on him to stay away. Not that Tony Stark ever listened to court orders anyway.
Rhodey's the outsider in this meeting, and it shows, but he doesn't really care. He only stopped by to check on Tony, because if one doesn't do that every so often it's likely the man will kill himself from lack of care or maybe burn his house down (which he did, apparently, do a few months ago while Rhodey was still on tour). The strange thing now, though, is that Tony has six or seven babysitters instead of just two, him and Pepper. That would be great... if he actually knew and trusted any of these people.
On the screen at the end of the table is Director Fury, explaining the situation, telling the group of all the strange occurrences of the day, what they'd discovered about the video (almost nothing) and the fact that Betty Ross had never, in fact, been at the government installation she was supposed to be at.
"You're sure she wasn't taking right after leaving?"
"No, because the timing was too close." Fury frowns. "And that was on purpose. Betty Ross checked out of the base at 4:34, and the video aired online exactly a minute later."
"So they were making a point." Natasha, arms crossed, glares at empty air as if it was the culprit. "They wanted us to know the real Betty Ross had never been there."
"But why?" Steve asks with incredulity which has been present in his tone since the meeting began. "What's the reason for all this?"
"The almost murdering the president, the almost thievings, the person who's not who they say they are - " Tony rattles on. "It's a message. They're making a point."
"Stretching their muscles, showing us what they can do to intimidate us." Clint finishes.
"Exactly." The inventor is enthused, leaning onto the table, gesturing wildly with his arms. "They can get into our bases without us knowing, they can take out our leaders, steal our capital, and we can't do shit about it. It's a scare tactic."
"It's working." Fury growls, his eye narrowing. "The higher ups are shitting their pants, and the president is demanding answers. We have none. The Brotherhood, whoever they are, are very good at keeping off the radar."
"They are mutants." Thor offers, speaking up for the first time. "They must be. The timing of these events is too close not to implicate them. They must be the group that has been targeting us, targeting Tony." He gestures to the man, and Tony nods his agreement.
"I think he's right - I think this is the guy Xavier thought was behind all this, which means now's the time to go and get some answers from the old guy."
"That's not going to be possible." Fury states rather quietly, drawing the attention of the whole group. For a moment everyone's silent.
Tony's simple, heart-wrenching, "no", is what breaks it.
They'd come in the middle of the night - a team of government agents, prepared for what abilities mutants had to offer, protected against evasions of the mind and super-powered strength. They got through the mansion's defenses, snuck past its guard, and in dead silence, made away with the oldest denizens of the house.
"Everyone involved in that project forty years ago was taken." Fury finishes explaining. The longer he spoke, the lower Tony drooped open the table, fists clenched tight, eyes holding in bitter tears. Rhodey notices Bruce's hand coming onto Tony's shoulder and tries not to tense up.
"Was it this Brotherhood?" Steve starts.
"We don't think so. Given what the video hinted at, we think the target of the message was some branch of government, a secret organization of some sort -"
"And the attack on the mansion was that organization's retaliation?" Natasha finishes. Her leader nods.
"Exactly."
"So, what? Division X still exists?" Tony lifts his head, anger and fire in his eyes. "I mean, who else would be involved in this? And why take the professor?"
"He seemed to know whoever was in charge of this brotherhood. Maybe he means something to him." Clint offers. The man's tense in his chair, more so than before, and it's clearly because of the news about the mansion - the mansion where Coulson still lives, recovering.
"I will take what you've taken from me." Natasha mutters, eyes downcast. "That's the key."
"Betty was with us before she was taken. So is her kidnapping directed at us?" Steve offers.
"I don't know who else it would be directed at." Bruce began to speak. "Since we've been the target of so much else it seems reasonable to think her kidnapping was to target us, too."
"But what did we take?" Steve asks, clearly confused, and frustrated that there was so little that could at the moment be done. "And why would taking Betty right?"
They found no answers; and departed with heavy hearts, preparing for what was to come, for the future that would almost certainly get worse before it got better.
It is after Natasha leaves that Pepper is hit with a revelation.
She'd just spent the last two hours lying with her lover, cloaked in worry and fear, discussing what had happened. Pepper finds it hard to believe that the woman she'd spoken to only weeks before was now in the hands of terrorists, and might soon be killed. She wept, and Natasha held her through it, then left for SHIELD headquarters to deal with what would surely be a long night to start a long week.
Pepper was laying in their bed, half dressed, cheeks tear stained, a wreck of a woman still trying to understand what her life had become. Living with heroes, with government spies and soldiers, meant people would be kidnapped and maybe even killed. It is too close to home for her, too like what happened to Tony, and it hurts deep inside in a place few things could rarely touch.
Contemplating it, she comes to the realization which makes her spring out of bed, reaching for her phone. She dials as quickly as she can, and is relieved when Tony answers on the third ring.
"Helllo?" He's slurring, which means he's drinking, which isn't a surprise after a day like today.
"The message - about Betty, it wasn't for us." Pepper insists.
"Okay, slow down, I'm three tumblers into a whiskey and it's been a rough day."
Breathing deep, Pepper starts again.
"Remember when you met with General Ross? He offered you information on Division X for the Hulk?" Pepper, bouncing off the bed, begins to get dressed even as she speaks. "I was talking to Natasha, she told me that even Fury had zilch on the Division. Now, why would an army general know more than the director of a secret ops organization?"
"Uhhhh good luck?"
"He's involved, Tony!" Pepper hops on one foot in an attempt to slid one of her shoes on. "That's the answer! Ross was involved in the division, and this Brotherhood guy took Betty Ross as a message to him, not us! I'll take what you took - the Division took this guy's kid, Tony! And why would they do that?"
"You are doing all the thinking just fine, so I think I'll let you answer that one."
"Think about it! He's got to be a mutant, like his dad - which means Division X is experimenting on kids like we first thought, and they're kidnapping people to do it! Only they took the wrong guy's kid and now he's fighting fire with fire!"
"You got all that out of General Ross's attempt to deal and Betty being kidnapped?" He sounds incredulous, but in awe. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
Grinning, Pepper starts for the door. "I'm on my way over, we've got to tell Fury about -"
"Better yet," She can hear the grin in Tony's voice, "you do that, and I'll go after the General himself and find out exactly how much he knows about all this. Sound good? Sounds good."
Shock startles her into a halt. "Tony, wait -!"
"Ta ta!" Click.
Furious, Pepper shoves her phone into her pocket and races for the door. She should've known better than to tell Tony such a thing and expect him to do the mature thing and wait for back up.
Tony takes the suit - he's not stupid, he's not going to what might be some sort of trap without a little help. But the longer they wait, the more likely things aren't going to go their way, and he's not going to sit by while some government assholes keep Xavier hostage, and some other terrorist jack-offs torment an innocent Betty Ross just because her jackass of a dad did some dickbag things.
He knows where Ross is, he's not hard to find. The house is ostentatious and distant from civilization, out in the desert somewhere. He lands on the driveway and cracks the cement, flipping the mask back before making for the house.
Not bothering to so much as ring the doorbell, he shoves the door open with a well placed punch. The wood shatters, and he steps through its remains. "Oh General Ross!" He sings out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Glancing around the foyer, he keeps moving. It seems as if the place is empty. "You and I have a lot of talking to do, buddy."
A gun clicks; Tony flips the mask back onto his face in an instant. When he turns, he comes face to face with an absolute stranger - a stranger standing above General Thaddeus Ross's dead body.
"Hello, Tony Stark." The stranger, a thin, tall older woman with dark hair greying at the roots. "It's about time we had a chat."
TBC