• Published 26th May 2018
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Infinity Era - JDPrime22



Avengers: Infinity War / Avengers: Endgame crossover. The culmination has arrived. The Mad Titan has waited so long for this moment. Long live the Infinity Era.

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Chapter 44 – Smells Like a New Car

44

New York, USA

Manhattan Airspace

9:05 a.m.

The ramp of Tony Stark’s cargo plane fell open in mid-flight, the man himself stepping forward alongside James Rhodes and the Vision. Instantly, they were met with a heatwave blasting inside the cargo plane, the heated wind pulling on Stark’s jacket and hair and causing the Vision’s golden cape to flap wildly behind him. Tony Stark raised a hand to block the bright lights and intense heat.

Once his eyes began to adjust, he lowered his palm and stared out right into the heart of war. The plane shook madly, Chitauri ships—both chariot and something else completely alien to them—shot downwards, intending only to inflict death and destruction upon the city below. Smoke blotted the skylines, only the sounds of explosions, screams, and alien gunfire surrounding them. Being all that they could hear.

All three of them represented the Avengers. They were practically cut in half compared to their last excursion with the Chitauri six years prior, Stark imagined. They weren’t much, but it was all Stark could manage at the moment. He would recruit others along the way, doing everything in his power to fight back and win the impossible fight.

It wouldn’t be the first time he did something that was impossible.

It would probably be the last.

He prayed to whatever god that was watching over him to make sure that wouldn’t be the case.

“Now remember!” Happy Hogan called from the pilot’s seat, all three Avengers spinning their heads back to gaze to the front of the plane. Happy was clearly struggling to control the plane, the shielding holding only so long against the enemy alien gunfire hitting its exterior. He shouted, “You find what you need! You take out that Command Center! You call me right away! Got it?!”

Tony nodded his way, giving him an “OK” hand gesture. “Glad to have you with us on this one, buddy!” he called to him, facing back towards the open ramp and staring at nothing but miles of open air, all leading to the war-torn city of New York.

The three stared a moment longer than intended, just listening to what awaited them the second they stepped off the plane. “Long way down,” Stark commented, his voice barely heard by the individuals on his left and right.

James Rhodes nodded at that, Tony turning his way. He stood in his Mark IV War Machine armor, specifically designed by Stark to be bulkier, heavier, and more supportive of Rhodes in his condition. He had been walking better ever since the incident in Leipzig, but Stark went the extra mile to ensure something like Leipzig never happened again. He equipped the Mark IV with an emergency power source. Two to be exact. Again, he went the extra mile for his friend.

James took several steps forward down the ramp, the mask of the Mark IV closing tight over his face, the suit’s red eyes lighting up. He stomped to the very edge, saying, “I’ll go first and clear us a path.”

“We’ll be right behind you!” Tony called to him, watching as James looked back to them and saluted once, stepping off the ramp and plummeting down to the firestorm below.

The Vision watched Rhodes fall, feeling a soft palm on his shoulder, prompting his attention to his right where Stark patted his shoulder. The man who created him nodded, his hand falling from Vision’s shoulder. “Okay, I’ll be right behind you.”

“One step at a time,” Vision said.

Tony sighed through his nostrils. He was glad the explosion rippled through the air, hiding the stutter in his breath and voice. “This is the first. The hardest,” Tony muttered, watching Vision’s cape disappear into the smoke below. The android was gone, soaring right off the ramp and joining Rhodes in the freefall. Tony looked back. “You need anything else?!”

Happy broke his eyes from the steering wheel for a second longer, looking back and meeting his old friend’s eyes one more time. Hopefully not the last time. “Just stay safe… for her sake!” he said. He could only see Stark’s signature smirk, then watched as he slowly backed away closer to the drop. Tony held out his arms, those hands falling down and gripping his silver jacket.

“I made a promise!”

Tony shouted that as he pulled on the straps of his jacket, tapping twice on his Arc Reactor. The rest came naturally to him, especially Stark falling back-first out of the cargo plane and down towards the city of Manhattan. Instantly, Stark was met with the whipping wind pulling at his face and hair, the heat from the fires eating Manhattan slowly beginning to eat Stark, as well. That heat was doused quickly once Tony’s suit began to take form. The nanoparticles crawled outwards from the Arc Reactor, slowly consuming Tony Stark’s entire body, from his chest to his back, to his arms and legs, and from head to toe. In mid-air, the mask materialized and shielded Tony’s face and eyes, giving him clear sight on the approaching earth. And just like that, with a mile above ground to go, Stark had successfully activated and donned the Mark 50 Iron Man armor.

