Hello,

I know. I know. I am bad, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Please let know what you think. I love reviews.

Any mistakes are mine.

Chapter 20:

One Step forward

Let it be known that Tony hadn't planned to randomly show up on Pym's front steps when he brought up San Francisco to Natasha, as that would surely not end well. Pym wouldn't like his sudden appearance, but against his better judgment, that was exactly what Tony did. His better judgement left forgotten, he headed out without a second thought. After checking on the progress on the Avengers' compound—construction moving quickly due to his money -, he grabbed a few items from storage that he knew were Pym's. Possibly, there were more, but dear oh Dad wasn't the best at inventory.

Plus, Howard was the master of hiding things he found valuable, which meant there were items that Pym would never see again. Returning a few of Pym's possessions may not settle the feud between Howard and Pym, but Tony hoped he would at least give him a moment of his time.

That aside, Hank Pym's peeved expression was the exactly what Tony envisioned when he showed up at his front door. At first, Pym's eyes were thin saucers, his surprise written on his face, but that look of astonishment was gone in an instance, as if it weren't there. In its place, an anger, not directed at him per se, settled in its place. Pym's lips curled as he slammed the door in Tony's face. While Tony may have expected that icy response from Pym, it left him stunned. The banging of the door caught him off guard, a brief flash of a moon flying at him forced its way up. His body went numb for a second as if he was hit by that damn moon for a second time. This flash was gone a second later; yet, it shook him to his core.

His heart pounded in his chest. Stark, you're better than this. Focus! With a deep breath, he knocked once more. Still no answer. He continued to knock for several minutes without a response, his knuckles red and hurting. "Pym, I'm not leaving." He slapped the door, his palm stinging. "Better open up."

The door opened just a crack, only Pym's right eye visible. "Go away, Stark." Pym demanded, speaking his name like a curse word.

"Doctor P-" The door slammed once more in his face, hitting him with a gust of air. Tony stood there for a second, blinking. For some reason—even if this was the second time Pym had done this-, it surprised him. Tony expected anger from the man; however, if a random super genius showed up on his doorstop, shutting the door in their faces would not be the first thing Tony would do. While he understood the anger—not completely as he was not his father-, his never-ending curiosity would get the better of him and he would open the door. "I'm not going away."

"Hmm, how will this play out in the media: Tony Stark arrested for trespassing." Came Pym's muffled voice.

Tony out a verbal 'Ha'. "It wouldn't be the first time." He couldn't help but snicker as past News articles flickered before him. He remembered a time when he got arrested on a weekly basis for worse things, and while it wasn't something he was proud of, it was comically how stupid he was then. No doubt he would still be jailed if it weren't for his father and Stane.

Pym let out a disgruntled sigh. "Why the hell are you here, Stark?"

"This is a conversion best serve with a cup a whiskey." Tony hummed. Too early. "Okay, not Whiskey." While Tony wanted a drink, he couldn't afford to fall back into that habit: drinking to forget. Pym's grumbles were barely audible heard through the door, as he verbally talked it over with himself. "Doctor Pym."

"You have 60 seconds before I call the police."

"Only 60 seconds? Timer and all?"

"Stark."

Okay, change your tactics. Tony ripped opened the duffle bag he was carrying and pulled out the Signal Decoy device that Pym had created. After Pym's 'retirement' from SHIELD, the device had come across Howard Stark's hands somehow. If he were alive, Howard would deny any wrong doing, stating the device was left in Pym's quick haste from SHIELD; Pym would not agree, stating his technology went 'missing' when he refused their requests. While Howard wasn't a liar, it didn't mean Howard didn't stretch the truth or that wasn't any truth in Pym's words. Most likely, it was somewhere in the middle.

To the naked eye, the little device didn't look like much, just a rectangular metal box, but it was much more. For a device that was over 20 years old, it was far more advance than it had any right to be. Tony would be jealous if he hadn't invented the Iron Man suit and nano bots. Granted, Pym would protest, stating he was above him having had invented the Ant Man suit. Though Tony had only seen the odd ball Scott Lang in the suit, it was a piece of Art. It wasn't a masterpiece like the Iron Man suit, but there was no denying the genius behind it. Plus, the applications were limitless.

Just like a Stark.

Trying to take over and steal his tech?

Just like your father.

"I come with a peace offering." Tony spoke, pushing away his inner devils, as he waved the device in front of the peephole. "But I guess if you don't want it?" He wiggled the device one more time before making an overdramatically movement to his bag.

Just as Tony expected, Pym swung the door open, his face crunched up in both anger and amazement. "What are you up to, Stark?" His eyes zeroed in on the device.

"Why don't we go in and have a little chat?" The cheeky smile took up half of Tony's face. "We can check out all of the goodies in this bag." He jiggled the bag once more.

Pym harshly grumbled something indistinguishable under his breath, though sounding like an insult. Straightening up, he stared at Tony's face as he chewed over his next words. With a deep huff, he replied, "Fine." He moved aside allowing Tony to walk pass him.

