SOAR: An Avengers Story

Ch. 12: Take Me or Leave Me

February 18th, 2017

(Tony)

Tony had forgotten how bad Jersey was.

Flying over New Jersey, Tony could practically smell the smog, the garbage, and the desperation; the scent of a cheap imitation of New York that it was trying so hard to be. On top of that, they were on their way to the Palisades, cliffs that weren't good enough to be called cliffs, on their way to stop a villain not good enough to be called a villain. It made Tony want to scream. Or laugh. It was pretty laughable.

As he was flying, he felt a presence come up behind him. He thought it was Barton initially, but quickly remembered why they were on this mission. A reminder of that mission was the person who approached him.

Natasha said, "You seem tense."

"You better not try to give me a massage."

Natasha ignored his quip and asked, "Do you really think this is a good idea, Tony?"

"We don't really have much of a choice."

"But c'mon, even you have to admit that something feels off about this whole thing," she said, staring off over the horizon of evening haze and low buildings.

Her comment struck the alarm bell that was already ringing loud and clear within his mind, making it louder and more urgent. Something about this whole thing was off, and Tony couldn't help but think he was making the wrong choices regarding it all. Part of him hoped that sending the kids back was the right move and he finally came to his senses in doing so. Another part of him—the part that usually figured Steve was right—thought Steve was right.

Tony turned to glance at the soldier, who sat unmoving and taciturn in his civilian clothes. All of them were in their civilian clothes: Barnes, Natasha, Pietro, Cap, and even Tony himself, with his backpack suit next to his seat. He was taking a different approach, but it still felt like the wrong approach. A nagging voice in the back of his head wanted to ask Steve what he thought. Steve always seemed to be right.

"I know it's strange," Tony said, turning back to face the front, "That's why you're gonna be key in figuring it out. You're the spy and all. See if you can track Barton somehow."

"Clint hasn't answered any of the encoded signals I sent out."

"Well, what does that mean?" Tony asked, that tidbit of information leaving him irked.

"It means he's either dead, or he doesn't want to be found," Natasha said with a sigh, "And I refuse to believe he'd go that easy. So if he's at this place we're headed... it won't be a smooth ride."

"Seems pretty smooth so far. Let's not get irrationally intimidated. We're the Avengers, for god's sake," Tony said, doing his best to mask his incredibly irrational intimidation.

* * *

When Tony read the castle was moved "brick-by-brick," he didn't take it literally. Once they made it to the Palisades, though, it was hard to believe that the structure was built by anyone American. It looked entirely out of place, as if someone ripped the palace out of a storybook and threw it onto the edge of the cliff. The sandstone structure was beautiful, with several towers featuring wide turrets and narrow crenellations. There was a large stone bridge that led from the main road to the sectioned-off location of the castle; the bridge was perceptibly devoid of people, with an occasional tourist group leaving the large gatehouse.

As the team approached the structure, Tony heard Bucky say, "I'm surprised there isn't a moat."

Tony decided to ignore his comment. It sounded too much like what Clint would say.