He didn’t let up on his descent, planting his feet and palms straight and firing away. Stark was shot forward, descending further, faster to the ground. Just as he reached the level parallel to the rooftops, Stark instantly changed direction, flying straight ahead instead of down. And just as instantly, he was met with a swarm of Chitauri flying past him in squadrons of chariots.

The cargo plane camouflaged and vanished once Stark fell into combat, flying off to a safe distance without even confronting any Chitauri. The same couldn’t be said for Stark, currently caught in the middle of an alien swarm. With his feet and his palms pushing him forward, Tony shot out his right or left palm every few seconds, sending repulsor blasts into approaching and retreating chariots, blowing them right out of the sky.

As Stark dodged the burning remains of the chariots, he looked onwards and spotted Rhodes and Vision in the distance directly ahead of him. The Mark 50’s HUD zeroed in on War Machine, watching as he flew over an approaching Chitauri starship and unloaded several magazines of ammunition from his armor’s gauntlets. The ship burned and crashed, barreling downwards to the streets and impacting several abandoned vehicles. Unfortunate Chitauri foot soldiers were caught in the explosion, their burning bodies thrown about like ragdolls once the ship impacted the ground.

A golden stream of energy shot straight downwards, winding down the road and slicing apart anything that was caught within sight of the Vision. The AI Avenger flew between the buildings, the Mind Stone shimmering bright as he fired a constant stream down to the aliens infecting the street. Several were sliced in half, down the middle, or killed from nearby explosions once the Vision’s beam impacted a car. War Machine flew just in front of him, unleashing several small bombs from his dispensers on the back of his armor. Those bombs impacted the road, killing everything alive. Killing all the Chitauri. Stark gazed at the explosions and smoke he flew over, bringing his attention back to his fellow Avengers.

In a flash, the Vision held Mjølnir, the wrath of the God of Thunder striking down on a Chitauri chariot and destroying it with a bolt of lightning. The War Machine roared a war cry almost reminiscent of the Incredible Hulk, the green beast flying against a building and slamming his fists against the aliens gripping onto the building sides. Another powerful roar from the Hulk. From Doctor Banner.

Stark shook his head. Dreaded memories tried to resurface from the Battle of New York six years ago. He couldn’t help himself. The similarities were uncanny, almost like he was trapped in some twisted limbo, forced to relive the same nightmare over and over again.

He couldn’t think of that now. Shaking his head, Stark focused elsewhere, on the situation and the mission laid before them. “Homer, give me a rundown.”

“The Mark 50 is performing exceptionally well,” Homer replied, the AI’s voice just as young and confident as ever before. The complete polar opposite to his creator. “Repulsors, Unibeam, Micro-Missiles, Lasers—”

“Yeah, yeah, skip the noise, we’re on the clock here,” Tony interrupted, firing away at more approaching Chitauri, sending their chariots burning to the streets and buildings.

“The nanotechnology is air-locked and sealed, suited perfectly for space travel. All systems go at 100%,” Homer explained. His voice stuttered for a moment, a slight bit of static on the other line. He returned shortly, saying, “Airwave disturbances are making it difficult to get a full reading on the city.”

“Ah, crap,” Stark whispered, nearly spat. His eyes watched a squadron of Chitauri starships shoot across the sky, spinning in formation and facing the right, firing upon the city below. More chariots headed his way. More shit to deal with. “Well, give me something.”

“Yes, sir,” Homer complied, spending several seconds in silence as Stark fought and flew. “The piece of lunar rock that impacted Central Park at approximately 8:15 a.m. managed to wipe out close to eight blocks, the resulting shock wave crashing through seventeen more. The Chitauri Command Center arrived three minutes and forty-seven seconds later. We have hundreds of Chitauri in the area—too many to be precise—three Leviathans in Hell’s Kitchen, the Upper East Side, and Upper West Side respectively.”

Tony took the news gravely. Already, things were looking worse than they ever were before in New York. At least back then, they had a portal separating them from the full Chitauri fleet army. But now, they were right on their doorstep, no portal to help cut off the attack. “What about Queens?” Stark asked, breaking away from his own dreaded thoughts. “Was Queens hit?”

Silence on the other end. Longer than last time.

“Homer?”

“Sir, Peter Parker’s suit has been activated. I just located him two clicks to the west.”

