Chapter 11
Tony was back.
Steve still couldn't believe his eyes. He had spent so long trying to find the man, and here he was on tv, answering questions from reporters that were as eager as he was to know where Tony had been. He didn't know if he wanted to cry or to laugh at the irony of it all.
A loaded silence filled the room as Sam turned off the TV. They were all shocked.
"Was he hiding all this time?" Sam said with a disbelieving face.
"I can't believe we couldn't find any traces of him..." said Natasha almost to herself, she'd been so sure they were still far from solving Stark's mysterious disappearance, that it all felt incredibly anticlimactic.
"He's alive!" whispered Steve with an awed expression, like all his prayers had been answered.
"I…I think something was wrong with him" said Sam as an afterthought "I've never seen Tony so... I don't know, expressionless I guess?"
"Yeah, I noticed that too. He also looked too pale, too thin" Natasha agreed with Sam's assessment, something seemed off with Tony.
"What? I... I didn't notice any of that" Steve had been so relieved to see Tony again that he hadn't really paid much attention to anything else.
"Something else is bothering me, Pepper wasn't there" Natasha said after a moment.
"I... she wasn't?" asked Sam.
"Neither was Rhodey" she answered with a frown.
"Wasn't Rhodey in the hospital still?"
"No, he's been out for a couple weeks now. Don't you think they ought to have been right there with Tony when he announced to the world he was back from the dead?"
"And who was that guy? I've never seen him around before" asked Steve, now that Sam and Natasha had mentioned it, it WAS very strange that neither Rhodey nor Pepper were there with Tony.
"Maybe he was some assistant or something, he seemed glued to Tony though" said Sam, he felt an uneasy feeling, like his relief of seeing Tony again was being undermined by the oddity of the scene they had just seen.
Both Steve and Sam where taken aback when Natasha hastily stood up from her seat, leaving out the front doorwithout saying another word.
A storm could be heard rumbling outside the apartmentwindows, the distant thunders brightening the dark sky.
A heavy rain had started to fall upon the city as Natasha made her way to SI headquarters. The bright light of a thunder illuminated the deserted street for a moment, giving her a glimpse of the building's unguarded back entrance.
Getting her gear ready she exited the car, using the rain's mantle to cover the sound of her steps. She entered the building without too many difficulties, heading straight for the top floor and straight to Pepper's office.
Natasha had a hunch, she knew whatever was happening with Tony, Pepper would be the one to go to for some answers. The phone call, the radio silence the woman had kept about Tony, it was all related, Natasha just needed that one final piece of the puzzle to make sense of this mystery.
As she made her way to the last floor, she was greeted by an utter silence in the place. She knew Pepper was still inside, she had checked before leaving the apartment, but the stillness was unnerving her.
With light steps she crossed the main hallway in the direction of Pepper's office, as she reached the large oak doors, she could see a silver of light reflected on the floor. The doors were slightly ajar, and she could hear voices coming from beyond the threshold.
With extreme caution she approached the door, where she could make out Pepper sitting behind her desk, and a tall man standing in the middle of the room, his back towards the door. The man was clad in an eccentric attire that included a bright red cape and he was hurriedly talking to Pepper.
"You saw the press conference, we've run out of time Pepper"
"Stephen, I can't believe it's come to this! How did it happen? How did we miss this?"
"Believe me, we were as shocked as you when we heard the news. This means only one thing"
"I know, but how are we going to deal with this? He’s already gone public! How are we going to stop him?"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it, but we must go, now, he'll be here any minute now"
Pepper seemed to take a moment to gather her wits about her, letting out a slow breath as she looked at the man. "Ok, I'm ready, let's go"
With a small nod, the man made a couple of circular movements with his arms, and a bright orange portal suddenly opened inside the room. Natasha barely had time to contain the gasp that threatened to escape her. The last thing she saw was the man's face as he took a last look around the office and stepped into the portal, which promptly disappeared a moment later behind him.
Steve and Sam had been perplexed by Natasha's departure, but their concern was still firmly lodged on the press conference they had just seen.
"I can't believe he's back, where do you think he was?" asked Steve, rubbing at his tired eyes with both hands.
"I have no idea, but I feel like strangling the man! I can't believe he would have us believe he was missing!" sad Sam half-jokingly. If he were completely honest with himself, he felt incredibly relieved that the man had turned up safe and sound.
"I need to talk to him" said Steve suddenly, seemingly making up his mind and walking towards the door.
"Steve, wait for me!" Startled, Sam barely managed to grab a jacket and a black bag, before following through the door Steve had disappeared through.
Both men arrived at the Avenger's compound amidst a heavy thunderstorm, the rain making it hard to see through their windshield. Taking a couple of minutes to examine the property, Steve soon realized that the place lacked the heavy security it had once had, with only a couple of guards now posted at its entrance.
Using the rain as a cover, both Sam and Steve decided to bypass the security booth, and jump the perimeter wall, reaching one of the compounds lateral entrances. Once there, they decided to try their old security codes. Surprisingly, the codes still worked, letting both men in without any problems.
