✓ | escaped [ ➀ ]

[ chapter twelve ]

Tony climbed into the dusty barn, his eyes set on the old, slightly rusted tractor that sat within it. Here and there Tony spotted targets and broken arrows, which made it seem a lot like Clint's place.

Tugging on a string, a light came on above the tractor and he ran his hand over the dusty surface. "Hello, dear," he murmured, testing the knob at the engine. "Tell me everything. What ails you?" He checked the fuel pipe and poked around inside.

"Do me a favour," another voice came, alarming Tony for a brief moment, before filling him with annoyance because he recognised that voice. He turned to the side to see Nick Fury coming in through the back of the barn. "Try not to bring it to life."

Tony sighed. "Why Miss Barton, you little minx," he murmured and walked closer to where Fury had come to a standstill. "I get it. Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?"

"Artificial intelligence," Fury said, hands in his pockets. So he'd been brought up to speed on Ultron. And Tony and Bruce's little research. "You never even hesitated."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, it's been a really long day, so how about we skip to the part where you're useful?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down."

Tony stared at him. "You're not the director of me."

"I'm not the director of anybody," Fury replied, taking a seat on a wooden stool that sat near a workspace. "I'm just an old man who cares very much about you."

Tony looked away, fiddling with his fingers. "And I'm the man who killed the Avengers."

When Tony saw Fury's confused expression, he continued. "I saw it. I didn't tell the team though. How could I? I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it. The whole world too. Because of me." Tony moved back a bit to find another chair in the room and he sat down, a few feet away from Fury. "I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could."

"The Maximoff girl is working you, Stark," Fury explained. "Playing on your fear."

"I wasn't tricked, I was shown," Tony insisted. "It wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on." He couldn't help but believe that if he didn't do something, it would be an end to the Avengers. An end to the people he cared about. And slowly, that group was getting bigger. He couldn't handle it if the casualties also increased in number.

"You come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony," Fury rose from his chair to stand. "War isn't one of them."

"I watched my friends die," Tony said, aimlessly grabbing a nearby wrench from the table beside him and beginning to clean it with a cloth he had fount next to it. "You'd think that'd be as bad as it gets, right? Nope. It wasn't the worst part. And now... now there's this kid. Of course you know all about her, Hill would have gotten you up to speed."