Stark shot up his head at that information, already feeling more alert knowing Parker was near the area. He followed his HUD’s compass to the west, seeing nothing but carnage lying between him and Parker. Tony slowly smirked, breathing a single chuckle. “Knew he couldn’t stay from the fight. Like a moth to the flame… or… spider… or…”

“You talking to yourself again, Tony?” Rhodey asked from the shared comms link.

“No tellin’ how long the kid’s gonna last,” Tony muttered again, facing ahead and seeing Rhodes and Vision directly in front of him, having slowed down to join Stark in flight. Stark stared at them for a moment longer, then he turned westward. “All right, Rhodey, trail close! Vision, on me!”

Iron Man took off, pushing in the afterburners and sending the Mark 50 straight across the rooftops of the buildings beneath him. War Machine did the same, the Vision flying directly behind him and following two of his fellow Avengers. While following the signal that Homer planted, Tony Stark was obligated to shoot down several more Chitauri chariots, even striking at the ones standing and sniping on rooftops. And no matter how many all three took out of the fight, deep down Tony knew that it was for nothing. It was just one ship that created the damage in New York all those years ago. It was a seemingly endless army then, and it was just as vast and horrible as it ever was before.

Again, more painful memories Stark would have rather hoped he had forgotten over the years. His HUD zeroed in on a certain web-slinger leaping high above the rooftops, dodging Chitauri blasts from the chariots chasing right after him.

“There he is!” Stark called out, both Rhodes and Vision spotting the same red figure flinging above the rooftops. “Homer, get Parker in the call.”

“Hacking now, sir.”

It was a short moment before the undeniable squeal of Peter Parker’s voice came crying in everyone’s collective comms link.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Oh, my God, what is that?! How many of these things are there?!”

Peter could barely turn back to see what was chasing him, let alone focus on maintaining control over his web slinging. What with the world falling around him, it was difficult to even know where to look next, because everything was the same. The same madness, chaos, death, and warfare. It was hardly a war with only one soldier fighting it, Peter doing everything he could against the limitless army. His efforts were futile, his intentions centered only one other person, not on the aliens. He could only feel the constant tingling sensation grip his neck, his arms, and practically all his senses as more and more blaster bolts shot by him, missing him by inches every single time and striking the street below him. Peter looked back once more, seeing the chariots grow evermore closer, the aliens readying their rifles and locking on.

Until all the chariots behind him were blown out of the air.

Peter watched as each burning husk dropped like rocks, plummeting to the street and nearby cars below and sending even more explosions where they crashed. He kept staring, kept swinging, until he heard that familiar voice yell in his ear, “Kid!”

“Mr. Stark?!” Spider-Man gasped, twisting his head about to see the trails of fire followed closely by the flying android. He centered his gaze on the Iron Man, the whites of his mask’s eyes narrowing. “What are you guys doing here?!”

“First of all, I’m telling Aunt May you said those naughty words, and second, you’re seriously outgunned,” Stark said flying over Parker’s head and gazing back for only a few seconds longer. He could see Peter watch the three fly over him, his eyes wide with wonderment. Iron Man faced forward, his palms planted and continuously keeping him airborne. “Homer, we’re ahead of schedule. Give Parker a hand.”

His HUD lit up, showcasing a specific set of armor. A specific suit. Tony nodded. “Launch 17A!”

The very earth and air shook once an ear-splitting roar broke out amongst it, a horrifying crash following shortly. Tony spun around in mid-air, his eyes widening behind the mask to see a Chitauri Leviathan crashing through the nearest building, almost hitting Spider-Man. “Oh, no!” Peter screamed, the whites of his mask’s eyes shooting open, quickly firing off a strand of webbing to the opposite end of the road. He pulled himself towards the building, barely dodging the Leviathan’s jaws come crashing down where he once was.

His luck just couldn’t seem to turn, as the Leviathan found no other interest but Peter, spinning accordingly and chasing right after the Spider-Man. The building where it erupted out of came tumbling down, nothing but a tower of dust and smoke rising where it once stood. The beast roared once again, hot on Parker’s trail and closing in fast.

“Kid!” Stark shouted, changing course and instantly shooting downwards like a bullet. Right for the Leviathan’s head. And like a bullet, he did a devastating amount of damage. Tony didn’t land on just his feet. The nanoparticles swarmed around his fists, the metal morphing and creating two massive jackhammers that replaced both of his fists. Using his own speed—as well as the increased speed from the thrusters on the end of each hammer—Stark drove the jackhammers directly into the head of the Leviathan.

