Reactions, Reasoning, and Doubt
Previously in Chapter Four: This is Not the End
“Of course Director Coulson.” Coulson could hear the pain and anguish in the A.I.’s voice, “Attention Avenger’s Tower: At approximately 4:12P.M. Sunday, February 15, 2015, Anthony Edward Stark has passed away due to complications relating to the surgical removal of the arc reactor.” Coulson and J.A.R.V.I.S. both could hear Pepper’s wailing cries from where ever she was in the Tower.
“Attention Avenger’s Tower: At approximately 4:12P.M. Sunday, February 15, 2015, Anthony Edward Stark has passed away due to complications relating to the surgical removal of the arc reactor.” J.A.R.V.I.S.’ announcement stopped all bickering and arguing between the Avengers and the team the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had brought with him. There was a collective inhale of air – Banner lurching to his feet – green, but not Hulking out green – Rogers collapsing against a wall - Rhodes collapsing in a heap to the floor – Widow and Hawk falling against one another in disbelief – Thor taking a knee in grief – and Pepper, poor Pepper Potts just started wailing.
“Lying! He’s lying! They said Phil was dead and he’s here now! This is another trick to get us to work together! He’s lying!” Banner yelled; his voice to deep and guttural. They were about to have a very big, very green problem on their hands. Phil Coulson appeared in the doorway. His eyes were rimmed in red, his back straight as steel, but his hands betrayed a tremor.
“Dr. Banner, I understand you are the Avenger’s private physician? His body is this way.” Coulson stood aside the door frame and lifted a hand to point the way – his voice barely a whisper and so hard to hear over Pepper wailing, but now in Rhodes’ arms. “J.A.R.V.I.S. called it, the monitors are flat lined, but if you need to see for yourself how you all have failed him be my guest. Simmons prep a Dendrotoxin sedative for Potts – even stabilized by Stark and Banner, this could prove to be the igniting point for the Extremis”. Rhodes looked up at that, he was aware that Pepper was flashing the violent fiery orange – he could feel the heat scorching his own skin – but did they really think sedating her was going to fix this? The other Avengers were too shocked and ashamed to reply to this charge. They knew they’d failed him. “And Simmons? Prep the other as well.”
“Sir?”
“Just do it Simmons.”
One by one the Avengers paid their last respects to the once great Man of Iron and returned to the communal living room where Pepper laid near catatonia in Rhodes’ lap. Sam and Bucky didn’t feel the need to go – they hadn’t known the man (the fact that Bucky as the Winter Solider had killed his parents notwithstanding) – so they made coffee and tea and tried to provide support for those that were now grieving. The new S.H.I.E.L.D. team hadn’t known Stark either, just of him, but they knew that the world had lost a great man. Once the Avengers had reassembled back into the communal living room like lost little puppies, Coulson’s team moved in to deal with the body. Pepper and Rhodey opted not to see him one last time. Pepper hated the fact that she hadn’t been with him when he passed – Coulson was so very, very grateful for it.
“Can someone, anyone, please explain to just what the fuck happened here? And no, I’m not talking about the congestive heart failure from the arc removal – I’m talking about him not being on the goddamned Avengers since the Battle of Manhattan!” Coulson shouted at the room.
A collective flinch went around (except for Pepper, too far gone on the sedative), no one bothered to look up to meet the irate director’s eyes, and no one bothered to try to explain themselves. Except for one person.
“I can’t tell you why they abandoned him. I can only speak for myself when I say I’ve been riding jockey on the Iron Patriot suit since the Mandarin Incident because we,” he slid a glance to Pepper, still in his lap unresponsive, “we knew his health was declining. We didn’t know how bad it was – that was something he always played close to the vest – you remember the Palladium Reactor thing? We were hoping that if he wasn’t worrying about the world he’d rest.” Colonel James Rhodes wrapped his arms tighter around the woman in his lap, knowing he didn’t have to explain their actions, but needing to anyway. Wondering just how much he/they had played a role in his best friend’s death. God, how could he really be gone, anyway?
“We didn’t abandon him,” Rogers spoke up gruffly. “We were told time and time again to leave him be. That he wanted nothing to do with the Avengers. He was too busy running his company. That he wasn’t a really a team type of player.” He finally looked up to meet Coulson’s eyes, still red-rimmed with their shared grief. “I was ordered not to bother him, Sir. We needed him and we couldn’t have him. Was told to make do with Colonel Rhodes”. This got everyone’s attention. Steve Roger’s had reached out to Anthony Stark? Or had tried and been rebuked? By whom and why?
