The Conclusion
Part 5: How Tony ran over a Bucky
"Boss are you ready to go?" Happy asked when he stepped into the foyer of the penthouse. "Pepper said if I didn't get you to this meeting on time that she would…"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready Happy." Tony answered as he came out of his room wearing a three-piece burgundy suit. Loki who was lounging on his sofa with a book of questionable origins looked up for a moment to observe. "Pepper wouldn't hurt you for the world Happy. You know that." Tony admonished. "You're just saying it for effect."
"Well, how do I look?" Tony then asked as he spun once. Loki merely quirked a brow while Happy shrugged. "Oh come on, you guys are no fun."
"You look like a billion bucks boss," Friday answered.
"Now we're talking," Tony said just as his phone ringed.
"Hello?" Tony answered and in the background he could hear Happy complimenting Loki on last night's dinner.
"Mr. Stark?" came from the other end of the line and Tony recognized the voice.
"Little Ross?" The billionaire asked amicably.
"Uhm….. what?" The person on the other line sounded perplexed.
"You're the one from the Joint anti-Terrorism task force, right?" Tony asked.
"Uhm.. yes….."
"Then you're little Ross. The Secretary of State is Big Ross. I don't like Bigg Ross much, but don't tell him that," Tony explained as if his nicknames were common. "Weren't you on medical leave?"
"Uhm… okay, and yes. Everything is fine now on that front," The man on the other end still sounded confused but he then powered through "I have some information for you,"
"How urgent is this information?" Tony asked "Cause my CEO might maim my driver today," Happy let out a huff upon hearing that.
"It involves the Winter Soldier," Ross said from the other end of the line. Tony's eyes widened upon hearing that. It was a month after he got the call from T'Challa that the Winter Soldier had vanished from Wakanda.
"Okay, you have my attention," Tony uttered while Happy groaned. They were already late now.
"CCTV and facial recognition caught a chase through Utrecht, Netherlands." Ross explained. "We have a positive ID on Sergeant James Barnes. The Secretary is putting together a covert hit squad as we speak."
"You aren't asking me to be part of this hit squad are you?" Tony now asked as his brows furrowed. "Because let me tell you, if this is like Lagos again without their government knowing."
"No, no. Nothing like that," Ross now whispered. "I wanted to ask you if you could get there before the squad."
"I could, why?" Tony now asked as he was intrigued. Everett said nothing for a moment but then uttered "I don't exactly agree with the General's way of doing things and I don't have much evidence on him yet to openly oppose him but there have been rumors of him reactivating the Gamma radiation project that made the Hulk and Super Soldier research from World War 2,"
"How good are your sources?" Tony asked.
"I have evidence that he managed to get his hands on Rodger's DNA and blood work." Ross stated through the phone. "If he gets Barnes then he might be able to synthesize a Super Soldier serum."
"Crap," Tony cursed as he asked Friday to prep his suit. He then suddenly remembered something. "The people chasing Barnes, they with Big Ross?"
"No, we believe them to be remnants of Hydra,"
"Double crap," Tony muttered as he stepped into the suit and ordered Friday to contact the proper authorities in the Netherlands.
"You can see my problem Mr. Stark. The Secretary has stopped my Task Force from acting." Ross stated, obviously not pleased.
"Right, right, I'm on my way," Tony said as he stepped into one of his suits. He just couldn't let Barnes fall back into Hydra's or Thunderbolt's hands. Both seemed to be equally bad at the moment.
"Happy, tell Pepper I love her, that she's the best CEO in the world, and that she doesn't need to kill you because you couldn't stop me!" Tony shouted before flying away.
"Wai-" Happy didn't get to finish his sentence and just stood there staring at the escaping Ironman. He then turned to Loki as an idea popped into his head "Just how good are you with illusions?"
"Fri baby give me everything you have on the chase that involved Barnes," Tony asked as he was already flying over the Hudson. A series of holographic images popped up showing Bucky sitting in a nondescript small cafe before he noticed several men in dark suits approaching. Bucky immediately bolted and the men gave chase.
"They weren't very subtle," Tony muttered.
"On the contrary boss. It seems that they had wanted him to run. There were several vans parked nearby in back alleys waiting for him." Friday supplied. "Sergeant Barnes was able to overpower them though and made his way to the Utrecht train station. He lost them in the crowd and CCTV shows him boarding a train to Amsterdam."
"Okay, can you track him from there?" Tony asked.
"Not sure boss. CCTV lost sight of him in the crowd near Madame Tussauds." Friday answered.
Tony cursed silently. Just his luck to lose the assassin in a highly populated area. "Okay, so next question, how did Hydra find Barnes so quick? I saw the footage. There is no way I would have picked out Barnes from the crowd if they hadn't started chasing him."
"Maybe a tracking device boss?" Friday suggested. "Maybe one he doesn't know about."
"Possible," Tony uttered. "But then they would have found him when he was in Wakanda."
"Boss, you should know that Barton's tracking device, the one that you put in his bow when you made it, also stopped working when they reached Wakanda approximately." Friday supplied.
