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Demon Dearest
It was supposed to have been an easy fight, like most of the 'villain of the week' encounters they'd been having since the Avengers were first formed. The team had fought against more world domination plots than they could honestly remember. Loki's invasion those six years ago apparently triggered every wannabe supervillain to try and do what he hadn't been able to. Thor moving permanently to Earth after Loki's death and the whole Dark Elf incident had helped, but the team was still so busy they'd had to start bringing in more heroes to help.
Tony oversaw Team Donut Hole. He had chosen the name specifically because he got a kick out of it every time Rogers or Fury called them to action. When constantly facing the possible end of the world, it was important to find the silver lining. Besides, Clint laughed just as hard as he did and had absolutely no right to judge after dubbing his own team The Wing Squad. LAME!
His minions consisted of some kid who had been bitten by a radioactive spider, a prepubescent gangbanger who could absorb and somewhat control electricity, and a girl who could control wind to fly or slice people to shreds. And, okay, they were all legal adults, but it didn't keep Tony from feeling like he was on babysitting duty most of the time. (Steve was so lucky that his team consisted of Falcon, Bucky, and the teleporting Kurt Wagner. He would never know Tony's pain.) At least he had Gear back in the lab to make cool gadgets with.
"So, uh, should we be calling for back up?" Static's voice came over the com system.
Tony barely even registered the question, calculating instead just how deep a pile of shit they were in. The Daughters of Darkness had just been some chick's punk group with basic magic and a penchant for destruction when the call had gone out for superhero assistance…nobody had mentioned they were going to summon the DEVIL. Not cool.
It turned out that the Devil was about three stories tall with glowing eyes and skin like lava. Black chunks of stone seemed to shift over a fiery interior with every move the Beast made. His head was elongated and skull-like with giant horns spiraling out from his temples like a bull. He roared his arrival to the sky, announcing his presence to any that may dare to challenge him. The sound managed to snap Tony out of his stunned daze.
"Static, Spidey, Whistle, I want to you get out of here and back to the Tower. Get in touch with SHIELD and get as many people out of the area as possible. Contact the other teams, all of them. Citizen evacuation is the top priority right now. Do NOT engage this thing."
He needed his brats out of there. Despite his near-constant exasperation with them, they were his team and Tony Stark always looked after his own. Getting civilians out of the area would be good, too. The Devil wasn't exactly known for making sure bystanders didn't get hurt. He'd already fried the group that brought him topside.
"What about you?"
He could tell by Parker's voice that he was hesitant to leave without their team leader. His protest sounded about ready to burst right out of his mouth. If he fought back against leaving, Static and Whistle would join right in and Tony would never get them out of the way before one or all of them got hurt. Those were losses he did not find acceptable. He had a perfect record so far of never losing a teammate and he planned to keep it that way.
"I'm gonna keep him distracted, try and get us some help that'll actually do some good. We don't have time to argue over this, go!"
After a moment more the three young heroes reluctantly turned and fled, having learned long ago to trust their leader's judgment in times of absolute need. (It seemed, though, that they all had a tendency to completely ignore his orders any other time. Snot nosed brats.) As soon as they were out of the way, Tony fired off a few repulsor shots in the creature's direction. He had no disillusions that they would hurt the walking lava lamp of doom, but all he needed was a bit of attention.
"Yo, Satan! You miss me?"
Fiery eyes turned on him and it took him a moment to place the feeling as what Gandalf must have experienced when facing the Balrog. It also belatedly occurred to him that maybe he should have called for help before getting this behemoth's attention. Well, too late for that now. A predatory grin stretched across the Devil's face as he eyed the Ironman suit up the block.
"Well, well, well…It looks like those witches did me more of a favor than I first thought. I had thought to wait a few more decades before claiming your soul, but I suppose there is no time like the present."
His voice was a deep growl, dark and powerful. The air around him seemed choked by smoke and Tony had to hold himself back from gagging. He definitely needed to get this guy some Tic-tacs.
"Sorry, sweetheart. I've always been a bit of a procrastinator. I'm afraid you're going to have to put off the claiming of my soul for a little bit longer."
The Devil chuckled with the sound of grating stone before grinning maniacally and holding out his hand. The stone-like skin of his arm shifted aside as a flaming stone slid from his body and into his palm. With an aggressive growl he lobbed the stone in Tony's direction. His repulsers came up almost on instinct and he fired at the flaming meteor. The stone shattered, sending a hail of smaller rocks to ping off of his suit. They left trails of fire in their wake and notices immediately started popping up on Tony's hub that the flames were eating through his suit like acid.
