The Dead

[starkingenuity]

It might seem counterintuitive for the most connected person on the planet to be the last to know something is happening, but when Tony Stark is working, Hell could swallow the world up and he would make an off handed, disinterested remark that he would have to check the AC. Up in his hi-tech Tower, where he had meant to spend the week finishing up boxing the more precious pieces of unfinished projects, Tony had gotten himself caught procrastinating the only way a man like him is capable of procrastinating: by rebuilding hardware to help him finish a gadget rather than packing that gadget away.

FRIDAY had already been installed in the compound Upstate, though she never left his back pocket really. Tony didn’t hear her alerting him, therefore, when people started dying. How could he with the sound of heavy metal playing and the grinder in his hands?

Tony had stayed in his mostly disassembled, partly reassembled lab for thirty-two hours before deciding he was hungry enough to stop making do with granola bars and dried fruit and call in some pizza.

The alerts on his phone are terrifying when he finally sees them. The number of missed calls leave his mouth dry.

Despite everything, Tony’s first thought is to call Steve Rogers of all people, even before he puts the armor back on. He has no idea that Captain America fell with the rest of the country he loved hours ago.

Comments

Mine are slowly trickling back in. Very slowly lol

[endof_theline]

Bucky can't see what it is either. He doesn't want to. "Maybe it's the Ant-Man," he says anyway, because it makes sense. Something scratched or bit Steve's neck and then he was gone. Dead.

It doesn't matter if it's an infection or not- they're the walking dead.

Bucky knows he should peel himself away from the wall, but he can't seem to do so. Here he is, hunkered down with Tony Stark. He wonders what Steve would think- the two of them working together now. Is that what they're doing?

It has to be.

"It's bloodborne. They're scratching, biting- basically killing the people they attack. I've watched... limbs getting ripped off and eyes being gouged out. It's bloody out there," he says in a monotone voice, detached in the way that Tony feels.

His brows draw together. "One of your Iron Man suits?" Yeah, ok. That's wild.

[starkingenuity]

“Unless one of them figures out how to bite through gold titanium alloy, you should be good,” Tony remarks. He’s always been better at problem solving than focusing too much on his losses. There have been so many of those.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket, rubbing a hand over facial hair that is in desperate need of some trimming. He looks down at all of the notifications. The missed calls. The texts.

With a shaking thumb, he finally opens up the list of calls. Pepper. Happy. Peter over a dozen times. Steve. Three missed calls from Steve Rogers.

Tony’s mouth runs dry and his eyebrows furrow. “You know,” he says, jaw clenching again, eyes never leaving the phone even as he gestures with it. “I was cleaning out the Tower. Old projects, half started. I uh… I had this motorcycle engine I was cleaning and retrofitting before everything with the Accords happened. Project got shelved. We moved operations to the compound. Totally forgot about it until yesterday. Day before maybe. I don’t know why I even bothered— I wasn’t going to give it to him, you know. Bastard was dead to me.”

Tony’s lip trembles and he turns, tapping the voice mail from Steve Rogers.

“Tony—“ And then he immediately turns the sound down. He can’t bring himself to listen to it after all.

“He called and I was rebuilding a fucking engine, Barnes.”

[endof_theline]

Bucky doesn't know what to think. Doesn't know what to feel either- or how to feel it- but it's quickly dawning on him, and right now he's struggling not to get dragged down by it. He really didn't need to see what happened to Steve from three different angles.

"I managed fine without a suit." He's being stubborn now, and he knows it. It just feels strange- him of all people in an Iron Man suit. But then- it must feel even more strange for Tony. Probably terrible. "Yeah, fine, ok. I'll wear a suit."

Tony looks at his phone, and Bucky figures he's doing some more techy stuff while he explains to Bucky where he was all this time, and why he didnt' join the Avengers earlier today. And then he hears Steve's voice coming from Tony's phone, and he swallows hard, feeling a deep, horrible ache in his chest that he knows he can't afford to feel right now.

Tony is losing it too. He can tell. The trembling lip, the devastated look on his face- the anger. Maybe they're both going through the five stages of grief here, only they need to do it quickly so they can help people.

"You didn't know. I didn't know either, I should've gone with him." Tony feels guilty. So does Bucky.

