A/N: These guys still belong to Disney and Marvel and all of those people.
4 Days Earlier
"Hey, Cap. Sorry I'm late. Stupid meeting went over." Tony Stark, the world's most well-known billionaire and superhero, clasped hands with that of Steve Rogers - America's living legend and representative of all that was good and right with the world.
"Pepper finally get you to attend a board meeting, I see." Steve chuckled as he gripped the man's hand in return and patted his shoulder. He knew very well that the man beside him hated attending those meetings with every fiber of his being. They sounded a lot like the mission briefings Steve himself had to constantly attend - long, monotonous, and repetitive with very little actually being accomplished or necessary ninety percent of the time.
The two heroes had had a rocky start to their relationship, but after the events of New York, they had warmed up to each other a little and had even sparked up a sort of friendship. They weren't best buds, didn't see eye-to-eye on every issue, but they respected each other.
"Well, you know, when the boss says jump..."
A snort erupted from the patriotic man. "Yeah, I'm sure."
"What? I'm hurt, Rogers," Tony replied, hand covering his chest in mock horror. "I thought we were friends."
"Sure, Stark, whatever helps you sleep at night," Steve joked in response.
"Mmhmm, whatever. So, what did you want to talk about, Cap?"
Back in business-mode, the two made their way down the street. Crossing in front of a small cafe on their left, Steve let his gaze fall on the patrons seated out on the street, enjoying their beverages and the warm sun on their skin. This was why he kept fighting - for the people. Sighing deeply, he kept walking, Tony between him and the cafe, staying in-step.
Before the Captain could bring up the reason for their meeting, an explosion erupted from inside the building of the cafe. The resulting concussive blast threw both him and Tony across the pavement. Stars that should only be present during night, not the middle of the day, flashed through his vision.
Sitting up gingerly, Steve was unable to dodge the lump of metal that had been dislodged from the building and sent flying toward his head. The world tilted again for the second time in just about as many minutes as Steve tried to make out what was going on around him. Turning his head carefully to the side, he saw Tony still on the ground, holding his hands up to his head, deep grimace lines etched into his face, and a glazed, confused look in his eyes, blood trickling down from somewhere, collecting at his collar.
Steve wanted to call out to his friend, check to see if he was okay, but he couldn't quite get his voice to cooperate with him. A blur of activity distracted him. Men in black suits and sunglasses rushed up to the downed billionaire, helping the man get to his feet. It took Steve a moment to notice they were also helping him. He felt a prick of some kind, but when he looked down, he saw that the men were removing debris that he didn't know had been on him. One of the men mumbled a quiet "Sorry" as well.
But who were these men? Why were they here? And where were they taking Tony? Taking him? Steve struggled against the hands grabbing him as the words of the man in front of him started to filter through.
"It's okay, sir. We're Mr. Stark's bodyguards. We're going to get you out of here."
Steve's muddled brain was slow to process the words, but he calmed down and let himself be led to the black sedan that Tony was being ushered into as well.
Once in the car, Steve slumped against the harsh fabric while trying to get a look at Tony. It was hard to concentrate. Tony kept zooming in and out of focus and Steve felt like he'd just gone ten rounds with the Red Skull - or maybe it was Jose Cuervo with the way the world tilted no matter how hard he tried to right it. The pull of oblivion yanked him down into its midsts and Steve left the world of the conscious.