Versus - Chapter 2
"JARVIS," Tony pants after he finds a place to lay low. "I need all the info we have on Kilgrave."
"Zebediah Kilgrave, A.K.A. The Purple Man developed his powers after being doused by an unknown, experimental chemical. Abilities include increased healing factor and mind control via a pheromone-like substance when inhaled. Mind control is much stronger when in close proximity or direct contact with the subject." Tony paces while he listens to JARVIS, but freezes when he looks down at his armor to see a fine layer of powder coating him.
"JARVIS, analyze the powder coating the armor."
"Running analysis. Substance consists of a concentrated form of the Purple Man's pheromone combined with an unknown narcotic."
Tony runs his fingers over his arm, collecting a small sample of the powder on his finger tips. "So this stuff not only gives you a punch of mind control pheromone, it also screws with your brain." Tony rubs his finger tips together, studying the powder.
"In a nutshell, Sir."
"If you perception and cognizance is weakened you don't have much hope of being able to focus and fight against a mind-control pheromone. If it works that well against Captain America, I don't want to know what it will do to large numbers of normal people."
"If the drug were to make it out to the public, it would amplify his powers exponentially, Sir."
"We can't let that happen. We have to stop him, but we're going to have to get past Cap."
"Statistically, the odds are not in your favor, Sir."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, JARVIS. I'm the one who made you and you're putting your vote on a man who can barely work the microwave?"
"With all due respect, Sir, Captain America is highly proficient in Krav Maga, Mixed Martial Arts, Kung Fu, Jujitsu, Taekwando, and is a 10th degree black belt in Karate. He is also highly trained tactician, battle strategist and is in peak physical condition with super human strength, endurance, senses and healing factor. Need I go on, Sir?"
"No. I know Cap is a bad ass, but I'm not exactly helpless here. I've got you, the suit that's armed to the hilt with weapons that would be enough to take down a small army, as well as my awesomeness and genius. Between the three of us we're going to have to find a way to take Cap down without hurting him…or him hurting us."
"Forgive me for saying, Sir, but we may be screwed."
"Maybe, but we've got to try. Send a distress signal to the Avengers and tell them to get their asses over here ASAP. We're going to need all the help we can get. We're on our own until then."
OOOOOOOOOO
Steve jerks awake and is confused to find that he can't move. He blinks a few times, trying to clear his vision and find his bearings through his grogginess. No matter how many times he blinks the room still looks like it's distorted. Like he's looking through a funhouse mirror. He looks around and tries to get up, but his arms are strapped tightly to the table. His eyes catch sight of a metal box strapped to his chest. The box is connected to a mask that covers the lower half of his face. The box is strapped over his uniform so tightly that Steve can hardly breath and the mask is cutting into his face. Steve struggles against the restraints, but he feels so weak and his body is heavy and laden.
"Relax, Captain," Kilgrave walks by when he notices Steve stirring. "Save your strength. We just needed you a bit more..cooperative. You will be released in a moment."
"What…what did you do to me?" Steve pants, suddenly aware of how difficult it is to breath with the mask on his face.
"The side effects of the drug can be disorienting, but you will adjust with time. You should feel honored. You were just the first test subject of my new creation. As you know, my powers work through pheromones, but those pheromones have their limits. But with his new concoction there is no limit to my power. I can even control you, Captain America." Kilgrave holds the control the raise up the table Steve is strapped to and stands face to face with Steve.
"No way…Not going….to let you…get away with this…"
"Always so heroic," Kilgrave laughs. "You don't have any choice in the matter. You won't even know what's happening. This beautiful, little machine will make sure of that," Kilgrave taps the box on Steve's chest. "Really, what looked like an inconvenience at first is turning into quite a lovely little turn of events." Kilgrave smiles and presses the button to release the restraints. In his weakened state, the restraints were the only thing holding Steve up. He collapses to the ground, struggling to stand while his mind spins.
"Here is your chance, Captain. Try to stop me," Kilgrave laughs and turns his back on him. Steve wills himself to his feet and gracelessly rushes across the room to intercept Kilgrave. He takes a running leap at him, but his attack is blocked when a group of Kilgrave's men wrestle him to the ground. Four men struggle to pin Steve to the ground, but he is able to throw one off and into a nearby wall. One of the other men retaliates by kicking Steve in the face. Steve's vision goes black for a moment before he realizes his arms are being restrained behind his back and the three remaining men are pinning him to the ground.
