First Kiss
Everyone turned towards Tony. He looked almost bored.
“Whatever. You guys keep quiet. Put him through Fri.”
They all stilled when they heard Ross voice.
“Stark. Do you really think you can keep putting me on hold for almost a month?”
Tony chuckled.
“Oh Teddy. You know me. I’m a busy man.”
“This is serious Stark. Leave the nicknames for your girls. We have information about Captain America being in New York again. We need you to find him and capture him as well as the other fugitives.”
Tony sighed and waved his hand. Friday begun to show the fight that had been downstairs and then pulled up files on Ross. She highlighted the sentence ‘WORKS WITH HYDRA’. That made Tony smirk.
“You know Teddy I have some very interesting files here. And I knew you were a scumbag but Hydra? Really? You can’t get lower.”
Then he frowned and added:
“Maybe with Hammer. Yeah. You could get lower with Hammer. But that’s not important right now. So tell me Teddy. Why Hydra?”
Friday had now given him all the files there were on Ross and highlighted the most recent and important things. Then she pulled up T’Challa’s file. On it, with big red letters, she wrote ‘MISSING’. Then she added: ‘most probably Ross and Hydra’. Tony froze.
“Well,well, well. You really are into this Ross. Kidnapping the king of Wakanda? Not good.”
Ross was quiet for a few seconds almost as if he couldn’t believe that Tony knew so much.
“So what James? What are you going to do?”
Tony sat up straighter.
“Who told you about that name? Pierce is dead.”
They could all hear the satisfaction in Ross voice when he spoke again.
“I have my informants. There are still people alive that remember you.”
Clint waved his hand and when Tony looked over to him he started to sign like crazy. Tony followed his hand movements carefully and then nodded when they stopped.
“I… How many?”
Everyone but Clint was shocked by how Tony’s voice changed. He sounded almost afraid. The satisfaction could once again be heard in Ross voice.
“Enough to destroy everything you have.”
Tony dragged in a shaky breath.
“Wha… What do you want me to do?”
“I need you to find Rogers and his team and get them back here. And I want you to find Romanoff and Carter too. Dead or alive. Understood?”
Tony’s response came immediately.
“Yes, sir.”
“Howard taught you well.”
They all saw hate and anger in Tony’s eyes but he kept quiet.
“Good. I want them as soon as possible. Get to work on it. You’re working for Hydra now.”
Tony took a calming breath and answered in a whisper:
“Hail Hydra.”
The line went dead and Tony leaned over the table to high five Clint. They all looked at them and Natasha voiced what they all had been thinking:
“What was that about?”
Clint looked over to her with surprise on his face.
“You know sign language.”
“I didn’t get all of it.”
Tony was writing something on his phone with Wanda and Bucky looking over his shoulders. Clint looked around and when he noticed that no one understood he explained.
“I figured that if Ross knew about Tony being James Winter then he would try to get him to work for Hydra again. So I told Tony to play along as if he was scared. If Ross thought that he had Tony in his hand then it would give Tony a free pass to the Hydra bases. This way he could figure out where they are holding T’Challa and maybe even free him.”
Bucky turned sharply towards Clint.
“He’s not going back there.”
Clint held his gaze for a second and then looked away. Bucky was furious. He couldn’t understand how anyone could want to send his Jamie back there. Tony looked up from the phone and put a hand on his shoulder.
“I am. You can’t stop me.”
Bucky’s cold stare was now turned at Tony.
“There is no way I’m letting you go back to that base James. Especially not now that you have your powers back.”
Tony looked positively furious.
“I’m not a child anymore!”
Bucky looked at him for a long moment. Then he sighed and his voice softened.
“No, you’re not. But that doesn’t mean I want you to risk your life.”
Tony lowered his head. He understood. He really did. But T’Challa was in danger. And since T’Challa had been a part of his team and helped Tony through a panic attack shortly after he came back to New York, Tony saw him as a part of the family he had created. He wasn’t on the same level as Natasha, Wanda, Bruce, Pepper and Rhodey. And far from the level Winter was on. But he was still a part of family.
“I will be fine. I won’t go as Tony Stark. And I will only have to go to one base. But I’ll need your mask. And different clothes.”
They were looking at each other for a moment and then Bucky nodded and got up.
“I’ll see what I can find.”
He went out of the kitchen and Tony turned to the others.
