Chapter Twenty-Four:
The knock at his door was soft and gentle. Tyron nearly hadn't heard it. When it sounded again, he knew someone was there. "Come in," he muttered just loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.
The door opened and someone walked in, sitting on the corner of his bed. "... I know you're hurting, kid," Tony said, gently. "And I know you miss him, but, we gotta move on."
"'We'?" Tyron rose an eyebrow, turning around to face him. "'We' don' gotta do nothin'. Y'all didn't know him."
"You're right," Tony conceded, "We didn't know him as well as you did. We didn't love him like you did. But, do you really think he would want you holed up in here for days?" Tyron didn't answer, he shifted back around so he faced the wall.
"Tyron, you need to move on. It's been nearly a week. You haven't been to school in almost three weeks-"
"Fuck school," Tyron grumbled.
"Everybody says it, but you still have to go. You still have to move on," Tony said, then he patted his leg. "C'mon. Get up. Let's go out."
"Where?" Tyron asked, not moving.
"Out. Somewhere. Anywhere. This place is getting a bit too depressing for me and you aren't helping. Besides, I'm sure you haven't eaten at all - and neither have I - and right now, I could eat a horse."
"M'not hungry," Tyron grumbled, but Tony wasn't having it. He grabbed his arm, and pulled him up. Annoyed, Tyron yanked himself away, and got up on his own.
As soon as he stood, his vision blurred. A second later, he fell forward, stumbling, until he finally held onto a desk beside his bed.
Tyron had to breathe for a few moments and Tony stared at him. "What was that?" Tony demanded, shocked.
"It... Nothin'. S'nothin'," Tyron said, unconvincingly. He grabbed the leg of his desk, and slowly absorbed a some of the metal. A minute later, Tyron stood, rubbing his temples.
"Yeah, so you definitely need something in you..." Tony said, taking his arm and dragging him out of his room. "First, food, then, shower. You smell like you just rolled in garbage."
Tyron rolled his eyes as they entered the elevator and Tony pushed a button. "Where's everyone?" Tyron asked.
"Uh, Vis and Wanda are at a different base... Nat went back to Clint his farm for a few weeks. Steve is out, I think with Wanda, or just meeting up with some people."
"What about Bruce?" Tyron asked, and Tony went still.
"He's... Still missing," Tony said softly, obviously still hurt by his recent disappearance. Tyron nodded, looking at the ground. He didn't expect that reaction.
The rest of the walk to Tony's workshop was in silence, but as soon as they entered and Tyron saw all the metal and spare bits lying around, he couldn't help his stomach growling and the saliva that gathered in his mouth.
"Have at it. I'm gonna order some food, so eat as much as you want," Tony said, pulling out his phone. "It's mainly scraps, so it's free range."
Tyron hesistated and Tony noticed, "C'mon, I'm not going to spoonfeed you." Tyron rolled his eyes, stepping forward and picking up a small bolt. He tossed it in his mouth and chewed. Tyron sighed, and began eating more. Soon, he was shoving whole handfuls of bolts and screws in his mouth, savouring each and every taste.
Tony glanced at him, and smirked. "See. I knew you were hungry."
"Shut up," Tyron muttered, and Tony laughed.
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Twenty minutes later, Tyron and Tony were both sitting, munching on their food in silence. Tony, who had been eating Chinese food with chopsticks expertly, turned to Tyron. "You never told me why you said that." Tyron looked up, and then swallowed.
"Said wha'?"
"That night you told me about your brother. You never told me why you said 'when he makes me kill kids', or something like that. What was that about anyway?" Tyron winced and Tony rose an eyebrow.
"'S... S'a long story..."
"We're not doing anything."
Tyron sighed, running a hand down his face. "M'kay... Well... When I first started working for Baron, I was... 'Round thirteen or fourteen, I think. M'dad kicked m'outta the house an' I was on the streets for a while."
"Wait. Your dad kicked you out of the house when you were thirteen?" Tony looked shocked and Tyron nodded.
"Yep. But, that's a different story. Anyways, I was on the streets for 'bout six months. I was also new to m'mutation too, so I didn't understand wha' was wrong with m'an' why I couldn't eat. I use to go through dumpsters shoving as much food as I could find in m'mouth, then throw it all back up seconds later. It was pretty bad..." Tyron chuckled, rubbing his head, reminding himself that he needed to cut his hair soon. "Then, when I rained, I'd be as sick as a dog, shivering cold an' barely understandin' up from down, but I didn't die."
