CIVIL WAR? MORE LIKE, CIVIL PRANK
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Disclaimer: Natsume Yuujinchou belongs to Yuki Midorikawa. Fukigen na Mononokean belongs to Kiri Wazawa. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman. Iron Man, Avengers, Captain America: Civil War belongs to Marvel
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Genre: Humor
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Warning: Typo is my most loyal fan. Spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language. Possibly OOC. Fluff. NOT BETA so beware of grammar mistakes
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Summary: New problems keep popping up one after another and it gives him a headache. At least Tony get a bit of a fun out of this clusterfuck of events.
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(A/N): See that title? Yeah, don't expect this part of the story to be nothing but humor :'D
Setting: Hanae, Haruitsuki, and Danny are second-years. Takashi and Peter are third-years. And Ichigo is in the first semester of College.
Also, I need to remember Peter has Hua-Po as his student life's partner. This is why I don't wanna add other children to Tony's family. I'm bad with remembering what characters are available. I really respect creator who created a lot of characters in their story and remember every single one of them; like Naruto, One Piece, or Ushio to Tora. Especially Ushio to Tora. Like, wow. At The end of the comic, even the characters from one-shots chapter (well, the first chapter of the volumes are more like one-shots than a continuation story) are there to congratulate the MC for saving the world.
I remembered cuz I read the whole 300 or so chapters in one sitting. It took me three days to finished reading it because dang you, college! :'D.
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"Paramedic! Paramedic, here! We found another survivor!"
Tony groaned, his voice cracked and his lips parched. Everything is hurt, everything felt cramped. What is this? He opened his eyes, but the only thing that greeted him is darkness. What happened? He didn't remember.
"Oh god, is that—" he heard someone gasped, uttering choppy words he could barely hear.
"R-Rhodey?" he murmured, trembling hand lifted upward, trying to reach the said voice. Who was that? Their image was hazy, it swimming and swimming and it only worsened his headache, "Pepper?"
"Hey, someone brings a stretcher over here!" a flurry of footsteps, some order being shouted, before a couple hands grabbed his figure, eliciting a painful moan from him, "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. Please bear with us. You're lucky you bring your armor with you."
And, feeling his body float like he was on a cloud—the person said they brought a stretcher for him?—he lost his consciousness.
When he came through for the second time that day, he finally remembered everything.
It was after the debacle in Lagos. When the Fall of SHIELD happened, Fury had built the backup of the secret organization before HYDRA could get their claw on all of them. But it was a hasty work, nothing was plan efficiently and it made them ran around like a headless chicken as the lack of personnel delayed their progress. And because of that, nobody watched over the Avenger. Nobody gave the clearances or even a task to solve. Nobody realized when Rogers, Romanova, and another new member he didn't care to learn his name of (save from suing him for the theft of the Falcon Wing, the Property of SI) gone from their barrack, doing an illegal mission in another country. Usually, Maria Hill was there to give them direction and informed the high-up about their presence, so the task force won't hinder them and be their support from the back. Except for this time, there was no one. And no matter how much Captain loved to saunter his title to the world, he was not a real Captain. It was just a stage name. Don't forget his tendency to disobeyed his superior in the old day seventy years ago, he doesn't have enough experience to lead a team. So it was not a surprise when those three arrived at Lagos, brandishing their flag of justice, scaring the crap out of Brock Rumlow and immediately triggered the bomb in his body.
And blowing up a building that housing hundreds of innocent lives.
No wonder Nigeria was mad as hell. Along with Wakanda, as some of their humanitarian workers were present and had fallen victim for their abrasive job. It was not a surprise when Thadeus Ross informed him that the United Nations is preparing to pass the Sokovia Accords, which will establish a UN panel to oversee and control the team. Frankly, he didn't understand why he came to him, being he's not an Avenger, merely a consultant. And not anymore too, when SHIELD was banished by their own members of superheroes, the irony. Yet he agreed to come to the meeting anyway because Thaddeus had this gleeful smirk, albeit hidden, that made his eyebrows furrow. He was sure the man will reap this opportunity to execute whatever deranged plan he concocted and Tony swear he will not let that happen. He didn't care about the Avenger, but Thaddeus was known for his obsession over capturing the Hulk (Brucie. His friend. His family). He protected what his fiercely and he will not—he repeat. Not—let the stupid, brawn-not-brain, stuck up Captain to ruin his work because Spangles was too proud for his own good.
So here he was, sitting in the massive circle room, with 117 other countries delegates to discuss the validation of Sokovia Accord. According to the open-source at UN web, this accord existed because of those two villains, the one where The Mistress was angry beyond belief for the first time (Pietro and...Wanda, was it? Tony was never good with names. Especially one-off people who wanted to steal information about him or his company—Christine and any other female reporters he slept with before Pepper become the love of his life—or lame villains who thought they could do wonder to his home with a knockoff creation—look what happened to them? Behind bars). After their failed attack, people discovered their origin; their hometown and the HYDRA's basement. That made the world uneasy, that made the Sokovia itself uneasy. Who else was being experimented on there? So close to their beloved country?
