Fic: The Altar of Human Sacrifice Chap. 4, PG-13

[tresmaxwell.livejournal.com]

Universe: Movie
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Violence
Beta: None
Summary: Marriage means for better or worse, even if worse includes a metal-manipulating psycopath taking your husband hostage.
Pairings/Characters: Steve/Tony, pre-established
Word Count: About 6,000



Chapter Three - LINK

Chapter Four - Puppet Master

A/N – Sorry guys, I know this took almost a week and you're used to a couple of days. I've been busy. Those of you making guesses about Annika, you win. We'll start there!

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When Jarvis said, "Captain Rogers, I believe you should turn on the television," Annika looked up from her equations. Her Papa rarely watched television, so it seemed strange that an advanced AI would recommend it. Only when they were settled in front of the TV together would Steve submit to it. Annika understood, she didn't really like the mindless quality of network programming either, unless it was a science show or something on Animal Planet.

Steve put down his book next to Annika's pages of mathematics and crayon drawings and conceded, "Alright, turn it on."

Annika got up on the couch with him, wondering if it was going to be Daddy's press conference. She felt the current rush through the flat screen on the wall and resisted the urge to reroute it to confuse Papa. It was very, very easy to confuse Steve with electronics. Annika knew it was bad, but he was always so funny when he was trying to figure out why something wouldn't work for him. She felt a note of distress in Jarvis, so she left the TV alone.

Images of a podium and a room full of people came on the screen. An announcer talked over the scene. They caught him halfway through a statement, "... cannot be identified at this time. All we know is that a rogue mutant is at the Stark conference..."

Steve surged to his feet, startling Annika. She peered up at his tense face with mounting fear. On the television, the footage wobbled and zoomed out, turning to the left. When it turned, they could see Tony getting into his Iron Man suit, a naked woman with blue skin approaching him. Annika didn't understand what she was seeing, not sure if the woman wanted to hurt her daddy. The blue woman seemed calm, but Tony put his hand up and Annika recognized the glow of the hand cannon.

The camera shook as glass showered the room, the announcer crying out, "There's something going on! Was that the ceiling?"

"Jarvis, turn it off," Steve ordered before he turned to her. The images of Iron Man vanished. Papa crouched down so they were eye-to-eye, making her worry worse. When adults came to her level, it meant something bad was about to happen, or had already happened. "Stay here a minute. I have to go change."

She nodded and he kissed her forehead. The moment he was gone, Annika turned her eyes to the television. It blinked to life. The camera was on its side, filming people's feet as they ran by. Annika flicked through channels until she found one with a decent shot.

Her hands fisted the hem of her dress while she watched Tony attack three new enemies. One of them was the monster she saw the night before. When Tony's repulsors didn't work, he turned his aim back to the blue woman, but something invisible lifted him into the air. A quiet whimper escaped Annika's throat as her adoptive father struggled to free himself. She got off the couch, standing directly beneath the television.

Another man floated down from the ceiling and Annika realized he was the one holding the armor. The man in the black cape didn't have abilities like hers, but they were similar. She could almost detect the trails of energy between him and the metal of the MARK suit. As he started talking, he drew Tony closer to the stage.

Behind her, she heard the heavy tread of Steve's boots, "Annika, what are you- oh my God."

The man with control over metal continued, "Even as we speak, men in Washington are trying to pass a decree stating that all mutants must be recorded and catalogued like cattle, so that we might be hunted and destroyed. We will not submit to this." When his hand flexed, the armor spread out and bent back until Tony screamed.

"Daddy!" Annika shrieked, her power flexing unconsciously.

The television flared bright white and the screen fractured. Above their heads, the lights blew out in a widening circle with Annika at the center. Jarvis's speakers crackled and wailed and finally died. When the room was dark, Annika quieted. Steve stood stock-still at the entrance of the room, watching her. As if he came to a decision, he crossed the room to her. She couldn't feel the tears streaming down her face until Steve picked her up and wiped them away. His gloves absorbed the wetness.

They moved quickly through the tower, Steve talking as he carried her, "Don't worry. I'm going to bring him home. I promise I'll bring him home."