[starkingenuity]

“Guess we both fucked it up with the only God damned person on this planet that would have forgiven us,” Tony says, hands shoving into his pockets so he doesn’t have to think about a message he isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to listen to. He blinks rapidly to try and clear his eyes from tears before he heads to the tiny kitchen and pulls open the refrigerator.

Of course there isn’t alcohol. Neither of these two can get drunk readily so why bother? He could really go for something to calm his nerves, though.

At least he doesn’t have to fight with Barnes about the armor. Maybe they both just realized that they don’t have anyone else. Not yet.

Cursing, Tony slams the door shut and runs both of his hands through his already pleasantly messy hair. “Who’s missing from the footage? FRIDAY, who’s accounted for in the footage?”

The AI speaks from Tony’s pocket, muffled. “Captain Rogers. Natasha Romanoff. Sam Wilson. James Rhodes. Clint Barton. Doctor Stephan Strange. Doctor Hank Pym. Scott Lang. King T’Challa.”

“Got it. Everyone,” Tony says before he arches an eyebrow. “Parker?”

“I’m sorry, Boss. Peter Parker is not visible on any of the collected footage.”

[endof_theline]

They both fucked it up. Tony's right. They should've been there.

Bucky feels like he's stuck in this spot, his gaze following Tony around the apartment. The fridge it stocked with foods that Steve has been trying to get Bucky to eat. Bucky's been terrible about it. Now.... god, he wishes he wouldn't have given Steve such a hard time. He wishes he could have pulled himself together faster.

He's having to pull it together real fast now, isn't he.

Bucky hears the voice- mechanical yet real- is it Tony's phone? He doesn't quite get it. He does hear the names being said out loud, though. Everyone's they've lost. Probably more. Everyone.

And yet- not everyone, not yet. Not as far as Tony's computer can see, anyway. "Who are you talking to?" Maybe not the most important thing right now, but Bucky needs something to ground him.

[starkingenuity]

The blatant question pulls Tony out of his head just enough to make the man blink owlishly at the other. He’s confused. It’s so rare to make him feel that way.

Back in his pocket his hand goes and he pulls the phone from it. “Barnes. This is FRIDAY. Part of her. The rest was transferred to the compound. There’s a piece of her in the armor too. Will be in the one she’s flying over to us.”

“Pleased to meet you, Sergeant Barnes.” Her brogue is lovely and she seems friendly enough.

“She’s an AI assistant, if you’re curious.”

[endof_theline]

Bucky's eyebrows furrow as he looks at the device. The cellphone- only this one seems to be more than the one Steve had. This one talks, and.... has a name. Not only a name, but addresses him- speaks to him.

Bucky looks at it suspiciously, as if it was an actual person. Maybe that's already progress. "How does it... how does she know my name?" Paranoia. Can anyone blame him?

"What is an AI assistant?" Is this distracting them enough from their grief? Maybe it'll be enough to get their heads back in the game.

[starkingenuity]

Somehow, Barnes is worse than Steve had ever been. Most of the time, the blond played off what he didn’t understand. Tony had found the boyish, sheepish looks in Steve’s eyes endearing. It’s why he picked on him so much before their solitary natures pushed them back to being occasional colleagues. Little more, really, though Tony clung to a friendship that wasn’t actually ever there.

He glances at the phone in his hand. “I made her. Programmed her. She’s artificial.”

“But still happy to help,” FRIDAY chimes in. “I know a lot about you, Sergeant Barnes. Public record, private—“

“Thanks, FRIDAY,” Tony hushes her and puts his phone back in his pocket.

[endof_theline]

The difference is probably that Steve had tried hard to integrate. Bucky had tried even harder to stay off the grid. He doesn't want to join the modern age, as much as he knows he has to. As much as Steve had tried to get him to.

He should have tried harder.

That thought is the only reason why he tries now, eying the phone, but not pulling back from it completely. "That's... interesting. She sounds smart." FRIDAY knowing about his public and private records, though? Well....most people do these days.

"It's ok," he says quietly. "I get it...or. I think I do." Steve would have wanted him to.

[starkingenuity]

That is a surprising compliment and Tony takes it whole heartedly as one. There is even a touch of a smile to his lips. “She did that herself,” he says, giving the disembodied voice personhood. “Right now, it’s just us and her. Until we find more people.”

“Three minutes for the armor to touchdown, Boss,” FRIDAY confirms. “Roof all right?”

“Roof is good.” He glances Barnes’ way and picks up his helmet. “She’ll help you pilot. What were you saying about getting a van and helping people? Those streets are a mess. We might want to secure a place to stay first.”

