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It had been dark for a while now. The only light came from a single candle that Tony kept beside him. His companion didn’t need it, and therefore he didn’t feel any shame in hogging it.
“We should be outside,” said the small, thin figure pacing in front of the window across the room. “I should be outside, hunting them. Not here, just… waiting.”
Tony folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “The intel is good. They’ll come,” he replied.
“Shouldn’t I at least be downstairs?”
“Steve, you have your instructions.”
Despite being unable to see it, Tony could picture the pout on Steve’s face in his mind’s eye. The kid hated being told what to do, and it was a mystery why he put up with Tony. But he wasn’t going to complain, and not only because it gave the war a chance.
Tony also had his own instructions. Yet, he was still on the fence about getting in the armor for this one. This was a test. The whole team had agreed that it’d be better not to interfere, but he didn’t want to drop his guard and risk anything happening to Steve. He wouldn’t have cared if the farmhouse got destroyed in the ruckus; he had his priorities straight. However, his reflections had to be put on hold and circumstances made the choice for him.
Steve had turned his head to look out the window, fast and attentive, like a cat who hears a mouse. “It’s them,” he announced with a low growl. “They’re coming from the bushes and they’re about to get in the house.”
Tony counted to twenty before grabbing his candle and going to the door. With his hand on the knob, he looked at Steve. Two bright, silver spheres floated around the height where Steve’s eyes should have been and met his gaze. Tony didn’t even find that weird, which said a lot about his life.
“Last chance for questions.”
Silence.
“I’ll take that as that you have none.” Tony took a deep breath and opened the door. “Go get them.”
A dense, black cloud darted past him. The gust of wind raised on its wake made the candlelight flicker, filling the room with an extra serving of spookiness. So, Tony did shiver in the end, the idea of how many of his actual adventures would be rejected by the editors of Marvels despite being real lingering as an afterthought.
***
Tony hadn’t planned on going back to New York again so soon, but that was before he got wind of new clues that would help him to finally put at rest an old shame of his. He would never admit it out loud —because there was no one to admit it to since no one knew about that piece of his past—, but he would embrace any chance to stop this issue from coming back to haunt him again and again.
The one he was after seemed to have gotten tired of rural Europe and had decided to blend in the multitude offered by a city this large. Easier to operate that way. Like Tony would let it happen. Which was why he walked through Brooklyn closer to midnight than he would have liked, senses alert and essential equipment distributed all around his body, easy to reach. He ignored the petty things —the human things— happening around him. The prey he had in mind was way bigger than whatever thug the neighborhood had to offer.
Noise coming from an alley called his attention. A brawl. Tony shook his head about to disregard it and move on when he saw a man coming out from there. His eyes were wide open and he pressed his hand against his neck, blood trickling between his fingers.
Tony sprinted to action. It seemed like the man would survive, so he darted to the alley, right on time to duck another burly body being thrown at where he stood. When he could recover, everything was over. They flying thug wouldn’t move from the trash he had landed on for a while, and a third one hung from a balcony two stories up. The only ones standing in the alley, besides himself, were two children that looked scared and confused but unharmed. When they tried to get away, they ran into Tony, who raised his hands as they gasped and froze in place.
“It’s fine,” he said in the most soothing voice he could muster. “I just want to know what happened.”
The girl, the smallest of the pair, tried to kick Tony’s shin to clear their escape path, but he dodged it jumping backward. To be honest, she would have managed if he hadn’t been on high alert the whole evening. But he wasn’t going to tell them that.
The older boy grabbed the girl and pushed her behind him. “Let us go or he’ll be back!”
“Who? The guy who did this?”
The boy nodded, frowning and with his mouth pressed into a thin line. He strove to look tough but, in truth, he was scared. Same for the girl. Now that they were closer, Tony could also see that their clothes were old and their shoes, worn out. Furthermore, this wasn’t a time or a place for them to be out on the streets. Although, they likely didn’t have anywhere else to be —nor anyone else to be with. Tony felt a tug in his stomach and reached into his pocket for the first bill he could find. He didn’t even take a look at it when he brandished in front of the kids.
“This is yours now,” he said. “And there’s another one just like it after you tell me what you know. I’ll even add some food. What do you say?”
“We’re not going to your house,” the boy said even as the girl jumped to grab the money.
Tony let go of it and saw it disappear in her pocket. “Of course not,” he continued. “My house is too far. But there’s a decent diner two blocks from here.”
The boy seemed to want to keep on frowning forever, and he maybe would have done it if the girl hadn’t tugged his sleeve. “Mark, I’m hungry.”
He looked at her and his face softened enough. “Fine. But you walk ahead, mister.”
“Name’s Tony,” he replied and led the march.
