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“I’ve got eyes on target.” Tony soared through the street of Manhattan towards a robed maniac standing in the middle of a crossroad. They’d been at the compound when FRIDAY alerted them. “This weapon looks like it can do some damage.”
Citizens fled the scene, screaming as they sprinted in the opposite direction. The maniac only had eyes for Tony. He raised his cannon, pointing it skyward, and shot out a purple wave of energy with a deafening bang. Tony held his arms out in front of him, coming to an abrupt stop.
The wave just clipped him, sending him spinning head over heels through the air. “Woah!” He caught himself, now about a block away, and reengaged his comms piece. “Looks like pulsar tech. Packs quite a punch.”
“We’re still two minutes out,” Cap’s voice crackled across the comms. “Keep him busy until we get there.”
“That’s the plan, Cap.”
Tony engaged in a game of chicken with Pulsar Guy. Testing to see how close he could get in between shots from the cannon without getting blasted halfway across the city. Quite, it turned out, but not close enough to land a hit. He’d need the team for that. For now, he settled for keeping Pulsar’s attention on him and not the citizens around them.
After two of the longest minutes of his life, the Quinjet flew into view. Pulsar heard the rumble of its engine and spun around, hitting it with a concussive blast.
“Shit!” Clint yelped, failing to dodge the shot fast enough. “Cap, you might wanna hold on to something.”
Thick black smoke rose from the jet as Clint struggled to keep it in the air. The damage proved too much. One of the engines crapped out and the jet pitched down at alarming speed.
“We might wanna jump out!” Cap yelled back.
Tony shot forward, over the head of Pulsar down below. “Hang on!” He pushed the suit to the fullest as the doomed jet fell. He sailed underneath and caught it on his back at the last second, engaging his foot thrusters to stop the descent. “I got you.”
He dropped the jet the last couple of feet, ducking out from underneath and moving around to rip the door open. Flipping open the faceplate, he asked, “Everyone okay?”
Steve pulled himself up off of the floor, massaging the back of his head. Jumping out of the pilot seat, Clint punched him on the arm and grinned. “Coulda stuck the landing better, eh?”
“Rich coming from you, Barton.”
Clint grimaced, grabbing his bow from a compartment in the wall. “Fair point.” He, Steve, and Natasha jogged out of the jet and followed Tony out into the street.
He pointed towards Pulsar. “He’s the deal: Pulsar cannon hurts like hell when you get hit, takes him ten seconds between pulses, add on another five if he’s gotta aim.”
Steve nodded. “So we flank him. There’s four of us. He can’t hit us all so long as we’re quick and in sync.” He pointed at the two side streets leading up to Pulsar. “Clint, Nat, you cover them. Don’t engage until my signal. I’ll go around the back. Tony, keep him busy until we’re in place.”
“Got it.” Tony didn’t waste a second before taking off. He dodged pulse after pulse from the cannon, not bothering to close the gap between them while the others got into position.
“Everybody ready?” Steve asked.
“Copy,” Natasha said.
“Got him in my sights,” Clint added.
“Call it, Cap.”
“Alright,” Steve said. “Tony, he’s focused on you, keep it that way. Charge him, and on my signal we’ll run in. Whoever gets there first, do what you have to to get him away from the cannon.” Across the battlefield, Tony locked eyes with Cap, who gave a firm nod.
He shot forward like a bullet, arms tucked to his sides and heading on a collision course with Pulsar. He’d never reach him, of course, but the more rattled Pulsar was, the less likely it was he’d notice the other Avengers closing in.
“Now!” Steve ordered.
Tony kept his head down, preparing for the blast. A purple wave erupted from the cannon. Tony rolled to the side-
Too slow. The wave hit him full on, knocking out the suit. Helpless, he careened through the air. An involuntary scream tore from his throat. All he could see out of the eyepieces was sky, then road, then sky, road, building, sky, building, road.
Building.
He just hoped it had been evacuated already.
Just before he crashed into the brick wall, his chest jerked forward and stopped his flight. He yelped as he plummeted two stories, thankfully FRIDAY rebooted the suit and he caught himself with a relieved sigh.
Attached to his chest, a web. He followed it to the other end where Peter stood atop a building. “Kid, where’d you come from?”
“I was in the neighbourhood.” Peter flipped down and landed on the building level with Tony. “You good, Mister Stark?”
“Thanks to you-” A loud rumble cut him off, shards of glass fell from a window above them. “Uh…”
Peter jumped down to ground level. “Yeah, the shockwave that hit you also hit the building.”
Tony joined Peter and craned his neck to look up at it. “FRI?”
“The structural integrity has been compromised. I estimate two minutes until total collapse.”
“Shit,” Tony muttered. “FRI, run a scan for life forms.” He cast a glanced back at Pulsar, now trapped underneath Steve’s firm grip, the cannon in Natasha’s hands. “Cap, we’ve got a problem over here. This building’s coming down any second.”
Steve straightened up, looking in their direction. “Anyone still inside?”
“Uh…” FRIDAY’s scan lit up his HUD, highlighting at least twenty heat signatures. “A couple dozen.”