"You won't…get away with this…Iron Man…Iron Man will stop you…."
"Iron Man won't have time to stop me when he's too busy trying to stop you." Kilgrave slides a finger across the screen of the small control pad he holds. More of the same powdery drug fills the mask on Steve's face. He coughs as the drug fills his lungs. "You three, gather the rest of the men and finish loading the drugs," Kilgrave orders and the men leave to load the trucks, leaving Steve motionless on the floor. Kilgrave pushes Steve with his boot onto his back before squatting next to him. He grabs Steve's face roughly and holds his gaze to his. Steve stares at the man through half-lidded eyes, one of them starting to form a dark purple bruise where he was kicked. "As for you, Captain, we have a bit of unfinished business to take care of before we go."
OOOOOOOOO
"Where is Steve, JARVIS?" Tony asks when he starts to search the base.
"Captain Rogers is being held four floors up on the northern side of the base. However, my sensors are detecting that the cartel is starting to transport the drugs into the loading bay."
"Cap disabled all of the trucks before he was captured."
"It seems as though they were able to repair one of the vehicles."
"Shit, we can't catch a break today, can we?" Tony weighs his options in his mind. "We stop the drugs. That's our priority. Steve and his little purple buddy will probably meet us down there anyway. Are all systems online and ready?"
"All systems are fully functioning and performing at peak levels."
"What's the team's status?"
"The rest of the Avengers ETA is 25 minutes."
"Good. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Tony flies down into the garage and he's immediately greeted with weapons fire. The bullets bounce uselessly off his armor as he starts to pick off the cartel members one by one. He's making short work of the out-gunned and out-classed cartel members until his heart sinks when he hears the all-too-familiar 'clang' of metal against rock. He turns just in time to see the shield ricocheting off the wall toward him. Tony acts out of instinct and deflects the projectile with a well-aimed repulser blast.
Steve rushes the room, catapulting himself up from the ground to the top of one of the semi-trucks before launching himself in the air. Tony turns just in time for him to catch Steve, somewhat blocking his attack. Steve doesn't let that slow him down and skillfully shifts his weight around to Tony's back. The Super Soldier wraps his arms around Tony's neck in a choke hold and he can feel the armor starting to give under the pressure. The Inventor thinks fast and flips forward, sending Steve flying down to the ground, but not before, once again, Steve lands on his feet and back flips to absorb his momentum until he lands solidly to face down Tony.
Damn it, Steve. You're like a frickin' homicidal cat…..or basically a regular cat…
Tony lands on the ground and faces off with Steve.
And this, kids, is where you came into the story. Me and Steve facing off against each other. Man, I hate today.
"No. Cap. What've they done to you?" Tony frowns when he sees the deep, purple bruise on his face and the strange contraption strapped to his chest. Steve doesn't respond. He simply stares Tony down, waiting for an order to attack. "Come on, Steve! Snap out of it!"
"He can't hear you, Iron Man," Kilgrave gloats and watches from above on a catwalk suspended over the warehouse.
"What the hell is on him?" Tony demands and points to the heavy, black mask strapped on Steve's face.
"Just a little insurance policy in case the Captain decided to fight my control again," Kilgrave smirks. "Go ahead, try to break through to him. It will do you no good."
Tony turns back to Steve. The man is staring at him like he would any common criminal he was about to kick the crap out of. "Steve, it's me. Tony. Remember? We save the world together pretty much every other week? You're super up tight and I'm loads of fun? Come on, Spangles."
For a split second, Tony sees Steve in his eyes again, but Kilgrave sees it too. He quickly swipes his finger across the panel and the purple powder fills the mask. The Super Soldier coughs and gasps, doubling over and fumbling at the device on his face before he slowly stands and stares the same deadly stare he had before.
"See? It's like a reset switch. No matter what you do or say or how hard you plead with him, he's completely under my control."
"You sick, son-of-a-bitch," Tony sneers.