Annika rubbed her face in the rough fabric of his uniform. The blue and white under her cheek scared her almost as much as seeing Tony in the hands of a mutant. It meant Papa was going to launch into the fight too. He had a leather jacket covering the uniform top, his mask hanging over the collar. As Steve set down his shield to enter his code into the access pad for the garage, Annika gripped the edge of his coat.

"You can't take that, Papa," she said sharply. Steve furrowed his brow at her and reached for the shield, drawing a panicked, "No!" from her.

"Alright. Why don't you hold onto it for me just in case I need it?"

Slowly, Annika nodded. Steve set her on her feet and flipped the shield around so she could take the worn handles. As he let it go, the weight dragged her arms down so the shield covered her from shins to mid-chest. It was awkward to carry and banged against her legs when she walked, but she wasn't going to let it go for anything.

They went to the motorcycle, which she was not allowed to ride, and her Papa put a helmet on her that covered her eyes. She pushed it back, nearly losing her grip on the shield. With a muted cry, Annika grabbed both handles again, slipping one arm through the slot. It was too short to reach the opposite handle, so she took that one in her other hand.

"We're not going to tell Daddy we took the bike, okay?" Steve ordered more than asked.

Annika nodded as Steve put her on the front of the motorcycle, "Okay."

Getting on behind her, Steve said, "When we get there, we're going to find Happy and you're going to stay with him, no matter what. Do you understand?'

"Yes, sir."

Steve pulled his mask over his hair and put his motorcycle helmet on over that. Annika started to say that it was pointless to wear a helmet if he wasn't going to strap it on, but her Papa started the engine before she could speak. The machine pulsed underneath her, its blood made up of electricity and fire. She felt Jarvis there. His presence was a comfort.

'I'm sorry about your speakers,' she told the AI.

The neuro-net processor blurred through a thought matrix and he responded, 'It's quite all right, miss.'

As they pulled out of the garage, Annika held tight to her Papa's shield and her Papa held tight to her. They motorcycle let them glide through traffic the way a car couldn't, Steve being very careful around the other vehicles, but going very fast. Annika hoped it was fast enough.

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Steve weaved through the police barrier when they reached the hotel, ignoring the shouts of the cops. There were squad cars lined up at both ends of the street to block the flow of traffic. An ambulance and a fire engine idled behind the far line and Steve could see a handful of people getting attention from paramedics. Steve revved his engine and darted to the other end of the block before the approaching officers could stop him.

As he passed the hotel, he scanned the situation through the windows. The mutants had the press lined up at the window like a living barrier, eliminating the chance for gunfire from the street. Above them, Steve could see Tony hovering but not flying. Magneto was on the platform beside him. Through the chaos, the ringleader's eyes fixed on Steve and he swore he saw the man smile.

There were snipers getting into position on the roofs around them and Steve seriously wondered if leaving Annika home alone would've been a better idea. He'd learned how Raisa worked the last time they'd dealt with her and knew that this was probably the big distraction to break in and snatch Annika from under their noses. He prayed that he wasn't making the wrong choice.

Parking the bike at the bumper of the ambulance, Steve looked around for Tony's driver. Happy found him first. The man ran over, even as a paramedic tried to get him to sit down. Once Steve was stopped, the police caught up to him.

"Hey, buddy, you can't be here," a sergeant yelled at him.

Steve lifted Annika off the bike and handed her to Happy, "You take her and you go. Don't let anyone get near her."

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

The shield made it difficult for Happy to carry her, so he set her down and took one of her hands. Steve's little girl reached for him, tears gathering at the brim of her eyes. It broke his heart to leave her like this. "Where should I take her?" Happy asked.

"Anywhere but home. They might be headed there to look for her." Getting off the bike, Steve crouched and chucked his daughter under the chin, "Remember, as long as you have my shield, you're safe."

Her bottom lip quivered and she pointed out, "I'm not strong enough to throw it."

Steve kissed her check before he climbed to his feet. The driver tried to lead her away, but Annika wouldn't cooperate with him. Her protesting whines turned into wails as she dug her heels into the cement. Happy grabbed her around the waist and scooped her up, wincing when the shield banged against his shoulder. Steve had to look away from her tear-streaked face.