Sokovia wanted closure, for the lack of better word.
Some agreed with them—especially the small, often forgotten countries—and some not really (must be because superheroes were close to them and it was not their country that had to face a terrorist problem, Tony scoffed. People can be so ignorant sometimes. He reminded JARVIS to send relief-fund to the said forgotten countries). The Accords was not in place, just an idea if the same matter happens again in the near future.
And then Lagos happened.
And the world is uneasy for the second times.
Because this is the heroes they were talking about. The powerful individuals that can wreck, even more so, than the villains they battled.
And that was a chilling thought in itself.
Tony agreed with that. He may have created the Iron Man to fix his mistakes. However, quoting Petey's Uncle word, "With great power, comes great responsibility". It was time for them to compromise.
But it looked like the bomber didn't agree with that.
He smiled at Hanae's and Petey's adventure story in school, sometimes Haruitsuki and Hua-Po interjected to add their own comment. Danny pointed some strategy to Sam who played an RPG type of game on her phone. While Tucker was glued on his PDA, focused onto something. Takashi has a small talk with Ichigo, who stood still on his bedside like a bodyguard. Just as usual, when they heard the genius was hurt, they went to visit him right away, even if it was night in Japan. This always touches him, although they really need to take care of themselves. Staying up late is not good for the body. At least it's a weekend.
Takashi will then argued that, if he wanted them to stay healthy, then he should've stopped getting himself in trouble.
(Everyone knew it was impossible, not just for Tony, but for every kid's present. Doesn't mean they'll stop reminding the fact, however)
Tony looked over to the side, to another bed in the room, to Clint's prone body. He was there with him, being the good SP he was. Except, he didn't have an armor to protected himself while Tony did. So some of the rubble smacked his head and according to the doctor, he had a concussion along with cracked ribs and a sprained ankle. It was a bit jarring, to see him so...lifeless. No, not lifeless. He could see his chest rose up and down, he was okay, although unconscious. But yeah, it was a bit uncomfortable because Clint acted like a puppy, not as hyperactive as Peter, always jumping around and ready whenever the situation arose.
He vowed to create a better equipment to protect him. Tony will start with a compact shield that can be folded small enough he could bring it anytime, anywhere.
"Uh...Tony," Tucker's hesitant voice jarred him from his thought, diminishing the light conversation around the room. The beret-boy teen showed them his PDA, "you need to see this."
It was a news about today's debacle. They reported that over seventy people have been injured, twelve dead; ten civilians including Wakanda's king, T'Chaka. That already depressed him enough, he didn't know what to say when a video from CCTV showed what it seems to be the perpetrator of the terrorist attack.
James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier.
His breath hitched and the Mistress soothed him by kneading his scalp. Tony swallowed, "can this get any worse?"
"It is," Takashi piped. It looked like he was just in a phone with someone as they watched the announcement, "Rhodey-san just finished negotiating with the Avenger about the Accords."
"Let me guess. They refused to sign?" one of Haruitsuki's eyebrows rose and the senior nodded.
"Figures," Danny snorted, "they didn't want to compensate for the damage they caused because they're jobless and don't have money to pay in the first place. See what happen when they had a poor plan?"
"Yeah. Destroying the SHIELD turned out to be a double-edged sword for them," Ichigo gave a grim chuckle.
"Is...that really Barnes-san, though?" Hanae leaned forward, trying to see the small screen of the PDA a bit more clearly, "I don't know. Somethings seems...wrong."
"It is a bit weird," Sam agreed, "HYDRA was famous for the discretion. It took years for SHIELD to realize some of them infiltrate their base. And Winter Soldier was never caught even once when they enacted their mission. So, why now?"
"Do you think this is a fake video?" Peter asked.
"Or whoever did this want to use Barnes as their scape-goat," Nyanko-sensei concluded, making everyone fell into another hush.
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It was broken by the sudden yawn of Hanae, reminding Tony again that, yes, it was almost midnight for them, "okay, I think it was time for good children to sleep. If your family discovered this, they're going to roast me. So, shoo!"
A couple of chuckles rang, elevating the tense atmosphere for a bit, "oh, can you drop us to the Tower before you go home, Itsuki?" Tucker requested, "with JARVIS help, I'm sure we can determine the authenticity of the video. Maybe track down the real Barnes too."
"I can help, too!" Peter joined in.
Haruitsuki nodded. As a clutter could be heard behind the hospital door, a sign of the Mononokean abiding the Master's call, they gave the brunette their own version of goodbyes. With Fuzzy delivered him a last hug, the hospital room fell into silence.
It didn't last long. Tony didn't even have time to let out a sigh when the door hospital opens for the second time. It was not Haruitsuki and other kids that arrived via the Youkai teleportation this time, however, but Pepper and her beautiful ginger hair. Her face was pinched (he could guess the reason why. Must be because of the Avenger's denial in signing the Accord) though her shoulder relaxed a bit when she saw Tony was up and about, "I thought the kids will be here to lecture you like always?"
