Battle in Manhattan
CHAPTER 10: BATTLE IN MANHATTAN
"Stark!" The Director of SHIELD called out as soon as he entered the briefing room.
An exhausted Tony snapped his head towards the man and snarled, "what?"
"Have you talked to Harry recently?" Fury interrogated quietly, peering at Tony with a bit of concern.
Tony felt dread slowly creeping into him.
"Just last night. Why? Has something happened?!" He instantly got on his feet and fished for his phone from his pocket, looking disheveled and panicked.
"He said to tell you the boy is adorable. I'm assuming he means the boy." Fury replied, not wanting to mention the boy was actually Stark's son.
"What's going on? Who's Harry?" Steve intruded.
No one answered the Captain. He looked around only to see more confusion coming from the rest of the group aside from Fury and Tony. The latter had his phone over his ear, pacing back and forth across the room.
"Shit, shit! He's not answering!" Tony cried out. "Why isn't he answering!" He then called Stella, thinking Harry was still at her home.
The woman answered after three rings, "Mr. Stark?"
"Oh, thank God!" Tony breathed in relief. "Is Harry there?!"
"Happy just picked him up about 20 minutes ago. Why? Is something wrong?" Stella asked with concern.
"No, everything's fine. Thank you, Stel. I need to go." Tony immediately dialed Happy who also immediately answered.
"Mr. Stark?"
"Happy! Where are you? Is Harry with you?! He isn't answering his phone!" The father inquired.
"Yes, sir. We're headed back to the tower. He's asleep. Do you want to talk to him?"
"No. Let him sleep. Just..." He inhaled a sharp breath. "Just keep your eyes on him. Get him out of New York right now. Drive back to Philly or something. I'll find you later. And don't tell him anything! I'll explain to him myself." ordered Tony.
"Yes, sir. And sir?" Happy started, "be careful."
As soon as Tony ended the call, he screamed in frustration. "What's his game?! What did he need with Harry?!"
He turned to Thor and pointed an accusing finger, "You! He's your brother! What is he planning?"
"Wait a minute!" interrupted Natasha. "Can somebody explain what happened?"
Tony didn't even bother to turn as he growled, "The ass-god knows about my son! Fuck! I don't know what he's planning. If he ever so much as touch a single hair on my boy, I WILL hunt him down!" He turned around and walked out, leaving a gobsmacked team behind.
"He has a son?" Steve asked disbelievingly, voicing out the thoughts of the rest of the team. Tony Stark. The arrogant, self-centered, playboy had a son?
Fury only stared at them for a second and left them to their thoughts.
Silence. Nobody wanted to intrude on Tony's anguish. But Steve thought at least one of them should check on the man.
He then stood and followed Tony who was sitting on the ground just down the hallway, leaning on the wall. "He's just a little boy." bemoaned Tony. "Why would Loki need to mention him?" He took out the pocket watch and fingered the inscription before prying it open, staring at Harry's beautiful smile.
"Nothing is going to happen to your son. That Happy guy will keep him safe." the Captain reassured.
"He made it personal. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"
At which Steve answered, "To tear us apart."
"He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants" Tony ever so slowly got on his feet and clutched the watch to his chest. "He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."
"Right, I caught his act at Stuttgard."
"Yeah. That's just a preview, this is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered...sonofabitch!"
Steve, in his Captain America suit, walked back in the briefing room where Natasha and Thor were fixing up the little wounds they had. The woman looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Time to go," Steve instructed.
"Go where?"
"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" By then, Clint Barton walks who previously was under mind magic from Loki, stepped in the room.
"I can." He offered. Steve looked over to Natasha who nodded her head verifying he's good to go.
Steve looked at Barton and asked, "You got a suit?"
Barton nodded. "Then suit up."
Tony landed on the port walked into his penthouse while his high technology contraption unsuits him. He found Loki looking up at him with a smile. It irked Tony so much it was hard keeping his temper at bay. He needed more time to get his suit ready.
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Loki asked, amused more than annoyed.
"Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you." Tony went over to the bar. He wasn't joking. Loki got his son involved and anything related to Harry is a serious matter.
The God smirked, "You should have left your armor on for that."
"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?"
"Stalling me won't change anything.
"No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one." Tony poured himself a glass.
Loki turned to look towards the sky, "The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers," Tony replied simply. Loki looked at him, confused. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. Earth's Mightiest Hero' type of thing."
"Yes, I've met them. I'm not impressed." The God of Mischief smiled.
"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a headcount here. Your brother, the demi-God; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Tony puts on his honing device secretly to be able to access his Mark VII suit.
"That was the plan."
"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." The man strolled closer to the god.
"I have an army." Loki boasted.
To which Tony immediately rebuffed, "We have a Hulk."
"I thought the beast had wandered off."
"You're missing the point. There is no throne." Tony revealed. "There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect Earth" and If anything happens to my son, "you can damn well be sure we'll avenge it."
Loki turned serious, blue eyes glowing slightly. "How will your friends have time for me when they are so busy fighting you?" he snarled and went to stick his staff Tony's chest.
Having an arc reactor on his chest did have a perk aside from the usual keeping him alive business as Loki's magic can't penetrate him.
