The Soul Stones Protector 'Tony Stark AU'

◖Chapter Five◗

'It's not enough to be against something. You have to be for something better.'
-Tony Stark, Captain America: Civil War

⚠Horror(?)/Gore/Heavy descriptions of strangulation⚠
.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

"Who the fuck are you? " Tony snaps, making the entity laugh. It was too deep and it made Tony's skin crawl in what he can only define as.... Fear?

" S u c h language! We are the s a m e . " The thing's wings brush up against his and suddenly he couldn't move. Everything around him was pitch black. Stephen was no longer there and neither was the entity.

Tony let's out a breath. His body wouldn't listen to him, he had to will himself past the fear and face the front. The entity was right there... They almost touched nose to nose. Tony held in a scream. His breathing weaves.

"W-we are not that same, " Tony mutters, not helping to stutter at the first word. The entity, if it could, only smiled more in response. " W e are more a l i k e than you t h i n k we are. There are m a n y of us all around. W e are just mere c o p i e s of the original, " The entity cups Tony's cheek, preventing him from shying away.

"What do you want? " Tony asks, a glare now set on his features. The entity tilts it's head. "I think we b o t h know that a n s w e r, " it said with its wings expanding outwards. They were ripped up and dark black as the primaries are a dark blood red. The more Tony stared, the more he saw what the entity means. It's him. This entity is a Tony Stark. It seemed to see the realization as it's eyebrows rise in glee. They soon fall after Tony says, "You will never have the stone. "

The entity grabs him by the throat and raises him from the ground. Tony's sword crashes to the ground as his hands rise to the meet the ones that are perfectly squeezing his arteries. Its head twitched fastly side to side before it lowers Tony to eye level. "I think w e have a misunderstanding h e r e-" its hand grew tighter, and Tony could help but choke out and try to breathe. Was he going to die? How was that possible?! "- I'm n o t a s k i n g. "

Tony's eyes water as they roll up, his feet thrashing but hitting nothing. He is starting to black out. He was going to get killed. He was going to fail. His mouth wide open. He couldn't think of anything else but his failure.

Then he was suddenly let go and hit the floor with a desperate gasp. He gulped the air around him and coughed out blood that came from his bitten tongue. His face smashed on the ground with a force that was produced by a foot on his back. His hair roughly grabbed and tilted up to the entities' terrifying features. Its blackened fingers scratch the side of his face, making Tony croak out a small yell. It looked like it was about to say something before it growled in obvious displeasure.

Golden whips lash out and grab Tony's darker version by its arms and drags it back with a stronger force. The being let's out a screech. Tony let's his head fall as he barely let's his eyes stay open. He saw.... he softly mutters, "S-Stephen? " Tony didn't think... Maybe... Tony saw Stephen run up with the being no longer there. Then... He saw darkness as Stephen fell to his knees and grabbed for him.

Stephen held onto Tony with panicked breaths. His hands hovering around the purple and black deep pressured bruises that was shaped as handprints around Tony's neck and held his other cheek that wasn't oozing blood from five long deep abrasions. "T-Tony! Hey, open your eyes. Come on! Damn it! " Stephen snapped as his vision blurred. He couldn't think and he could hardly breathe.

Stephen couldn't heal... He didn't know how yet, and he hates himself for waiting so long to learn it. He hates himself for taking so long to breach the wall that the demonic creation had created around his Anthony. His breath caught. His? No. He couldn't even protect Tony and now his brain registers his worth?! Pathetic.