Hello and welcome to chapter 9! Still trying to get to chapter 12 before Christmas. Luckily I've been planning this chapter for a long time, and had it most of the way written. Please take the time to review and enjoy the chapter. I also still don't own the Avengers Universe or Hetalia, but all the same I hope you enjoy my work! One last thing, there is a LOT of CUSSING in this chapter, just a warning in case you have no love for foul language.
Chapter 9
A Dinner to Remember?
Chiara groaned into one of the couches of her fancy, very large penthouse where the united world and the Avengers were calling headquarters ever since the Avengers tower got infiltrated. Tony had rented the room a floor below her own condo, and all the Avengers had been sleeping there. This had produced two days of peace, enough time for the rest and recovery of both teams. Blessedly, Liv was still off school for a few days thanks to Teachers Workshops. Last night her sorella had called, she groaned again. Feli had been filming another movie as the female lead, and Chiara was happy to be able to see her again, if only she wasn't bringing that potato bastard of a bodyguard.
Chiara groaned again into the couch, as Tony and Bruce walked into the living room discussing something in tech talk. "What's wrong with you, Vargas?" Tony asked, walking to the kitchen as Bruce sat down in a chair. "My sorella is coming to visit," Chiara muttered. "Hey you actually didn't curse this time around, are you sure you're Chi?" Tony asked, standing up to get morning coffee. "Tony!" Bruce said warningly, "who is Sorella anyway, Chiara?" "My sister, Feliciana, she called me today to tell me she is on a plane coming here now," Chiara sighed.
A millisecond later there was a loud thud from the kitchen. "You don't mean Feliciana Vargas as in the actress do you, the super-hot one?" Tony sputtered. "It's kind of weird to call Feli hot, and to her sister at that man," Alfred yawned from the kitchen, "But you're usually happy to see Feli aren't you, Roma?" "If she wasn't bringing that fuckin potato bastardo it'd be fine," Chiara growled, angered by just thinking about the potato lover.
"Oh! West is coming?!" Gwen yelled, practically bouncing into the living room, "I'll have to find a good prank to pull on Luddy!" The avengers of the group watched as Gwen sat down in a chair, humming with a wide smile present. "Who is this 'potato bastard' anyway?" Tony asked, watching the different members' reactions. "My bruder! His name is Ludwig, he's also really strict and never lets me have fun. He and Feli are dating!" "It will be good to see Ludwig-san and Feliciana-chan again," Kiki commented coming into the living room.
"Oh I forgot, Kiki, Feli always had you hang out with them, hmm what did you call your group again?" Gwen asked, tapping her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "The axis-!""The axis! No need to fear Kiki I'll save you from the evil axis!" Alfred shouted from the kitchen appearing with a cup of coffee in one hand and a doughnut in the other. "Alfred, just because Ludwig is from Germany, Feli from Italy and Kiki is from Japan doesn't mean they are the axis, even if that's what they called their study group," Liv smacked Alfred's head as she walked into the living room holding a cup of coffee.
"Well the least we can do is all get out of this house and give you and your sister alone time-!" Just before Arthur could finish his sentence the door burst open revealing and absolutely beaming Italian girl. "Sorella! I made you and all of your friends a white flag!" the girl, Felicia Vargas exclaimed running over and catching her surprised sister in a hug. "Feli! You can't just come into my house like-!" Before Chiara could finish a white flag was shoved into her hands and Feli was hugging Kiki, giving her a white flag. Then Arthur, Alfred, Madeline, Gwen, Liv and Ivan.
As Stark's turn came, he held out his arms, closed his eyes and took a step forward ready to embrace the Italian beauty. However, it felt as though he was hugging a rock and there were soft giggles heard off to the side. Tony slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the serious blonde's face who he was hugging. "Aww Luddy, why'd you do that, I was going to give him a hug?!" Feli asked, as Tony quickly released the German man.