*O*O*

Doctor Pym's house wasn't the high-tech palace that Tony had expected from a former CEO of a fortune 500, but he had to remind himself that not every rich genius was like him. Pym didn't step down from the company. He was got thrown out by his protégée, by someone he trusted, and no matter who you were, that level of betrayal would fucked you up. Stane's betrayal still stung, and Tony personally was still licking his wounds. Steve's betrayal didn't help matters. He had trust issues on every level.

"Um… nice place you got here." Tony paused as he took a long look at the house. It was definitely not his style, even if he closed both eyes.

"I think we can skip the pleasantries, Stark."

"Did being ousted from your own company make grumpy?" Tony teased.

Pym shot Tony nasty look. "I'm sorry, but did I miss you becoming CEO of Stark Industries again?" He paused as if he was waiting for a response. "Oh, no? I didn't think so." He folded his arms tightly across his chest.

"Unlike a certain someone else, I left on my own terms. Being CEO is too stressful and too much paperwork. I would rather be in charge of R&D." Tony wasn't lying. He didn't miss that one bit. Is it the best idea to be insulting him, Stark?

Pym's eyes dropped to the duffle bag in Tony's right hand. "Is that why you're here, Stark? To wave my tech in front of me and insult me?"

"I never mean to insult. It just sorta happens." Tony shrugged as a photo of Pym—or what Tony believed to be his wife and daughter—on the wall caught his eyes. Judging by the yellowness in the corner, the picture was taken a while ago. If he had to guess, over two decades ago. Pym's daughter…

Faith?

Grace?

Hope. Yes Hope.

Hope couldn't have been older than ten. Maybe. Tony wasn't sure, children a total black abyss to him. However, he knew enough to know the three of them were a happy family, unlike his.

"What do you want?" Pym asked, his voice strained. Turning back to Pym, Tony dropped the duffle bag on the couch and without warning, tossed the Signal Decoy device at Pym, who couldn't keep back his baffled look. Pym took a clumsy step forward to catch it, the catch anything but graceful. While the device never touched the ground, Pym fumbled numerous times, it bouncing off his hands times. It was a bit comical. "Stark."

"I want to be friends." Tony smile when Pym finally caught it. "Friendzies."

Pym gawked at Tony like he had growth two heads. "Friends, Stark?" he spitted out like he tasted something bitter. "Feels like you're trying to buy me."

Tony had brought people off in the past. With most, it was easy; money could turn even the noblest person into a dancing monkey, turning them into cold shells of themselves. Values disappeared as if they were never there. Yet, a few could not be brought, and Pym was one of these people. That could be because of his stubbornness, but Tony didn't consider that a negative. To him, being stubborn was a plus. It served him well in life. "That is yours no matter what you choose. As well as these." He nodded to the bag.

"Really?" Pym narrowed his eye, disbelief heavy in his voice.

"Super genius." Tony replied, as if that would answer all of Pym's silent questions. When he noticed the puzzled look, he added, "I don't need to steal others' inventions." He paused. "Which, P.S., didn't happen."

Pym didn't reply, scrutinizing every inch of Tony's face for any visible deceit. "What brought on this change of heart?"

While Pym's cold glaze would never be Thanos' level of discomfort, no one had glared at him with much distrust and anger in years, not even Clint made him feel so foreign in his own skin. Tony couldn't pinpoint why exactly his gaze got under his skin, but he guessed it had to do with his father. Anything that involved Howard made him feel like an inferior child who had disappointed his father for the nth time. "I want to put this family feud to bed. You never know when we may need to team up to save the world."

"So…this involves Iron Man."

"Be quite the team up: Iron man and Antman."

Pym's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Antman? I don't know what you're talking about."

Tony exhaled harshly. He wished they would've skipped this 'I don't know what you're taking about' game. "You know…" He waved his hand in the air. "…The suit powered by Pym Particles—narcissist much?" He paused, knowing his next words would get a severe reaction. "If I'm correct, they are subatomic particle that are capable of shifting or adding mass and reducing or increasing the scale of any form of matter. I assume there's more, but I haven't had any to study."

Pym's eyes, drilling into Tony's skull with a silent threat, scanned every twitch on Tony's face. "Why don't you tell me why you're here?"

"I had already told you."

"No," Pym strongly disputed. His grip tightened on the Signal Decoy device, as his eyes dropped to the duffle. "Why do you want this Iron Man Antman team up in the first place? Hmm."

Oh, that question. The famous question. He hated that question. He had been avoiding it, ignoring it when asked. Well, not completely. If people had been paying attention, the question had been answered many times over. He had teased he was from the future more times than he could count. It wasn't his fault no one took his words at face value, waving it off as a joke. Granted, he supposed that was on him. He was never straight forward.

Tony took a deep breath, planning out his next words carefully. "Listen, I don't want a feud to be the reason why we lose." He spoke, being as honest as he could. He avoided the 'Why can't I be honest?' question that popped into his head. "I know things."

"Like Alien, Stark?" Pym harshly snickered.

"Yes," Tony replied seriously. "It wouldn't be the first time." Or the last. "Why is hard to believe?"

Pym's expression hardened. "And there's no one else you can call, Stark? Someone you're not feuding with? What about any of the so called Avengers?"

