Hello once more! Chapter two is here, and now that the crazy holidays are over, maybe I might find more time to devote to my stories. If some of the characters are OOC I will apologize ahead of time. Again, been really crazy here in my nut house! So onward!
Dante shook his head in disbelief in what he had just heard. Morrison leaned back in his chair, eyes forward, just watching. "There's not a chance in Hell that could happen, right?" The younger man grabbed his gun holster from the counter, and slipped his arms into the openings. "Mundus was put down, and locked away. What does this group, this Hydra, have to bring him back now?"
Morrison shrugged. "I don't know, Dante, but whatever they're planning, you know it can't be good. They also have help."
"Help? Help as in who?" There was only a few people in the world, and he could count on one hand how many that was, that had knowledge on how to release the demon from his cage.
"Vergil."
That was a name that caused his blood to run cold, and his hands to still on the various buckles of the holster. His brother, twin brother, was going to help them. Nothing in that was going to end well for any of the people involved. Mundus was not one to be controlled and neither was Vergil. Either they had something on him, or there was a shit ton of money greasing his pale palm.
So looking at the man who brought him work, and information, Dante sighed once more, letting his head fall. "Tell me everything you know. I have to figure out what they're planning and stop this before it gets to the point of no return." And if they managed to release that demon… Well, he didn't want to think about that. There wasn't a chance he was going to let that happen.
A few hours later
"Your brother is a fool, Dante." Trish checked the edge of her blade before sliding it home in its sheath. "Why would he do something like that?" Her crystalline blue eye met his, and there was something there that he could only call fear.
Trish feared Mundus. And there was a good reason. The demon had created her from the image of Dante's dead mother to lure him to his death, but Trish knew right from wrong and in the end had decided to help Dante stop Mundus instead of allowing him to destroy everything. From there they had become slight partners, helping each other when the job required more than what either can handle.
"I don't know, but I aim to find out. This is something I though he would never attempt. There is no controlling Mundus, and we all know this." That was stating the obvious. Vergil was an idiot of epic proportions for what he was undertaking, but that's what happens when one brother is completely evil, and the other tried to hide what he was.
Dante had always wondered what it would have been like to be normal. To not be half demon/half human. To be a normal person, with a normal family, in a normal town. He and Vergil could have grown up together, and not hate one another. Maybe gone to school, had double dates, or hell, just talked. But that was a pipe dream more now than ever. Vergil was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum that him, and there was nothing in the world that could change that now.
So the two of them gathered their things in haste to find out anything they could.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
After the bar had been wiped down for what had to be the millionth time that night, the liquor restocked, glasses hung up on the racks and stacked neatly behind the mahogany bar, Desmond knew he was out of reasons to stay. Fury had told him there was no way from him to run, but what the man didn't know was the ex-assassin knew every back way out of the bar and had enough contingency plans to escape detection. Just in case his father, or one of his assassin lackeys got a lucky break and found him when he was at work.
After collecting the tips for the night, close to two hundred dollars and his check, Desmond grabbed his bag from the back room, and before anyone was the wiser, opened the hatch to the sewer. The building that housed the bar was old, like turn of the century old. It had passages that no one knew about, except him from his exploring of the old structure.
Wrinkling his nose from the smell of the stale air and stagnant water, the brunette made his way down the aging pipe, ducking in a few places to dodge braining himself, flashlight securely in his hand. The exit would take him out several blocks north of the bar, then from there it was a hop, skip and a jump to the nearest subway station, then out of the damn city before anyone was the wiser. There was a place about an hour outside of the city that would cash his check, and put him on the run once more. There wasn't a chance in hell that he was going to work for anyone attached to the government. Yeah, not going to happen.
The sounds of the city could be heard above him as he dodged a particularly questionable piece of, well, something at the bottom of the culvert pipe he was in. It could have been a body, big enough, or it could have been just a large collection of trash. He wasn't about to stop and find out. "Ugh, I should have taken to the roof." Desmond grumbled to himself and gagged as he passed another small connecter pipe. The smell alone was almost enough to make him run back in the direction he came, but the government was standing back there, and that was somewhere he did want to be.
Twenty minutes later, after taking a wrong turn, Desmond finally emerged from the pipe where he wanted to be, taking in a large lungful of fresh, but not to fresh, air. It was still New York after all. If the smell didn't get you at times, the smog would. A thousand plus cars running at all ends of the day, up and down the island. Yeah, there was more pollution on Manhattan than where he was born.
