Summary: Part 8 of Red In My Ledger
Warnings: Fighting, violence, guns, shocking reveals, and cliffhanger!
Word Count: 2,898
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Tony's POV
We arrive at Siberia. Yes, it was in my country but to admit, it's one of the coldest places to travel by. I remember having a mission there and you would never believe that how I felt myself freezing. The Quinjet was finding a suitable place to land so that we wouldn't alert the enemy base of our arrival. My inside was tingling a bit because I was kind of anxious of what was upcoming. But, as soon I had everyone by my side, including Y/N, I was relieved. We then depart out of the jet, and spread through separate ways to cripple the defences of the secret base. I was with Y/N and Steve, and we sneak our way to the back door. I gently look through the other side and see two people guarding the entrance.
I give Y/N a nod and she understands the task to be done, as she enables a smoke grenade which rolls past them both. They didn't realise it hit right through their feet when the smoke filled and they coughed the gas and immediately get distracted from our presence. Y/N topples over the one soldier and then grabs the gun from it's pocket, shooting the other. Y/N then joined us back and headed upstairs along with us to the above floor.
We arrive at the storage room, and I place my bag, unzipping it to hand over the guns to my teammates. "You'll need them."
"Of course, who will even go out to fight without guns?"
"Sometimes, words are much better than guns, it prevents violence."
"It's true that defeating violence can be done by a normal discussion, but right now.." I pick out my pistol through my gun pocket, and charge it, looking at Steve. "Guns and fists are our words."
Steve gives me a straight face, before giving a single nod. I then look at Y/N, who also nods back in agreement. We then head to the inside of the base, bashing out of the door and pay our attention to the guards in front of us.
Third Person POV
The scene then switches to a slow motion phase, where the guards begin to lift their guns, but Stark shoots the one soldier in a quick motion as he pulls the trigger. Before the other guard can do anything, Steve throws his shield at him.
The alarm blared around the base, and ou see more guards approaching near behind, and you run towards them to punch and kick them through the skills you learnt from the Red Room. While facing the other soldiers, the memories of you being a kid triggered in you while being trained to be a Black Widow. You were being beaten harshly by the trainers as if you couldn't feel pain. Your head felt dizzy and saw multiple visions of the trainer by your tired eyes, and felt to pass out.
But this wasn't you. You were back to reality, grabbing the soldier by the leg and tripped him down by force. You then grabbed their big guns and immediately shot the rest of the approaching soldiers.
Back to Tony, he runs over the coming guards and defends himself from their attack, before bashing them in the face with his own. He begins to then attack the other soldiers, punching and pinning them to the wall, and stabbing their back with his pocket knife. Steve meanwhile trying to knock out the other guards around the complex with his trusty shield.
"Is that all?" You shouted.
"Don't you feel they are?" Tony replied back. "Cause I think they'll send more for sure."
"Of course they might, guys. We need to be careful. We also have to regroup with the others." Steve panted for air and grabs the flying shield which came back to him. Three of them leave and enter to the main base, passing through the large hallway. A soldier spotted them three arriving but Tony shot him dead, entering the next level.
When they reach the other room, an arrow passed through them, and shot the other arriving soldiers in one movement. They turn around to see Clint and Natasha, who successfully wiped off the security from their selected area.
"Sis." You whistled, and she whistles back. Everyone were confused why did they did that.
"What was that for?" Clint asked.
"It's to tell that we're definately here." Natasha replied. You smiled.
"Yeah so, we have disabled the cameras of this base, and knocked every security in the area we walked in." Clint mentions their status, that they completed the task.
"Good. Any idea where the test subjects are?" Steve asked.
"It says that in the lower level of the ground, they have kept the test subjects. Those people were selected to initiate in a program, called the Super Soldier Program."
"S-super soldier.. program? How?" Steve was a little shocked about this situation.
"And.. you won't believe this, Steve. HYDRA's doing all this." Natasha said, in worry.
"HYDRA?" Tony raised an eyebrow, because he didn't knew what that was, but other knew it very well.
Steve sighed. "HYDRA was an organisation which worked on the goal to take over humanity by ruling the world. How this can even be.. I thought HYDRA died the moment I threw Red Skull in the Arctic."
"I understand Steve. No one even me knew that. Truth can be a shock, but we have to overcome it together."
"Before HYDRA can train those test subjects to make them into murderers, we have to rescue them now. Especially, we also have to look for the target." Steve looks at the others, and they held agreeing faces.
