Well, here we go, the final battle of the Mechanical Avenger story, and I hope I make it good as it deserves to. My personal opinion about this part in the movie is that Stark is just acting out of pain and betrayal, and the flat-out desire for vengeance. Not something that would motivate a sane man.
Ch. 43 The Avengers Fractured.
Steve and Rex land the Quinjet outside the HYDRA Siberian Facility as Bucky preps his machine gun. Steve then opens the Quinjet's rear entrance ramp as his best friend and himself look at the Siberian landscape.
"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asked, recalling childhood memories with Bucky from decades ago.
"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Bucky asked.
"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead." Steve said, which Bucky laughed.
"What was her name, again?" Bucky asked.
"Dolores. You called her Dot." Steve replied.
"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now." Bucky said.
"So are we, pal." Steve said before placing his hand on Bucky's shoulder.
"We better get moving. God knows what this guy is up too." Rex said as he lowered his goggles and exited the jet.
Rex, Steve and Bucky approached the facility entrance and sees the doors open, indicating that Zemo is already here.
"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve said.
"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky said.
"Then we better be ready," Rex said.
Rex, Steve and Bucky go inside the facility before taking an elevator down to a deeper underground level of the facility. The three are still on constant alert as they move forward at the facility. As Bucky, Steve and Rex approached a flight of stairs, they hear a loud thud coming from the elevator and the door starts creaking. Bucky draws his assault rifle as Steve goes on the defensive pose with his shield and Rex forms his Death Blades.
"You ready?" Steve asked.
"Yeah." Bucky replied.
"Always ready." Rex replied.
The doors then open and much to their surprise, it was Iron Man. Tony approached the three before lifting his armor's facemask as Steve and Rex approached him, still in defensive stances.
"You two seem a little defensive." Tony said.
"It's been a long day." Steve said sternly.
"A very long day I might add." Rex added, his tone also stern.
"At ease, soldier. I'm not currently after you." Tony said to Bucky.
"Then why are you here." Steve asked sternly.
"Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself." Tony replied.
"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." Steve said before relaxing a bit. "It's good to see you, Tony."
"You too, Cap." Tony said before turning his attention to Rex. "Mech."
"Trash Can." Rex said, smiling a bit before Tony noticed Bucky still aiming his weapon at him.
"Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop..." Tony said before Bucky relaxes.
Moments later, Rex, Steve, Tony and Bucky continues to make their way through the facility, unaware that T'Challa is following them. The four then entered the very large and dark room.
"I got heat signatures." Tony informed.
"How many?" Steve asked.
"Uh, one." Tony replied just as the lights on the cryogenic stasis tubes turned on.
The four are still on alert as a result, Bucky aiming his gun, Tony aiming his repulsar, Rex's Death Blades formed and Steve readying his shield. The four then noticed blood inside the tubes and what appears to be bullet holes on the five other candidate's heads.
"The hell?" Rex whispered.
"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?"Zemo said through the speaker.
"What the hell?" Bucky muttered.
"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here."Zemo said before revealing himself to be inside a small room, causing Steve to throw his shield but no effect and more lights turn on."Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets."Zemo said.
"I'm betting I could beat that." Tony said.
"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."Zemo said.
"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve asked sternly as he approaches Zemo, unaware that T'Challa heard, now knowing the real truth and killer.
"I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes." Zemo chuckled. "How nice to find a flaw."
"You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?" Steve asked.
"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No." Zemo said sternly. "I'm here because I made a promise."
"You lost someone?" Steve asked.
"I lost everyone." Zemo replied with a hint of anger. "And so will you."
Zemo then played a tape, showing footage from a camera taken on December 16, 1991.
"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever." Zemo said.
Tony, Rex and Bucky approached the little monitor which shows the 1991 footage. The footage shows a road which Tony recognizes.
"I know that road. What is this?" Tony asked, but Zemo doesn't reply.
Everyone then sees the footage. The first thing they see is a car crashing into a tree before seeing Bucky parking his motorcycle next to it before seeing a man started to crawl out of the car, which everyone recognized as Tony's father Howard Stark.
Tony, Steve and Rex looked in disbelief at how Bucky, when brainwashed, killed Tony's parents.
"My God..." Rex muttered.
Tony was about to charged at Bucky, but Steve stopped him.
"No, Tony." Steve said trying to hold Tony back.
Tony becomes emotional before looking Steve directly at the eye.
"Did you know." Tony emotionally asked.
"I didn't know it was him." Steve replied.
