Part 6
The End is Where We Start From
And it is done. Here is the concluding chapter to 'The End is Where We Start From.'
Sorry it's been so long in coming! Thank you to everyone that's read this far, I hope you enjoy this final chapter. Please leave a review to let me know what you think J
In other news, Guardians of the Galaxy is sassy and awesome and I would totally recommend it!
-TheWordThief
I'm having a lot of trouble uploading/ re-uploading this chapter, so I'd really appreciate it if you could just leave a review letting me know if the formatting's ok and if this chapter has been uploaded twice or anything. If anyone has any tips for how to sort the format or knows what went wrong, please let me know. Thanks everyone who pointed out the original problem!
Tony sighs. These kidnappers are so predictable that if it wasn't for the team's disadvantage in the original element of surprise and the fact that he has no way of even pretending to have what they want, they'd have all been cracking jokes in the local shawarma place by now. But today is clearly not his day. Apart from anything else, his head really hurts from where the guy hit with an iron bar. Again with the who actually carries around an iron bar?
Focus, Tony.
They've made contact with Fury. But they'll all most likely be dead by the time S.H.I.E.L.D gets here. There's a masked man with a gun to each of his friend's head and he's stuck in the middle.
There's a scream from outside the room, sounds of struggle, and suddenly Natasha and Clint are back, being dragged into the room by a couple more members of the extremist group.
Tony feels his heart sink. They were his last hope. But apparently even the two master assassins can't win this time.
"So who will it be Stark? The red head?" the speaker jogs Natasha, as if his meaning wasn't already crystal clear. "The freak? Oh wait, which one?" he laughs, as do all his mates. Hilarious.
"Oh yeah, real funny." Tony drawls, and instantly regrets it as the ringleader leans in closer, dragging Natasha with him.
"Don't try me Stark. Just give me the Reactor, or tell me where I can find one. It's not that hard."
He pretends to think about it, all the while desperately trying to think of a plan to get them out of this mess. His team-mates are scared. They aren't showing it much, but he can tell. The way Steve's shoulders are set, the way Bruce is having to go through breathing exercises because the last thing any of them needs right now is an angry Hulk on the rampage when they all have guns to their heads (After all, it doesn't take long to pull a trigger.) It's Clint hard eyes and the way Natasha's are slightly too wide.
Tony notices, because he's not just their colleague. He's their friend. And he would do pretty much anything to keep them alive.
And that's when it hits him.
Bluff.
It's their one chance. S.H.I.E.L.D's coming, if the tiny flashing red light on his pick-pocketed communicator is any indication. But if this situation escalates anymore, they're too late.
They're all dead anyway. How much worse can he make things?
He's Tony Stark. And Tony Stark doesn't go down without a fight.
He sighs. Everyone's attention instantly shifts to him.
"Ok. You've got me. You've won." He says, and can see the other Avengers stare at him in horrified disbelief. He's giving up?
"But here's the thing. I've got no suits, no plan, and no Arc Reactor. I've got nothing to lose. And that, if you're me, which, unfortunately for you, you're not- my condolences- is a very dangerous thing. So I'd be very careful, if I were you, which, luckily for me, I'm not. Imagine how horrible that would be."
"What are you talking about Stark?" one of the gunmen snaps.
Tony holds up the communicator and every eye in the vicinity is fixated on the tiny, still-flashing red light. He grins.
"You shouldn't have left us alone. I may have re-wired this to explode if I push this button here." He indicates the first button on the thing he sees and tries to sound confident and cock-sure, and not as though his heart is beating way too fast.
"Basically," he says, plastering his best Tony Stark smirk across his face, "it's a bomb"
He can see the team out the corner of his eye. They know he's bluffing. He can almost see a slight smile on Natasha's face.
"You're bluffing." The leader of the gunmen says, but he doesn't sound sure. His eyes keep darting nervously to the device in Tony's hand and he's sweating, the moisture causing a slight sheen across his forehead even in this dim light. "There's no way you could have rigged that thing!"
Tony scowls. "What is today with people underestimating me? Hello, not just a pretty face! You are talking to the man who built the Iron Man suit in a cave, with a bunch of scraps!"
He doesn't have to be looking at her to know Natasha's definitely smiling now.
