Iron Bonds: Eye of Eternity. Part two

Chapter Six

Once they had landed, they dealt with the people who were all standing around outside. Beofre heading for the cave area, that was in the side of a large mountain. They didn't wait, with Nathan by their side, they headed straight in, keeping Sam an dClint on lookout duties outside.
The cave continued to go further down, where they eventually found people standing around, they were talking in rushed voices, discussing about what had to be sone, and when they would be doing it.

"I think you should reconsider your actions Veronica" Nathan then said.

They all quickly looked around, about to begin shooting, when Tony quickly used one of his gadgets, causing all the guns to be pulled from their hands and land around his feet. Veronica looked around again, wondering what was going on, and realising that nobody on her side was armed anymore, as she stood there holding the box.

"So, your sister survived then" Veronica asked.

"Hand it over"

She looked at the box in her hands, before slowly placing it down on the ground in front of her, carefully opening it and bringing the Eye of Eternity out.

"You don't want it" She smirked. "And now that I've got it in my hands, you can't shoot me, because if this hits the floor, it will cause devastation around the world"

Tony looked to Nathan, wondering if this was true. He couldn't answer, because he wasn't sure.

"Tony, it's true, it could do that, if its been activated. I wouldn't take the chance" Alex said on the comms.

Tony sighed, as Nathan heard this too.

"So, how are you Nathan. Sorry to hear that you and Alex didn't make it. But, you're here now, and I can get my own kind of payback on you"

"This is what its all about, you are still bitter because I told them you were cheating" Nathan said. "You almost killed Alex because of this"

Veronica shrugged.

"It's the little things" She smiled. "Look, why don't you come and join me, we can do this together. I can pay you, so much more money that they can, and you get to enjoy other realms as well, think of the power we will have"

"How about you just hand that over, so we can all go home?" Tony interupted.

"I wasn't talking to you" She yelled, and she looked back to Nathan. "What do you say? We both know Sulley would"

"I ain't him" He replied. "And I decline your offer. I'd rather die"

"If that's what you want" She flicked her head a little, letting them know to attack.

The fight broke out around the room, Steve, Bucky and Natasha all fighting people on one side, while Nathan was fighting with Ross on the other, Tony was trying to help everyone around him. While attempting to get close to Veronica to get the object from her.
Nathan threw his fist a few times, then raised his foot, kicking Ross backwards, causing him to hit his head on the wall and knock him out, distracting Veronica for a second.

"ROSS!" She squealed, then looked around on the wall, hurrying over.

Nathan ran over as she pushed the large eye into the slot, and stepped back from it. Everyone had stopped at the same time, expecting something to happen.

But nothing did.

"I don't understand" She quickly said. "Why isn't this working?"

Nathan looked under the slot on the wall, finding there was something to be placed there as well. Looked like a small object, a key almost.

"NO!" She yelled again. "It was supposed to be mine. I was supposed to open the portal between the realms"
Looking up at Nathan, realising he had figured this out.

"Come on" He offered, letting her walk out of the cave with her dignity.

"You know how to do it. Tell me" She pleaded, pulling out a knife from her back, and holding it against his throat.

Nathan didn't move, and the room all froze as well, they had stopped fighting, the guys all lying around on the floor.

"Tell me what I need to do, or I will slit your throat" She growled.

Nathan moved his eyes, looking at the wall.

"Your missing the key"

Veronica's eyes went wide, as she reached up for her necklace, but quickly realising that she didn't have it. Her breathing got faster, and she panicked, looking around the floor in case it had dropped off, but she couldn't find it.

"No, I had the key. Where is it?" She demanded.

Nathan didn't know what she was talking about, as she was now on her hands and knees, crawling around. He slowly reached up and took the eye from the wall, handing it to Tony, before reaching down and pulling Veronica up from the ground.

"It's over Val, come on"

They were walking back out, with everyone who wasn't dead with them, when Veronica gasped, remembering something.

"She has it, doesn't she?" She chuckled. "That little bitch"

Back at the compound, Alex was sat at the desk usually occupied by Tony when he is watching his team working out on a mission. She couldn't see them but she could hear them, and she opened her hand where the key she had pulled from Veronica in the temple, lay.

Bruce looked over to her, seeing it.

"Did you know she would need it?" He questioned.

Alex slowly shook her head.

"Then why did you take it?"

"To be honest, I don't remember ever doing it. I got back from the hospial, and found it in my bag. I thought she had opened the bit in the temple, and took it back, I don't know what happened" She replied.

"Everyone is secure here, we're coming home" Tony then said on the comms. "Stark out"

The comms went silent, Alex took it from her ear, placing it onto the table, before getting up and walking slowly out from the room, with Bruce watching her go.

Alex walked back to the common area, where she made herself a quick drink, and took it back to her room. Her mind racing with the posiblities of how she came to be in posession of the key. Did she take it?
Or did something put it in the bag to stop Veronica opening this?

Then her mind wandered to her and Bucky, was everything going to be okay between them?
Had he made up his mind that they would never be involved again?

She felt sick, thinking how she had let him walk away from her, because of a little nightmare. Okay, maybe that was dramatic, it wasn't little, she too knew the problems they could cause, and he did almost hurt her, but most of the time they had been together, she soothed his nightmares, he admitted that himself?
Why was this one so different?

Only Bucky could answer that.