"You just missed them," he smiled as he gripped Pepper's tender hand, "you looked troubled. Besides Avenger being a douchebag, is something wrong?"
"Actually, yes," her face that smoothed out when she saw him wrinkled once more. Her clutch on his calloused hand tightened. Tony knew this gesture was the same gesture whenever she was trying to give him moral supports without her having to express it with words. Something churned within his stomach, Tony readied himself. With beautiful blue orbs staring into his own brown, she whispered.
"Ms. Peggy passed away."
Steve mussed, that today just couldn't get any worse.
That day, they went to Lagos to apprehend a HYDRA member who threatened the peace of the citizen. They were just trying to do their job, protecting the world from the danger lurking beneath. He tried to reason with the villain even, because no matter who he was, everyone deserved second chances. Sadly, he didn't agree with them, being the man preferred to kill himself rather than be apprehend by the Avenger and get a trial for all of his wrongdoing. Maybe if you look at a different angle, that mission could still be count as a win as he will never terrorize innocent civilians anymore. However, instead of regaling them with praise, the media cauterized them instead. Asking for compensations or at least reason for all of the wreckages.
Steve admit they didn't do a fine job in containing the collateral damages. Probably if they decided to rest and think their plan through, it will not be as disastrous as this was. But Natasha said they had tried their best and he agreed that sometimes, you just couldn't save everyone.
Still, SHIELD blamed them for their callousness, their carelessness. Fury literally furious, some of the agents have to stop him from brandishing his gun. With a scathing remark and threat to lay low, they were kicked out from the base.
The misery continued when Colonel Rhodes and Virginia Potts called them to the Tower and presented them the Sokovia Accord.
It was clear the government have their agenda, proof by Thaddeus' presence beside him. This accord was just a pretense to control them, to use them as lap dogs, and Steve will not let them have the upper hand. It was not a government decision to choose which country to save and which country is not worth it. They need to have the freedom to move quickly because people lives are in danger.
(He ignored the small voice behind his back that, if he signs this, his search for his best-friends will be limited and always be monitored)
His irritation was not diminished yet as he received a news about Peggy's death.
Peggy. The woman he loved before he was crystallized. The other lifeline of his past life. Is now gone.
He needed time to process this.
So here he was, staring at the funeral behind a tree, a bouquet clasped tightly in his hand. He stared numbly as the spokesperson gave the speech. Reciting her past life, her past accomplishments, saying that her being will be miss by everyone around. A circle of people at the front were crying, Steve guessed they were her family. He intended to approach them, give him his condolence. They may not know him, beside him as a Captain America. But Peggy must've talked about him at some point, right? So he took a step forward.
But stop immediately when he spotted someone he recognized. Steve blinked when Tony Stark stalked toward the circle, wearing a black suit and a black glasses. He could spot a white bandage on his right hand before it disappeared into his sleeves. A rolled up bandages covered the side of his head and a yellow patch on his left cheek. The billionaire bowed at them, face scrunched and lips thinned. The oldest woman grabbed his hand and sobbed onto it, Stark patted her shoulder.
Does...does he know Peggy? He looked so chummy with her relative. An invisible stab went through his chest, his heart panged with uncertainty. Why didn't he tell him anything about this?
Well, he didn't have the obligation to, they're not in a friendly term with each other. Even before the SHIELD data dumps.
But Stark must've known about Steve's history, right? He should've at least tell him about Peggy's condition before this is all happen.
(There's a whisper inside his mind about him hiding a secret of his own. Again, he ignored it)
Clint—who was injured too, by the sight of the white bandaged wrapped around his chest that Steve could saw peeking around his collar—came to get his boss. The Captain watched everyone left after the speech was over, their back was hunched and shoulders touching with the nearest person. They looked so forlorn. So lonely. Even Stark, the narcissistic, looked so broken. He looked...so human. After confirming nobody will come back, Steve put the bouquet on the tomb, caressing the stone gently, roaming his blue baby orbs on her name that carved ever so beautifully on the grey tile.
Maybe...maybe he was wrong?
Maybe Stark was not as bad as the video he watched portrayed him to be?
"Steve?" the earpiece crackled. He heard Sam's voice calling him, "Natasha found his location."
He stood up, staring determinedly at Peggy's grave before he nodded, "Avenger, assembled."
"Why in the actual fuck he did that?!" Tony screamed, disbelief clearly laced his entire sentences. He was inside his car, just get back from the funeral when Fury called him and brought him the bad news. The brunette glared at the old-man so heatedly, it even evaporated the agent's own infamous stare. The Mistress mussed his hair and Clint patted his shoulder, trying to calm his frayed nerve. It did little to wonder, unfortunately, "why in the actual fuck Rogers let the Maximoff duo escape?!"
