Little Bird's Vengeance Chapter 24 Performance Appraisal

Steve joined Tony in his workshop, watching the billionaire stripping damaged circuitry out of War Machine's suit. "I messed up, badly," Steve admitted, catching his friend's attention.

"Wanna talk about it?" Tony asked. "I've heard it helps."

"You were nearly killed," Steve said bluntly, dropping into a spare chair. "Rhodes is shaken up, and I don't blame Red for not talking to me."

"'Cause you turned your comm off on him when he was trying to warn you?" Tony paused a moment. "Yeah, bad call there. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd you ignore him? What were you thinking when you made that decision?" Tony's voice wasn't accusing so much as curious, contemplative. Steve thought back, trying to look past the surface recollections of sights and sounds and sensations, down to the thoughts and feelings.

"I guess…I was thinking that the important thing was to take out those guys, we were in battle and the kid was trying to talk my ear off." Steve frowned. "It didn't occur to me that he might have something immediately important to pass on."

"Well, why not? What made you automatically throw that option out?" Tony put down his tools and leant back on the workbench, giving the conversation his fullest attention. "I mean, if it was still the war, you and your Howling Commandos, same sort of situation, how would you have reacted to one of them calling you up?"

"It wouldn't have happened," Steve shrugged. "We always planned in advance what we would do, where we would strike, backup plans, everything. We didn't just rush in, because we weren't reactionary the same way the Avengers are. It wasn't in our remit."

"You never had someone in another section of whatever it was you were attacking telling you that you needed to change your plans?" Tony asked surprised.

"Sometimes, but we were moving from one plan to another, or redistributing the forces. Not dumping more information on us. We always did our best to get thorough intelligence before attacking, and to plan for pretty much any eventuality."

"And if someone behind the lines tried to tell you to change the plan?"

"If it was Colonel Philips, we'd have done it, probably not if it was anyone else. Most people can't really make that call unless they're there, in the field. We were told to use our own judgement at all times."

"Except when the Colonel ordered you. Like Fury telling us about the nuke during the Chitauri invasion."

"Exactly."

"So you got hit by something you had no experience of, and had been taught and learned to ignore, and found out you need new rules."

"And in the process got one of my men hurt and nearly killed another, yes."

Tony nodded slowly. "And your thoughts on the kid?"

"He's just that; a kid. A child who shouldn't be in the field. The only reason he went after the guy behind it is that he went before I could tell him not to." Steve felt worry, and just a touch of fear flow through him. A battle was no place for a boy.

"He knows what he's doing," Tony shrugged. "He's taken on these sort of things before, and held your position within his own groups, if you're willing to believe him."

"I know," Steve sighed. "But this isn't his world. And who let him start this stuff in the first place? It's insane."

"From what Red's told us, the same could be said for his Gotham," Tony pointed out sardonically. "Whether or not he should have the skills and mindset he has is beside the point. He's a guy like us. And d'you know what I would do if you tried benching me? I would ignore you and go out anyway. Might even find a fight of my own just to spite you. What's the betting Red's the same?"

"He did stick to Fury's house arrest, until you pulled him out," Steve reminded him.

"When he first appeared in a strange world, with no-one to call on other than us, and on probation from the spy of all spies. Be reasonable; even I'd be a bit reticent under those circumstances," Tony said dismissively. "You're right. Your Howling Commandos were proactionary, and we Avengers are reactive. Different rules. Why not sit down and talk to someone with a bit more experience in this kind of stuff?"

Steve sighed. "I don't think he wants to talk to me," he said.

Tony shrugged. "It would prevent further misunderstandings, but your call."

"Fine," Steve grumbled. "Jarvis, where's Red Robin?"

"He, Agent Barton and Agent Romanov left four minutes ago in the Quinjet, Captain," the AI replied.

"Debrief on the Helicarrier, I guess," Steve muttered. "Fury'll probably call us soon enough."

"Well, I guess you'll have to wait for that conversation," Tony drawled. "Pity. Now, if you don't mind, I've got repair work."

"Wait, Steve said, an idea coming to him. "Didn't you seize the gear those guys were using? Where did it come from?"

Tony straightened up and moved to one of the freshly cluttered workbenches. "Jarvis, scan this," he said. "Display schematics." A virtual blueprint appeared, suspended in midair. Tony touched several portions, enlarging them and examining the details before moving on. "The Hammer suit; the one that failed. Got that?" Another blueprint appeared. "Okay, layer them. No the drones, the aerial one." The schematic turned into a blue blur, and Tony peered at it, fiddling with the sections before dragging a few components loose and keeping them separate. He then removed corresponding pieces from the recovered wreckage.

"Got something?" Steve asked.

"I can say with eighty, maybe seventy-five percent certainty, that these were made by HammerTech, or at least bits were. The configuration of some of these circuits I don't recognize."

"Wouldn't the schematics be on file somewhere?"

"Yes; the Army seized all of Hammer's research data and material after the disaster at the Expo before SHIELD could get to it."

"Can we get hold of it?"

"Possibly. Jarvis, Fury's probably got the location. Find it, would you?"

"Yes, sir," Jarvis replied.

"Should be just a few minutes," Tony said. He turned back to the crippled suit, pulling out wires and transistors while Steve examined the floating blueprints for some meaning in vain.

"Found it, sir," Jarvis replied. A file appeared, floating like the blueprints.

"Okay, so, the Army just bunged the stuff all in one warehouse in one of their bases," Tony concluded, speed-reading the page.

"If we could gain access to the seized files, could you identify the extra components," Steve asked. "Would that tell you where the mechanisms came from?"

"Quite likely," Tony shrugged. "Give us some clues at least."

Steve nodded. "Can you set up a meeting between us and whoever's in charge of the base?"

"Uh, no, bad idea," Tony responded. "It's run by Bruce's old friend General Ross."

"That being 'old friend' as in the one who keeps trying to catch him?" Steve asked.

"That's the one."

"Just checking."

AN: At least one person was complaining about Steve's performance in the fight. Here's his thoughts on it.

Also this week, the Wayne boys face a bit of backlash after an operation gone right. And in Dalek Invasion, they're still trying to take over Narnia, and this time may just succeed.

Next week, Steve and Tony have found themselves a mission. The Swift intrigue is winding down in Family Ties. And the Daleks are invading a relatively obscure manga/anime called Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji.

Please leave a review on the way out, and feel free to ask questions.

Katara