"Do you honestly belief that pathetic technology can protect you from me? You should know better than that after all this time…But it does not matter. You will have plenty of time to learn your lesson after I have dragged you back to Hell!"
This declaration was followed up quickly by another fireball thrown in the hero's direction. Tony shot out of the way only to be caught by one the Devil's outstretched limbs and slammed into the ground. He could feel the cement give way with his impact. Warning messages blared across his hub. Damn, that bastard was strong. He groaned and rolled over, pushing himself up out of the Ironman-sized crater in the street.
"JARVIS, I need a scan of the area. Get me to a church, the older the better."
"At once, Sir." A pause, "It appears that the oldest church in New York is Flushing, established 1697. Retrieving directions now."
Tony shot out of the crater, using his smaller size paired with his speed to dodge around the creature's flying limbs and into the air above him. As soon as he was clear he fired off a volley of missiles from his shoulder launchers, striking his enemy all across the torso. The Devil staggered backwards, but didn't fall. With that brief distraction he wheeled around and took off towards the church. He only had a few seconds before the Devil followed and the real destruction began.
Buildings passed in a blur and Tony pushed his repulsers as hard as possible. Timing was everything. If the Devil caught him before he reached the church, well, he'd be spending eternity in the Pitts of Hell for sure. He growled in annoyance as his left boot thruster stuttered and almost shorted out. Between trying to stay in the air and keeping an eye on the nightmare behind him, he completely missed the magical blast aimed for him until it was too late. Guess not all of the Daughters of Darkness were dead after all.
His suit crashed into a nearby building, shattering glass and causing property damage the entire way down as he fell. The concrete of the sidewalk cracked on impact and Tony groaned pitifully. Moments like these never failed to make him feel so old. He was so gonna be feeling this for the next few days. Hadn't there been times when he could be knocked around during a fight and still make it to breakfast in the morning? Steve was so lucky he had that serum going for him.
But there was no time for dwelling on such things. Half of the hub display inside of the suit was down. The side that was still operational did not paint a pretty picture. No way was he getting anywhere in the suit at this point. Was it redundant to damn Satan to Hell? Seriously, he was liking this guy less and less by the minute.
Hitting the manual release button, the suit unwrapped from his body and he sat up. His muscles protested the movement but he didn't pay them any heed. He needed to get to that church, and fast. Maybe he could steal a car or something…He grabbed his earpiece from the suit and slipped it into place. He'd been using the AI for such a long time that having him around was practically second nature.
"JARVIS, you still with me?"
"As always, Sir. Do you require another suit sent to your location? The church is still seven blocks away. By my calculations attempting to reach it by foot will result in a rather painful death and the damning of yourself to Hell for all eternity."
Tony's eyes swept the street for an abandoned vehicle he could easily steal.
"That'd take too long, JARV. I'm gonna have to find transportation on my own."
Just as he spotted a sedan with the door hanging open, a shaking of the ground alerted him to the fact that his pursuer had caught up.
"You should never have turned against me! When you burn in my Pitts, remember that you only have yourself to blame!" A fiery fist slammed into the ground next to him, sending Tony tumbling off his feet. "Oh, I will have fun teaching you the meaning of disloyalty indeed…"
Oh, shit…Shitshitshit!
"If I may, Sir, I do believe that a shift may be in order?"
Shifting was definitely not what Tony wanted to do. He'd spent so many years hiding, playing his role to absolute perfection. To throw it all away here would just be a shame. Cameras were everywhere in New York and there was no way the rest of the team wouldn't find out, forget the rest of the world. Still, if it was between that and spending the rest of eternity being roasted alive…
"You know what, JARV, I think you may be quite right."
Tony scrambled backwards to put just a bit more distance between himself and his foe. A smirk crept across his face as he reached inside himself to find his core. It had been so long since he'd shown his true form…Horns sprouted from his temples as his skin reddened to the shade of fresh blood, garishly red. Pain shot through his back ever so briefly as leathery wings erupted from beneath his skin and destroyed his shirt. He ripped off what was left with black, taloned hands, tail twitching behind him. The arc reactor still whirled in his chest, its blue glow giving the skin around it a faint purple tinge.