"Stop shouting, Stark. You're giving me a headache," he let out an irritated sigh, Tony huffed. The one-eyed agent leafed through the document his new assistant gave him as he continued, "based from the CCTV, it looked like the youngest Maximoff made a bargain. Said that she'll help him in fixing Barnes' mind control that was implanted by the HYDRA as long as he helps them get out of the jail."
The genius let out another scoff, "knowing her, she's just going to implant another suggestion in his mind. It'll be just a temporary fix."
Fury stared at him for a long while before he mumbled, "you know about Barnes."
"Rogers dumped the files on the Internet. Of course, I know," he let out a rough bark of laughter, it sounded so bitter and hurt, "I just didn't say anything because he didn't say anything."
"But if you did, we can avoid all of this trouble—"
"I'm not obliged to please him, Nicky. I'm not his babysitter. I refused to be his babysitter. Didn't I say so from the very beginning? You people are the one who didn't want to listen," he loosened his tie, it felt stuffy with all of this problem kept popping out of nowhere. He just wanted to rest and chat with his kids, dammit, "so? Report."
Fury grumbled at his order. Knowing his pride, he was not used to someone other than his superiors to give him direction to follow through. Yet he acquiesced. Knowing he couldn't trust which higher-ups are the legit SHIELD and which one is the mole from HYDRA, the only person he could fall through is Tony. That's why he said, "Ten injuries and five in a coma. Rogers made a mess in trying to save Barnes from the anti-force agents."
"That fast?" Happy chimed up from the driver seat, frowned.
Tony shook his head, "The UN didn't say anything about dispatching a force to catch Barnes. After the bomb? They'll be cautious to send normal civilians to apprehend him." He leaned back to the comfy seat, watching the building went past by the window before the billionaire blinked, "Ross."
"Thaddeus?" the archer asked for confirmation.
"It must be. He looked so fucking happy when Rogers and co. making a mess in Nigeria. Fucking interloper, I should've watched over him more closely," he growled. He swiped the video call to the side corner and started working. Finger moved so deftly on the phone screen, giving JARVIS instruction and reading the information strewn around without pausing, "I know one of the clauses in the accord is weird. Must be him trying to mess everything up."
"He's not a UN member, Stark."
"Doesn't mean he cannot influence the America representative, Nicky." One of the information caught both of the inventor's and the AI butler's attention, Tony's lips quirked and JARVIS give a blip of satisfaction. Without waiting for second confirmation, the helper did his job well. A 'send' notification popped at the top of the screen and he relaxed, "done."
"What did you do, boss?" Happy tilted his head, peering at him through the rear mirror.
Tony folded his hands and smirked, "Just asking Elli for a favor. He owed me one after I save him from Killian, you see."
"Hands on the ground!"
Thaddeus gritted his teeth in frustration, reluctantly complied. He glared heatedly at the agents, armed to the toes and gun blazing at every direction, along with shields to protect their own though not him if he decided to resist, "what is the meaning of this?" he growled.
"This, sir, is President Ellis' order," a voice he recognized and hate so much reached his hearing. The agent parted like a sea and Everett Ross arrived with his hands folded behind his back. His face is blank, but those eyes were shone with mockery, "you should've not angered him by issuing an attack order behind the government back, Thaddeus. President Ellis is not as merciful as before. And now you will have to face a trial for all of your faux."
"What proof do you—"
"Oh we have a proof. A lot of proof," he gestured one of the agents to apprehend the man and received a StarkTablet from the other. In the screen was a document Thaddeus was familiar with. A document that should've stayed secret in his private laptop, should've stayed hidden and not on someone else device. Reveling on his shock face, Everett almost purred, "you need to remember that Iron Man and Tony Stark are one and the same. Iron Man did the hard work. But Tony Stark did all the dirty work."
"You chose a wrong person to mess up with."
The one-eyed baldy crossed his arms, humming in understanding, "So, what will you do now, Stark?"
"Me? Nothing," Tony leaned his head on his hand, looking at the screen with half-lidded eyes, expression bored, "the UN delegations haven't given me any request to fix this."
"You're going to wait?" Fury frowned, disbelief written on every surface of his posture, "Rogers' band is going to cause havoc. Are you really going to sit your ass off on this?"
"Of course not. But I'm not going to go there without a plan too," he harrumphed, "Even superheroes need to have a compromise. You have to be responsible for your own action. That's the basis of a responsible human. This is the reason why Rogers is out of control, Nicky. You didn't put a leash on him. See what it did for you? Not very good, isn't it?"
Tony saw his eyebrow twitched.
"If they're so dangerous, the UN will immediately contact us. Just wait for a bit lo—"
"It's here, sir."
"See? Thanks, JARVIS," Tony went over the information his butler provided. He let out a silent hum, twirled the sunglasses in his arm just because and said, "I'll call you later, kay, Nicky? Bye~"
"Wait. Star—"
The connection was cut off.