[endof_theline]

"Right. Us and her, until we find more people." Bucky breathes out, thinking about that, about the two of them- three of them? It's a moment of respite, and it's enough to get his head back in the game.

He pushes off the wall, giving Tony a nod. "Rooftops seem like the safest place right now. I'm sure there are more secure spots along the way though."

Does Tony have a better one? He's all high tech... "We can secure people back here, unless you've got a better, bigger place."

Not towering into the sky, though.

[starkingenuity]

The Tower would not work. It’s hard to defend. He knows that very, very well. But this building? That might be doable.

“Have you gone door to door asking for a cup of sugar yet?” There might be survivors here. Or the place might be crawling with the dead. Being in the middle of New York isn’t exactly ideal but it’s a good place to start.

[endof_theline]

Bucky thinks that if they have at least one good stronghold, they can defend it. Maybe something more underground would help, but for now a safe house is- well- the safest place. This apartment only has one small window, and it's already boarded up. Bucky worked quickly once he got back here.

"I did. Most people were out. There is a man, a woman, couple upstairs, I told them to lock all their doors and board up the windows if they could. Everyone else was out as far as I could tell." No one had attacked him, so that was a plus.

Now that they're formulating some kind of plan, Bucky has that to focus on. The grief can wait till later.

"Should we bring them in here? Have them stay together?" Or maybe they're just safer where they are for the time being. He isn't sure.

[starkingenuity]

“Not here,” Tony says. “I don’t like sharing my things.” He means the space. It’s already cramped in here with the two of them. “But we can clear out the floor. If the other units are empty, there will be plenty of room for everyone else.”

At least, until they find something better.

Tony tilts his head towards the door. “Think there’s a penthouse?” What? He does have a standard of living to uphold.

[endof_theline]

Bucky raises an eyebrow at the comment, wanting to remind Tony that this isn't his. Not his place, not his things- but it isn't really Bucky's either. It's Steve's, and now the two of them are here in his stead. He hates it.

"Yeah. Alright. I can do another run through just in case." And if anyone has turned, well... they'll have to deal with that as well, so that others can survive.

He's not sure about the penthouse, so he shrugs. There's a larger apartment on the top floor so he figures that's probably considered one. He feels a little tapped out with answering questions right now- even talking in general.

[starkingenuity]

“Armor first.” It’s not really like Tony to be so safety focused but Steve Rogers had a little ding on the neck, possibly from one of the Pym Particle brigade, and now he’s a roving dead man. Tony genuinely does not want to be alone. He’d take anyone over that.

Barnes, unfortunately, is the only one he has right now and he’s better than nothing.

At least the stairwells are quiet. Tony taps the reactor in his chest to glad his arms and legs in armor, holding the helmet under one arm. It leaves his torso exposed but if they are attacked, he can protect himself quickly. It beats trying to climb steps in plate mail.

There is a red streak closing in towards them as they step back out into the air. The smoke is intense. So is the smell of death.

The suit coming towards them is one he’d made with Steve’s fighting style in mind. It’s a little taller than his regular armors but it will still fit Barnes well.

[endof_theline]

Bucky gives a single, quiet nod, heading back out with Tony- back up to the roof. He listens for any disturbing sounds along the way, but it sounds eerily quiet for an NYC apartment complex. He really hopes the people he instructed to stay actually stayed.

The sounds of the city from above are eerie as well. It feels like a nightmare, and god he's so damn tired of those.

It's quite alarming to see the red streak in the air. Mostly because Bucky doesn't want it being followed. It seems like these zombies don't have enough thought to fly anything, but that's just wishful thinking. They don't really know anything about this infection, aside from that it's bloodborne and it's turning people into... something else. Zombies.

"Will my.... metal arm fit in that thing?"

[starkingenuity]

Tony obviously has a penchant for standing with his hands in his pockets. It’s more nonchalant than he actually is feeling. Rocking back on his heels, he turns his head slightly to glance at Barnes. His gaze shift over his body, literally eyeing him up. “Same size as the real arm. The plates shift.”

He never had Rogers try the suit on. He’d just gone a little overboard with building after Pepper left him.

“Two steps back,” he warns just as the armor lands, reverse thrusters making it a gentle one, and unfolds itself. The red is brighter, but the suit is mostly blue, with the arc reactor star shaped. Tony does look at least partially sorry for the armor’s design.