"Feliciana, you should know better than to hug strangers, even if they are at your sister's home. I can't protect you if you insist in partaking in any dangerous activity. Honestly, Feli you could try to be slightly more responsible, or at least taking training seriously enough to learn some self-defense," the German man, who could only be none other than Ludwig, sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"Ludwig!" Gwen cried out, tackling her brother to the ground, "What did I tell you about being so bossy?" "Yeah potato bastardo who gave you the right to boss around my sorella!" Chiara snapped, stalking towards Ludwig. "Not to mention, I never gave you permission to come into my house!"
"Sorella, be nice to Luddy! He wanted to come and see Toni and Francis too," Feli protested. "I didn't think that would be the reason for you to visit so suddenly Feli. Wh-Who else knows?" Chiara asked, the mood in the room turning quite somber. "Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Rocherio, Mr. Carlos, Mr. Abel, and Miss Emma and Nonno," Feliciano listed off, slightly less chipper. "Everyone, everyone's coming," Chiara whispered faintly, her legs giving out and the strong German catching her.
"Chi!" Liv jumped up as Ludwig set her down so she was sitting on one of the living room chairs. The Nordic charge crouched down in front of her guardian, grasping onto the elder's clenched fists. "Let's give them some space," Alfred muttered to the other Avengers and heroes who nodded and followed him out of the pent house. Liv and Ludwig arrived a moment later, each looking down and the sound of soft sobs coming from inside the apartment.
"Is everything okay?" Steve asked, quietly to the German. Ludwig paused for a moment, shaking his head but not saying a word. "Let's go to that café across the street, they will need some time," Madeline suggested. Liv nodded dutifully, leading the way out of the apartment building.
"Sorella, what happened?" Felicaino asked softly, sitting beside her sister and rubbing her back as the feisty Italian cried. It had been a long time since she had comforted her sister, usually it was the other way around. "I visited him, last night, Feli," Chiara sniffled, wiping the tears away with her balled up fists. She hadn't told anyone of her visit but she had to, he had been in so much pain, it was unbearable to have to leave him there.
When she had walked to the other side of the glass his gaze had pinpointed her immediately, even though the glass was one way. He had stopped pacing and smiled at her, just like he had before as though it was any other day that they were going to go to school in the morning. "Roma, will you let me out of here?" he asked, walking towards the glass. As Chiara watched him approach she looked into his eyes, where his smile didn't reach, the happy glint in them gone.
As Antonio had reached the glass he stopped and waited for a couple minutes, as though expecting Chiara to open the door so he could leave. Suddenly he pounded on the glass, Chiara backpedaling on the other side to a safe distance. "Damn you, Roma. It's all your fault that I got captured by Black Skull and now Shield. You're so worthless, just like when we were kids. If Feli had become a superhero instead of you, this never would have happened. Ludwig is so lucky to be watching over the useful one," he had growled.
As Chiara repeated the story to Feli her brighter sister grew sadder. "Ve~ Chi, you aren't useless, you have superpowers and you're great at art and you raised Liv, and you're good at a lot of things I can't do!" Feliciano responded. Halfway through her sentence she had begun to wave her arms, talking with her hands as the Italians had a habit to do.
Watching her sister, Chiara began to smile, pulling the movie star into a big hug. Feliciana took a second before hugging back, an unusual event for Chiara to allow anyone to hug her or for that matter hug anyone else. "Sorella, I'm glad we're sisters," Chiara whispered, "I love you so much." Feliciano popped away from the hug at that comment. "What did you just say, Sorella?" she asked with a wide grin. "N-Nothing, idiot!" Chiara practically yelled back. "Ve~ that's fine, because I love you too Sorella!"
With that they went out into the hallway to find the rest of the team had vanished and Feliciana soon convinced her sister to just send them a text so they would have time alone to catch up. The Avengers and United World plus one didn't return to the flat until four. They found the Italian sisters chatting merrily over glasses of wine and plates of pasta, drowned in tomato sauce.
"Welcome back," Feliciana chirped seeing them enter, in a split second she was embracing Ludwig, then pulled Kiki into their hug despite the instant protest. "We are having dinner with Nonno tonight at the Vargas Tower, he only wants family there, but I am sure you want to catch up with Gwen tonight Luddy," Feli informed her body guard.
