The War Within | A Tony Stark Series

s: The Defense

Monroe's POV

There were 12 hours left before Ross took matters into his own hands. Stark was having the airport evacuated so that if worse came to worse, nothing would be permanent.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tony asked with concern in his voice. He knew how much being a shield for the group would drain me.

"I can take it," I reassured with a small smile. I've only ever extended my abilities to Tony, so in reality, I'd be testing my limits here. But he'd never let me go through with it if he knew that. Tony flew off with Rhodey, searching for Cap and his team. I stayed hidden behind a trailer with Peter on my 2 o'clock, waiting for his cue. I waited for anyone to reveal themselves, keeping Nat by my side.

"Hey, it's my turn to take care of you," Nat stirred up as I kept my eyes on the tunnel. "Are you sure you should be doing this?"

"Nat, I'm fine."

"It's gonna drain the living hell out of you."

"The second I feel like it's too much, I'll-"

"If you put everyone else over yourself, you'll be weakened. What happens when the fight comes to you?" I shook my head in disbelief. "Jess?"

"I'm just trying to do the right thing, Nat," I whisper yelled. Before she could retaliate, Rogers came running from underneath the building. I shot my hand up, charging up my energy. A bolt beamed toward the chopper Steve was headed for, causing him to come to a halt. The electric charge disabled the chopper, allowing me to reveal myself from behind the trailer. By now, Nat should've called in Stark and Rhodey.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I can't let you leave," I declared. Just in time, Tony had landed opening up the face of his suit.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?" Tony sarcastically remarks.

"Definitely weird," Rhodey follows along.

"Hear me out, Tony," Steve began. "That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this."

The black panther came out from hiding, landing gracefully across from me. "Captain."

"Your Highness," Steve greeted with a nod.

"Anyway, Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?" Tony requested.

"You're after the wrong guy," Steve proceeded.

"Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday-"

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find him first, Tony. I can't."

"Steve," Nat revealed herself, turning heads. "You know what's about to happen. Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?"

Steve turned back to face Tony as if it was just now settling in how bad this could get.

"Alright, I've run out of patience. Underoos!" Tony yelled out as the kid webbed onto Cap's shield and pulled it upward, webbing Steve's hands together while gracefully landing on a planted vehicle.

"Nice job, kid" I acknowledged.

"Thanks! I could've stuck the landing a little better, it's just... new suit. Wait! It's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's perfect, thank you."

"Yeah we don't really need to... start a conversation," Tony implied.

"Cap. Captain. Big fan. Spider-Man. Hey everyone."

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Good job," Tony shut down.

"You've been busy," Steve pointed out.

"And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint, rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave. A safe place. I'm trying to keep-," Tony noticed his raised voice and took a moment to calm himself. "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you signed."

"Alright, we're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. Now. Because it's us... come on," Tony tried. As expected, Steve was never willing to make that an option. He held his hands high as an arrow shot straight through the webbing. Barton. Before I knew it, chaos broke loose. I kept myself isolated where I could focus on Tony, Rhodey, and Nat. Unfortunately, there was no connection shared with the king nor the kid. Still, three people were enough to drain me. Nat being the closest and being able to hold her own, my focus was fixated on the other two. I let my eyelids fall slowly as I steadied my breathing. Canceling out thoughts and visualizing my energy acting as a safeguard. Their suits can only protect them from so much damage. I only had one singular motive, protecting my team.

My eyes opened with clouded eyes, taking in their every pain. I made sure to keep myself hidden, knowing I was in a vulnerable state. Almost blind and paralyzed until further notice. Nothing felt too crazy until I tuned in to Stark's run-in with Wanda and Clint.

"Clearly retirement doesn't suit you. Tired of shooting golf?" Tony mocked.

"I played eighteen, shot eighteen. Just can't seem to miss," Barton stated matter of factly as I heard the band of his crossbow stretch, signifying he was taking his shot. I heard a blast shortly after, identifying it as a defense against the arrow. 

"First time for everything," Tony lets out.

"Made you look," Barton retorted.

I heard heavy objects being crashed around Tony. Must be the vehicles in the parking garage. I envisioned my energy protectively around him as he dodged almost every car until the very end. The last two were able to bring him down, but I absorbed the hits, allowing him to break free. I began listening out to the others, I caught an unfamiliar voice claiming to throw something out in the open. Before I could make out what the object was, an explosion erupted. I felt Rhodey fall back hard. Turning my head in his direction, I waved the flames in the opposite direction while soaking up any backlash on Nat's part. The three reunited as Cap and his allies ran to their destination. Fortunately, Vision stops them in their tracks, engraving the cement with an energy beam coming from the stone on his head.

"You must surrender now."