Team Cap arrived on a quiet Thursday afternoon. Rhodey meant quiet; it was as if the world was sitting in suspense for what would occur.

Rhodey had felt the need to escape the compound the second he heard that the plane from Wakanda was in route and had headed out to the cemetery to get some air. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had to not scream and break down crying like a baby. He already had to deal with that from his hysterical mother who had thought of Toni as her own kid. Mama Rhodes, as the genius had called her, was anything but calm, demanding to know why he hadn't called about the fact that his sister, in everything but blood, was lying in a cold wooden casket six feet under.

The funeral had been a public event, with all the media and everybody Tones had ever met in attendance. Thanks to magic, courteous of Dr. Strange, all traces of the fight from Siberia had been removed from Toni's body, as were all signs of exhaustion that had been added on her over the years. She had been dressed in simple black dress with white polka-dots, a simple black shawl, and black heals. Her hair was down over her shoulders while her eye makeup was simple. Her lips were painted the normal scarlet red that she was known for. She had on a pearl set of earrings that matched the small choker, the last gift she had gotten from her mother. All in all, she looked beautiful and vibrant, just as she did in life. Actually, she had looked like she was in a peaceful sleep.

If only it was so.

She was buried in the same cemetery that her mother, Jarvis, Anna, Everett's father, Peggy, Peggy's husband and Toni's Uncle Daniel, and Will were buried in. It was a simple, beautiful spot with a simple headstone that read…

Antonia Eloisa Stark

Iron Maiden

August 24, 1987-May 22, 2016

Iron is strong but in the end it rusts.

I am strong but I still break.

The quote had been from her memoir that he had found in her room. She had been writing it for months now. He had finished the last epilogue with details on her death before sending it to be published. People were already flocking around bookstores to be able to get their hands on it. All the money earned was going to the people injured in the Avenger's Civil War, as per Toni's instructions.

He traced the letters of her name with his index fingers, curling it at each interval, attempting to copy her handwriting. It made him think of a memory when he had tried to copy her signature on a project that he was supposed to have a peer read but he thought too embarrassing to give it to her. She eventually had stolen it and read it anyway.

He was pulled out of the memory by the sound of two sets of footsteps. He turned to see Pietro and, surprisingly, Clint.

The archer had a look of horror and utter grief that mirrored what Rhodey himself was feeling as he looked at the headstone. The soldier shared a look with Speedy to confirm what he already knew; Clint Barton had entered the fight with no clue on what the causes were. He had answered Rogers' beck and call and now knew the painful truth that he had chosen the wrong side.

Rhodey felt sympathy and a little understanding for the man. Clint had always held a soft spot in Toni's heart, as her prank buddy and movie friend. They both had a soft spot for anything with action and he had caught them on the couch in the commons watching the fast and furious movies more times that either cared to admit. Toni had known the truth of Clint's involvement since the beginning and had never held it against the archer. Rhodey sided with her, being too pissed at Rogers, Romanoff, and Maximoff to really care about his side in the war.

"No, no no, no, no." Hawkeye muttered as he read the gravestone, tears falling down his face. "God Toni, no."

Pietro stared at the man and looked like he wanted to say something before getting cut off. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, please, let this be a dream. I didn't mean it, I didn't want this." The broken man let his hand slip out to touch the stone. "Please, please, please."

Rhodey somehow found his voice. "It's not your fault." He whispered, actually meaning the words.

It didn't sway the spy. "Yes it is. God, I was so horrible to her in the RAFT. I knew better. I was just angry and everyone else was pissed at her and I let it get to me. That was the last time I saw her and I basically told her I hated her. I knew she didn't want us in there and I saw the mark on her cheek. I wanted to ask her how she got it, was scared that she had been hurt but thought better of it. Why didn't I ask her?"

Pietro met his eyes with a silent question and he nodded the answer, letting the Sokovian speak. "Ross gave it to her. She had visited him to get information on Rogers and Barnes' location. She riled him up and caused him to lose control and backhand her. I got a recording of it and had it played at the trial. The UN threw the bastard in prison because of it. She ended up finding out that he was sending a hit squad after the two of them and knew they were headed to Siberia. She wanted to get there first which is why she went to Wilson for the location."

Clint stared at Speedy for a while, eyes wide and mouth aghast. "That bastard hit her?"

At the nod he received, a long string of curses left the archer's mouth that shocked Rhodey into silence.

Eventually the profanity became silenced. The grieving men just stared at the final resting place for the greatest woman they had ever known for a long time, just accepting the crushing reality of the situation.

