Chapter 14
Steve felt time stand still, he could barely believe what his eyes were seeing. Standing on top of the shadowy staircase was the silhouette of the man he had been looking for months.
"Tony! You're alive!" he said in awe.
"Well... that's one way to put it" the man said, taking a few steps down the stairs.
"But... I saw you being shot, I thought they had killed you!"
"Oh captain, have you been spying on me? Well, rest assured, everything’s fine" He said mockingly, the shadows enclosing him making his face look strangely menacing. Something was off with him, but Steve just couldn't tell what it was.
"What happened Tony? Why did you make us believe you were dead?!"
With a sigh, Tony stepped further down the flight of stairs until he was at eye level with the restrained man.
"You know Rogers, it is pretty contemptuous of you to barge in here demanding answers, I'm really not feeling too inclined to explain myself to you at all"
Some fight seemed to come back to Steve at Tony's words, trashing against the restraining cloak with renewed strength.
"Tony, I thought you were dead!! I... ever since you disappeared from Siberia! I've... I've been looking for you everywhere! You have no idea what we've gone through to find you!!"
Steve's passionate discourse was met with a long silence, followed by a sarcastic laugh "Oh I know you have captain. I’ve known ever since Widow got a hold of those security videos on the bunker"
That caught Steve by surprise "You knew?"
"Of course I knew! Vision found them on his visit to Siberia. We decided to leave the cameras there when he detected you where spying on him. We thought it would be a good way to lure you out of your hiding place. As a matter of fact, every single clue you think you’ve found, we’ve made it happen"
Seemingly out of nowhere, a miniature hologram of the redheaded figure he had seen outside the building materialized in front of them in midair, the slim figure running graciously in place.
Steve's face drained of all color, only to be replaced by ugly red blotches rising from his neck and cheeks and into his ears.
"What are you talking about Tony, did you set us up? How could you?!" Steve spat, the accusation in the man's voice making Tony's blood boil.
"'How could I?!', How could I NOT Rogers? You're a fucking menace!!" Tony said, suddenly right in Steve's face, a dangerous glint reflected in his eyes "You think you're above the fucking law!!! Captain America, symbol of freedom and justice, isn't that right? You think all your calls are the right ones, fuck anyone that stands in your way, eh? Fuck the hundred and plus countries that wanted to make you accountable for your actions, fuck the people you swore to protect and FUCK YOUR OWN TEAMMATES, isn't that how it goes Rogers?!"
Taking a step back, Tony shrugged with a self-deprecatingsmile, visibly trying to get a hold of himself "You know, I have no fucking clue what prompted you to try to find me, when you yourself left me to rot in that bunker in the first place"
Steve recoiled from Tony's offhand comment, his anger rapidly evaporating, leaving behind only guilt and shame. Tripping over his words he tried to talk to Tony, trying to make him understand he had done what he thought was the right thing "I... I'm sorry Tony, I never meant to... You know I had to protect Bucky! I..." He stuttered lamely. Now that he was face to face with the man, he found that he couldn't reasonably justify his actions. The truth was that he had sacrificed the man to save Bucky, and that knowledge weighted heavily on his stomach.
"You're sorry?" Tony asked with fake surprise "Why would you be? I've always been someone expendable to you, haven't I?" He said while turning to look at Strange, who made Steve levitate closer to them with a movement of his hand "Your very personal bank account. The guy you went to when you needed weapons or an upgrade. The guy to blame when things went wrong" he said with a bitter laugh.
"No Tony, it wasn't like that, you've always been an important part of the team!" he was vexed, annoyed at Tony's accusations. The man had always been a bad team player, he knew he had been hard on Tony exactly for this reason, but it wasn't fair to accuse them, HIM, of things that were entirely Tony's own fault.
"An important part of the team" Tony repeated disbelievingly "Only until I didn't follow you unconditionally. An important part until I questioned your decisions. You didn't want me to keep secrets from you, but you were allowed to keep them from me, wasn't that how you wanted things to work Rogers?"
"I... that’s not true Tony" Steve said weakly, completely aware of the hypocrisy of his own words. Aware that him keeping the truth from Tony had enabled Zemo to so easily break them apart.
"Yeah well, keep telling yourself that Captain, I'm sure if you repeat it enough it'll become true" he said sarcastically, turning away and climbing the stairs back up.
