Vengeance [Avengers Fanfiction]

[Chapter 42]

[Steve]

    Ow.

    My head throbbed painfully, sharp jabs of pain stabbing my temple. The taste of blood coated my tongue, metallic and sweet.

    I was laying on something hard. Slowly, my eyes peeled open, revealing dark surroundings that swayed slightly.

    The quinjet. I realized confusedly, eyebrows furrowing. Why am I not?...oh.

    The memory of Quinn slamming my head into a rock was all too clear suddenly, churning my stomach with sour betrayal.

    "Cap? You back in the world of the living, Sleeping Beauty?" Stark's voice quipped.

    "Stark, what the hell happened?" I asked, sitting up and gently touching my head, feeling dried blood plastered to my skin and hair.

    Tony sat across from me in his suit that gleamed red and gold in the dim light. His expression was grim, jaw clenched.

    "The Phantom knocked you out and gave explicit orders to not follow her." he muttered. "Idiot's got a death wish or something."

    "And Fury? How did he react?" I questioned, head turning as the Director himself walked into the body of the jet from the cockpit.

    "Fury's pretty damn pissed off." Nick grumbled, pacing. "I sent Barton and Romanoff in. They didn't use the tunnel because, well, it had been blocked off. By blocked off I mean swarming with demons. You're lucky that Stark got you out with your soul intact, Rogers."

    My eyes flitted to Tony and I gave him a grateful nod which he ignored, focused intently on Fury.

    "What happened to them? I know you pulled them out." stated Tony curiously.

    Nick sighed heavily. "The plan was that if the Phantom failed, which I'm assuming she did, they would try to get in through the front doors. There were men standing guard outside, and a few were taken out before Barton and Romanoff realized that they weren't fighting back."

    I frowned, eyebrows creasing. "If they weren't being resisted, then why did you pull them out?"

    The Director paused his pacing, heavy gaze falling on me.

    "Barton questioned one, and he gave a message straight from the...Instructor." He spat the word as if it were venom. "The guy's batshit insane. He threatened to unleash demons over all of Fycon City if anyone other than League members stepped within a block of the city hall. He said that he has what he needs and there's no use trying to stop him because if we do, innocent lives will end."

    "Pretty much, we're being blackmailed." Iron Man cut in dryly. "I can't help but think that innocent lives are going to be taken, anyways. If what Quinn said is true, the guy's murdered plenty of innocent people."

    And that's why we're going to find a way to stop him, regardless.

    "Sir, what's the plan?" I questioned Fury.

    He snorted. "Plan? Right now we're going to go back to base while Fycon City is being evacuated. There is no real plan, besides bombing the damn place if we have to. Not sure what we're going to do about the demons."

    "Bomb the place?" roared Stark, jerking to his feet. "Yeah, because that worked out so well last time! All of New York almost DIED!"

    Blinking at Stark in mild surprise, I realized that he hadn't mentioned the fact that he had come close to death, also.