Who: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark What: Steve wants his shield back, Tony can totally make that happen When: backdated, before Jane Foster was kidnapped Where: SHIELD HQ Warnings/Rating: PG-13, atm
The convertible was not actually in production yet, but such small impediments didn’t hinder Tony Stark when he wanted something. He liked his usual hot rod red, but recently New York had been sunny and bleakly hot in between short waves of rain, too hot for neon, and so it had been with Tony’s mood as well as the car. It was the red of antique velvet, and the motor felt just as good when it purred for him as he zipped between the high buildings and barely avoided mad New Yorkers as they wandered haphazardly into the street. Tony hadn’t so much as touched this engine, too wrapped up in his own signature distractions, distractions that had names like Mark VII and VIII, and maybe it didn’t have all the power he liked, but the sculpted dark seats and distinctive license plate announced its value and its passenger to the world, so it served its purpose.
Pulling up to the side of the road at the noted address (Jarvis’ voice more familiar than any other GPS could be), Tony laid down on the horn: beeep, beepbeep. And then, after a pause of thought, just because he felt like it: beepbeepbebeep.
In outward appearances, this world wasn’t too much of a flip. Madison Square was in the same place, Coney Island was still up and running -- in all reality nothing seemed to be out of place. Well, besides the fact that when Steve had left it last, most of Manhattan was in shambles. With the flashy big screen televisions, and the excess of new age automobiles it was still the future that Steve had been trying so hard to get used to for the last few months, but somehow it was even more unfamiliar than the one he’d woken in to begin with.
SHIELD hadn’t brought together the Avengers Initiative, Steve could guess they may have coalesced of their own minds, but Fury and Coulson were gone and Peggy was alive. Thoughts and emotions had been fighting in Steve’s mind for supremacy since he’d landed in Michael Gideon’s mind. There was nothing that could have prepared him for the turn of events he was experiencing. Steve however, was nothing if not mutable so he was getting by well enough, taking it a day and a problem at a time, hoping he’d adjust as soon as possible.
Peggy was the first on Steve’s list and they’d made a not date for later, but Tony’s offer as backup to get his shield wasn’t one that Steve was going to pass up. There was one thing that had been with him from the beginning of his ‘adventure’ and that was his shield. It had never let him down and Steve actually felt rather lost without it. Though he wanted his shield, this was Tony who’d offered to help so he really should have thought the offer through just a bit more. Steve realized this as he sat on the steps of some old brownstone building, gathering his racing thoughts.
Of course Steve heard Tony’s arrival well before he actually arrived because it seemed that no matter the universe, Tony was still Tony. Steve didn’t so much as blink as the G.B.P.P. pulled up in his ostentatious convertible, the wide grin on his face only growing as he laid on the horn -- three times. Steve stood in the slight pause before Tony decided another three beeps were needed to alert Steve of his presence, even though he was standing out in clear sight. Steve’s expression never left flat, though truth be told Steve was honestly quite amused and couldn’t stop the slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes that gave him away.
Stepping down of his stoop, Steve approached the car with a brow raised, “Tony.”
Tony grinned cheerfully at Steve from the driver’s side, propping his elbow on the edge of the car, the windows invisible down into the doors, the top pressed away into the trunk. There were sleeker machines, but Tony had built them all. He pushed into the horn again as Steve stepped up to the vehicle. Beeeeeeeeeep. “Captain,” he suggested, grinning perhaps more wide. “Get on in. It’s new, the doors don’t work. Gotta hop over the side and land in the seat. Can you handle that?” He revved the engine and it purred in a most satisfying away. “We’ve got things to do. Government facilities to break into.”
Tony gave Steve a closer look over than he appeared to. He was looking for differences, as he had done once with Pepper, but as then, he found none. It seemed the same man he knew before, if not for as long or as well as Banner seemed to know them all. None of that much appeared in his manner. He knew that Steve knew more about him than he might otherwise think, but it didn’t trouble him so much as it had once.
One word popped up into Steve’s mind as he stepped up to the convertible and Tony laid hard against the horn again -- incorrigible. Steve was unable to stop himself from mimicking Tony’s grin with a lighter one of his own, slightly incredulous and almost abidingly affectionate in a way.
It was strange to think of Tony Stark as one of the things he was most comfortable with in this conglomeration of new and strange events. Steve hadn’t known the man long and he shouldn’t see him as the grounding point he seemed to be at the moment, but there was this familiarity that struck him. Tony reminded Steve of Howard (the one he knew, at least) only slightly. They had the same general persona about them -- flippant genius womanizer -- but Tony was completely different in every other way. As it had turned out though, Steve’s first assumption of Tony had been wrong, as Steve had honestly hoped, and he was relieved to see that. Steve felt the same kind of relief as he’d watched Tony pull up all exhibitionistic, just the same as he’d always been.
Looking down into the car Steve’s brows rose sharply before he shook his head and placed one hand on the door. With a nimble little hop he was up over the side of the car, though it was a little awkward folding his long body into the seat, he managed to do so with a fair amount of grace. Turning to Tony Steve finally spoke, “Alright, Mr. Stark, do we have a plan of action or are we just going to walk through the front door?”
Again, the grin; Howard’s grin. “Walk through the front door. Between the two of us we have enough starshine to blind most of the people in the front two rooms, and if I can’t talk our way in, we’ll just start breaking down doors. I know that’s not your style, but desperate times call for desperate measures, Captain.” Tony put his foot down with enthusiasm and the car zoomed away from the side of the street. It was New York, and the fact that Tony broke thirty was astonishing and more than a little terrifying. A chorus of screaming horns went up as they wove in and out of traffic. No one even had time to realize who was cutting them off.
As they pulled out onto a straightaway to head into SHIELD’s semi-secret New York base, Tony said, “So you’re not looking at me like a total stranger, so I assume that means you met me before?” He made it sound more casual than it was, his concentration on the road and the gray daylight glinting off his expensive shades.
Giving Tony a smirk of his own, Steve replied almost flippantly, “I’m not opposed to breaking rules, if it’s for the greater good. You aren’t the best of influences, but sometimes you make a valid point. If you say we can just waltz right in, then I doubt anyone’ll have enough guts to stop us. Though, not to burst your bubble, but I think they might pass on autographs, sorry.” Steve’s grin was easy-going for a few seconds after his words but the expression was wiped right off of his face as Tony put the pedal to the medal.
Eyes wide, Steve hastily secured his seat belt before clenching his hands tightly in his lap, trying so very hard not to ruin the upholstery in the car by ripping it to pieces with his bare hands. It wasn’t the speed that bothered Steve, he’d gone much faster and been in much more precarious positions, but then it had just been him. He wasn’t afraid for his own well being, but that of the pedestrians that Tony was weaving in and out of, and for Tony himself -- Steve knew that humans weren’t weak per say, but their bodies were a thousand times more delicate than their minds could ever be. He just wanted everyone to arrive at their destinations in one piece, preferably the one they started out in. Finally they leveled out onto a straightaway and Tony kind of let up a bit to address Steve.
“Yeah, we’ve met quite a few times, actually. And fought Loki and his alien hordes together with the others. We were just about to meet back up after going our separate ways after sending Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard with Thor.” Steve turned to give Tony a sidelong look, he’d only assumed that they were from thereabouts the same time, but he wasn’t sure. “Natasha mentioned something about time distortion, that we can be from different times, hence,” Steve had to pause, swallowing past the tightness of his throat, “hence Peggy. Are we from about the same time, you think?”
“Doubt it,” Tony said, cheerfully, as the wind whipped through his hair and the car broke sixty. “I didn’t even meet you guys until after I found out about Silver and the door, and from talking to Pepper in those early days I think there’s quite a bit I missed. As far as I’m concerned, Fury is not the kind of guy you roast marshmallows with, and I certainly wouldn’t give him any of my tech to play with. I have absolutely no idea what a Tesseract is--other than the 8-cell polytope, which I’m guessing isn’t what you mean. You want to enlighten me?”
Tony slowed the car outside what looked like a set of business offices. Boring trees lined a driveway and an equally boring little guardhouse stood at the first entrance. A tiny white board barred anyone from crossing. Tony hit the gas again just as the guard peeked out. The car went through the board, which was made for such potential crossings, and snapped in two. “He’s just for show anyway, waste of time,” Tony commented to Steve as one of the board pieces flew overhead.
There was a moment where Steve was a bit stymied when Tony told him that he was from a time previous, from before they’d met. Brows raised in surprise, Steve turned to Tony and just looked at him for a few moments. He didn’t really look any different, no less like the Tony he’d left behind as he drove his motorcycle back to Brooklyn, but there it was, straight from the horse’s mouth.
Shaking his head, Steve frowned, “No, Fury isn’t quite the best apple in the bushel, but I’ve met worse. He was a manipulative son of a gun, but he did have the people in his best interests from what I could tell, even if he had a roundabout way of showing it.” Steve paused as Tony asked about the Tesseract. There wasn’t actually much he knew about the artifact either, just what he’d seen it do when the Skull used it, and then the bit of babble that he’d caught from Bruce and Tony as they studied it. “I’m not too sure about the Tesseract. I only know it’s a boundless energy source and it was brought to earth from Asgard, but otherwise I’m in the dark. You and Bruce Banner were studying it before Loki attacked.”
Steve explained what he knew to Tony as the other man slowed in front of the office building. Steve’s iron gripped fists lessened completely and he sighed, finally being able to try and relax as it seemed Tony slowed to stop at the guardhouse. There was no reason for the guard to let them through, other than the fact that they were Captain America and Iron Man, but that didn’t seem to matter all of the sudden as Tony hit the gas again without warning.
The car shot forward like a rocket, snapping the tiny white crossing board like a twig and Steve couldn’t help the, “Tony!” that escaped him in his surprise as they flew past the guardhouse. Not knowing what to do really, Steve just sat in the passenger seat, dreading what Tony thought to do next.
The convertible pulled to a stop in a red zone just in front of the doors to the office building. People behind desks were talking worriedly into phones, trying to find someone with the authority to tell them what to do. There wasn’t anyone, of course, and that was why this was necessary. Tony turned the car off and hopped out without even taking off his sunglasses, adjusting a set of thin copper bracelets around first one wrist, and then the other. “Here we go then!” he said, far too cheerfully, as if he had not just been informed about a heretofore undiscovered renewable power source from hell.
“Don’t listen to any of this mumbo jumbo about being other people’s property,” Tony said, strolling forward through the double doors in the full expectation that Steve would follow. “You’re here to get what’s yours so you can do your job.” Tony led the way in, and the ants attempted to put up a defense of fluttering paperwork and scowling guards in suits. Tony just kept walking, forcing the secretary attempting to inform him that he was trespassing to follow. “Captain America has arrived for his gear. We’re not signing any invoices. We’re in a hurry.” He stopped so Cap could deal with the guards and, if necessary, the door. They’d probably just try to make a human wall and Tony knew from experience that Steve could shoulder through solid steel. Two guys trying to politely halt him weren’t going to be a problem.
The small zap of adrenaline pumped through Steve’s veins from the episode with the crossing, and as they pulled to a stop outside the building, Steve’s heart sped just a bit. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, and he didn’t think he’d necessarily have to, but there was always that chance -- he was thinking ahead, making a contingency plan for all of the things that could possibly go wrong. Steve almost didn’t hear Tony as he spoke, saying something about being other people’s property. Steve didn’t have a moment to ponder what exactly that meant before they were pushing through the double doors and into a chaotic mess of people.
There was this small inkling of relief as Steve kind of let Tony take the wheel through the secretaries and paper-pushers, just following behind, looking intimidating though really not planning on using any of his potential energy. That is until they came to another set of large doors and a set of equally large men. Steve had seen bigger, more imposing creatures and didn’t blink as he took point and stepped up to the two.
“Gentlemen, I’d rather not resort to violence. If you’d please step aside.” The voice Steve spoke with told of power and authority. It had never not been followed to this day, and Steve wasn’t surprised with the guards looked to him, then to each other before stepping out of the way reluctantly. Steve only gave a respectful nod at the two before moving through the door with purpose and drive. There were only a few places Steve could think to look, though he hadn’t ventured around the headquarters enough to know exactly where else they could have his shield.
“You have any ideas where they’ve got my stuff or are we flying blind here?”
This time, Tony followed behind Steve. He didn’t mind being in the man’s shadow one bit, not in this situation. The secretaries didn’t even try to re-target him once Steve passed, because though Steve was the one in a t-shirt and Tony was the one in Italian silk, Steve had a military aura of experience and command that Tony would never have. (And he didn’t want to have.) In Tony’s opinion, if Steve asked for a lifetime worth of Beefaroni and a six-figure income, the government should pay it and twice over. You just didn’t get more patriotic than this, and considering what Steve had sacrificed to protect this country, if two meatheads hadn’t gotten out of his way so that he could keep on doing it, Tony might get grouchy.