"I prefer 'incredible genius," Kilgrave's mouth curves into a devious smile. More cartel members rush the room and Tony fires on them, but not before two of them make it to the cab of the truck. "Captain, if you please." He raises a hand toward Tony and Steve charges at him while the truck escapes. Tony tries to block the barrage of punches and kicks that are sent his way.
"Shit. When did you get so damn fast, Steve?"
"That would be the Jujitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, and level 10 Karate, Sir."
"Thanks for the education, JARVIS," Tony snaps at the A.I. "Cap! Listen to me! I don't want to hurt you, but I need you to stop fighting me. If you don't let me go a while shit-ton of drugs are going to hit the street. I know you don't want that to happen, so I need you to fight!" Steve hesitates for a moment before Kilgrave slides his finger across that damn control panel again and Steve stumbles and flinches as more drugs flood his system. He shakes his head and resumes his attack. He lands a kick square in Tony's chest, sending him sliding across the floor and into the wall.
Tony slumps forward for a moment before he stands and fires a repulser blast at Steve. Steve rolls out of the way, diving behind a truck for cover. Tony slowly advances, never lowering his hand in case he needs to fire suddenly. The Iron Avenger is too busy watching for Steve to attack from the left or the right of the truck that he forgets to watch above him.
Steve flies over the truck and launches himself at Tony. The Billionaire raises his arms to block what he thinks is an attack when Steve simply launches himself up and over Tony and runs. Tony turns, confused as to why Steve just jumped over him, but he finds out why when Steve retrieves his shield and the damn thing flies back at him again and strikes his left arm. Steve, who is running full boar toward him, snatches the shield out of mid-air as it ricochets back to him. He catches it and holds it in front of him and rams it into Tony. Tony blocks the attack again before he throws down a smoke bomb. The room fills with the foggy smoke and Tony runs for cover behind a pick up truck to try to assess the damage before Steve regains his bearings.
Well that's not good. Shit, he crushed one of the main gears in my arm. Not going to be able to bend that arm for a while.
The shield sliced through the armor so deeply that Tony's pretty sure he's bleeding.
"JARVIS," Tony whispers. "How far out are the Avengers?"
"Ten minutes and counting, Sir. I feel I should once again remind you of Captain Rogers' heightened senses, which includes hearing." Tony looks up to see Steve standing ominously over him.
"Shit," Tony rolls to the side before Steve slams his fists down, collapsing the side of the truck in on itself. "Thanks a lot for the heads up, JARVIS."
"My pleasure, Sir."
"Remind me to program sarcasm into your data banks when this is all over." Tony throws a punch at Steve and he dodges the first punch, but not the second. Tony's iron fist connects with Steve's side, but the man just returns the favor, denting the armor just below Tony's arm and pushing him back. Tony thinks fast and blasts the lights high above them on the ceiling, drowning the room in darkness and raining glass down on them. Emergency lights flicker on, but provide very little light.
Tony flips on his night vision and scans the room. He sees the familiar glow of a heat signature peeking out from behind a stack of wooden crates.
"Cap! I need you to think!" Tony pauses as he closes in. "You're stronger than Kilgrave. I know you are." Tony sneaks closer to the glow behind the boxes and quickly jumps on it, but he's thrown when he realizes that it was just a flare. It takes him a split second, but he realizes what's happening. He throws the flare and runs, but it's too late. Steve jumps out of nowhere and kicks the cargo boxes over, burying Tony.
"How the hell did he see me," Tony asks no one in particular from under the boxes.
"Heightened sight, Sir." JARVIS gladly answers his question.
Tony ignores the annoying A.I. and punches throughout the boards and tries to dig himself out, but not before Steve throws a small explosive at him. The blast launches Tony out of the pile of boxes and into the wall. He struggles to his feet while his armor sparks and gears grind.
"Sir, armor integrity is at 38% and falling. I would suggest not taking another hit like that," JARVIS reports.
"That's it! No more Mr. Nice-Iron-Man! If you're not going to come to your senses, I'm going to have to knock it back into you!" Tony blasts up off the ground and flies at Steve, tackling him around his mid-section and throwing him into the wall. Steve slams against the concrete wall before he slumps to the ground. Tony cautiously approaches him, but Steve swings his legs up and kicks Tony in the face. He follows through with his momentum and lands on his feet, grabbing Tony around his neck and lifting him up off the ground.
