It's almost two more weeks by the time Gargan's men arrive with literal semi-trucks full of goods they'd looted from the Damage Control vault. Remarkably, they manage to bring most, if not all of the notes and designs that Mason had put together at their main headquarters. Adrian hopes that these notes aren't all that's left of Mason, but, there's a chance they probably are.
The quiet, pudgy one that had been with them since Sing Sing approaches Adrian. His shoulders are slumped and he stares at the floor most of the time. Not that Toomes was an expert, but he figures this poor dough ball of a man must've had one shitty time in prison.
"M'Otto." The man mutters, glancing up at Toomes. He's young, must be in his late 20's at the most. "Mac wants me to help you build your wingsuit."
Toomes shrugs, pointing back to the blueprints and design notes all stacked up near his work desk.
"Mason and I came up with the basic stuff together but the nitty-gritty of the technicals were all him." Adrian says, gesturing to a large schematic of the intricate merging of circuitry and technology. Otto gives it a quick glance, then looks back at Adrian. The kid (anyone under 30 is officially 'kid' to Adrian) looks so damn sad to even be here. Adrian has to wonder if he's having his arm twisted by Gargan as well – it wouldn't necessarily surprise him.
"Haven't worked with Chitauri tech before." Otto says quietly, looking over at the enormous pile that's been assembled for him to work from.
"But you're good with machines or something?"
Otto gives Adrian an annoyed look, surprising him.
"Better than whoever designed your last wingsuit was." Otto snorts, then moves to the stack of papers and schematics, laying several out on the table.
Adrian hovers nearby, watching Otto go through Mason's notes and designs, tossing a few of the preliminary design concepts off the desk and letting them float down to the floor.
"I need welding equipment. Oxy-fuel, ESW, maybe ERW. Do you know what those letters mean?" Otto asks, no small hint of arrogance in his voice.
"Uh, yeah, I know what the letters mean." Adrian sneers back at him. Never mind, he doesn't feel bad for the kid.
"Then hurry up. Gargan wants this thing built in two weeks."
Otto gives Adrian a dismissive wave of his hand before turning back to his papers. Rolling his eyes, Adrian turns and makes his way out of the warehouse. At least fetching supplies will keep him busy and occupied – and away from Gargan for a few hours.
Gargan had been steaming for days. Otto was taking longer than the two weeks he'd demanded. In turn, Otto had argued that good work took time. It surprised Adrian to see the chubby young man shout at Gargan and get away with it. Not a slap or a punch or a threatening word in retaliation. Gargan just swallowed his pride and stormed off.
That was strange. Gargan didn't strike him as someone who was easily intimidated, let alone by a guy with an embarrassing haircut that was under 5'5".
Toomes had watched from his own private corner, sitting on a lawn chair he'd swiped during his pick up of Otto's welding equipment. Adrian found himself more tired these days – of course, he blamed most of that on age. He was old, and just getting older.
Somehow this felt different though. This wasn't just his knees and his back getting to him, this was something more. Getting up every morning seemed pointless. Food lost its appeal, as did going outside and the fresh air. Focusing on his own projects got harder every day, and soon he'd given up on them. Otto had snatched up the talons later on anyway and tossed them out, saying he was going to invent better ones.
The only thing that kept him remotely invested in putting effort forth was helping Aleksei from time to time with his english. The man seemed genuinely grateful. Unfortunately it didn't stop everything else from just growing darker.
The world somehow seemed grayer and just being in it was exhausting. The reality that either Doris or Liz, or both, were dead was finally sinking in. Even if they weren't, were they surviving the chaos that the world had fallen into when half of its population had vanished? So many 'what if's' spun around in his head constantly that there wasn't space in his head for much else.
Adrian was laying face down in his tent, the flap zippered shut. He wasn't asleep, but he had decided that today was a day that he didn't want to get up. He'd been laying there for what felt like three hours at the most, and had no plans on moving anytime soon.
"Vulture man!" Aleksei's voice boomed from outside of the tent. "Come see wings!"
Fuck wings. And fuck Gargan for putting a leash on him.
Adrian let his train of thought go in that direction for a solid five minutes, completely blocking out Aleksei. The man was getting louder and louder, shaking his tent, but Adrian just ignored it. Aleksei tended to leave him alone when his moods turned south, so Adrian was sure he could just wait this one out.
Seven minutes later, thrown over the shoulder of a seven foot Russian, Adrian came to the conclusion that this was only slightly more humiliating than having a hand-written 'Found' note taped next to him by a high schooler.
Toomes said nothing. All he could do was just stare at the ground as Aleksei carried him up the stairs to the back of the warehouse. He sighed loudly, but that was the most he was going to voice his displeasure. Aleksei must've noticed it, and gave him a pat on the leg.
"You will feel better when you see wings, vulture man."
"It's Adrian." He grumbled, letting his arms hang down.
"Vulture man." Aleksei insists.
A few moments later, Adrian is set down on the concrete and Aleksei grabs him by the shoulders and turns him around to see the completed wings.