Tony almost snorted. Who wasn't he feuding with? He pissed people off for the tiniest things. "Saving Earth is beyond feuds. This would make the Battle of New York look like child's play."

"Bigger than the battle of New York. What could be bigger than that?"

Thanos

The very name struck fear deep in Tony's gut, a fear that he had never felt before. Before Peter… Before he died in his arms, he hadn't known such heartbreak. Hadn't realized how much it would hurt to lose Peter. Hadn't realized it would feel like someone had ripped out his heart with their bare fingers and stepped on it while it was still attached to him. The idea that he could face that again paralyzed him, his lungs seizing. He choked on his last breath as Peter's petrified face haunted him, hitting him with a piecing stare. It held him in place, stealing any sense of normalcy or any self-assurance he had.

This paralyzing panic and dread were what he was trying to save the others from. They couldn't face Thanos if they were all frozen in this fear, this fear that threatened to eat him alive. He was trying to save them from this. To save them from living. That was a burden no one deserved.

Fucken Thanos.

They had to be ready for him. They couldn't be scared, and if they weren't… if they weren't ready... Tony's entire body shook at the thought. His heart pounded in his chest, his lungs straining to inflate. T-That couldn't happen. It couldn't. If he had to keep this horrifying nightmare to himself to keep them straight, their mind focused, he would. He was going to do whatever it took to save Peter… to save the world. He would-

"Stark."

Tony's head snapped up, his eyes blinking Pym back into focus. "Sorry." He uttered offhandedly. There was a sudden ringing in his ear.

Pym's eyes narrowed. "Are you okay?"

Okay was a relative term. "Peachy."

"What has you so scared, Stark?"

"I am not scared." Tony protested strongly, too strongly not to be a dead giveaway.

Pym grunted. "Oh, really?"

Tony opened his mouth to protest once more, but lying would not help him here and he was tired of lying. Plus, honesty built trust. "I have…" he took a deep breath. "I have seen things that would make you shake in your boots. Seen things that would keep you up for years, waking you in a cold sweat." The very idea made his shiver.

"I could say the same." Pym said, dropping the pretenses.

That was doubtful, but Tony didn't want to contest that fact. He was sure Pym had stories but shit, his nightmares could run circles around Pym's story. His PTSD had PTSD. "While the jury is still out on that, I…" The words got lost in his throat, not liking how weak he sounded. "Listen. I don't expect us to be friends. I don't expect you to even like me. I just need to end the feud between our families and you to be there when the time comes. Not if." He took a deep breath. "This isn't for me. I'm not asking forgiveness. I am asking to end the feud. This is for the safety of the world."

"So you-"

"Whatever you decide, this is yours." Tony interjected, not wanting Pym's answer now. Instead, he repeated his earlier words. "Just think about it."

Pym stared at him, his eyes in fine points. His hands tightly squeezed around the device. Whatever he saw on Tony's face, he must've liked as he didn't deny Tony's request. "I will consider it, Stark."

"I'll leave you then." Tony replied. He wasn't sure if he had convinced Pym to join the team, but he would count this as a win for now. Even if it would be nice for Pym to drop this feud right here and now, it was impractical to expect it. For now, Tony would take this as a win. Okay, let's be honest. It was a win as soon as Pym let him in the door.

*O*O*

Tony gawkily relaxed back in his oversized chair in his lab, his eyes fixated on the TV. Normally, he couldn't give a damn about TV or have the time to sit down and watch, having JARVIS and FRIDAY relay any important or vital information to him. Sure, he had watched a movie or two with the Avengers, but he didn't make it a habit. Pepper, even as busy as she was, tried to get him to sit down and watch something with her. It worked for 10 minutes before Tony got restless and hoped to his feet with some white lie. While the idea of relaxing in front of a TV sounded nice in theory, he couldn't sit with nothing in his hands. With a big breath, he attempted to settle himself and focus on Rogers.

Hill had quickly and methodically put her plan into motion, and in less than two weeks, Steve Rogers was hitting all of the major talk shows. Tony, having done so many in his life, hated their very existence, though you would never know by the look of it. Tony's interview face was perfect, an exquisitely crafted piece of art, and yet, he hated it, wanting to shatter it with a hammer. He hated how fake—how empty- he felt after every interview. He hated how no one could see through the cracks that were clearly there. That isn't completely true. The others had started to notice, pulling at strings that started to show. Just not the right strings, but they were pulling.

Steve Rogers, on the other hand, was another beast, and while it shouldn't surprise Tony how natural Steve was at it, it did. Eyeing the large teethy smile, he could see why people were charmed by his pretty blue eyes. Tony wasn't sure if this innocence was an act or if Rogers was as anxious as it appeared. There was no studder in his voice, but there was a cherry redness in his cheeks. It didn't scream discomfort, but it gave him a naivety that people just licked up. That irritated Tony, because Steve wasn't as innocent and naïve as people thought he was. Steve knew exactly what he was doing.

Tony rolled his eyes and mouthed, "Cheeky Bastard."

"I believe that title belongs to you, Sir." JARVIS replied.

"I'm not the one getting cheeky right now, am I?"

"You are always cheeky, Boss."