“You’re going to have to explain that to me, Rogers.” Coulson’s body may have been stoic, but his voice was trembling in rage. “Who told you to ‘make do with Rhodes’?”
“I told Fury we needed air support. He said Stark wasn’t on board with it. It wasn’t until we nearly lost Widow and Hawkeye after the A.I.M. raid in Dublin that Colonel Rhodes joined us.” He looked over at the man in question still holding Pepper Potts in his lap. “No offence, Colonel, but we really needed Stark. He was on the Team from the very beginning – you weren’t.”
“And I made it even worse because I knew his health was going downhill so I made sure you’d leave him be.” Rhodey was shaking – this really was his fault- and gently rocking Pepper side to side. Whether for her comfort or his own… well no one was judging.
“Widow? Hawk? Report!” Coulson barked at the once great Strike Team Delta. Didn’t they know that Stark had built most of their weapons and gear? That he’d been their emergency extraction in Budapest (because Stark had owed Coulson a favor and Coulson couldn’t lose them)? The suit wasn’t exactly fucking subtle!
“Sitwell ordered no contact from S.H.I.E.L.D. to Stark Industries or Stark himself. No reason given – it was implied that Stark couldn’t be trusted after hacking the Helicarrier mainframe, “Romanoff finally spoke up after a long look exchanged with her partner.
“Sitwell? SITWELL? The same man that ended up being the highest ranking H.Y.D.R.A. mole in S.H.I.E.L.D. ordered you not to make contact and you obeyed? The fuck, Natasha?” Coulson couldn’t believe it. Yeah, Natasha had blown the personality profile of Stark – but that was because he was the consummate showman and only showing her what she expected to see – but how the fuck could she have trusted Sitwell and abandoned Stark?
“Back off Coulson! We all know we fucked up! We can’t change the fact that he’s dead. We all know my head was a million ways wedged after Loki and Manhattan – Thor had a healer come down and fix me. Tony Stark took a mother fucking nuclear warhead into a portal to another dimension thinking it was a one-way trip and came back. He’d known he was gonna die and then suddenly he didn’t. I saw the reports afterwards. Flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks. We didn’t make contact because we didn’t want to fucking TRIGGER him!” Barton had had enough. He hadn’t known Stark expect for an importune trip to shwarma, but he knew what it was like to survive torture (thinking you were going to die, but never quite making it there) and the unexpected triggers that could hit you out of the blue and send you back into that headspace.
“My apologies Sirs and Misses, I feel it very prudent to remind Dr. Banner of the HULK-out room on floor 92 at this time.” Everyone looked up at J.A.R.V.I.S.’ announcement and then at Banner; who was an alarming shade of green and struggling to breathe normally.
“I knew something was wrong after the Mandarin. I… I never thought that this… I have to go.” Banner was up and moving to the elevator – to the HULK-out room especially designed for the Other Guy before anyone could stop him. And no one would have with the Hulk minutes, maybe seconds from showing up to express his grief over losing the Tin Man.
Thor was maybe the quietest of all. He’d lost a great S.H.I.E.L.D. brother today – so soon after losing Loki, who he’d had millennia with… he didn’t understand how someone could conceivably be gone after only 43 Midgardian years. “Brother Anthony was the mightiest of warrior to survive so long an injury grave enough to end him. Fighting his enemies and Midgard’s should not have been his priority. Had I known him ill sooner, mayhaps there would have been time for Asgard’s healers to save him. Mayhaps not. We will rejoice the memories he has left for us and mourn his passing. May he find his peace among the Halls of Valhalla.”
The room fell into an uneasy silence after Thor’s speech. Sam Wilson and James Barnes were in the living room feeling like voyeurs until Sam suggested they go check on Banner. Pepper Potts had still yet to speak up, the Dendrotoxin sedative keeping her calm and cool enough for Rhodey to rock. Roger’s eyes gazed out of the windows looking at the Manhattan skyline so different from his time – and their battle with the Chitauri. He and Widow blames themselves for taking the order from Sitwell – but Barton knew there was really nothing that could have happened differently. Stark would just have died sooner. Coulson’s team was still in with the body, unbeknownst to the Avengers attempting to resurrect the dead.
Only Coulson was no longer so sure that was the best of ideas – promise to Miss Potts notwithstanding. Barton had a point about thinking you were going to die and living being torture. The physical pain on using the serum would be immense. And Stark… Tony Stark had been ready to go. What was Coulson supposed to do?
To Be Continued In: Chapter Six: Burn, Baby Burn