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Sometimes Tony Stark regretted not being able to turn into a large, green rage monster. Granted, being a genius, playboy, billionaire philanthropist meant he could get away with thumbing his nose at a lot of society’s finer rules about etiquette. In fact, Tony exploited his status on a regular basis to do just that, usually with great glee and panache. Unfortunately, his fame didn’t do him a whole lot of good in situations like he was currently observing.
General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross was doing a pretty good impression of a rage monster himself, although the only green involved was that of his Army uniform. Tony had never been more grateful for Nick Fury’s towering bad attitude, because the director of SHIELD was letting Ross’ diatribe roll off him like the crap that it truly was.
“Your wanton disregard of Banner’s fugitive status is a slap in the face to the American people.” Actual spittle was glistening on Ross’ lips, not a pretty look for a man his age. “Banner should be caged up in the deepest, darkest cell that our country has, not celebrated as a hero.”
“For what?” Tony wasn’t the only Avenger present for the confrontation. Clint and Natasha were also in the room, witnessing Ross’ demands that Bruce be turned over to the military. Natasha’s question had been voiced in a reasonable tone, but one look at the glint in her eyes showed there was anger seething underneath that calm exterior. “Risking his life to help save New York, is that why he should be caged?”
Next to her, Tony saw that Clint was every bit as livid, if the way he clenched and unclenched his fists was any indication of how he felt. Unlike Natasha, however, Clint didn’t speak up; Tony had a feeling that the archer’s recent experience at being Loki’s bitch might have something to do with that. Tony didn’t know Clint as well as the other Avengers, but doubted that the man was normally the type to bite his tongue. Thor hadn’t come back from Asgard yet and as for Captain Rogers, Tony wasn’t sure where he was. Oddly enough, he found himself wishing strongly that the soldier was part of the discussion.
“You got lucky.” Ross snapped. “The beast saw those alien invaders as the bigger threat, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was solely responsible for massive destruction in New York prior to that. You can’t be stupid enough to think that you can possibly control it. If it can’t be destroyed, then it must be contained, in the deepest pit we can find.”
“Your definition of ‘solely’ is pretty unique, wouldn’t you say?” Tony drawled. He leaned back in his chair so that he was balancing only the back two legs. His nonchalance was feigned, designed to let Ross know exactly how little weight Tony gave his accusations. “There were two parties involved in that fight and Bruce’s alter ego didn’t throw the first punch. The military tried to fight fire with fire and got burned pretty bad. You’re just using Bruce as a scape goat; he’s an innocent man.”
“That is not a man.” Ross pointed at Bruce, who was, unfortunately, also present. “No matter what it looks like now, it’s a monster and it’s a danger to all of society. SHIELD doesn’t know what it’s playing with. I demand that it be immediately turned over to the US military.”
There was a ringing silence as everyone in the room turned to Nick Fury. He calmly returned Ross’ glare. When the general didn’t say anything for a moment, Fury spoke up. “You through?”
Ross jerked his head in a tense nod.
Fury had been leaning back in his chair, giving every impression of listening carefully to Ross’ comments. Once Ross indicated that he was finished, Fury leaned forward and his expression hardened. “I’m not gonna argue with you about whether or not the Hulk is a threat or if he should be punished for past incidents. Fact is, Dr. Banner joined the Tesseract project at SHIELD’s invitation and with the understanding that he would be free to leave once the Tesseract was recovered.”
“Which you promptly lost again.” Ross interjected. “Just another example of why SHIELD cannot be trusted with weapons of mass destruction.” He glared at Bruce. “Whether they’re. . . organic . . . or not.”
“We didn’t lose it.” Fury retorted. “We know exactly where it is; beyond the reach of Earth’s enemies.”
Ross snorted. “That’s debatable.”
“Not by the likes of us,” Fury pointed out. “What is not at all debatable is turning Dr. Banner over to the military. He’s an asset, not a criminal.”
