"Everyone around me dies," said Steve darkly, caught up in the memories of his past. "I couldn't save any of them."
"You outlived them by seventy years," Bruce argued. "I think you can cut yourself some slack on that one, Cap."
"Sometimes I think I'm cursed."
Bruce gave him a sideways look. "You were given a serum that made you big, buff and beautiful," he said wryly, "I took a serum that made me gigantic, green and gruesome. Let's not start whipping out curses and comparing them, because I can tell you now, I'm going to win."
"Did you just call me beautiful?" asked Steve hesitantly.
"It was in the context of some pointed alliteration," Bruce said in vague amusement. "Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you."
Steve frowned. "Of course not, we're both men, that doesn't happen."
Bruce shook his head and gave a wry smile. "The 21st century is going to eat you up and spit you out, Cap."
Tony interrupted them, not bothering to open his eyes. "Do you two chatty Cathy's have nothing better to do then stand around and interrupt a man's sleep?"
"You're awake," said Bruce.
"It's so clear to me now why they call you a genius," Tony snarked at him.
"Awake and clearly not a morning person," surmised Bruce easily.
Tony turned his head to look at Pepper, eyes going to the monitors and seeing that it registered normal cardiac function. For the first time in fourteen hours, Steve watched some of the tension leave the other man's body. "She looks good," said Tony unevenly. He looked at the other men for confirmation. "Right?"
"She looks great," Bruce agreed. "I think the worst is over. How are you doing, Tony?"
Tony stood up and grimaced as he stretched and put a hand to his back, working out the kinks of sleeping upright in a chair all night. "I wasn't the one beaten and drugged. I'm fine."
Steve and Bruce exchanged glances. It wasn't Tony's physical health they were concerned with.
Jarvis' voice filled the air. "Sir, the analysis of the compound found in Miss Potts' blood is complete."
Tony looked fully awake now. "What was it?"
"Di-sodium orthotrexilate, mixed in with some other minor compounds," relayed Jarvis.
"Wait, di-sodium orthotrexilate?"
Bruce rubbed his jaw. "I've never heard of it."
"You wouldn't have," said Tony grimly. "It's a serum that was being developed by a company for use in interrogations. It's meant to make a person compliant."
"Like a truth serum?"
"No, like your own personal slave," said Tony harshly. "The research was abandoned when it was discovered to cause psychosis and heart failure." His jaw hardened. "I'm so stupid, I should have put it together sooner. It was all there in Pepper's symptoms."
"If this drug isn't on the market, then where did these guys get it?" asked a perplexed Steve.
"From the maker of it," said Tony, a muscle ticking away in his jaw as he obviously fought for control of himself. "They were ordered to destroy it, for public safety, but I guess that didn't happen."
"Who is they?" asked Bruce. "Who did this to Pepper?"
"Hammer Industries," said Tony, his usually warm brown eyes becoming cold and dark. "Justin Hammer is behind this."
"I thought Justin Hammer was behind bars," Bruce noted.
"Yeah, where I put him, and he's clearly out for revenge," Tony bit out. "Hammer still has a lot of resources. He could reach out from prison and attack Pepper to get back at me." He looked at them. "Are those three men still in the holding cells?"
"Yes," said Bruce, "but you're not going to see them without us."
"I wasn't asking for your permission," he snapped.
Steve put his hand on Tony's arm. "You're not in a good frame of mind, Tony. We wouldn't want you to do anything you might regret."
"Trust me," said Tony with an unnerving calm, "I'm not going to regret this."
Bruce's watch started to make an alarm noise. He looked down and turned it off. "I've got an experiment running in the lab, I've just got to go and check on it. When I come back, we'll all go and talk to the prisoners, got it?"
"No," said Tony aggressively, "I don't got it. This is my house and Pepper is my-" Tony seemed to struggle to find the right word to use there. He amended it. "Is mine," he finished off. "You don't get to tell me how to handle this."
Bruce fixed him with a calm stare. "Don't make me go green on your ass, Stark. You wouldn't like me when I'm green."
Tony glared at him, lips thinning in annoyance. "I've got this, I'm in control."
"You haven't got control of shit," said Bruce, being uncharacteristically forceful. "You're nothing but anger wrapped up in rage with a neat bow of revenge on top."
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Tony ground out. "I told you, I can control this."
Bruce glared at him. "Really, are you going to give me lectures on how to control the beast within, Tony?" Bruce countered. "Seriously, me? This should be great, just wait a moment until I get some pen and paper and jot down your words of wisdom so I can keep them under my pillow forever."
Steve could feel the tension growing between the two men and was very conscious of the fact that Bruce wasn't talking about any allegorical beast when it came to hmself. He stepped between them. "Go check on your experiment, Doc," said Steve. "Tony and I'll wait for you together."
Bruce looked at Tony. "Tony?"
"Fine," he snapped, "whatever."
Bruce gave Tony a pointed look and then left the two men alone. After he was gone Tony turned to Steve. "I've got to use the john."
.
.
‼️🎈hello everyone thank you so much for reading this chapter! 🙏 If you'd like to read the full novel "The Price of Legacy", you can find it on my Ko-fi page: ko-fi.com in the store section. This fanfic will consist of 30 chapters and will also have a sequel that I'll be publishing later on. 🎈‼️
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