As much as Tony wanted to deny that he was a cheeky bastard, he could not, always shooting off at the mouth. It was his signature. What was Tony Stark without a snarky comeback? "You know what? I got better things to do than to listen to this crap." Tony didn't stay to listen to whatever insolent response that JARVIS and FRIDAY had cooked up, which he knew was coming. He did program them after all.

*O*O*

Iron Man zipped through the air like a rocker after his sixth save of the day, cycling the city yet again. While Tony could've spent the day constructing his army of Iron Mans, an uncomfortable itch settled beneath his skin, and every time he sat down in his seat to work, he jumped back up, shaking every limb. There was raw tingle in his veins and tightness in his chest that he was unable to rid himself of. It got worse the longer he sat down in front of his suits. Tony couldn't begin to explain why his skin felt like icy and hot at the same time, but what he could tell you, he couldn't stay in the tower. He had to get out. If he didn't, he would pick his skin raw.

Hints why he was out playing the friendly Neighborhood Superhero. No, Peter couldn't future copy write it. Tony was going to use it until Peter got his webs…if he got his webs with all of Tony's interference with the timeline. No! Peter was going to be Spiderman. He would bug the Ancient One until she made sure this occurred. Trust him, it would happen. Tony could drive the sanest person crazy. The Ancient One, if she didn't drop him in a dark hole first, would make sure that Peter Park became Spiderman. Until then, the neighborhood would have to settle for him as their superhero.

In an attempt to earn that title, he saved a kitten—a literally kitten- from a tree and handled it back to its owner, an overly friendly old lady with messy red lips. After that, he stopped a robbery in process, which he was proud of merely because of the man's stunned face. The gun welding robber practically shit himself when Iron Man landed outside the jewelry story. With more glee than appropriate for the situation, Tony grinned—though hidden by his helm— and greeted, "Howdy!" His mechanical Iron Man voice echoed across the small story. The would-be thief nearly dropped his gun when he spun, his eyes huge under the mask. "Careful, we wouldn't want you to accidently shoot someone."

The sales woman, her face unreadable, glanced pass the man to Iron Man for a split second before ducking behind the counter and hurrying away. While she slipped away, Tony caught a peep, just a peep, of another employee, on their hands and knees, following after the sales woman. Soon a third employee, male, dashed across the shop, his hands making large movements in the air, and through a door marked as 'employees only.' They were left unnoticed by the gunman, who's eyes were glued to the suit. Tony couldn't begin to count the number of raw emotions that filled this man's face, not that Tony didn't care to.

"Why don't you put that gun away before someone gets hurt?" he asked. "And by someone, I mean you. It's totally going to be you."

"W-why are you here?!" the Robber asked, trembling.

"You know. Just your friendly neighborhood Iron Man." Tony lifted his right arm, aiming his palm directly at the man. Without prompting, JARVIS activated the magnet on the gauntlet, and no matter how tightly the man squeezed, the gun was ripped from his hand, cutting his palm in several places, and landed effortlessly in Tony's opened palm. After the loss of his weapon, the man gave up, his mouth six feet open. He fell to his knees and his arms shot up, high in the air. The police arrived shortly after, just as shock and surprise as the robber. Tony left before the police could form a line to clap him on the back and sing his praises. He also had no interest in the paperwork, which the cops would surely ask for. God, he hated paperwork.

Not wanting to return to the tower, Tony continued to fly around New York city for a few more hours, helping out a few more New Yorkers. He also took a side trip to two of the less fortunate schools and loaded them down with new computers and tablets. He hired a few contractors to fix up the schools, which earned a round of applause from the students and teachers. No one was completely surprised by this act of generously as Tony Stark had been known to do this, but no one expected it to this level. Though Tony had done many things that he was proud of, this was in his top twenties. He loved seeing the ecstatic expressions on their tiny faces.

However, none of that was enough to drive him home. Home… Did he really consider the tower home? But if the tower wasn't home, what was? Didn't they say home was where the love was? He didn't—Don't go soft on me, Stark. He shook those thoughts out of his head. No matter what the tower was to him, nothing could bring him back, not even frustrated, angry calls. Maria Hill be damned. Pepper be damned… Okay, not really, but he ignored them all the same. He deemed any incoming calls as unimportant. If it was some life-or-death, JARVIS would alert him. Having an AI to filter through his messages was lifesaving when you wanted to avoid everyone.

After the sun set, he finally decided to head back, determining he had played chicken long enough, but just as he changed course, something caught his eyes. In the under belly of New York, this wasn't unusual. This city wasn't the safest. Horrible things, that people didn't want to think or talk about, about happened. Happened in alley, in parks, in clear view. Tony couldn't give you numbers off the top of his head, but JARVIS could make a list a mile long on muggings, rapes and assaults that transpired in the city. The stats could send a chill down your spine.

"JARVIS, zoom in the shadows," Tony ordered.

"Done, Sir."

The suit had some of the best imagining processor in the world, but there was a limit, which seemed to be the case here. The large shadow morphed into 2. Shadows, even with the best tech, could hide any danger or threat. While Tony could not make out faces, JARVIS had cleaned the image enough to reveal that one shadow had dragged the other against their will into the alley. Image clearing some more, the now visible man slammed the woman against the wall. "One last one, J."

