Tony promises himself that he will not make the mistake of underestimating Tao. This man may not be a god, not a supernatural monster. He may not threaten the end of the world. But he is just as dangerous a man as any Tony has faced. And he knows how to hit Tony where it hurts.
No, Tao might not be a supervillain, but damn, he knows how to monologue like the best of them. Tony’s eyes roll skyward. Please, save him from this. “Wow. I haven’t heard that before.”
It’s boring. He’s almost disappointed, but then, Tony’s not sure what he expected. Sure, it would have been nice if Tao had admitted defeat, but that would have been too easy. Tony’s life is never that easy. Maybe he’d just expected Tao to be more clever, to try and manipulate him, to do something more than make arbitrary threats. Tony is unimpressed and it shows.
“You know the villain normally dies in Act Two, right?” Should he be taking the moral high ground, not engaging with this man? Probably. Tony can’t resist the retort, hands shoving into his pockets in a casual gesture.
No, Tony won’t underestimate this man, but he has confidence that he is more than what Tao thinks he is. Sure, his billions help. The Iron Man suits too. But Tony has hashed this out with himself, he’s battled his own doubts and demons far too many times. Tony knows who he is these days, at his core, and he knows that his money has nothing to do with that.
If only he could be so confident in his ability to protect his friends. Tony’s expression doesn’t change; his fingers clench where they are hidden in his pockets.
“Don’t you have better things to do with your time than revenge?”
His eyes are dark, narrowed and focused on Tony, cataloguing the man’s body language and prowling for exploitable weakness. He knows their fights have taken some sort of physical toll on him, and when added to the years of battles Stark has been a part before that, Tao likely has quite the buffet to choose from. Because even in a suit like that, Tony Stark is still human.
But Tao will not make the first move here. Not now. Even is Stark’s lack of reaction to his threats has added fire to his already boiling blood. There will be a time and a place for everything he has in store for the man, he just needs to be patient.
Distain mixes with an acidic kind of humor, forcing out another reactive, dark laugh. Because Tao Song does not see himself as the villain; he never has. He has never denied to himself that he has had to do terrible, awful things to get to where he is now, but he has never seen himself as a paladin either. No, if anything, Tao heralds himself a particular brand of antihero: someone willing to do whatever it takes to bring about the real and needed change he envisions.
Even if that means manipulation. Deceit. Kidnapping. Torture. Homicide.
It’s the end result he cares about. That’s how it’s always been. And the end result he fights so aggressively for is the one where the people he cares about--people like himself, and Asmee, and fuck, even Efren despite his betrayal--don’t have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives. Where they can live just as freely and unencumbered as their human counterparts.
At least, that’s how he see what it is he’s doing.
Tao will never count himself a villain when his intentions are as such, even as more and more of his skin is stained with blood. Because someone has to be willing to dirty their hands. Someone has to bear that weight.
“I’m counting on that, Stark.”
He thinks of his son, and of the woman he loves. And yes; yes, he does have better things to do than this, and yes he would rather be home with them than here, facing off with the enemy. But here he stands, all the same. Sacrificing that time with them to try to ensure a better life for them.
His tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth, and the sharpest part of his expression erodes, softening ever so slightly with everything he refuses to offer up to Stark lest he use it against him.
“I do,” he confirms, an almost eerie calm returning to his voice and mannerisms. “But I intend to see this through first. Consider it an honor.”
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