The interior of the Quinjet was quiet. Too quiet for her liking. But what was worse where the constant side-glances aimed in her direction. It wasn't her fault that her Father was a 'wanted Terrorist' in their eyes. Wanda actually wondered why she hadn't been left at the Mutant School, instead of being dragged around on a supposed rescue mission. But she sighed internally as she looked around the small, cramped cabin, I might as well make the most of this.
"So," she said aloud, being the first person to speak in anything more than a whisper for close to an hour, "you're the one with the messed-up face, right?" she said, looking directly at Spider-Man. He still had his mask on, so she couldn't read his facial expression to get a reaction. But there was a noticeable reaction from Wondra, who sat to his left. Her jaw muscles clenched while her eyes changed from a soft blue to a dull orange in an instant, clearly reflecting her mood.
"I am," Spider-Man replied curtly.
"So how'd that happen?" she asked bluntly.
"That's enough," the vigilante called Daredevil snapped at her briskly.
"What?" Wanda scoffed, "it's an honest question, isn't it? That sort of thing doesn't happen every day, right?" she asked, looking around the cabin for some sort of validation. She didn't find any, however, and looked down at her still-cuffed hands. Her day had been getting worse the longer it went on. She didn't want to think about where it was going to end up.
"So says the girl who can move things with her mind," Spider-Man shot back at her with a nod.
"Touche," Wanda replied with a slight sigh as she looked around the cabin again. She could actually see a sliver of sky through one of the windows of the jet. And flying through that sliver was another, identical jet. Most likely the other Avengers, given how Captain America was now in the process of getting up from his seat and turning to face the entire cabin.
"Listen up," he said with an air of command so powerful that Wanda couldn't help but do as he said. "We'll be landing in ten minutes in a small forest valley hidden beneath a Mountain. The terrain will help shield our approach, but it's not going to block everything. When we're ground-side, we will need to go com-silent." he said, earning a series of approving nods. "The rest of the team will be joining us, and we'll be splitting into two groups. Group A will consist of myself, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Wondra, Ms Marvel, Thor and uh..Mrs Braddock. We will enter the facility on the northern side. Group B will consist of Spider-woman, Black Panther, Beast, Iron Man, Nightcrawler, Mr Howlett and Miss Maximoff. They will enter from the south side. Our intelligence says that the prisoners will most likely be held on the west side, closest to the lake. With any luck, we'll be able to make our way there quickly, before they evacuate any of the kids." Wanda nodded in agreement, remembering all to well the kinds of horrors she had faced while in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. She was thankful that she'd be allowed to participate in the action, but curious as to why the Avengers actually trusted them. They where supposed to be enemies.
["They don't trust us,"] Elizabeth's voice said inside her mind, ["But they also know we have valuable knowledge of their bases. And they don't want to weaken themselves by leaving the heavy-hitters behind to babysit us."]
["Oh,"] she replied with a knowing nod. ["so what happens when this is over?"]
["I don't know."]
...xxXxx...
"LIST!" Nick Fury roared violently as he, along with ten heavily-armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents burst through the doors to the laboratory. Finding it completely empty, he swore under his breath. "Overturn everything, search his private files, I want him found," Fury barked as he retrieved an encrypted cell phone from his pocket. To ordinary eyes the phone looked outdated, but that was just what Fury wanted. He wanted people to think it wasn't worth their time. But in fact it was loaded with more technology than the average person held in their lifetime. It was far more powerful than anything other intelligence agencies had at their disposal, and there was only one person he knew of who could hack into it. He just hoped that Tony Stark hadn't gotten to that part yet.
"Hill," He snapped as soon as he heard the person on the other end of the line pick up.
"Yes sir?" Maria Hill, his right hand-woman, replied.
"John List isn't here," he said with a simmering tone. "He must have buggered off to one of his remote facilities. I want his access to any of our files revoked until further notice. And scrub his name from any projects rated above level three."
"Sir? Yes sir." Hill replied with a confused tone s he heard her give several orders to officers around her. "But why not remove all-"
"Because Tony Stark will no doubt have discovered List's little pet-project by now," Fury snapped as he paced the length of the abandoned laboratory. "of all the stupid shit..." he muttered, "He activated the Harvest protocol."
"What!?" Hill gasped.
"He activated it and stupidly managed to piss off some very powerful people," Fury huffed bitterly. "we intercepted some chatter between Stark and Xavier. It looks like Dr. List had his men break in to that school, and take half the kids."
"why would he do that?" Hill asked
"Because I ordered him to get me some better results yesterday," Fury sighed as he watched his personal guard ransack the office. "We're on a much tighter schedule than I originally thought. So I ordered him to have project Sentry and project Warbird up-and-running by next week. He jumped the gun," he said as he pressed his forehead into his palm, knowing the Political shit-storm that was going to rain down on his head at the absolute worst time. "we need to contain this before it gets any worse."
"Yes sir," Hill replied on the other end. "Sir, he seems to be operating out of the Alkali Lake Facility. And..."
"And what?" He snapped.
"And the long-range radar shows two stealth jets coming in fast," she said with slight hesitation. "Headed right for them."
