Uncompromising Principles

Disclaimer: Premise and characters belong to Marvel, I'm just playing with them.

Notes: It just occurred to me that there is another Marvel character with the surname of 'Cho' whom I'm quite fond of. So I looked him up and guess what, Amadeus Cho's mother IS named Helen. I've got way too many plotlines and characters as it is so he probably won't show up but in my head-cannon movie-Helen Cho has a child who is not exactly normal.

Chapter Seven: Seeking Answers

Dr. Helen Cho shared a computer screen in the small conference room with Pepper. The screen showed three strands of DNA. "As you know, Extremis is a serum, which when administered rewrites the recipient's DNA. Eliminating the serum from your bloodstream would not have removed the changes you'd undergone. Reverting your DNA to its original condition would have been pointless with the serum still present in your blood. To cure you we had to first remove the serum then reverse the mutations to your DNA. At the time we believed we were successful but it seems that some fragment of the serum remained in your body." She pointed to the first model, "This is a typical DNA strand," then the second, "And this is what Extremis did to your DNA." The stand was clearly distorted, connections forming where they didn't belong warping the elegant double helix into a straining, unstable snarl. The third strand lacked the warping of the second but there were still alternations woven throughout the thread. "This is what your DNA looks like today. It's stable, you don't need to worry about blowing up, but the changes are more integrated, I don't think this can be undone. In addition to not blowing up, I don't think you'll be able to melt metal with your bare hands anymore either, as for the other effects seen with Extremis: You might be able to regenerate a severed limb but I wouldn't recommend testing the ability, best guess it would take you over a year to regrow a finger. You'll find your physical condition is closer to a top level athlete than a super solider."

"Without the work an athlete puts in," Pepper replied. "Now can you get to the important part? What's it doing to my baby?"

Dr. Cho flipped to the next slide. "We believed we had a cure for Extremis and so Tony used both Extremis and the cure to repair the hole left in his lungs and sternum when the shrapnel and arc reactor were removed. Your daughter is getting Extremis modified DNA from both parents. Both the reason why the re-grown Extremis is more stable and the reason why it's effects are less is that the regrown version is working with your natural DNA structure rather than twisting it into something new. But with your daughter, Extremis has been influencing the structure of her genetics since the day she was conceived. This is her DNA, it hasn't been deformed by the serum's efforts to reach maximum human potential but the effect is much more pronounced since Extremis influenced the initial formation of her chromosomes."

Pepper blanched, "You're telling me my baby is going to be born with an equivalent of the supersolider serum?"

"That's why I disinvited your obstetrician," Dr. Cho confirmed. "You're going to want to be very careful about who this information is shared with, we do not want HYDRA or anyone like them realizing that Extremis IS a functional supersoldier serum as long as you're willing to wait for the next generation to come of age."

Pepper looked grim, "HYDRA is far from the only people I wouldn't trust with the information that you can make a super soldier if you're willing to make a baby. Can I trust you to keep this quiet, even from ATCU or whatever else replaced S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Even in the best case scenario people will notice eventually," Dr. Cho pointed out.

Pepper bit her lip, frowning in thought. "Do you know how many of the 'threats' ATCU has responded to have been teenagers? I think it's about time someone, SI for example, started lobbying for the creation of a new bill to protect the rights of underaged enhanced beings. They're children, not criminals. Assuming they agreed to being given powers at all, they clearly aren't mature enough to be considered fully responsible for that choice. They're children, they should clearly be protected under the law. If we're lucky something will be in place before Tony and I's child is discovered…. You said she? We're having daughter?"

Slowly Dr. Cho nodded, "You have a very good point Ms. Potts. After all we don't want the next generation of super-powered individuals to grow up believing that everyone not like them is an enemy to be feared." A shadow crossed her face. "It is hard on a child, having to hide or downplay what makes them special. And yes, your baby is a girl."

"A daughter," Pepper said quietly. "I think Tony would have wanted to name her for his mother."


Scott Lang sat between his lawyer and Hope in a small, non-descript room. On the other side of the table two federal agents frowned seriously at him.

"We'd be willing to arrange a deal if you give us the location of the other fugitives."

Scott shrugged, "I can't remember."

"As excuses go, that's pretty pathetic."

"No, really," Scott insisted. "Everyone knew you'd ask. So before I left they had Wanda scramble my brain." Out of the corner of his eyes Scott saw Hope's eyes narrow dangerously. "It was just a little," he protested.