Tyron sat straighter as he continued. "Sometimes, I'd sleep in the construction sites 'round the City. I'd get chased out, obviously, but it was nice to have... Somewhat of a roof over m'head." He chuckled, but his eyes darkened, remembering the story. "One day it was raining hard, an' I was tired. That was when I came across the 'Yard. At first, Willy wouldn't let me in. Then, I paid him, it was twenty bucks and eighteen cents. He laughed at my face, but took m'money. He told m'that if I didn't bring the other twenty tomorrow, he'd find m'an' skin m'alive. Then, Baron came."
Tyron inhaled as he continued, "Baron was on the other side of the fence an' told m'to come over, an' asked wha' the hell was wrong with me. I told him I didn't know, that it was the rain that was making me sick. He asked m'if I were a mutant. I knew I was because... Well, before I left, my dad tried to stab m'wit' a kitchen knife, but ya can guess how tha' turned out."
Tony's eyes were saucers at the last statement. "Your dad tried to kill you!?"
"Yeah. But, like I said, didn't work," Tyron shrugged. "Back to m'story. I told him yeah, I was, an't he let m'in. Let m'sleep inside for the night, let m'heal for the next day until I was better. Then, he told m'to show him that I was a mutant. I didn't have much control over m'power at tha' time, so I could only absorb metal. I couldn't concentrate it or shift it yet. Baron liked this. He trained me, taught m'how to fight, taught m'more about m'powers. I remembered tha' I was scared tha' he was going to kill me, that's what I always saw on TV, anyways, but... He didn't. I was naïve enough to think of him like a father. Then, he sent m'on a mission. One of his people was gonna to rat on him. He wanted him dead. His entire family." Tony drew in a breath, and Tyron sighed.
"Honestly, I was confused at first. I didn't know he was going to have m'killing people, but he was serious, an't I was stuck. The... The whole way there, I told myself I was goin' to be okay. It was fine. I would just scare the guy and tell him to get out of there." Tyron shook his head, a dry chuckle seeping past his lips. "When I got there, ya know what I found. M'target, the man, passed out drunk, an' in the other room was a kid, black an' blue. The kid saw m'come in an' was terrified. He... He was so hurt, I've never seen tha' kind of pain before, at least not on a kid, on a seven-year old."
Tyron took a moment before finishing. "I don't remember much after tha'. I remember imaginin' me, when I was the kid's age. I got so angry. I killed him. I was ruthless, just again an' again an' again. He woke up while I was stabbin' him, an' tried to scream. I don't remember if he managed it or not, but, I remember him fallin' on the couch sideways. I still hadn't stopped stabbin' him. There was blood everywhere, on the couch, the ceiling, the floor, me. It was everywhere, but I didn't care. I kept going for about five minutes after he finished."
"I looked for the kid, I wanted to take him away, I-I wanted to help, but... He was dead. A bullet to the skull." Tyron's eyes were closed as he said, "One of Baron's henchmen followed me an' finished the other half of tha' job. I didn't know. Later, Baron put m'on other eliminations or scare tactics, an' I did them. Sometimes, we'd have gang fights an' I would be in the front lines. I was always the loyal dog, until I pulled on his leash..."
Tyron looked up, noticing Tony staring at him. For a moment, he couldn't tell if it was shock or horror. Or, both. He cleared his throat, "So... Yeah. That's me. Anythin' else you wanna know?"
Tony was silent, then he turned back to his food, "Nope. That's all of my questions for today. Is there anything you want to know about me?" Tyron rose an eyebrow, he didn't know this was an option.
"Uh..." He popped a few more bolts in his mouth. "What was ya old man like?"
"Oh," Tony groaned. "My dad? An absolute pain in my ass, not to mention a complete bastard as well. He's the one that started Stark Industries, you know."
"Ah," Tyron nodded, "So, ya were a rebellious teeenager, gotcha."
Tony scoffed and flicked a piece of rice at Tyron, and he laughed. "Were ya an only child?" Tyron asked curiously, and Tony nodded.
"Yep. After me, they decided they were quite done with kids. I might have ruined the experience for them." Tyron laughed, shaking his head.
