Ok, But why an Eyeball? (Fma:b Avengers Crossover)

Chapter 7: Wait, where's the kid

"Now!"

A powerful repulsor beam and a bolt of lightning struck Hyperion, who according to plan, had been pre-occupied chasing Falcon and had no chance to block. The combined attack sent him flying in the opposite direction, and when he finally righted himself in the air, he shot off into the sky away from them at hyper speed instead of continuing the fight. Thor turned with a growl, swinging mijlnir in preparation to pursue him. Iron man stopped him.

"Don't!" he said, just as annoyed, "We can't catch him. Our priority is finding Atuma now!"

"Hold up!" Falcon said, an increasingly disturbed expression growing on his face, "Thor, where's the kid?"

The silence was deafening. Thor's formerly confused look morphed into horror. He suddenly looked towards Brooklyn Bride (burning and falling apart), which they had been above when Hyperion attacked. "No!" he shouted, abruptly flinging mijilnir and shooting off towards the bridge. Falcon and Iron man followed, Tony swearing in his helmet as he pulled up, rewound, and watched the recorded footage from his helmet, a frame-by-frame of the moment Thor had dropped the kid to counterattack Hyperion.

Thor had been holding the kid under one arm, and then completely forgot he was there as he used a two-handed swing to knock the car Hyperion had thrown away. Frame by frame, Tony saw the kid's incredulous, then panicked expression as he dropped off the screen. Unfortunately, Tony hadn't noticed the kid's sudden absence at the time any more than Thor, so his video feed hadn't given any clues as to what happened after, but with the height they were flying at in mind, Tony could only assume the worst.

They reached the bridge in seconds (though it felt like much, much longer), and any hope they may have had was instantly crushed. The bridge's condition was...and a fall from that height...no human could have...

Thor's face was contorted in terrible horror and guilt.

"Friday." Tony managed, "Find...find the kid."

It was his fault. Oh god, it was his fault. They should have left the kid at the tower. He was the leader of the Avengers, he could have convinced the others, should have kept the kid back where it was safe—oh god the kid was dead—his fault—they didn't even know if he was a threat or not, they had just jumped to conclusions, and now the kid was dead and—

"Sir, I've found him. He looks to be in need of assistance."

Tony's thoughts were abruptly cut off as he gasped, heart still hammering from a near panic attack. Relief washed over him like a tidal wave as his eyes flicked to the highlighted area in his helmet display, a zoomed-in section of video feed that showed the kid-- battered and bloody but alive—making his way slowly but surely over the burning debris and cars to the other side of the bridge.

"Thor, Falcon, find Atuma! I found the kid." Iron man ordered as he rocketed towards the far end of the bridge. The kid had reached a wall of crashed cars, and looked like he was trying to decide whether to go under, or over the sharp remains. Suddenly though, the kid whipped his head to the side, turned, and ran to the side of the bridge, where a car was hanging over the side.

What is he...? Iron man wondered, activating long distance scanners and...!

There was a civilian inside. One who hadn't been able to evacuate the bridge during the chaos. Trapped on a burning bridge in a car getting close to falling off—

"Friday! Maximum power to thrusters!" Tony yelled, speed increasing. He couldn't help but watch though. The kid had already gotten to the car. Though his helmet, he could see the kid scooting himself out along a narrow beam, inching closer to the car. The kid reared his hand back and punched in the window of the car. Although Iron man couldn't hear what the kid was saying, he saw him hold out his hand out to the civilian inside while shouting something.

It was, surprising, to say the least. Most people would have been more concerned with getting off the bridge themselves, especially since, by the looks of it, the kid had already been injured.

Surprising indeed.

Despite the heroic attempt, it didn't look like it was going to matter. The civilian inside wasn't making any move to take the kid's hand, whether because of fear or injury, Tony didn't know.

Fortunately, Iron man had enough power to lift both a car, and a short, angry blond.

He swooped down and hooked his arms under Edward's, then swung his legs forward and changed trajectory so that they were now shooting up into the sky. Edward thrashed and struggled, twisting to try and attack Iron man. Ignoring him, Iron man sent several of his small attachable rockets to the underside of the car, lifting it, then turned on the kid and tried to get a better grip.

"Woah! Easy kid!" he huffed.

The kid stopped, eyes widening as he actually bothered to look at what had grabbed him. "Oh. You." He said sarcastically, strange golden eyes becoming half-lidded in a deadpan expression.

"Yep. Me. Don't bother hiding your enthusiasm." Tony quipped back, the last of his fear and panic dying out and being replaced by the usual snarkiness. He began the process of flying both the kid and the car back to safety, and ended up putting the car back on the road in an un-destroyed section of the highway, while putting the kid on top of a nearby building. "Stay." He said seriously, before turning and flying away without giving the kid a chance to get a word in.

"Falcon, Thor, what's the update on Atuma?"

"Uhh..." Sam's voice murmured though the communicator, "Well, we found him...but...well..."

"He hast been captured already!" Thor boomed, sounding slightly disappointed. "And by no Avenger." He added, voice quieting slightly, a hint of curiosity in his voice and maybe, just maybe, concern.

"I see you on the bridge." Tony said, surveying the area below him. He landed on the bridge with a metallic 'thunk', and approached the strange scene his friends were gathered around.

Atuma was covered up to the neck with...well...the road. It looked as though someone had molded the asphalt up around him like play-doh, a smooth, continuous flow that looked both oddly natural and at the same time, the kind of freakish thing only magic could do. Tony turned his head slowly, left and right, ignoring the curses Atuma was tossing into the wind, and observed the area.

Whoever had done this had fought Atuma for a while before successfully trapping him. There were remnants of pillars, giant fists, and walls littered around the bridge, all seemingly molded out of the very road itself.

"Molecule kid?" Falcon suggested by way of explanation.

"Doubt it." Iron man replied. "He's a shield trainee now. No way Fury would let him run loose without supervision."

"Then...someone else?" Falcon said, turning a grim expression towards the remains of the battle scene.

"Must be." Tony replied flatly, mind racing. Molecule kid, and his father, Molecule Man, had both been formidable foes. The ability to change any type of molecule to any other type was a devastating power, and it had made taking down father, and later son, very difficult. Molecule kid was with Shield now, closely monitored during training even though his power had been significantly limited after his device had been broken, so he was out of the question.

Which mean there was a new individual running around with the same, or a similar power, who they knew absolutely nothing about.

And that was a very, very concerning thought.

It's a little angstier than most of the chapters, but Tony cannonly struggles with depression, crippling guilt, and feeling responsible for everything, so there wasn't really any getting around it.  Anyway, enjoy! Or don't. I don't care. :)

Next chapter should be out pretty soon. turns out, writing on outline helps a lot. I probably should have done this from the start. :/