7 Chapter 7 - Shawarma
3rd POV (Stark Tower)
With a wave of its hand the being in front of Vader returned him to his body before silently disappearing. With his disappearance Vader's inner world slowly began to return to normal.
Upon returning to his own body Vader didn't have time to think over the deal he'd made before a rush of power unlike anything he'd ever felt ran through him. The energy unlike what he's used to is pure untainted by the two sides of the force.
It was pure power, no intentions, no sides, nothing but strength flowed within him. Exhaling a deep sigh of content, Vader utilised the new energy inside him to begin relieving his body of the vast injuries he'd accumulated trying to heal Stark.
Speaking of, the man in question was currently leaning against a vent while the other Avengers slowly started to trickle onto the rooftop. There was a substantial circle around him where none of the others dared to step in fear of annoying him. Consequently this meant that Stark who just experienced his first resurrection wasn't receiving any of the medical attention he very much needed.
Sighing, Vader raised his hand once more and started to work more deeply on Stark's many wounds. Ignoring the pieces of metal near his heart for the moment, Vader took his time going through each of Stark's limbs, healing the torn muscles and regenerating lost flesh.
Making sure Stark's complexion improved steadily as he worked, Vader decided to move onwards to the shrapnel stuck in his chest. Surrounding the metal fragments using the Force Vader begin to vibrate their molecules giving them the same density as air before moving them out through Stark's skin.
"What the fuck?!" Stark cursed loudly as the fragments floated out of his body and into his line of sight. He stared disbelief clear on his face looking down at his chest and then back to the pieces floating in front of him.
"Haha. I'm not seeing things right? Did I really die and this is just some dramatic sequence before getting dragged to Hell?" The stress and absurdness of the situation fell onto Stark all at once and he started to break out into hysterical laughter.
Sighing loudly and feeling more tired by the minute as the surrounding heroes all tensed at the noise; Vader raised his hand for hopefully the last time and directed calming emotions towards Stark. It wasn't anything intense like he used earlier to oppress the fighting spirits of Loki and his army but something more subtle so that Stark hopefully wouldn't realise he was being forced to calm down.
{inhale} {exhale} {inhale} {exhale}
A few deep breaths later and Stark regained his composure, using the vent behind him to wobble to his feet acting like he wasn't about to crumble under the weight of his own armour. Sparing a glance around him Vader noted that besides Stark no one seemed to have any lethal injuries.
Not that they weren't all in desperate need of medical attention - minus the Gods in the room - but no one would drop dead anytime soon. Observing the Black Widow's injuries, Vader decided he'd show his thanks for the help she tried to provide him with the Asgardians. With but a twist of his hand the Force flooded into Natasha's body.
Cracked ribs and deep lacerations rapidly healed under his careful influence. Once he was satisfied Vader turned back to Stark only to find him staring at his body in shock. A quick use of the Force showed that the others while better at hiding it were feeling much the same.
Tilting his head so that he could observe his own appearance Vader froze slightly at the sight of his burned skin. His brief fight with the Force did more damage then Vader predicted a quick scan showed his suit operating at barely 10% capacity. That's a big problem. He might not feel the effects while his body rode the temporary high from his new power but if he didn't fix his suit soon he'd be in for a very bad morning.
Thankfully, he is standing just above one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world. Moving away from the group of heroes Vader made his way to the edge of the roof before giving a brief glance back.
"Stark, I'll be temporarily using one of your workshops to repair my suit. Make sure your AI doesn't get in my way." He hadn't meant it to come out as a threat but decades of habit as an evil overlord had damaged his ability to have normal conversation.
"Sure, big guy whatever you need." Stark's voice carried weakly across the roof and without further preamble Vader dropped off the roof and entered Stark tower through one of the many destroyed windows.
1st POV Black Widow
After Vader's departure an oppressive silence fell on the roof as everyone dealt with the unexpected actions of our surprise 'ally'. I'd hoped Vader would prove to be a strong ally but what he just did is far past the point of merely being strong.
Disintegrating a whole street of New York, effortlessly demolishing beings that could give the Hulk and Thor runs for their money, and ripping Stark from the otherside of the wormhole back onto the tower. I had arrived earlier than the others not bothering to help with the cleanup and instead looking to further their understanding of Vader's powers.
What he'd done to save Stark had been far more terrifying than anything he'd done beforehand. His scream of rage had torn space apart, one second the roof had been relatively peaceful as Reed prepared to turn off the Tesseract and the next like God had descended everything overturned itself. The Tesseract's energy signature had nearly doubled just from being near him if I'd read Reed's dork graph properly.
What confused me is why he'd go to those lengths for Stark and why he'd decided to kill Loki even after Thor the crown prince of Asgard had made it clear he wouldn't let Vader get away with it.
God Thor, that's going to be a huge mess. The last time an Asgardian had thrown a temper tantrum they destroyed a town in New Mexico. I don't want to imagine what Asgard might do in response to us killing one of their royalty even if he is technically a criminal. Thor's reluctance to hurt him showed how much his criminal status mattered.
Unsurprisingly the silence got to Stark first. He must have started to miss the sound of his voice.
"Well…That guy sure is something huh." Stark's voice carried across the roof as he finally gave up on keeping his pride and let his armour drag him back onto the ground. His voice tinged in exhaustion still somehow managed to sound just as irritating as it always did. If I hadn't spent the past year watching him I wouldn't have detected the anxiety underlined in his tone.
Say what you would about Stark's lack of care for his public perception but the man could act.
"I don't like it." Reed's voice sounded out as he made his way towards the centre of the circle they'd formed around Vader's body. Depositing the Staff and Tesseract onto the ground Reed turned in a circle to make eye contact with everyone individually before speaking again.
"An unknown falls through Loki's portal and not only is he not Loki's ally, he's more powerful than the whole army combined. Using something called the Force to do things scientifically impossible. He's bent space, disintegrated matter, and has healing potential decades ahead of anything currently available on earth."
Reed's voice grew more serious as he spoke, internalising the ridiculous power Vader's shown even while he tried to make everyone else understand just what fell through that portal.
"He's a danger to the planet and we can't leave him to do as he pleases." Reed's voice raised slightly as he finished his impromptu speech on why Vader needed to be contained. And honestly, I agree with his points. Vader's strength is beyond what we can currently handle. Thor is barely matched by the Hulk but someone who can incapacitate them both effortlessly?
Vader could declare himself ruler of the planet tomorrow and nothing could stop him. But by that same token what were they supposed to do to contain a being who wields that much power. Ask him politely to stay confined when he's already expressed his lack of interest in staying on Earth?
" Vader's too powerful to be contained. But he can be reasoned with. We secured his help by promising him contact with Asgard. I don't know why he forsook his opportunity with Thor by killing Loki but something must have caused his plans to change. If we can find out what he plans to do we can try and help him under promises of non-violence."
I spoke up from my position behind Reed and felt immensely relieved when everyone save Antman nodded along with my analysis. A loud bang drew my attention back to Stark who was currently being helped out of his armour by Steve.
"What Red said. Leave Tall, dark, and burnt to do his own thing and he won't cause any problems. It'd be counter productive to save the smartest man on Earth and it's best superhero if he planned to take it over. Anyway, who's tried Shawarma, Red ever tried Shawarma I don't know what it is but I wanna try it."
Stark begin to stumble his way to the stairs as he spoke about his sudden interest in Shawarma and I allowed myself a small smile as I followed after him. Vader was repairing his suit and judging by the damage wouldn't be finished anytime soon. They'd just saved the planet. It was time for them to have a little reward.
And Seriously Stark who hasn't tried Shawarma.
