Chapter sixteen - Till my last breath

Rhodey was holding Adeline in his arms when they landed on a ground, far away from the building. He did as Tony told him to. The old house looked like a doll house from the spot they were standing now. War Machine let her go and his mask opened. “Why? Why on earth would he say that?” Adeline was furious, walking from a place to place like a lion in a cage. Her fists were clenched and she was frowning. The long brown hair was messy and it was falling on her face. She brushed it behind an ear. “We should be there. We should help Tony!”

“I don’t like it just as much as you do, Adeline,” James said, looking at the house. Nothing was happening there. “But he wanted you to be safe.”

“I don’t fucking care if I’m safe or not. I want to kill that motherfucker,” she jumped. She never experienced this kind of rage. It was boiling in her veins, making her go insane. The brunette took a deep breath, closed her eyes and stopped talking for a second. “I just,” she whispered calmly. “I hope he will get out of there safe, without any wounds.”

The man in a suit came closer to her and carefully put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s Tony, Adel. He’s going to be just fine.”

“Oh, he better,” she replied and dryly gulped. “Otherwise, I kill him.”

The next five minutes were like hell for her. Nothing was happening. Adeline’s green eyes were focused on the house, hypnotizing it. There were no signs of Tony or Goth. They were probably in the house, fighting. There was a possibility Tony used his wide vocabulary of insults and vulgarisms. She could imagine his angry face with a stupid smirk on his face while calling him… something. But this was killing her – waiting for him outside, not able to help. James was quietly standing next to her, also gazing at the house.

“I don’t like this,” Rhodes whispered.

“Oh, really?” she replied sarcastically. “We should –“ she was cut off. A massive explosion was heard and seen. Suddenly, the house was gone, only huge flames were spreading around. The brunette held her breath and touched her chest. “TONY!” she screamed. The green eyes were wide open, shining with fear and shock. When she made a move forward, James immediately put her into his iron embrace. “Let me go!”

“Adeline,” he roughly said her name.

“Let me go!” When she made a quick move with her hands, James rather stepped back. She wanted to use her shield on him and that was a very dangerous move. Adeline was free from him and now she could run to the house. She felt pain inside her. What if Tony died? What if he’s hurt and needs her help? Why would Rhodey try to stop her?

“Adeline!” a male voice called her name. It wasn’t Rhodes. It belonged to someone different. When the woman stopped and turned around, the green eyes saw Tony standing next to War Machine. His mask was opened and he was smiling at her. “Why so angry and sad?” he mocked her.

That was it for her. She angrily ran to him, her fists were clenched and started to yell at him. “You little piece of shit, Stark!” she screamed. Why did he do that? She was scared, she thought he was hurt. Adeline punched him on the chest. Her fists could only taste the durable suit. “Fuck, Stark!”

“Hey, calm down,” he was giggling.

“Calm down? Seriously?!” she gritted her teeth. “Get out! Get out from the suit, Tony! I want to kick your motherfucking ass, you dumb asshole!”

“Hey! Whoa!” he stepped back. “Baby, I’m fine. Everything is-“

“Don’t baby me!” she tried to punch him one more time, but his hands grabbed hers by wrists and didn’t let go. “Stark! Let me go! Let-“ Tony cut her off by sweetly kissing her on the pink lips. He knew how to shush and calm her down. The brunette ended with everything and kissed him back. “Fuck,” she breathed when she had the opportunity. Tony didn’t stop with the kissing until he was sure Adeline’s rage was perfectly gone.

“And everything is well,” James laughed, trying to look somewhere else.

“You are ruining the moment,” Tony stopped kissing his girl and glanced at his best friend.

“What happened there?” the brunette took a deep breath and looked into Tony’s chocolate eyes looking for any kind of answer.

“Well,” the Iron Man started to explain the whole situation, walking from place to place between the two people. “When you two left, we had a little talk. Goth was mean to me and the fight was on. He thought he can kill me with his super technology,” Tony rolled his eyes. “However, I was faster, knocked him down and escaped before the explosion. I must admit I was impressed by his suit. Now I call him the Octopussy.”

“You killed him?” she was shocked.

“Um, I hope I did.”

