Adrian shares a long side-eye with Aleksei. The two have become masters of sharing looks now that they've been drafted to help Otto complete his own 'project'. The 'project' entails four enormous tentacle-like appendages that are going to be connected directly to his brain waves through some kind of fancy helmet he's made.
Gargan and Sergei are on the other side of the work station, both struggling to support the second of the two tentacles that Otto is attaching. Both appendages are being welded and spliced onto a back rig that Otto is seated in front of. Nearby, a helmet, half completed with sensors running up and down the interior, sits in waiting. The stolen Stark tech from the Avengers compound has put Otto on a tear. The young man has been working nonstop, with barely a break in between to sleep or eat, for nearly a week now.
Adrian is impressed, and wishes he'd had Otto alongside Mason back in the day.
Well... He pauses at that. There was only so much of Mason he could take over a twenty four hour period. Lord knows how he'd stand them, who was like Mason but smarter and meaner.
"Hold it higher!" Otto barks from his crouched position over the back piece. His voice is muffled slightly by the welding mask over his face.
Aleksei sighs and heaves the stiff metal limb a few inches higher. Adrian has been holding the limb steady while Aleksei does the majority of the heavy work. Even with the much stronger man taking on most of the weight of the limb, it's still a struggle on Adrian's part.
Otto turned away and went back to finishing the rest of the welds. Wires are connected and metal bits soldered into place. Finally after nearly another half hour of uncomfortable shifting and quiet complaints, Otto stands up and gives a nod.
As they release the limbs, the mechanical arms dip slightly from the removal of their support. Adrian quietly grimaces as he stares at them, expecting the metal to buckle and for the arms to collapse. However, they did no such thing, adhered securely to the back plates.
"Leave, I need to conduct more tests." Otto grumbles, going back to his work station.
His mood was always sour, and they'd all gotten used to it. Besides, Otto had already begun preliminary work on a suit for Aleksei, as well as some kind of arm thing for Gargan. He'd tried to persuade Sergei into letting him make something for him, but the proud Russian had repeatedly refused.
Since the first raid on the Avengers compound, Gargan had sent Adrian and Sergei back for several more retrieval rounds. After their third visit, there were no more personnel left to deal with. The few left alive that Sergei hadn't killed had high tailed it out of there when they realized just how outclassed they were. Adrian admittedly had snatched a few up and given them a long drop, but only when they fired at him. He didn't feel very bad about it. Hadn't felt bad about roasting Jackson either.
It gave Adrian pause sometimes to think, he probably should feel bad about killing another human being. No doubt the weapons he'd sold had gone on to end a few lives. Probably more than a few. Somehow though, unless those lives were people he cared about within his inner circle, he just couldn't bring himself to give too much of a shit.
Plus, these guys were shooting at him. That was all the justification he felt he needed to practice his dive bombs and snatch them up for a quick trip back to ground level.
After the numerous trips back and forth, they had all but raided the entire Avengers warehouse. The amount of crates and goods they'd filled their base with was rapidly encroaching into their living and work space.
Adrian spent most of his days in his wings, moving stock for Otto and letting the younger man bark at him. He didn't care much really, he wasn't the type to let his ego get in the way of being a team player when he had to be.
Aleksei had gotten the better of him. Adrian found himself developing a soft spot for the giant of a man. They were quick to pair up when it come to food or fuel runs. Adrian would fly into town, letting Aleksei hitch a ride on his back. After nearly a week of Aleksei staring at him with a heartbroken expression, Otto had caved and installed a small pair of straps on the top of Adrian's wing harness. It allowed for someone to hang onto the back without having to clutch metal.
The man was having the time of his life thanks to those straps. Aleksei's joy was a little contagious. Adrian wasn't much for 'happy' those days, but the other man's genuine happiness at just being allowed to fly with him brought the occasional grin to Adrian's face.
