The War Without Fate

Chapter 17- Not Without A Fight

Tony's POV

***************************************

After fighting we finally eradicated the threat. It took a long time. At least half the day and it was un-comfortable because I could do nothing the entire time. Once I had overseen enough of them scraping the villains into big black vans I was able to fly off in search of her. Jarvis had been trying to find her location for a long time when I finally suggested that he track the GPS on her cell phone. She had it on her the last time I had seen her. Unless they were smart enough to take it. 

Within five minutes of finding her cell phone GPS we pin pointed her destination. It was on Devil's Tower in Wyoming. I sped toward the destination and reached it as the sun began to set. As I approached Jarvis gave me the specs. Apparently The Libra, Cordellia, and a number of other known villains were present. But the one that stuck out the most was Pheonix, Castor's son. As I continued forward the strange cloud formation that had been brewing above seemed to envelope the tower. 

I hovered in mid air watching helplessly. Too far away to do anything about it. When the cloud lifted moments later I still hovered. I was dumbstruck. No one onto top of the mesa had been hurt. As events unfolded I realized that I had hesitated too long. Evangeline was surrounded and as I began to speed forward a figure was thrown over the top of the rock. 

I was too far back to reach the figure as it fell and the only thing I could do was hope that it wasnt her. My suit pushed forward as fast as it could. Rattling with the speed at which it traveled but the body hit the ground with a sickening crunch just before I could reach it. 

My stomach lurched as I began to recognize the lifeless body lying in the red dirt. Black hair sprawled all over and blood leaking from a litany of wounds. I hovered a bit over her body when I shot up into the air, my mind set on revenge. Yet as I reached the top of the mesa I recognized someone. Her red cape billowed in the wind and her eyes glowed from beneath her pointed hood. Her cape twitched and everyone on top of the mesa with their wide eyed looks fixed on me dissapeared in a flury of red. 

I dropped down to the bottom again and stood there for a moment. Staring at the lifeless heap on the ground surrounded by a ring of blood. I didnt want to move her from fear at what I'd find. I stepped out of the suit and to the side.

"Jarvis," I croaked

"Yes sir?" He asked shakily

"Notify the others." I commanded

"Of course sir," He responded and the suit went to sit against the base of the tower.

I walked over to the heap on the ground solemnly. My feet crunching in the dirt as I made my way to kneel by her side. It had been less messy than I thought but there was still alot of blood around her. Staining the dirt and cutting its way through in little rivers. I slid back on my butt and reached my hand down shakily to hers. I picked it up in mine and I noticed it was still warm.

I took in a shaky breathe to calm myself down, but it didnt work. I broke down. Right by her side. Afraid to touch her more, afraid to cradle her in my arms. Because if i moved her, who knew what horrible things might come out of the back of her skull. So I sat and I cried and I rocked myself back and forth and I gave no thought to the predators that might come after the sun had finally descended below the horizon. I didnt care. They could have both of us. There would be no need for my existence now that she was gone. 

I heard crunching in the dirt. Yet I continued to cry out at the sky as if someone above was to blame for it. As if when I yelled enough she would come back. When the dirt stopped crunching is when I looked up from her cold hands held in mine to see Claude. His solemn face said enough for his sympathy. He nodded his head at me and walked around her body respectively to see me.