"Be my pleasure."

Iron Man drove, slowly down only four seconds before tackling the guy off the woman. They rolled, completed two full spins before pinning the man to wall. "Consent is Sexy," he spoke, his next words dying in his throat, as the light from above lit up his face. "Josef." He uttered. Before he could process the fact that there was a Super Soldier in front of him, he was yanked from behind by the 'supposed' victim and tossed against the opposite wall. His head slammed against it, black spots dancing across his vision. As the bricks crumbed from the impact, he, his head still spinning, was slapped with the harsh realization that this was a trap. While Maria Hill was setting a trap for the Winter Soldiers, they were setting a trap for him.

"Tony Stark." Josef hissed.

Tony's ears were ringing, and he could barely comprehend the words JARVIS was yelling in his ears, all mumbles. He knew enough to know he was most likely concussed, though this was hardly the first or last time he would be. "Fuck." He snapped, his swearing muted to the outside world.

Josef didn't wait for a verbal response, or any response, as he seized Iron Man by the boot, the metal bending and cracking under his grip, and swung Tony once more. As the world spun, Tony's head swung back and forth, his stomach violent flipping.

In open air, Iron Man was practically invincible (Yes, that was Tony's ego talking), but in a narrow alley with only one way in or out, his abilities were vastly limited. Yes, he could blast a hole in the brick wall easily, but knowing the future, he knew destruction of property would lead to the Sokovia Accords. While Tony believed- still believed-, he wanted the Avengers to be authors of it, not something forced upon them. If someone else wrote it, it would not end well. Plus blowing holes into building wasn't the best idea, and he refused to risk the lives of everyone inside.

However, he might not have the option here.

Would you kill people in these buildings just to save yourself?

Monster!

"JARVIS," Tony hissed as the repulsor in his right boot went haywire. It sparked like a backfiring firework as Josef tightened his grip on the boot.

"Flight systems compromised." JARVIS stated.

Just as Josef flung him into the ground, Tony lifted his right hand and fired his repulsor, hitting him in the middle of the chest. Josef flew back and slammed into a full dumpster, the metal folding underneath him. "Take me up!" he ordered, his voice strained. "J, put everything we got into the thrusters!"

"Just did."

Metal shrieking as he pulled away, Tony's ascent anything but graceful. Working off one thruster, he wibbled back and forth in the air, his speed cut in half. His slow take off allowed the female Super Soldier to leap into the air and onto his back. Normally, JARVIS would compensate for the sudden weight, but working off one thruster, his ascent halted, bobbing in place. "Fuck," he hissed. "JARVIS."

"Any more power to the left thruster will overload it,"

"I'm-," Tony stared, but his words were cut shot as the Winter Soldier—Nadia if memory served correctly- wrapped her forearm around his neck and squeezed. The metal twisted and bent under her forearm, painfully pressing hard on his wind pike. Black spots danced across his vision, his lungs protesting.

Everything suddenly changed. Color flew pass his eyes morphing into images he would long hope to forget.

Iron Man pinned Captain America down, a hand firmly passed against his chest. Unnoticed by Tony, Bucky picked up Captain America's fallen shield and jumped down to the lower level to assist. A second later, Iron Man was hit in the back by the shield, the force of the blow turning him around. The two super soldiers, in perfect sync, begun to throw punches, the shield changing hands between them with each blow.

"SIR!" JARVIS bellowed in his ear.

Tony's eyes snapped open, the stationary brick wall shaking in front of him. JARVIS's voice slapped him across the face like a jaded lover. His brain still in a heavy fog, he lifted up his right hand, and using the repulsor, he propelled himself backward and slammed the female soldier into the wall. "Get off," he hissed, his vision still spotting. Heavy fat cracks formed in the bricks, as they violently bounced off. Her grip loosing though still tight, he fired his repulsor once more and slammed into the wall for a second time. Pieces of bricks fell, smacking the ground hard.

This hit appeared to have worked as her hands slipped from his neck. His vision gradually started to clear, but there was not time to breath. Though Nadia had slipped from his back, Josef was on his feet, leapt into the air and grasped his busted, sparking boot. No doubt was left that they were true Super Soldier as Josef yanked him down with more force than humanly possible. Tony hit the ground hard. "Fuck," he cursed, his head slamming against the concrete. People joked about seeing stars when you hit your head, but he truly saw stars.

James Barnes, his eyes wild, forced Iron Man against the opposite wall, gripping the glowing core in the center of Iron Man's chest. Panic flew through Tony, his heart pounding. He charged the Unibeam and blasted of a shot of energy at Barnes, knocking him down and blowing the metal arm completely away. His world spinning, Tony zapped him. A face full of concern and anger, Steve rushed him with his shield up when he saw Barnes stumble away.

"Sir, I need you to move! SIR!"

Tony blinked, never hearing his AI sound so concern. It was striking. "JARVIS."

"You got to move, Sir."

The shield filling his vision, Tony fired, but it didn't deter Steve.

"Move! Sir. You have to move!"