Tony felt himself relax minutely and he saw Natasha and Clint do the same. It was a relief to know that Fury wasn’t going to give Bruce to Ross. Nick Fury was a tricky bastard and Tony hadn’t been 100% sure, not until Fury said it, that he’d be sticking by his initial promise that Bruce could walk away once the Tesseract had been found.
“That’s a national disgrace.” It took a moment for Ross to calm down enough to even form words. Tony watched a vein throb in the general’s neck . It was easy to see because it was distended with stress, so much so that he fully expected it to blow at any moment. “That monster is a serious threat to our military and our citizens. How can you possibly see such a mindless, dangerous creature as an asset?”
“Like you’re the picture of mental stability, Ross, and yet you’ve got control over the country’s nuclear armaments.” Tony retorted. “I’d feel a lot better with Bruce, either version of him, in charge of the launch codes than I would a raving lunatic like you.”
“Maybe he’s right.” Bruce’s voice was quiet and he kept his eyes downcast. Nevertheless, everyone else in the room stopped talking so they could hear him speak. From the way the scientist was hunched over, he was obviously the only one taking Ross’ rant to heart. “The general has a point. The other guy – me – has hurt a lot of people. Maybe the world would be safer if I was locked up.”
There was a moment of silence after Bruce’s comment and then all hell broke loose.
“No way!”
“None of that was your fault, Bruce. . . .”
“Dr. Banner, SHIELD made you a promise. . . .”
“Over my dead body!”
Tony, Clint and Natasha were on their feet shouting. Fury remained seated, although his voice was just as strident. Through it all, Ross sat back and grinned. “Even the monster agrees with me.”
Forget the green rage monster, Tony wanted his suit so he could blast the smug smile right off the bastard’s face.
“ENOUGH!”
Tensions were running so high that Steve Rogers had entered the briefing room without anyone noticing. He was every inch Captain Rogers as he strode into the room. The blue ‘spangly’ uniform was gone and in its place was an Army dress uniform, although it was a different cut than the one that Ross was wearing. Tony was no historian, but he’d watched enough WWII newsreels to know that Steve’s uniform was a version from his own time and not the modern era.
“Finally, a voice of reason.” Ross seemed very sure that the super soldier would side with him. And why wouldn’t he? Rogers’ loyalty to the armed forces was legendary.
“Everyone, sit down and calm down.” Tony, like the others, found himself obeying before he realized what he was doing. Rogers’ next words seemed to reinforce the notion that he might be on Ross’ side. “General Ross, what’s going on here?”
“The creature known as the Hulk poses a threat to America’s citizenry and national defense. I’m here to take it into custody.” Ross glared at the room’s other occupants. “With or without SHIELD or the Avengers’ cooperation.”
“Is that true?” Rogers looked from Fury to each of his teammates, his eyes lingering last on Tony.
“In his dreams,” Tony replied. He’d take down the whole damn helicarrier before he let a dick like Ross take Bruce into custody.
“As an Army man, Captain Rogers, I’m sure you can assess the potential capacity for harm.” Ross had that same look of hero worship on his face that Coulson had worn around Rogers. Captain America, as Tony’d come to learn, tended to inspire that reaction in members of the military. Or civilian police. Or teenaged girls. Really, anyone with a pulse. “We’ve a holding chamber designed for it. Nothing as comfortable as what SHIELD built, but I think the Army’s version will be much more successful since there aren’t any amenities to compromise the security of the design. I’m authorized to take the creature into custody, with extreme prejudice if necessary.”
Natasha hissed like an angry cat, Clint fisted his hands so tightly that Tony expected to hear bone break and Fury’s face took on the blank expression of a man beyond temper. Tony himself felt oddly calm. Cap was here; Cap would fix it. He didn’t know why, but Tony was sure of it.
“You’re authorized to arrest Dr. Banner?” Roger’s voice was cool and he took in the general’s nod with a tilt of his head. “That’s odd, because I’ve just come from the president and he signed a full pardon for Dr. Banner.”
Rogers reached inside of his coat pocket and withdrew a folded document. Even from where he was sitting, Tony could see that the paper was of good quality, crème colored and thick. Rogers tossed it down before moving around the table until he was right in front of General Ross. Tony’d seen a tiger stalk its prey once, on a ridiculously expensive safari he’d taken years earlier. Rogers’ walk had that same restrained power, a smooth glide that could explode at any moment into a killing strike.