"What was your mother like?" Tony asked, and Tyron smiled.
"My ma was beautiful," he said, looking at the ground. "She was hella smart, an' worked in New York City. She, uh, was really religious an' traditional too, ya know? This goes here, this has to be done like that. But, I still loved her, though... Even after everythin'..."
"You're... Speaking in past tense," Tony said, raising an eyebrow. Tyron nodded, clearing his throat.
"Yeah, uh, she... She died in the Battle of New York. Went in one mornin' an' never came home." Tyron swallowed and Tony sighed.
"I'm sorry," he told him, but Tyron shook his head.
"It-It doesn't matter now. Nothin' I can do 'bout it. What 'bout ya mom?" He asked.
"My mom? She was amazing," Tony smiled. "Maria Stark. The most talented woman that I knew. She played six different instruments. Six. But, her favourite was the piano. She used to play all the time. She tried to teach me, but," Tony shook his head, and scoffed. "I never listened. I was too caught up in my own bullshit with my dad or friends or..." Tony chuckled. "I miss my mom. A lot. She... She was always so supportive of me and what I did. She was someone I could talk to. I loved her."
Tyron was nodding, and Tony smiled, "They both died in a car accident when I was a teenager. I never got to say goodbye."
"That's how it usually works," Tyron said. "We never get the chance." Tyron sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. "I thought we were tryin' to get away from all the depression." They both laughed and went back to eating.
After they finished, Tony stood, "C'mon. Lets go do something else."
"Like wha'?"
"What about that basketball court you took Steve?" Tony asked, and Tyron laughed.
"You wanna play ball?" He asked incredulously.
"Hey! I had my fair share of sports when I was your age," he huffed, crossing his arms. "Besides, basketball can't possibly be that hard."
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Watching Tony running around the court trying to get the ball from teenagers was priceless. Tyron wished he could have recorded it.
"I'm open!" A girl said from the side of the court, and someone threw the ball to her. She dribbled down the court to her team's basket and shot, making it in perfectly at a three-pointer.
"Timeout!" Tony called, and all of the kids laughed and nodded. Tony moved to the side and sat down. Sweat dripped down his neck and his entire shirt collar was drenched.
"How ya holdin' up?" Tyron asked, jogging to him, but Tony just laughed.
"Basketball was never this hard when I was a kid," Tony said, huffing.
"Ya probably played wit' white people," Tyron shrugged. "Ya never played actual B-Ball before. C'mon, ya got ten seconds left." Tyron held out his hand, and Tony took it.
"I didn't know there was a difference," Tony said and Tyron laughed.
"Course there's a difference. Ya feelin' the difference now. S'harder, more intense." Tyron patted Tony on the back before heading over to his team to resume the game.
They were only able to play about two more games before the street lights clicked on. The kids began to wrap up and head home. Tony sat back down in the side, looking over the street, and Tyron moved to sit next go him.
"What's up?" Tyron asked curiously.
"Nothing... I'm just thinking..." He murmured. "Are you from here? This area?"
"Hm? No, m'from Jersey," Tyron replied. "These houses are much nicer than the projects where I grew up."
"Projects? Like, housing projects?" Tyron nodded.
"Only thin' my parents could afford, ya know?" He shrugged. "We lived in a pretty bad neighborhood, too. Like, drugs, gang fights, rapists, it was madness."
"Geez," Tony murmured, shocked, but Tyron shrugged it off.
"That was life for me," Tyron said as he watched a black van slow down near the court. "I mean, most projects are like that anyway. Mine was no different." He turned his head, to glance at the license plate. Then, he paled. "Shit."
"What?" Tony said, frowning.
"Shit. We gotta go," he stood, grabbing Tony hand and ran. He ran out of the court and down to the street. Tony left the car at a parking garage a streets away.
"What's going on?" Tony demanded, trying to pull away, but Tyron's grabbed unto a metal fence, absorbing part of it and using it to secure Tony's wrist to his. Tyron led the way as he shoved past a few people and turned down the street.
Tyron opened the doors into a small corner store and nodded at the cashier and a man standing near the side silently, watching them. "We can't come to this area anymore," Tyron murmured as he pretended to check the store's array of chips. He let go of Tony, and flexed his fingers while Tony rubbed his wrist.