"Tony, wait! tell me what happened to you! Why did you make us all go through so much?" Steve yelled at the retreating man, desperate to understand the answers that danced right in front of him, just out of his reach.
Tony stopped mid step, slowly turning around to face the captain.
"Tony, you don't have to explain anything to him" said a soft voice. Steve belatedly realized Stephen had spoken. The man's warm and concerned voice was a stark contrast to the cold and condescending tone he had used with them before.
Both men shared a glance, having a silent conversation only the two of them could understand. Breaking his gaze away from Strange's, Tony looked at Steve with a condescending smile.
"I know Stephen, but somehow, I feel like the Captain here hasn't really grasped what his actions have caused"
Taking a step back, Tony raised his arm, revealing a metal hand beneath his large hoodie, the movement pushed the jacket partially open, revealing a hint of metal covering part of Tony's torso as well as the man's neck. A small gasp escaped Steve, he could now see what was so different about the man. To Steve, Tony had always moved with a certain elegance that he associated with Tony's rich upbringing, but now... he looked rigid, his movements lacking the finessethey had once had.
"You see, in a sense, I never really made it out of that bunker Rogers. I went into cardiac arrest ten minutes after you left. Surprising, what a vibranium shield to the sternum can do to a sick heart, eh?"
The revelation left Steve cold, his deepest fears suddenlyconfirmed. Tony HAD suffered extensive damage because of him, done by his own hands. He could hear his blood rushing through his ears, his vision going blurry for an instant. He felt like throwing up. This was all his fault, he was responsible for doing this to a man he had once considered a friend.
"What... what did they do to you?" Steve said with a strangled voice, the pity and horror he felt reflected very clearly on his face.
The reaction was immediate, Steve felt his restrains tighten further still, a hot slash stinging across his right cheek, and suddenly Stephen's enraged face was centimeters away from his.
"We saved him Captain, we put together the pieces you destroy-"
"Stephen, it’s all right" said Tony with a soft voice, taking a step to pull Stephen away from the soldier. Steve noticed the man didn't resist Tony's pull, his touch like a soothing balm on the man’s ire.
"This is what is left of me Steve, all thanks to you. The internal bleeding coupled with a collapsed lung damaged my already deteriorated organs, the blood loss and the exposure to the extreme cold left some very permanent damage" he said, his eyes transfixed on his metal hand.
"But then, how..." he asked, unable to phrase his question.
Tony looked him in the eye, and Steve resisted the urge to look away from those piercing eyes.
"Well, Stephen saved my life, as you’ve probably figured out” Tony said slowly, as if deliberating if Steve deserved any sort of explanation. After a moment he continued “But there was only so much magic could do to help me, so we set out to look for other options. It took a while, but I received some help from an incredibly advanced country hidden in the middle of nowhere, and I benefited from some of its most advanced medical treatments"
Steve knew immediately what Tony was referring to "Wakanda" he said in a whisper.
"Indeed, King T'Challa has been most generous in his offer to make up for his past...actions"
Steve felt his lungs aching for oxygen, and he belatedly realized his breathing had become shallow. A sudden fear gripping his heart. If Tony had been in contact with T'Challa, it only meant one thing, Tony probably knew Bucky was in Wakanda “Tony, I know you think Bucky is responsible for what happened to your parents, but it wasn't him! He was under HYDRA's influence! You have to believe me!"
Tony's condescending look froze Steve's plea on his lips.
"James Buchanan Barnes was offered the psychological help he so desperately needed, the same deal I offered YOU when you were about to sign the accords. Barnes chose to be put back into cryogenesis instead, following Wakanda's top medic opinions. His condition proved to be very challenging, even to some of the most advanced technology in the world. He understood that his condition had turned him into a potential threat to Wakanda's inhabitants" Tony explained with a detached tone.
"Did Bucky really choose that? Why didn't he tell me? T'Challa promised me he would keep him safe!" Steve said distraughtly. He couldn't help the insidious feeling that Tony was behind the king's actions, a sudden rage filling him.