“Not only did the president sign the pardon,” Rogers continued once he’d reached his destination. “He said it’d been in the works since right after the Chitauri’s attempted invasion. He said that yours was the only protest, meaning that you knew about it. You knew about the pardon and yet you showed up here to arrest a man that you knew full well was no longer considered a criminal.”
“The president is not soldier. . .” Ross wasn’t about to back down. Neither was Rogers, though, and it was a beautiful thing to see.
“And neither are you, not anymore.” Rogers silenced the general by reaching up and ripping off the epaulets from the older man’s coat. “None of your actions about Dr. Banner have been that of a soldier protecting his country. You’re not worried about national security; you just want to finish your personal vendetta.”
The medals on Ross’ chest were the next to go. Rogers ripped them off with even more ease than he had the epaulets. Once he had, Rogers lifted the hand holding them until it was at Ross’ eye level. Then with a clearly growing anger, he crushed them in his bare grip. “You tarnish the uniform, Ross.”
“You are out of line, Captain.” Ross said the rank with such venom that it was clear that any hero worship he’d had for Rogers was history. “I’ll have you busted down to private for this.”
“I think you’ll find that hard from the brig.” Roger’s smile was anything but pleasant. “Ignoring the president’s orders is a serious offense. It might even be considered treason. Gentlemen, he’s all yours.”
Tony belatedly realized that Steve hadn’t come in alone. Stepping from where they’d been hanging back, two MPs came forward and flanked Ross with obvious intent. “Come with us, General.”
Ross tried to sputter a protest, but each MP took a firm grip on one of his elbows and man-handled him out of the room. Tony and the others watched in stunned silence. Rogers gave a satisfied nod as the elevator doors closed on the trio. He turned around and for the first time hesitated as he realized that the people seated around the table were staring at him.
“I never could stand bullies.” Rogers blushed and tugged at the hem of his uniform’s coat.
Fury was the first to recover. “You were prepared for this.”
Rogers shrugged. “Special Agent Coulson filled me in on Dr. Banner’s background. From what I read, General Ross was like a dog with a bone, he wasn’t going to let his pursuit of Dr. Banner drop, not even after his nemesis helped save New York.” Roger’s expression hardened. “I knew officers like that in the war, where their personal glory was more important than the men under their command and they didn’t care about collateral damage as long as they got what they wanted. A lot of good men got hurt as a result; I wasn’t about to let that happen to a teammate.”
“You’ve made an enemy there.” Bruce’s hand was shaky as he ran it through his hair. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve that, but thank you.”
“You’re a good man, Dr. Banner, and I’m proud to have you as a teammate.” Rogers looked Bruce in the eye. “Don’t let men like Thaddeus Ross convince you otherwise. He might be an officer, but he’s no gentleman.”
“This calls for a celebration.” Natasha rose to her feet in a fluid motion. “I’m pouring the vodka.”She patted Bruce briefly on the shoulder as she moved by him, but Steve got a quick kiss on the cheek. “You were magnificent.”
Tony chuckled as the stoic soldier turned beet red.
Clint followed his fellow spy out of the room, stopping briefly to address the captain. “What she said, only don’t expect me to kiss you.”
“I won’t.” Steve’s blush deepened. “In fact, please don’t.”
Bruce rose more slowly, looking as though he was still in disbelief of what had just transpired. He stopped to shake Rogers’ hand anyway. “Maybe someday I’ll understand, but until then, thank you.”
Rogers returned the shake firmly. “You’re part of a team now, Dr. Banner. We have each other’s backs.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” Bruce’s smile was faint, but genuine. “Don’t you think you could start calling me Bruce now?”
Tony knew for a fact that it wasn’t the first time the scientist had made the request. Steve clearly remembered that too. The super soldier smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that, but in my day, a man of letters commanded a lot of respect. I’ll try, but only if you start calling me Steve.”