Tony flashed the soldier a big smile. “I never fly blind,” he said, theatrically. He’d had JARVIS hack the plans for this building months ago. Tony pointed. “We’re going to want to go this way, through the offices.” They moved forward. There were a lot of phones and people staring, frowning, even a couple instances of security taking a step forward and then touching their ears to listen to comm chatter before changing their minds. Tony punched in a number he wasn’t supposed to have to get them through a couple more doors, and then they were in a quiet, metal lined warehouse with big wooden crates. “Top... men,” Tony quoted to himself in a mutter. He pulled out his phone, examined notes. Then, louder, he said, “You’re look for crate... #18672.”
Cocking his head and giving a smile of his own, Steve could resist the little jab of, “Really, now? I have a hard time believing that, really.” The humor was put on the backburner as quickly as it came however, as Tony pointed forward. There wasn’t any real pressing reason for Steve to collect his things, but they were his and his shield especially had seen him through the worst of battles and greatest of victories in the name of his men and his country. Steve was very reluctant to let it out of his sight half of the time, but to part with it completely? There was just no way in hell.
Steve watched all of the citizens, SHIELD agents and middlemen, as he and Tony made their way through the building like they owned the joint. It was disrespectful, but Steve knew enough of the organization to not feel very guilty. No one made another move to stop them, Steve didn’t blame them, and soon enough he and Tony had moved through door after door without a lick of security clearance. It was in times like these, Steve was rather glad Tony was on his side. Technology was frightening in and of itself, but Tony with technology? Downright terrifying.
Finally they stopped in a giant warehouse area, filled to the brim with large crates. Steve had a feeling he’d find a lot more than he bargained for if he even thought about opening any of those that weren’t the specific number Tony had given. “Alright, Mr. Never Fly Blind, you care to give me a hint as to where that’d be?” Steve rose a brow, half in jest, half in good-natured challenge.
Tony grinned. He waltzed in to unpredictable situations on a regular basis, and it was a wonder he was still standing there whole rather than blown into atoms from some long-ago experiment. If Tony hadn’t been as smart as he was, his personality would have killed him a long time ago. Everyone knew it, Tony especially. He thought the irony was funny as hell, and he rose “disrespectful” to a high art form. Eight out of ten people didn’t even know Tony was being disrespectful when he was doing it.
He looked up at the massive wall of crates, impressed despite himself. “The Internet would love this,” he commented. Despite his words, Tony wouldn’t roll this out to the public for a laugh. His own privacy was one thing, but he understood that SHIELD had its functions, and there were a lot of things that belonged permanently in a crate down here. Tony would dig through them with abandon, but he wouldn’t actually put it on the internet. Unless Fury did something to especially piss him off. “Well, believe it or not they haven’t actually computerized this yet. I couldn’t find an existing database.”
Technology, it appeared, wasn’t everything. Tony turned his head from left to right. “But let’s hope they’re organized. This is row 10, and let’s hope we can get down to row 18.” It was a walk, but they got there. Tony wanted to appropriate a golfcart, but the guards were marshalling their forces, and there wasn’t one in sight. Finally, they walked down the correct row and Tony pointed at the right crate. “That’s the one.” He waited to see what Cap would do, standing back to hint that he was willing to wait.
Steve could hope, along with Tony, that SHIELD had an appropriate organizational method for their madness and that they were headed in the right direction as they trudged along the rows and rows of crates. No matter how tempting looking through them was, Steve knew he’d never get through them all and keep a clear conscience. He wasn’t even sure he’d get through his own without too many questions -- and there was no Fury, so he wouldn’t get any answers. As it turns out, this new reality was a lot more confusing than the last Steve had been dropped into. At least this time he had allies.
Turning to Tony as they reached their destination, Steve was apprehensive but glad Tony was there to begin with, especially as he stood back with a patient look on his face. Even though Tony was willing to wait, Steve still felt a bit hurried. They had the whole of SHIELD gathering forces and breathing down their necks, even if they didn’t have a leader, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t do something about them barging in without permission from a higher up. There was no reason for anyone to get hurt and Steve was going to see to it that didn’t happen.
Taking a deep breath, Steve approached his crate, which was luckily ground level. It was sealed shut with with heavy duty nails, but the top was ripped off easily once Steve got his hands on it. Sitting there was his whole war-time ensemble, including his outfit and shield. Picking up the vibranium reverently, Steve clutched the metal in his hands tightly before nodding once to himself.
“Alright, we’re good.” Steve said as he turned back to Tony, throwing his shield over his back. No more alarms had been raised, no men were approaching them -- Steve figured it’d be just as easy getting out as it had been getting in.