"Fake out! You fight dirty when you're being mind-controlled - not cool, Steve!" Tony chokes, his typical sarcastic defenses that come out when he's stressed. Tony sees that Steve is favoring his side from the impact and kicks him as hard as he can. Tony winces when he feels the other man's ribcage crack under the blow. The Soldier inhales sharply, loosening his grip on Tony enough to where he can reach out and punch the device on Steve's face. Steve releases Tony and holds his injured side painfully.
Steve slowly stands, the tubing on the mask is cracked and the box is sparking in the darkness. "Steve? Can you hear me?" Steve frowns and blinks a few times, studying the strange room as he tries to place where he is. "Steve!" Tony yells again, snapping his fingers, and gets the man's attention. "Hey, focus, Buddy." Tony holds up to fingers to his eyes.
"Tony?" Steve frowns, confused, his voice muffled through the mask.
"Yeah, it's me, Spangles," Tony sighs in relief when he sees Steve's eyes clear from his stupor.
"Tony, you have to finish this. You have to take me out."
"Steve, I won't hurt you. You can fight this."
"You have to, Tony. I can't focus. I can't stay in control." Steve holds his hand to his head and squeezes his eyes shut.
"You can do it. Just think. Fight him, Steve," Tony pleads.
"Not so fast," Kilgrave laughs from somewhere up above on the catwalk. "You're not getting off that easy." The man swipes his hand across the control panel, dosing Steve again, this time with a higher amount.
"No!" Tony shouts and launches himself up to the catwalk and finds Kilgrave hiding in the dark. He starts to close in on the little weasel, his repulsers glowing.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Tony cracks his knuckles in anticipation.
"Captain! Captain America!" Kilgrave calls out in a panic as he slowly backs away from Tony.
Oh crap…..
Tony steps back when he feels the catwalk shake and Captain America's silhouette is standing between him and Purple Man. "Steve. You can fight this. Don't make me hurt you." Steve takes an aggressive step forward, his shield at the ready. Iron man powers up his repulsers and fires when Steve charges after him. Steve takes a hit in his arm and stumbles back, staring at the burn showing through his uniform before he faces Tony with an intimidating stare.
"He can't hear you, Iron Man. I told you, he's in my control. Your choices are: destroy your friend or let your friend destroy you." Kilgrave smirks from behind Steve.
"Coward," Tony sneers.
Tony fires again and Steve blocks it with his shield, but Iron Man continues to fire. The blast bounces off of the shield and Steve fights his way closer to Tony.
"JARVIS, increase power to 100%." The A.I. obeys the command and the blast intensifies. Steve staggers for a moment, but collects himself and continues to push forward.
"Peak endurance," JARVIS points out.
"Not the time, JARVIS," Tony snaps.
"Power is at 22% and falling. Sir, you cannot afford to keep this fight up for much longer"
Tony frowns. He's running out of options and Steve is still coming on strong. "JARVIS, detonate the charges."
"Sir…."
"Do it, JARVIS!"
The A.I. detonates the charges Tony placed earlier and the building shakes as multiple blasts rattle the compound. One of the nearby charges explodes, sending debris and fire through the air and destroying the catwalk they're standing on. The Purple Man retreat to another section of the catwalk, scurrying away like the little rat that he is. Tony flies up above the room and tries to grab Steve's hand, but he drops down and crashes into a large crate below.
"Cap!" Tony frantically scans the debris below.
Tony spots Steve punching his way out of the box, his fist breaking through the boards. He's limping and holding his side. As he emerges, Tony spots a sharp chunk of wood sticking out of Steve's thigh.
Shit, Steve. It's like the splinter from hell.
Tony watches, slightly horrified, as the man looks at it for a moment before he sets his grip on the board and and begins to rip it out of his leg. His face twists in pain and he lets out a small groan, but he is able to remove the large piece of debris. The puncture starts to bleed profusely. Steve composes himself and grabs another flare from his belt, lights it, and presses it to the wound. The wound hisses and smokes and the smell of burning flesh fill the air as the flare cauterizes the bleeding gash. Steve grits his teeth and holds the flare for a few more seconds.