The car stop at the Stark Tower and the brunette stepped out, thanking Clint for opening the door for him. Letting Happy back to his own job, he took the elevator and descended into the lower floor. When they arrived at his private lab, he saw three of the holograms already turned on and the rest of the kids cluttered at the corner of the room, looking at him with a curious face and determined complexion. Tony grinned, "so!"
"Do you guys want to join the fun?"
Steve jumped back when a sudden arrow whipped past him, it embedded halfway through the brick wall. He readied his fighting stance, feeling the other did the same behind him and swiveled his head right and left, searching for the source. His blue eyes landed on a lone figure on a motorcycle that raced through the open field, lowering down his recently-used bow. It was Clint. He stepped down from the vehicle, bringing a...cat (?) on his shoulder. Then two others wearing a familiar metal suit landed from the sky, not too far from the said Archer, "thanks for the ride, JARVIS. That was awesome, I felt like I'm a warrior in the middle of a war."
"Your welcome, Mr. Clint," Steve thought he heard the motorcycle answered back, it confused him.
"Yo, Rogers, where do you think you're going?" he snapped his attention to the one speaking. Tony Stark. Without opening his faceplate, his voice sounded incredulous, disbelief clearly written on his tones, "and what the hell? Setting free two murderous villains into the world just so you can heal your friend? That was so selfish of you. What do you think will happen to the civilians if they went berserk just like last time?"
He winced a little at the accusation, his massive figure unconsciously went to the front, covering the confused Bucky from Tony's gaze, "Wanda and Pietro said they're sorry. Everyone deserves a second chance."
"Said that after that woman stops giving me a withering glare. Surely, you realized she still wants to kill me," Tony scoffed, diminishing Steve's suggestion just like that, he groaned. This is the reason why he cannot stand him, cannot agree with him (cannot tell him the secret of his parent's death. Cannot risk him attacking Bucky, his friend. His only line in this foreign, modern world). He stomped on the ground, tilting his head. That small gesture seems so vicious, so menacing, the blank expression on the helmet didn't help to alleviate the apprehension, "not only that, you're trying to protect the culprit of the Vienna bombing. First releasing the potential danger to the world and now obstruction of justice. This will prolong your punishment, you know."
"Bucky is not the culprit!"
"It's not your choice to decided that, either!" he barked. The light that emanated from the eye-holes rolled to the figures of the metal-hand man, Steve's body stiffened, "I can hire a lawyer for you, Barnes. They'll take the HYDRA brainwashing into consideration, I'm sure they can give you a fair sentence. But you still have to face the consequence for your offenses."
Bucky looked hesitant.
"No, Bucky. Don't you remember what Sharon said? They have a kill order on you!"
"And there's no way Stark will keep his promise," Wanda snarled, face pinched and hair flying from the residue of her power, "he's a liar!"
"Said someone who used a mind control power to erase a mind control power. That is if her hocus pocus really did erase the activation code. Pretty sure it didn't," Clint darkly chuckled. The cat did the same (what?), it was now perched on his head, "honestly. What an irony, wasn't it, Barnes?"
His dark eyes widened, shock thundered on inside those black, trembling orbs. He took a step back from Rogers and the gang, "w-was that true, Steve?"
"No!" he denied. Though he amended after an awkward second of staring, "um...yes. B-But it's working, isn't it? The Winter Soldier doesn't emerge anymore, right?"
He looked like Steve just slapped him. Hard.
"I can't...I don't..." he flinched strongly when Natasha land a hand on his shoulder, trying to recover his balance. He put another large distance from them, hands clenching and throat dry before his dilated pupils snapped to Tony's, he stuttered, "please arrest me."
"Bucky, no!"
WHOOMP
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A red beam dispersed like a mist. A green barrier that surrounded the billionaire and his friends, along with Bucky who was halfway through the middle field (he didn't even realize his friend, his best friend, had already avoided him so fast, so far away from his range), flickered on and off before it disappeared completely.
"W-Wanda," Steve was baffled, "why did you—"
"We came here to stop the Winter Soldiers, right?" she said, her eyes didn't stray from Tony's lean figure, her hands covered by the red light of her power, "then we don't have time to waste any longer."
The others agreed with her, their body moved and they took their own fighting stance; Sam's wings folded open and close. Scott's hand hovered around the Pym particle on his suits, prepared to turn small or big at any moment. Natasha readied her widow bite. And Pietro crouched low.
A tense silence ensued.
"You choose the hard way, huh?" Tony voice echoed, "everyone saw she was the one who attacked first, right? The media cannot roast me and said I'm the aggressive one in this, okay?"
Steve didn't like that tone, he shifted his shield in front of his body, feet inched slowly to reach Bucky, his only line.
"We're just civilians without superpowers. We're just trying to defend ourselves," the repulsor of the Iron Man armor folded inside, Steve squared his shoulder, "so don't blame us for this." Before it was back to its previous position and—
The captain stumbled.
Was that...
Two bags of popcorns?
He opened up his faceplate and gave them his most charming smile.