"You don't have enough common sense to fill a thimble without someone playing marbles up there," Hope replied with a look that made Scott glad Wanda was safely on the other side of the world.

"Really, it was no big deal. I mean I remember it was a nice place, especially after the Raft. Warm but other than that… Well, when I try to remember I think we were all staying at Hank's place, but with the wrong people there. I guess cause Hank's place is the fanciest place I ever stayed in and wherever we were it was swanky."

"Who was there?"

Scott frowned, "Wow, that's creepy. I thought about the people there and except for the other Avengers they were all blurry. Like when you pixelate out someone's face on the TV only it's in my head." He grinned, "I guess I can't remember that either."

"I'd like my client examined for any other evidence that his thought processes were tampered with," the lawyer Hank and Hope had secured said brushing a long strand of dark hair out of her face. "Along with a thorough examination for any damage done to him during his illegal incarceration in Secretary Ross' private prison. I think this interrogation is over. At least until we have a better idea of what his mental condition is."


"So how do you like your internship so far?" Rhodes asked Peter as he led the teen into a conference room on one of the Stark Industries levels of the Tower. He gestured for Peter to shut the door behind them.

"I'm working on body armor," Peter said. "Way cool…. Um…" He looked around with concern.

"The room is private," Rhodes assured him. "And yeah, it's the same stuff Tony made your suit out of. Now that I know how young you are… Well, I'd love to be in a potion to have some words with Tones about taking a minor into a combat situation, but Tony wasn't entirely unaware of safety considerations. He wouldn't let anyone working with him go into combat without making sure they had the best protection available to him. Your suit is the same type of armor everyone from Rogers to Barton wears, best light armor available without access to large quantities of Vibranium."

"Dr. Kaxton has me helping him work on some reinforcement so it absorbs impact, wearer thrown against or through a wall style impacts, better," Peter said, "He wants to use micro-hydraulics to for cushioning structural points on the wearer. I don't think it'll work for me, too much of a trade-off in maneuverability, but maybe for the police or something."

"Speaking of the police, Captain Stacy checks out, he's a solid guy," Rhodes said. "Have you talked to your Aunt yet?"

Peter squirmed. "Yeah, um, about that. What happens if I don't want talk to her? Or your Captain Stacy? I mean, you said we could keep my ID from the public but the more people who know a secret the less likely it is to stay secret."

"If you don't talk to your Aunt and Spider-Man stops making appearances?" Rhodes shrugged. "Nothing. Truth is I'd be entirely happy with that decision. You should be focusing on school and growing up anyway. Your internship would stay and after you've graduated college I'd talk to you about what you've decided to do with your powers."

Peter scowled, "And in the meantime I'm just supposed to do nothing?"

"I was Air Force ROTC starting my freshman year of college," Rhodes said. "When I got accepted to MIT for a graduate degree in engineering the Air Force deferred my commitment because they thought I'd be more valuable with the additional training than without. I think you've got a hell of a lot of potential and not just because you stick to walls and can bench press cars." Rhodes stretched up to tap the side of Peter's head, "You're smart and you're creative. I don't want that to go to waste because you're up all night, every night chasing guys the police could deal with themselves."

"It's not the same," Peter said. "There aren't a bunch of other people with basically the same abilities I've got. I can't just say I'll start helping in another five years or so when I'm older. How many people that I could have saved will die in those five years?"

"How many died in Lagos because Wanda lacked training?" Rhodes asked. "She was too focused on the immediate problem and didn't realize that getting Rumlow and his bomb away from her and Rogers wasn't the same as getting it somewhere safe. And it wasn't just Wanda.

"I've got to admit, when it comes to Rogers, to Captain America, I was as starstruck as anyone. For a year I followed him into combat with no questions asked, but after Lagos when I heard about the Accords, I went back and started reviewing our missions. I wanted to see if there was anything to what we were being accused of. You know what I found? Steve Rogers is a brilliant reactive tactician, when the shit hits the fan there is no one I'd rather have calling the shots. But- And this is a big one- But he's only so-so at proactive missions. Even when he has the time he doesn't do as much as he could to bring in the best resources available, he'd rather rely on the resources he's most familiar with. He doesn't like working with people who aren't like him. His focus is too narrow: In Lagos he planned the mission to have the best chance shot at capturing Rumlow not to minimize the danger to civilians, not even to do the most to prevent the biologicals from falling into HYDRA's hands. And it wasn't just that mission. Most of the time Rogers is good enough to fix the flaws in his initial plan in the middle of the fight once the bad guys start highlighting them for him, but the flaws are there and in Lagos that caught up with us.

