Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Boiling tension
-------------
If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11
-----
Avengers Compound
Night
"So, since when are you friends with your royal highness?" Tony asked as they all waited, more to fill the silence than anything.
"He followed you to Siberia," Steve explained and Tony winced, his memories of that day still fresh and painful. "He saw everything, heard Zemo's confession. In order to make amends, he offered us asylum in Wakanda while we planned our next move."
"So, was he involved in…?" Tony trailed off.
"No, that just was us," Steve said, deciding to keep T'Challa's involvement out.
"So, what this guy's beef with you two?" Rhodey asked as he looked between Clint and Natasha.
"It's a long story," Natasha said vaguely.
"We'll, we've got nowhere to go," Barry pointed out.
"Might as well pass the time somehow," Clint said when Natasha looked over at him.
"It was one of my first big missions after I'd joined Shield," Natasha began after a moment. "His name is Alexei Shostakov, code name Red Guardian. He was one of the KGB's best pilots, as well as their best assassin. Back when I was them, I was…promised to him."
"Oh," Barry lamely as he and Steve both found themselves uncomfortable at the prospect.
"The KGB was planning something big. Nat's mission was to pretend she was still part of the KGB and infiltrate it, find out what they were planning," Clint continued.
"Unfortunately, Alexei found out I was working for Shield and blew my cover," Natasha sighed. "Clint came to extract me and the two of us ended up in a fire fight with Alexei. One of Clint's explosive arrows ended up hitting a gas container, which set off a chain reaction that destroyed the whole building with Alexei still inside."
"We barely made it out alive and thought Alexei had been killed in the explosion. Whatever the KGB was planning, they seemed to decide to scrap it with the loss of supplies and Alexei's 'death'," Clint finished.
"And now he's working for Savitar. Great," Barry said sarcastically.
"Who is this Savitar?" Rhodey asked confused.
"Allegedly, he's the first man to possess powers like Barry's, worshipped as a god centuries ago. He has the power to communicate with someone mentally, like he did with Alexei. He's trapped in the speed Force, the source of Barry's powers. He's from the future and seems to believe we will all die by his hand," Steve explained.
"So, a Speedster Loki from the future who wants us all dead? Boy, this just keeps getting better and better," Tony said sarcastically.
Unspecified location
Same time
As Cisco was working on what Alexei wanted him to do, Alexei walked out of the room to see Pietro waiting with a look of deep thought on his face.
"Something on your mind Pietro?" Alexei asked.
"I saw what you did to Vision. You tortured him to get Ramon's cooperation," Pietro accused.
"I know," Alexei said simply.
"This is like something Hydra would do to get Wanda and I to cooperate," Pietro said heatedly and Alexei sighed.
"You think I liked doing that? I didn't. There is a line between being who we are and what we have to be in order to survive Pietro. My methods may seem cruel, but they are the only way to free Lord Savitar and your sister. You do still want to save her, don't you?" Alexei asked, twisting the knife even further.
"Of course I do!" Pietro said immediately.
"Good. Remember Pietro, everything we're doing, we're doing for her," Alexei lied, turning away so Pietro wouldn't see the smirk that had crossed his face.
Avengers Compound
Later
"So, you were put in some sort of 'It's a Wonderful Life' world?" Rhodey asked incredulously as they were all catching up, passing the time while they waited for backup.
"It sounds crazy, but yeah," Clint said.
"Well, now I've heard everything," Tony muttered.
"Don't worry Tony, I mean, it's our fault. Everything is always our fault, right?" Clint snarked and everyone felt the tension rise in the room.
"Clint," Natasha said warningly.
"I'm just saying, according to Tony, everything's our fault. Like Ultron. That was our fault. Not Tony's for plugging unknown alien tech into the internet, because you've apparently never seen a horror movie with that premises, or for not consulting us. No, it's all our fault. Nothing's ever your fault, is it Tony?" Clint asked with just the right amount of snark and venom that he knew would get under Tony's skin.
"You really wanna do this now?" Tony asked grumpily.
"You're lucky I didn't put an arrow in your chest the moment you stepped out of the breach," Clint growled as he got to his feet, rage on his face. "I trusted you! We all trusted you! And you sold us out!"
"You broke the law!" Tony protested.
"So did you! Or are you the only one allowed to break the law?!" Clint snarled. "You can do whatever the hell you want and we are the ones who have to face the consequences! Is that it Tony?!"
"Feeling pretty accurate," Barry couldn't help but add and Steve shot him a look. "I know, not helping."
"I tried to work with you, you guys didn't want to!" Tony exclaimed as he looked accusingly at Barry and Steve.
"So what, we should just blindly do whatever you say?!" Barry snapped.
"No, but it was something we should have considered!" Tony protested.
"If it was something to consider, we would have. But come on Tony, even you must see by now that The Accords were a bad idea from the start," Steve rationalized.
"Tony, he's right," Rhodey said as Tony opened his mouth. "I signed on for accountability. I didn't sign on for no due process, unlawful imprisonment, and underwater prisons with inhumane conditions."
"The Accords aren't perfect. I know that. But Rome wasn't built in a day, we have to start somewhere," Tony pleaded, although he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince them or himself.
"At what cost though?" Natasha asked him bluntly.
"We are all fugitives! My family is in Ross' crosshairs! He is putting collars are on the Enhanced that are designed to kill them if they try to take off them off!" Clint snarled and Tony paled, having to known that last bit. "But what do you care, you got what you wanted Tony. You got your absolution, everyone else be damned. The world may see as a hero, but I won't ever forget that it was you who sold my family out to Ross. When I was Loki's flying monkey, I told him everything, every secret I had in my head. And, as much of a bastard as Loki was, he never used my family against me. I guess that makes him a more honorable person than you."