The blow was strong enough to push the beast off course from Parker, but only for so long. It cried out in frustration, the power of Stark’s hammers leaving large cracks upon its armored head, but doing nothing more than that. As the beast tried to shake Stark off, Tony turned his gaze to the right, spotting Rhodey firing away at the creature’s head. Reluctantly, the creature finally gave in and roared in Rhodey’s direction, turning in mid-air and chasing War Machine over the rooftops.

Iron Man hopped off and caught flight, watching as the Leviathan’s tail impacted the side of the building before leaving the street. His jackhammers morphed back into his own two hands, those palms igniting and keeping him hovering above the road. He could see that Parker had already made it to the end of street, probably several blocks down. Tony sighed, shaking his head. He probably didn’t even know that that Leviathan wasn’t even chasing him anymore.

He had other things to worry about, however.

Especially when he dropped right out of the sky.

“Kid…” Stark murmured into his comms, hearing nothing but continuous “no’s” and eventual screaming. From Parker.

Down the road, across several blocks of unceasing devastation, Spider-Man had run out of webbing. He proceeded to fall several hundred feet above the ground. Screaming and trying to fire his webs again and again, Peter Parker went for his belt, fumbling with his extra web cartridges but failing to grab them. His body flailed about uncontrollably, dropping faster and faster.

“Homer,” Tony said, jetting forwards to Peter. His body was falling faster than he flew, Prompting Stark to put in the afterburners. “Hurry… now!”

It was one second until Homer finally responded.

“Inbound, sir!”

Tony caught the slight whistle coming quickly to his right. Soaring across the sky, with a trail of fire bursting behind it, Tony Stark looked over to see the steel pod heading his way, if not slightly behind him. It flew right past him, Tony shifting his gaze forwards and watching as the steel pod broke apart, launching the suit and impacting Peter’s backside.

Peter’s eyes widened behind his mask, watching and feeling as his body was consumed by a fluid, metallic substance, traveling faster and faster until even his eyes were covered, leaving nothing but darkness. Then light. Then a newfound power rippling across his entire body. Everything became clearer, slower, almost as if he could calculate every precise action to take before he even made a decision. He did the first thing that came to mind.

He fired a strand of web and pulled himself just before he hit the street, dodging burning vehicles and littering Chitauri that remained. He used his free right hand to guide him, pressing his palm into the street and sliding across the road. He pulled hard and launched himself in the air. Gaining a height he never thought was plausible in his suit, Peter flew across the hair, releasing the webbing and landing on the nearest roof he could see. He rolled several times, eventually spinning and gripping onto the rooftop with his right hand to slow himself down.

Peter came to an eventual stop, standing up. His eyes shined a bright blue, the large, golden and black spider on his chest as bright as the rest of the suit. The red, the blue, the armor, the suit, it fit Parker like a second skin, moved with him. Breathed with him.

The Iron Spider was fully functional.

“Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!”

Tony shot across the sky, glad to see Parker alive and well. He landed right in front of him, observing Item 17A for a moment longer and just how well it fit on him. He looked good, the suit adjusting and fitting just how he intended and designed it. “How do you feel, kid?” Stark asked.

Peter took the opportunity Stark gave him to observe himself. He lifted his forearms, gazing wondrously at the metallic structure that gripped him, covered him, and became a part of him closer than his old suit ever felt. It felt better than his old suit, as well. He could feel it even when he wore said suit underneath it. His HUD was even more advanced than his previous one, offering thousands of web combinations, analyzing the suit, his surrounding area, and constantly checking his status.

And it was perfect. He felt absolutely perfect. Perfect… and better than ever before.

Peter tightened his palms into fists. “Stronger,” he breathed.

Tony nodded at that, his mask deforming and revealing Stark’s face beneath, especially revealing that small grin tugging at his lips. That satisfied, proud grin as he gazed at Parker. He shook his head and got rid of that smile. “There’s a lot more to it than that,” he said, watching as Peter lifted his head back to him. Tony pointed back, to the air and where the Chitauri Command Center hung over the city. “All right, so here’s the rundown. We take out that ship, we take out the aliens. Every last one of them.”

Peter’s eyes widened, the bright blue of his suit’s mask still as bright as ever. “And you’ll need my help for that?” he asked, voice high and hopeful.