When Steve finally turned to deal with the cops, the sergeant had gone quiet. His eyes went to the shield in Annika's grasp, then to Steve's red boots, then finally to the edge of mask coming down out of the helmet. Steve figured he'd gotten his answers.

Not waiting for the sergeant to say anything else, Steve stripped off the jacket and tossed the helmet to the side. He felt strange without his shield, but he'd worked without it before. When he strode towards the hotel, the sergeant came to his senses and jogged after him.

"Wait a minute, I know you!"

Steve didn't falter or slow, "And I have a job to do, if you'll excuse me."

"You're a vigilante like Stark. We can't let you get involved here. This is a hostage situation and-"

"And one of those hostages is my teammate. Don't get in my way," the warning settled in the air, leaden with all the weight Steve was willing to put behind it.

He didn't need any more enemies at the moment, especially not the New York Police Department. Thankfully, a few of the officers backed him up by explaining that the Captain had saved a lot of people during the alien invasion. Steve let them defend him. Pausing briefly, Steve took in the line of hostages and the guards at the interior doors. He was going to need another way in.

When he looked up, he saw it. Since the conference room broke off of the main hotel like a reaching hand, the roof was only two stories high and the skylight was ripped open wide enough to land a helicopter. Steve ducked behind the rows of cop cars, circling around the side of the building.

In the narrow alley that led to a series of parking garages, Steve found a decorative corner stone that had big enough gaps for his fingers. He scaled it quickly, his mind gravitating to Tony. Though he had his comm turned on, there wasn't any word from his husband. The MARK would've detected Steve when he came within range and Steve didn't want to think about what the silence could mean.

Near the top, there wasn't enough space to fit his toes between the stones, so Steve managed the last few yards hand over hand. He drew himself onto the roof, careful to stay out of sight. Edging to the broken skylight in an army crawl, Steve took in the positioning of the mutants with a glance. He pulled back to think. All of the hostages were pushed against the windows, leaving a lot of space in the middle for fighting. The first thing he needed to do was to find a way for the civilians to get out.

Steve discovered that Tony's speakers still worked when an agonized shout blasted his earpiece. Every muscle tightened at the sound, his partner's pain throwing kindling on his fear for the other man and turning it into roaring rage.

Below him, Magneto sauntered out onto the open floor with Tony in tow. "We know you're here," he called, a flick of his fingers sending the armor contorting so another scream filled Steve's ears. "Why don't we get this over with? Come out and we'll release the press, since we both know that's not who you're here for anyway."

Steve gripped his hands tightly enough to make the material of his gloves creak. His eyes clenched shut as he tried to come up with any plan that didn't involve jumping into this fray like a wild animal.

"Don't you dare," gasped in his ear.

Steve's eyes snapped open. Heart pounding at Tony's voice, he crawled to the edge to peer out. The armor was tilted so the MARK mask pointed at the ceiling, Tony could definitely see him. Steve shook his head, whispering, "I have to-"

Tony's words were strained, but strong, broken by panting, "I thought you were some kind of tactician. Are you telling me you can't smell the cheese in this trap? Get out of here. SHIELD should be here soon and you know Fury's already picked up the others."

Steve stayed silent. He couldn't walk away. It wasn't in him.

"If you come down here, I'm divorcing you."

"Have to take that chance," Steve replied and leapt through the skylight. Executing a flip, Steve landed in a crouch in front of Magneto. He stood slowly, his eyes blazing.

"Damn it, Steve. Trap. Admiral Akbar ringing any bells?"

Magneto was not what Steve was expecting. He was taller than the photographs suggested and looked like he had plenty of fight in him for a man his age. There didn't seem to be any devices or machines in his hands, so Steve wasn't sure how he was controlling Tony's suit. From what little he'd read of the files, the members of The Brotherhood could do incredible things without any sort of outside influence. They were born that way.

"And the faithful dog will walk into the maw of hell should his master command it," Magneto said with a glint in his eye. "Bold, but foolish."

Steve lifted his chin, "You said you would let these people go."

"So I did," his reply was quiet, almost thoughtful.