Said grin was on Adrian's face on a cool Thursday night that week as he flew a few feet above a highway. They'd been over this highway several times, coming across an abandoned car here and there. All the vehicles left on the road had already been pilfered for fuel, and Adrian lazily flew past them with disinterest.
Their goal that night was New Paltz. The college town had become somewhat of a haven for people that were trying to get away from New York City. From what Gargan had picked up over radio chatter between the sad remaining fragments of law enforcement was this; New York City was considered a total loss. From the initial panic that swept the city and the deadlock of the city streets thanks to a multitude of driverless cars, to the long term looting and outbreaks of violence, it was the last place any sane person wanted to be.
Which was exactly why Gargan was planning on moving them right smack into the old Avenger's tower.
Top of the criminal food chain and all that, he figured. Once Otto had finished up all of their new gear, Gargan said they'd be unstoppable in claiming that tower for their base of operations for criminal enterprise. Was it really criminal if technically no one was around to enforce the law? Why would Gargan want the biggest, most obvious, grandiose, over the top, vulgar building in all of the New York skyline? Adrian didn't care to ask.
Nope.
His (and Aleksei's) job was to gather fuel. Fuel they were going to need for the trucks to transport all the ridiculous amounts of technology they'd stolen from the Avengers compound. Gargan wanted him to gather diesel fuel, which had become increasingly rare and well guarded by hoarders and remaining law enforcement alike. Adrian felt more like an errand boy than an ex arms baron.
Despite Gargan's over the top ambitions of becoming some kind of crime lord in the heart of NYC, Adrian felt that returning to the city would be a good thing. The violence there had been described as 'epidemic' and 'gargantuan'. With some luck, going back to NYC might just take care of Gargan all on its own.
New Paltz came into view, nestled in some of the most scenic hills and mountains upstate New York could provide. Well, it wasn't ithat/i upstate, but it was north enough of the city to qualify.
Adrian could see lights on in a few buildings. Rolling blackouts had become a regular occurrence within the last month. Luckily for them, Adrian and Otto had found a way to rig up the power supply to the warehouse to a few Chitauri power cores. The rest of the world still desperately hooked up to the failing power grid wasn't so lucky.
"Circle round up high, I will look for diesel stash." Aleksei spoke into his tiny comm device.
Adrian gave a nod, ascending over the top of the tallest of New Paltz's buildings, which was less than 10 stories. He pressed a small switch on the back of his helmet, activating a 'tactical view' that brought up a more advanced, detailed HUD than his previous helmet. He had to hand it to Otto, the kid could slap together some fascinating tech.
"Stay away from bullets!" Aleksei added as they went higher.
Adrian had to chuckle at that one. Already a few pops were sounding out from the top floors of several buildings that he passed by. People were always taking pot shots at them whenever he flew into town for a raid, not that it did them any good.
He continued to circle around the town as Aleksei peeked out from behind his head with binoculars. Now and then he'd bring a wing up when they got close to a tall building. Only once or twice were the shooters good enough to hit a quickly moving aerial target. Their luck or skill was in vain unfortunately, and the few bullets that reached Adrian harmlessly bounced off the wing.
"I see stash! Under blue tarp, hidden by awning on hospital building."
Aleksei pointed over Adrian's shoulder, guiding his line of sight until he spotted the tarp. Nearly fifty drums of fuel were hidden beneath it. It wasn't as much as Adrian had hoped – the fuel consumption on semis was ten kinds of ridiculous – but it was enough to at least get two back to the city for now.
"Get yourself ready and I'll drop you down. I'll keep 'em busy while you get the net on." Adrian called back to him.
Aleksei nodded, hanging onto a strap with one hand, preparing the rifle he'd brought with him with the other. He closed his eyes, pressing himself close against the metal wings as Adrian went into a dive.
It was sudden, fast, and caused both their stomachs to rise up into their chests. Adrian loved the feeling, it never got old for him. At his speeds, the dive only took a few seconds. He stalled at the last moment, turbines tilting to compensate for the sudden stop.