"The truth is, Steve Rogers has great instincts but he's got less combat experience than I do and no formal command training. His only experience is in commanding small assault teams. Once I started really reviewing our missions like I would have back in the military instead of just putting my faith in the famed Captain America… Well, honestly, Steve's got it in him to be the best military commander I've ever seen but only if he gets over his ego and gets himself properly trained. As long as he keeps thinking he knows everything," Rhodes shook his head, "Well, I can't trust him anymore. He's not just fallible, anyone can make a mistake, but he makes mistakes he shouldn't because he doesn't listen and he doesn't learn. You're in the same boat. Peter, you are good at what you do, no question about that but half the muggers you apprehend are back on the street by the next morning because you don't know enough to make the arrests stick."

"What!" Peter exclaimed, "But I caught them red-handed!"

"You don't do anything to get victim statements to the police and you can't testify yourself while hiding your identity," Rhodes said. "It's the police's biggest complaint about you, actually. You leave these guys tied up all over Queens, but they don't even know where to start looking to find their victims. The police know you're not just grabbing random guys off the street and it's frustrating for them to have to let those guys go because they do see them back, maybe five, ten additional victims down the road."

Peter's expression crumpled.

"Maybe the only thing that would change if you weren't out there is that one person you save wouldn't get saved," Rhodes admitted. "Maybe they wouldn't get stopped any sooner but if you knew more you could do better. Also, Captain Stacy tells me there were snipers deployed during your fight with that Goblin character two weeks ago. Twice they had to give up a shot because you were in the way. If you'd been working with them he might not have escaped. That's what I'm aiming for: You working with police instead of at odds with them, like I work with regular military forces as Warmachine. But you can't expect them to trust you without you giving them some trust in return and that's why you've got talk to Stacy. You need to give him enough to believe he can count on you in a crunch. To do that you've got to talk to your Aunt because you are a minor your powers don't change that little fact. You are unique and you want to help and we're willing to adjust the rules that govern the rest of your classmates to let you do that but we're not going to throw the rules out altogether because you don't feel like following them."

"What if I don't?" Peter asked. "What if I just keep going on like I have?"

"Then I end up talking to your Aunt when she drives up to the Avengers compound to discuss my releasing you from custody," Rhodes said flattly. "Because if you ignore everything I'm saying I will put you under arrest. I don't want this to come off as a threat but there are facts I can't ignore: Your choices are stop being Spider-Man or work with me and with the police which means bringing your guardian into the loop." Rhodes offered Peter a forced grin, "Forget the legal ramifications of us ignoring that you're a minor, if my mama ever found out I'd enabled you lying to your Aunt she'd skin me. I might be nearer fifty than I like admitting but she's still Mama."

Peter smiled weakly in return. "I can't stop," he said. "My uncle used to tell me that everyone has a responsibility to use whatever talents they may possess for the betterment of the world, the more ability the greater the responsibility." Peter's gaze dropped to his shoes. He took a deep breath steeling himself to continue. "When I first got these powers I forgot that. All I thought about was getting even with the jerks at school who'd made my life miserable for years and maybe making a quick buck. On the way home from my stupid plan for making money off of this I saw a convenience store hold up. I could have gotten involved, could have stopped him, but I figured it wasn't my problem. Three nights later my uncle got shot in a home invasion, I tracked the guy down and it was that same guy from the damn convenience store. It was my fault my uncle died."

Rhodes thought silently for several minutes. "I can see how you'd think that," he said finally. "But it wasn't your fault."

"I could have stopped that guy before he ever got near my uncle! I could have saved him," Peter exclaimed. "But I didn't even try."

"Maybe," Rhodes agreed. "Still doesn't make it your fault. Remember what I told you about bad arrests? Maybe you could have started the whole Spider-Man gig just as soon as you got your powers, maybe you grab the guy and he's was out the next day and nothing changes. Also you're not bulletproof and you're not trained to fight, maybe you try and the guy's still fast enough to get a shot off, you die and he gets away. Or maybe not you, maybe it's the guy behind the counter or someone walking by on the street who catches the bullet. You could have done things differently, maybe it turns out better, maybe it turns out worse, who knows. But you didn't know and you couldn't have known that the guy was going to cross paths with your uncle a few days later. Ultimately, he's the guy who pulled the trigger, he is the person at fault for your uncle's death."