Steve stayed tense, balanced on the balls of his feet in preparation for a quick dodge or block. His sensed hummed. Acutely aware of every movement around him, Steve waited for any one of the mutants to leap into action. He'd always preferred fighting over talking and he knew he was on uneven ground here. They outnumbered him and Tony wasn't going to be any good in the battle unless Steve could take out the ringleader. Even then, there was no telling how much damage the suit had taken. Iron Man could be down for the count.

Finally, Magneto turned his head and said, "Release them."

The hostages were just as suspicious of the action as Steve was. When the door opened and Azazel stepped aside, a few shuffled forward, but the rest stayed where they were. Murmurs echoed in the large space, the reporters peering at each other, waiting for someone to be the first. Finally, a skinny man in a blazer bolted for the exit. When he made it, the other followed in a panicked herd. The mutants watched them go.

As the room emptied, Steve's eyes flicked to Magneto. Getting him to let Tony go would be more difficult. There would undoubtedly be some sort of price or demand. Steve wasn't sure what it would be, but he had no intention on meeting any demands. He planned on leaving this building with Tony if he had to fight them all. Part of him reveled in the challenge it posed. It would push him to new limits.

Steve rolled his shoulders, tired of waiting for the attack, "Now, let Iron Man go and things won't get ugly."

"We've only just begun, Captain. Your husband's incredible armor has far too many uses for me to simply release him."

Steve twitched at the word 'husband'. These people knew more about them than Steve originally thought. The idea crawled under his skin like a multi-legged insect, leaving him unsettled.

Magneto motioned at Tony with two fingers and the suit lowered to the ground beside him. It stood to attention, Tony grumbling and cussing inside. Without looking at his group, Magneto ordered, "Azazel, remain here. The rest of you, go fetch the girl."

Tony roared, hands flexing as he fought Magneto's hold. The suit's mechanics strained and clicked and whined, but barely moved. "Steve!" he shouted, his desperation thick.

Heart slamming into his ribcage, Steve bolted for the trio of mutants as they turned to carry out the order. He searched for a weapon out of his peripherals, but the space between them was clear. His fists would have to do. Quicksilver vanished in a blink, the women watching him with near-matching smirks. Enemies or not, he'd never hit a woman before. It was against his principles.

Tony said, "Steve, I'm at your six," eliminating the need to solve his morality crisis.

Steve whirled. The MARK suit was almost on top of him, barreling in faster than Steve was expecting. Twisting to the side, he felt the metal of Tony's machine scrape across his chest. The durable fabric of his uniform tore like tissue.

Steve backed up, narrowing his eyes at the MARK before he glanced at Magneto. Flying Tony's suit around didn't seem to be any sort of effort. Magneto flipped his hand and Tony turned in the air. Thinking the mutant couldn't replicate much dexterity; Steve feinted left and ran right. Tony was in front of him in a second.

Far out of reach, Scarlet Witch and Mystique walked through the door.

"Get out of here!"

"Trying," Steve growled.

The MARK suit attacked, almost as fast as if Tony was the one controlling it. Steve leaned to the side to let his fist flash by. Jerky as it was, it took every bit of Steve's focus to avoid the strikes. He dodged away from the rapid punches and ducked under the flying kicks. His gut churned. He couldn't stop Tony without hurting him and even if he did decommission the suit, Magneto could still use the metal against him.

As the one-sided fight dragged on, Tony's pained grunts filled his earpiece. Steve knew the billionaire had to be struggling against every hit. He was afraid to think of what that was doing to Tony. Magneto used Tony's suit to keep Steve at a distance, blocking his attempts to charge him with his husband's body. Steve could only back up and try to stay ahead of the attack.

"You've got to fight back," Tony gasped. "Do whatever you have to do, you're running out of time."

They were wasting precious minutes, but Steve rebelled against the idea of hurting Tony. He couldn't. Steve shook his head almost violently, the action costing him his advantage. The MARK's fist caught him on the side of his jaw and sent him sprawling. He landed hard on one knee and hand, pain crackling through his skull.

"Shit! Get up, Steve!"