"Go get them, boys~"
And, with Bucky suddenly thrown back by an invisible force, right to Rhodey's open arm and a crack that sounded like an opening gong, Sam launched fifty-feet away from the confrontation, jaw broke and unconscious.
The Civil War has finally begun.
"Thank fuck I can finally rest," Tony groaned as he plopped his ass on the ground. He grabbed a handful of popcorns and threw it inside his mouth, "I'm sooo tired, I think I can even drink a whole drum of coffee. I want to say I can even swim in the middle of the pool full of coffee. Sadly, my PTSD prohibit me from doing just that." The Mistress giggled at his grim humor.
"Yeah. It took me a whole lot of energy to fire that single arrow too," Clint did the same and sat at the right side of the billionaire. He snatched some for him and throw some for Nyanko-sensei who gulped the snack in earnest. The archer rolled his shoulders, checking his injury, "hope I didn't pull any muscle."
"You're going to be alright, Clint. If not, I'm going to sue Rogers just because," Rhodey pat the ground on his left, a silence invitation for Bucky to sit next to him. He hesitantly agreed, accepting the bag of popcorn the Colonel put in the middle of them, "and I don't think the kids will be that happy if they know you're pushing yourself too hard. Why do you think they're so eager to help right now?"
"I think Ichigo is just trying to blow up some steam," Hawkeye dismissed, chuckling when he saw the confused glance Bucky sent at the corner of his sight. He stared at the fumbling superheroes, trying to attack something that was invisible to their eyes, "Look at that feral smile. I know how stressful college can be. Why do you think I drop out of there and decided to help at the circus?"
Just like Clint said, Ichigo really looked like he was having so much fun. Wearing his shinigami robe and clenching his two, black Zanpakutou, he danced his way through the kicks and punches Avenger initiative sent towards him. Well, towards his direction, they thought. As he was in his soul mode right now, the only one who can see him are the people from Tony's Circle. Steve brought the shield down, almost smashing the orange-haired teen right on his temple if the white-haired captain didn't intercept it with his icy sword, letting out a loud CLANK that reverberated Spangle's whole being.
"Pay attention, Kurosaki," Toshiro huffed, he gave a wide swift, pushing the Captain away from him. Rogers hacked, "I didn't come here to see you fighting this miserable human and then fail miserably. "
"Pft. You agreed to help us just because the old man wants to keep an eye on me," Ichigo scoffed. He knocked Romanova out of balance using the blunt of his sword. Her widow bite clattered to the ground and Ichigo crushed it with the heels of his sandals, "don't think I don't know how your world work now, Toshiro. Besides, you want to escape from all the paperwork too. Don't try to ever fool me."
"It's a win-win situation. Matsumoto needs to learn to do her share of work. I'm not going to hold her hand anymore," he smiled in satisfaction, remembering the fact that he chained her to her desk with his ice before he departed to the world of the living. She must be crying tear of blood right about now. Especially because, if she did manage to escape, he already threatened every bar not to serve her even a drop of sake. Freezing half of their estate that will take a whole month to defrost when one of them failed to do so in the previous run was enough to scare them. Better not to give her any rather than going bankrupt just because they want a quick cash, "Bakudou #4, Hainawa!" Toshiro chanted, binding Sam with the rope of light when he started to stir, "You lose your focus again, Kurosaki. Your target ran away. Well, I'm going to tell Yorouichi you fail your training then."
"Oh shit!" he went for a Shunpo, ready to intercept Pietro from his way to strike Tony and the gang who was watching from the sideline.
Yet he didn't need to do so. Because the runner unexpectedly bounced back, a blue bump forming steadily on his cheek. From the Avenger's point of view, he looked like he just smacked right into a shield they couldn't see. Maybe the green dome that repelled Wanda's attack like it was nothing before? Except it wasn't and he actually didn't run into a shield.
Unseen by everyone, Danny Phantom stopped his momentum from spinning in a circle, leg outstretched to the place Pietro intended to attack just a moment ago. The other clones of the half-ghost—who made enough of himself they were now circling around the adults, they made their own barrier—halted their own attack too when they realized one of them already knocked the enemy out of the way.
"Heh, thanks Danny," the oldest saluted, he grabbed the back of Pietro collar and threw him back to the side of the battlefield.
"Just doing my job~" he answered while grinning wide, though the only one who can hear him were Tony, Rhodey and Clint as they wear a Fenton Phone besides their own earpiece.
"Your reaction improved, Danny-boy," the brunette praised.
"Not really. My clone was just lucky," he answered, bumping his fist on the clone on his right side.
"He did a good job nonetheless." Rhodey hummed, the clone smiled victoriously.
A loud rumble suddenly shook the very core of the earth, clamoring the whole place like it was an earthquake, their attention immediately went to the source. Escaped from the flurry attack of duo Shinigamies, Lang went to the side and managed to activate his suit. He grew taller and taller, shadowing everyone in sight like a Hollow in the middle of the city. Even bigger. His palm struck down, too fast for someone his size, intending to squashed the trio down and jarred them from their indifference. Their relaxed and uncaring attitude really started to piss him off.