“Nat, help them evacuate. I’ll check on Clint.”
Tony turned to Peter. “You heard the man. FRI, send the scan of the top two floors to Karen. I’ll take three and four. Nat, bottom two.”
With a nod, Peter scaled the wall. Tony flew up and blasted out a window on the fourth floor, finding himself in an office. As fast as physically possible, he tracked down the trapped civilians and helped them free before moving down to the level below.
“Pete, how’s it looking?”
“One more, then I’m heading down.”
“Nice work, kid.” He turned off the comms. “FRI, how long?”
“One minute and counting!”
The two heat signatures on his floor were in the same room. Two people trapped under a fallen wall-to-ceiling shelving unit. Tony heaved it up and the pair shuffled out, singing their gratitudes.
“Can you walk?”
“I don’t think so,” one of them replied.
Tony bit back the surge to swear again. “That’s alright. What’s your name?”
“Caroline. And this is Emma.”
Natasha’s voice crackled over the comms. “I’m clear, just waiting on you two.”
“We’re coming down now,” Peter replied.
“Us too.” Tony refocused on Caroline and Emma. “I’m going to need you two to hold on. I’ll get us outta here.” They latched their arms around him. Tony lifted an arm and shot a repulsor at the window just to his left.
“We’re going out there?” Emma asked, her voice shaking.
“I’ve got you. Close your eyes and it’ll be over before you even know.” He booted up the thrusters and flew out of the window. Once outside, he locked his arms around the pair and left it to the foot thrusters to lower them safely to the ground.
Natasha was waiting for them. She slung her arm over Caroline’s shoulders, Emma on the other side, and together they hobbled away.
The door to the building flung open and a handful of people ran out into the street. Tony turned, “Kid, come on.”
“Wait.” Peter looked inside. “Did you hear that?” With a brief glance to Tony, Peter sprinted back inside.
“No!” Tony ran after him. “FRI, is there anyone still inside?”
“Other than Peter? No.”
Tony’s boots clacked against the tile floor as he ran after Peter. “Pete, there’s no one in here! We gotta go.”
Peter paused and turned back. “You sure?”
“One hundred percent. Now, let’s go-” With an almighty creak, the ceiling cracked. It spread quickly, widening as more of the building collapsed in on itself. Tony lunged forward just as it finally gave way. A pile of rubble blocked the path to the entrance. “Pete, you okay?”
Peter nodded frantically. “I’m sorry, Mister Star-”
The rest of the ceiling fell down on top of them.
# #
It was dark. So, so dark, and dust clogged up his lungs. Peter’s arms shook, so did his legs, all his muscles screaming out in pain. “Mister Stark?” He cried.
He couldn’t see exactly what he was holding, but it seemed to be the only thing between them and a painful death. “Mister Stark?” More desperate this time. The soft glow from the arc reactor in his chest lit the rubble over Tony’s head.
“Please,” his voice cracked, tears slipping over his cheeks as his knees buckled and the rubble inched closer to their heads. “Mister Stark- Please! I don’t- I can’t-” He sucked in ragged breaths, groaning from the strain his muscles were under.
The suit’s fingers twitched.
“Mister Stark!” Peter hated how scared he sounded. “I can’t hold it much longer-”
Slowly, Tony raised a hand to his face. The metal gauntlet bounced off of his helmet as if he’d forgotten he was in the suit. “Urgh…” he groaned, sitting up. “Wha… Pete!”
“I- I can’t-” Sweat dripped from his forehead, mixing with the tears. “Please! I don’t know what to do.”
“Steady, kid. Just hold on a moment longer.” Tony stumbled to his feet, only to hit his head on the ceiling and fall to his knees. He crawled over to where Peter stood, limbs shaking and chest heaving. “Let me…” Positioning himself just behind Peter, Tony pressed his palms against the steel girder he’d been holding and dug his feet into the tile below.
“Pease…” Peter cried.
“Shh, you can let go. It’s okay.”
“I- I can?”
“Promise. I’ve got it.”
Peter took a deep breath, and dropped to the floor. He threw his arms over his head, legs curled to his chest.
“Hey,” Tony kept his voice as calm as possible. “You’re alright, kid. You’re okay. Look at me.” Slowly, Peter uncurled himself and sat up. Tony flicked open his faceplate, forcing his expression into one much calm than he felt. “See. You’re good.”
“I’m good,” Peter breathed. “I’m good…”
“FRI, lock the suit in position for me.”
As soon as he said it, Peter’s eyes flew wide open. “No!” He cried, reaching out for Tony. “You can’t!” A stab of fear pierced his heart. If the suit couldn’t hold the weight, if it buckled and splintered…
“Pete.” Tony’s calm tone somewhat eased Peter’s anxiety. “I’m going to need your help for this part. Can you do that?” Peter nodded quickly. “Good. I’m going to get out of the suit, but it’s too risky to open the arms and legs. We don’t know how much rubble is on top of us. FRIDAY, just open the chest piece. Slowly.”