The diner wasn’t that terrible and the waitress was merely rude enough for the graveyard shift. Tony asked for coffee and let the kids order whatever they wanted: two big hamburgers with a large side of fries and matching milkshakes. They waited in silence for the food to arrive, and even then all the noise at first was munching and slurping. In due time, the kids were full. The boy even remembered to use a napkin to clean the fingers he had licked ketchup from seconds ago.
“Fine, mister. You wanted to know about the ghost, right?” Mark began. “It’s the first time we met him, but he appears sometimes.”
“He saves people,” the girl, Anna, said.
“Is that what everyone calls him? Ghost?” Tony asked.
Mark shrugged. “The old lady under the bridge calls him an angel. I don’t know. I don’t think angels have red eyes.”
Tony took another sip from his coffee and nodded. “What else did you see other than his eyes?”
“Nothing much. It was too fast.”
“He was young!” Anna said. “Not old like you.”
Tony snorted his coffee and then threw his head backward, laughing. “Ouch! That stung!”
“Well, it’s true!” Anna said.
Mark shushed her. “Quiet or we won’t get the money,” he whispered.
She made a face and Tony pretended not to have heard the exchange.
“Is there a way to call this ghost?” he asked instead. “To make him come to you?”
The kids shook their heads in unison.
“No one knows when he’ll appear,” Mark said. “But when he does he only hurts the bad people. The ones who’re trying to hurt you or to rob you.”
“And that’s all we know.”
“Thank you. That was very informative.” Tony took out three bills from his wallet and shoved them in Mark’s hand. Not knowing how much he had given them already, he hoped those made up for it. “However, we need to find a way to keep in contact in case you remember something else. I have a friend who runs a house—”
“No!” Mark interrupted. “We’ve been in those places. They’re awful.”
Tony made a pause. He was trying to find a way that this one house his company financed and oversaw was different when, of all people, wearing an apron and holding a couple of Marvels issues with one hand and a pen with the other, the diner’s cook came to his rescue.
“Children, you should take his offer. I’d definitely would if I were you. Do you know who he is?” The cook then turned to Tony offering the magazines. “My apologies for being so bold, Mr. Stark. I was wondering, since you’re here, if you could—”
“Anything for a fan,” Tony replied, grinning, grabbing the magazines and the pen, and went ahead to sign them.
“Are you really—?”Mark began.
In response, Tony grabbed the one issue where his face was the entire cover and placed it next to his head, his smile unwavering.
That was all it took. The kids agreed to go with him and the cook refused to charge them for the food. Nevertheless, Tony left a big tip that covered that and more.
One taxi trip later, the children and Tony were in the home. He left them with the director, who would take care of everything in the morning, although not without giving them a piece of paper with a phone number.
“If you remember anything —or if you need anything— call my assistant, understood?”
“Yes, Mr. Stark,” both kids replied.
That taken care of, Tony went back to the streets to keep looking. There were still a few hours before dawn, which he spent exchanging every single bill and coin he had on him for more stories about this ghost. A few of the people he interviewed claimed to be first-hand witnesses, some as those he defended and the others, the ones with the most expensive testimony, as the ones on the receiving end of his attack. Worse yet, their stories matched each other’s and what the kids had told him.
The whole thing was confusing. None of this fit any pattern of any other vampire he had encountered before. Especially not the one he was after. As far as everyone knew, this ghost didn’t leave dried up bodies in his wake, and the only bites drew only enough blood to avoid starvation. Puzzling, to say the least.
The sun rose when he strolled into the seedy hotel, which he preferred ten times over to going back to the mansion, to sleep on that information, hoping to reach a conclusion when he woke up in the evening. Which didn’t happen. After some coffee, though, he thought it might be a good idea to delve deeper into the matter. He wasn’t going to presume all vampires knew each other, but this one was right there, acting in the open, and he might not kill Tony on sight. Maybe. He would just hope for the best.
Tony left the empty cup on the table and looked at the clock on the wall in front of him. Time to go gear up. He got up and went back to his room, straight to the back with his… supplies. The tools and weapons he would need in case of a confrontation.
Soon afterward, Tony walked down the street turning around corners at random, talking with people here and there, and wondering whether he should get into actual trouble as bait. What made him reconsider was that he looked less like the kind of people the vampire helped and more like the ones he stopped: big, strong, and ready for a fight. Oh, well. He’d have to either rely on luck or think of something else.
That first night was fruitless. Tony returned to the hotel after having wandered for hours. He followed the same pattern as before: grab a bite, shower, sleep, coffee, get out again in the evening. He was more resolute this time about starting trouble, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
This second night, one of his right turns took him to a small and secluded park that no doubt was beautiful during the day. Now, though, it looked quite the opposite covered by a mist that reflected the light that came from the street lamps. The mist, of course, was not natural, which… actually could have meant many things. Several supernatural creatures used this trick, but chances were high that this was the one he wanted. Thus, he walked right into the mist.
