Iron Man flew out the same window he'd climbed out of. A window would cost less than a roof that wasn't broken. He planned every step, devised a rescue strategy, knowing that the slightest miscalculation could kill someone or cause more damage that would ruin some poor soul. Flying through another window, he opened a closet, a hiding place for a couple of kids. They were too young to be taught the dangers of hiding in a place like that. Again, Tony left them in an ambulance and watched more firefighters arrive. They were professionals, better trained than he was, so Tony left them alone. He focused on the building they would let burn, the Hardy Foundation building. It was insured, and there was no reason for the firefighters to risk lives. But Tony knew something they didn't: someone was still in the building.
"HELP! HELP!" He could hear them as clear as day with his enhanced receiver.
Diving through the building, heedless of the falling debris and the heat, he flew toward where the fire was at its most intense. It was also where the person was screaming. A young man, barely eighteen years old, was screaming. Tony quickly noticed the boy's skin pigmentation: bright orange, light eyes. The young man was naked and scared. Tony grabbed him, shielding him from the debris as he flew out of the building. The young man still had a fever, and Tony could feel his skin heating up his armor. He dropped him on a nearby rooftop and doused him with firefighting foam.
"Try to stay calm and tell me what happened," Tony said, looking at the young man.
He was probably just out of high school, too young to get a job at the Hardy Foundation. Tony approached him, raising his hands diplomatically.
"It's okay, kid. I'm not here to hurt you," he said.
"Oh God, what did they do to me? What did they do to me?" the boy asked.
"Tell me your name, kid. Why were you here?" Iron Man asked.
"Mark, my name is Mark, I..." the boy never managed to finish, as a disc-shaped object crashed into his chest.
The young man screamed as he felt the electricity spread throughout his body. Tony followed the trajectory of the shot, just in time to dodge another projectile. It was an arrow, with the same device that had been latched onto Mark's chest. Perhaps a type of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) suggested that Mark's "abilities" were related to technology. Perhaps nanites, although Tony didn't know of any such advanced nanotechnology; that kind of technology was only possible in movies. After checking Mark's heart rate, Tony looked toward the rooftop opposite. No one was there, but to the right of the building stood a figure in dark clothing. It was dark purple tactical gear. The man wearing it had a tuft of blond hair sticking out of the top of his purple mask. Devices covered his ears, some kind of hearing aid, and red lenses covered his eyes to reduce glare. He had padding on his wrists and knees, and his shoulders were bare. But it wasn't a rifle he was preparing, not even a pistol (Tony knew some good long-range pistols), but, curiously, a bow. The man carried a quiver on his back and, like Tony, a utility belt with devices he could attach to arrowheads.
"Low-tech, huh? Easy to use and less likely to fail, I'm all for it," Tony said.
The archer quickly fired an arrow, which bounced off a pipe and sent it flying toward Tony. He quickly dodged, but as Tony veered left, an arrow struck one of the motors in his leg, severing the connection to his boot. Momentarily losing control, Tony crashed into the wall of the building opposite the one where Mark had landed. The archer began hitting his ear with the device.
"Acquaintance Hawkeye , moving to secure the asset," a voice said through his earpiece.
Tony regained control of his boots and looked at Mark. A woman in a black suit was standing next to the boy. She had covered her face with a black mask and triple-lens zoom goggles. She wore a pair of multi-cartridge devices on her wrists, and a red hourglass symbol was on her belt buckle.
"Widow here, securing the molten man," the woman said, beginning to wrap a device around the young man's chest.
Iron Man flew toward her, equipping his gauntlets with repulsorlifts . He fired a blast, but to his surprise, the woman turned sharply and suddenly wrapped her legs around Tony's chest.
"I usually buy dinner first," he joked.
A blue light passed through the device on his wrist before it plunged into Tony's neck. Tony gasped as he felt an electric shock that pierced his armor and his heart. He fell to the ground, clinically dead. Widow remained by Tony's body, listening to his communicator while Hawkeye tapped him.
"You're right, the observer might want him alive," he activated his shock device again and hit Tony's chest plate.
He charged the armor and restarted his heart. Tony gasped, regaining his composure. He was still incapacitated, allowing Widow to activate the device in Mark's chest. A massive balloon expanded over the boy's chest, beginning to lift him off the ground. Suddenly, a shot rang out through the neighborhood, piercing the balloon. In a building on the next block, an agent peered through his rifle scope.
"Ward, I've prevented them from extracting the asset," the dark-haired man said.
On the streets, among the emergency services, black government vehicles arrived. Garret, from the WDRA, got out of one and smiled sarcastically.
.
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