Holy shit. Cap is a bad ass…Ugh, that's gross. Tony shakes his head and pulls himself out of his shock. Alright, focus Tony. Hit him while he's down.
Tony flies down and tackles Steve to the ground. The soldier uses Tony's speed against him and skillfully shifts his weight, launching Tony over his head. Tony lands and skids back across the floor like Steve had before.
"You're not the only one who's a bad ass," Tony smirks and, to his surprise, he can see Steve's eyes squint up as he smirks back from behind the mask.
That's not good….
Tony looks down and sees a small explosive that Steve must have attached after he threw him. The explosive detonates and Tony flies to the ground.
"Armor integrity at 14%. Power at 18%. Total system failure in 13 minutes." Another blast shakes the building and the fire is spreading through the garage. "I would highly recommend exiting the building, Sir."
"Working on it!" Tony grunts when Steve relentlessly charges in again, throwing punches and kicks that Tony frantically blocks. Tony ducks to avoid a fist that narrowly misses his head. He punches at Steve's torso as hard as he can, but he's blocked by his shield. He quickly swings an upper cut into Steve's jaw, causing him to stumble back. He shakes off the hit and leaps with his shield raised toward Tony, but Iron Man blasts off the ground, intercepting and catching Steve. He flies Steve toward one of the many crumbling walls and they punch through to the other side, crashing into the snow covered ground in the chilly mountain air.
"Tony!" Natasha's voice shouts and Tony flinches at the feedback from his damaged comm-link. "We're here! Where are you?"
"Took you guys long enough! Did you do some sight seeing on your way over?" Tony pulls himself up off the ground and fires at Steve. The Soldier is slowing down and his leg has started to bleed again, staining the snow red. He dodges the blast, but just barely, and takes cover. "We're outside near the garage on the northeast side! JARVIS is sending you coordinates, although you could just follow the giant explosions. Either way, just get your asses down here! My armor is almost toast and Kilgrave is still controlling Steve!"
"We're on our way. Hang tight," Clint responds. Tony is drilled into the ground after being momentarily distracted by his conversation. He punches Steve in the face, cracking the mask slightly as the purple drug leaks out. Steve throws a punch back at Tony and he lands roughly on the icy ground. Steve jumps on him and wraps his hands around his neck, crushing the armor.
I'm about to be killed by my best friend. In the snow. In Mexico. When I should be sipping tequila on the beach. This has somehow become my life.
"Very good, Captain," Kilgrave smiles as he stands above Tony after he came down from his hiding spot when he saw Steve had the upper hand. "Now finish him."
"Steve," Tony gasps. "Come on! It's me! Snap out of it!" Tony swings wildly and desperately, landing a lucky hit and knocking away the damaged tubing on one side of the device and the pheromone powder pours out.
"No! What have you done!" Kilgrave starts to panic and raises the dose all the way up. The drug pumps its way into the damaged mask, half of it spilling out through the broken tubing.
"Tony….You have to finish this…." Steve winces as he fights to loosen his grip on Tony's neck.
"You can fight this, Steve," Tony pushes. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"You have to….You need to stop…the truck…Keep the drugs…..off the street…" Steve releases Tony's neck, but Kilgrave jumps in immediately.
"You're not stopping me after I've come so far!" Kilgrave shouts and grabs the sides of Steve's face. The direct contact shakes Steve's control and he flinches, his whole body shaking and every muscle tensing. "Now kill him, damn it!" Steve fights against the command and blood starts to drip from his nose.
"No…." Steve squeezes his eyes closed. "Tony! Fire!" Steve orders and Tony closes his eyes and fires the uni-beam from his chest. Steve shifts to the side at the last second and Kilgrave takes the brunt of the blast. Both Steve and the Purple Man are knocked back, skidding across the snowy ground.
"Steve?" Tony calls quietly, shocked at what just happened. The steam from his breath huffs out through the air and everything slows down. The smoke from his arc reactor slowly rises up from Tony's chest and the wind feels as though it has stilled as the snow slowly glides down to the ground. Explosions continue to erupt from the building, but the blasts feel muted. Tony runs to Steve, but he feels like he's running in slow motion. He can see the steam rise from Steve's shoulder where the blast hit him. He's not getting up. He's not responding when Tony calls. He's not moving.