Innocent Civilian
“No!” Rhodey shouted, startling Sarah who sat in his arms. “You are not telling Tony about where you were, what you found, none of it,” he growled.
“Colonel, I disagree. I believe Mr. Stark-” Vision started wearily.
“I don’t care what you believe, Vision. Tony is not stable enough- mentally or physically- to hear about this.” Rhodey walked Sarah over to the couch and put on show for her, turning the volume high enough to drown out their conversation.
Vision opens his mouth to respond, but shuts it after a glare from Rhodey. No sooner, the bedroom door opens.
Tony sat in his manual wheelchair which was being pushed by Sam with two young boys lingering on its sides. Rhodey’s mood darkened seeing how tense and exhausted his friend was. His pale body was shaking and his eyebrows were tense- a tell of the headache brewing beneath.
Rhodey immediately moved forward, drawing the man close. He pressed Tony’s slightly warm forehead into his stomach and ran soft fingers through the billionaire’s hair. He was satisfied when he heard Tony’s moan of pleasure. “How’s your head, Tones?”
“M’fine.”
Rhodey rolled his eyes, “Of course you are.”
Tony sat back with a sigh and rubbed tired fists into his eyes. Sam brought him over to the couch and transferred him over. Immediately two young boys curled into his sides. It wasn’t until Tony was settled did he notice Vision. “Hey, Viz. Any news?”
Vision opened and closed his mouth, hesitating. He gave one last glance to Rhodey before sitting down on the couch across from Tony. “Mr. Stark,” he started cautiously. “I have found Barnes and Lang.”
In a second Tony’s breath caught and he was gasping for air that had apparently been sucked out of the room. His body started shaking more than normal and he knew the boys could feel his fear by the way they moved closer to him. “A-are they h-h-here?” He wheezed.
“No, No! We wouldn’t do that to you, Tones, they are going to be kept far away from here,” Rhodey said firmly, kneeling in front of his friend. He took Tony’s clammy hand and cradled the man’s cheek. “Come, deep breathes,” he coaxed.
Tony's chest shivered as he tried to suck in breath through a straw. “H-how do you know? W-w-who has e-eyes on them now? Are they l-l-looking for me? Oh god, they're gonna kill me!”
“Look at me, Tones! Come on buddy, you gotta calm down,” Rhodey said softly. Tony showed no sign of hearing him and soon his face was turning red from lack of air. Tony’s eyes flickered as his brain raced and sweat was pouring off of him in buckets.
“We might have to sedate him if he doesn’t calm down,” Sam said to Rhodey.
“Come on Tony, take deep breaths, you gotta calm down for me,” Rhodey tried again, rubbing circles into Tony’s hand.
Tony moved deeper into his panic attack and his wheezes turned hoarse and strained. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. His hand came up to pull on his hair in frustration. Sam reached quickly to restrain him.
“Dad!”
Tony’s breath caught and he froze.
“You gotta calm down, dad,” Harley said worriedly.
Tony let out a harsh breath and his eyes watered. His glazed eyes still focused on the wall behind them, but his breaths started to come easier.
“That’s it, Tones,” Rhodey whispered. He moved the genius’ hand so that it sat on Harley’s head. Slowly, Tony’s hand buried itself into the soft locs.
Peter, tears in his eyes, moved so that his head rested on Tony’s chest. The billionaire’s other hand came to rest on Peter’s cheek and shakingly rubbed the smooth skin.
Sarah, distracted from her show, ran over and laid her head onto Tony’s lap. She started playing with a thread on his pants while humming softly.
After several silent moments, Tony’s eyes unglazed and fell onto the kids in his arms. He took another shuddering breath before letting his eyes close. “I have to protect them,” Tony whispered.
“We know Tones, and we will. They won’t hurt you anymore, I promise,” Rhodey said firmly.
“You should bring them here,” Tony said.
Rhodey and Sam gave each other a look. Tony opened his eyes and sighed. “The world is terrified of them, there’s nowhere we can put them without them hurting people. Just bring them here before the public gets word and starts panicking. We’ll send the kids away so that they’re safe-”
“No!” The three juveniles shouted at the same time.
“Tony. There’s no way-”
“Mr. Stark has a point, Colonel,” Vision spoke up. “We are the only ones with any chance of containing them.”
“But they’re still fugitives. Think about how much trouble we’ll get in if someone finds out we were holding them here. Maybe we should tell the UN,” Sam reasoned.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Tony said. “They’ll probably shove them to us anyway.”
“I don’t like any of this,” Rhodey said, pacing.
“And you think we do?” Tony huffed.
“Aren’t you afraid of Barnes?”
“Honestly, no,” Tony admitted. “We got pretty close while he lived here, we were maybe even...friends.”
“Oh god, Tony! You always do this, you always see the best of people who are there to hurt you,” Rhodey said furiously.
“He didn’t hurt me,” Tony glared. “And i’m not stupid. Even if they did hurt me, I'd rather me than some innocent civilians.”
“You are an innocent civilian!” Rhodey blew up. He opened his mouth again before stomping out of the room. Sarah stood up and followed after him.
Tony closed his eyes and resumed cuddling his boys. He hated getting into arguments with Rhodey.
“He’s just looking out for you,” Sam said after some silence.
“I know, I'm not mad at him,” Tony said. The man closed his eyes and Sam and Vision took it as their cue to leave.
“We’ll protect you Da- Mr. Stark,” Peter said softly.
Tony’s eyes opened and the corner of his mouth turned up. “I see I've gained a new nickname.”
Peter and Harley’s faces turned a bright red in less than a second. “Sorry,” they both said.
“Don’t apologize...I like it,” Tony said sheepishly.
Both boys smiled wide and tucked themselves closer to the genius.