The harshness of JARVIS' tone finally jolted Tony back to reality. "What? What?" he uttered, forgetting his surroundings for a second. JARVIS didn't need to answer the question for his reality to clear; Josef was on top of the Iron Man suit, his fingers digging at the creases in the chest piece. "Charge the Unibeam!" He hissed. Though there wasn't time to fully charge it, he didn't need it.

While beam wasn't strong to kill Josef, it was enough to knock the man off and send him several feet back. Using the repulsor, he propelled himself up to his feet. The blows to his head had the world spinning, and his fizzing HUD wasn't helping. However, any celebrating was short lived. Nadia picked up the damaged dumpster, the metal clattering loudly as she hazardously held it over her head. While the noise had alerted Tony to impending doom, be it his obvious concussion or the malfunction suit, he was unable to dodge the oncoming dumpster. Yet, he did have enough time to prepare for it. The suit creaked as Tony caught the dented dumpster. His heart pounding in his chest, he gave himself a second to breath before he lunched the dumpster back at Nadia.

Josef growled, his hand reaching for anything that he could use for a reason. This included bottles, rocks, broken pieces of wood, and glass. Most of the time, these weapons would have been nothing for Iron Man, he batting the items away like the trash that they were; however, these weapons weren't meant to take him down. If it weren't for the concussion that left his brain in a thick fog, he would've noted the distraction. Tony didn't see the energy ball until it hit him square in chest, knocking him off his feet. His head smacked the ground yet again. The blast had come from ray gun the woman was holding, which was still aimed at him.

"Sir… problem… power…."

While JARVIS was skipping out on every other word, Tony didn't need to hear every word to know what the AI was trying to say. The suit was glitching. Everything thing was blinking, his HUD going in and out. His limbs suddenly felt heavy, feeling every single pound his suit weighted. Whatever the weapon was, it was fucking with the electrical systems, essentially cutting the suit from the reactor which still glowed strongly. His suit was now essentially an expensive paper weight, adding to the already intense waves of panic that were running through him. Terrible memories on repeat slapped him like an angry wave.

"You can't beat him hand to hand."

FRIDAY's voice loudly echoed in his head as if she spoke in his ear.

"Analyze his fight pattern."

"Scanning!" Iron Man's HUD was flashing red as Steve landed blow after blow, knocking him side to side like a rag doll. "Countermeasures ready."

Everything slowed as FRIDAY started to point out patterns. A sense of relief hit him. Yanking Captain America's shield from the Captain's hand, Tony replied, "Let's kick his ass." He flung the shield aside and zapped Steve, who fell backwards, head over heels. Like it was only a bee stung, Steve rose and charged once more. Tony, sweat rolling down his face, blocked his rapid punches and knocked him to his knees with an electrical charge, right in front of Bucky who's lying on his back groaning.

Rogers glanced at Barnes. "He's my friend."

"So was I."

Tony was jolted back to the present by Josef harshly grabbing his neck, his nails once more digging into the already bent metal. It snapped like glass. "I expected more." Josef hissed, disappointment in his voice.

Tony would be lying if he said he wasn't as well. For a superhero, he got his ass beat like he was nothing. How could he hope to defeat Thanos when it only took him one hit to hurl him into the past, the memories over taking like weeds.

Josef reached for the knife on his belt and raised it high in the air. He shouted something in Russian, but JARVIS, still fading in and out, was unable to translate whatever threat had passed across Josef's lips. However, the translation would have gone right by him, as Tony was once more reliving his memories. Words were just whispers to him.

Rogers grabbed Iron Man, lifted him over his head and threw him down. On impact, Tony's chest squeezed, losing all the air in his lungs. He struggled to breathe as Steve bashed the Iron Man mask off with his shield. Steve's eyes were cold as he lifted the shield over his head. Tony looked up in horrified, and fear blossomed in his chest when Steve suddenly brought down the shield.

"Hey asshole!"

Once more, Tony found himself weakly blinking back to reality at the sound of Maria Hill's frosty voice. Barely able to lift his head, he followed her voice to the entrance of the shadowy alley. While Maria Hill was a skilled and experienced former SHIELD agent, Tony had never seen her in the field. With a heavy scowl, she pointed a heavy-duty, peculiar looking rifle at Josef.

"Mis-" Whatever Josef was going to say was cut short by a plasma shot to the chest, knocking him off Tony. Josef landed on his back and stumbled when he attempted to get his feet beneath him. "What were you saying?" Hill mocked.

"Why you!" Nadia hissed as she pointed her cool gaze at Hill. "I'm going to kill you."

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. That isn't nice." Hill taunted as she took a large step forward. "Did your mother teach you to speak like that?" Nadia, a nasty expression on her face, pointed her own bizarre weapon at Hill, but it didn't remain trained on Hill for long as an arrow sliced through the air. It pierced the gun and exploded, the arrow not the gun. The force of the explosion was enough for her to take flight. She landed ungracefully with a loud thump, but she was still moving. Blood dripped down her face. "You thought I would come alone, did you?" Hill asked, tapping on her ear piece.

On the roof of the building, Barton was perched, an arrow drawn. It wasn't a normal arrow. While it was difficult to make out what type of arrow he had laced his bow with, it was clear it was one of Stark's special arrow. One of the new ones Tony had just created. Whichever arrow it was, it packed a punch.