He'd only pushed himself to his knees when a red, metallic arm locked around his throat. His knees left the ground, then his feet, Tony holding him up as they returned to the air. The strength of the hold was more than the suit was capable of, more than Tony was capable of. Steve pulled at the wrist joint and jammed his fingers in the crease between the metal and his cloth covered neck. His muscles strained and shook from the effort of trying to free himself.

Steve opened his mouth to gasp, but couldn't force any air past the crush of the armor's hold. His gaze swam. He slammed his elbow into the suit again and again, failing to dislodge it. Red fog gripped his mind. He couldn't think. At the edge of his fading vision, he saw Magneto walking towards them. The old man's hand stretched out in their direction, his fingers like talons as he forced the MARK's arm to tighten.

"Jarvis, internally detonate the shoulder-mounted missiles," Tony's voice whispered, a sure, but fearful order.

He tried to say something. No, Tony! Don't! he screamed without making a sound.

Even muffled by the layers of armor, the explosion was loud enough to make Steve's ears ring. The shockwave hit his back, shoving him out of Tony's hold like an invisible hand. A burst of pain radiated from his shoulder. Air rushed into his lungs. Steve dropped into a sloppy roll, coughing as he scrambled to his feet. Behind him, he heard the MARK slam into the ground.

The shoulder of the armor was a smoking, black ruin. Red and gold curled out, exposing sparking wires and still twitching mechanics. Tony's body bent at an odd angle, his hips turned to the side while his back was flat on the floor. The steady sounds of Tony's breathing were gone from Steve's earpiece, sending his heart into his intestines.

"Tony? Baby?" Steve croaked, his voice raw as it passed through his damaged esophagus.

He needed to run to him, to know how bad the damage was. He needed to rip the darkened helmet off so he could see the flutter of pulse at his carotid, but there was work to do. His teeth grinding, Steve faced. Magneto.

"For a few, you will be martyrs. For most, you will become examples," the silver-haired mutant explained, motioning at the rows of cameras at the back of the room.

Red lights glowed on all but two. Azazel had them diligently aimed in their direction, showing the nation, possibly the world, the fall of Iron Man. If Steve had his shield, he would take them all out. They weren't examples. Steve couldn't let them be examples, to let their struggles instill fear where there had once been hope.

"Rule with fear and get consumed by it," Steve said bluntly, his hands curling into fists.

"Oh, I don't plan to rule, I am merely an agent of change. With the downfall of the homo sapien, my kind will rise as the dominant power on the Earth. Change is inevitable," Magneto's voice rose with the proclamations and the words rang hollow in the empty conference room. "and it begins with the human titans. Mutants are the gods of men, not you or your team, your Avengers. You are a simple nuisance, a bug to be crushed."

A vein pulsed at Steve's temple, hidden beneath his mask. He couldn't listen to anymore. Tony could be bleeding out inside his suit and their daughter was under threat. Steve had to act. Thinking there had been enough talk, Steve lunged instead. The mutant lifted both hands as if he welcomed the attack. Steve's fist wound like a spring, his muscles bulging under the patriotism.

Something caught his wrist.

His momentum dragged the interfering object into his back and an arm snaked around his shoulders. As the weight of the suit hit him, Steve stumbled. They went down together, the MARK's legs winding in Steve's legs and pinning them. Right at his ear, the damaged shoulder whined the un-oiled cry of metal grinding against metal. The suit rolled onto its back, leaving Steve lying uncomfortably on the steep arch of the chest plate. He fought with his free arm while the MARK stretched his other arm out to its full length and locked its fingers around his wrist.

The speaker in his ear clicked. "We're five minutes out," Natasha reassured him, her voice a static hum.

There was distance between the receivers, enough that Steve knew they were still over the Atlantic. They wouldn't get there in enough time to be effective backup. And, as bad of shape as they were in, Steve needed them to hunt down the other mutants.

Considering his code carefully, Steve said, "I copy, change ordinance." He grunted and twisted his wrist. The MARK snagged his free arm and yanked it behind his back, keeping the other arm stretched out. Not sure what was going on, Steve focused on getting the team where they would do the most good. "Russian retrieval, time to get happy."

"Do you know his location?"

"Can't say," his words were strained. Eyes flicking to Magneto, Steve clarified, "Compromised."