"Why not?" Tony hissed. "What's going on?"
"M'a dumbass. I forgot 'bout... Shit," Tyron rubbed his face trying to focus. "Look, I thought Queens would be far enough away from Brooklyn since Baron has no territory over here, an' him an' Zion are always buttin' heads. Someone must've told Zion somethin', an' if he knows I've been in his territory, he'll probably think Baron's try'na invade. That'll probably cause a gang war, which is the last thin' we need, 'specially after what happened with Lars-"
"Wait, wait, slow down," Tony said, his brow furrowed. "Gang war? Who's Zion? And what are you talking about with territories? This is New York, not the middle ages."
Tyron gave Tony a slightly annoyed look, then grabbed a bag of Cheetos, and went to the counter. He pulled out a wallet that Tony didn't know Tyron even owned, and took out a ten-dollar bill, handing it to the cashier. "Do ya got a map of the City?" The cashier nodded, and pointed to the side.
Tyron scanned the array of maps for a moment before picking one and a fifty-cent marker off the counter. The cashier rang everything up and put it in a bag, then handed it and the change to Tyron. He took the bag, but left the change on the counter and turned to leave.
"Why did you-?"
"Shh!" Tyron hissed, quickly walking out of the store. He didn't talk for a few minutes, checking behind him, and then sighed. "Okay, now go."
"Why'd you buy Cheetos? You don't eat," Tony frowned.
"The man in the corner was a cop," Tyron explained easily. "If I didn't buy Cheetos, he probably would have thought I was stealin'."
"Okay, where did you get the wallet from?" Tony asked, and Tyron rolled his eyes.
"One of the guys that bumped into us. I knew you didn't have cash an' I don't carry money, so we needed a reason to be in the store."
"You stole it!?"
"Shush!" Tyron hissed, glancing around, but nobody turned their way. "Ya really tryin' to be shot, aren't ya?" Tyron hissed, then sighed, and nodded up ahead where the parking garage was. "There's the car. Is that other guy still in it?"
"Happy? Yeah. He wouldn't have left," Tony said.
"Then, no more questions 'til we get there. This is a lot to explain, 'specially to someone like ya."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony's eyes narrowed, offended.
"Jus' wait, then I'll explain."
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Tyron sat back as soon as they got in the black SUV. Tony was beside him, waiting for him to speak. He was silent nearly twenty minutes after they took off, sighing and rubbing his face.
Finally, he spoke, "This s'helluva long story, so no questions 'til I finish, a'ight?" Tony nodded and even Happy in the driver's seat grunted.
"A'ight," Tyron pulled out the map of the major cities in New York. "This is the City, Brooklyn, Queens, an' Harlem." He began go make hurried lines that looked almost like irregular rectangles in each city. Then, he pointed to Brooklyn. "This is Baron's territory. He mainly focuses on recruitin' mutants an' minor, petty crimes. He's had a twenty year sentence in an instate prison, only served ten, an' now owns a third of the entirety of Brooklyn." He scraggily wrote Baron on the area he showed.
Tyron moved his marked to another area, in Queens, it was a slightly smaller one than the one in Brooklyn. "This is Zion's territory. He's specializes in terrorizing mutants an' murder, although he does have a few petty thefts in his name. He served nineteen in jail, the same one Baron did, at the same time. There's a theory tha' the two are related, but I personally don't think so."
He pointed to Harlem, "Harlem in a mess. There's really no one significant person running the place, but I heard that there might be someone up-incomin', but nothin's sure."
Finally, he pointed to New York City. "The City is no man's land because there's too many cops there. Nobody's enough of a dumbass to try to make territory there."
"What did you mean by the Lars incident?" Tony asked, and Tyron went back to his map.
"So, when Lars got shot an' beat, he was on this street," Tyron highlighted a street that was right in-between the edge of Zion's and Baron's territory. "Both of them wanna do something, but it has to be in tha' person's territory."
"Wait, I thought Zion didn't like mutants," Tony interuppted and Tyron frowned.
"Yeah, but he doesn't want Baron to have credit for it. Everyone thinks tha' it Zion leads a riot, it'll only last, maybe an hour, an' none of the mutants want tha', we want change, an' Baron'll bring it."
"Then, why won't Baron just lead it anyway?"