"So conventional trackers stop working in Wakanda. They must have some serious tech there." Tony concluded. "Friday scan for any anomalous transmissions in the areas, I don't care how small."
"Boss, that will take a couple of hours," The AI told him.
"That's fine. It's not like we're Strange and can cross the Atlantic through a portal," Tony stated.
Meanwhile back in New York, Happy was holding open the car door for Tony Stark?! "Are you sure this will work?" Loki, disguised as Tony asked with a frown.
"It has to," Happy mumbled. "It's one of the biggest meetings this time of the year for SI and if the boss doesn't show up then the investors might lose confidence. Stock will plummet and Pepper will be on a warpath again. Look, your illusion is flawless. It will work."
"It's not my illusion I'm worried about. I've only been able to observe Tony for a month. Those that know him won't believe it's him." Loki stated as they walked in.
Loki and Happy made it to the elevator and luckily it was empty. They exited on the floor housing Pepper's office and she was there to greet him. "Tony you're la-" Pepper stopped mid-sentence and then frowned. "You're not Tony," She muttered and a gulp from Happy drew her attention. "Happy, where the hell is Tony?!"
"Well…. Uhmm… you see….." Happy sputtered.
"He's chasing down the Winter Soldier and Hydra in Amsterdam," Loki didn't beat around the bush and told her the facts. He leaned against the wall in a very un-Tony like gesture with crossed arms.
"Loki?" Pepper asked with furrowed brows. "I'm guessing this wasn't your idea."
"I was just enjoying a book on Theories about Celestial origins when I got roped into this," Loki said and Happy shot him a look that said 'traitor'. Meanwhile Pepper was dialing a number on her phone and when it finally connected she screeched into it "Tony where the fuck are you?!"
Neither Loki nor Happy could hear what was being said on the other end of the line but Pepper's face darkened. "I swear Tony, I'm this close to sending Loki after you,"
"I…. eh… was actually going to make braised rabbit tonight," Loki mumbled and now Pepper's dark look was directed at him. "Although a detour to Amsterdam might not be such a bad idea," Loki quickly added with a slight cough. Something about Pepper's dark look promised a whole lot of problems. "Yes, I could pick up some tulips for the lady Pepper,"
"I'll…. Uhm… just go call and get the jet ready," Happy mumbled and then skedaddled leaving Loki alone with Pepper.
"So….." Loki muttered.
"Look, why don't we skip all the hoops and just say that I know you have a tracking spell on Tony." Pepper stated causing Loki to raise a brow. "In the month that you've been here you've pulled him out of several situations where you were nowhere close to."
"Couldn't it all have been a coincidence?" Loki asked.
"Was it a coincidence that you were at the same bar as that con artist that was trying to slip Tony a roofie? Or was it coincidence that you dragged his drunk ass back to the tower on the anniversary of his parents' murder?" Pepper asked as she crossed her arms.
"Okay… okay," Loki uttered. "I may have put several tracking spells on his armor and clothes. The man is a trouble magnet! And I owe him for letting me live in the tower for free. The least I can do is keep him out of trouble."
"Right…. And him chasing Hydra isn't trouble enough?" Now it was Pepper's turn to raise a brow. "Don't pretend that you weren't going to jet off to Europe if you weren't roped into this."
Meanwhile, Tony had put his thrusters to good use and arrived in Amsterdam an hour early. He turned heads as he zoomed over the city and finally landed in a square where a lot of people were gathered. "Friday why did you make me land here?" Tony asked as he looked around at all the shocked faces of both the tourists and locals.
"Boss, I've managed to isolate an anomalous signal that was both present in Africa and here not so long ago." Friday answered. "I'm 70% certain that it correlates to the tracker that Hydra has on Sergeant Barnes."
Tony looked around at the busy street. People were crossing, trams were about to depart and it was nearly impossible to spot anyone through the masses. A pretty good place for an assassin, or ex-assassin, to hide. "Can you focus in on the signal Fri baby?" Tony asked as he looked to his right where a wax museum stood. Soon a holographic map popped up within Tony's interface that gave him an approximate location. "You're the best!" Tony told his AI as he took off again.
The signal was pinging along one of the many canals the city had. Tony flew over several that had tourist boats traveling through and soon reached a quieter, older part, of the city. Here the streets were not as bustling and the buildings were leaning at a small angle which suggested that the foundation wasn't all that stable. Tony would have barely spotted Barnes if he hadn't turned at the sound of his thrusters and then lowered his head under his hoodie.
"Barnes!" Tony called out as he landed, causing the man in question to freeze.
"What….. What are you doing here?!" Barnes asked as he took a step back when he saw that Tony was in full armor.
"Relax, I'm not going to kill you," Tony said as he decided the best way to calm down the shifty former-Hydra assassin was to step out of his armor. He seemed less threatening that way.
"You should," Barnes whispered and Tony nearly didn't catch it.
"Look, I know you're in trouble, but" Tony said but he didn't get to finish when something metallic clanged onto the pavement between the two men. Bucky's eyes widened as he recognized the stun grenade. Neither men had time to act as it detonated.
