Chapter Text
Chapter Six: Betrayal
Steve pulled out his phone and put it on speaker as he drove the military issued car that they were lent.
“What’s up, Steve?” A familiar, but unexpected female voice answered.
“Hill? Where’s Fury?” He asked curiously.
“Busy. Something else came up. I’ll fill you in when you get here. You have Falcon?” She asked him.
“And one more. We need a second set of wings.” He told her, glancing at Riley through the mirror.
“Steve, we can’t spare more man power than we already have.” She warned warily.
“As long as we have the materials, we can put the new guys to work.” He stated. “Do you still need me to go to Wakanda?”
“No, Coulson, Stark, and Hawkeye have that one covered. Just get back here. There’s a lot to go over.” She told him.
“Stark? What about Nat? How is she?” He asked.
“...I’ll fill you in when you get here.” She ended the call, leaving him confused, but no less determined. He glanced at the two men behind him, and could see confusion clear as day on their face.
“Captain Rogers, what exactly is going on?” Sam asked, his voice steady, unlike his expression.
Steve was about to answer, when a familiar Asgardian landed thirty meters ahead of their speeding car, causing him to hit the breaks. “We’re about to find out, I think.” He stated, seeing the fogginess in the blonde god’s eyes.
“What the fuck?!” Sam exclaimed, as a large bolt of lightning struck their car, causing the gas to ignite, and ultimately, explode into flames.
***
“Mr. Stark, incoming call from Lt. Col. Rhodes.” JARVIS reported as Tony approached the airborne Quinjet.
“Tony, I have the kid...but there were some complications.” His best friend informed him.
“Complications? What the hell do you mean complications?” Tony asked with confusion.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the kid should have a family, and the ability to see, right?” He asked just as Tony landed on the open cargo door.
“Wait...what...did you just say?” Tony asked, his voice shaking. He couldn’t move. He was afraid if he did, he would collapse.
“The kid is blind. I found him on the streets of Harlem. DNA agrees too, this is definitely Peter Parker.” Rhodey repeated.
“Wait! You said Harlem?! Is the kid okay?!” Tony asked urgently.
“He’s fine. Not sure how nor why, but his bodily functions are all stable and normal.” Tony could pinpoint confusion in the military man’s voice.
Tony took a breath and finally stood up, ignoring his archer friend and sitting down. “Tony?” He heard Rhodey question.
“Take him and Pepper to D.C. and be careful. Check the international news in Sokovia when you get a chance.” Tony instructed before he hung up and took his helmet off.
“You okay?” Barton asked him.
“How long until we get to Wakanda?” He ignored his friend’s well-meaning question.
“Two hours at least.” Coulson told him from the cockpit.
“I didn’t know you knew how to fly one of these.” Stark stated.
“It’s a required skill for every SHIELD field agent.” Coulson replied.
Tony only nodded before he started thinking about the kid again. ‘Why did things turn out this way?’
***
Adam felt every eye trail on him as he dragged the Hulk behind him. He walked up to the black man with an eyepatch who was furrowing his brow in thought. He dropped the Hulk to the floor, getting Fury’s attention.
“I’m going to need an explanation Mr. Veritus.” The man stated, his eyes narrowed at him.
“He was under some sort of spell. I had no choice.” Adam whispered. “He’s not dead...but no one has ever woken up. I’m sorry.” He knew his voice shook, but he didn’t care.
“Woken up from what, exactly?” Fury questioned.
“I forcibly cancelled out whatever spell was on him by injecting a part of myself into him. Unless he can forcibly expel that, I’m afraid...” he trailed off, his voice never rising above a whisper.
“Can’t you just take it back? Or fix it with that Stone of yours?” Agent Hill asked.
“The Stone has a maximum use limit based on the mental state of the user. I reached it. It needs at least four years to fully recharge.” He shook his head regretfully.
“So, what you’re saying is that the Hulk is going to be in a comatose state for the next four years.” Fury repeated back.
“If we’re lucky. That’s assuming we all last that long.” He told the agency director.
“We will.” The director looked out the window behind him. “We don’t have a choice.”
Then, a loud grunt was heard behind them. Adam glanced behind him, eyes wide as he realized they had been wrong before.
***
Doctor Strange had barely worn his robes for five minutes before he had to sidestep a red magic blast.
He turned around in the middle of the streets of New York to face his assailant, and was not expecting what he saw. A young brunette and an equally young white haired boy stood there, combat ready. However, he noticed that only one set of eyes were clear enough to truly understand what was going on. “Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked the girl, who possessed the clear eyes of someone who understood more than they should.
She didn’t give any reply, as the white haired boy, her brother, appeared in a blue flash behind the doctor, kicking his feet out from under him.
Strange acted quickly, creating the mirror realm for them to fight in. He sank the boy into the cement, before he created shining golden whips, which he used to hold the girls arms apart, keeping her from moving.
“You kids are what, ten?” He asked them, but they gave no answer. He was about to ask them another question when the mirror realm was shattered, and a red man with a yellow stone in the middle of his head took them both away without another word.