As soon as he felt Aleksei's weight leave his back, Adrian shot back into the sky with a rapid vertical ascent. His goal now was to keep the gunners distracted and away from Aleksei and wait for the other man to get everything prepared.
He'd be lying if he didn't enjoy this a little too much for his own good. The wings were hardy, and could slice through concrete just as well as Mason's could. He circled the nearby buildings a few times, drawing fire to him. Swinging his wings forward as he dove toward the tallest of the buildings, the satisfying sound of ricocheting bullets was like music to his ears.
Concrete exploded outward and sheet glass shattered into enormous chunks as he ran a wing through the side of the building. Several gunners that had been perched on the same floor dove out of the way, shouting in fear and surprise. Adrian tore a long gash through the west facing side of the former hospital administrative center. As he finished and banked to the right, he glanced to the end of his wing. His HUD briefly flashed on a large chunk of 'organic material' that had been caught on the end of a blade feather.
Adrian smirked. Served them right.
Briefly glancing down at Aleksei, he saw that the man was being pinned down by several cops that had come out to defend the precious diesel. That wouldn't do.
He broke into a dive, the ground fast approaching as he swooped toward the trio. Aleksei was pinned back behind a cement pillar that supported the awning, and the cops were being careful not to fire toward the diesel. With the three of them taking turns to fire and reload, Aleksei didn't have a moment to return fire.
Only one cop spotted Adrian, but none of the them heard him coming. Swinging his legs forward, he managed to snatch two of them, ascending with them securely in either talon. The curved talons dug deep into skin, like long black fishing hooks. As the men struggled, they only gored themselves further onto the talons until Adrian reached the top of the building and let them drop.
Aleksei had taken the opportunity to kill the remaining officer, and was now feverishly working to get Otto's net rigging under the oil drums. It wasn't a complicated process, just a tedious one.
Otto had made the net rig with something he called 'slip-mesh'. The mesh, even when formed into a rope structure, could flatten and slide beneath heavy objects with relative ease. Otto had gone into the technical details about zero friction blah blah but by that point Adrian had been thinking about what he was going to eat that day.
Whatever it was, it was a pain in the ass to work with because it was slippery as hell, but once it was on, it was on. Still, fifty drums was a hefty number. Aleksei had to drag the slip-mesh net under them and make sure not one was missed, and then secure the ends together with the talon clamp. Hard work to do when people were shooting at you.
Adrian turned, determined to keep him covered. The shooters had regrouped and were now taking aim at Aleksei, desperate to protect their fuel.
Spotting the shooters from nearby windows, Adrian began his attack. Slicing through one wall after another, he strafed from building to building. Barely any of the shooters were caught in his wings, (and those that were were quickly minced), but it was enough to scare them off for a few precious seconds for Aleksei.
He continued the harassment for a good five minutes, swooping from one building to the next whenever a brave idiot would try to fire at him or Aleksei. Most of them had gotten wise and gone hiding.
Aleksei's voice rang over the comm, calling him down for the pick up.
Now came the dangerous part.
Adrian turned, descending toward the netted drums of diesel. Aleksei was standing on top of them, holding up the harness that Adrian had to grab with his talons. The Russian had clipped himself onto the netting in case he fell. And it was extremely easy to slip and fall on the accurately named slip-mesh.
No matter how many times they'd done raids, some idiot always got it in his head that it was a good idea to try and get the jump on Adrian just as he was slowing into a controlled descent to snatch the cargo.
Today was no exception.
With the harness already secured in his talons, Adrian was in the early beginnings of his ascent when he heard Aleksei shout at him over the comm. Movement to the right caught his eye, but it was too far out of his peripheral vision to see.
Two choices presented themselves to Adrian. Turn and sway the cargo, possibly cause the harness to get twisted and the oil drums to tilt and possibly leak, or fly faster and just hope they miss.