"That'll be the Avengers," Fury scoffed as he considered his next move. "Order all our men to stand down. No need for them to be killed in a needless firefight," he said, defeated, as he found himself slumping against the wall. The weight of the situation crashed against his shoulders. But his respite did not last. He picked himself up the second he heard the distinct whine of a repulsor blast, which carved a hole straight through the Laboratory roof.
Acting like the highly-trained soldiers that they where, his men quickly trained their weapons on Iron Man as he dropped down through the hole in the roof, landing with a metallic clank. When he stood back to his full height, Iron Man was about a foot and a half taller than the tallest of Nick's agents. Which was good, because in Nick's mind, the bigger the Armour the more deadly it was. He knew that in an extended firefight his men might have enough firepower and training to take out that particular suit of armour. But he still preferred to talk things out first.
"Stark," he said, still not one hundred percent sure if it was Tony, Pepper or a drone in front of him. "What a surprise," he said dryly.
"Drop the pleasantries Fury," Iron Man said coldly as he flipped up his face-plate, revealing Tony Stark's haggard, furious and aged face. Despite his decrepit appearance, the CEO-turned-Superhero maintained a fierce presence. "What did you do?"
"Stand down men," Nick said, maintaining a stoic tone as he addressed the Agents. "And give us some privacy. Secure the perimeter and do not bother me until I come to you."
"Sir yes sir," the Agents replied dutifully in unison before filing out of the room.
"What did you do?" Tony growled as he took a step forward.
"What I had to," Nick replied sternly. "Not all of us have a posse of super-men to call on at our beck and call."
"At one point you did," Tony snapped back. "I've known about your weapon X Project for some time, Fury. But I never thought you'd stoop so low!" he finished with a powerful bellow that shook Nick Fury's core. There was a definite passion behind his words, which was to be expected.
"The Harvest protocol," Nick said, pretending to sigh in defeat as he spoke, "was never my plan. Not really. It was a worst-case scenario deterrent. A nuclear warhead, if you will," he said as he calmly skirted around Tony. "Even with that bomb you dropped the other night," he said as he clasped his hands together, "I would never have authorized such drastic measures unless I had no other choice, Tony."
"That doesn't change anything," Tony grunted firmly, "you knowingly agreed to it, no matter what."
"Like I had a choice!" Nick shot back. "We don't all have the luxury of your Armour, Stark!" he said as he spun around on the spot. "Unlike you, I still have a boss. And that boss asks me what we're supposed to do if someone like the Avengers ever turned on us! Thor alone could probably storm Washington without his hammer!"
"He wouldn't," Tony replied stiffly, "not unless the president did something to upset him."
"And what if he does?" Nick replied with equal vigour. "Then what, Stark? Do you have a plan for that, too?"
"I do, in fact," Tony said as eh took a step forward. "But we're getting off the subject, Nick. So tell me, What. Have. You. Done?"
"My job, Tony," Nick said, putting on a remorseful facade. He rubbed his temple with an open palm as he continued, "No doubt you know about our Super-Soldier programs by now, thanks to Doctor Banner?"
"I already knew most of it," Tony replied curtly, as his face twitched ever so slightly. No doubt the exertion of wearing the armour was taking it's toll on him. Nick had been keeping tabs on his health, and the signs where not good. And because he knew that Tony stark was a valuable asset, he knew he couldn't drag things out for too long, otherwise there might be health complications.
"then you'll know that Dr. List has been working on enhancing Mutants, turning them into the perfect soldiers," he nodded as he watched Tony relax slightly. "And not just working on their powers, but their bodies as well. He's made them stronger and faster than they'd normally be. Not quite to Captain America's standards, but enough to easily fight their way through enemy strongholds in groups of four or five." They had intentionally avoided making their soldiers too strong, for fear that they might eventually turn on them in the end. "Elizabeth Braddock, for example," he said, knowing full well that Tony had plans for her. Not surprising, given her intricate connections with other people. "Has had a lightweight metal grafted to her bones, increasing their strength tenfold."
"I wasn't aware of that," Tony replied cautiously. "So you've been harbouring weapons. How many?"
"Enough," Nick replied. "Enough to tip the scales in our favour," he said, with a hint of a darker tone. "But we don't have time to worry about that, Stark. Go," he continued, "I've ordered my men under List's command to stand down. Your people shouldn't encounter any resistance."
...xxXxx...
"It's too quiet," Jessica muttered as they crept through the empty facility hallway. None of the lights where on, which only added to the creepy ambience tenfold. The other Avengers, plus two of their 'guests', trailed behind her. "way too quiet."
"At least no one's shootin' at us," Logan growled bluntly as he slithered along the opposite wall.
"Which is what worries me," Jessica replied. "I'd rather know where the bad guys are." she still wasn't sure she trusted the feral-looking Mutant. Sure, Daredevil had given them his word that they could be trusted, and since Peter trusted him, that went a long way to gaining her trust. However there was still an edge to the man that she couldn't ignore. Perhaps it was because he reminded her of all the vagrants that had come into the hospital extremely drunk or high off their asses. "Other than-"
"quiet," Logan huffed as he held up a fist, signalling for everyone to stop. Much to the annoyance of several individuals. Especially Azari, who spoke up.
"You're not in charge here, ass-" the Wakandan Prince began to say, only to be brushed aside by Pepper.
"I can smell the hot air," