Thanks for the reviews and support, glad you seem to be enjoying this so far! This update's a bit shorter, I had a bit of trouble with it but I'm happy with it now so please tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, they belong to the Marvel universe.
Part 2
They did it. That one thing they'd all individually sworn never to do. They left a team-mate standing there watching as they turned their backs and walked away. The fact that it was what Tony wanted didn't make it any better.
They all pretended not to see the tears in Natasha's eyes as they past Pepper, who was standing dejectedly looking towards her boyfriend. She looked like she had taken on the world, won and then discovered that it was all meaningless anyway. The moment of her victory, of Tony's victory, had been snatched from her and she was left with nothing but the ruins of her home.
"So what do we do now?" Clint ventures to ask after a silence that has gone on far too long.
"We have our orders." Steve's voice is tense, clipped. Military through and through, except they all know it isn't the thought of the mission that making him act like this.
"But-"
"We have our orders." The Captain looks round to face them from where he's settled in the cockpit of the jet and sighs. "I don't like this anymore than you do. It doesn't sit right. This is what being in a team is meant to be about. But we have a job to do and Tony's made his choice. And right now, we need to focus on the mission. Not Tony. Ok?"
They nod slowly, reluctantly. Natasha gets up from her position near the front of the plane and stalks to the back, making it clear she wants to be alone.
"Yeah, well, we never were much of a team anyway." She mutters as she passes through, throwing the statement over her shoulder as though the anger evident in her voice is purely professional and not directed at herself, at Tony for being a stubborn bastard, at the world for throwing more shit at them than they can handle.
Not even Clint follows her. Even though they know she's just upset, that her words have no meaning or purpose except to show how pissed off she is with everything right now, they can't help but remember them. At the front, Steve tries desperately to concentrate on flying the plane but he's done this so many times before and part of his mind is free to wander.
"Take away the suit and what are you?"
"Afraid I'm not much without the suit after all?"
Those words, thrown out at Tony when they barely knew each other, in a moment of frustration before they began to understand each other, to trust each other, whirl round and round his head, haunting him.
"Afraid I'm not much without the suit after all?"
He's not afraid of that. He's afraid that the Avengers aren't much without Tony.
They arrive at the site they've been instructed to infiltrate, a predictable non-descript warehouse in the middle of nowhere- because heaven forbid villains were actually, you know, original when choosing secret hide-outs. It's boring and grey and looks abandoned- so of course, they're on full alert as they enter the complex. The warehouse is supposedly the headquarters and storage facilities for an extremist group S.H.I.E.L.D's had their eye on for a while. Whilst for the most part, essentially harmless, if a little, erm, misguided in their world view, over the last few months there's been a worrying spike in activity, with more attacks on minor military bases, thefts and suspicious shipments. Watching from afar, three days ago S.H.I.E.L.D had decided enough was enough and called the Avengers team in once they'd drawn up a plan of action. As plans go, it's a pretty good one and like the best, is simple and straightforward. Less things to go wrong. Less complicated rendez-vous' and formations to remember. Get in and get out and on the way, find out what they're up to, take the leaders into custody and don't be seen until it's too late for retaliation.
They've faced worse. Case in hand- New York. Just a routine mission but there's something wrong. Everything's a little too cliché. Or maybe it's because Tony's not here telling them all to 'suit up' and cracking jokes at their expense.
Everyone's ready to go, so with a sigh, Steve squares his shoulders, turns towards the building and leads them in.