Loki looked confused. "This usually works."
"Well, performance issues. It's not uncommon. Out of five.." Loki apparently had enough of Tony's chatter because the next moment, he grabbed the man by his jaw and threw him across the room.
"JARVIS, anytime now," Tony whispered, trying to stand back up.
"You will all fall before me." Loki grabbed him again and before he could throw Tony out the window, the man muttered a low "Deploy."
Tony fell from the penthouse towards the highway. Just as he was about to crash and die, his suit deployed and put itself on him.
Tony flew back to Loki and said, "And there's one other person you pissed off... me." He blasted him before he could do any more damage.
When the portal opened in the sky, hundreds of Chitauri invaded New York City, killing many and leaving more wounded. The rest of the Avengers minus Hulk arrived, all suited up and ready to fight.
There were too many for them to fight on their own while trying to save as many people as they can that they were starting to lose the battle.
Right then, the sound of an old motorcycle distracted them.
"So, this seems horrible," Bruce remarked. Tony, now knowing the Hulk is back on track, sent a Leviathan towards them.
"Dr. Banner now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Steve advised.
Bruce glanced at him, "That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry." and then transformed into his green giant alter ego.
Meanwhile, Harry just woke up to find himself in their Princeton lakehouse. Having no idea why he wasn't at Stark Tower instead, he got up and went to look for Happy.
He found the man he was looking for on the kitchen counter, drinking a can of coke.
"Uncle Happy?" He called out.
Happy looked down and saw Harry, eyes still red from sleep and glasses skewed. "Yes, Harry?"
"Why are we here?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Your father suggested we come down here instead."
Harry only stared at the man. He sensed his uncle wasn't being completely truthful but let it go. He nodded and went to the living room to watch Arthur.
Happy was watching the news while Harry slept and forgot to change the channels before turning it off. It proved to be a big mistake as the moment the boy turned on the television, a news report on the situation in New York blasted on the screen. Harry screamed for his uncle who immediately ran to the room. Seeing the news on the screen, he silently cursed.
"Where's daddy?" The boy's lips trembled. "He's not there, is he?"
No matter how hard Happy tried, he couldn't lie to Harry. He'll find out anyway. He'll always know when somebody lies to him. So, he nodded and sat next to the boy.
The tears started flowing out. "He promised. He promised me he'll be safe, Uncle Happy."
Happy's heart broke into pieces at the anguish in the child's voice. "He'll be fine, Har. He'll always be fine. Your dad's like that." he tried to reassure. For Harry of himself? He wasn't certain.
They sat there quietly for a few minutes, the news still running. None of them wanted to turn it off or change the channels.
"You need to eat, Harry. It's past your lunchtime," Happy reminded.
Harry shook his head no. He couldn't eat. Not unless he knows his daddy's safe.
Happy sighed. "Alright. Maybe later, but you still need to eat, okay? I'll go get lunch."
Harry sat there unmoving. He was too worried about his dad. He didn't want to imagine anything happening to him. He could almost hear the sound of screeching aliens coming in from the portal. He supposed he could have. After all, they were under the same sky. If he'd step out of the house, he might be able to see the portal in person.
But he couldn't. He couldn't move. He couldn't keep his eyes away from the screen.
Happy walked back to the couch and placed a plate of buttered chicken and rice with broccoli on the table in front of Harry. He hoped the boy would eat since it was one of his favorites.
Harry didn't though. He kept staring at the screen. Happy eventually couldn't let him keep doing that all day so he grabbed the remote to turn it off.
Just as he was about to press the button, the live news zoomed to Iron Man carry-drag a nuclear weapon towards the portal.
They didn't hear the phone ringing in the kitchen.
"I'm just going back to my room." Harry didn't wait for the man to respond as he ran upstairs and slammed his door shut.
He cried and cried on his pillow, wishing to be with his daddy right now. It got him thinking about the last time he teleported and thought if he wished it enough, he might able to apparate to his father.
Pop.
When Tony found out the council was sending a missile to blast off New York, he knew what exactly he had to do.
There was one problem.
He might not survive. Harry would end up fatherless. He'll break his promise.
Yet if he didn't, the nuclear blast will be strong enough to affect the nearby states. Harry was only at Princeton. It was only 50 miles away. Too close for Tony's liking.
He didn't have a choice. He was the only Avenger who could fly. If he won't do anything in the next few minutes, New York will be gone. His baby might get hurt or worse.
So he did what he had to do.
"I can shut the portal down," Natasha informed through their intercom.
"No, wait. I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute. I know just where to put it," Tony halted.
He put everything he got into his thrusters and drove the missile up to the portal.
"Stark, you know it's a one-way trip," Steve warned with concern that Tony ignored.
"J." He voiced, "Call my son."
"Sir, it seems young Harry isn't answering." Tony was quiet for a moment. "Cap, are you there?" He called through his suit.
"I'm here," Steve responded. It wasn't just him. The rest of the team was listening.
"Find my son. And..." Tony paused, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "tell him daddy loves him so much and I will always be looking out for him. Take care of him for me."
"Stark." Cap hesitated.
"Promise me," Tony ordered softly.
"I will."