Fury growled, teeth grinding together almost painfully. He’d just given some agent the order to get them over water. The kid didn’t even know how to fly without the thousands of useless systems to tell him what to do. People were running back and forth, soldiers getting their weapons ready to protect the bridge from the enemies that seemed to have come from out of nowhere.
“Sir, we need to repair that engine” Maria Hill said, pointing down at one of the lead computer screens with worry. The map of the hellicarrier blinked dangerously over two of the engines that kept the damn thing in the air. Fury’s priority for the moment was to get them away from civilian population. If the carrier drops, thousands of civilians could die. And despite the talks about him being a heartless man, that was something he would try to avoid at all cost.
“If we lose one more engine, we-”
“I know, Hill” Fury snapped. He was all too aware of what would happen.
A low, dragged out whistling brought his attention away from the chaos currently happening in front of him. He spun around, already pulling his gun out and pointing it directly at the new threat. Of-fucking-course he would be here. Maria followed his example, pulling out her gun and aiming it at their unwanted guest.
Stark stood just a few feet away from them, taking in the chaos around him with a satisfied smile. Did he have anything to do with this? What he in league with Loki? It wouldn’t have surprised Fury if he was. The two seemed perfect for each other.
“Wow… this escalated quickly, didn’t it?” Stark said, finally meeting Fury’s eye. The director felt a chill run down his back, looking into those dark, soulless eyes.
“What do you want?!” He snapped, coking his gun. Any excuse at all, and he would fire, effective or not. Stark merely shrugged his shoulders, looking at the barrel of the gun with a bored expression.
“Nothing much, really. I just popped in for a little visit, had an interesting talk with some people. Got a delivery for you as well, by the way” He lifted his hand, which Fury only now noticed had a vice grip around Barton’s wrist. Their missing archer was hanging loosely from Stark’s grip, like an old ragdoll. “Heard you were missing a bird”
In one smooth motion, Stark threw the archer in front of them. Clint didn’t move, and for a second Fury was afraid he was dead. Maria bent down, a shaking hand reaching for the other agent’s pulse.
“He’s not dead, if that’s what you think” Maria ignored him, wisely deciding not to take his word for it. Fury’s eyes never left Stark, unwilling to let him get the drop on them again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maria nodding slightly, cradling Barton close to her chest. Stark rolled his eyes, bending down and pulling an arrow out of his knee with a small grunt of discomfort. The movement made Fury tense, ready for the monster to throw the arrow at them.
“I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee… damn, his arrows hurt. Who the hell has silver arrows?” He seemed to be talking more to himself than the other occupants.
“Maria, get agent Barton to the medbay. I’ll handle this”
“But sir-”
“Now, Maria!” The agent gave him a slight glare, not wanting to leave her boss alone with the creature before them. Finally, she relented, and started dragging the unconscious Clint towards the door. Stark gave her a playful wave as the door slid close behind her, the last thing visible being Marias dark glare.
The other agents around them hadn’t taken much notice to the situation at hand, however, Fury’s little outburst had brought forth everyone’s attention. God dammit, he didn’t have time for this.
“Back to work, people! Did I not say get us over water?! Go! Move it!” Fury shouted over his shoulder, forcing the other agents to take action. He turned his attention back towards the enemy in front of him. Stark was still smiling at him, that god-awful smile with far too many teeth. Normally, he would have called for an armed team, but he couldn’t risk their lives in an attempt to take out Stark at the moment. They would need all the men they could get if Loki managed to bring forth his alien army.
“If you would care to move to a more… private area, we could strike up a chat. Ya know, talk about the weather or something mundane like that. I heard it was going to rain aliens later today”
Fury got the message. Stark wanted to talk to him privately.
“Do you really think I’m stupid enough to go with you, just so you can stab me in the back?” He snapped. The other gave another shrug, not seeming at all bothered by the hostile tone.
“Meh, I was just thinking it would be nice to find a more private place to talk. Get away from all this chaos, as much as I love chaos, it can be quite loud” Just as Stark said it, as if to prove his point, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the far distance.
“Yeah? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have something to do with this chaos” It took a millisecond for Stark to process his words, before he was bent over laughing.
“You- you think that I am in league with Loki?!” He said in-between gasps of air. Despite his hysteria, his laughter was dark and gritty, a serious undertone to it. Fury gritted his teeth. What was the guy playing him for?
“I mean, I see where you’re coming from… but really? Do you think I would help the godling bring an army of fucking aliens to my planet?!”
“You tell me. You seem like the kind of guy who would team up with insane gods just for kicks” Fury growled. Already, Stark’s fucked-up personality and need to fire him up was graining on his nerves. It took a few, long seconds for Stark to pull himself together and straighten up.
“That was actually a position I was gonna offer you. Now… want to go somewhere more private, or do I have to make you?” There was a dangerous force to the word “make”, undertoning that Fury really had no choice when it came to the matter. With another, final glare, Fury holstered his gun.
“Agent Williams, you’re in charge until I get back” If I get back… Agent William gave a hesitant, almost scared nod, eyeing the demon fearfully. Not every agent knew what exactly Stark was, hell, it was relatively new information to Fury as well, and something he kept very close. It had been Natasha whom had managed to expose him, during the events of 2010.
He gave a curt nod in the direction of his private office on the hellicarrier, and the other followed after him with a satisfied expression plastered over his ugly mug. Fury’s teeth were gritted to the point that he could taste the coppery tinge of blood on his tongue. A silent mantra of “this is a fucking trap, I just know it” flowing through his mind as he opened the door and stepped inside, Stark close behind. The other took an instant liking to his chair, plopping down on it like he owned it before his fingers went to mess with the screens.