"Do you want me to come tonight, Chi?" Liv asked her guardian. "No, you should stay here with the others in case something happens, and you can keep looking for a hole in Black Skull's control," Chiara replied, ruffling her charge's hair. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle Romulus by yourself, Chi?" Alfred asked. The Italian, who was mid sip of wine, shrugged her shoulders. "I won't be alone, Al, Feli and the rest of the family will be there," Chiara replied with a giggle.
"How much wine did you two drink?" Gwen asked, as Alfred remained in shock from Chiara not calling him hamburger bastard. "Only a few bottles, sorella insisted that she had a couple of good ones stored for such an occasion," Feli replied, practically bouncing where she stood. "Chiara is a lightweight though," Tony commented, frowning. Tony nearly jumped out of his socks when Chiara clung to his arm, pressing it to his chest.
"You're so.. funny Tony. I'm not a lightweight. I bet Nonno would like you, maybe I should take you as my date tonight," Chiara purred. "On second thought, you two should have had more," Tony told Feli, grinning. The UW and Avengers members held back a groan while Ludwig pulled Chiara away from Iron Man. "Feliciana please take your sister to get her ready for tonight, I will escort you two to the restaurant so no one else tries anything with either of you," Ludwig ordered, shooting a glare at Stark.
"Whatever you say, Luddy. Come on Chi, I brought a new dress for you!" Feli cheered, leading her sister towards her bedroom. "I hope it's pretty, Feli~!" the hero replied just as the door closed. "Won't Chiara's grandfather notice that she's had something to drink?" Bruce asked. "It's how Chi always faces him, Antonio told us that it makes her act more like Feli and Romulus actually likes her more that way," Arthur stated, frowning as he took a seat on one of the couches.
"He doesn't seem that nice of a guy..." Clint commented. Gwen shook her head, sitting down beside Arthur. "Romulus-san is not a nice person when it comes to Chi-chan, or for that matter anything having to do with United World," Kiki sighed, "He always favored Feliciana-chan more, which is why he wants Chi-chan to inherit his business." "But if Feliciana is his favorite then wouldn't he want her to inherit?" Clint asked, confused.
"Feli was allowed to have much more freedom than Chiara, by taking on the family business Chiara can properly use her powers, and the family can always watch her," Ludwig replied, "with how she acts she is the best candidate to inherit the mafia compared to Feli who Romulus doesn't want to see hurt." "Did you just say Mafia?" Bruce asked, obviously surprised. "What is this mafia thing?" Thor asked.
"It's a criminal organization that deals with illegal substances, smuggling, abductions, killing among other things. The Vargas familiga happens to be the most dangerous in all of North America," Natasha informed the god. "They have not been contained? If they are causing so much damage why has no one taken action against them?" Thor asked. "Romulus has a deal with various governments all around the world. He used to work as a hero, and after saving the world so many times, there probably isn't a soul in this world that doesn't owe him a favor or more," Ludwig informed the Asgardian.
"Luddy, we're leaving!" Feliciana announced as she led her sister, now in a beautiful red dress, towards the front door, grabbing her purse and a red purse for her sister on the way. "Alright Feli. It was a pleasure meeting you, Avengers. Please remember to call me from time to time Gwen, and let Grandfather know before you move so abruptly next time," Ludwig advised before following the Italian twins out.
The Avengers and United World all sat around on the couches for a couple moments, each confiding in their own thoughts. "So... does anyone have any plans tonight?" Alfred asked, "because if not, I think we should have dinner at the Vargas Tower." "Alfred, I doubt they'd let us in, it's very exclusive and you have to make a reservation months in advance. Even if we wanted to help Chiara we wouldn't be able to get in," Liv pointed out.
"That is not so true, comrades. The Honda family is on good standings with the Vargas, correct, Kiki? Even if they are not, I have the money to reserve a large table for us last moment," Ivan offered. "That cost a lot of money, Ivan. Are you okay spending that much?" Maddie asked timidly. "Da, anything to help our comrade. Let us get dressed and I will call the Tower to reserve us a table."