"It'll make Zion look weak, if people think he can't start a riot, which'll cause them to go to war. And, if they go to war, Baron'll lose."
"Why?"
"Because of me," Tyron glared, "Stop asking questions." Tyron inhaled, and closed his eyes. "Before I joined him, Baron lost nearly every gang war he participated in. Then, I joined Baron's Pit, an' he started winnin' again, which was one of the many reasons why he cares so much tha' I come back. I was his trumpcard an' his cash cow."
"'His cash cow'?" Tony asked, but Tyron shook his head.
"Not important. When we were in that park, the liscense plate had the state blotted out, somethin' only Zion's people do. If someone snitched an' recognized me," Tyron groaned, rubbing his temple. "I was hopin' to get outta this mess." Tyron glanced out the back window, and sighed.
"Yeah. I don't blame you," Tony muttered. "Look, we can go back to the Tower. You got school tomorrow, anyway. I'll get on the phone with the police an'-"
"The what!?" Tyron nearly choked. "Oh no. Hell no. We ain't bringin' the police in this," Tyron shook his head. "Nuh-huh. Definitely not."
"Tyron, you're talking about a potential riot breaking out. People could be killed-"
"More people will be killed if ya drag the police in this," Tyron growled. "We're not havin' that." He looked out the back window, and frowned, but turned back to Tony.
"You have no say," Tony scoffed, and Tyron raised and eyebrow, challenging him.
"No. 'Specially not after wha' they did to Lars. Ain't no cards, no 'pology. Since he was a mutant, nobody cares!" Tyron snapped, raising his voice, but inhaled to bring himself to a much calmer level. "Look. I know ya wanna help, but gettin' the police involved, gettin' 'Iron Man' involved will jus' make matters worse, an' shit's already tense now."
"Which is why we need police involvement," Tony narrowed his eyes. Tyron's eyes darted to the back twice before focusing on Tony. "If we can stop the riot before it happens-"
"That's not the point, Tony," Tyron sighed, looking out as they stopped in bumper to bumper traffic over the Brooklyn Bridge. "The riot is jus' to bring awareness to help change. This discrimination has been goin' on for centuries an' nothin's been done to stop it. We are change. Mutants, and if maybe Baron leads it... If we can fight hard enough, people will know that we matter too."
"Tyron, people will be hurt."
"Normal people, or mutants?" Tyron glared, anger filling him. "Because mutants have been killed forever an' nobody seemed to care about them but us. So, why should we care about normal people? People who want to hurt, enslave, an' kill us?" Tony stared at Tyron in shock, an' Tyron had been too, by words he kept pent up inside but never had the courage to release.
"I don't want to hurt you," Tony said. "I know you're upset, but this is getting serious, Tyron. We need to-"
"This is ridiculous!" Tyron scoffed. "Are you even listenin' to me!? We are dyin'! An' when we finally want to stand up for ourselves, for people like us who has died, people like you push us back down!" Tyron huffed angrily, checking behind him again. Then, he stopped, his eyes widening.
"What is it?" Tony demanded, "You keep looking back there." He then too, but saw nothing. Just cars bumper to bumper to other people and the sound of horns being abused.
"I..." Tyron clenched his jaw, and looked around. He stared at the bridge for a long second, then back at Tony. "I... Shit," he rubbed his forehead. "God, m'gonna regret this."
"Regret what? What's-?" Tyron hit Tony on the head, his fist metal and Tony slumped against the seat, seeing stars.
"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Happy snapped from the front seat, but due to the traffic, and the narrow spacing, he was unable to pull over.
Tyron turned to the handle, and undid the lock. Tony grabbed Tyron's arm, trying to stop him. "M'sorry," he muttered, then yanked his arm away and opened the door. Tony weakly sat up, his head throbbing. Happy fumbled with his seatbelt and opened his car door. Two men jumped out of a car as Tyron made a beeline for the bridge's edge. One of then grabbed unto his arm just as he grabbed the side rail. It was a bad idea. Spikes jutted out, impaling the man's hand and he cried out, in pain.
Tony tried to come out of the car as Tyron climbed over the rail. It quickly became easy to deduce what he was planning. "Wait, Tyron, no!" Tony shouted, trying to open the door. The other man pulled out a gun and Tyron, and two shots were fired. This gave Tyron the push he needed. He jumped and a second later, another shot went out and he was gone.