“What did you want?” Fury asked, trying his best to ignore the monster mess around in his files. It was nothing the demon hadn’t already seen, anyway.
“What exactly is your plan of attack?” Stark asked, dismissing the screens and leaned back in the chair, feet crossed over Fury’s desk. His full attention was directed at him now, and Fury felt his skin grow two sizes smaller under that blank stare.
“You think I’m gonna tell you?” He replied, because honestly? Did he really look that stupid?
“Well, I’m as good a person to tell as any other” Stark said dismissively, waving his hand as though waving away the subject of his truthfulness (what little he had of it anyway). Fury’s eyes narrowed. Stark continued, in an almost playful tone “I promise I’m not planning anything”
“I wouldn’t believe that even if god himself said it” He took great pleasure in seeing Stark’s lips twitch ever so slightly, his ever-present mask cracking just a little bit at the edges. “Now I’ll ask again. What. Do. You. Want?”
The demon seemed to catch up, eyes becoming unreadable once again as he settled into his usual careless façade.
“I want many things in life, but who doesn’t? However, right now, I want to stop the guy trying to take over my home” the way he said it made it seem like he almost gave a shit. Almost.
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“Believe what you want, Nicky. But point is, you are falling. Your little flying playground is about to descend thousands of feet right into a very crowed area at the coast of Manhattan” As if on cue, the hellicarrier tipped a little bit, sending a few loose things on Fury’s desk to the ground as it lost altitude. Stark’s sickening grin widened. “I know this might be hard for you to understand, seeing as we don’t exactly get along. But I am willing, just for today, to offer my services to you free of charge. I don’t want to see this planet in the hands of someone else anymore than you do. You need all the help you can get, ergo, I will help get Loki out of your… ahem, hair”
Fury stared at him, unsure how to reply. The demon, no matter what, did nothing ‘free of charge’. However, he couldn’t ignore that he had a point. Fury was, if Thor’s word could be trusted, hilariously outnumbered.
“What, are you saying I should trust you?” He asked, glaring at the other with hatred only Stark deserved.
“As pops is my witness, I will not stab you in the back and twist the blade” The demon put one hand over his heart, and the other in the air as he swore. Fury didn’t buy it for a second. He’d done enough research to know how Tony treated his so-called “pops”.
“Is that what you said to God before you betrayed him too?” Stark’s eyes grew distant, deep brown orbs filling with ice cold anger. Slowly, and way too calmly, he took his feet down from the desk. The room darkened, and Fury knew this was Stark showing off more of his true nature. Whether it was voluntary or not, he couldn’t tell. Lights flickered above them, under attack from the waves of power so strong, Fury felt them like electricity running over his skin.
“What happened that day was a conflict of interest. I didn’t betray him, he cast me into hell, just for simply agreeing with my brother. If anyone betrayed someone, it was him, and don’t you ever assume you know better. Last time I checked, you weren’t there” His voice darkened with every syllable, and Fury could have sworn he heard pained screams echo when he spoke. It was probably one of the most unnerving things Fury had ever heard in his life, and it took all his strength not to cower in fear of a being that could kill him without even blinking.
And just as fast as it came, the anger was gone, pulled behind a mask of a businessman’s smile. Stark leant back, once again relaxing back in his chair as if nothing had happened at all. The lights returned to normal. However, Fury was left feeling nauseous.
“I am going to give you the offer of a temporary cooperation. I will work with you for one day, and help take down this army before it can do too much damage on my town. I have just finished that damned tower, I’m not letting some godling throwing a hissy-fit destroy months of arduous work. So, Director. The choice is yours. Let me join your little team of misfits, and I will fight with them as Iron Man under your command for one day. Or don’t, and I will stop Loki’s army myself. And trust me when I tell you, the number of casualties will rise by at least forty percent. Demons don’t really care if you’re the enemy or not, as long as they get to rip you to shreds”
Stark held his hand out, fully expecting Fury to reach out and shake it. The director hesitated, however. Years of experience had taught him to never trust a word the monster said, but this was a dire situation. Fury needed all the help he could get if the world was going to live through this day. And having Iron Man on the team was something he had considered, although that was before he learned Stark’s true nature. The probability that this would come back and bite him in the ass later was too high to be comfortable with, but Stark had pushed him into a tight corner with really no choice in the matter. It was help Stark, or let him handle things himself. And Fury had no doubt that the demon was telling the truth about casualties rising.
He could taste bile in his throat when he finally made up his mind. This is for you, humanity. If there’s a god out there that doesn’t hate his ass, please send help now. Fury reached out, grabbing Tony’s hand in his and gave it a good shake before pulling away like it was infected. Stark’s smile had never been more mocking, a glint in his eye that warned of mischief.
The hellicarrier did another sudden drop in altitude, startling Fury. He had completely forgotten about the hellicarrier falling, far too pulled up with Stark’s antics.
“Welp, looks like I have to go perform my civil duty. Would be a shame for this thing to fall after all the progress we’ve made today, wouldn’t you say?” Stark got up from his chair, brushing off invisible dust from his trousers before moving towards the door, hopefully to get his iron man suit and fix the turbine before it was too late. The door slid open in front of him, and Stark stepped outside, but turned around in the last second and gave Fury a final glance.
“By the way, you might want to check up on Agent Coulson. He’s just been stabbed by Loki. Tata”