'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary Entry]
(Word count: 1,961)
~ With Tony ~
"Stand down." Steve commanded.
Both Tony and Stane froze upon the newcomer's entrance. How could they not?
They both knew the history. They knew who fought in the frontlines and led America to victory against Nazi Germany in WWII. Even a museum was made in his honour and memory. So, they knew exactly who it was that was standing before them.
Yet even so, they could not believe in it.
Tony's brows furrowed. His HUD, still flickering due to having minimal power remaining after using the unibeam, struggled to analyze the figure standing before him.
"Jarvis, tell me I'm not hallucinating."
"Sir, I am detecting no hallucinogenic compounds in your system."
"That's not what I-" Tony cut himself off, his gaze still locked on the man standing between him and Stane.
Stane, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at the sight of the shield.
"This some kind of joke?" He growled. "I don't know who you think you are, but just because you wear his suit and wield his shield, do you honestly expect me to believe that you're Captain America?"
Steve did not falter at the accusation. "Believe what you want. It doesn't change the fact that I will stop you. Right here, right now." Steve readied his shield, preparing his stance. "This is your last warning. Stand down."
Stane simply let out a harsh, humourless laugh. "Captain America's dead. Been dead for decades now." His laughter faded, replaced by a sneer. "No. You're just a pretender. A fraud."
"Gotta admit, Captain, you do have that whole dramatic entrance thing down." Tony remarked as he pushed himself upright, despite the protest from his battered suit.
"But you're supposed to be. . . you know. . ." He gestured vaguely. "A history lesson."
Steve didn't look away from Stane as he responded. "Not quite yet."
Stane grunted. "Well then, how about we figure out if you're as real as they claimed you to be."
He threw a haymaker with terrifying force, the massive metal fist flying through the air like a wrecking ball.
Steve braced himself. At the last second, he shifted his stance, bringing his shield up to absorb the impact. The force of the blow sent a shockwave through the room of the ruined mansion. Steve's feet slid back, the ground beneath him denting from the sheer power of Stane's strike.
Yet, he held firm.
Tony whistled at the display of inhumane might that Captain America was known for. "Okay, that was impressive."
Steve exhaled and pushed forward, redirecting Stane's arm just enough to break his balance. In quick succession, he pivoted and delivered a sharp, well-placed kick to Stane's midsection, causing him to stumble back a step.
Stane growled, recalibrating. "Not bad."
Tony's HUD blared another warning. "Not to interrupt your little dick-measuring contest." He started, before turning towards Steve. "But I'm at 4% over here. We're going to need to wrap this up fast before I become just another pile of metal scraps."
Just then, Stane lunged, intending to use Tony's declaration as a distraction. However, Steve's focuse never left him.
Steve sidestepped with ease, bringing the edge of his shield down against Stane's knee joint, aiming to destabilize him. The impact created a loud clang, but Stane barely staggered.
Tony fired a weak repulsor blast at Stane's head, but the energy barely made the Iron Monger flinch.
"Yeah, that's not going to cut it." Tony muttered, seeing how his repulsor blasts had been rendered useless in terms of causing damage.
Stane recovered quickly from the combined attack and backhanded Steve, sending him crashing through a shattered archway. Tony rushed in, aiming a low blast at Stane's legs, but Stane anticipated it, bringing both his massive hands down. Tony barely managed to thrust sideways as he dodged Stane's attack.
Steve re-entered the fight in an instant, his shield slamming into Stane's side. The blow was enough to turn the brute's attention back toward him. Tony saw the opening and fired a concentrated repulsor blast at the back of Stane's leg, causing his knees to buckle.
This gave Steve just enough time to deliver another kick to Stane's midsection. With his balance disrupted and the force of Steve's kick impacting his balance further, Stane was finally sent lying on his back.
"You think this will stop me?" He growled, standing back up as if their attacks were nothing.
However, unbeknownst to Stane, the prolonged fight with Tony and damages it had sustained since the start of the fight was beginning to compound. He may not have felt it just yet, but his suit was starting to slow down and move more sluggishly than it did before.
Not knowing about the growing problem, Stane grabbed a chunk of rubble and hurled it at them. Steve dove left, while Tony barely had enough thrust to dodge right, rolling as sparks flickered from his damaged suit.
"I've heard you're the man with a plan, Cap. Could use one of those plans right about now." Tony remarked, now aware that his suit was running on fumes.
"Just give it a little longer, he's almost out for the count." Steve spoke softly, ensuring Stane would not be able to overhear.
Steve had noticed Stane's movements and had come to the conclusion that Stane's suit was in just a bad a state as Tony's. It was just that the bulky design had managed to hide it better than Tony's, but the problems and damage were still there.
Steve began pacing with Tony following his lead. While his actions may seem like a hunter stalking its' prey to Stane, what he was actually doing was repositioning themselves so that he could enact his plan. When Steve stopped in his tracks, his back was facing just a few metres away from the exposed balcony.