Otto was an arrogant, whining, mean-spirited little shit – but Adrian couldn't find it within himself to hold that against him anymore.
What the kid had built was incredible. The wings matched Mason's high altitude design in size, but with several obvious changes. The thruster engine on the back was significantly smaller, and the turbine cages were thicker. Red and green positioning lights had been placed on the tip of the left and right wing respectively, along with several smaller lights that had been set near the base of each wing, near where Adrian's shoulders would be.
Individual blades stuck out near the ends of each wing, shaped suspiciously like the primary feathers of a vulture's wings. Mason had designed those as well, but these were longer and curved upward at the end.
The nickname must've really stuck. Well, there were worse nicknames than 'Vulture' Toomes supposed.
Adrian approached one of them, staring up at the sleek surface along the interior. Small, black hexagonal tiles had been attached up along the interiors and exteriors of the wings, like some kind of solar grid. He looked over at Otto, then pointed up at the tiles.
"What're those?"
Otto glanced at him, then nodded at the tiles. "Countermeasures. They aren't Chitauri or Stark tech. I designed them. In case anyone tries to take you out of the air with a missile or something."
Adrian snorted, walking over the flight harness and stepping back into it to try it on.
"So Gargan is expecting missile encounters for this job of his?" Adrian asked, strapping himself into the new harness. It was strange, and certainly not as comfortable as the last one. He'd been using the old flight harness for years, this new one would take time getting used to.
"Even if Stark's not home, doesn't mean his lights aren't on. The guy probably has a security system in place for pollen that gets too close to his windows." Otto sneered, walking over to Adrian and helping him strap the harness on correctly. "You aren't gonna hear any noise from the turbines anymore. I installed a sound dampening ring on each one, so no one's gonna hear you when you go over them."
Adrian raised a brow. That was impressive, he had to admit. He didn't think he'd find someone as good with machines as Mason. It wasn't a surprise that Otto reminded him of his former inventor. They were both brilliant, but with Mason, he'd always been hindered by his laziness. The man was content leading a simple, mundane life working for Toomes instead of pushing himself to achieve greater things. Adrian didn't blame him for wanting a simple life, but it was still obvious that Mason could've put his skills and talents to so much more.
Not that Adrian wasn't glad he didn't.
"How long's she gonna take to warm up?" Adrian asked, raising his arms and allowing Otto to tighten the flight harness around his chest.
"Bout five minutes, give or take." Otto responded. The man strapped Adrian's legs into a new exoskeleton, which was much sleeker and streamline than Mason's old designs. The kid had a flair for aesthetics if nothing else. Adrian just hoped these could absorb the shock like the last ones. One bad landing and his knees would be permanently out of commission.
"I'm still getting the auto-lock fixed on those. Once I get your measurements I can custom fit them to your legs, and then I'll install the locks so you can just step right into them."
"Hey," Adrian snorted, shrugging, "I'm impressed already kid, don't sweat it."
He looked up and over at the various lights that had been installed on the wings.
"Can I shut those off somehow?" He asked, pointing to one of the position lights on the tip of his left wing.
"Yeah. Those are just so we can see you for pickups. Gargan wants you to air lift the most important stuff out of the Avengers compound. He's gonna brief you on the details." Otto picked up a pair of black gloves from nearby and handed them to Adrian.
"Left hand is for lights, talons and countermeasures. Right hand is main thrusters and high-altitude mode. Don't use that last one yet. If the raid on the compound goes right, the tech we grab from there will have what I need to make you a pressure suit so you can deal with higher altitudes."
"Higher?" Adrian asks, scoffing. "That Stark jet job was around 35,000 feet. Why would I need to go higher than that?"
"Why not?" Otto asks, shrugging. "I can design the gear you'd need for it. Imagine the advantage you'd have, just on height alone."
"I'm pretty sure Iron Man and Thor can still out-fly me regardless of how high this thing can go."
"Well I don't see them around." Otto snaps, glaring at him. "Do you? Who do you see around anymore? Nobody. Whatever happened, it's been almost a month and a half and nothing's changed. Iron Man, Thor, Falcon, War Machine, nobody's seen them around – and if they have, it isn't around here. Put those gloves on and start practicing so you don't accidentally mix up your landing lights with your position lights and blind us all."
Adrian pulls the gloves on without further argument. Otto backs up and gives him directions on how to activate the turbines, the main thrust engines, how to perform a low hover without too much backwash, all the good stuff. Low-hover mode is quickly becoming his favorite thing about the wings. The last ones had been able to hover, sure, but not just a few feet above the ground for prolonged periods of time.
The turbines are as quiet as Otto boasts. They take a few minutes to warm up, but once Adrian feels the wings actively beginning to rise up, he tilts forward and lets them take over. They detach easily from the makeshift support rig that Otto had slapped together, and he hovers forward.
Aleksei offers him some light applause as he hovers around the parking lot. Adrian can see Mac and the other Russian – Sergei somethingsomething standing near the warehouse entrance, watching him. The gloves are built with sensors along each finger that link up to the wings and their operations. He just has to curl a finger and it activates the desired action.
