(Attendance please…)
….
Outside, the air was crisp and clean, a welcome change from the recycled atmosphere of the Quinjet.
Gojo, a few minutes removed from an impromptu flying session with Lila (who had shrieked with delight as Blue gently lifted her into the air, her calls of "Momma, look! I'm flying!" echoing through the clearing), was now perched comfortably on a large log.
Nearby, Tony and Steve were engaged in a more… rustic activity. They were splitting logs with axes, the rhythmic thud of metal on wood a steady beat in the otherwise quiet forest.
It almost looked like a competition, each man trying to outdo the other in sheer lumberjack prowess, though Gojo suspected it was more about working off nervous energy than any real rivalry.
Gojo, ever curious and never one to shy away from potentially awkward questions, broke the silence.
"So, Cap," he called out, his voice casual, "what did that red witch show you in your little mind-trip? I was just wondering what could possibly be your nightmare. Is it fighting some big bad? Losing someone important? Or maybe… running out of American flags?"
Steve paused, leaning on his axe, his brow furrowed in thought. "Sometimes," he said, his voice quiet, "I feel like I'm still back with S.H.I.E.L.D. Still fighting to save everyone, but… everyone around me is hiding something, keeping secrets, thinking they're helping, but really just making things worse."
Tony, who had stopped his own chopping, understood the pointed remark immediately. "If you want to say something, say it to my face, Captain," Tony retorted, his voice tight. "What's the point of talking nilly-willy, dancing around the issue?"
Steve brought his axe down hard, splitting another log with a satisfying crack. "I just shared my thoughts about S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said, his gaze fixed on the wood.
"But it seems someone around here knew what they were doing, knew the risks, and still went ahead and did it anyway… just like S.H.I.E.L.D. would have. Just like they did with the Tesseract." He looked up, his eyes meeting Tony's. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes… and one man, one machine, pulled us all apart like we were cotton candy. What a joke."
Tony, trying to deflect, turned the question back, echoing Gojo's earlier curiosity. "It seems you walked away all right from the red witch's voodoo magic, Cap. No lasting ill effects?"
"Is that a problem?" Steve asked, his tone neutral.
"Not really," Tony conceded. "I just don't trust anyone without a dark past. Call me old-fashioned."
"Well," Steve said, a hint of weariness in his voice, "let's just say you haven't seen mine yet."
Tony slammed his axe down, embedding it in a stump. "You do know that Ultron is actively trying to tear us apart, right? This is exactly what he wants."
Steve continued splitting another piece of log, not looking at Tony. "Well, I guess you'd know about his plans, wouldn't you? Though whether you'd actually tell us or not, that's a bit of a question."
That was the spark. Tony's patience snapped. "You know, Captain," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I think you quite like being a superhero. Fighting the bad guys, getting your picture on television, people calling you a hero. It's a good gig for you."
Steve, too, put his axe aside, turning to face Tony fully. "What?"
"Maybe your old ears didn't hear me correctly," Tony taunted. "I said, maybe you like saving everyone and then being called out as a hero. If I didn't know you better, I might even think you orchestrated this whole thing, this whole 'end of the world' scenario, just so you could swoop in, save the day, and do the same thing over and over again. Keep the team together, keep the fight going."
Steve stepped closer to Tony, his jaw tight. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Tony said, his voice rising, "you want to keep this team together for as long as possible, no matter the cost! But that's your dream, Cap, not mine! I want to end this team! I want this to be over so everyone can go home, live their lives, be with their families! I want to build a world where the Avengers are obsolete!"
"And I think you're doing quite the job of ending it yourself, Stark!" Steve shot back, his own anger flaring.
"Ultron is ending this team because of your actions! Every time someone tries to play God, tries to fix everything before it even happens, innocent people die! Every single time!"
Just as their heated argument was about to escalate into a physical confrontation, a welcome interruption arrived. Laura, Clint's wife, approached them tentatively.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Stark," she said, her voice soft. "Clint said you wouldn't mind, but… our tractor doesn't seem to want to start. I thought maybe you…"
Before she could finish, Tony, grateful for the distraction, replied, his anger momentarily deflating, "Yeah, sure. I'll give her a kick. No problem." He turned and headed towards the barn where the tractor was presumably kept.
Gojo, who had been thoroughly enjoying the escalating drama between the two heroes, a smirk playing on his lips, watched Tony go.
The tension was still thick in the air, but at least a physical fight had been averted. For now. He had a feeling, though, that another "guest" might be waiting for Tony in that barn, someone who wasn't looking for help with a tractor.
….