"You know, if you're going to run, make sure it's a different path, and not the sewers. That's a given."
The hackles came up, and the blade was pulled as the bartender turned, knife at ready. A man stood there, arms crossed over his chest, lips pulled into a frown. "Who the hell are you?" Desmond growled, grip tightening on the small hunting blade in his off hand. It wasn't the most comfortable grip, but at least he knew he would be fine in a fight. The flashlight was still in his primary hand, and with his knowledge of hand to hand combat, he could wield both.
The guy pushed off the wall lazily. "Didn't Fury tell you to stay put and not run?"
Taking a step back, he knew there was a chance he could outrun the guy if he could catch him off-guard. "Yeah, and I'm not one to listen too well. If Fury knows my dad, and I'm pretty sure he does, then he would know that already."
"Look kid…" But Desmond cut him off.
"I'm not a kid, asshole, and you couldn't be no more than a few years older than me. So let's knock off the buddy routine and tell me why you're really here." He wasn't about to deal with this shit when his chance at freedom was only a few blocks away. A contingency plan was forming in his head. He knew the subway routes, and the times. The way the people flowed in and out of the platform he was wanting. It was one he frequented often. Just another minute.
That actually got a smirk from the man in front of him. "I feel too damn old half the time, but you're right, I'm not much older than you, but I'm pretty sure in an all-out fight I can kick your scrawny ass up and down this island. So don't make me. I don't want you to look bad."
A snort came from Desmond. "Whatever. Look, I don't want anything to do with Fury or SHIELD, or the assassins for that matter. If Fury knows where I'm at, then it's a pretty safe bet that the assassins won't be that far behind. I'm not about to let that dick throw damn near ten years of hiding out the window for something I ran from. I don't want to be an assassin. I don't want anything to do with them, and I don't want anything to do with what's cooking in Fury's head. Now, if you'll excuse me." And chucked the flashlight, distracting the idiot.
Turning swiftly on light feet, Desmond ran like he hadn't in years. It wasn't like he was out of shape, he exercised on a regular basis, but it was free running he was out of practice with. So up the edge of the canal, the ex-assassin grabbed the edge, throwing himself onto the bank. Heavy footfalls could be heard behind him, but he paid no mind. There was not a chance in hell that he was going to let himself be caught.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
"What do you mean the kid got away?"
Tony Stark looked at the director of SHEILD with a raised brow. There had been talk about finding a suitable candidate for the venture into the Animus, but now to find out the guy that he had found had gotten away. That was actually laughable.
"Well find him. That way I can kill him." Fury was in prime fighting mood, making Tony's night even more. When Fury turned and looked at him, the man raised a finger. "So help me, Stark, you make any quip about this, and I will bury you under so much red tape, you won't be able to go anywhere without a cop issuing you a ticket for something. You won't be able to sneeze without an agent being there. Do you understand me?"
Grinning, Tony flopped down on his sofa. "Hey, I wasn't going to say a word. So you lost someone. Not the first time, right?"
"So help me." The darker man growled, making Tony grin wider.
"Want me to do a sweep of the city and see what I can find? I'm pretty sure I'm faster than anyone out there." And he knew that for a fact.
"Barton could use backup. I have him searching for him now." And with that, Fury walked from the penthouse, and disappeared into the waiting elevator.
Getting to his feet once more, Tony walked towards the door to the balcony. "Hey Jarvis, how's the Mach five?" He grabbed the earpiece off the counter as he walked past the bar.
"Power has been restored to the main thrusters, but only seventy-eight percent in combat effectiveness, sir. There are still fluxuations in the reactor. Might I suggest taking the Mach four if you are just going for a nightly fly? All systems are fully functional."
"Naw, I need to see how bad the lag is in the thrusters. It was horrid the last time I took it out a few nights ago. Got to see what I need to do to get it to a hundred percent." The suit had been giving him fits since he fixed it after the removal of the arch reactor in his chest. The suit now had its own power supply, but for some reason it wasn't working the way he had hoped.
"Then might I suggest a low fly by on a closed course. That way if something was to happen, then you would be able to abandon the suit with little worry to your own health, sir. I hate to hear you het yelled at once more by Ms. Potts for being reckless."