Tony only had to walk a few steps before finding the vampire sitting on the back of a bench, arms folded, and one of his legs swinging restlessly. He was small and lean. A pale, blond, and blue-eyed young man with a delicate face that would have been at home in any Gothic illustration from the previous century. Mercifully, at that point in his life, Tony knew that trusting people just because they were pretty was a bad idea, so he approached with caution.
“Hey, there,” he said, raising one hand and keeping the other next to a stake in his coat pocket. “Nice evening, isn’t it?”
“I believe you’re looking for me,” the vampire replied.
“Not one for small talk, huh. Fine. Okay. I wasn’t, initially. But then I started hearing stories, and thought it’d be worthwhile to check things out.”
“Have you checked now?”
Unable to help himself, Tony took his time to examine the vampire from head to toe. Then, he smirked. “Oh, I am checking.”
That earned him a scowl and the vampire tightening his arms against his chest. No teeth showed, so Tony went ahead and took a seat next to him. His hand wasn’t ready to part from his pocket, though.
“Anyway,” Tony continued. “I’m Tony. Nice to make your acquaintance.”
“Steve.”
Tony felt way more amused than he probably should have. It was, after all, his first time meeting a vampire so easily flustered. “You know, in my experience, most people who… gain the kind of abilities you have tend to run amok and do the opposite of what you’re doing.”
“I didn’t ask for them.”
“So I’ve heard.” From all the ones Tony had met, in any case. “So, do you know what you are?”
Steve snorted. “Please. I didn’t spend all that time reading pulp for you to come and insult me like that.”
Tony laughed. “Fine. My apologies. However, popular fiction isn’t always accurate.”
“You’re an expert?”
“Not really. I’ve just read a little here, fought my life a little there...”
“Tony Stark versus the Vampire Coven was never in Marvels.”
Ah. So Steve knew who he was. On the one hand, good; it would save time. On the other, it was disappointing that that was his only reaction. Yet, Tony pretended he didn’t care.
“The chief editor hated it. He thought we were making it up, so it was never printed.” There was also the fact that he had wanted to turn the vampire into a woman and make Pepper be jealous of her. Tony could agree to fictionalize certain parts of his life to please the public, but there was a limit.
“I see,” Steve replied, but who knew if he actually did.
A long silence came upon them after that. At several moments, Tony realized Steve wanted to ask something but didn’t dare. He let him be and waited for him to decide. The whole point of this exercise was to gain his trust, after all.
“Say…” Steve began, finally.
“Yes?” Tony asked, still trying to decide how much of his knowledge of vampire lore would be a good idea to disclose.
“What’s that in your pocket?”
Tony looked down.
Oh.
This whole time, his hand had been inside his coat pocket holding the stake. Unable to stay still, he had been playing with it, making it twirl back and forth, without realizing. But now that he did, he became aware of how it could be misinterpreted by a casual observer.
“Well,” he started, but stopped. What would be less bad, to go with the idea that he was fondling himself in public or to admit to the undead creature that hadn’t let go of a weapon that could be used to kill him?
Steve pouted and scoffed, in that order, before jumping off to stand on the back of the bench, his eyes always fixed on Tony. Then, he vanished, taking the mist with him.
Tony finally let go of the stake and rubbed his face. That had gone well. One point to team Stark.
The next day, he found himself unable to sleep. He tossed around in bed going over his options. He could stop pursuing this —and by this, he meant Steve— and go back to his original quest, but he couldn’t let a newly born vampire whose knowledge of his kin came from pulp fiction on his own like that. Even more so when he had shown a rare set of morals and restraint. Not to mention that, whenever he closed his eyes, all he could picture was Steve’s pouty lips and his indignant bright blue eyes.
He gave up at around noon and got out of bed. One shower and some coffee later, he set out to look for any information he could find about the possible disappearance of an Steve with physical characteristics of the one he had met the night before in the last year or so. He found what he expected: nothing. The city was too big and the details too vague and generic. In the grand scope of things, if the story lacked a body gruesomely mutilated didn’t have a chance to make it to the news.
After dark, Tony bought a hot dog and took it to the park where he sat down on the bench he had shared with Steve the night before. His faith in this working was minimal, however, which was why he nearly dropped his half-eaten meal to the floor when Steve spoke next to him without any warning.
“What are the stories wrong about?”
“Kid, we need to talk about your entrances,” Tony replied. It was either that or make him wear a bell.
Steve, who now sat down on the actual seat this time and not on the back like before, grinned. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Tony let the obvious lie go. However, he took his time to chew the next bite out of the hot dog to organize his ideas —and to make Steve wait. “Maybe,” he began, “you’ve realized already that you don’t need to ask for permission to cross thresholds. Holy water will hurt you as much as it does me. Same with garlic.”
“Sunlight hurts, though.”
