Dust in the Tower

[The Vision]

Mr. Jarvis scowled, alarms blaring redundantly as the hallway lit red. The other Avengers watched him as he stepped forward in front of the others. They were not accustomed to seeing such fury in his face. Suffice to say, he was the most experienced with Zemo. He had learned to hate the man, as unprofessional and uncouth the emotion was. He looked at the smoldering wall as the Hydra agents detonated their way into the Tower, as they had done so many times in their home world. Then his brow furrowed intensely.

"Speak English when in combat, please, Master Frenchie," Mr. Jarvis said, a slight snarl under his voice, "Or when talking to... an old friend."

In all of the Avengers' earpieces, a female voice declared, "Iron Butler Armor incoming. ETA: 12 seconds."

Baron Zemo chuckled, his mask seeming to melt slightly as his mouth opened to laugh.

"Are you not Stark's butler?" the villain snorted, adjusting the sheathe on his belt, "You are quite foolish to challenge me yourself. No Captain to protect you?"

"The word you are searching for is 'brave,' Zemo," the butler replied, "Though, perhaps, it was indeed foolish of me to not construct more effective defenses for this tower."

"This insolence will not be tolerated!" the man in the purple mask shouted, "Attack!"

Zemo lunged to attack in a flash of black and purple. A similar flash of black and gold intercepted the man's jump, sending Zemo flying down the hall. The back of the Iron Butler suit opened as various plates slid to the side, making way for Mr. Jarvis to enter. He walked in, and the armor closed over him, as blue lights flashed online on the HUD.

"Avengers," the butler said, hovering 10 feet in the air, "If you would kindly assemble."

"What's that mean?" Dust said from behind.

"It means 'Allons-y!'" Frenchie said, whipping out his pistol and firing several shots at the HYDRA agents.

"How does that clarify things at all?!" Dust exclaimed, ducking behind a nearby piece of rubble.

"English, please, Master Frenchie."

The man in the black armor leapt up to Mr. Jarvis' height and slashed at the arc reactor in his armor. The Iron Butler AI barely had enough time to propel Mr. Jarvis backwards to dodge the attack.

"The Black Knight," he commented, "If you don't mind, I think I'll be handling this gentleman."

Sounds of gunfire filled the air as combat fully engaged. He fired two repulsor beams from his palms at two HYDRA agents who were taking aim at him. They flew back as the Black Knight made another lunge, his blade glowing a heated crimson shade, as if it was just removed from the forge. This time, it made contact with the shoulder plate, showering the firefight below with sparks and denting the armor. Mr. Jarvis felt the heat of the blade pressing on his right shoulder.

In that time, the Black Knight had spun around and gone for a second blow. The butler promptly raised his left hand and blasted the Black Knight's hands, forcing the swordsman to drop his blade. Using his right boot jet, he spun and delivered a kick to the warrior's head, sending him flying. The butler then blasted both rocket-boots, chasing and catching the Black Knight mid-flight.

"Master Whitman?" the butler said, "Might I ask why you are working with HYDRA?"

"YOU KILLED HIM!" he roared.

"If I may ask who it is you are referring-"

The Black Knight cocked his head back. The HUD alerted Mr. Jarvis to the incoming attack, but before he could react, the headbutt connected, sending the butler reeling back. He felt the attack through the impact compensators.

The Iron Butler spun in the air for a brief second before he caught himself with the repulsors. The Black Knight glared at him from under his ebony helmet.

"Please calm yourself, and let us discuss this more calmly among-"

Mr. Jarvis' attention was then brought to a notification on his HUD: the announcement that Captain Rogers' shield was currently spiraling towards him.

With a simple repulsor blast, Mr. Jarvis knocked it out of the sky. The butler rushed down to pick it up again. Several bullets clanged against his armor uselessly as he snatched it.

"I'll be taking this back now, sir."

He turned slightly and noticed one of the HYDRA soldiers pointing a rocket launcher at him. In a panic, the Iron Butler raised the shield to protect him against the blast. Even with the propulsive jets on his back, he felt himself being knocked back quite a distance.

"I don’t mean to be rude, sirs and lady, but when I said I would handle Master Whitman, I was under the impression that you would distract the others-"

"Pour l'amour de Dieu, we are trying, Monsieur Jarvis!" Frenchie yelled over the comms.

The other Avengers were attempting to bottleneck the HYDRA troops in that hole in the wall, but while Mr. Jarvis was attempting to detain the Black Knight, HYDRA had already opened another aperture into the tower with another explosion. The Iron Butler dipped down, soaring above the small militia and blasting as many troops away as he could.

At that moment, the Iron Butler AI alerted him to two tanks that were somehow rolling up the hill that the tower rested on. This was highly unfortunate. They needed some stronger firepower.

"Ms. Williams, if you would retrieve the Quinjet?"

"It's not ready to fly, Mr. Jarvis," the pilot shouted over the gunfire.

The Iron Butler shot to the skies once more, launching a wrist missile at one tank. He used the shield to cover himself from the next tank shell, using the other repulsor to damage it. In the sunlight, the shield gleamed.

"That's mine, foolish dog," Baron Zemo glowered from among the HYDRA masses, "Mr. Cardona, are you going to let this old man defeat you?"

With a roar, the Black Knight leapt into action from behind the butler, blade whirling in a flurry of smoldering metal. Unable to respond in time, the Iron Butler fell this time to the ground, landing in the dirt in a painful crash. Feeling his arm break due to it holding the shield, Mr. Jarvis shouted in pain. The Black Knight, without skipping a beat, snatched it, accentuating the horrifying pain in Mr. Jarvis' old arm.

The butler promptly lifted himself up. He dodged another slash from the Black Knight, using his good arm to punch the warrior in the stomach. In the brief pause that the punch bought him, Mr. Jarvis snagged the shield and tugged on it. The Black Knight held on, and the two pulled on the shield for a moment. Finally, the Black Knight let go, allowing Mr. Jarvis to fall backwards a little. Seizing on the opportunity, the Black Knight slammed down on the shield with both hands, smacking it out of the Iron Butler's.

Mr. Jarvis blasted the swordsman's weapon from his hand before the Black Knight could go for another strike. The Black Knight then tackled Mr. Jarvis to the ground, who magnetized his armor, causing most magnetic objects in the direct vicinity to stick to him, including the shield. Still pinned below the Black Knight, he straightened his arm to catch it, then brought his elbow down on the Black Knight's helmet. Weaponless, the Black Knight raised the shield and brought it down on the Iron Butler's mask. Having learnt from the last time this happened, the armor instinctively blasted once more at the Black Knight's face, throwing him back.

When the Iron Butler finally managed to rise after that brutal fist-fight, he saw the Black Knight standing over him, burning Ebony Blade in one hand and indestructible shield in the other.

"Oh dear," he muttered.