Josef got to his feet, a finger to an ear. Tony hadn't noticed the ear piece before, but Josef was in communication with someone. While it was possible it was the missing third Winter Soldier, Tony doubted Josef would listen to one of his subordinates. But who else would it be?

"So, are we going to rumble?" Hill added. "I like our odds."

Tony did not like their odds. He did not like them at one bit. While they outnumbered the Super Soldiers, Hill and Barton were just normal humans. Yes, skilled humans, but they had no chance in hand-to-hand combat with them, especially when the Winter Soldiers had no integrity.

"Silly girl." The woman laughed.

"I am no girl." Hill countered, harshly.

Josef shot Nadia a look and shook his head. "Nadia," he called, rolling his tongue over her name. "Сейчас не время для твоей глупости."

"Я хочу попробовать ее кровь." Nadia replied, her eyes drilling into Hill.

"Нет. Нас ждут." Josef gave her a pointed stare, words silently passed between their eyes. Eventually, Nadia stood down and settle back with Josef, who gave Barton a hard stare. They continued to back up until they touched a wall. To anyone else, this would've been dead-end, but for two super soldiers, they had several ways out. One way was to climb the walls like Spiderman—pun intended-, which was what they did. While Peter would not need to dig his fingers into the bricks, they had to, creating tiny finger size holes on the way up. Josef and Nadia, their weight nothing to them, were up the wall in less than 5 minutes. It was eerily creepy how fast they made it up, giving Tony sinister demon vibes.

For 5 long minutes, no one moved and scanned for any sign of the two winter soldiers. Tony, though attention slipping, didn't dare to move, not that he could. Without a stable power source, the suit was useless. Systems were quickly shutting down in an attempt to save as much power as possible. The reactor was fine, but without a thorough analysis, he could only guess what they did to the suit.

Hey, look at the plus side: you aren't freezing to death in some off the books Hydra base.

Still got your ass kicked though, Stark.

I was just ambushed. In a fair fight, I would have win.

There are no fair fights in real life, Stark.

Shut up!

Well, you're the one arguing with yourself.

Hello, blow to the head.

Excuses. Excuses.

Says the voices in my head.

"How are you doing over there, Stark?" Hill called out.

"Peach." His voice muffled beneath the mask. "Is the ground shaking or just me?"

Hill shot a concerned look to Barton before she replied. "Well, it is New York. I don't put anything past this city."

Once they were sure that Nadia and Josef were gone, Barton slowly descended from the building, watching for any sudden movements. Hill made her way to Stark, while she chatted into her comms. Chatted was bit of an understatement as she was barking orders and railroading whoever she was talking to.

*O*O*

Getting Tony out of the suit wasn't as challenging as they first expected. Having over a decade under his belt as Iron Man, he had learned to equip the suit with a failsafe to get out in case of an emergency. It was coming in handy when Barton and Hill pulled him from the suit. For the most part, he was in one piece, nothing broken, but several bruises already darkened on his back along his spin. Several dark bruises had formed around his neck, along the places that Josef had snapped the metal. Though Tony had already guessed it, Hill confirmed his suspicions that he had a concussion. Though, it wasn't that hard to call it. Tony wobbled as soon as they got him out of the suit and onto his feet, almost face planting. If it wasn't for Barton, he would've eaten pavement.

While Tony was in not in the right head space to repair his suit in the alley, with the help of FRIDAY (who had been in Hill's ear), they had stabilized the power long enough for the journey back and JARVIS piloted it back to the tower. Barton and Hill ushered Tony into the large black SUV at the alley's opening—not trusting him to return on his own- and made their way to the tower. Judging by how tight Barton had wrapped his fingers around the staring wheel, he had something to say; yet, he kept his mouth shut and was silent the way back. Hill was still on the comms, while scanning each roof top as they drove.

Tony was in the back with a cheap icepack on his head and neck, his feet kicked up on the seat. The pounding in his skull started a second after he had gotten comfortable in the backseat, and every sound was unbearable: Hill's tapping on her tablet, Barton's tapping of his left foot, the car's beeping turn signal. If that wasn't bad enough, bright lines were brothering him as well, which included his own smart phone. He tried dimming the light, but that made it worse, as it forced his eyes to focus on the tiny font, which made the car spin. He tried putting his phone down, but that did nothing.

"The rest of the team is on their way back," Hill announced, glancing over her seat to Tony.

Barton nodded. "So, Steve went through those interviews for nothing." While the archer was stiff and cold, there was a hint of a chuckle just beneath the surface. No matter the timeline, none of the Avengers enjoyed interviews, most of all Barton. He got sided lined most of the times as he was deemed the weakest Avengers in the press.

"You were just dangling the wrong carrot," Tony interjected.

"That or they knew Steve was a trap." Barton countered.

"Both are possible." Hill replied.

"Yea, but he didn't break into Hydra base and steal one of their goodies." Tony stated nonchalant. It took two seconds after those words left his mouth to realize that he was an idiot. How could he not have realized this? This wasn't the first time he had fought Josef. The first time was when they 'stole' Barnes when Tony faced him. Why would Josef want Captain Rogers when he could have Iron Man?