“Yes. It could turn you into a pile of ash in seconds. Silver isn’t only for werewolves either. It won’t outright destroy you, but touching it will slow you down. As will normal bullet and knife wounds, but you heal a lot faster now. As for a stake to the heart and a good old decapitation… I dare you to tell me on who those wouldn’t work.”
“Koschei the Deathless and the Headless Horseman, respectively.”
Tony turned his head slowly to gape at Steve.
The vampire shrugged. “You asked.”
Tony swallowed a sigh and shook his head. Young people these days. Why did they have to be like this? “Back to the list,” he continued, “you won’t age and you won’t catch any disease. Ever. And, hopefully, eternity won’t drive you mad.”
Steve grimaced at the last part.
Tony gave him time to process. It was harsh, but Steve had to know. Time didn’t forgive anyone, not even immortals.
“My turn for questions,” Tony said after a while. “When and how did you turn?”
Steve shrugged again and started to play with his fingers. “About three months ago. I was going home after work when a gang cornered me. They beat me up and left me for dead. I was about to when Alric showed up.”
Tony’s back straightened up and he came back to full alert. “Alric? Alric Cornelius? Taller than me, long black hair…?”
“And big brown eyes? Yeah.” Steve produced a pocket-sized notebook from his jacket and showed a page to Tony from where the asshole he was looking for stared back at him in portrait form. An excellent portrait, by the way. Tony could almost feel the silky hair through the page, and the artist had captured how well those expressions showed warmth and kindness whenever it suited their owner. A shame it was all fake. A mockery of the real human emotions.
“Did you draw this?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s really good.” Tony gave back the notebook to avoid the temptation of invading Steve’s privacy turning the pages to see what else he’d drawn. He was rewarded with a shy smile as Steve pocketed the notebook.
“Thanks. I guess the rest you can figure it out yourself what happened after.”
Tony nodded. “He didn’t ask you to join his coven?”
“He offered, yeah. But I— ah, declined.”
The way he said it made Tony wish he had been there to see it. Alric hated to be denied anything. “You’re lucky you’re in one piece.”
“You think? He was really nice about it and left the invitation open.”
Tony ate the last of his hot dog and wondered if Alric had gone soft the past few years. He doubted it, though. That vampire always had a plan. It was only a matter of time for the other shoe to drop.
“What about your family, Steve?”
“Don’t have any,” Steve replied without elaborating further, although with the ‘and for once it was a good thing’ implicit in his tone and the way he shifted his eyes.
Tony had no idea what to answer, so he kept quiet. The silence that befell them broke only when Steve spoke again.
“Where did you meet Alric?”
“Back in Europe. The first vampire I ever fought. It wasn’t— It wasn’t nice.”
“Must’ve been quite the misunderstanding.”
“Kind of. Just not in the way you’re probably thinking. Kid, Alric is bad news.”
Steve’s frown returned but Tony had to let the entire cat out of the bag.
“You’d be better staying away from him. He’s cruel and vicious under that innocent facade, and very good manipulating people into doing his bidding.”
Steve folded his arms. “It sounds like you two have business pending.”
The worst thing here was that Tony couldn’t fault him for not believing him; except for never growing fangs nor a taste for blood, he’d been there himself.
Tony pressed his hand with his hand. “You have no idea. Listen, I’ve been tracking Alric for a long time. You don’t have to do anything.” To be honest, it would be better if Steve’s involvement ended right there. “Just point me at his coven.”
Steve’s frown didn’t relent. He looked Tony right into his eyes and asked, “What will you do to him?”
Vampires had a way to know when someone lied, and Tony had no idea if Steve had picked up that skill just yet. This was his first lead since he arrived in New York. Losing it would set him back weeks if not months, and Alric could go on hurting people in the meanwhile.
“I will take care of my pending business.” There. That wasn’t an outright lie.
And yet Steve didn’t buy it.
“Will you hurt him?”
Damn it.
“I will stop him.”
Steve showed teeth and Tony’s hand, as a reflex, went inside his pocket to reach the stake as he took a defensive stance. However, nothing happened. Nothing violent anyway. Instead of attacking, Steve turned around and stomped away.
Tony let go of the stake. “Steve?”
There was no answer. Before he reached the corner, Steve vanished mid-step.
Tony couldn’t even get angry. He had also been under Alric’s charismatic thumb once. In any case, if Steve told on Tony, then the older vampire would go find him and he’d still get what he wanted.
He left the park as well and headed up to the hotel once again. He’d try again to get as much sleep as possible; it all sounded like he was going to need it.
About half an hour before dawn, Tony was finally able to close his eyes. Of course, that was when the window opened with a loud thud. Tony groaned as he sat up, one of his hands discretely sliding under the pillow, where his weapons waited on stand by.
“Now what?” he grumbled, more annoyed than scared. What he saw, though, made him grip his gun tighter and bring it out to hide it under the sheets.