BOOM
However, their attack failed again when a big, white-wolf appeared out of nowhere, lashing his long tail that made the Ant-Man flew to the other side of the airport, crashing into a bunch of containers.
It was Nyanko-sensei's true form. Everyone who can See have their jaw unhinged, except Tony who already saw him before and Toshiro who only blinked, shocked at the appearance of the supposed chubby cat.
The brunette heard another gasp from the Fenton Phone and a couple from the normal intercom. Huh, did JARVIS allowed the rest of the kids to watch the LIVE feed from his armor like before?
"Thank you again for lending him to us, Takashi-chan." Tony chuckled, plopping in another popcorn.
"No worries, Tony-san," he heard him gave his own low laugh. Takashi was watching the whole fight from Tony's lab while eating some donuts, looking super relaxed like he was in a movie theater, which is somehow not false. He asked Dum-E to get a cleaning clot as his pet's form shocked the juniors too much, Haruitsuki The Calm spat his tea while Hanae had the trail leaving right from his mouth. Pepper, Happy, and Bruce were shocked to their own degree too, frozen solid on their chair, "he didn't have anything to do either, only lazing around and eat a ton of junk food. He needs to go on a diet."
Nyanko, who was in the middle of stomping his foot on Scott's body, stopped. His muzzle sniffed and his throat rumbled, "I don't know why..." He swiped at the ant-man without even looking, cracking the Pym particle with uncanny precision. When he was back to a normal size, the wolf trapped him with his enormous paw, cagging his movement though he knew he didn't need to do that. Him without his suit is just a normal civilian, hopeless and powerless, "but I felt like Natsume just mock me."
"He did, Nyan-Nyan!"
"Brat!"
"A—Bwu—bwa—what?!" Clint didn't stutter. He was bumbling and it was funny, Tony couldn't help but chortle. His eyes were saucer-wide, he was certain it will pop out of its socket at any moment, "how the f—who was—is that really Nyanko?!"
"Didn't Takashi-chan said so at the very beginning? And Nyan-Nyan won't stop boasting about this too" Iron Man sniggered.
"Well, yeah! But I thought it will be the size of a normal wolf!" Clint stammered back, hands waving at the beast, "not...this!"
"I know. Majestic, isn't he?"
"Don't brush up his ego, Tony-san." Takashi sighed.
Nyanko preened.
It took another half an hour before the media started coming via helicopter. Not wanting to be recorded—even though they won't appear on camera and it will be funny to see the superheroes struggling to keep whatever it was that attacked them at bay—Ichigo and Toshiro nodded to each other without saying anything much and teleported to their back. With a sharp chop to the nape, every single one of them crumpled like a doll without its string. And the noise of the battle abruptly stopped.
"It's over?" Tony stood up, brushing the invisible dust. By how easily the Shinigamies ended the fight, it was obvious they were just playing around. Or in Ichigo case, tasked to face the Quicksilver for his Shunpo training. He crushed the empty bag of popcorn and stashed in inside his armor so he could throw it out to the garbage bin somewhere, "that was really anticlimactic. Oh well, Underoos!"
By the signal, Spiderman landed near the unconscious heroes from out of nowhere. With a swift move, he webbed them all up, Steve was even more so, to the point that only his nostril remained visible just so he could breathe. Pretty obvious who he hated the most there. His other kids had poisoned the sweet Petey too much, especially Takashi-chan and Danny. Look, he even heard them cackled like a crazy lunatic from the intercoms. Geez.
Sensing there was no danger any longer, the helicopter tried to find an open field that was wide enough for the vehicle to disembark on. The collateral damages may not be as awful as the first alien assault that Loki brought. But the superheroes careless attacks, throwing their weapon anywhere (granted, they couldn't see the Death Gods so Tony forgave them for that) and Nyanko for not caring the direction he threw the big Ant-Man into, made the container strewn all over the place. It will take one day, two days tops to clean all of this. When they found it, Christine—as expected—and her cameramen touched down to the ground and approached the smiling billionaire. She looked bewildered. Tony was sure that was because when they were in the air, she saw his side was having a nice picnic, really inappropriate in the emergency situation such as this, didn't raise any arms or even bat an eyelash. And yet, the Avenger had bruises here and there, a clear sign that they were clearly in a fierce battle, "Mr. Stark. What actually—"
"Nothing. We didn't do anything! Maybe they tripped?" Christine deadpan stare unnerved him, he pouted, "I'm right, am I? We didn't do anything. They just decided to take a nap after fighting with themselves! Maybe their shadow suddenly come alive and attack them, who knows?"
Rhodey and Clint were chuckling uncontrollably at his back, shoulders trembling and closed fist punching the air to keep the snicker at bay. Poor Barnes still looked confused.