"I could have-"

"Yeah, things could have gone down differently," Rhodes interrupted. "You see any of Tony's presentations on his B.A.R.F. technology?"

Peter nodded.

"In my opinion it's one of the worst ideas Tony ever came up with and not just because of the name: The world's most realistic what-if simulator and it doesn't change a damn thing. You know why Tony made it?"

"Because he regretted fighting with his dad the night his parents died," Peter volunteered.

"That's what he said in the presentation," Rhodes said. "Tony and Howard had one of their all too frequent blow-outs not a half hour before Howard wrapped his car around a tree trunk, or at least that's what everyone thought. You know what Tony didn't say in that presentation?"

Peter shook his head.

"What Tony didn't say was Howard drove like a bat out of hell when he was in a temper," Rhodes said. "Back when we were in college Tony and I ended up getting ourselves arrested, Howard paid the bail and drove us back to MIT. I swear I was on my tenth combat mission before I feared for my life more than I did that night riding in a car with Howard Stark behind the wheel. Tony invented B.A.R.F. to fool his heart that he hadn't fought with Howard that night so he didn't have to feel like it was his fault his mother died. So he could find a way to stop hating his dad and forgive himself. 'Course it doesn't change anything, Tony could run the simulation and erase his fight with Howard a hundred different times but when he turned it off and came back to the real world his parents were still going to be dead. Would have been a better use of Tony's time and energy to come to terms with the fact that even though they fought it wasn't Tony who drove that car into a tree." Rhodes' mouth thinned, "In the end, it turns out it wasn't Howard either but Rogers didn't think Tony needed to know that." He sighed, "And that's nothing I need to take up with you."

"Peter, you're never going to know how things might have turned out if you'd done something different that night," Rhodes said pulling himself back on track. "You can't build the rest of your life on trying to undo that night or trying to atone for it. You can stop muggings and convenience store hold-ups every night from now 'till doomsday and you'll still never know how that night would have turned out and it's never going to erase the guilt inside you. I'm not asking you to quit trying to help people, I'm asking you to do it the right way. Take the time to learn how to handle yourself and not just by trial and error because people die when we make mistakes. Take responsibility for that and avail yourself of the resources I'm offering. Recognize that you are one person and a fifteen-year-old kid at that. You don't know everything, you can't be everywhere and you're not the only one trying to make a difference. The NYPD might not have your powers, but they're out on the streets for the same reason you are. They've got the experience, training and numbers that you lack, have some respect for that. Stop trying to fix the world on your own and start looking for ways to work with what's already in place. You're a smart kid, you know better than to reinvent the wheel."

"Most of all you need to stop yourself before you make the same mistake Steve Rogers made. It's not that there isn't corruption and incompetency in the world, but when you start thinking that the only people who are both capable and have integrity are the ones agreeing with you, you've got a problem."


"Having second thoughts?"

T'Challa looked up from his contemplation of his kingdom to see his younger sister join him on the terrace outside of the Wakandan throne room. "Hello Shuri," he said.

"About sheltering a group of arrogant outsiders who think they know what's best for everyone else, in defiance of Father's wishes," Shuri pressed.

"I do not regret offering them shelter while the distortions Father's work has been subjected to are put right," T'Challa replied. Then he sighed, "I do regret that, for the good of Wakanda, I cannot confess my sins to those I have injured."

"Secrets have a way of coming back to bite you," Shuri observed.

T'Challa snorted. "That has been well illustrated," he said. "I knew Tony Stark was in Siberia, I could have gone to his aid. I had already chosen to offer sanctuary to the Captain and Barnes. I decided it would be better if Tony Stark did not see me in Siberia so close to their departure for fear it would cause him to suspect that I was the one hiding them. Now I cannot admit that I made that a choice which contributed to his death without giving the world reason to suspect that Wakanda is harboring the fugitives."

"If you ask me, your mistake was not arresting the two super soldiers along with Zemo," Shuri said.