Steve stood at the foot of his bed, leaning forward as if about to pounce, his face contorted and angrier than Tony had seen it before, eyes red and fangs out.
“It’s in Manhattan,” Steve hissed.
“What?”
“The coven is in Manhattan. I’ll take you.”
Tony glanced at the clock. “There’s no need. Just tell me where.” The sooner he’d deal with this, the better. Besides, soon Steve would be unable to be outside.
“No. I will go with you. I need an explanation.”
The gun went back under the pillow and Tony left the bed. “Wait. Go back a little. What happened?”
Steve gave Tony his back as he looked out the window and kept silent.
“Steve?”
“I went there after I talked to you,” Steve said after a moment. “I was across the street and I saw the men who attacked me. They were laughing and got in there like they belonged.” When he got to this point, Steve had closed his fists and he was shaking. “He knew their faces. He chased them away. There is no way he didn’t see them!”
Ah. There it was, the other shoe.
“Before you start, keep your pity to yourself,” said Steve turning around to see him, stopping Tony who was indeed about to say he was sorry. “We will go there tonight and stop whatever is happening. I already did that with the ones I saw, but I don’t know how many humans they’ve hired to protect them. Nor how many vampires there are in there.”
“Alric loves to monopolize the spotlight; he only keeps one other vampire he can boss around with him at all times. Humans, there is the night crew and the day crew, that is larger.” As for the ones Steve had… stopped, Tony would be much better without knowing what happened to them, right? Keeping his nose away from this would save him a headache and spare him a nightmare. But since when had Tony Stark done anything that was good for him? “What did you do with your attackers?”
“I send them to the police,” Steve replied without missing a beat. He sounded earnest. “I told them that if I didn’t hear anything about their arrest I would hunt them down and make them regret it.”
“I see,” said Tony, who didn’t. He had expected worse, and it was this that made him change his mind about Steve joining him. If Steve could keep his instincts in check and rein himself back even under those circumstances, maybe he would be all right. Tony couldn’t be sure. It was all new and uncharted territory for him. “Fine. Steve, if we’re doing this, you need to rest. It’s too late for you to leave, so I guess you can stay.”
“I’ll take the closet.”
“No. Get on the bed. I’ll close the curtains. They’re thick enough. The sun won’t bother you. Just give me a second.” That said, he removed the gun and the stake from under the pillow and placed them in his bag. “There.”
Steve followed his movements but said nothing. He just went to lay down, placing both hands on his chest. Then, he closed his eyes.
Tony closed the curtains, as promised, and stared at Steve for a short moment in the low light remaining in the room. That was one strange person, and he couldn’t help but admire him a little despite having just met him. Next, he flopped on the couch, ready to get his due rest. When was the last time he fell asleep with a vampire in the room? Long enough. That was always the answer: long enough.
When Tony woke up again, it was late in the evening. Steve remained on the bed, in the same position he’d placed himself hours before. No surprise there. Vampires fell into a deep slumber and it was impossible to wake them up before they did it themselves naturally. Good. He had time to get some coffee and work on a plan. In that order.
A couple of hours later, Steve sat up on the bed, rested and with his eyes wide open. It was a shame that he didn’t have the need to rub then nor to yawn; he would’ve looked adorable. Ah, well. Tony would have to make due with the way Steve’s legs dangled on the side of the bed and his feet didn’t reach the floor.
“What?” Steve asked.
Tony shrugged. “Nothing. I’m ready when you are.”
Steve jumped off the bed. “Then we’re ready.”
The way he moved and talked was no longer cute, but fierce, which tugged a different string in Tony. But he only stood up and well and, just like that, they both left the hotel. A cab drove them to Manhattan and left them a few blocks away from the coven’s building. There was no point in involving innocent bystanders. After that, Steve led and Tony followed through a series of illuminated and open streets that did not anticipate at all the fact that they led to a hive of scum and villainy.
“Don’t you want to know what our plan is?” Tony said.
“I figured we’d get in there and start asking questions.”
Tony made a face. He’d wanted to surprise Steve with the straightforwardness of his plan but it seemed that Steve would simply not stand for subtlety. “Kind of. We need to make a stop first, though.”
Right on cue, a big truck intercepted them. A familiar face appeared from the driver’s window.
“Good evening, Mr. Stark.”
“Jarvis!” Tony called with a smirk on his face. “See? I told you it would work!”
“Yes, sir, you did.”
“Park over there,” Tony said pointing at an empty spot across the street. “We’ll join you in a second.”
Jarvis nodded and did as instructed.
“What was that?” Steve asked.
“Oh, that’s Jarvis. He brought a little something that’s going to help us,” Tony answered. “While you were sleeping, I called him and told him to be on stand-by in Manhattan and use a prototype tracker I’m working on.” And he was very satisfied with the results.
