Chapter 360: Civil War II
Silas stepped out from behind Wanda.
"Destiny." Wanda looked at Silas with a complex expression, her lips trembling as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
"It's time to end this farce, Wanda," Pietro said, appearing in a blur of white light.
"Things aren't looking good," Clint Barton muttered, tightening his grip on his bow. Given the choice, he really didn't want to fight these "freaks."
With a casual wave of his hand, Silas telekinetically flung away all the cars that were hovering over Tony's head.
"Thanks, Masked Boy." Tony, Rhodey, and Natasha moved in, surrounding Wanda and Clint.
"Destiny, do you also agree with Stark?" Wanda asked.
Silas shrugged. "I'm not an Avenger. That Accord doesn't apply to me, understand?"
What Silas meant was that Wanda didn't have to stay confined either—she just had to stop being an Avenger, like him. However, Wanda clearly misunderstood; she took it to mean that because she was an Avenger, she was obligated to follow the rules.
"It's a prison," Wanda said, closing her eyes.
Tony snapped back, "A prison? Have you ever seen a prison with a swimming pool, a private theater, and luxury entertainment facilities?!" He then turned his attention to Clint. "I really wish Steve hadn't dragged you into this, Clint."
Clint had decided to retire after the Ultron incident to be with his family. "Sometimes, duty doesn't give you a choice, does it?" Clint said with a self-deprecating smile.
"Wanda, don't keep going down this wrong path. Have you forgotten why we joined the Avengers in the first place?" Pietro urged. They had joined because they saw the Avengers refusing to abandon the people of Sokovia, fighting until the very end to save everyone.
But now, everything seemed to have changed.
"I understand, Pietro, but I think the Captain is right." Wanda remained steadfast. She wouldn't sign.
"Cap, we need backup over here!" Clint shouted into his comms, realizing they were vastly outmatched.
But Steve couldn't break away. He was locked in a fierce exchange with T'Challa. The Black Panther's vibranium claws were no joke—Steve's shield was already covered in deep gouges.
"It seems your friends need you," T'Challa noted, tilting his head.
"Yeah," Steve grunted. "Is anyone available to help?"
"I'm on it!" Scott Lang, who had just managed to knock Natasha aside, rushed toward Wanda's position. He ducked behind a van and threw a specialized disc.
The disc hit the van, shrinking it instantly to the size of a toy. Scott scooped it up and ran toward Steve. "Cap! Throw this as hard as you can!"
Steve didn't hesitate. He hurled the tiny car toward Tony. In that split second, Scott threw a blue enlarging disc. The disc struck the car mid-air, and it instantly regained its original mass, plummeting toward Tony with accelerated force.
"Move!" Tony yelled.
Pietro reacted first, blurring out of the way. Silas and Tony took to the sky.
BOOM!
The moment the car hit the ground, it exploded like a bomb, swallowed by a massive fireball.
"Uh... sorry. I thought it was a water truck," Scott said awkwardly. It turned out the truck was carrying fuel.
Steve glanced at Scott, knowing it wasn't intentional. As long as there were no casualties, he could live with it. The wall of fire effectively split the battlefield. Everyone retreated to their respective sides, ending the first chaotic skirmish.
"Is this your grand tactical plan?" Natasha asked, joining Tony and staring at the inferno.
"No. But it looks like we're changing the plan," Tony replied, his voice growing colder. He felt he had been being too merciful.
As Tony's side regrouped, Steve led his team toward the hangar where the Quinjet was supposed to be.
"Oh no! Where's the plane?!" Sam Wilson skidded to a halt, unable to believe his eyes. There had been a Quinjet parked right there moments ago. Now, there was nothing but empty tarmac.
Steve stopped, feeling a surge of helplessness. Without the jet, they were trapped.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, a beam of deep crimson light descended from the sky, carving a glowing line into the concrete right in front of Steve's team.
"From this moment on, none of you cross this line." Silas landed, wisps of white smoke rising from his palm.
He had just used the power of the Dragon Talisman. It wasn't just for concussive blasts; it could fire a highly concentrated destructive beam, the power of which scaled with the user's intent.
Tony and the rest of the team landed behind the line Silas had drawn.
"One, two, three... seven! They have seven. This isn't fair," Scott complained from the back.
Silas glanced back. It was true. Even though he had replaced Vision in this timeline, Pietro was still alive and on Tony's side, giving Team Iron Man a significant numerical and power advantage.
"What now, Cap? The jet is gone," Sam whispered.
Steve was at a loss. He hadn't accounted for the vehicle simply vanishing.
"This is bad," Barnes sighed.
Across the line, Tony opened his faceplate and smirked. "Looking for your plane? Maybe it felt like a prison and decided to fly away."
"Steve! You still have a chance. Hand over Barnes!" Tony demanded, his tone turning deadly serious.
"Tony, that's not happening," Steve said, raising his shield. "Barnes was being controlled. We need to find the man behind this, not fight each other!"
"Being controlled?!" Tony's rage finally boiled over. "Is that his excuse for murdering my parents?!"
"What?!"
Every person on the field—except for Silas—stared at Tony in absolute shock. The revelation was a bombshell. Barnes killed the Starks?
T'Challa froze. For a moment, he felt a grim kinship with Tony.
"How did you find out?" Steve's voice was barely a whisper, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Bucky Barnes lowered his head in shame. Yes, he was brainwashed, but regardless of the reason, it was his hands that did it.
"Tony, you..." Rhodey gasped. Even as Tony's best friend, he hadn't known this.
"I have one question for you, Captain. Did you know?" Tony's eyes shimmered with a hint of moisture, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a cold, hard stare.
"I... I knew," Steve confessed. He couldn't lie, not while Tony was looking at him like that. He could withhold the truth, but he couldn't bring himself to utter a direct lie to his friend.
"OK." Tony's voice was steady now, each word carrying the weight of a hammer. "Hand over Barnes, and we can act like this never happened."
"I'm sorry, Tony. I can't do that."
"Hahaha!" Tony suddenly burst into laughter, clapping his hands.
The gesture made everyone uncomfortable. If Tony had been screaming in rage, they would have understood. But this laughter was chilling. Only Silas knew this was the laughter of someone who had finally reached their breaking point.
"Tony!" Steve called out.
"None of you are leaving this place!" Tony stopped laughing and snapped his mask shut.
"Cap," Barnes said, readying himself.
"Charge!" Steve yelled. He started at a slow jog and quickly accelerated into a sprint.
His teammates followed suit, shaking off their shock. There were no choices left.
"Mr. Stark, do we...?" Peter asked.
"Go!" Tony took to the air.
The true battle was about to begin.
Top of the Terminal Bridge
"Hum de dum~" Deadpool was sitting on the edge of the bridge, swinging his legs back and forth. He was holding a sketchbook, drawing the Avengers fighting below.
"Oh~ hi there~" Deadpool said, looking directly into the camera. "Who do you think is gonna win this one? Place your bets!"
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