Oh, yeah, it was good to be back. He'd have to savor the feeling. As soon as word got out that Tony Stark was a demon he'd probably have to go on the run. Stark Industries would be all but worthless. Even though Tony was no longer the CEO, his name was too tightly associated for a hit to his reputation to not affect the business. If anyone could save it, it'd be Pepper, but she'd have her work cut out for her. Ah, well, time to worry about that later.
He shot upwards, powerful wings pumping hard to keep him aloft, and ducked under Satan's grasping hands. A corkscrew turn avoided another thrown fireball and he was soon flying above the city of New York, wind buffeting his hair. Flying in the Ironman suit was great, but it had nothing on flying with his own strength and muscles.
In this form he was much more in tune with the dark forces around him. The energy that swirled around his pursuer didn't feel right. It was muted, not at all like he remembered from the last time he'd been in the Devil's presense. This was not truly Satan, merely a construct controlled by the real Devil in Hell. Good, that would make everything much easier.
From this height he could easily make out the church's steeple in the distance and he wasted little time heading in that direction. He could hear Satan's doppelganger raging at him from below. He just was not a happy camper it seemed. Someone should tell him to turn that frown upside down.
The moment Tony set down on the roof of the church, a lightning-like burning sensation shot through his entire body. He grit his teeth against the pain and scrambled towards the steeple. He'd forgotten how much it hurt to be on consecrated ground in this form. His anger flared at the puppet behind him and its master in Hell. This was all Satan's fault anyway. Actually, no, this was all Howard Stark's fault. He was the one who'd made a deal with the Devil that traded away his own soul and gotten Tony sent to act as his son.
Satan did find it so much easier to go about his business when those who worked for him masqueraded as well-positioned mortals. Lucky for Tony his contract had been broken by an arch angel. He answered to no one now, and that was just the way he liked it. The fact that he helped out Heaven with her mission was really just a way to say thanks.
Finally reaching the simple, white cross that decorated the church's steeple, Tony latched on just to keep himself standing. The seemingly innocent materials burnt his hands and brought forth blisters almost instantly. It was one of the many downsides of being a Hell-born on the side of the Angels. He bent his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Their Father, who art in Heaven. Hollowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day some fucking help. And forgive me for nothing as I don't forgive those who trespass against me. Lead me not into temptation, for I will find it myself. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen."
Those were the words, right? He never could seem to remember any of those official prayers. Well, close enough. Hopefully. If those bastards up above left him to be dragged down to Satan's realm he was gonna be so pissed.
Luckily, he didn't have to wait more than a few agonizing seconds before a shot of blinding light hit the roof, exploding in white fire. A tall figure wrapped in white and golden robes with gleaming armor stood from its crouched position. Huge wings spread wide from his back, light seeming to pour forth from all three sets. Emerald green eyes shot Tony a judgmental look with just a hint of surprise and confusion.
"Well, Stark, this is certainly an interesting turn of events."
Clearly this was his punishment for butchering The Lord's Prayer. So much for God being the forgiving type. Then again, this was Loki standing in front of him…as an angel. Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder…
"I was expecting Archangel Yinsen."
A dark scowl marred Loki's regal countenance. His eyes narrowed dangerously at the demon before him, but Tony wasn't bothered. He'd long since learned that angel's weren't as stereotypically 'angelic' as most people thought. That was really just Yinsen. He was practically the Captain America of the uppermost realm.
"Sorry to disappoint. It looks like I'll be your new contact to our realm." He examined his nails with distinct disinterest. "It seems I have a few things I still have to make up for."
Tony grinned, running his gaze over the angel's form.
"Hey, I'm just surprised, not disappointed. You are way better eye candy."
Loki's scowl turned to a smirk as he gave Tony a sideways glance.
"Are you thinking sinful thoughts, Stark?"
"Oh, definitely."
A roar ripped through the air, bringing their attention back to the present and reminding them why Tony Stark and Loki were both standing on the room of the oldest church in New York. Loki drew his sword from the sheath at his side, a feral grin making him look as though he were the demon of the pair.
"Well, then, Stark, how about we finish this up and then we can have a little chat about your sinful thoughts. "
"A confessional? Oh, babe, that's gonna take a while."
"Not a problem. I think you'll find I've got plenty of stamina."
Tony let out a bark of laughter, moving to stand beside Loki and summoning his black magic to him so that it crackled in the palms of his hands.
"Oh, yeah. You're way better than Yinsen."