Steve tilted his head. “What’s in the truck? A lifetime supply of wooden stakes?”
Tony’s grin grew wider. “Much better. You’ll see.”
A hint of mistrust appeared on Steve’s face, but there was also enough curiosity to go after Tony when he crossed the street.
Tony kept his eyes on Steve when Jarvis opened the back of the truck. He wasn’t disappointed with the wonder and awe displayed by his vampire companion when he saw his pride and joy: the newest version of his armor. This one was not a prototype. He had tried it before and it worked well. It was swifter and more durable, and it was designed to take less of a toll on his heart. But it still was big and impressive and it made him happy to see it appreciated.
“Is that a robot?” Steve asked, eyes glued to the armor.
“Not quite.”
What followed was the process of Tony getting on the armor, which Steve followed with the utmost attention.
“Now we’re ready,” Tony said, unable to hide his glee.
Next thing he knew, Steve had climbed on his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Tony rolled his eyes but he began moving.
They made their way to the building. They crashed through the door like it was tissue paper, even breaking part of the frame as well just for the fun of it. The guards at the entrance were too confused to do anything but to gape at the pair as they strolled inside, making feeble attempts at pointing their guns at them just to lower them again.
“This is fun,” Steve said.
“Happens every time and it never loses its magic,” Tony replied.
The outside of the building looked like a generic warehouse, but the interior was lavishly decorated, which didn’t come as a surprise at all. Most furniture was old-looking, as if it came from eras long past. However, Tony’s trained eye recognized most of them as imitations. Well done and no doubt expensive, but still imitations. The only objects worth anyone’s time were a light purple vase on a table in the northern wall and a scabbard that hung over it. He would try to keep the fight away from them; there was no need for him to come out empty-handed from this adventure.
By the time he had finished scanning the room, the thugs had recovered from the initial shock and were surrounding them, guns at the ready.
“Come on,” Tony said. “Are you really going to risk shooting at this furniture? What’s your master going to say?”
At his words, the furniture moved to the sides, leaving ample space around them.
“Is that better?” a melodious voice asked. Alric. He was on his own, no other vampire on sight, which made sense if he had wanted Steve to become his acolyte. They stood several meters further away from the circle formed by his sycophants, but Alric’s words rang very close to Tony’s ears. So close that they made him shiver with the memories they brought, good and bad. “Tony, dear, is that you in that metal case? Isn’t that a little bulky? You should have asked me for one of my armors if you wanted to play knight. And Steve! Sweet, young Steve! Of all the people I’ve known in my years, I would’ve never expected the two of you running into each other, much less getting along.” With a hand gesture, he rearranged a couple of sofas and a coffee table. “Care to tell me how it happened?”
“It was all thanks to you. It’s what you want to hear, so there you have it,” Tony said in a matter-of-fact voice, as if nothing bothered him. “Now, we have some questions for you.”
“I wonder if I will have answers.”
“Did you arrange for Steve’s death?”
Alric’s shocked face could’ve passed for genuine. “Those are some harsh accusations, don’t you think?”
“I saw them!” Steve exclaimed, unable to hold back any further. Tony could feel him trembling from his shoulder to where he was inside the armor. “They were here yesterday!”
Alric tapped his now pouty lips. “So that’s why they didn’t return.” He sighed. “Listen, Steve, my child. It was never intended for you to die. Just look at yourself now! Powerful! Strong! Immortal! Instead of weak and sick, with death around the corner. I did you a kindness, my sweet. There is no way around it.”
“Steve, wait,” Tony called, but he wasn’t sure he’d be listened to. Steve’s eyes had turned red and his fangs were in full display. A few more words from Alric and he would lose whatever control he had left. Tony shouldn’t have let him come. He’d known it from the start, and yet he had been persuaded to change his mind. But he couldn’t do anything about now; he'd have to deal with this with what he had.
“Now that’s cleared up, what about you, Tony, dear? What are your questions?”
“I have just the one, to be honest: when are you going to stop everything and drop dead?”
Alric’s mouth twisted. “Rude.”
The armor raised an arm. “I was hoping for the answer to be tonight. Steve, watch this!” Tony spun around and smacked the arms from the hired thugs out of their hands, knocking down most of them. The rest hurried to scramble away. Steve, just as surprised as everyone else, had jumped down when the movement started, and now looked up at Tony with what the latter decided to interpret as admiration.
“Tony, I’m done with you,” Alric said, waving his hand, followed by a scoff. “I’ve been done with you for years. Steve, be a darling and bring me his head, will you?”
Here it was.
“Steve, don’t.”
Steve’s face turned into an offended, angry frown again as he looked from Alric to Tony and back. “Why would I?”
Alric smirked. His eyes turned bright yellow and, when he spoke, his voice had an echo, like a second layer in a deeper pitch. “ Steve, be a darling and bring me Tony Stark’s head. ”
“Steve, you don’t have to do what he tells you.”