"You're lying. Not even you could…"
"Try me." Tony replies calmly. "Try me, and we'll see who has the best reflexes. Think you or one of your men can shoot faster than I can press this?"
"Then we'll shoot one of your friends!" the man bursts out.
"Then I press this, and we all die." Tony responds.
There's a short silence. Which then stretches on, and on, and on. Tony knows, sooner or later, they'll snap and call his bluff, and one of his team-mates will be growing cold on the hard floor, but as long as they call it later, as in, S.H.I.E.L.D turns up first, they could all just get out of this alive. He keeps eye contact with the leader, trying desperately not to let the fear show on his face.
They'll crack. Sooner or later, they'll crack.
The tension in the air is so thick, it's tangible.
He's just waiting for a twitch of a finger on a trigger, a bang, and for one of his friends to fall to the floor in a shower of blood, when there's an explosion.
'I guess S.H.I.E.L.D showed up' he thinks, and lets out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He allows himself a moment of relief before assessing the situation.
The others have taken advantage of the kidnappers surprise, recovering from the shock far faster, realising in an instant what it meant, and are busy dispatching their attackers in the ruthless, efficient manner that since New York has made them household names. In a matter of minutes, they've taken back their weapons and more than holding their own when the back-up from S.H.I.E.L.D bursts into the room, guns out and looking every bit the specialist division that they are.
It's over pretty soon after that.
The extremists, clearly regretting thinking that they could ever take on the Avengers and win, are shaking and terrified as the S.H.I.E.L.D agents round them up.
The team automatically moves closer together. It's over. They've won and it's all they can do not to collapse in relief. No-one died. It's a miracle.
"So what was that explosion?" one of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents asks curiously.
"Wait, you mean that wasn't you?" Tony asks, frowning.
"Nah." The agent replied. "Useful though. It's a pretty big warehouse and we had no idea where you guys were- the tracking signals not that precise. We'd have been looking for you ages."
"Then who?"
That's when he notices Natasha and Clint smirking.
"That's where you two went, wasn't it?"
Clint grins.
"We figured S.H.I.E.L.D might need a little help. And a distraction's always useful."
At Tony's still confused expression, Natasha smirks.
"You're not the only one who's good with wires, Stark. But if it helps cure your injured pride, you may need to teach us how to re-wire a communicator. That was pretty cool."
She smiles at him, and Tony suddenly realises he was stupid to worry about these people judging him for the panic attacks. They're the Avengers, and they need each other.
He walks over to where the leader of the now destroyed extremist group is being held by two agents.
"You were bluffing." The man states, resigned.
"Yeah." Tony replies neutrally. "You shouldn't have asked for the Arc Reactor. It's not yours to take. That was your first mistake. The second was trying to use my team-mates to get it."
He suddenly draws his fist back, and punches the man square in the face. It feels good.
As he walks away to rejoin his team, he throws his last line over his shoulder.
"That was for hurting my friends."
His friends grin at him. Because they are friends now, there's no getting past that. They're stuck with each other. But he doesn't mind that.
"Team-mates?" Clint asks shrewdly. "Thought you'd quit?"
"Yeah, about that. I've been doing some thinking and, quite frankly, you wouldn't last a day without me."
"Sorry, am I hearing this correctly?" Pepper asks, astonished. "Tony Stark saying he's going to go to counselling? Tony Stark, admitting he's got a problem?"
Tony pours himself a drink. They're in StarkTower, although he still hasn't got round to replacing the rest of the letters. Maybe he'll just leave it.
"Yeah, yeah. I just think maybe if I talk this through with someone…I mean, if I'm going to continue with this whole Avenger thing, because, let's face it, they'd be hopeless without me, I should make sure it's not a liability and…"
Pepper stops his tirade by gently pressing her lips to his. "I'm proud of you." She whispers into his ear as they break apart.
"For what?"
"Everything. Agreeing to talk to someone. Saving the others. Staying with the others. You need them, Tony."
"Yeah. About that. I've invited them to dinner tomorrow, that's not a problem, is it? You'd tell me if it was a problem?"
"They're always welcome. I need back-up to deal with you."
"Hilarious. Actually, I was thinking of offering here as a base, you know? Save us replacing all those letters. Avenger's Tower's kinda catchy, don't you think?"
Pepper just laughs.