"Don't be dense Rogers, the king IS keeping Barnes safe. No other government will ever be able to snatch him away and use his Winter Soldier programming for their advantage, besides, Wakanda's best medics are still working to find a cure for him, even though he chose to sleep. I thought you understood this, T'Challa told me himself he had discussed these possibilities with you, said you had agreed to them" Tony said with a voice one would use when dealing with a particularly dense child.
It was true, T'Challa had mentioned this possibility, said they would have to contain Bucky if they couldn't find a cure. But Steve had been so sure Bucky would go back to his old self, that he hadn't even considered the prospect that the Wakandan medics wouldn't be able to cure him.
A heavy silence filled the room. Steve's head was reeling. He couldn't believe Bucky had chosen to go into the cold again, that meant he was once again alone in this world.
"Why did you do it Tony? Did Ross force you into all this?" he asked, his voice barely containing his rage. He refused to believe Tony had sold them like that.
"Oh, no captain, Ross had nothing to do with this, as a matter of fact, the general is being trialed for tampering with the Accords right as we speak, accused of using them and the power they conferred him to fulfill his own agenda"
"As for the WHY" he continued with a bored expression "I've already told you, someone needed to stop you"
"And you decided it needed to be you Tony" Steve asked heatedly.
"Well, someone had to. I'm sure you're aware that you're public enemy number one right now. There are a lot of people out there ready to take down a super soldier gone rogue, and believe me, many of the governments you messed with, including our own, have deployed some deadly force tasks that have been trying to take you down" With a movement of his hand, a couple of blue screens materialized around them, containing some news headlines dating back several months.
Each headline described the tense political atmosphere the world had plummeted into after the rogues had escape from the raft. Several governments had threatened with breaching into the US to get a hold of the rogues, afraid of the implications that there were enhanced individuals out there that responded to no authority but their own, desperate to find a way to make someone pay for the death and destruction they had suffered under the Avengers interventions. The political tension had even bleed into the global markets, affecting many economies, destabilizing some small countries that had had nothing to do with the Accords or the Avengers in the first place.
Steve suddenly understood the magnitude of his actions. He had never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined that his decisions could have had a major impact on the entire world. He could now understand how the world saw him, a super soldier that obeyed no one, an enhanced that had no problem with taking down his own teammates. He'd been so focused on helping his childhood friend that he never took a moment to consider all the consequences it might bring them.
"So, it was only a matter of luring you out of your hidinghole. And look, here you are!" Tony said as a matter of fact, crossing his arms across his chest.
Steve's mind was spinning. They had known they were being targeted by several countries, but he had been totally blindsided. He had never considered the possibility that they were being led into a trap.
Turning around Tony started to climb the stairs once again.
"Why did you fake your own death Tony?" Steve asked in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the floor, his mind still trying to comprehend everything he had discovered.
"Hmm? You're talking about the lab? Oh, I didn't fake that, we needed to kill Tarleton's abomination" Tony said without stopping or looking back at the restrained man.
"You what?!" asked Steve perplexedly.
"Good bye Rogers" Tony said from atop the large staircase, disappearing into the shadows of the old Sanctum.
"Tony wait!" he yelled after the man, only to find himself enveloped in a suddenly overwhelming darkness.
When Steve opened his eyes again, he found himself on the floor of an empty and brightly lit cell, the sudden change of light blinding him for a moment. He noticed a dark silhouette on the other side of the room, an imposing figure rapidly approaching his cell.
“Welcome Captain” said a voice he recognized.
“Rhodey! What’s going on?” He asked in a low voice, his head still ringing from the strange trip he had taken.
“Steven Grant Rogers, you are under arrest on charges of international terrorism as well as attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking-”
“Rhodey, I know you think you’re helping Tony, but this is wrong! Listen to me!” Steve said pleadingly, trying to make him see some reason.
Rhodey continued as if he hadn’t heard the man “You will be held in here as precaution. Your trial will begin in a week. Goodbye Rogers" with that, Rhodey turned around and left the room, leaving behind a very disoriented Steve.
Looking around, Steve could see there were several holding cells around his. He saw that Sam and Natasha were both there, unharmed and definitely pissed as hell. Looking to his left he was startled to find a third figure huddled in a far cell, a young woman looking at them with an amused expression, a book held in one of her hands.
“Hey Steve, nice to see you” Wanda said with a cynical grin.
With a low groan Steve let his head fall on his hands. They were all in some deep trouble.