Saving Grace

Twenty Eight

Tony headed to the bar after leaving Harley. Before he went inside, though, he ran into a woman. She had burn scars covering half her face. She complimented his watch, he complimented her hair. That was that.

Inside, he met Mrs. Davis, who had a file. There was a picture of a man from the explosion at the theater — Taggart — in it. That, among other things, caused Tony to suspect that what Harley had said didn't actually happen at all. Someone used Chad Davis as a weapon. He was the bomb.

Mrs. Davis was there to meet someone else, which was why she had the file. Well, the person she was meant to meet actually showed up.

It was the woman.

She handcuffed Tony, claiming to be Homeland Security to the bar patrons. The sheriff argued with her, and Tony gestured to Mrs. Davis to hide the file, so she threw it under the bar. And the woman heated her fake badge up with her own, bare, fire-wielding hands, burned the sheriff's face, and shot him.

The bar was in an uproar.

People screamed and ran. Tony ran, too, trying to the lead the woman out, away from civilians. He was handcuffed, and he had no suit — he was screwed. But he was still gonna try.

And then, on the street, he saw the other man from the theater explosion get out of a car. They locked eyes, and Tony went the other way. Around him, people ran.

The man shot at Tony, but he missed. Tony had his back to him; he didn't see why — or how. He was hardly moving quickly, and it was no great distance. But he certainly wasn't complaining.

Tony, then, crashed into a nearby restaurant through the window and managed to get his still-handcuffed hands in front of him. The woman somehow acquired a shot gun and shot at him. He jumped behind the counter, into the kitchen.

She got inside without him noticing, and they fought hand-to-hand, Tony with more difficulty. She tried to burn him, but he evaded her. He managed to get the cuffs around her throat, choking her, but she melted the metal to get out of it, freeing his hands. 

He dumped out a canister of gas, streaking it across the floor, then kicked the still burning handcuffs into it, and it ignited. Fire was blocking the doorway between him and her, and she just walked right through it.

Meanwhile, Tony was putting something in the microwave. Dog tags. The ones found at the scene of the Chinese Theater explosion. He turned on the microwave, pulled out the gas pipe, and ran as the building exploded.

And that's how he found himself here, looking up at a water tower, which the man from before is slowly burning in order to knock it down.

It starts to crumple, then begins to topple. Tony turns and runs, taking cover as it hits the ground. A piece of the tower falls, trapping his foot. Water rushes out, an intense wave going over everything. Tony holds on tight to the piece of the tower to keep from getting sucked away by it. When it passes, he starts trying to get his foot free.

And then he hears a voice.

"Let me go!"

Harley.

Tony's heart drops into his stomach. The man, with Harley slung over his shoulder, mocks, "Help me, help me!" Tony begins to struggle ever harder now as Harley writhes in the man's grip. The man sits down in a chair, putting Harley on his lap. Parts of his skin glow bright, fiery orange. "Hey, kid, what would you like for Christmas?"

Harley looks at Tony, tears in his eyes, his face filled with regret. "Mr. Stark, I am so sorry!"

"No, no, no, I think he was trying to say, 'I want my file,'" the man says as Harley struggles in vain.