He stared after them, debating on whether to follow, but in the end he decided not to. “This isn’t good.” He muttered as he entered the New York Sanctum.
***
“Well, that sure was a close one, was it not?” Steve looked at the familiar dark-haired god he knew best as an enemy.
“Loki, what are you doing here?” He questioned.
“Saving you. And trying to undo whatever sorcery was placed on my brother.” Loki stated as if it were obvious. “Rather than me, should you not check on your companions?” He gestured behind and next to Steve, where everyone had landed, though, he recognized that they had all taken some damage.
His eyes locked onto Riley. “Oh no...” he whispered as he looked at the extreme burns all over his body.
“We need to go now, if we are to escape.” Loki stated.
“Where exactly?” Steve asked, grabbing his shield from the flaming car and making sure he was prepared for anything.
“Give me a set of coordinates.” Loki stated, his tone more urgent as his brother started swinging the hammer.
“How do I know I can trust you?” Steve glared.
“I don’t fancy dying today.” Loki stated.
Steve glanced at his fellow Avenger-turned enemy before he sighed in defeat. He typed a set of coordinates into his phone and handed it to the god before he grabbed the unconscious Bucky and Sam, and the already deceased Riley.
As soon as he had them in his grasps, he found that he was in a familiar room, with everyone on top of him, and something sharp pointing into his side. He pushed the others off of him before rolling off of the sharp object he found out to be Loki.
“Steve!” He looked up as Hill and Fury came rushing towards him.
“It’s Thor. Something happened to him... he wasn’t himself.” Steve explained before he noticed something black out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at it, and found that his arm was burnt to a literal crisp. “Huh?” He questioned before he felt lightheaded, and felt his consciousness slip.
***
“We’re approaching Wakanda now.” Coulson alerted them.
Tony nodded and stood up. He walked to the cockpit so he could see through the windshield, however, what he saw was definitely not what he was expecting.
“What the hell happened here?” Barton asked the question before it could escape Tony’s lips.
“I don’t know...but it’s nothing good.” Coulson stated as he found a place for them to land, right outside of the completely destroyed city.
“Coulson, stay here. Stay in touch.” Tony instructed as he opened the hatch so he and Barton could leave the ship. “Barton, stay close. We don’t know what’s here.”
“Right.” The archer nodded as he followed Tony out. Tony put his helmet back on and grabbed the archer before he began flying to the heart of the city. But...what they saw along the way, Tony wished he could unsee.
“Stark...those marks.” Barton pointed out one of the corpses, which were lined with claw marks. “Maybe...Maybe he lost it, man.” Barton suggested.
Tony didn’t reply he only continued forward, entering the palace, but he stopped at the entrance. “JARVIS, are they all...” Tony asked his system, closing his eyes trying to unsee the torture that was done to the people he knew were closest to what would normally have been the soon-to-be king of Wakanda.
“Three still have vital signs. Though they are weak. Immediate medical action is advised.” JARVIS reported, highlighting the ones who still lived in Tony’s visor. Tony pointed to the three. Barton took the smallest girl, and Tony took the older women.
“You got her?” Tony looked at his companion who was holding the young princess bridal style. He nodded. “Then let’s hurry.” He ushered the archer, before he noticed the man dressed in a black cat suit standing in front of them. “Shit.”
“Stark, take her.” Hawkeye tried to push the girl into Tony’s already filled arms. “Take her and go. These three are the only ones who might know what happened!” He urged.
Tony hated that the archer was right. “Barton, if you die on me, I’ll have Romanoff electrocute your ass.” He stated before he flew up, all three bloodied women in his arms. “JARVIS, everything to the thrusters! Go!” Tony ordered. He felt himself speed up as a result.
“Coulson! Start up the jet! Now!” He instructed as he approached.
“What happened?!” The agent asked urgently.
“A black cat decided to show up.” Tony explained as he gently laid each women down. “Get into the air! I’ll get Barton!” Tony instructed before flying out of the jet again.
“Got it!” The agent agreed.
“Barton! How are you?!” He asked worriedly. The lack of response didn’t help.
Then, he saw why there was no response, and he felt a lump in his throat. He dived down, and picked the archer up just before the cat-dressed man could give the final blow.
“Coulson, tell me you have that bird in the air!” He demanded.
“Your seven O’Clock!” Coulson stated and Tony zoomed up, performing a loop back into the jet.
He slammed his fist on the button that controlled the door, closing it before he threw his helmet off. “Barton! Can you hear me?!”
“Ca-Can’t get rid of m-me that e-easily.” The archer stuttered, spitting up a little bit of blood.
“Don’t talk.” Tony instructed. “JARVIS, run full diagnostic.”
“Every rib is cracked, and several have poked into his lungs. His arms have been shattered, and those are the least of Agent Barton’s problems.” The system reported.
“S-See? I-I’ll be fine.” The assassin joked, which really only served to piss Tony off.
“Coulson! Step on it!” Tony instructed. “Barton, if you kick the bucket, your going to have worse problems to deal with than just me.” He warned as he felt the stress and fatigue catch up with him, and his consciousness just fade.