"Don't bullshit me, Rogers. Did you know?" Tony asked with anger and emotion in his voice.
Steve didn't reply at first.
"Steve," Rex said, "we should just tell him."
"You knew?" Tony asked Rex, feeling truly betrayed.
"Yes." Steve directly replied since the A.I memory of HYDRA doctor Arnim Zola did told him, Rex, and Natasha two years prior.
"We both knew," Rex said.
Tony backs away from Steve and Rex, feeling betrayed that neither of them ever told him.
Enraged to hear that Steve and Rex were aware of this, Tony knocks them both away and grabs Bucky as Zemo retreats. Tony rockets and slams Bucky to the floor. Steve throws his shield, deflecting an otherwise fatal repulsar blast. Steve charges at Tony with his shield, but Tony retaliates by rocketing towards Steve and knocks him down before firing restrains at him. Rex then forms his Smack Hands and slammed him in the side with a right hand.
"Tony, it was not his fault! He didn't have any control of his actions!" Rex said, trying to get through to Tony.
Tony however blasts Rex with a repulsar beam, sending him back towards a wall. Bucky then tries attacking Tony. Tony then rockets and pins Bucky at a wall. Tony was about to blast Bucky to the face, but Bucky manages to disable the repulsor gauntlet with his metal arm. Tony tries to launch a rocket but Bucky makes it destroy one side of the room as Steve destroys the restraints holding him back and Red gets back up. Bucky managed to avoid the rubble, which pinned Tony down.
"Get out of here!" Steve said.
Bucky then takes the chance and runs to an escape hatch located at the top of the facility as Tony tried to blast him with a repulsar before being confronted by Steve and Rex.
"It wasn't him, Tony. HYDRA had control of his mind!" Steve said.
"Move!" Tony said, not wanting to hear it.
"It wasn't him!" Steve said.
Tony, however, starts to rocket towards Bucky, but Rex forms his Blast Caster, pulling him back, giving Steve the chance to grab him by the boots. Steve then strikes his shield repeatedly, successfully braking one of Tony's boots and runs before Tony shoots his red palladium powered lasers to trap Steve and Rex in debris.
"Left boot jet failing. Flight systems comprised."FRIDAY as Tony tries to fly towards Bucky.
"Ah, crap." Tony said.
Tony managed to reach Bucky and tries to blast him again, but his repulsar blast is deflected by Steve's vibranium shield, with Rex formed his Slam Cannon and shooting a piece of debris, making him fall and few floors below.
"He's not gonna stop. Go." Steve said as Bucky continues to climb towards the escape hatch.
Tony tries to rocket back up, but Steve fires a line at him and the two falls several floors back down. Steve tries to throw his shield but Tony blasts it away, then seeing Rex come up with Bad Axes in hand, Tomy ducks under a swipe before blasting him in the jaw before trying to aim a missile at Bucky.
"Come on, come on." Tony muttered.
"Targeting system's knackered, boss." FRIDAY informed.
"I'm eyeballing it." Tony said before lifting his facemask and fires the missile.
The missile didn't hit Bucky, but destroys the hatch's system, making it close on top of Bucky. Tony puts his facemask back on and rockets towards Bucky, but he strikes him with a metal pipe. Bucky tried to strike again before Tony puts him in a chokehold.
"Do you even remember them?" Tony whisperedly asked.
"I remember all of them." Bucky replied.
Tony then tried to rocketed, but Steve and Rex ram into Tony, sending all three of them to an area where they can see the outside. Rex and Steve slowly get up and sees Tony standing tall.
"This isn't gonna change what happened." Steve said.
"It's H.Y.D.R.A's fault that all of this has happened," Rex added.
"I don't care. He killed my mom." Tony said with emotion and anger before charging at the two.
Tony, Steve and Rex exchanged blows and hits before Bucky joined the fray. Bucky threw the shield at Tony before Rex catches it and throws it at Tony before Steve catches it. The three started beating the hell out of Tony. Bucky sending punches, Rex sending punches and kicks without using his builds, and Steve sending punches and striking with his shield.
Tony then blasted both Steve and Bucky. Rex then goes into one-on-one combat with Tony. Rex punches Tony in the face before Tony retaliated with a strike to the stomach. Rex then forms Punk Busters and tried to squash Tony with them, but Tony blast a repulsar, sending Rex back. The EVO got back up, forming his Death Blades and charged back at Tony. At that same moment, Rex's eyes turn dark blue and starts striking Tony and sending several slashes, punches at him, until Tony once again sends a powerful repulsar blast, sending Rex crashing into a wall.