____________________
“You can’t honestly tell me you feel safer not knowing where they are.”
“No, I never said that,” Rhodey huffed.
He, Sam, and Vision sat at the bar a few floors up. Rhodey had ignored them for several minutes in anger before finally speaking.
“I think we would benefit from having the UN’s input,” Vision said.
Rhodey downed the rest of his scotch. “Fine.” He slammed the glass on the table and walked out.
Sam and Vision looked at each other before making their way to the conference room.
__________________
The next day, Tony had decided to take a break from the stress of the Rogues and take Harley to tour Peter’s school.
Sam had driven Tony and Harley to Midtown in the large van that was big enough for Tony’s electric chair. Sarah had decided she wanted to go as well and had cried until they allowed her to tag along.
They met Peter and the principal at the front of the school. Harley was nervous as he walked next to Tony while Sarah sat excitedly on the genius’ lap.
“Hello, Mr. Stark, we were very excited when we heard you were visiting us,” Principal Morita greeted.
“Glad to be here, Ms. Morita. Here is your potential new student Harley Kenner. This is his younger sister Sarah, and my teammate Sam,” Tony introduced.
“Great to meet you all! Now let’s get this tour started!”
Principal Morita started up the stairs and everyone else paused, face unreadable.
“Uh, Principal Morita?” Peter’s nervous voice asked softly.
The Principal paused and turned around, looking at the group. It took her a second to realize before a blush was visible on her cheeks. “Oh, i’m terribly sorry Mr. Stark. We don’t have a ramp at any of the entrances…”
It was Tony’s turn to blush slightly.
Sam cleared his throat. “Uh, that’s okay, we’ll just-” He gestured for Sarah to stand before scooping Tony out of the chair. He walked up the large steps but paused at the top, looking for a place to set Tony down. When he couldn’t find one, he slowly set Tony down on the top step.
Tony’s cheeks were bright red with embarrassment as he watched Peter, Harley, and Sam carry his electric chair up the stairs.
10 minutes passed before Tony was settled in his seat again. “Maybe consider making your school accessible?” Sam said tightly to the Principal.
Morita gulped and nodded. “Yes, I will get to that right away.”
Tony stared at his hands in his lap, trying to force away the embarrassment.
After that, the tour went on without a hitch and Harley really liked the school. It was large and there were more science labs than bathrooms- Harley found himself excited to start there.
___________________
“Hello, Colonel. A few little birdies told me you were in need of some help.”
Rhodey tried not to glare at the man as the holographic video popped up. “I didn’t mean from you.”
Secretary Ross smirked, “Well I am the big boss around here, despite your valiant efforts to keep me out of things. You’ll learn soon that I have eyes and ears everywhere.”
Rhodey rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”
“Actually I think it's more what you want. I heard you have a little problem on your hands and you need a place to...dispose of the trash. I know the perfect place.”
“Tony would rather we keep our enemies close,” Rhodey said, his eyes still narrowed.
“You know just as well as I do how dangerous the Rogues are. What if I tell you I have someplace very far and very secure to contain the Rogues? Someplace where you or Tony will never have to even think about them again?” Ross said.
Rhodey sat back in his chair. “I’m listening.”
_________________
Scott and James jumped as Vision appeared in front of them. Scott fell clumsily onto a rock while James moved a hand onto the gun that sat in the waistband of his pants.
“I come in peace,” Vision said, referencing a movie Sarah had watched with him.
“What do you want now?” James frowned, stepping past Vision to continue walking.
“I came to ask again for the Rogue’s whereabouts,” Vision said honestly, following behind the pair.
“We already told you we aren’t telling you,” James said.
“You can trust me, Mr. Barnes. I mean them no harm.”
James scoffed. “I don’t care if you hurt ‘em. Just, how am I supposed to trust you won’t tell them what we told you?”
Vision paused in thought. “That is a very intelligent question Mr. Barnes. Maybe I can earn your trust by telling you that if you keep walking in this direction, in approximately 6.76 miles you will approach a police station who, like the rest of the world, have a warrant out for your arrest?”
James and Scott paused. James stood motionless as he thought over Vision’s words.
“I think he’s legit man,” Scott whispered.
James sighed before turning 90 degrees. He started walking in the other direction. Without looking at the android, he said “I can’t tell you where they are, because I genuinely don’t know- they’re far gone by now. But I can tell you that they are most likely heading towards the water. They want to escape and we’ve already tried a plane but it was too risky- boat’s the next best option.”
Vision nodded thankfully. Before taking off, he handed them a duffle bag.
James and Scott watched the android leave curiously before opening up the bag. Inside was food, water bottles, and a bit of cash.
_______________
“I passed!” Harley shouted, running into the common room where everyone was gathered. “I’m officially a Midtown student now!”
Everyone started clapping, and Sam lifted the boy into his arms, tickling the boy mercilessly. “Stop Sammy!”
Only when Harley was literally gasping for air did Sam place him on the ground again. “I gotta go call Peter!”
The adults smiled after him.
“I want to go to Midtown,” Sarah pouted.
Tony pulled the girl into his lap. “You are going to Midtown- Midtown Jr. High.”
“But I want to go with Harley and Peter,” she said, sniffling.
“Soon you’ll be there too, Sarah. But how about you come with me to pick up Harley after his first day? We can make signs,” Rhodey said.
Sarah’s face lit up and she jumped up excitedly.
Just as Tony opened his mouth, Friday’s voice echoed throughout the room. “Boss, we have a problem. There’s a police report in Connecticut. The Rogues have been spotted and are attacking-”
Tony screamed as his head felt like it was being split in two. He fell off the couch and the last thing he remembered was hitting his head on the coffee table before everything went black.