"Understood, we'll find him another way. I'm sending you Banner... just hang on."

Magneto stood over the struggling pair, a frown etching across his stone features. Directing his voice at Azazel, he said, "We're out of time. Fetch her."

The red creature nodded and flashed away in a puff of smoke. When the other mutant was gone, Magneto gestured at the cameras. The video equipment blasted to the side as if blown by hurricane force winds. A moment later, Azazel flashed into the room at Magneto's elbow, his arm wrapped around the thin waist of Raisa Golovin. In an expensive-looking pin stripe suit, with impeccable smoky make-up, Raisa didn't appear to be a woman who'd escaped a bright orange jumpsuit only days before. The hard-side case in her left hand made Steve nervous. It was almost a foot and a half wide, made of dark leather like a physician's toolkit.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stark, a pleasure, as always," she said with a wry smile.

Magneto turned and fixed her with a warning look, "Get it quickly. The others are on the way."

Scorn returned the look with one of her own, her heels tapping on the floor as she approached Steve and Tony. Crouching, Raisa set the case down and opened it. Dozens of glass vials nestled in a holder that made up the case's core. They were lined up in two layers, all of them empty.

Steve's recognition joined a churning sensation in his stomach. Those needles were for him. He remembered from the fiasco in Russia that she used his blood as a stabilizer for her serum. Steve wasn't great at mental math concerning volume and percentages, but he could bet that if they filled every vial, it wouldn't leave much for him to live on.

Brushing her thick braid off her shoulder, Raisa rummaged around in the bottom of the case and withdrew a pair of shears that were a step above scissors and just below wire-cutters. Steve stopped struggling as she brought them close to the arm Tony's suit had stretched out for her. She cut away his sleeve with precision, rolling it down over his glove. His skin twitched at her touch.

"Raisa, why are you doing this? Tony did everything he said he would. Your daughter is in a good home and you see her every week, why destroy all that?" Steve knew there was a compassionate woman buried beneath the criminal known as Scorn. He'd seen her. If his words reached her now, he couldn't tell.

Raisa carefully positioned the heavy gauge needle at the inside of Steve's elbow, punching through his tough skin with a deft flick of her wrist. Red bubbled up in the attached vial. While he waited for Raisa's answer, Steve frantically watched his blood drain. She swapped out vials seamlessly once the first one was full, sliding it into its cushioned holster without looking.

When she didn't speak, Steve tried again, "You can still make this right. Give yourself up and-"

"And I will go back to SHIELD's cage and look at my daughter through glass as she grows into a woman without me? No," her words were daggers.

Raisa traded to another empty vial. By the fifth one, Steve felt light-headed. His fight against the armor waned and he slowly relaxed against it. He tilted his face against the cool metal of Tony's helm, wishing he knew the state of the man inside.

Encouraging his floating mind to produce a means of escape did absolutely nothing. He'd already done everything he could think of. Even with all his strength, he couldn't pass the barrier between getting free and hurting Tony. When Tony warned him that it was a trap engineered for him, Steve should've listened. He knew that, but he would've made the same choice if the option came up again.

Steve's breaths turned rapid and shallow as Raisa filled the case. The ceiling blurred. A roar filled his ears and Steve blinked as the sky darkened above them. Lightning crackled, licking over the curled spines of skylight. The last of the glass exploded and rained down around them. Magneto lifted his head with a scowl.

Steve blinked. He thought Natasha said Banner was coming, not Thor. Though it was some kind of mystical metal, the demi-god's hammer was still metal. Steve tried to say as much into the group comm, but he couldn't arrange the sentence in his mind.

Raisa slid another full vial into the case, glancing up at the gathering storm as she slammed one more empty into the base of the needle. The wind picked up, swirling around the room. It buffeted everything. Bits of camera equipment and glass and loose paper lifted into the air stream. The debris stayed at the edge of the room, leaving the center and the five of them untouched.

"Our time is up. Get your samples," Magneto barked at Raisa. A blast of red energy screamed through the flying debris, barely missing Magneto's shoulder. He sidestepped it and peered through the swirling air, his voice distant, "You had to get involved, didn't you, Charles..."