Bucky then charges at Tony. Both exchanged blows and Tony tried to send a repulsar beam before Bucky punches him towards the wall. Bucky then grabs Tony's face and uses his metal arm in attempting to remove the Arc Reactor. However, Tony blasts Bucky's metal arm off before blasting him again. Steve then charges at Tony while using his shield to cover Tony's repulsar blast as a blue-eyed Rex was about to strike Tony.
Meanwhile, outside the facility, Zemo was listening to the same recording of his wife as T'Challa carefully approaches him before placing his mask on the ground.
"I almost killed the wrong man." T'Challa said, starting a conversation.
"Hardly an innocent one." Zemo said.
"This is all you wanted? To see them rip each other apart." T'Challa asked sternfully.
"My father lived outside the city. I thought we would be safe there. My son was excited. He could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife, 'Don't worry. They're fighting in the city. We're miles from harm. When the dust cleared and the screaming stopped, it took me two days until I found their bodies. My father still holding my wife and son in his arms. And the Avengers? They went home. I knew I couldn't kill them. More powerful men than me have tried. But, if I could get them to kill each other... I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man. With a dutiful son." Zemo said, explaining his actions on punishing the Avengers for his family's death and saying that King T'Chaka's death was not intended.
"Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them. I am done letting it consume me." T'Challa said as he puts his vibranium claws away. "Justice will come soon enough."
"Tell that to the dead." Zemo said before placing his pistol on his head in an attempt to commit suicide, but T'Challa managed to apprehend him.
"The living are not done with you, yet." T'Challa said.
Back at the battle, Steve and Rex were beating the hell out of Tony.
"You can't beat them hand-to-hand." FRIDAY said.
"Analyze their fight patterns." Tony ordered.
"Scanning."FRIDAY said.
Steve continue to strike Tony with his shield and fists while Rex, with his eyes still blue, continue to strike Tony with now Nanite energy strikes.
"Countermeasures ready."FRIDAY informed.
Tony then grabbed Steve's shield while also grabbing Rex's fist.
"Let's kick their asses." Tony said with anger.
Tony blasts Steve's shield away while punching Rex in the face. Tony then blasted them both, making Rex crash in a wall, before charging at Steve once more before a repulsar blast knocks him down. Steve look at Tony directly.
"He's my friend." Steve said.
"So was I." an angry Tony said before punching Steve at the face several times before throwing him near the open. Rex attacked Tony once more, sending several punches before Tony blast him again in the ribs.
"Stay down. Final warning." Tony said aiming his repulsar at Steve.
Both Steve and Rex slowly got back up and once again stood in fighting stances. Both were cut and bleeding.
"I could do this all day." Steve said.
"Same here," Rex said as he got ready for another round.
Tony was about to blast Steve, but Bucky grabs one of the boots. Tony kicks Bucky in the face before Steve charges at Tony and threw him at the ground. Rex uses his nanites to begin shutting down Tony as Steve starts repeatedly punching Tony in the face before using his shield to repeat the process. Steve then rips Tony's facemask off, revealing his bloodied face, before raising his shield once more and Tony using his hands to brace for the final blow. However, Steve use his shield to destroy the Arc Reactor, effectively shutting down the suit. Steve pants before getting off of Tony since he can't fight Tony. Rex releases the hold he had and moves away from Tony before his healing factor starts kicking in and his eyes return to their normal color.
Then after regaining they both had caught their breath, Steve grabs his shield and takes it out of the destroyed Arc Reactor. Rex then stands up as his healing factor has finished just as Steve got up headed towards Bucky, leaving Tony on the ground. Steve then lifts Bucky up.
"That shield doesn't belong to you. You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!" Tony said, commenting on the iconic Captain America shield.
Steve stood for a few moments before dropping the shield, signalling the end of his role as Captain America, and departs with Bucky, leaving Rex to glare at Tony. "If my wife is hurt, no armor in the world will keep you from my wrath," Rex told him as he turned to leave before looking over his shoulder, "and that's a promise."
When Rex caught up to Steve and Bucky, he noticed that T'Challa was looking right at them and got ready for a fight. "At ease, Rex Salitar, I know the truth," the king told the EVO, making him ease up.
"So what do you want now," Rex asked the obvious.
T'Challa looked at the three men infront of him. "To help."
Yeah, very emotional, very brutal, Tony feeling betrayed, Cap giving up being Captain America by dropping his mighty shield. Next chapter should be the end, amd I hope you are all ready for it. Don't forget to review and check out my profile for my other stories and future content.