"No, my mistake was throwing away Father's values and pursuing vengeance," T'Challa said sternly. "And now that I have truly met Sgt. Barnes I regret offering him sanctuary even less. However, I regret deeply that I lack the wisdom to offer reparations to the man I wronged without causing harm to another who deserved better from me in the process. My intentions were not pure when I joined those who stood with Tony Stark in Leipzig, but whatever was in my heart, I offered him my support then I withdrew that support without so much as a word of warning. I betrayed him to his death."

"Believe what you like, the outsiders will bring us nothing but grief," Shuri sniffed.

And on that note, Sam and Clint rushed in. "Wanda ran away," Clint exclaimed

T'Challa frowned. "I told you that I would not keep you here against your will, however I had thought you would inform me if that was your choice so that I could arrange things to avoid casting suspicion upon Wakanda," he chastised them. "If not from courtesy for me as your host then out of concern for Sgt. Barnes, your comrade."

"We have to go after her," Clint said. "She's just a kid, she's gonna get herself hurt."

"She is no younger than I," Shuri pointed out. "And I have sat on the advisory council for the Wakandan King for three years now."

"We should go," Sam said. "To cover her tracks if for no other reason."

T'Challa sighed, "You won't be welcome back."

"Look after Barnes for us," Sam said. "He means everything to Cap."

"Of all of you, it is Sgt. Barnes I most respect," T'Challa replied. "Wakanda will do what it can to free him of HYDRA's control."

"Thanks," Clint said.

Shuri and T'Challa watched them leave. "Trouble, just like I predicted," Shuri said softly.

"'I told you so' is not attractive little sister," T'Challa replied.

"I have to take my satisfaction where I can."


Harley watched as the prosthetics model integrated his latest set of changes and ran a simulation on their effectiveness. The hologram promptly lit up red at several points. He grabbed a screwdriver and threw it across the room. "I can't do this!" he exclaimed. "I need Tony."

Dum-E rolled over and leaned his chassi against the boy's leg.

Harley slid out of his chair to sit on the floor leaning up against the 'bot. "Whenever I got stuck on a project, I'd call Tony. And he'd let me talk it through with him and sometimes just having someone to talk to about it was enough and if it wasn't he'd always have a question that would get me on the right track. Now I'm stuck and I want to call him and I want to finish this for him. And I just miss him."

Dum-E lowered his arm until it rested on Harley's shoulder and pressed into him a little. U trundled over and leaned against the boy's other side.

"You guys too?" Harley asked.

The door to the basement creaked open and Harley's mom peeked in. She had a plate of sandwiches and a glass but when she saw robotic puppy-pile she asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Just a roadblock, Mom," Harley said. "Frustration, that's all."

Marlena Keener's expression was too knowing, but she all said was, "Why don't you take a break then. Teach me to change the oil on these guys, or whatever you do. If I'm getting a couple of foster kids out of this deal I've got to know how to look after 'em right. 'Cause I'm way too young to be a grandma, you realize."

Harley cracked a grin, "Yeah, I'll take these guys as sibs. You wanna be the younger or older Dum-E, U?"

Dum-E tilted his arm consideringly then turned toward U. "They say they're much older than you," FRIDAY contributed. "You will be the little brother."

"I guess I can't argue with facts," Harley replied. "Okay Mom, here's what you do…"

Marlena peered over Harley's shoulder as he showed her how to do routine maintenance on the 'bots. "Um one more thing?" she asked. "Is it okay that your sister's been teaching them to play Risk? I mean that's not being a bad influence or anything?"

"Don't worry Mrs. Keener, ma'am," FRIDAY assured her, "We all know trying to take over the world only ends in tears."

Once Harley finished the lesson, Marlena directed him to the table where she'd left the milk and sandwiches. "So you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Harley glanced away.

"Anything to do with Rogers being arraigned today?" she pressed.

Harley flinched. "I hate him," he growled after a moment. "They're going make excuses and blame Tony. Even after everything Rogers did, he's Captain America and the news still calls Tony the Merchant of Death half the time."


"Captain Steven Grant Rogers, after the Sokovia Accords specifically made it clear that the world would no longer tolerate the Avengers' habit of ignoring the sovereign rights of states to control their borders. You are accused of unauthorized trespass of Romania and Russia's borders. In Romania you are accused of resisting arrest and criminal conspiracy in aiding a fugitive to evade capture. Your actions resulted in one count of felony murder, twenty-one counts of assault and battery and multiple counts of reckless endangerment, one count of grand theft auto, one count of carjacking and destruction of both private and state property totaling 4.3 billion dollars in damages. While escaping from the United Nations holding facility you and your co-conspirators were reprimanded to in Germany you are accused of two more counts of resisting arrest, two counts of felony murder, a dozen more counts of assault and battery, reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, the theft of two aerocraft and 640 million dollars of property damage. While in Russia you are additionally charged with one count of 2nd degree manslaughter. How do you plead?"