Stepping onto the platform, Tony triggered the process in allowing merger with the Iron Man suit. Metal arches moved around him, placing the various pieces on his limbs and chest. They began to lock down, and he could hear the hum of the suit as it came to life around him. The last part was the face mask, his HUD controls, and Jarvis in his ear.
"Systems check, Jarvis. What are we looking at?" Tony took a step forward, and felt a few of the servos in the right leg were a bit sluggish. That would have to be looked at in the morning.
"Right thruster at ninety-one percent. Left thruster at ninety-seven. Combat missiles offline do to power conservation, but pulse thrusters are operational. Let us hope that you do not have to fight tonight."
Chuckling, Tony grinned. "The only thing I might get into a fight with is a rogue rat from the sewers. How's communications?"
"Functioning as it should. Flight check complete. You are ready at any time, sir."
So with that being said, he took off into the night sky. He may have been Iron Man for a few years now, but it was still surreal to fly among the clouds with nothing to hold him down. The only fear sometimes was running out of power, or something breaking. But that wasn't going to happen tonight. A simple fly around the city at roof level, testing the systems, working a few bugs out as he went along, and enjoying a nice peaceful flight. It was a good night.
That was until Hawkeye's signature came up on the screen, showing him running. Opening communications, Tony quipped. "Out for a late night run?"
'Something like that. Guess you know about Fury's runaway project?' The archer sounded a little out of breath.
"Yeah, and man was he pissed. Guess you found him?" Turning in that direction, Tony knew he could at least test maneuverability that way.
'Yeah, and this guy is fast. Can you intervene? I am not about to chase him all over this city. Been running for seven blocks now, and he's doing moves that would give Spiderman a run for his money. He has to be part monkey.'
"I got him. Give me a description and I'll grab him." Moving in lower, he felt the lower thrusters cut for a millisecond before resuming full function. Well, as full as they were.
"Sir, I've detecting a spike in primary power. Shall I run diagnostic?"
"I need to know everything, Jarvis." Tony wasn't about to waste this opportunity. It was chance to know what was going on. It was easier to know what was happening when the suit ran off the same power that kept the shrapnel away from his heart, but with that removed, it became a whole different ballgame when powering the suit. The circuits had been a bit touch and go, taking months to get the system just right. Starting over was the hardest part.
"Indeed sir. Running full system scan now."
Tony came down within twenty feet from the ground as Barton told him who to look out for. White hoodie, blue jeans, crazy ninja moves. That described a few dozen guys in New York alone, but there was only one guy that came up on his radar, running like someone had lit his ass on fire.
"Got him." And swooped in from the grab.
The guy leapt up onto a dumpster, jumped to the right, his foot pushing off the brick wall, propelling him over an eight foot chain link fence. But his sneakers didn't touch the ground, because Tony grabbed him just as he cleared the top.
"What the fuck?" The guy cried out as they sailed into the night sky. "Ah shit! Please don't drop me!" His hands grabbed at the metal ones above him.
"Calm down. I've near dropped anyone. Well, there was that one time, but he lived." Tony laughed as the kid's heart rate accelerated. "Now I'm going to take you back to Barton, and you're going to be a good little boy. Don't make me snatch you up again."
With a dejected sigh, the kid nodded. "Fine, just put me back down on solid ground."
So that's what he did. Turning in mid-flight, Tony found Barton leaned up against a building, breathing nearly back to normal. Dropping the kid off, Barton looked over at him. "Thanks for the save, but you might want to get out of here before the tourists begin to swarm."
Looking over his shoulder, he saw a few cars beginning to slow, and several more on foot beginning to pull out phones to snap a picture of the famous Iron Man. "I think you might be right. Drinks tomorrow?"
"Sure." Barton smirked as he grabbed ahold of the kid's arm. "As for you…"
"Yeah sure, I get it." And under his breath, he heard the words 'jerkwad' and 'jackass'.
Tony didn't stick around for the rest as he saw the black SUV come around the corner. He'd see the kid later since everything was set up in Stark Towers. So taking back to the sky, he watched the readouts of what Jarvis had been finding. Many of the servos were sticking, and power was spiking. Looked like it was back to the drawing board in the morning to find another solution to his never-ending problems. Pepper was going to chew him a new ass for more time spent on the suit.