A sudden chill that had nothing to do with the rain filled Steve. The place was completely empty, not a soul in sight. He hadn't exactly been expecting a party, but he thought maybe Tony would have been back already. Instead, the dark and empty hallways echoed with their footsteps, with no other sound other than the rain hitting the large windows.
"I think something's wrong" said Sam in a low whisper.
"What is it?" Asked Steve absentmindedly, making his way to the common room.
"Where's FRIDAY? why isn't she here?"
Steve stood frozen at the remark, he knew what Sam meant with FRIDAY not being 'here'. It was apparent the AI hadn't been reactivated yet, and the realization raised red flags inside his head.
Steve made a run for it, trying to get to Tony's room, racing through the many empty hallways, Sam hot on his heels.
He dashed into the east wing, where the living quarters where. Making his way to the end of the hall he saw Tony's room. With quick movements he opened the handsome wooden doors only to find the place empty. His heart beat like crazy, he didn't know what he had been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been this.
"Steve, stop! This place... this place hasn't been lived in in a while man, I don't know how long Tony's been back, but he definitely hasn't been anywhere near the compound, that's for sure!"
With a heavy heart, Steve realized Sam was right, none of this felt right, it made no sense that Tony hadn't been to his own home yet, nor that he hadn't activated FRIDAY.
Turning around, Sam made his way back to the hallway, where he opened the black bag he'd been carrying, placing a small devise near an air conduct.
"What are you doing Sam?"
"I grabbed some of Natasha's bugs. I don't know about you, but I want to get to the bottom of this, and I think this might help us. It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep an eye on things here, don't you think?"
Feeling conflicted with himself, he decided that Sam was right, if they wanted to get some answers, they needed to start looking for them. They made quick work of hiding the bugs around the compound, taking especial care to put one in Tony's lab, after all, Steve figured that if Tony decided to drop by, that would be the one place he would surely not miss.
Natasha recognized the man Pepper had left with as Stephen Strange. The ex-neurosurgeon whom Tony had sent a message before FRIDAY went offline.
She was certain now of who had made the portal Tony had used to escape. But this new piece of information did nothing but expand the mystery.
She was on the verge of entering Pepper's empty office when a sound made her turn around. The elevator on the far side of the floor had activated, indicating someone was making their way up. Deciding not to take any chances, she retreated, making a swift escape as the elevator doors opened, spilling its light on the darkened hallway.
She could hear a couple of voices and she stood still for a moment, she thought she had recognized Tony's voice. Turning around, she made her way back, retracing her steps until she was back outside Pepper's office.
This time, the office doors had been thrown wide open. Inside she could make out several men, Tony included. The scene was a curious one. Tony and a bald man Natasha recognized from the press conference were surrounded by an escort of heavily armed men.
The bodyguards seemed to relax at a signal from the short man, who was going through Peppers desk, desperatelylooking for something, while Tony sat down on a large couch.
Natasha quickly made up her mind, this was her chance to get some answers.
Stepping out from her hiding place, she treaded into the light that was pouring into the hallway, making sure to make one of the large wooden doors creak as she stepped into the room, giving the men there enough warning of her presence.
"Tony, long time no see"
All set of eyes settled on her in unison except for Tony's, who currently had his head thrown back against the couch's headrest. As if one, the armed men pointed their weapons at her. She didn't even blink at the guns.
"Miss, I don't know who you are, but you should not be here" said a nasal voice from her right. The bald man took a step back from Pepper's desk, letting a stack of papers fall on top of it "I suggest you leave immediately"
"And you are, Mr...?" Natasha asked sweetly, trying to gain some time, Tony still hadn't looked her way.
"You can call me Dr. Tarleton sweet heart, but now please, get out" he said, his eyes seemingly shining with something akin to comprehension.
"Tony, aren't you going to talk to me? I've been looking all over for you" She said in a sickly mellow voice, trying to get a rise out of the man, and it seemed to work. Tony very slowly lifted his head from its resting position until his chin touched his chest, directing her a dark look.
"I'm busy right now widow, leave" He said with a detached tone. Up close Natasha could see the man was not well, his skin looked too pale, several abrasions were visible on the man's neck and face, expertly concealed with some make up. Natasha instantly knew something was very wrong.
"Tony, we need to talk, privately" she urged.
Tony simply looked at her unblinkingly, he then very slowly raised one of his arms, a gun firmly grasped in his hand. He lazily aimed it at Natasha, and for the first time she felt threatened. This was not the Tony she knew, this man in front of her was unpredictable and she could not read him as she had once done.
Dr. Tarleton took advantage of the tense situation, calling the armed men into action.
"Get her!"
With a last look at Tony, Natasha turned around and fled, the men chasing after her.
Steve and Sam made their way back to their apartmentcomplex, the heavy rain had subsided, the wet streets reflecting the city’s lights. As they neared their floor, they found Natasha waiting for them sitting at the top of the stairs, a somber expression firmly on her face.
"I found something, we need to talk"