She did as she was told. The chest piece folded outwards. With Peter’s help, Tony extracted his arms and legs from the suit and closed it back up again. They sat in the light of the reactor, not that there was anywhere else they could go.
“That was great, kid.” Tony pulled Peter into his side. “Can you still hear us, FRI?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Good girl,” Tony let out a sigh. “Turn up the comms, and put Rogers through.”
“Stark? Stark? Can you hear me?”
“Steve,” Natasha sighed, her voice quiet. “It’s been-”
Tony cleared his throat. “We’re okay.”
A brief pause, followed by. “Son of a bitch.” Natasha’s smile was evident in her voice alone.
Steve seemed a little less happy. “Stark! What the hell were you playing at? I’ve been trying calling you for-”
“Are you really lecturing me right now?” Tony snapped. “There was a situation, but we’re safe now. Thanks for asking.”
“Right,” Steve sighed, his voice dropping to something more normal. “Sorry. How’s it looking.”
Tony pulled Peter closer, pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “We’re not hurt - not badly at least - but we are trapped. Ground floor, no way of knowing how much is on top. For now, the suit’s the only thing keeping us from getting crushed.”
“Do you have air?”
Tony stayed quiet for a long moment. Just audible, a gush of wind. “Yeah, we’ve got air. But that’s about it.” He let out a shaky breath. “Steve... was anyone else…?”
“No. The civilians got clear in time. You’re the only ones under there.”
At his side, Peter sighed with relief. He tugged his mask off, revealing his red, tear-stained face. “How long until we can get out?”
“Fire and rescue are already on the way. You’ll be out in no time, kid.”
“You hear that?” Tony rubbed his hand on Peter’s arm, the kid relaxed under his touch. “No time.”
“I- Hang on. Sam just arrived in another Quinjet to take away Pulsar and Clint-”
“What’s wrong with Barton?”
“He got hit by a blast after you,” Natasha answered. “He’s okay. Probable concussion, but that’s all.” A few muffled voices came across the line. “I need to go help, you two stay put.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Hilarious, Romanoff.” He looked down at Peter. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay.” Peter shuffled so he sat opposite Tony. “I’m…” He dropped his head. “I’m sorry.”
Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Sorry? What for? I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.”
“You wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for me.”
Reaching out, Tony carefully lifted Peter’s chin until their eyes met. “You thought someone needed your help, that’s nothing to apologise for.”
Peter wiped away a tear. “So you’re not mad?”
“Not at all.” A smirk pulled at his lips. “May might be, though.”
“No! You cannot tell Aunt May about this. Not ever!” Peter waved his arms dramatically. “She was so freaked out after last time and-”
“Uh,” Tony tilted his head, eyes narrowed. “Last time? What do you mean last time? ”
“Oh…” Peter scratched the back of his head, looking anywhere but at Tony. “Well… Before I stopped Vulture he, um… He dropped a warehouse on me. But you don’t need to freak out because I got out like, super fast and-” The words practically fell out of Peter’s mouth.
“Woah, woah, woah. A warehouse? On top of you?”
Peter nodded. “I got out, though. I lifted the rubble and.... Well it was kinda heavy but I got out.”
Tony rubbed a hand over his face. “You lifted the rubble…” His gaze wandered to the suit holding up the ceiling, the spot where Peter had done the same. “And you still did that…”
“I got out,” Peter assured. “And we’ll get out-”
The end of his sentence was lost as the suit sunk about two inches into the tile floor. Both Tony and Peter threw their hands up and small chunks of rubble clattered down.
“What was that?” Tony shouted. “And whatever it was, don’t do it again!”
It was Natasha who answered. “That was the rescue team, Tony. They’re trying to lift the concrete on top of you.”
“Well can you tell them to be gentle? The suit almost gave way.”
“Shit,” Natasha muttered. “I’ll let them know.”
“Thanks,” Tony sighed. “Keep us updated.”
They sat there for another hour before a tiny beam of light penetrated the darkness. Tony threw Peter his mask and the kid tugged it over his face. Another piece of rubble was removed, and the beam grew wider. Natasha’s beaming face appeared in the hole.
“Hey guys, heard you might need a hand.”
Tony got to his feet, groaning and stretching out his stiff legs. Natasha smirked. “I am not old.”
Natasha held her hands up. “I didn’t even say anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” he muttered. “Kid, you go first.”
Natasha reached down a hand and hauled Peter up. He tilted his head back, undoubtedly smiling under the mask. “Has the sky always looked this good? I swear I’ve never seen anything prettier.”
Once Tony was out too, he looked around at the destruction. “Was all of this on top of us?”
“A lot of it,” Natasha answered. “Steve went back with Sam, so you don’t have to worry about another lecture.”
Peter shuffled his feet. “Is it okay if I take off?”
“Why? Bored of my company or something?” Tony asked.
“No not at all! I just… I just really need to pee.”
Tony chuckled, “Sure, kid. But swing by the Tower in a few minutes. I wanna have you checked over.”
“Sure thing, Mister Stark.” Peter gave a little salute and swung off into the distance.