"Is that all you got?" Steve taunted, catching Tony by surprise.
This got a reaction out of Stane as he roared and charged.
"THAT'S YOUR BIG PLAN?!" Tony exclaimed.
Steve decided to meet him head on, rolling under a wild swing and slamming his shield into the exposed hydraulic joint behind Stane's knee. The same knee that both he and Tony had focused most of their attacks on earlier.
This caused the machinery to spark as Stane now realized that something was wrong with his suit.
Tony took advantage, utilizing whatever remaining power he had left into another repulsor blast aimed at the same damaged joint. The metal whined in protest as Stane fell to one knee, this time finding it difficult to rise back up. The impact from their combined attacks caused the ground beneath Stane to begin forming cracks.
Tony realized the position that Stane was in, silently praising Steve's combat awareness and battle instincts.
Without giving Stane a chance to breathe, Steve threw his shield for the final time as it struck the damaged joint. This time, the impact caused irreversible damage and Stane's suit was beginning to shut down.
Stane turned around with difficulty to face Tony and Steve, as his suit began to slowly power down. Tony walked forward, intending to have a final talk with Stane.
"It didn't have to end like this, Obie. When did it all go wrong?" He asked, more to himself than to Stane.
With panic beginning to rise within him, Stane bellowed. "You think this is over?! I will not stop until I destroy EVERYTHING you've ever built, Tony."
"And you!" Stane turned to look at Steve. "I don't know how you're still alive, but mark my words, when I get out of whatever prison they put me in, I will hunt you down and kill you for the second time myself!"
Steve remained silent, causing Stane's irritation to grow further.
"I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL I END YOU BOTH!" Stane declared.
Neither Steve nor Tony spoke for a few moments, and just as Stane was about to speak again, Tony's voice rang out.
"I believe you."
Without giving anyone time to react, Tony raised a leg and smashed the floor beneath him, causing the forming cracks to break further. Stane's eyes widened, realizing that Tony was not going to turn him into the authorities, but rather to finish him off personally.
With each cracking sound that filled the air, Stane's desperation grew more intense. "Tony, you can't do this! I'm stil-"
Just then, the ground beneath Stane gave way, and he began his descent off the cliff and into the ocean below. Tony and Steve stood at a safe distance from the edge, listening to Stane's damning cries as he fell. Until finally, they heard a loud splash.
Silence then found it's place among them, indicating that Stane was no longer a surface dweller. Although Steve did not approve of Tony's actions, he was still a man who had seen the horrors of war. He has had his fair share of killing.
"It didn't have to end like that." Steve finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"Using my words against me now, Cap?" Tony scoffed amusedly.
Tony turned as his mask lifted up, facing Steve face to face. "No, Cap. It had to end this way. He threatened the one person who I care about the most, and I am not going to risk the chances of him making good on that threat."
Even though Steve had helped him earlier, Tony was still wary that his decision to kill off Stane would negatively impact the situation, leading to another fight between himself and Steve. A fight that Tony knew he could not afford, not with his suit beginning to shut down as well.
Seeing through Tony's unease, Steve simply lowered his shield. "Relax, the fight's over."
Tony's face visibly lost its tension as the last remaining power from his suit ran out, causing him to fall onto his back. Steve began walking towards the exposed balcony, intending to use it as a means to retreat undetected.
Just as he stood above Tony, Steve looked down and made a request. "I would appreciate that you keep my involvement to yourself, Mr Stark."
"Oh, no. Dear god no. I can't hog all the attention to myself." Tony said jokingly. "But even then, I did most of the heavy lifting anyways, so you don't deserve much of the credit."
Steve smiled at the comment. "I wish you well, Stark."
With that, Steve walked away and disappeared from the aftermath of the battle, leaving Tony by his lonesome.
"I need to install some off-line air conditioning in my future models. Without the main power, it's like I'm swimming in a private, sweaty pool." Tony muttered.
"TONY!"
Just then, Pepper's voice rang out, catching Tony's attention. "Pepper?!"
It had been a while since the trembling and the noise stopped, indicating to Pepper that the battle had finally ended. Worried for her boss's well-being, Pepper had made her way through the ruined mansion in search of Tony.
She followed aftermath of the earlier battles until she stumbled upon Tony's depowered state. Hearing his voice, she immediately rushed towards him.
As her eyes laid on his fallen state, she silently thanked God that it didn't seem like Tony had lost a limb or suffered any obvious serious injury.
"You're okay!" She exclaimed as she got down next to Tony, raising his head with her hand.
"You're okay! You're okay. Thank goodness." She repeated.
Tony was about to make an untimely joke, when he felt a drip of water hitting his face. Realizing that it was the tears from Pepper, he held his tongue, not wanting to ruin the mood.
Instead, he offered her two words that seemed to further relieve Pepper's worry.
"I'm okay."
- End of Chapter 94 -