One Of So Many Warehouses In NYC, Tuesday

[imafuturist]

Tony Stark	So, choosing to go alone to investigate one of the shipping manifests he'd pulled off SHIELD's servers probably wasn't the best plan . But it wasn't like he could keep bothering Jessica to help and Steve was so far from being back up right now that it was laughable. Beyond them, the further he stayed away from his team, the safer they would be. As long as Osborn kept his focus on catching Tony, they would be fine. Again, not the smartest plan. But then again, when he was backed against a wall by life, his plans tended to end up in the 'how much danger can I place myself in so others aren't at risk' area. And he brought both a gauntlet and the holographic shield with him. So there. Totally safe.
HYDRA Warehouse	And what would you know? The ordinary looking warehouse was less ordinary looking once you got inside. It was almost like this was a common occurrence here. There were green uniformed soldiers marching in orderly lines like a choreographed routine. Equipment was being moved to where it needed to be, making it clear this place had not been used as a base for terribly long.
Tony Stark	Which was a good thing and a bad thing. Good in that they didn't have HYDRA infesting the area for long, but bad in that they probably had been just waiting for the opportunity presented by the disappearance of the Avengers. Tony pursed his lips, sticking close to the wall to see what else he could find here. Even if everything about this made him itch to put on the suit and shut them down.
Red Skull	If Tony had been hoping to run across a conveniently timed conversation, he was sure in luck. Once the HYDRA soldiers began to thin out in numbers further into the warehouse, there was a fiery beacon of light. And, of course, a man with a trademark red skull standing in front of it, completely unmoved by the show of power. "I grow tired of waiting for your master to appear."
Amora the Enchantress	"Grow as tired as you wish," Amora replied from within that pillar of flames. Or maybe she was the flames. It was difficult to tell. "You will receive your help when it is willed."
Tony Stark	Oooooh-kaaaaay. That was a new look for The Enchantress. Tony came up short, pulling out his phone to take pictures of the location to analyze fully later on. He really missed being able to just break up this little get together and send their asses to jail.
Red Skull	"I was promised--" Red Skull snapped, German accent growing thicker as his anger showed.
Amora	"And that promise has not been broken," Amora replied, voice cloyingly sweet. The fires dimmed around her and she smiled at the insipid mortal making demands of her. "Nor will it be. Do you not trust me?"
Red Skull	Not in the slightest. Didn't she know how supervillain team-ups went? It worked until the sudden yet inevitable betrayal. "Don't attempt your tricks here, witch."
Amora	She smiled again, thinking fondly on how she would roast him alive once she got what she wanted. "I wouldn't waste my time," she assured him. "Hold fast to the plan and your reward will be beyond your imagination."
Red Skull	It might have helped that his imagination also held a world on fire. But also ruling supreme over what remained. As one does. "So I've been told," Red Skull replied. "And have yet to see any results."
Amora	Amora shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder like it was of no concern to her. "Patience," she replied, looking past him and directly in the direction of their unwanted guest with a smile. "And caution."
Red Skull	Great, riddles from a witch. This was just what Schmidt had wanted to deal with in his bids to subjugate the world. It took him a moment to turn and look in the direction of her gaze. "Guards!" What did he even not pay these guys for? Useless!
Amora	Amora laughed and disappeared in an almost blinding flash of flames. Mortals made it almost too easy to manipulate them. She left behind a charred floor and the near deafening sound of alarms going off, almost covering up the thud of feet as soldiers came to stop the intruder.
Tony Stark	The flash was at least decent cover for Tony to start running the hell out of there. All the while cursing to himself under his breath. At least he'd been working on his running skills lately. So, there was that as he ducked and dodged being shot at. His choices were bad ones.
HYDRA Soldiers	Damn right they were bad choices. Because, while half the number of soldiers he'd seen before had broken away to join the Red Skull, the rest had taken up positions to make sure the interloper didn't make it out of there alive.
Tony Stark	Tony dove behind the nearest crate to take cover from the gunfire. Then immediately twisted to look at the crate to make sure it wasn't loaded with ammunition or something equally explosive. Because that would be bad. Once it was determined that he was safe in that one tiny aspect, he started to fiddle with the gauntlet. Just had to up the power output enough to get out of there.
HYDRA Soldiers	"Bring in the tank!" one of the soldiers shouted. Which could in no way end well for Tony.
Tony Stark	"Nope," Tony said to himself, smacking the gauntlet to get it to stop giving him so much trouble. Even with all that coming down on his head, it was possible that he was have far more fun than he'd had in weeks. Adrenaline was a funny thing like that. Also, no aliens trying to marry him here. He took a deep breath, bracing himself against the crate as best he could and lifted the gauntlet to aim at the nearest wall. This... was going to hurt. He winced preemptively and fired. And promptly slammed back against the crate from the force of it. But, on the plus side, the wall exploded outwards in a spectacular fashion that was undoubtedly going to garner some attention from the authorities.

[To be continued in the comments!]