And so an hour later the Avengers and UW (minus Chiara) found themselves in suits and dresses, as they exited a limo in front of the beautiful Vargas Tower. Imagine the nicest hotel in the world, now double that and you'll find the beauty of the only hotel owned by the Vargas family in New York. Complete with five star dining, indoor swimming, live performances, room service, bars, floor to ceiling windows, ballrooms, a spa, and a team of massage therapists you could call to your room on a moments notice. It was a palace only the lucky and rich ever got to enter.
The last minute reservation hadn't actually cost any additional fee. Apparently there was a program at the restaurant that allowed any well known heroes to eat there without a reservation fee at all, one that cost a small fortune. The group of heroes were led to the glass elevator and taken up to the top floor restaurant. They were led to a private room, blocked to the rest of the restaurant by a red silk curtain with golden designs on it, they left it slightly parted and watched until Chiara and Feli had entered the building, obviously they had gone somewhere else before showing up, and sat down at a table in the center of the room with six others.
"Feliciana, Chiara, what a pleasure to see my two lovely granddaughters again," the oldest at the table rejoiced. He stood up, an old man with a sturdy frame who looked like he could put a sizable dent in the Iron Man armor with a simple punch, and hugged the two girls in turn. "Come sit, I have already ordered, we'll be having Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Au Paradis 2012, a very fine wine, it took me a while to find it of course. And we'll be having Lemon-Basil Ozortte for our main course," the man explained.
"That sounds enjoyable Nonno," Chiara stated, smiling broadly at the older man, now identified to be Romulus. "Of course, I picked it after all, only the best is served at my restaurant anyway. Now come sit, next to Emma, dear. I'd love to hear your latest ventures and of the paintings you've sold," Romulus said, leading Feli to the chair beside him as Chiara sat.
"Feli tells me you were able to find Antonio, piccolo capo," the young woman sitting next to Chiara, Emma, stated plainly, taking a small sip from her glass of wine. "You'd think Emma would be more sensitive when it comes to Tonio by now," Alfred growled. "She's probably still bitter about him dating Chi-chan over her, Alfred," Kiki pointed out. Maddie quickly hushed them, hoping things didn't escalate.
"Yes, he's in isolation until we are able to find a way to free him from Black Skull's control. We are close to finding a solution, for him and Francis both," Chiara explained, suddenly seeming fairly sober. The latter part was a lie, while they knew it had something to do with Liv, they had no idea how to get Francis and Tonio out of Black Skull's control. They weren't being controlled by Arthur's 2p, the Puppet Master, nor was the control consistent, sometimes going off and on.
"I don't see why you don't just use you power, Chiara. You could be able to override Black Skull's control," the Cuban at the table, Carlos, pointed out. "Indeed, Chiara, you're powers should not be held back, surely you are not in need of having such a useless team by your side anyway. Why, in my day I had no use for such a thing. You're weaker than I had imagined if you must fight with such heroes," Romulus sighed, swishing the wine around in his glass.
His comment unleashed the flood however, a reaction he had not expected before he took action. Alfred was over there in a flash, lifting his fist up to punch Romulus, only held back by an Austrian, Rocherio. The Avengers and United World weren't far behind. Maddie sighing reluctantly but following all the same. Liv and Bruce Banner stayed at their table, knowing it to be unnecessary to get involved, Chi would be able to handle them herself, or that the team wouldn't need their assistance.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeta snarled, standing up, and pushing the American away from her boss. She glared at Gwen, who side stepped so she was behind Arthur. The Cuban growled as he too stood up in front of his boss, staring longingly at Maddie before turning a fierce glare towards Alfred. Emma shot up, her hand on her waist where she hid her usual pistol. With a flick of Romulus's hand, the servers began to lead out panicked guests until the restaurant was empty.
