Avengers Imagines

Devil's Due (Pt. 2/5)

The darkness had either risen him up or brought you down, the lack of perception did not allow Tony to know. All he did know was that he was suddenly standing on eye-level with you, which made it difficult to activate his armour without being blatantly obvious about it.

Not that he would care for the fact, if he new jack about his location, and by extension, escape. "I'm asking nicely for the last time. Where am I?"

"We are right where we were. Well, technically." You took his jaw a gentle grasp, your thumb tracing the corner of his mouth. "The question you should be asking, boy, is why I have a claim on your soul."

Eyes still holding your gaze, Tony felt his hand for the Iron Man bracelet, his fingers desperately seeking help. No longer caring for discretion, all he wanted was to get away from you, and the sense of doom you carried.

Identifying the urgency in his demeanor, you turned away. "It won't work. This is my void, I built it with the rippings of my own spirit, bit by bit until it belonged to me like a mutt belongs to its master. Nothing will happen here unless I will it to."

Momentarily, Tony give up the effort. It occurred to him that you might be lying, although he could see no reason as to why you would. If anything, it only struck him now, he had not once seen you worried or display any other plausible emotional response for someone who was being held captive to be finally tried for their more than questionable actions.

The only emotion he could compare with what he saw in your eyes was pleasure. Satisfaction? "The arrest was a ploy, you came to the facility on purpose. You came looking for Howard Stark...how do you know my father?"

"I was right, then. He never told you about me." You glanced at Tony from over your shoulder, your head tilted to one side. "A selfish, selfish man."

"The rest of the world would disagree. They considered him a genius of his time." There was a vague sense of breathlessness that Tony could feel. If provided with the option to abandon all reason, he would argue that the darkness was closing in around him.

"That he was. A man can be two things, although they seldom are." When you turned around, Tony noticed black smokey wisps leaving your fingertips, merging with its equally as black surrounding. He knew to be cautious in the face of your tricks and yet he stood there, waiting for you to drop the veil of suspense.

Your hair swayed gently in non-existent wind. "He was genius enough to seek me out when no one knew my name. They all knew who I was, and feared me rightly, but none had yet set eyes on the face of annihilation. None that lived to tell the tale, at least. But he sought me and he made a deal."

"I brought him metal from the forbidden land which, today, I assume is the joke of a shield your captain walks around with. After Erskine's assassination, I scourged for him the secret so he could recreate the supersoldier serum. I had at his disposal all that he desired and in return I only ever asked for one thing." Your eyes glinted even in the absence of a direct source of light.

"Me." Tony felt the need to laugh at the comical situation was it not for the bile hurting his throat. You rested your fingers on the crook of his neck, close enough to be threatening but not quite. "Granted you were not born yet but yes, I asked for his firstborn."

"Do you also live in the woods and use a broomstick as your primary means of transportation?" This time Tony did laugh. Maybe not a laugh, just a nervous chuckle. But still.

Your fingers trailed down his shoulder. "I am not of this world, Anthony. To solidify my claim to it, I needed someone who was. Naturally, you would have been of more benefit if given to me as a child but I see the potential in you. So much more than your father. You and I together, we will be invincible."

"And my father was selfish because he tried to protect me from this?" Tony stepped back, making a circular gesture with his hand in your general direction.

"Don't be foolish, boy. Nothing could protect you from me." There was amusement in your voice, quickly followed by rage. "No, he was selfish because he dishonored our agreement, ratted me out. Made me a target. Had his men on my tail, trying to take me in. The bastard knew I could do him no direct harm. I was forced into hiding for so long."

"When he died, I was distraught. Howard kept his distance from you all his life, I never knew you existed. What kind of a father does that? Deprive his son of love just because a supernatural entity may or may not sweep him away?" You scoffed in disgust. "With my other endeavors, it took me longer than expected to find you. Now, with you by my side-"

Tony cut you off mid-sentence. "Hold up, who said anything about me being on your side? You don't look old enough to be delusional, even if you claim to have lived the years."

"Far be it from me to persuade you." Your tongue playfully rested between your teeth. "You asked where you were. You are everywhere and nowhere. This place exists independent of time. In the hundreds of years that I've been alive, I have slaughtered every single one of my kind so I could be the one. The one true ruler of the mortal realm. And you, my darling."

Tony had been correct in his initial suspicion. The darkness had convened around him - his hands were no longer visible beyond the wrist and black veins had crept halfway up his shins. He tried to tug himself free and immediately felt the sting of fire in his flesh.

His heartbeat increased twofold, making him wonder if his arc reactor would fizzle out. He largely imagined it to be the least of his worries.

"This is the destiny you were born with, Anthony. No, I will not persuade you, you will do that to yourself." Your face was inches from his, your teeth bared into a smile thinly veiling a snarl. "And you have quite literally an eternity to do it."