I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 64

Tony struggles to fly up a few platforms but Rachel sees him and tells Bucky to hurry. Tony flies up and kicks Bucky off a platform as he tries climbing onto it. Bucky lands on another platform with a grunt. Tony aims his repulsor at Bucky but Rachel quickly jumps to the platform and creates a barrier in front of her and Bucky. Once Tony's shot hits her barrier she lowers it and sends a ball of energy at Tony. It forces him into the wall and he falls down to a lower platform.

"He's not gonna stop. You need to go" Rachel tells Bucky as she helps him up. He nods and starts jumping up to the upper platforms. Rachel starts climbing up behind him when she notices Tony flying towards her again. He kicks her away from Bucky and she hits the wall before landing on a platform. She looks up to see Tony aiming his repulsor at her and she's shocked to say the least. He fires before she has time to raise a barrier but Steve flips up and lands in front of her with his shield. Tony's shot ricochets off the shield and hits him, causing him to hit another platform and damage his suit arm.

"Are you ok?" Steve asks Rachel as she gets to her feet. "I'm ok" she answers with a nod and glances down at Tony. "Go with him" he tells her and she reluctantly nods and jumps up to the next platform. Tony flies back up towards Bucky but Steve jumps down the centre of the platforms while hooking a rope around Tony's neck, not harming him because of his suit. Steve's weight pulls Tony down but Tony grabs Rachel in the process. They all land on separate platforms, Rachel the highest and Steve the lowest. Steve throws his shield at Tony when he sees him taking aim at Bucky with one of his missiles. Tony anticipates this and fires at Steve's shield, sending it down the centre of the platforms and to the ground.

Tony's targeting systems malfunctions so he fires the missile with only his eyesight. He hits the hinge of the open hatch and causes it to collapse shut, resulting in Bucky jumping down to a platform to avoid being crushed. Rachel stands to her feet to see Tony fly past her and to Bucky. She watches as he fights with him and holds Bucky against him as he flies down the centre of the platforms. She jumps at them in an attempt to knock Tony off balance and let Bucky go. However, her attempt is unsuccessful until Steve does the same and jumps at them, grabbing Tony with enough force to send them into one of the platforms. Tony lets Bucky go and he lands on one of the platforms while Tony, Steve and Rachel continue to fall down the centre of the platforms, straight to the ground.

Steve manages to grab Rachel on the way down and wraps his arms around her. He forces his body around so that he hits the ground first. She would have used her powers to break their fall but it all happened so fast she couldn't comprehend any of it until they hit the ground. They roll to the right while Tony rolls to the left. Rachel groans in pain as Steve lifts himself off of her, also groaning in pain. "Relax, it's ok" he assures her and she winces. The sound of Tony climbing over the small wall separating him from them, catches Steve's attention. Steve climbs to his feet while panting to look up at Tony and Rachel tries recovering from the immense pain and exhaustion.

"This isn't gonna change what happened" Steve pants, in a final attempt to talk Tony out of his plan. "I don't care. He killed my mom" Tony replies before charging at Steve. They start fighting each other and when Steve gets Tony in a headlock, Tony uses his repulsor to send them off balance. Steve lands on the ground and Tony kneels over him, throwing a punch that Steve quickly avoids. Bucky attacks Tony using Steve's shield and it quickly becomes the two super soldiers versus Tony.

Tony manages to fire his repulsor at Steve and he hits the wall. While he recovers Bucky fights Tony himself and is almost successful when he tries ripping Tony's suit arc reactor from his chest but Tony fires a blast from his chest, sending Bucky to the ground. Rachel climbs to her feet and sees Bucky look at his arm to see his metal arm gone, due to the blast. Tony fires at him once more and he lies on the ground unconscious. Steve charges at Tony once he's on his feet and uses his shield to protect himself from Tony's blasts.

Tony eventually gets the upper hand and Steve ends up on his knees. "He's my friend" Steve states as Tony stands in front of him. "So was I" Tony argues before punching him twice and throws him to the ground. Rachel takes this opportunity to send multiple balls of energy at Tony. He's hit by the first few but soon manages to avoid the rest and advances on her. He hits her to the ground but she quickly gets back on her feet. Before she can make any attempt to stop him or defend herself, Tony fires his repulsor at her and it hits her chest, forcing her backwards. She hits the wall with such force she's knocked unconscious with a burn on the chest of her suit. Steve looks at her as she lies unconscious as he kneels, panting. He's not gonna lose. If he loses, he loses his best friend and his girlfriend will be back in prison with those handcuffs on. He can't let that happen. He takes one more look at Bucky then back to Rachel and climbs to his feet with his fists raised in front of his face while he stares at Tony.