At the table, only Feli, Chiara, Romulus and a reserved looking giant still sat. The last of the bunch taking a calm drink of wine and ignoring the fiasco. "What are you doing here?" Romulus asked, looking towards the Avengers and UW. "I believed I only invited my granddaughter to this dinner, not a bunch of worthless sideshows," he stated, sounding very unimpressed.
"Your missing a very important point, Mr. Vargas," Natasha said warningly. "And just what could that be?" Emma snapped. "You have nothing to say to the boss, perra," Carlos joined in. "Now, now, children let us hear what they feel they must say," Romulus calmed the two, looking to be enjoying every moment. "Chiara is a valued member of our team, once we had word of your treatment towards her, we did nothing but rush to her aid as we would for anyone else," Steve stated.
"Ah, yes Roma does seem like a frightful civilian, doesn't she?" Romulus asked, the younger Italian hero flinching, "however she must suffer in order to use your full powers, no matter how horrendous she may find them. Being in a team with all of you has only weakened her." "That isn't true, Nonno-!" "Silence, Feliciana, I will not be disrespected by my own granddaughter in addition to these uncivilized beasts!"
"Don't talk to Feli-chan like that," Kiki protested, "Your the one who doesn't know anything!" "How dare you speak to the boss like that," Elizabeta snapped, a memory of how friendly she and Kiki used to be flashing through her thoughts. Soon enough an all out battle of words broke out between the two sides, mafia and heroes. Each slandering each other, no longer attempting to get the other to see the point. Even Feliciana joined the fray, on her sister's side of course.
"Are you going to let them continue fighting, Miss. Vargas?" Abel, the man whom had been sitting quietly at the table before, questioned. "None of them would listen to me even if I tried, Abel, you know that," Chiara replied. "Then perhaps you should aim to make yourself heard. You cannot live under the boss's control forever, Chiara. You have wings, make use of them," Abel pointed out.
As if something clicked in Chiara's heart and head she stood up, and still the arguing sides paid her no mind until she poured the glass of three hundred dollar wine onto her grandfather, in which the fighting stopped and was quickly replaced with stunned silence. "Listen up you fucking bastards," she began pointing her finger sharply to the UW and Avengers group as her grandfather sat gobsmacked trying to get over his shock.
"I'm not some fucking princess that can't handle herself. So before I loose my temper at you bastards, get the hell out of here, and take Liv and Banner with you," she ordered. The UW group turned around without a word of protest, and the Avengers followed suit, the latter group having no clue of her explosive temper when it came to dealing with her grandfather.
"And all of you had better pull your heads out of your asses, and take a fucking seat. None of you have any control of my life or my future. The next fucking time that you insult my friends you'll be eating your own eyes and be blind sons of bitches. You can insult me, and use me all you want, but try to do the same with my friends and you'll start having a never ending flow of police at your door step. Now, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your dinner, because I am going home with my true family, Feliciana, stay and finish up dinner with these idiotas and visit me during another break," Chiara ordered, grabbing her purse.
"Chiara wait, I never said you cou-!" "Never said I could what, leave, well guess what Nonno, I am," Chiara snapped back, interrupting her grandfather for the first time in her life. She stormed out of the restaurant and found her teammates waiting in front of the hotel for her. "You fucking bastards ready to go back?" Chiara asked.
An hour or so later, Romulus has drawn his dinner to a close and sat at a table with Abel. "You did a good job today Abel," Romulus stated to his currently oldest executive. The two were in the small cafe of Vargas Tower, sipping black tea as they spoke. "Miss Vargas must realize she is not able to escape her faith, Boss. I was only doing as anyone else would," Abel responded politely. "Indeed. But thanks to you, Chiara has been put forth another important step in her legacy. Perhaps we should give those mongrels more credit, if nothing else, Chiara has learned to put family above all else."
"Should I continue to keep an eye on her, boss?" Abel asked. "Of course, we cannot allow them to get a hold of my dear Roma. See that she is safe, but do not involve yourself with the heroes, Abel," Romulus ordered, "But most importantly, do not let Antonio know of our plans."