Speaking of Barnes, looked like they finally realized his existence, as the cameramen let out a terrified gasp and Christine flinched ever so slightly. Right, he was still the main suspect of the perpetrator for the Vienna's bombing. That, and knowing he's a Winter Soldier, didn't abate their fear towards the unwilling assassin. So, trying to divert their attention back to the awesome him, Tony clapped, "let's go back, shall we? I'll give you a detail report of what happened here. Along with a video JARVIS recorded via Rhodey's or my mask, if you want," of course he'll ask JARVIS to mute all the sounds. She may not see Ichigo, Toshiro or Danny, but he was pretty sure the curious reporter will try to search for an information base from their names. Not like she'll find any, "and I still have a ton of projects to finish and a cup of coffee to drink. Let's go, let's go!"
(Tony didn't want to look at Barnes any more than necessary either. He knew he was not in the wrong from killing his parents, not entirely. Yet his throat won't stop clogging up, hands kept trembling)
Oh, he also needed to know the reason why Rogers and co. were trying to steal a plane and going to whatever place it was. The witch said something about Winter Soldiers? Other than Barnes?
Calling his jet (he could just ask Haruitsuki to called for Mononokean. But Christine stalked him like a hungry dog, it was unnerving sometimes) and Petey dragged the trespasser like a sack of potatoes (they're going to have a sore face and back after this), they were on the journey back to America.
And the curtain of the Civil War has finally closed.
It looked like the rumor about other Winter Soldiers turned out to be correct, Tony messages his temple. That someone with agenda out there was trying to unleash them upon the world and if they do not hurry, calamity will ensue.
King T'Challa—after Pepper halted him into joining Tony's team to Civil War, lectured him for hours. Saying that a king should not choose revenge over the matter of his own people. That he needed to calm himself and saw the bigger picture or I'll smack you down. Don't think I can't do that just because your costume is made from Vibranium! I have my fist and ooh, you don't want to test this fist. T'Challa shivered from the frightening memory. Pepper is scary—offered to help, it was the least he could do. As an apology to both Tony, for disturbing his rest and Barnes, for falsely accused him, Tucker informed him about the video being a fake. It was hard to argue when your own sister called you over the phone a couple of seconds after the news, confirming the information that the beret boy told was true.
Black Panther managed to apprehend Zemo, the Sokovian citizen who turned into a terrorist after Rogers and the gang 'accidentally' killed his family when they were visiting Lagos for vacation. But he didn't manage to stop Zemo from initiating his second part of the plan in ruining the image of Avenger initiative.
In which he spread the video of Tony's parents' demise to the entire world.
The crisis may have averted, but that sure doesn't seem like it for Tony.
The media roared, asking and questioning about the humanity on it, about his opinion on it. And even though he already came to term about this dark, dark revelation of his past, doesn't mean he wanted to talk about it. So he appointed Pepper to do the conference pers. He didn't care if this action going to make the rumor spiraled out of control. He didn't care if some of the die-hard fans of Captain America accused him of playing victim (that accusation was squashed over so quickly. He didn't know till it died down to nothingness, that the curator of the said counter-attack was actually Barnes. Assisted by Tucker and Peter, it was actually shocking). The Mistress cradled his hair as he watched the kids running around his lab like usual while Ichigo used the nearest table for his impromptu homework. And Toshiro, knowing Pepper for her effectiveness in tackling the paperwork and her pep talk (pun entirely intended) worked wonder to a stubborn person such as Tony, dumped Rangiku to her so she could make his vice-captain started to introspect herself and stop slacking off. He didn't care.
As long as he has his kids, everything is okay in the world.
The trial is over and Steve and his gang had to face their punishment head-on; no one to bail them out, not even Fury cared enough to help testify to lightened their jail-time. Finally realized that they were not worth it to invest on.
Barnes got his well-deserved treatment. With the help of Tony's BARF and attending psychiatrist for a month and a half, he was finally released from HYDRA brainwashing clutches, along with the addition of the red witch's own power. When Pepper asked him to clarify his condition to the media—because Tony unwillingness to divulge the information even after all this time still make them stew in curiosity—he agreed.
Some of the family members the Winter Soldier terminated were still bitter. They attended the press just so they could lash out at him, screamed accusation and demand justification. It was a hard atmosphere to face, but that's okay. Because Barnes didn't ask for forgiveness. He just wanted them to know that he regretted everything. It may not be his own volition to kill, not in his own willingness. However, it was still these hands that yanked the life of an innocent man or woman. It was still these hands that yanked the harmony of a peaceful family. So he was sorry.
"I'm sorry," he bowed, the media stop taking pictures and the reporters stop asking questions. A lone tear fell to the ground, hidden yet there, "I'm sorry."
And Tony, watching from the solidarity of his tower, did nothing but sob.
END
(A/N): I...seriously don't know how to end this chapter. So I'm sorry if it was a bit rushed
And writer-block, I hate you! TTATT
I actually intended this part to be the usual three-chapters, like the previous Avenger part in this series. But when I started writing this I was like "wait. I can actually just skip all of those with the power of Line Break o.O" and so this happened :'D
Reviews are appreciated
Best Regards
Akabane Kazama