"Which goody was this?" Barton asked, his jaw stiff.

Yes, Stark. Which goody was it?

Is Barnes only an asset to you?

Hill glanced over the chair, ripping him apart with her eyes. "What did you take, Stark?"

With a heavy concussion, now wasn't the best time for 20 questions, his filters gone—not that he had many to begin with. Tony peeped at Hill with one eye. "A weapon."

Tell her. Tell her you stole a Winter Soldier.

"Where is it now?"

"Destroyed," Tony answered.

Once a weapon, always a weapon.

"You didn't think we would like to have studied it?" Hill pushed.

Tony would never let anyone treat Barnes like a lab rat. That man had enough. Bar—Without warning and abruptly, his head exploded. He let out a wounded cry as it felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to his head. While he had been nursing a headache for some time, he had become accustomed to the pain and ignored it, but this pain was something else. Tony jolted forward, his hand automatically going to face in an attempt to ride through it. His jaw locked, almost biting his tongue.

Are you okay, Stark?

"As you okay back there, Stark?" Barton asked, peeping over his shoulder for a second.

"Pick up your speed, Barton." Hill ordered, not liking what she was seeing.

*O*O*

Tony's world was spinning on warp speed by the time they pulled into the tower's garage. Neither Hill or Barton wasted any time and jumped out of the door, rounding to the back seat. They flung the back door open and reached for Tony, their stares lined with concern. Barton pulled Tony by the feet as Hill climbed in behind him. She gripped Tony by the shoulders and inched him toward Barton. Working in sync, they quickly got Tony out of the car. Both Hill and Barton held Tony up, each wrapping an arm around their necks; however, Barton took the brunt of Tony's weight. Whatever words were exchanged between the two went over Tony's head and did not registered.

Look who is sleeping on the job.

Shut up.

Thanos is going to win. Thanos is going to win. Thanos is going to win.

Shut up.

And it will be your fault.

Shut up!

All because you wouldn't let others in. This is your fault.

No.

It is always your fault. It will always be your fault

"Stark!" Barton's words finally rung a bell in the fog, yelling as loud as he could. "Come on, Buddy. Stay with us."

You're the reason why the Avengers lost in the first place. If it weren't for the civil War you caused, Thanos wouldn't have won. Your death would fix it all.

Tony violently shook his head. "Not my fault. Not my fault." He muttered.

"What isn't your fault?"

His vision burred, everything nothing more than shapes. "The Avengers lost." Tony's head swaged up and down. "My fault."

Yes, your fault. You wouldn't listen to Rogers, and people died! He was right. Still right.

Barton staggered for a second with Tony's dead weight before he regained his footing. "No, no. We didn't. Right here, Buddy. Right, Hill?"

"Yes, right here." Hill replied, her voice strained.

Imagines flashed before his eyes, some too fast for Tony to comprehend, but one struck out: bloody, broken bodies. They filled every inch of his vision. His friends, the Avengers. They were all dead. "Dead. Dead. Dead."

"No, we aren't."

Dead, Stark. All Dead.

Better watch your back with this one. He will break it.

We trusted you.

"You got to breathe for us, Stark."

You're the villain, Stark.

You're the monster people need to fear.

"Is everything okay over here?" A new odd shape asked.

"How did you get in here?" Hill hissed, her firm presence clearing Tony's head for a second, only a second.

"I'm a doctor. I can help." The voice insisted loudly.

Barton angled himself between them, shifting some of Tony's weight to Hill. "Sorry, Buddy, but I'm not going to trust you with him, especially when you look like that."

"He appears to have suffered-"

"Anyone can say they're a doctor!" Barton hastily snapped, his free hand going to his hip. "Who to say you aren't Hydra?"

"Agent Barton, I can confirm he is not Hydra. He-"

Everything swirled, colors blending, and another imagine begun to form. "Vision," Tony slurred. "V-Vision, my friend."

Where is Vision? Why can't I see him?

Hill's eyes dropped to Tony, but she didn't say anything as Vision continued, "Doctor Strange was a renowned Neurosurgeon Metro-General Hospital. He-"

"Was?" Barton asked, suspicious.

The incomer groaned. "Not important." He paused.

"Not important? I don't even know how you got in here?" Barton hissed. "While Stark drives me crazy, I'm no way in hell leaving him in your hands no matter your reputation."

"You don't have a choice, do you?" Strange shot back.

"Agent Barton," Vision spoke. "Doctor Strange is trustworthy. You must allow the Doctor to exam him."

"Strange," Tony muttered with a hint of anger.

Trustworthy? Strange? He did this to me. He did this!

"What happen?" Strange asked again, sounding like he had won some major rivalry.

Barton shifted, uncomfortable. "Concussion." He answered bitterly.

"By the look of it, it's severe. How hard did he hit his head?" Strange stepped closer. "It is possible there's a bleed in his head. Is somewhere I can exam him?"

"Yes, Doctor Strange." Vision replied before anyone could protect. "Please follow the lights."

No… No…

Everything went black.

Author Note:

Again, i am sorry it took so long.

Let me know what you think. And do you think the Ancient One is going to toss Tony over a cliff?