Chapter 52
Tony startled awake when he heard the bullet. His head snapped up with wide eyes as he stared at the scene.
Dean was standing a few feet away from him with his gun pointing at something over Tony’s head. Behind Dean, Sydney was trying to help Steve up, who was panting hard like he was trying to get as much air inside his lungs as he could.
Beside Tony, Holdstein was standing while gripping a small lever in the chair Tony was tied down on.
And for a few seconds, Tony didn’t understand what’s going on.
All he noticed was how flushed Holdstein’s face was while a huge smirk appeared on Dean’s lips.
“I’m sorry, genius fucker, can you tell me again how that I am not smart enough to keep up with fuckers like you?” Dean mocked, his smirk widening even more.
“How-How did you do it?” Holdstein muttered in a strangled voice.
“I didn’t need to be a genius to understand the situation.” Dean scoffed. “You are alive somehow. Tried to kill Tony with that hideous chair, then you told me yourself that the energy that will kill him will flow through these wires.” Then he shrugged. “So, obviously I just shot the wires instead of you.” he turned serious and pointed his gun at Holdstein. “Now it’s your turn.”
Dean shot him but Holdstein jumped to the side fast and dodged Dean’s bullet, then with another jump he passed through the door of the room and pushed a hidden button in the frame and let out a loud laugh.
“No, no don’t let him get away.” Sydney called out weakly.
Tony pulled at his restraints while Dean rushed after Holdstein, but a transparent barrier suddenly appeared at the door and Dean hit it and stumbled back to stare at Holdstein in shock.
Meanwhile, Steve moved towards Tony weakly to land on his knees in front of him and untied him as fast as he could.
“I am supposed to be the one who came here to save you.” Tony murmured while staring at Steve’s face.
“You did.” Steve whispered with a small weak smile as Tony got back on his feet and helped him up.
“You are trapped inside this room.” Holdstein announced viciously. “At the same time, another defense system is activated. In one minute, lethal laser beams will be unleashed from the ceiling to create a net that will kill anything that comes in its way.”
“And what about the time ship? Did you give up about it?” Sydney snapped sharply.
“Not at all.” Holdstein just shrugged with a smirk. “I now know that you have the key. So, I will just take the silver ball from your remains when the laser beams finished their job.”
“The silver ball? Did you really fall for that? It is not the key of the ship. It is just a weapon. You will have nothing after our death.”
“I will find a way inside you. There must be something inside you that connect you to the ship. I will find it. Believe that.” then he looked down at his watch. “Forty six seconds. Goodbye, future folks. I will see you in hell.”
He said it and turned around to leave the building.
“You go to hell on your own, bastard!” Dean shouted while shooting at the barrier.
The bullets hit the barrier and reflected from it to the inside of the room.
“Careful, Dean! You will kill us.” Steve exclaimed as he and Tony ducked to avoid the bullets.
“Me? And what about the laser beams the fucker talked about? Are they going to tickle us?” Dean said bitterly. “God, we don’t catch a break for even a second.”
“Maybe we could stop it before it activates.” Tony said while looking around at the machines inside the room.
“No, we can’t. He activated it from outside the room.” Sydney sighed before moving towards Dean. “Can I borrow your gun?”
“Why?” Dean asked while he handed it over.
Sydney answered while pointing the gun at a specific device: “If I only have one second to live, then I will spend it to destroy that transmitting device. That fucker must never send that second message.”
She said it then emptied the gun as she shot the device until it became just shattered pieces.
Tony pulled Steve closer to him and looked down at his watch.
Fifteen seconds.
Fourteen.
Thirteen.
Which meant that time is passing fast.
And there is no way to save themselves.
***
“Looks like it’s over, guys.” Dean announced bitterly as he stared at his watch, his eyes caught his wedding ring and felt physical pain hit his body at the thought of Cas. He just wanted to go back to him. He didn’t want to get sucked up in all of this. Was that too much to ask? To just go back to his husband and let the world burn. He doesn’t care anymore. He just needs to feel Cas’ warmth and presence again.
Now he will never feel it again and Castiel will be left in the present wondering with a broken heart why Dean never came back for him.
Meanwhile, Tony was looking around the room anxiously while only seven seconds left.
He wasn’t planning to let Steve die because of him. Not now or ever. Steve fucking deserves to be happy and not to die like a trapped rat.
Then his eyes landed on something.
“Quick! Let’s remove the smooth part of this table!” Tony suddenly called hastily.
The three of them rushed to do as he was told without asking any questions and they worked together to remove the smooth, metallic table top while the seconds flew by.
“Raise it above your heads and stay under it!” Tony instructed when they managed to remove it.
The moment they raised it above their heads and where completely under it, the laser beams where unleased with a loud hissing sound and many beams hit the table top above their heads and reflected off of it and away.
“That’s genius, dude!” Dean praised with wide eyes. “That fucker made everything in this room smooth and metallic so it won’t be ruined if he ever had to activate the laser. And you used that against him, which saved us.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” Steve said in frustration. They all turned to him in worry and he continue sharply: “Sure, that table top is protecting us from the lasers, but for how long? Are we going to carry it above our heads forever?”
“I don’t think it will go on for a long time.” Sydney murmured uncertainly.
“Don’t be so sure about that.” Tony commented grimly. “Maybe Holdstein won’t want to leave anything to chances. It will go on for a long time to make sure that we’re dead. Besides, the temperature of the room will soon rise to an unbearable degree soon.”
“What are we going to do then?” Steve asked nervously.
“We attack.” Dean answered firmly.
“Attack what?” Sydney asked in confusion.
Dean pointed at the door. “The door frame.”
He said it then leaned forward a little with the table top and made the laser divert after reflecting on it towards the door frame.
A loud hissing sounded in the room like it was coming from a dragon.
“Why everything from the future sounds so terrifying?” Steve muttered with a frown.
“Not everything. I promise.” Tony reassured him with a small smile despite their situation. Steve smiled back but Tony could detect the worry and anxiety in that small smile.
Just then, flames burst out from the door frame then a loud crack sounded in the room before the whole door fell to the floor with its frame.
“Don’t rush in.” Dean said firmly. “Move like one until we reach the door.”
They kept the table top above their heads until they were close to the door.
“Now!” Dean shouted the moment they reached it.
The four of them jumped through the door like one, leaving the table top to fall on the floor behind them.
“That was close.” Tony let out an almost hysterical chuckle.
“The most important thing is that I completed my mission.” Sydney smiled in relief.
“So, if the second bomb is not going to be sent to Earth, what will explain your journey?” Tony asked curiously.
“I don’t know. Maybe testing the time ship or something.”
“But how everyone will know that you did your mission if there was no mission at all?” Steve asked in confusion.
Sydney smiled as she looked at him then at Tony and Dean. “Don’t worry. They’ll know.”
Steve looked confused while Tony and Dean just smiled gently.
“Yeah. They’ll.” Dean murmured softly with a smile.
“That if we managed to return home.” Tony sighed.
His words made them silent for a few seconds before Dean spoke again. “Let’s just do our best.” Then he smirked slyly as he pulled something from his pocket. “By the way, I have a little gift for Holdstein.”
He pulled the trigger of the grenade in his hand and threw it inside the room they just escaped from. “Get out of here fast!”
They all ran out of the building as the explosion sounded behind them and threw them forwards violently to hit the ground.
A few seconds passed until everything quieted down, then Dean raised his head with a smile that froze on his face as he stared right in front of them “Uhm, guys?”
They all looked up and froze when they came face to face with a smirking Holdstein surrounded by a group of soldiers, who were pointing their guns at them.