Tony
To be honest, this wasn't the stupidest thing he'd ever done-
(Case and point; trusting Stane.)
(Case and point; trusting Howard.)
(Never trusted Howard.)
(Trusted him more than anyone else.)
-But it was in the top ten.
Okay, top twenty. Whatever.
The fact was, Tony had, what some might say, more important things to do than rescue everyone with a semi-relationship with one of the Avengers-
(What's next? Bruce's dog?)
-like taking out HYDRA and saving the world. That being said, there was no way he could just leave Agent trapped amongst the enemy.
Mainly because he didn't want it to seem like he favored Cap, in any way, by only rescuing said man's best friend.
It had nothing to do with Clint's desperate plea.
Honest!
And he didn't favor Cap! If anything, he was going after the Winter Soldier for James. He couldn't care less about Cap! He really hoped no one read too much into it when he finally got the guy out.
(Steve is going to read way too much into it.)
But that was for another time.
Currently –and how the fuck it happened, he had no idea- Tony was perched in a tree, armor and all, staring down at the SHIELD base, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
It had taken about ten minutes to come up with this plan: storm the castle.
(Perhaps not the best plan.)
It was about noon (believe it or not, this is actually when there were less people around; less agents on the day shift –most villains were boring and attacked at night- and around lunch. Because even assholes need to eat) and Tony had sent JARVIS in before him to scope the place and get into position.
(This was actually pretty fun.)
(A nice, relaxing solo mission, giving you enough time to think about the fact that you're alone for a reason.)
(Not so much fun anymore. Thanks, asshole.)
Suppressing a sigh, Tony stretched his shoulder blades back, the popping of his spine sending a strange sense relief to the rest of his stressed out body. He really needed a vacation.
Static in his ear was his only warning before JARVIS spoke –and it was a warning; his suits didn't crackle.
"Sir, systems will be down in T-minus sixty seconds," the smooth British accent relaxed Tony further as he got into position. If nothing else, even if everything went wrong here, JARVIS would always be there. It eased his anxiety, if only a little, and he started getting hyped for the next stage.
"Got it, J." He chirped, shifting and getting ready to shoot off toward the window to Agent's room. The man wasn't high enough priority to warrant an underground room. That, or they hadn't told him that everyone thought he was dead yet and didn't want to arouse his suspicion.
Both were possible.
Tony flexed his palms once, feeling the mechanisms inside that would free the time-released explosives from the suit. He really did plan on blowing the place and ruining lives after he got Coulson out, when the shady SHIELD agents were running around like ants and sounding alarms.
It used to be his favorite pass time.
(Before he decided to be responsible.)
(Foolish, really. To think you could be a hero.)
JARVIS didn't let him dwell on his inner thoughts, though Tony doubted the AI actually knew he had interrupted anything.
"Ten seconds, Sir."
Tony shifted.
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
A deep breath, slowly let out…
Three,
Two,
…One.
He shot forward as all the lights went out, including the red emergency ones. Not even pausing, he crashed right through the window, startling the agent in the bed, making the man tense and prepare for a battle he couldn't win on a good day.
"Wha-" He tried, fumbling to his feet. Tony didn't let him finish.
He snatched up the injured spy in a princess hold, pausing only long enough to say, "Don't say I never did anything for you, Sweetheart." before he was darting back out of the shattered window, leaving the shouting agents that had just entered the room behind.
Making a ninety degree turn, Tony flew directly up. Fast, but not so fast that Coulson's breathing would be impaired, careful because they were headed to higher altitudes.
Wouldn't do to hurt the man, after all.
(Clint would find a way to kill him.)
(Because that's the only reason, right?)
He landed as softly as possible on the currently camouflaged hanger of the Iron Fortress of Awesome (it was a working title) and released the man in his arms.
Coulson stumbled back, just managing not to run into another suit that was being piloted by JARVIS.
"If you would come with me, Agent Coulson. Sir as matters to attend to."
Agent didn't flinch (though Tony maintained that it was definitely a near thing), stepping back and glancing between the two Ironmen.
"…It would seem I've just been kidnapped." He said in a deadpanned, mild voice.
Tony couldn't help but giggle, "Yep, have fun!" then allowed himself to fall backwards off the hanger and into the sky, letting JARVIS deal with their temporary guest.
(He had things to blow up, after all.)
(A temporary stress relief. It wouldn't last long.)
Flying down, gaining speed, Tony clinched his fists, before, just as he was right above the complex of scrambling dicks, he released his bombs.
He had three minutes to get in and get out.
(Sure, he could have waited to plant the bombs until after he got what he wanted, but where's the fun in that?)
(He needed the danger, the possibility that he might not come out of this alive…)
Crashing through a skylight this time instead of the same window as before, (because, fuck that skylight, that's why) Tony flew down the halls, making baby agents squeak has they scramble out of the way and releasing more bombs for good measure.
They were all HYDRA, anyway.
(He had made sure, just in case.)
(Wouldn't do to kill a good person, right?)
Holding in a snort, he glided down several flights of stairs and around dozens of halls before he finally found the room he had been looking for.
This was one of the few bases that had information too important to be on a computer.
(He hoped he never needed information that was too important to be on paper.)
(Very messy.)
Because the place was gonna be blown to smithereens anyway, and Tony wasn't trying to be stealthy in the least bit (he was completely ignoring the agents shouting and shooting at him at this point) he just ripped the key pad out of the wall and kicked the door in. Knowing he didn't have much time, he made quick work of the hundreds of files, snatching the ones that spoke of "The Asset" and "Winter Soldier" and setting the rest ablaze.
Fire was awesome.
After he was sure he had all that he wanted, all compact into a neat box (the original content now burned to a crisp on the ground), he fled through the roof, not even bothering to monologue.
Just in time, too, because the moment he was cleared the building chose to explode in a truly spectacular manor. Turning to look, Tony relished in the mass of color and heat, steadfastly ignoring the memories of a less fun time also involving explosions.
(It would be okay, now.)
(It had to be.)