“I’ll go tonight. First I’ll go to Ross. Tell him that I have my powers back. I’ll try to be as honest with him as possible without telling him that you are here. It seems that he doesn’t really know about the fight that was here. Nice job with that one by the way. It was nice to see you all in action on the same side again. But you should have told me about T’Challa being gone. I could have done something earlier.”
Natasha and Wanda were both looking at him with worry. The younger girl took his hand and asked quietly:
“Are you sure? It might be dangerous. I don’t want to lose you… Dad.”
Tony looked happy for a second when she said that but then his smile disappeared.
“I’m definitely not sure. But I wasn’t sure when I flew the suit for the first time. I had to admit I almost died then but it all ended well. And as I said I won’t be going as Tony Stark.”
“You better explain yourself Stark.”
Fury’s voice was irritated. He had a feeling that he was missing something. Tony sighed.
“You know about me being a mutant and about me being James Winter right?”
Fury nodded. He had read Peggy Carter’s private file on James Winter. Clint looked shocked but before he could ask anything Sam elbowed him in the side. He shook his head and the archer understood the silent message. ‘Later’. He looked back to Tony who was now speaking again.
“Well I figured that they would hold T’Challa at a place where I would never go again. The base where I lived as a child. He is most probably there. And as I said: I won’t go as Tony Stark. And not as Iron Man either. I will go as James Winter. If there are still people there that remember me then it shouldn’t be hard to get back in now that Pierce is dead.”
And finally Fury understood. Tony was going back to Hydra. He was going to work for and with Hydra to get their trust again. He was going to…
“You know how they will go at it?”
Tony winced.
“More or less. I’ll most probably get a handler. They won’t give me any insight into the files. They will try to make me into the new Asset. I’ll go on missions. I will most probably not come back to the Tower in some time.”
Rhodey was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“And what if the UN wants me and Vision to take you down?”
Tony smirked and his answer came in a split second.
“Hunt me down. Fight me. Give your best shot. Make it real.”
Rhodey paled but nodded. He trusted Tony. After all, he had know Tony the longest of them all. Well maybe except for Fury but that bastard seemed to know everyone since the day they were born. Tony used to call him dinosaur and Rhodey thought that it was quite fitting. Then Steve spoke up.
“You might have to hurt someone while you are with Hydra Tony. Are you sure you want to go that far for a friend?”
Rhodey snorted.
“Well look who is talking.”
But he quieted when Tony sent him THAT look.
“I am sure Rogers. I would do that for anyone in my family.”
Steve lowered his head understanding the underlying message. ‘Unlike you’. He remembered picking his shield up and bringing it over his head. He remembered Tony’s terrified eyes. He remembered smashing the shield down into the reactor. He remembered not caring as he left with Bucky. And he realized that Tony had always been the real hero of the Avengers. When Natasha had been in trouble he had flown over to her and saved her even if it almost killed him. When the roof that Clint was on exploded Tony ignored the fact that he was being shot at and raced to save the archer. He was always watching everything. Keeping an eye on everyone. He was the one who always flew away after the battle to find the human Bruce even if he was hurt himself. His attention was drawn away from Tony when Bucky went back inside.
“I left it all in your bedroom.”
Tony stood up and, once again, used his powers to keep his balance. Bucky looked at him with worry but didn’t say anything. Tony went out and Bucky sat down again. He looked actually scared.
“Bucky?”
He turned his head towards Wanda.
“Dad will be fine. He is strong.”
Bucky nodded but didn’t seem convinced. A few minutes passed and then the door opened again. And everyone froze. Tony slowly walked in. He had tight black pants and a fitting black jacket that looked very much like the one the Winter Soldier had wore. The only difference was that Tony’s had a hood which he had dragged over his head. He had black boots on and a black belt. To the belt he had strapped a gun that some of the more observant ones recognized as the one Winter had given him. Covering his mouth and nose was the mask. His eyes shone brightly and the blue power was floating around him. He looked almost as that little boy that had attacked the SHIELD headquarters back then. Tony stopped.
“I take your reaction as a compliment.”
When no one answered he shrugged.
“I’ll be going then. Friday will keep you updated. Wish me good luck.”
He headed towards the door but stopped when he heard Natasha say:
“James wait.”
He turned back to her. She stood up and went over to him. After a second’s hesitation she leaned up and kissed him where his mouth was under the mask. He froze and his eyes widened. Then he took her hand and put it over the place where his reactor was concealed by the jacket.
“I’ll be back.”
Then he let go of her hand, turned around and went out.