Toni Stark was dead and she wasn't coming back.

Eventually Rhodey ended the silence. "Did your wife tell you anything?"

Clint sighed and nodded. "Yeah, she did. I had no idea about any of it. Granted, I know that she wanted it that way but I just wish I had known. Maybe if I had, we wouldn't be here." He read the final line for a minute again before asking, "Where did you get the quote from?"

Rhodey took a second to answer, reading the line again as well. "Toni was writing a memoir, just in case anything happened. I found it when I was going through her stuff. That was a quote in it."

Bird Brain nodded. "I want to read it, to understand. I don't think I really knew her and I would like to change that, even if it is too late."

They stood quietly for a little more before Pietro started to move. "Let's head back. We shouldn't keep the entourage waiting for much longer. Plus, I'm sure Vision, Thor, Loki, Hope, and T'Challa are ready to have some help dealing with the others."

Rhodey sighed, already wanting to disappear at the thought of facing the three people he really didn't want to see right now. He turned to Clint, "What are the others thinking about this so I can prepare myself?"

He snorted. "Scott's guilty. He's like me, entered in this mess because the 'great Captain America' called. Now that he knows all the details, he's beating himself up in guilt." That was good to know. Rhodey himself wasn't mad at Antman. Toni probably would be, but that had more to do with the fact that his arm hit Peter during the airport battle and sent the teen flying into some crates. That had seriously pissed her off.

"Wilson is in shock and is slightly guilty. I don't think he's grasped the reality of it all and is starting to blame himself. He thinks that if he hadn't told her about the other soldiers, she'd still be here."

'Maybe, but there was no way to know if that was true' Rhodey thought as he felt a small weight leave his shoulders that the thought that maybe Sam wasn't as dumb as he had been led to believe.

"Nat is shocked but I don't think she feels guilty. She could for all I know, but I doubt it." Those words made Rhodey scoff. Of freaking course. He was honestly not surprised that Romanoff didn't see how much wrong she had done. Toni had tried to trust the spy again but got stabbed in the back when she had switched sides and let Rogers and Barnes go. Rhodey blamed her for his fall and blamed her for Toni's death. If the soldiers had been caught at the airport, Siberia wouldn't have happened, they could have gotten proper help for Barnes and Tones would still be breathing. It made him growl in anger.

The archer looked at the Pietro. "Your sister thinks Toni is faking it and that if it did happen that she deserved it."

That made Rhodey growl. "That bitch needs to get her head screwed on straight. Her parents weren't killed by Toni. I'll gladly take her to Stane's grave and let her rip it up but she needs to understand that Toni had no clue about that damn bomb."

The male Maixmoff twin nodded his head. "I told her, but she doesn't seem to believe me. Maybe the memoir would help her. Does FRIDAY have any of the security footage that JARVIS had? She might be able to see the truth if she sees the video of him ripping the reactor out of his chest."

Rhodey had no clue about that but it was worth asking. He turned to Barton. "I know that Barnes went under before the news broke so he doesn't know. What about Rogers?"

That was the million dollar question and Clint honestly didn't know the answer. "I don't know. He hasn't let anything show. He went to his room in Wakanda after the news broke and stayed there the whole night. Sam found him punching the shit out of some stuff in the training room T'Challa had the next morning but besides that I can't find anything that would hint at any emotion."

Shit! That meant Rogers was a wild card and Rhodey didn't know how to handle that. Either he could snap like a twig and be pissed or he could break down crying. He understood the whole hiding away to grieve, which is what Toni had done after Jarvis' death the summer before she turned eighteen and what Everett was doing now. He had fled to the North Carolina Mountain Mansion just days after the funeral, which no one could fault him for.

Rhodey sighed as he attempted to prepare himself for the inevitable confrontation as he hopped in the car with the other two. Happy had driven him here so he didn't have a ride since the man had gone to pick up Pepper at Stark Industries. The company had gone haywire since its mastermind and owner was now dead. The strawberry blonde CEO was slowly losing her mind so her husband had decided to take her out to get lunch to see if he could calm her down for a little bit.

He let his eyes close as he felt Clint start the drive back to the compound, going slower than normal to prolong their arrival. He silently thanked the archer before drifting off in thought to prepare himself for the accusations and secrets that were soon to be out in the open. The biggest secret was the photo of Mary Sarah Rogers that was still in his pocket; the photo that only he, Bruce, Everett, Pietro, and Fury knew of, but that was about to change.

~later~