“We can’t just have you sitting on the sidelines,” Tony told him, turning back to Parker to see his widened eyes gazing at him. Even when he wore the mask, Stark could still see that sense of wonderment, definitely heard it in his voice. Shaking his head, Stark added, “We’re understaffed, is what I’m saying. If anything, you’re the B-Team.”

Peter’s head fell, but he still nodded anyway, giving two thumbs-up. “I’m cool with that.”

“Good,” Stark said with a smile, his nanoparticles closing back over his face and forming the mask of the Iron Man. “So, let’s get—”

But Peter wasn’t looking at him anymore. He had lifted his head and stared straight beyond Tony, his hands falling and his feet slowly backpedaling away. “Oh, crap…” Parker whispered.

Curious at that, Tony’s curiosity didn’t last forever when he heard the roar. Stark spun about, already backing away alongside Parker. The Chitauri Leviathan from earlier turned in their direction, its maw opening up and charging towards the rooftop the two stood upon. Stark held out his arm across Peter, almost shielding him, watching alongside the Spider-Man as the Leviathan drew nearer. He shot out his other palm, his hand transforming into a repulsor cannon.

He dropped the cannon when Vision killed the Leviathan with a single blast of the Stone, slicing its head clean off with the energy beam. The head fell first, the rest of the creature falling down to the street just where the building lied. It crashed, shaking the earth, and collapsed further down the road. Finally breathing again, both Tony and Peter turned over to the Vision hovering just in front of them, his gaze shifting their way.

“God, we could’ve used you six years ago,” Tony groaned.

“Wait, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, his mask materializing back to reveal his other Spider-Man mask beneath. He pulled off the sweaty mask, revealing his panicked face. He pointed hastily towards his hometown, back to Queens. Stark followed his finger’s direction, then turned back to Parker. “Before we take out that ship and save New York… I-I gotta go save Aunt May.”

Then, to his shock, Tony was already on it, nodding his head once. “I’ll take care of it,” he said, looking elsewhere for a moment. “Homer, contact Happy to get May Parker out of Queens and to the safehouse.”

“Already done, sir.”

Nodding at that confirmation, Stark turned back and met Peter’s eyes. He saw the gratitude ripe in each, bated breaths leaving his indebted expression. “Thanks,” Peter told him, already breathless.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Tony muttered, facing the city once again. “We got a lot of work to do.”

The second Leviathan roared out, driving its head right into the face of a far-off building. Parker flinched at that, watching as the building came crumbling down. He stared onwards to the devastation that continued to fall down and all around him. The Chitauri kept coming from their mothership. Their chariots and starships were still dive-bombing the city, still killing innocent civilians. And there they stood, finally having the means and will to stop it.

And Peter finally had someone with him. A team. He may have been just the B-Team, but it was a team nonetheless. “I’m on it, Mr. Stark!” he yelled with a firm nod, running forward and leaping off the rooftop with newfound adrenaline in him. As he fell, his mask materialized back over his head, the blue eyes lighting to life and giving the Iron Spider his sight. He zipped across the buildings, flung himself towards the face of danger. He definitely felt stronger, faster, greater in every way.

And Stark just watched him go. Watched the hero do what he did best. “Homer,” Tony said, launching himself off the rooftop and catching flight, “you got any more static?”

“No, sir, I’m getting a clearer picture.”

Iron Man soared across the skies riddled with fire and conflict, Rhodey in the distance chasing a pack of Chitauri chariots and blowing them out of the sky. Then there was the Vision and Parker, both trying to take on the second Leviathan, Vision flying close behind it and Peter trailing close as he swung from building to building. The suit fit him. He definitely deserved it.

Stark stared at him a moment longer. He finally faced forward, saying, “All right, locate any civilians still in the area. We need to start evacuating.”

“Sir, I’ve managed to locate a large group of civilians to the northwest. They seem to be moving east.”

Tony nodded at that. “Give me some insight.”

Across his HUD, several boxes of footage appeared with what was clearly an aerial view of Manhattan. The Chitauri Command Center was squarely in the center of the city, the fires and the smoke that the satellite footage gave him spreading further and further as the warship unleashed its armies upon the city. Stark’s satellite gave him a view of the large crowd of civilians, Tony zooming in to get a closer look at what he was trying to see.

And the first thing he saw were five individuals protecting them. Five individuals that led the crowd throughout the desolation. There were only two he truly recognized, even with his elevated eyesight. Only two he could recognize just from the dark trench coat, sniper rifle, and devil outfit.

Tony Stark slowly smirked. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Author's Note:

Be Greater

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