“You hope?” she was frowning again. “Okay, we have to check if he’s dead or not. Otherwise, I’m not going anywhere until we kill him!” that was her order and the men refused to accept it.
Tony turned to his best friend and looked into his dark chocolate face. “Rhodey, I believe the best we can do now is it to return back to my house. If Goth survived, he’ll do anything to get Adeline and, once again, he’ll try to kill us. We need to be ready,” he breathed. When he looked again at Adeline, he felt happiness mixed with fear. He can’t lose that woman. She was way too special to him. “Baby, I’ll do anything to protect you, you know that?”

She nodded. “I know, but I can take care of myself, Tony. If we are going to fight, I will. I’ll fight until my last breath.”

“So you really don’t know if you killed him,” James whispered and came closer to Adeline. When Tony’s head shook he took a long loud deep breath. His mask closed. “Alright. We’ll meet at your place, Tony. We don’t have much time. I will quickly check the surroundings,” and he flew into the sky, leaving the two of them alone.

“Ad?” Tony said her name very carefully. “I-“

“Don’t” she stopped him. “Maybe I don’t look like it, but I understand,” she gave him an innocent smile and went closer to him. “Just promise me you’ll be okay. No matter what will happen, how the fight will end, you have to promise you’ll be fine, Tony.” They were staring at each other, almost not breathing. She was so close to him and he would like to touch her body and have her close to his. Maybe later there will be a time for cuddling.

“And you promise me the same,” his lips crooked into a smile. He leaned to her and very slowly, gently kissed her full lips. This kiss was something new for her. It was caring, full of love and devotion. His tongue asked for a permission to enter and she accepted it, opening her mouth and the kiss deepened. Adeline was glad Tony showed this new side of him. She was now sure he liked her. “Okay baby,” he, even when he didn’t like it, ended the kiss and looked into the green orbs. “Get ready for the ride of your life.”

She laughed. “I already had one, remember,” she winked at him. Tony’s hands hugged her from behind. “That night, when you attacked me on the roof. It was when I tried to kill that bastard.”
In a second, both of them were flying away from the island. Tony perfectly remembered the night. It was the first time he discovered that his Adeline is the famous Guardian. She could hear a laugh from behind the mask which was already closed. “Oh, that was our first fight. I must say, I was amused when you tried to attack me with those… sticks.”

“I can fight with them!”

“Of course, you can, Adeline,” he mocked her.

-You two are having a good time? – Rhodey was on the line with Stark. Even Adeline could hear it.

“Where are you, Rhodes? I thought you’ll be our company,” Tony replied, tightly holding Adeline around her waist from behind. Her body was steady like she has done it before.

-And watch you two kissing and having a dirty…. INCOMING!- James screamed and a loud shot was heard from afar. –SHIT!-

“What’s happening?” Adeline asked. She saw a bright red-orange light in front of them.

-He’s heading to you!-

“Hold tight!” Tony warned the brunette and together they sharply flew down. They were already over the sea. “Rhodes! Get here and take Adeline, before…” he was shot by a shooting. Goth was getting closer to them. Iron Man changed the direction of flying and they went up in the air. War Machine was ready to help them. When he saw them close enough, he went to Adeline and took her from Tony.

“Fucking hell!” she screamed.

“Are you alright?” James asked her from behind the mask. He tried to not to hurt her. Another shooting started. This time, Rhodes felt it on the back of the suit. Goth was after them. “From when he can fly and shoot?” he sounded surprised. And before he could do something, the firing stopped.

“What’s happening?” Adeline screamed. She wasn’t scared. She was worried about Tony and James. They were risking their lives for her, even when they didn’t have to. “We have to help Tony! He can’t die for me! No one can die! Only Goth!”

“No! We have to get you somewhere on the ground. This is dangerous!”

“Rhodes!” she warned him with an angry voice. They were flying higher. His hands were holding her by the waist, just like Tony did a few minutes ago.

-Let her go!- a voice said.

“Are you crazy, Tony?” Rhodey wasn’t sure about his plan.

-Just do it!-

Before the brunette could protest, James let her go during the flight. Her body was suddenly so light and free. It was a free fall – a very dangerous one. A scream was heard from the throat. The body even made a flip. Luckily, Tony was suddenly there to catch her by wrists. “I got you, baby!”

