The Man My Father Always Talked About • A CAPTAIN AMERICA STORY

45

~45~

"Would you like to have the honors?" Tony asked as the beast charged towards them.

"On it!" A shield materialized from Tony's arm as he blocked the first blow while Clara ignited four barrier like objects that shot repulsed beams so powerful it knocked the bigger creature down. Clara started to focus on the smaller one, but he flicked his hand and the monster flew around him before crashing into a car.

"Where did those come from?" Bruce asked as he looked at their new suits in excitement.

"It's nanotech, you like it?" Tony said. "With a little help form Clar...." He was cut off when Maw shot him up in the air. Clara turned her attention to him before he did the same to her. She flew past a few buildings before she was able to steady himself. She flew back to where Doctor Strange was shooting a blast at Obsidian. He was on the verge of throwing his axe at Clara, but Tony threw a car at him to distract him.

"You gotta get that stone out of here!" Clara said, landing next to Strange and shooting Maw.

"It stays with me!" Strange said.

"Exactly," Tony said. "Bye! Clara come with me!" The siblings were stopped when Ebony Maw used his magic to block their way with cement. Obsidian threw his axe to pull them down. Tony went in a separate direction while Clara went straight down. Obsidian threw a car at her and before she could react, a flash of red and blue caught the car with their bare hands.

"Hey everyone." He said.

"Spider-Boy!" Clara exclaimed, a big smile forming under her helmet. Ever since Tony recruited the young teen and spent his time trying to prove himself to her brother, she had formed a bond with Peter.

"Come on..." Peter started, "it's Spider-Man." While he was whining, Obsidian brought his axe down, ready to smash him. Clara pushed the boy away and shot at the alien with a missile, sending him back a good 30ft.

"Now is not the time to correct me!" Clara exclaimed to the teen as he tossed the car down. Tony flew in and stood with the two as the alien creatures caught their breath. "Kid, where'd you come from?"

"A field trip." Peter answered. "Woah, new suit?"

"Yeah," answered, noticing the monster running back towards them. "Thanks for noticing."

"So like, Iron-Man 2.0. Iron-Woman, right?" Peter questioned.

"Steel-Defender," Clara corrected.

"That's way cooler!" Peter exclaimed as he shot some webs up into the air to dodge an attack. Clara fired at the beast some more before Tony flew in to help.

"It's actually no that much cooler," Tony responded to Peter's inadvertent criticism.

"Uhhh..." Peter realized Tony wouldn't forget his comment. "What's this guy's problem?" Peter asked, Obsidian already recovered and threw his axe at the three of them. Clara dodged it as it about sliced her in half before she sent a blast to his chest.

"He's from space, came here to steal a necklace from a Wizard." Clara said, trying to keep Obsidian away by blasting him. "And that's gotta be the weirdest thing I've ever said." Clara's head shot up to the sky as an unconscious magician flew over head.

"Kid, that's the Wizard, get on it!" Tony ordered, holding Obsidian back.

"On it!" Peter said, shooting his webs to the billboards across of them and firing himself into the air to follow Strange. Clara kept shooting Obsidian as Wong portaled beside her. He glanced at the creature before a formed another portal to a snowy terrain and pushed the rock creature into it. As he tried to escape, Wong closed the portal, separating Obsidian's hand from the rest of his body. Bruce let out a 'yuck' as he kicked the hand away in disgust.

"Wong you're invited to my wedding." Tony exclaimed before he looked up to see the ship that Peter was currently on. "I've gotta get the kid."

"I'll come with you," Clara said. Tony retracted his helmet and gave Clara a stern look.

"No, you have to stay here," he instructed. Not only did she need to get the team back together, Tony would do all in his power to keep her out of the dark abyss known as space. Clara retracted her helmet. Her short hair blew in the wind as she looked Tony up and down like he was crazy. She knew he hated space. She knew the nightmares he used to have of when he was trapped up there. She wasn't going to let him go there alone.

"You've got to get everyone you can. Get Rogers, get Vision. This fight isn't over," Tony ordered.

"You're not going up there alone," Clara stated.

"I won't be alone. I'll get the kid and the doctor and I'll be back, I promise." Tony said, looking from the sky to his sister.

Clara's harsh and demanding tone turned to one of worry and concern. "I'm not letting you go up there and never come back."

"You have to protect Vision," Tony said. His voice was almost as worried and concerned as Clara's.

"Tony..." Clara whispered, her heart pounding as she thought of all the worse possible outcomes.

"I've got to get the kid," he said, looking up to the ship again. "Clara..."

"Don't do anything stupid," Clara said half heartedly, but Tony knew it was more than just a silly instruction by his sister. He knew this could possibly be the last time he saw his sister and she was thinking the same thing for him.

"When have I ever done anything stupid?" Tony asked with a faint smile. Peter's frantic voice took over the comms as Tony met his sister's eyes on last time. "I'll be back soon." Clara nodded and watched as his helmet reformed before he took off out of the earth's atmosphere. Clara's eyes didn't leave the sky as she watched the flying doughnut get further and further away. She was frustrated. Mad at the fact that while she was safe down here, teenager Peter Parker, a magician, and her brother would possibly face their biggest threat alone. All alone with no other help or communication to the ground. She was frustrated with the fact that Vision was missing, her friend was dead in space, the strength of the team was corwarding away in Bruce's body. She hated the fact that yesterday she was dressed up for an engagement party, and now she was dressed back in her armored suit, ready for battle.

After a few minutes, Clara gave up looking to the sky as the ship had already disappeared. She saw Bruce walking towards her, his hands in his pockets. "Can't find a working car in the city and we need to get to the compound." Clara glanced at Wong who was about to leave them.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to open a portal to the Avenger's Facility upstate, would you?" Clara asked. Wong glanced back at her and opened a portal between Bruce and Clara. "You know, we could use your help."

"I have some business I need to take care of." Wong explained before opening a portal of his own and leaving. Clara and Bruce walked through the portal and into the freshly cut grass of the compound.