Tony entered the dimly lit barn, the scent of hay and old machinery filling his nostrils. He located the stubborn tractor and began to assess the problem, his mind still buzzing from the confrontation with Steve. Then, a familiar, gravelly voice cut through the quiet from the shadowy depths of the barn.
"Please, Stark," the voice said, "do me a favor and try not to bring that thing to life, whatever it is you're tinkering with now."
Tony paused, a knowing smirk touching his lips. "Why, Ms. Barton, you little minx," he said, not bothering to turn around yet. "I get it. Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?" He slowly began to walk towards the source of the voice.
And there, leaning against a stack of hay bales, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his long coat, was Nick Fury, former director of the now-disbanded S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Artificial intelligence," Fury said, his one good eye fixed on Tony. "You never even hesitated, did you? And now, keeping a HYDRA experiment with you, someone who, for all we know, could be a deep-cover spy."
Tony, putting the pieces together, stopped a few feet from Fury. "So, that's why you're here," he said, his tone hardening. "No, no, don't tell me. You're here for Satoru, aren't you? On behalf of the government."
Fury, still seated casually on the hay, nodded slowly. "Tony, I know you don't want to hear this, but you've got to consider handing the kid over. Let the government deal with him for now. You need to focus all your energy on Ultron. Then, afterUltron is neutralized, you can deal with the kid and whatever mess the government makes. But right now, you can't effectively do both at the same time."
Tony scoffed. "Nah, I won't. And who says I can't do two things at once? I'm an excellent multi-tasker. It's one of my many talents."
"Really, Tony?" Fury pressed, his voice firm. "You're willing to go against government, possibly even the President, for some kid found in a HYDRA facility, who could very well be a spy planted to tear you apart from the inside? You remember why S.H.I.E.L.D. got disbanded, right? Secrets. Infiltrators. You're keeping someone dangerously close, someone you know next to nothing about."
"Really? You want to talk about danger, Fury? Let's talk about it," Tony shot back, his temper flaring. "Let's play a 'what if' scenario. What if S.H.I.E.L.D. had found the kid first? How many days, how many hours, do you think it would have been before he went on a rampage and wiped out a city, or worse? Because that's what S.H.I.E.L.D. did. You wanted to use him, didn't you? Turn him into another weapon, something to point at gods or alien threats. Just like you did with the Tesseract."
"He is a threat, Stark!" Fury insisted. "He one-sidedly beat down the Hulk, the strongest one on your team, and you think you can control him? That he'll just play nice?"
"Yeah, I think I can," Tony said, a surprising amount of conviction in his voice. "He's… unhinged, maybe a little. But at least he's with us right now, not actively against us like those two twins who want to destroy me because they saw my name on a bomb shell from a decade ago. And let's not forget, Fury, he saved a city. He saved thousands, if not millions, of civilians from the Hulk's rampage."
"He's a double-edged sword, Stark," Fury warned, his gaze intense. "And swords like that have a nasty habit of cutting the hand that wields them."
Just then, a figure shimmered into existence directly behind Tony. Gojo Satoru stepped out from Tony's side, a casual smile on his face. "Please don't talk about me like I'm some kind of weapon or something," he said, his voice light.
"And what is it with this 'HYDRA' and 'me' connection everyone keeps making? I mean, I don't exactly remember anything from before the ice nap, but if I was with them, actively working for them, I highly doubt I would have ended up sleeping in an ice capsule, forgotten in some Sokovian basement."
In response to Gojo's sudden appearance, Tony just sighed, though Fury reacted instantly. He was on his feet in a flash, a gun appearing in his hand as if from nowhere, aimed squarely at Gojo's head. "How long have you been here?" Fury demanded, his voice a low growl.
Gojo, completely unfazed by the weapon pointed at him, tilted his head. "Hmm, let's just say… from about the time you sat down on those hay bales and Tony here turned to face you."
Tony stepped slightly in front of Gojo. "Fury, can you please put the gun away? He's with us. He's on our side." He then shot an exasperated look at Gojo. "And how many times do I have to tell you, Satoru, don't sneak up on me like that! It's not good for my blood pressure!"
Gojo shrugged innocently. "Well, I got bored outside. I thought maybe I would come in and help you fix that tractor. Though, just as I was about to open the barn door, I heard you talking to someone. So, I figured I'd teleport in behind you for a more… dramatic surprise entry. You know, keep things interesting."
….
A/N: So, How was it? Tbh it didn't really go the way i had expected. I forgot most of the dialogues i was gonna use in this and what not. So i hope its wasn't that bad. It may been a repetitive of the movie scene.
Q: Was the chapter bad?
-yes
-no
-in the middle (50/50)
And as always thanks for demicatoru/loadedDemigod for suggestions.
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