The War Within | A Tony Stark Series

c: Slipping Into Darknes

Monroe's POV

"I can't lose him again," Steve pleaded.

I rolled my eyes to reveal that I knew I had to help protect Barnes. If Tony goes through with killing the Winter Soldier out of hatred, he'll never bounce back from this. Tony is a lot of things, but a murderer isn't one of them.

"We have to get up top before he catches up to Barnes," I began climbing over the destruction.

"Thank you."

"I'm not doing this for you." Once we've made it through, I came down with a plan. "I'll stay down here, I can keep you from falling to your death."

Steve nodded and began climbing up different rails. He reached Barnes just before Stark had the chance to blast right through him. The beam ricocheted off the shield, sending Tony back down. My eyes were glued to Stark as he fell on one of the platforms. I looked back at Rogers, focusing my hearing.

"Protect him," Cap lowly commands as I shifted my focus on Barnes. I didn't' let myself get distracted by the two fighting enemies until Cap's shield nearly sliced me in half. I looked back up to see Tony aiming his next missile at Barnes. Once it shot out, I maneuvered it with the nod of my hand causing it to hit the opening up above. His only escape.

"Seriously?" I muttered to myself as the assassin fell down a level closer to Tony. I felt every hit against him, but I shoved the pain down and kept my drive.

"Do you even remember them?" I tuned in as soon as Stark gained a chokehold on Barnes. My heart dropped at the words that left the assassin's mouth.

"I remember all of them."

I'm stuck... I refuse to harm Tony, but I can't let him drag Barnes away. Luckily, Steve came to the rescue, jumping from a hidden spot and dragging them both down. At some point, they lost grip of each other and fell to a sunken area below the surface I was standing on. It was a whole other room that I hadn't noticed until now. There was snow spread across the floor from the open walls. I looked up to see Barnes looking over the edge where he landed. In hopes he'd be smart enough to stay, I jumped down. I used my energy to slow myself down and land softly.

"This isn't gonna change what happened," Steve started as he stood from the ground. I crept up behind Stark, careful not to be heard.

"I don't care. He killed my mom."

I leaped out for Tony, but he moved quickly. Thrusting himself forward, he exchanged punches with Steve. I tucked and rolled before hurting myself from my failed attempt to catch the billionaire. I was about to execute my self-made plan until I heard an ignorant thought running through my head. You've got to be kidding me. Looking up, I see Barnes jumping over me with the shield in his hands knocking Tony off his feet. He threw the shield back to Cap while striking at Stark. While Tony was occupied, Steve found this opportunity to swing at him. I immediately rushed in front of him, stopping the shield with force.

"I can't let you hurt him."

"And can't let him hurt Bucky," Steve announced as he pulled me in and shoved me to the ground. My forehead was knocked into an edge, causing my vision to go blurry for a second. I regained composure after Steve was thrown back into a wall behind me. I looked back to make sure he was still down, then turned to Tony and Barnes. I noticed his repulsor brightening up, so I shielded myself from the beam Stark shot out. The situation was in Steve's favor as he was behind me, so he was protected by it as well. Seeing as Steve still hadn't gotten up, I crawled over to him regrettably.

"Are you okay? I can help with the pain," I consoled.

"I'm fine, just stop him."

The sound of the assassin's metal arm hitting against the suit echoed in my ears as I fought the war within myself. For a moment, I gave in. A part of me still wanted to save Tony from himself. Rage has completely taken over and no one else will understand his pain. I almost let myself turn against him for the second time until I felt it. My saddened expression dropped, and Steve noticed this immediately. My eyes grew cold as I slowly stood from my kneeled position.

"Jess... don't," Steve practically begged as I turned to see Barnes crushing the arc reactor of Tony's suit. My eyes gleamed vividly as I rushed over to grab the metal arm of the super-soldier, pulling him back from Tony. With little to no effort, Barnes was thrown to the wall on the opposite side of us both. Before he could get up, Tony shot at the assassin. The guy didn't seem to want to die, so he dodged it once again. The beam still left its mark, lasering his metal arm straight off. I stood my ground alongside Tony as Cap came running for us both now. My eyes never dulled as I kept my death glare on Barnes who was lying helplessly on the ground. Tony's next beams clashed with Steve's shield as the forces worked against each other.

I began walking toward Barnes with floating hair. I've never felt so much power. It was as if my emotions heightened my motive. All of Tony's near-death experiences were out of my control, but this. No one was going to lay a hand on him. Without touching the assassin, I closed his air passageway by curling my fingers. I heard him gasp for air but didn't loosen my force. His eyes stared back at mine as a smirk grew on my face. I felt in control, but at the same time, I wasn't. I snapped out of my psychotic break when Steve knocked me to the ground. Unconcerned of myself, I looked around for Tony wondering how Steve had enough time to get to me. Turns out, Stark was the one who knocked him into me accidentally. Barnes inhaled deeply to get back his stolen oxygen. Lifting myself with my elbows, I watched Steve try to justify it all.

"He's my friend," Steve let out, catching his breath. Still laying on the ground in shock, I could only watch the next events unfold as my eyes slowly dimmed.

"So was I," Tony implied before punching Rogers straight in the face. Steve weakened with every hit but refused to give up. Tony grabbed him by his suit and threw him away from Barnes. I realized his next move was to kill Rogers to get to Barnes so I forced his hand my way just in time. Only, my panicked actions came with a consequence. The beam shot straight through me. I lowered my shaking hands to my bleeding abdomen, where I'd been hit, and fell forward to the ground.

"No..." With Tony distracted, Cap didn't allow him to grieve on his mistake. My vision blurred as Tony was pulled up in the air. He tried to set himself free, but Steve's hold was tight. I began coughing up a little blood as I heard the suit crash on the ground. I turned myself over, now lying on my stomach, and groaned in pain. I reached out with one hand to try and help, but the injuries interfered with my ability. With my head laying on my extended arm, tears streamed down my face. Rogers repeatedly punched his way through the suit. By the time he realized that wouldn't work, he grabbed the shield that had been lying beside him and began smashing it on the face of the suit.

"Stop," I barely let out. The mask finally budged, allowing Steve to rip the head of the suit away from Tony's face. "Stop, you're gonna kill him!" I yelled out as much as I could with my weakened vocals. Steve raised his arms for the last time with Tony raising his in turn to block his face. With one final grunt, Steve forced down the shield with all strength. "NO!"

My screams meant nothing. Steve had his end goal set the minute we stepped into this mess. Rogers stood up from Tony's damaged suit after removing the shield. I began slipping in and out of consciousness as he walked closer, first helping Barnes up on his feet.

"That shield doesn't belong to you. You don't deserve it. My father made that shield," Tony discredited. With that last phrase, Steve dropped his shield before lowering himself to me. I didn't realize he'd come for me next after trying to kill his childhood buddy, but surprisingly so, he picked me up bridal style after Barnes reassured him he could walk. I was too weak to fight him, but I still had enough energy to express myself before slipping into darkness.

"I hate you..."