"You will, however, leave a mark on their future after today. They'll never forget the legacy of Iron Man or Tony Stark."
"Ten seconds," Natasha's voice called out in warning, "We've got him boxed in. We're almost up there Tony and…"
"He's targeting the library," Steve's voice shouted beyond Natasha's words, "JARVIS is working his way into the system, but he's still behind firewalls. The machine's target is locked in on the library. He's going to attack the center of the city and…"
"You need to shut him down!" Tony shouted when the feed of Pepper and the small child turned to static revealing the blue holographic face of the man who'd set on destroying the world.
"You might win this round today in taking me under, but you'll never escape the memory of your mistake," the voice was more mechanical, darker than it was before when a hard jerk alerted Tony to the fact that JARVIS had regained control of his suit. Immediately the man's likeness slipped out of his space leaving Tony to direct his attention to his controls in his suit.
"You have a choice Stark," the monster within the tower taunted, "You can take me down or save the children. What will it be?"
"We're going to take this fucker down," Natasha spat out with venom behind her voice, "Get those kids!"
"Where's Rhodey?" Tony's thoughts immediately returned to one of his closest friends, hoping that he'd found a way to take control of the situation happening in the city.
"He's working to evacuate the civilians," Steve explained in a rushed tone, "I'm on my way over there now. We're going to have to move fast if we're going to…"
"I'm on it," Tony declared as he flew in closer to the tower. Knowing that victory was within his reach, he attempted to keep his eye on the goal in mind, but when the memory of Rhodey and Pepper hit him hard, he felt something tug at that sentimentality he'd sworn to keep from overruling logic, "Tell me you've got it under control Cap."
"I'm on my way to…" Steve's voice cut out when there was another explosion that erupted from deep within the city. Near the water over in West Village fires were burning on the water and ships were buzzing in the sky, revealing another part of the nefarious plans their attacker had launched.
"Natasha just went down," Clint's voice announced in a frenzied haste, "We're….in a corner…too many…they are…"
"Clint, you're breaking up," Tony attempted to think straight, to comprehend how in an instant their momentum had shifted. It brought everything to a screeching halt when the beam shifted directions spreading out over various parts of the city and offering up a hint of its wicked intent, "Shit he's not going after the library alone. He's going to hit the Gala with the world leaders there and…"
"We can't reach them all in time. Clint. Natasha. You need to shut this down!" Steve's voice was frantic, beyond the firm leadership that had guided them to victory time and time again. He was afraid and his fear resonated in the communication device when Tony could finally see within the tower. He spotted the man in question standing in front of the glass with arms spread wide and a taunting, shit eating grin as his eyes were focused entirely on Tony rushing towards him. It was an invitation to take his best shot if Tony ever saw one.
"I'm taking the shot. He's going down!" Tony decided pushing forward hard, leaving no room for error when he directed his other suits that he'd quickly set into motion to spread out around the city to fend off the machine's attack and help with evacuation, to surround the tower and to continue to aid with evacuations. He could feel the momentum building. It was surging within his veins bringing the enemy closer to defeat when his nemesis pushed forward with cold, dead eyes daring Tony to make his move.
"It's the end for you," Tony vowed sending a blast out towards the man who'd gained far too much power in his positioning.
"No wait! It's a trap" Steve shouted, but it was too late. The damage had been done as the smoke and haze cleared way to reveal the truth behind the illusion that had been presented to him, "Tony stop!"
With the hard blast, Tony kept moving forward preparing to drive the villain to his knees. However, as soon Steve's words flooded Tony's suit, the blast hit the windows. It shattered spraying glass upon the world below. In its frenzy time stood still and as Tony prepared to face the ruin of the enemy who'd taunted them. In his moment of triumph at the perfect shot, he was ready to seal the victory with his team.