Steve stood up. "I'd like to address Tony Stark's death apart from the other chargers," he said. "I wish to plead no contest. Mr. Nelson here explained the different degrees of murder I could be charged with: I did not intend to kill Tony but at the end of the day it was my fault he died. Several years ago I was given information that Howard and Maria Stark had been assassinated by HYDRA's Winter Soldier. I'd recently learned that the Winter Soldier was actually my friend Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes who I'd believed died seventy years ago. In truth he'd been taken by HYDRA, Bucky was tortured and brainwashed, forced into becoming their weapon. He wasn't responsible for his actions but I still didn't want to confirm that it'd been his hands that killed a man who'd been a friend to both of us along with his wife. I didn't make any effort to confirm what I'd been told and I didn't tell Tony what I'd learned about his parents' death.

"When the three of us arrived in Siberia we all believed there was an imminent threat to the world's safety. We chose to put aside our differences over the Accords until that threat had been resolved. It turned out that there was no threat and we'd been following a trail of breadcrumbs laid out by Helmut Zemo which started with his framing Bucky for the bombing in Vienna. Once Zemo had the three of us where he wanted us he showed a video of the Winter Soldier murdering Tony's parents. Until that moment Tony had believed his parents' death was an accident. The video was graphic and Bucky was in the room, Tony didn't react well. I joined the fight to defend Bucky.

"Tony and I are both conditioned not to give up. Doesn't matter what the odds are or how much you hurt, you keep getting back up. The Chitauri, Ultron, HYDRA, the consequences of failing are too much to even consider giving up and that sort of conditioning doesn't just go away when you're fighting something else, even when it was each other. Things in Siberia got out of control, neither Tony or I could back down. I thought by taking out the arc reactor I could end the fight clean, I didn't mean to hurt Tony. Afterward Tony was still talking and I forgot how good he is at covering up vulnerability, I thought he was okay.

"What I thought doesn't matter much in the end. I didn't tell Tony about his parents and a bad guy used that against us. I smashed the arc reactor, forgetting Tony's ribs were right behind it. I walked away without making sure Tony was alright. Tony died, it was my fault and I accept whatever punishment you deem fitting.

"As for the rest of the charges, they're all based on a piece of legislature that never should have existed. The Sokovia Accords got pushed through the United Nations on a platform of fear mongering. The Accords claim that they make the world safer but what they really do is is sow disaccord between the Avengers by encouraging xenophobic nationalism. It puts getting help to people who need it behind dealing with red-tape. The Accords are full of loop-holes that can be exploited by people with agendas and once they were passed it didn't take long for that to happen.

"I'm told the reason why none of the charges against me mention breaking my fellow Avengers out of Thaddeus Ross' secret prison is because his imprisoning them wasn't legal, that the Raft's existence is a moral morasses the prosecution doesn't want to talk about. And they they don't have to because no one specifically gave Ross permission to build the place, much less to incarcerate the Avengers there without so much as a trial.

"Thaddeus Ross was the person placed in charge of administering the Sokovia Accords. Anyone that knows anything about his history knows that he's Captain Ahab to the Hulk's white whale, but he was still the one chosen to administer the Accords, and it only took him a few days to start abusing that power. The Accords were framed so that Ross' actions are deniable, but can anyone truly claim to be surprised by what he did? The Accords were set up not to make legal abuses of civil liberties but to create a system where those abuses could happen and still be denied by those in power."


Notes: The extent of my legal knowledge is years of watching "Law and Order" and 20 to 40 minutes of internet research per chapter. So this is what I gather, flawed though it might be:

Pleading no contest is not the same as pleading guilty. It's generally used in situations where a guilty verdict in a criminal case might be used against you in a civil case. You're agreeing to accept the same punishment as a guilty plea, but you get a chance to make a statement which might convince the judge to lighten the sentence.

Felony murder means someone died while the defendant was in the process of committing a felony. They didn't have to intend to kill anyone and if the felony is committed by a group all are equally responsible for the death.