Suddenly, they hear noises of thunder, and then the scene switches to all arriving at the big hallway, seeing Thor and Bruce fighting the other soldiers. The thunder god uses his hammer with powers to defeat the soldiers, meanwhile the Hulk was easily attacking them all with no ease.
"Do they always fight like that?" Tony asked to Steve.
"Yeah, kinda." Steve shrugged, and Tony just shakes his head. After they were finished, Thor approaches them all. "See guys? I can take their arse and whack their names!"
"You mean.. kick arse and take names?" Clint corrects him, but the God all could do was to rub his hair.
"Wait, really? I thought it was what I said." Thor smirks but then jerks when he hears the Hulk roar. "Alright big guy, you can stop!"
"Everyone. We have to leave for the lower level now. I don't like waiting." Tony walks away and begins heading to the way which leads to the deep ground. The place where the test subjects were kept.
The Avengers also follow him and then enter the elevator, but Hulk wasn't able to fit in. "Hey hey, Hulk guy! You gotta take the stairs!" Clint stopped the green monster.
"No!" The Hulk screamed.
"You can't see? You won't fit here at all, just take the stairs, we know you'll come down there."
The elevator began to close and all the Hulk could do is to scream and leave to find a way down to the room, but sadly, there was no way down, enraging him as he got left there.
The Avengers reach to the deeper part of the Siberian base, as Tony and the others step out of the elevator to look at the huge interior. It was entire rock built, as if it was created a long years back.
"It looks like a gulag." Tony said while taking a look at the deep base. "Where at the time of Stalin, he used to trap the prisoners here."
They kept exploring the area, and located some jails, where they find the subjects sleeping. They found them.
Steve approaches through the jail door and knocks off the locks with his shield, one by one which wakes them entirely, and realised they're going to be rescued, making them happy.
While they all were out and being aided, Tony catches some attention of a presence. It wasn't around, but he felt a bit wrong. When it was time, he shouted.
"Everyone get down!" Tony shouted and laid to the ground, so as the others, that a huge bomb floated in the air and exploded right at the far wall. Tony got up from his cover and saw somebody next to them in the dark area. It slowly began to reveal itself in the light, while Tony and the others charge themselves.
Tony clenched his pistol towards the person hiding in the shadows. There, when it reveals itself, Tony gasped, along with the other superheroes who looked in shocked.
It was Nick Fury on the support with Maria Hill, injured. Tony and Steve run towards to help them up.
"Fury? H-how are you here?" Tony asked.
"I was about to warn you all guys about this mission. But.." Fury coughed. "You all have been in a trap this all time."
"Trap? What does that mean? Who was it?" Steve raised his eyebrow.
"It was.. it.." Before Fury can say anything, he passed out in Maria's arms. A shrill type of sound filled through the huge area, everyone covering their ears. But, that voice wasn't ordinary. Instead, the test subjects suddenly trigger in their senses, and began to attack the others. Everyone tried to hold them back but they were more stronger.
"Crap, what's wrong with these people?!" Clint shouted while defending himself.
"They must have triggered their minds with the shrill, it's where they activate their brainwashed state!" Maria cried back. "We have to stabilize them, immediately! Tony, Y/N.. defend Fury, we'll do it!"
Tony and you rush to Fury, securing him to a safe place. He was still unconscious, and kept him guarded. The others found it a little difficult to handle the soldiers, so Tony turned to you.
"Y/N, take care of Fury for me." Tony gets up and then runs towards one of the test subject and knocks him down to the ground. While he did it, other two grab him by the arms, and clenched it. Tony cried in pain but used his enough force to break through their grip, pulling them down to the ground. Other arrived near him and began to punch but Tony dodged it and defended itself from the subject. After when it was little distracted, Tony grabbed him by the leg and by one swift motion, he pins him to the ground. The guy struggled to leave his grip but Tony punched him one final time, passing him out too. But, another one gripped him from the neck, which tried to choke him, he desperately looked at you, and then bonked the head of the subject with his.
Tony got up and breathed for air, wiped the blood off his nose and turned around to the others. They all could look at him in nothing but shock.
"Chto?" He raised an eyebrow at them all, and somehow, he encountered something which Tony was waiting for, but what did it cost?
Him getting sniped on the arm.
Tony growled in pain and fell down to the ground, and Steve and Y/N ran towards to help the Russian out. Y/N tried to put pressure on the wound, and Steve made Tony concentrate on his breathing.