"Release them," a woman boomed, her command backed by a bolt of lightning that struck the podium. The shrieking wind swallowed the fire it created and left behind charred bits of wood. The woman who'd spoken drifted down through the skylight, her eyes and hair the same brilliant shade of white. A tight, black uniform followed her every curve, a bright white cape fluttering from her back and wrists like wings.

Underneath Steve, Tony's armor went slack. The instant he was loose, Steve lunged past Raisa for the case, but she snatched it to her chest and scrambled backwards. Before he could catch her, Azazel's hand closed over her shoulder and they were both gone in a plume of smoke. The wind whipped the red mist away, removing all traces. Steve shoved himself to his feet, his eyes intent on Magneto. Dizziness dragged him sideways. He collapsed on his knees, panting and shivering.

The woman with white hair stalked across the room, another man with a strange eyepiece walking through the hissing wind. Like the first woman, he wore a black, leather suit, but his was defined by extra padding at the shoulders and chest for defense. Another girl came in behind him, a shock of bleached hair running to the right of her face, while the rest was dark brown.

Others came and Steve tensed as he watched them gather. His instincts said 'friends', but he worried about them being foes. He could barely stand and Tony hadn't moved since Magneto released his hold on the armor. He couldn't handle more foes, though he would try his damndest.

Though he was alone, and surrounded, Magneto smirked at the show of power. Steve noticed that none of the newcomers went anywhere near him. They stopped far out of reach, their eyes cautious and their frames rigid with anticipation. The man with the eyepiece lifted his hand to the side of the device when Magneto chuckled.

"Why do you always send children to face me, Charles?" the Brotherhood leader asked the air.

There was no answer that Steve could hear. Azazel materialized in front of Magneto, slapped his hands down on the older man's shoulders, and vanished with him. The moment he was gone, the other mutants seemed to breathe out a collective sigh of relief. The swirling air died as the woman with the cape lowered her arms, the sky above them clearing. Debris clattered and clanged to the ground around them.

The new mutants looked to Steve, a few curious, a few worried. He stood over Tony in the best defensive stance he could manage, his hope carefully guarded. As the man with the eye-gear stepped towards him, a more familiar body sauntered into the room. Steve only knew him from the SHIELD files, but he knew Fury wanted him for the team and that meant he was safe. Wolverine chewed on the end of an unlit cigar, surveying the damaged room and Tony and Steve without a word.

The first man didn't look happy, "Logan, you know you're supposed to stay back when-"

"When what? When you completely fail to capture Magneto? He's gone now, get your panties out of the crack of your ass," Wolverine snarled. As he approached, Steve realized he was shorter in person than he looked fighting Raisa's monsters on television. A lot shorter. If Steve was standing upright, the guy would barely come to his chin.

The woman with Thor-like powers sighed at them, "This is not productive."

Wolverine ignored her, quirking his head in Steve's direction, "What's with Uncle Sam?"

"Captain America," the girl with the streak of white corrected him. She had a southern twang to her tone that made everything seem sweet, but strangely edged. "Magneto targeted the Avengers to make an example out of them. He's trying to rally other mutants."

Deciding that they weren't a threat to him, Steve knelt at Tony's side. While they argued, he clumsily searched for the release under the jaw of the helmet. He found it after a few moments of searching, but the helm didn't respond to his touch. The eyes were dark, leading Steve to assume that he had no power.

A shadow fell across his husband's suit and Steve instinctually balled his hands into fists, ready for a fight. The man with the eyepiece held up his hands, "It's alright, I just want to help." As Steve lowered his guard, the man offered one hand in greeting, "I'm Cyclops and these are the X-Men."

"Think you already know me," Steve said, but shook his hand anyway. "Captain America."

A muffled, weak voice cut into the conversation, "And I'm Tony fucking Stark. Can we skip introductions and get me out of this scrap?"

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TBC...

Steve needs a cookie. And some orange juice. ASAP. Now, I'm going to flail because I actually get to USE WOLVERINE IN THIS STORY! Not that it was the overall goal, but I'm ecstatic. I love me some tiny, angry Canadian.

Chapter Five - LINK