“Why do I have to be clever? Why can’t I be stupid and have wings or can fly?” she said roughly, almost without any breath. Her long brown hair was messy and she had a pale face. “I’d rather be stupid just to have those fucking wings!”

“That is not an option!”

“Fuck!”

Her legs were in the air and the feeling she wasn’t stable, frightened her. This was the craziest thing that ever happened to her. “Don’t worry! In a few minutes, we’ll be back in L.A!”

“I’m going to kill the three of you, Stark! Goth for trying to kill us and kidnap me again and you with Rhodes for what are you doing to me at the moment! I love flying, but now I hate it! You owe me big, Tony! You owe me really big!”

He laughed at the most inappropriate time. “Okay, fine, I owe you, Adeline.”

-Where’s Goth?- James asked him via a speaking system installed in both of the suits. –I can’t see him.-

“He’s not here,” Tony replied. “Maybe, he changed…”

“Aaah!” The brunette screamed. It was a moment, only a second when someone grabbed her by ankles and swiped her down. Strong hands held her. She was upside down, looking straightly at the sea and flying back on the island. When her eyes spotted the person who was holding her, she panicked. Her legs did everything to get away from his grip.

A rough-house started. Adeline couldn’t focus on the fight. They were fighting for her, calling or yelling her name while they tried to rescue her. Sometimes she felt Rhodey’s suit, sometimes Tony’s, but no matter how hard they tried, she ended up in Goth’s arms. He was strong, advanced and dangerous. Maybe they should let her go. Before she could do something, she heard a strong pitch noise. Her head was fuzzy and she could only see a while tight. Did someone hit her head? There was a possibility. A wet stripe of something warm ran down her temporal. It had to be blood. What happened?

If I can’t have you, no one can…

The green eyes were suddenly wide open when she realized she was falling down again. Her coordination was horrible, and the head hurt her like hell. For the last time, she heard her name and saw three figures flying in the air. The right hand tried to reach them, but couldn’t.

Adeline…

Her eyes then found one thing – the last thing they saw – an object flying right to her. It was a rocket. The brunette took a deep breath and moved her hand just when the rocket exploded.
“No!” Tony screamed. “Adeline!”

He watched her fall, he watched died. Goth got what he wanted. If he couldn’t have her, neither could Tony. His heart broke, silvery tears appeared in his eyes behind the mask. The pain started to mix with anger and agony. There was only one thing he wanted more and that was revenge.

“What is it, Stark? Did I kill your girlfriend?” Goth laughed.

Iron Man made a quick move forward. “No, Tony, don’t,” James tried to stop him, but was too late.

“I’m going to kill you, motherfucker!”

…

“Mr. Rhodes,” a soft female voice said behind his back. “Ready when you are.”

James was standing in front of a mirror and his eyes were looking at his reflection. He wore his formal military suit with all the badges. He was supposed to give a speech about Goth, who was stopped and killed. There was a stung in his heart. He lost a friend that day. Unfortunately, Tony lost more than that. James took a deep breath and went to the main stage, where all the journalists were. It was difficult for him. He should explain to the people what exactly happened. When he wanted an advice from Tony, he locked himself in the house, not talking to him or anyone. The loss was unbearable.

All of the people, with or without the cameras went quiet when Rhodes appeared. They were waiting for the speech and the news.

“As a person who was in the fight, I would like to inform you of the following: Peter Tunderbalt, a.k.a. the Goth was stopped and he died two days ago, during a secret mission. He’s no longer a threat to the people in Los Angeles or around the word. However…” he stopped for a moment. Was it a good idea to mention Adeline? “However, one member of our team tragically died that day.”

Tony was sitting on his couch all alone, looking at a hologram where the news was. His best friend was talking about that day, giving people the information that Goth died. The dark-haired man was holding a pillow in his hands, squeezing it tightly. His house was empty. It was killing him.

When Rhodes talked about Adeline, his heart melted. When the fight ended, Tony did everything to find the woman. He searched, created small devices that could go under water and scan it. There was no result.

Goth took him something he cared the most about.

What is he going to do without her?


THE END.

Or is it?

Notes