Fly faster and just hope they miss.
The turbines spun at max RPM, and Adrian felt the wings rattle briefly from the sudden, jarring ascent. He had to risk it. He shouted for Aleksei to hold on as he guns it into a rapid vertical takeoff.
He feels pain, searing and white hot, above his right knee. Son of a bitch managed to plug him despite the odds. Well, that was good for him, and bad for Adrian. The flight back to Otto's compound wasn't too long, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to stay conscious at that rate. He wasn't exactly young. He knew the risk he was taking back in New York when he ran the heists, but that had been low risk – at least compared to this.
He doesn't say anything, biting back the pain, switching his comm to manual so Aleksei can't hear him groaning. They leave New Paltz and its one lucky gunman behind, soaring back to the highway.
It was another ten minutes before he felt Aleksei shift around on the cargo.
"Vulture!" Aleksei's voice called over the comm, "Blood all over your pants, are you hurt?"
"They got me." He admits, biting back another groan of pain. "I can make it back to the warehouse...but let Doc know anyway. Just in case. I'm gonna fly low."
He reached he interstate that they had flown up not even an hour ago. The oil drums are so numerous and heavy that he can't gun it at full speed and go horizontal. Instead he has to stay bent forward, with the turbines in their vertical position. Having accommodate for his cargo is the biggest time sink.
There's silence over his comm for a while as he feels the hot blood quickly move down his leg to his foot, pooling within his boot. With every heartbeat he knows more is coming out, and he's starting to think – okay – maybe making it to the headquarters was a bit of wishful thinking. They'd only been on the road for a half hour and he already feels like he's drowning in exhaustion.
Otto's voice finally comes on the line and for whatever reason, Adrian feels relief. The kid always knows what to do, he always has a plan.
"Vulture, stay on your current heading. Hunter and I are coming out to meet you. Fly low and slow, just focus on keeping the cargo safe. Am I understood?"
"You got it, doc."
There's a brief pause, soft static filling the line before a rushed, "And hang in there." is added before Doc's comm line switches off.
Aw. The little shit really does care.
Adrian slumps forward, the wings doing most of the steering for now. He just has to make sure he doesn't lean too far to the left or right. Just lean forward. Lean forward.
"Vulture, let me tell of how I single-handedly cooked entire Russian Mafia in jail authentic stroganoff with limited resource!" Aleksei practically shouted over the comm. "Great story, many laughs!"
"Shoot, Rhino." Adrian mumbled. His eyes feel heavy, despite the bright green HUD feeding him a well lit version of the never-ending road.
"No mushroom in prison, but Aleksei can improvise, you see, I-..."
Aleksei trails off and Adrian struggles to listen, limbs feeling heavier and pulse slowing.
I'm going to die out here. I'm going to die because some dickhead got a lucky pot shot off at me while I was near the ground. I'm never gonna see my baby again...
He hears Aleksei calling to him through the comm, feels the chill run up his legs and fill his entire body. He sees the long road before them suddenly turn sideways. In the back of his mind, he hears Mason's voice, shouting at him. Why was Mason shouting? What was wrong?
"Chief you're banking too fast, you gotta drop the cargo!"
"What?" He mumbles, struggling to keep his eyes open. "What you say Mason?"
He knows Aleksei is calling him over the comm but he doesn't understand what the man is shouting. A sudden shot of adrenaline brings him back briefly as he realizes Mason was right. He was banking too hard, he was going to crash – the cargo was going to be dragged if he didn't release it.
Curling the right finger, even if somewhat clumsily, initiates the cargo release.
He feels the talons detach and release the oil drums – and Aleksei – to a short, maybe four or five foot drop. Fingers crossed the drums don't get damaged and leak. That'd be a bummer.
The realization that he's diving straight into the pavement is a pretty calm one. With this much blood loss, most of what's happening to Adrian Toomes right now, he has decided – is just fine.