"So what, you think I'm worse than Loki?" Tony demanded, trying to mask his guilt with indignation.
"Loki never put my family in the sight of a power hunger psychopath!" Clint snarled as he got in Tony's face.
"No, he just made you a murderer," Tony snapped, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth and saw Clint get a dark look on his face.
"At least my body count doesn't include wiping an entire country from the map," Clint sneered.
Tony didn't recall moving his hand, only feeling the impact of his fist against Clint's face and Clint stumbled back. Tony opened his mouth, to apologize or not, he wasn't sure. Whatever the case, he never got the chance to find out as Clint whirled back and punched him in return. Soon, Clint had tackled Tony and Tony was trying to fight back when there was a whirl of movement. Tony was slammed against the wall, Barry holding a hand to his chest to restrain him as Steve and Natasha held Clint back.
"That's enough, both of you," Steve said firmly.
"Look, whatever issues we have with each other, they don't matter right now. What matters is stopping Alexei from getting Savitar out," Barry said firmly.
"So both of you, put aside your egos for now and find a way to work together," Natasha finished.
For a moment, it was silent in the cell they found themselves in, Clint glaring at Tony angrily. Then, after a moment, Clint's shoulders slumped and he nodded. Steve glanced over at Natasha and, at her nod, the pair let him go.
"What about you?" Barry asked cautiously, not letting Tony go.
"I can work together if he can," Tony said.
Barry eyed him wearily for another moment before nodding and letting Tony go.
"If we're going to get out of here alive, I suggest those two stand on opposite ends of the room and don't talk to each other until T'Challa gets here," Rhodey suggested.
"Good idea," Steve said, giving Clint a pointed look.
Clint rolled his eyes but turned and walked over to the other end of the room. He crossed his arms and looked anywhere but at Tony.
"You," Barry said as he looked over at Tony. "Just…don't talk to anyone."
Barry then walked away from Tony, Natasha following him as they joined Clint's side of the room. Steve looked over at Tony, looking like he wanted to say something but seemed to decide against it, walking over to where the others were as well.
"Tony, if we want to survive, you have to mend some bridges," Rhodey advised his friend.
"Since when are you Team Cap? As I recall it, you were all for The Accords, just like I was," Tony argued.
"And then I saw what it cost," Rhodey looked down at his legs and Tony was silent. "And yeah, I signed them to. But I can admit that it was the wrong call Tony. I'm your friend Tony, and as your friend, I'm telling you to get your head out of your ass and start looking at things as they are, not as you want them to be."
Tony opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was going to say was cut off. The sounds of bullets, cries of pain, and fighting came from just down the hall. The Avengers all stepped away from the walls, with the exception of Rhodey, who had to be helped to his feet by Tony, and walked over to the force field. There was silence and then T'Challa, dressed in his Black Panther suit, walked into view.
"I apologize for the delay, but we were preoccupied in dealing with your enemy's guards," T'Challa apologized.
"We? You brought your guards?" Tony asked and T'Challa shook his head.
"No, it is simply myself and…" T'Challa trailed off as someone else walked into view.
"One semi-stable hundred year old man," Bucky quipped, holding an assault rifle in his hands.
As Steve smiled, happy to see his friend, awake and seemingly in control of his own mind, Tony clenched his hands into fists so tightly that they turned white. His body was flooded with pure white rage. Subconsciously, he could admit that he was blaming Bucky for the sins of Hydra. But consciously, he wasn't ready to see the difference between the two.
While Tony was processing this, T'Challa had pulled out a device and attached it to the wall. He stepped back after pressing a button and, a few moments later, the force field seemed to disappear.
"How'd you do that?" Clint asked as they stepped out of the cell.
"The force field is not dissimilar to the barrier around Wakanda. It was simple for Shuri to find a way to dismantle it," T'Challa explained.
"How you doing Buck?" Steve asked as he walked up to his best friend, the pair embracing in a one-armed hug as Bucky moved the rifle to his new robotic hand.
"Not bad, all things considered. What are we up against?" Bucky inquired as they let go.
"An ex-KGB terrorist gone rouge, a god with the same powers as Barry, and Wanda's brother who has similar powers to Barry," Natasha said grimly.
"They have Vision and Cisco," Barry added worried.
"Well, perhaps our new friends can be of assistance," T'Challa said as they looked over at the many unconscious guards down the hall.
Unspecified location
Same time
"Excellent Mr. Ramon," Alexei said satisfied as he looked at the device Cisco had built. "You have brought us one step closer to victory."
"Go to hell," Cisco snapped as he shot Alexei the darkest look ever.
"Oh, I've been to hell Mr. Ramon. Before we go, there is one more thing you will do for me," Alexei looked over at Cisco. "The inter-dimensional extrapolator. You will make one for me."
"No, I won't," Cisco said, fear coursing through his veins as he remembered the Vibe of Savitar killing Wanda. "Whatever you do, I won't do it."
Alexei simply smirked and clapped his hands together. Cisco was confused until a man brought in a struggling woman. The man forced her to her knees and she looked pat Cisco with terror filled eyes. Alexei pulled out a gun and Cisco realized what was about to happen.
"No!" Cisco cried out as Alexei pulled the trigger.
The woman's blood splattered everywhere as the bullet hit her in the center the forehead. She stopped to the ground, dead, as Cisco stared horrified.
"Your loyalty to Allen is admirable, the lengths you will go to in order to stop him from losing the love of his life and his child are commendable, it's why you came back here in the first place," Alexei complimented Cisco. "But you will do as I say. Or whatever happens next…is on you."
-------------
If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11
-----