Let's see what the middle finger does.
Adrian tilts the wings so that he's facing Gargan from a distance. He curls his middle finger and can feel the sensor clicking inside of the glove. The blinding landing lights switch on, illuminating the area in front of him. He can hear Gargan shouting in surprise and pain as he covers his eyes and screams at Toomes to shut them off. Grudgingly he complies, but just seeing Gargan rapidly blinking and attempting to wobble his way back into the warehouse has made Adrian's day.
"Oops!" Adrian calls after him, "Sorry about that!"
Sergei yells at him in Russian but he just ignores it, and activates the main thruster engine for a rapid take off. The turbines tilt in response as he leans forward, and he sweeps over the parking lot, flying over Aleksei and Otto. He flies over the trees that surround the warehouse, looking forward as he scans the horizon.
Adrian knows he can't go up too high without a mask, but even being above the tree line is freeing. It helps distract him for a while from obsessing over Doris and Liz. The cold air hitting his face at rapid speeds causes his eyes to tear up, and he has to squint hard without anything to protect them. Still, just feeling the clean, fresh air above the pines is invigorating. It was a smell he'd forgotten that he'd even missed.
He flies a bit higher – as high as he'll dare without a mask. It's getting hard to breathe, but he risks it just for a chance to be away from Gargan for a while. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed being up in the air. It was something he'd begun to take for granted until it was taken from him.
Radio static sounding from tiny, hidden speakers on the flight harness draw his attention.
"Might want to come back and land, Toomes. Gargan had me build a kill-switch into those in case you might try to fly off."
Adrian banked right, returning to the warehouse and circling it a few times. He could see Gargan, Otto, Aleksei and Sergei all watching him from the parking lot. He circled a few more times, making lazy loops in the air. If nothing else, just to get an unimpeded view of the multicolored sunset.
There's a reason to stick around. Something as simple as a good sunset, or a cold beer. He had to find a reason to keep living. Even if those reasons were as mundane as a vivid evening sky or food that he enjoyed, he had to find something. Adrian Toomes was a fighter. He refused to roll over back when Damage Control put him out of business. He refused to accept that Doris and Liz would have to live any way that wasn't the best life they deserved. He had to refuse giving in to despair now, he couldn't accept giving up any longer.
Doris and Liz are probably dead. Yes, they probably were. But what if they weren't? What if one of them was still alive? A voice pushed back at the utter despair that had been invading his mind for the last week. You don't know until you know.
Adrian landed. It was much easier on his body with the new turbines. They guided him into a slow hover so he could slide across the pavement until he was ready for a complete halt. He'd have to talk to Otto about the exo-legs, they weren't taking the shock they needed to.
As Aleksei and Otto helped him out of the flight harness, Adrian let his mind wander. He had to make a plan and wait until the time was right. Step one would be to find and deactivate the kill switch on his wings. A backup plan would have to be to cozy up to Otto and get the kid on his side. He didn't know what kind of relationship Otto had with Gargan, but something told him they weren't cooperating out of a mutual respect for one and other.
Once that kill switch was deactivated, he just had to wait until the time was right to escape, and not just jump the gun and fly off as soon as he could. Things were clicking together in Adrian's mind, he just had to wait. If he had learned one thing in life, it was that laying low and just being patient for the right opportunity yielded the best results.
Aleksei offered him a high five, which Adrian awkwardly returned. Otto was already fiddling with the wings, having made notes during Adrian's flight. He was quick at work to fix anything he'd seen that he wasn't completely happy with.
Turning back to walk into the warehouse, Adrian paused as Gargan approached him.
"Otto does a good job, don't he?" He asked, looking past Adrian to the younger man as he fiddled with the wings.
"Almost too good. Where the hell did you find this kid?"
Gargan shrugged, smirking at him. "For me to know and you to find out. Once Otto finishes fooling around with those, we're gonna have a briefing. We gotta hit the Avengers compound soon, but I need you to do a little recon work for me first. Just so we don't go in there with our asses hanging in the breeze."
"Fine." Adrian snaps back, settling his thumbs into his belt loops. "But then we're going to discuss what kind of cut I'm getting of Stark's equipment. I'm not doing recon work and heavy lifting or whatever the hell else for a handful arc reactors, got that?"
Gargan raises his hands to try and pacify the other, shaking his head. "Hey man, hey – you'll get your cut, don't worry. We're all gonna get what we want out of there, got it?"
Adrian gives him a critical look, snorting quietly. "I'd better. If that spider-kid hadn't crashed the damn plane, I would've been sitting on most of that tech already."
"But he did." Gargan chuckled, "And now you get to finish part of what you started, huh? Who knows, you might just be sitting on twice of what that plane was carrying."
Adrian quirks an eyebrow at that, tilting his head. He gives Gargan a look that reads You might have a point there and walks back into the warehouse.
While he was planning and preparing for his inevitable escape from Gargan, Adrian had to be honest with himself. It was going to feel so damn good to stick it to Tony Stark. Even if the man was already dead, for all he knew. Adrian wasn't a man above petty vengeance.
