Metallic Lights {Metallic Charms Book #3}

Chapter 39: Soldier Down (Part 2)

Chapter 39: Soldier Down (Part 2)

~~~~~~~~~~~{Noel’s Point of View}~~~~~~~~~~~

I was digging as I called to Bruce for help. “I can see him –he’s not moving... S-some parts of the s-s-suit are gone. Oh god his arm...”

As far as I could see, there was rubble, dust and bits and pieces of school furniture –marker boards cracked in half, chairs missing legs, table skeletons without the wooden benches on top of them.
And then there were the little pieces of red and gold painted metal that had covered the Iron Man suit. The suit that had covered Tony Stark; the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.

The Hero.

My friend. 

As I dug through the pieces of walls and roofing and flooring that made up the blown up building, I found Tony’s arm. At first, I didn’t know what it was –it was so mangled I couldn’t even be sure that it was still attached to a body.

The thought of Tony broken up into little pieces and scattered underneath all this debris made the lump that was already nesting in my throat swell to the size of Jamaica and tears welled up in my eyes so that I could barely see anymore.

I was aware of stinging, shooting pains all over my body –I’d been in that explosion too, and I’d dug myself free, but even Thor couldn’t escape this wreckage of a building without a few scrapes. But I couldn’t worry about myself right now. I needed to dig. Keep digging. I needed to know that Tony was... What?

That he was okay? If his arm was anything to go by, he was nowhere near okay. If he was broken, I needed to know if he was fixable.

If he was going to live.

I couldn’t go through losing him for a second time –especially if it was for good. I’d gone through not talking to him day after day, but over the past few weeks we’d started over. We’d become friends again. We were finally getting along.
I hated not having him around in Asgard. I hated myself for leaving him alone. I hated him for moving on before I was ready for him to do so.

I hated the fact that I hadn’t been strong enough for anyone.

It was my fault that he was broken now, if I’d just taken out that stupid soldier and hadn’t hesitated, I never would have had that bomb on my suit and Tony never would have flown towards me, ripped it off and tried to save me.

Everything was my fault.

“We’re coming Noel.” I heard my brother’s voice in my ear vaguely, but I didn’t reply, I just kept crying and digging for Tony.

My fingernails were gone –grabbing at all the loose debris had torn them off- and my hands were bleeding. I could feel so much blood gushing down the side of my neck from some sort of cut or gash on my head. I couldn’t move my right leg without shrieking out in pain –but I was too afraid to look at the kind of damage that was causing that much pain.

Eventually, I found Tony’s torso. The gold-titanium alloy suit had been badly dented so that when I grabbed at it to pull him up, I only pulled up pieces of the suit.
I really wish I hadn’t done that.

With the pieces of the suit came pieces of Tony’s skin and flesh, and it slowly became evident that in the explosion, Tony’s suit –the very thing that he had built to protect himself and others- had caused most of his injuries. The wires and the metal sheeting that covered him had imbedded itself into his body so that trying to free him by pulling him out was impossible without wanting to kill him.