"Ugh," Tony muttered when he came to. He had a headache forming, his gaze was blurry and he had trouble forming words. He didn't know how long he had been out but that seemed to have been one powerful stun grenade. His arms were also killing him and it was then that he noticed that he was chained up by them and dangling a few feet above the ground.
When his vision finally stabilized he noted that he was being held in a run down room. The windows were covered with wooden planks and the whole place smelled moldy. 'Probably an abandoned house,' his mind supplied.
"You alright?" Barnes who already seemed to be awake, and chained up worse than he, asked. Tony guessed that the Super Soldier serum must have caused him to wake up earlier. The people that had taken then had apparently not only run heavy chains around Barnes' body but they also bolted them to the wall. 'So not General Ross' people,' Tony thought.
"'Fine," Tony mumbled since his jaw still felt a bit slack. "You know where we are?"
Barnes shook his head, that was probably the only body part he could move now anyways.
The wooden door creaked open and Tony's head turned towards the sound to see a leggy blonde dressed in a revealing catsuit.
"You know, if I wasn't tied up I'd greet you like a gentleman," Tony snarked. The blonde however didn't pay him any heed and instead turned towards Barnes.
"You've let us on a merry goose chase Soldat," She uttered and he could see the contempt she had in her eyes. "Your disobedience will be corrected soon,"
"Belova, ty mozhesh' stavit' vse, chto khochesh', no nikogda ne budesh' luchshe originala." He muttered, causing her to deliver a hard slap to his face. She snarled something Tony didn't catch and then stalked out of the room, slamming the door loudly.
"You know, even I never got a slap from a woman that fast." Tony remarked but then got serious "You said she wasn't better than the original. I take it you two know each other?"
"I know of her," Barnes mumbled. "Yelena Belova, one of the newer generations of Black Widows. Though why she joined Hydra is a mystery to me,"
"Wait, there are more Black Widows?!" Tony's brows shot up in surprise. He always thought that it was simply Natasha's alias.
"The Black Widow is a title given to the best graduates of the Red Room," Barnes stated. "Hydra and the Red Room do have connections with each other. Your Black Widow would know more of her."
"She isn't my Black Widow," Tony muttered. The last he had seen of Natasha was when he was warning her to be careful around Ross. The General had it out for her now because he got wind that she let Steve escape at the airport.
The door creaked open again, this time just a bit to allow a black cat to poke its head through. The cat once done taking in its surroundings, trotted inside and settled in the corner before starting its grooming session. Tony blinked for a moment as he observed the cat. He was sure that he had seen this particular cat before. 'Nah, it can't be,' His mind supplied.
The door creaked open much wider after a few minutes to reveal Belova accompanied by two burly men. "Take the Asset to reconditioning," Belova ordered. "Erase his entire personality this time if you have to,"
The men made their way to Barnes and he was struggling as they took hold of the chains. Meanwhile, the cat's ears had perked up and its green eyes had settled on Belova. The feline eagerly made his way over and rubbed itself against her ankles while purring.
Belova looked down and then picked up the friendly cat. She cooed "Chto privelo vas syuda?"
Tony recognized the phrase. Here was a feared Russian spy, cooing at a cat and asking what it was doing here while her henchmen were wrangling Barnes. It was probably one of the weirdest scenes he had witnessed and he had seen Rhodey on karaoke nights.
The scene that happened next though both entirely badass and a WTF moment. The cat transformed into Loki, startling Belova, Tony and most particularly Barnes who's eyes went wide at the magic performed. Before the Widow could even act she was dipped like a dancer, her sidearm was taken by Loki in a manner of seconds and her thugs were shot before they could even react. Loki then knocked her out with the butt of the gun and let her drop to the floor in an unceremonial heap.
"Well that takes care of that," Loki stated as he broke the gun in two with his mere strength. He then materialized a blade and cut Tony down.
"What are you doing here? How did you even get here?!" Tony asked as a dagger was thrust into his hands.
"We can talk about this later," Loki stated. "Your suit is deactivated on the ground floor and there are still three people in the house who have probably heard the gunshots.
"Uhm… Mr. Cat?" Barnes asked, not sure what to make of this guy. "Could you…" he indicated to the chains binding him.
"I could….. But I don't particularly like you," Loki stated.
"Loki, can you just untie him?" Tony asked. "And maybe arm him? I doubt he'll stab us in the back."
"Like Rodgers?" Loki asked and nearly regretted it when Tony flinched. But this had to be said. "He's the reason you got hurt. He's the reason you cry in your sleep! Why should I trust him?!"
"He's also the reason I'm still alive," Tony stated as they could hear footsteps approaching on the stairs. "He came back to check on my injuries when Steve didn't!"
Loki looked Tony in the eye for a moment before sighing and cutting Barnes lose with the swift flick of his blade. The chains could do nothing in the face of Asgardian blades and a dagger was thrust into Barnes' hand as well.
"Do not make me regret this," Loki muttered as all three faced off against the leftover Hydra agents that burst through the door.