“Oh, Tony,” Alric said with his worst condescending tone. “Always the optimistic. I shouldn’t be telling you this by now, but just look at your little friend over there.”
Tony didn’t want to do it, but he did it. He had to—and he hated what he saw.
Steve’s look had gone from angry to feral, and his eyes displayed the same yellow hue as Alric’s.
“Steve…?”
“ Steve, now! ”
This was the moment where Tony got to regret all the decisions that brought him here, right when the impulse of the small vampire’s jump threw him backward, armor and all. Another myth about his kind was that they had the ability to enthrall people. That was untruth. In reality, however, their mind-controlling powers extended only to those they created, in particular if they were young and weak-minded. Steve had just one of those characteristics—and yet, there he was now. Doing his best to claw the armor open.
Tony tried to block him, to shake him off, but Steve was too fast, too strong, and he could turn into smoke. Worse yet, he was impatient and smart, not one to play with his prey. As soon as he could, he took hold of one of the metallic arms and ripped it off, all while Tony kept calling him.
“Steve! Steve, stop! Remember why we’re here!”
However, Steve didn’t seem to be able to remember anything but the order given by the other vampire. Tony had not wanted to do this, but he had to give himself an edge somehow. Before Steve could get rid of the remaining arm, Tony pulled a lever that discarded the outer layer of the armor’s hand revealing another one made out of silver. Not wanting to waste another second, Tony pushed Steve away.
With a hissing sound and a howl, Steve landed on the other side of the room, right on the vase Tony had wanted to take home, crushing it. Damn it. At least there was still the scabbard, he thought as he got up and readied himself for the next assault. This time, he faced Alric. It would take some time for Steve to recuperate from that.
Then, Alric laughed. “Poor Tony. Look at yourself. You came in here all confident, and now you’re broken and without allies.”
Tony raised the silver hand and aimed it at the asshole. “You say it like I should be worried.”
“Oh, but you should. Have you ever wondered why I chose him? Why, of all the people in this city, in this country —in this world?”
“Aesthetic?” Tony asked, ready to charge.
“Because I did my research and learned that, no matter how low, no matter how hurt, no matter the pain, when little Steve is on a mission, he will pull through even if it kills him!”
As he finished the phrase, Tony was hit from the back, once again with enough force to make him fall down, this time on his face. He heard and felt a series of clunking noises on his back, and a quick glance at a mirror on the side showed him Steve on top of him, half of his face still healing from the silver and now using the scabbard that he had taken off the wall as a lever to open the armor.
Tony shook as much as he could, but there was no way to throw him off now. The remaining hand of the armor didn’t reach that far and Steve had already done a number on the cables that powered his legs. Tony had to get out of there. He had no option but to leave the relative safety of the armor and find another way to survive. His fingers fiddled for the buttons that would let him out, but it was just then that Steve got to rip the entire back of the armor off and grabbed Tony, pulling him out. When Tony’s head stopped spinning around enough to focus his eyes, he was lying on his back on the floor with Steve straddled on his chest, his yellow eyes and savage expression too close for comfort, and his eyes closing on Tony’s neck.
Tony held onto Steve’s forearms, pushing back as much as he could, which was not enough.
“Steve, no! Stop! This is not who you are!”
“Of course it is!” Alric exclaimed, euphoric. “That’s why he’s doing it!”
Steve’s hands reached their target and tightened around Tony’s neck.
“Remember, Steve… You are — you are better than this…” Talking became more and more difficult, and his throat burned with every word, but Tony had to try. He wasn’t going to surrender just like that. “You save people! You bring— You bring them hope! You don’t— You don’t—”
The pressure on his throat lessened. Tony opened his eyes and saw that Steve’s had returned to their original blue. He was trembling, shocked at what he had been about to do. Tony didn’t blame him, but right now he couldn’t spare the time for comforting him. He had to redirect his anger to the real culprit behind all of this. He shifted his eyes towards the older vampire, counting on Steve to get the message.
He did.
Steve nodded ever so slightly and charged against Alric. On his way, he grabbed the second arm of the armor and used to press a very surprised vampire against the wall. His skin hissed when the silver made contact, just as Steve’s had. Alric yelled a series of curses in languages Tony couldn’t even recognize.
“ Release me! ” he shrieked in the end.
Steve’s eyes shone yellow for the fraction of a second, but then they went back to blue and he pressed the silver harder. “You’re not the boss of me!”
Alric wiggled and pushed back in an effort to free himself. Out of desperation, he opened a hole on the wall behind him and escaped through it. Steve went right behind him.
Tony looked back at his armor. It was beyond repair, especially with the time he had now, which was none. However, it contained things he could use: stakes, more silver, his loaded gun. He grabbed them and followed the fight to the street.