[endof_theline]

Bucky isn't really paying attention to Tony's body language right now. He's busy trying to figure out what their odds are in all of this. Bucky lays low, he's good at it. Tony is flashy suits and armor. The two don't seem like they'll mix. What choice do they have, though?

He gives Tony another quiet nod when he says the plates will shift. He curls his metal hand into a fist at his side, then shoves his hands into his pockets as well.

When the armor lands, he looks it up and down. Flashy. Red and blue, with a star.... he looks at Tony. "Did you... you made this for Steve?"

[starkingenuity]

“I made a lot of things for Steve,” Tony says, grumbled under his breath, before he walks around the armor to carefully check it out. The thing is solid enough, though he can’t remember the last time he had taken it out for calibration testing. Tapping on the star, the suit splits down the center like a cocoon.

Perhaps it’s not the most inviting thing for a man previously locked in various cryo chambers.

“FRIDAY will figure out the way you move and adapt. But you’re both boxers. It has a lot of that built in.”

[endof_theline]

Bucky eyes Tony, feeling a knot forming in his throat. They were friends- Tony and Steve. Bucky came along and messed everything up, and here Tony was with a suit of armor for Steve. If only...

He swallows thickly, pushing that grief back down again as Tony starts working the suit open. Bucky eyes the suit now, instead of watching Tony, another wave of anxiety hitting him. He has to get in that thing and it'll close around him. He could be stepping into his own death here.

Dramatic and paranoid.

"How am I gonna figure out how to work this thing? I'm not- not real good at technological things." And he's been avoiding it like the plague, still so stuck in the past, in so many ways.

[starkingenuity]

That does get a little lift of the lip from Stark. “You just do. You’re wearing it. It’s fool proof.” The system is intuitive. There are built in stabilizers. It’s been trained. The armor has muscle memory of a sort, all programmed and calibrated. “And like I said. You’ll have FRIDAY. She won’t let you fall.”

Tony can’t afford letting Barnes get hurt right now. Not even if it would make him so very pleased to see. This is the first time in the last hour that Tony remembers that he really doesn’t like Barnes. That he killed his mother. That it matters, even if Rogers didn’t think so.

Tony can’t rub the bridge of his nose or muss up his hair in the half armor he has on but he wants the tactile distraction just the same.

“You can give it verbal commands too, if you can’t figure something out. Like a search bar.”

[endof_theline]

Foolproof for someone who knows how to work things like this, but he barely even knows how to use a computer. And that's being generous. It would be great to hear what Tony is thinking on the inside, because all of that information would be useful to him, but all he gets is fool proof. Not very helpful.

"So I just tell it what to do and it does it?" He's still extremely hesitant about this. It almost feels like letting something else be in control of him again, even if Tony says he's the one giving commands. "A search bar?"

Does he know what that is? Vaguely.

Mostly he's just circling the suit, knowing he has to put it on, but feeling wildly uncomfortable about it.

[starkingenuity]

Rolling his eyes, Tony huffs loudly under his breath and gestures to the open armor. “Just get in.” There’s a reason Tony doesn’t teach, though MIT has been on him for years. The occasional talk he gives is bad enough. Someone always complains, usually because he can’t help but be superior to just about everyone. His brain is wired differently. “You’ll see. It’s intuitive.”

And he doesn’t have to try and figure out which words Bucky knows the meanings of.

The inside of the armor is dark, and hardly inviting. Tony isn’t claustrophobic and he takes for granted what it must be like for someone to be enveloped in armor. The fear would only be temporary of course. Once the helmet is in place, the face mask comes to life and the view is better than the regularly binocular vision of a standard human.

[endof_theline]

Bucky is about to narrow his eyes at Tony, but he catches himself before he does so. Tony doesn't deserve that. No matter what happened, he has every right to be angry, to be short with him- and he really hasn't even been.

Bucky's grateful for that, now that he has a moment to think about it.

"Intuitive..." he mutters to himself, coming back around to the front of the suit. He presses his lips together, then gets into the suit, eyes on the other man once he does so. He doesn't know if he's claustrophobic or not, but he hates this, so maybe he is. It wouldn't be surprising, considering he went from cryo, to being strapped down in a machine, or tossed into a small, dark cell.

His breathing speeds up as he looks over at Tony, trying not to freak out. "I don't know if I can do this."