“My pleasure.” Bruce gave the captain a sloppy salute. “Steve.”
Fury was the next to take his leave. “The next time you decide to talk to the president, I’d like a heads-up.”
That was remarkably mild, for Fury. Like many, the director of SHIELD seemed to have a soft spot for Captain America.
“The Avengers may be a SHIELD initiative,” Rogers replied. “But we follow our own consciences.”
Fury’s grin was as sudden as it was unexpected. “When it comes to you, Captain, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” His salute was crisper than Bruce’s had been, then in a twirl of black leather, he was gone too.
Tony could count the number of times he’d been alone with Captain America on one hand and have fingers left over. Much of their initial tension could be attributed to Loki’s meddling via that damn glow stick of his, but not all of it. Tony could admit, if only to himself, that he’d had a chip on his shoulder where the good captain was concerned. His daddy issues tended to rear their ugly heads at the oddest times. Still, after successfully turning back the Chitauri, he and Rogers had shaken hands in the time-honored manly version of a kiss and make up. It helped, but things were still awkward between them. Tony was no longer content with awkward.
“You got a red pen?” Tony asked as he approached the other man.
Rogers frowned in confusion, an expression that Tony had seen on his face far too often – and it wasn’t amusing anymore. “A red pen?”
“You’re gonna want to mark your calendar to show that this day is special and, since you’re the old-fashioned type, I figure you probably still use paper to do that.” Tony took a deep breath and told himself that what he had to say
wouldn’t hurt. Much. “Romanoff was right and I was wrong – but not about the same thing.”
“Excuse me?” Steve sighed and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. “I’m sorry, Stark, but I just don’t follow you.”
Tony stopped right in front of the other man. “Romanoff was right, you were great today. Old Thunderass needed to be slapped down hard and there was no better man to do it.”
Steve shrugged. “That’s what being a team is. If someone picks a fight with one of us, he picks a fight with all of us.”
“I’m beginning to learn that.” Tony scuffed one foot against the floor. “In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been much of a team player in the past.”
The smile Steve gave him was reward enough for the admission. “I had heard something along those lines, but I think the Chitauri blew that theory out of the water.
Tony smiled back; a real smile and not a smirk. “Maybe so.”
“And what about the other thing I’m supposed to note?” Steve’s smile grew downright mischievous. “The one where you were wrong? You said it wasn’t about the same thing.”
“Trust you to remember that.” The pithy comment was automatic, but Tony followed it up with the real deal, not wanting to sink any progress he’d just made with the captain. “What you did for Bruce today – that didn’t come out of a bottle."
Rogers didn’t need a reminder of the reference. “We both said things that day that we didn’t mean.”
“Oh, I meant it at the time,” Tony wasn’t willing to take the out that Cap was giving him. “But I was wrong. The muscles, they came out of a bottle, but it takes more than muscles to make a hero. Maybe that’s why no one’s been able to duplicate Erskine’s process. The ingredient they were missing was you.”
The big blond blinked at him. “Was that a compliment?”
Tony smirked. “Yeah, but don’t let it go to your head. No one likes a cocky captain.”
Rogers chuckled. “No worries about that. Almost everything in this era is still a mystery to me. Half the time I don’t know if I’m coming or going; it tends to keep a fella humble.”
The two of them walked towards the door together. As they were about to part, Tony patted Rogers on the shoulder. “Good job today, Cap. There’s hope for you yet.”
To his surprise, the other man feigned a pout. “What, no kiss?”
The fact that Captain America had a sense of humor was perhaps the most astounding part of the conversation. “You told Barton no kiss.”
Rogers smiled again, even as a blush crept up his face. “Yeah, but you’re not Barton.” He put his hands in his pants’ pockets and ambled away, with a last “See you later, Tony,” said over his shoulder.
Tony stood staring after him for a full thirty seconds, only realizing that the captain had used his first name when Rog- no, Steve – was out of sight. “Well, I’ll be. Maybe there’s hope for me yet.”
Whistling a merry tune under his breath, Tony walked slowly in the other direction.
~the end~