The two vampires were engaged in battle. From the outside, it seemed like they had equal footing. Steve took full advantage of the surprise factor attacking relentlessly while Alric kept trying to put him back under his control. However, despite Steve’s eyes flashing yellow at moments, it never stuck. Alric’s assessment of Steve had been spot on, just not in the way he would have wanted, which warmed up Tony’s heart.
Yet, Alric was older. Much, much older and experienced. Any second now, he would remember it and start using tricks Steve didn’t know yet. Tony would have to come up with something to help him. Shooting was an obvious no; they moved too fast and Tony had the same chances of hitting either nothing or either vampire. An attempt to sneak behind them and use the stake had more chances of being counterproductive and Tony felt very strongly about getting out of this one to tell the tale, whether it would sell or not.
While Tony thought, Steve crashed against the pavement mere meters away from him. When he reached him, after a short race, Steve was in the process of getting up. His face had healed but not because of that he looked less terrifying.
“Steve? How are you holding?”
“I can do this all night.”
“Nice boast but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“If you have something better, say it now, Stark.”
Alric had descended and landed with grace in front of them, his beautiful face contorted in an awful mask of hate. “You, vermin!”
“So original,” Tony said.
“I won’t waste my time thinking of something better for the likes of you!”
“Yet, that one is kind of an improvement.”
“Tony!” Steve called.
“What? If I’m going to be insulted, I’d rather have some thought put into it. Besides, it’s not like we have much else to look forward to. All I have here are silver bullets,” Tony said as he took them out from his pocket, “and not time to put them in any gun. What am I going to do with this? Throw them at him and see if they reach him?”
Please, get it, Steve. I can’t be any clearer…
Alric laughed. “Oh, please. Try it. I want my last memory of you to be about how small and sad you are.”
Well, even if Steve gave no indication about anything, at least Alric hadn’t gotten it.
“Alright,” Tony said. He pulled his arm backward and aimed. There it went. His last hope.
Yet, when the silver bullets escaped his hand, Tony made eye contact with Steve, who gave the tiniest of nods. Tony smiled and then it happened. Steve waved his hand and made the bullets speed up so they could embed themselves in Alric’s torso. Sometimes, you just had to love vampire powers.
Alric’s howl resonated all over the street. As much as Tony wanted to celebrate them, at this rate, someone would end up calling the police and that would imply a series of explanations he didn’t want to deal with. So, time to finish this. He produced a stake and showed it to Steve.
“Now,” Steve said. “Before he recovers.”
Tony didn’t want to make it look like there were years of anger and resentment fueling his throw, and yet he threw it as hard as he could. Steve did the rest. One movement from his hand and the stake accelerated and pierced the older vampire’s heart.
This time, he didn’t even scream. He took his hands to his chest in an attempt to dislodge the weapon, but before he could, he began to dissolve into dust from the outside to the inside. Alric glared at them for one last time before he disappeared into a pile of black ashes.
“That’s— That’s dramatic,” Steve said, his fingers tightening on Tony’s biceps as he realized that could happen to him if he wasn’t careful.
“He was that old,” Tony replied, patting Steve’s hand.
“This is it, then. It’s over. He won’t hurt anyone else.”
“It is over for him, yes. Come on. Help me pick up what’s left of my armor before anyone else shows up. I’m not in the mood for wasting the rest of the night on paperwork and lawyers.”
Of course, when he said help, he meant for Steve to carry everything out back to the truck. In the meantime, he picked up the fragments of the vase he had wanted and looked for the scabbard, which had been bent in the squabble. Ah. He would take what he could.
However, as he looked up to Steve, who was busy dragging large pieces of metal, Tony wondered if he hadn’t gotten away with something better than a handful of old relics. Something —someone— actually worthwhile.
***
Tony counted thirty seconds and walked down the stairs to the farmhouse living room. Steve was sitting on the counter that divided it from the kitchen, swinging his legs and wiping blood from the corners of his mouth. The contrast would have made him look even creepier if Tony hadn’t been used to it already. By now, it was just cute.
The HYDRA agents they went there to ambush were all tied up in a circle alive and healthy except for the few droplets of their blood Steve had taken as lunch. But hey, he had to eat.
“That’s the whole lot, right?” Tony asked. “Did you have any problems?”
“Yes and no. Everything’s fine. You’ll get the details in the report.”
“Which you’ll have tonight and will make me read over breakfast. You’re so annoying.”
Steve grinned. “Instructions, remember?”
Tony made a face. “Whatever. Let me make a phone call so they can come and pick these guys up. Then we’ll go back to the ship.”
“Fine. I’ll keep an eye on them.”
The fallen agents shuddered in unison when Steve went back to stare at them. He didn’t need to blink and he knew how to use it to great effect. Tony smiled with fondness and began to dial. He could definitely file this mission as a success.