"Well done, Anton. I'm so proud of you." A voice filled through the huge area, bringing everyone's attention to the source of the noise. Tony tried to pay attention to the one who called him by his name, as he saw two people above him, on the catwalk. He gently clenched his eyes to look clearly, as his vision comes back.
It was a familiar-looking blonde man, along with a man with an eye shield and mask, holding a sniper rifle.
The Avengers, along with Tony itself was now seeing the true mastermind of this entire time.
"You.." Tony growled in anger. "You did all this, did you?"
"We had to, Anton. Your father was the reason why we all were losing." Pierce replied, from up there.
"But why.. why would you do this..?!" Tony demanded answers right now.
Pierce all could do is to sigh. "How can I explain you this, my Anton? You know the war between you and me had to stop somehow. And your father was an integral part of it."
Pierce continued. "Your father already knew his life was in danger, so it was more better if he had met you for the last time."
Tony gritted in anger, while Steve and Y/N kept him hold. His eyes began to shed slight tears, he never thought he would face his father's murderer right in front of everyone.
"Your father.. then your friends. The fake intel. It was a sign to show you all will cripple upon us, and guess what? You did."
"Ubiytsa dolban'iy! Vernites' syuda!" Tony shouted at the blonde with his language, and struggled to get up. You definately felt his pain, he really wanted to have revenge, but never knew this was going to happen back.
"Pierce.. you betrayed us." Steve said, angrily. "SHIELD will never be in your control!"
"Did I? Well, I had to make SHIELD as it's supposed to be. But, I guess, you can't interfere anymore because, you would be too dead to do so." Pierce looked at the soldier beside him. "Go and finish them."
The soldier looked at his master, and then jumped off the catwalk, and landed hard to the ground, but didn't injure himself. It did feel it was a super soldier too.
Steve was about to get up, but Tony placed an arm over his chest, stopping him. "He's mine. He killed my father."
Tony left your grip too and with all the strength he has, he stood up on his legs, and glared at him with pure hatred.
"What made you think doing this will get what you want..?" Tony muttered. "You did a grave mistake by doing so. You will pay for it, suka." His eyes started filling with tears, again. The pain and anger mixed inside of him, exposing his vulnerable side.
The soldier didn't respond anything, and just kept staring at the Russian agent. Tony all could do is to laugh it out. "Now you're going to be quiet about it? Cause I don't think you're going to do anything about it—"
Before Tony can continue, he was punched in the face. Spitting out the blood in his mouth, he looked back at him. "Is that all you got?" Tony smiled, with the blood now on his teeth, and the soldier kicked him again, this time in the stomach and he fell down. Tony winced in pain, but he still kept himself strong and gets up again.
"This is your final attempt. Do better or get ready for the worst."
"What is he doing? Is he gone insane?" Clint whispered through Natasha's ear.
"No, he's doing what he needs to do. Just keep watching." Nat replied.
Back to Tony along with the soldier, it felt like the last straw. It began to drew a punch with it's now revealed metal arm, but Tony grabbed it with his hand. The soldier struggled to punch back again but the agent kept hold.
Y/N and the others began to step forward and help him out, but he just raised his one hand to keep them where they are. He wanted to handle this all alone.
"I told you, you were warned." Tony whispered, and then by one motion, he kicked the soldier and drifted itself back. Tony cracked his knuckles and head, before going to face the soldier. With the skills he learnt from Kulikov's training, Tony was able to dodge every single bit of his attacks, but as he started pulling the guns, Tony bent his back and the bullet passed through him, thus surviving the shot.
Tony then began to run towards the soldier, who was missing his aim every stance, and then finally, he toppled him over and punched him multiple times in the face. But, the soldier grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him in the air. Tony tried to pull off from his grip, but according to him and the soldier, he was slightly stronger. While he was getting choked and out of breath, he started to see a vision of his parents, standing there in the light.
A young Tony, who was reluctant to leave his parents, was now facing the challenges of the world without them. But, they could all do is to smile and say;
"Don't give up on us, Antosha."
The younger man eyes filled with heavy tears, but then it enrages itself in the fury and rage, of battling the odd against him. When the scene snaps back to reality, Tony was able to break through the grip of the soldier, and with an incredible force, he made him fall back. Others, including you who was stopped to help, were seeing everything happen through their own eyes. The soldier itself was shocked to know how was he able to break free from his grip, but this was not the weaker Tony anymore.
It was the Anton Starkov, who anyone never knew before.
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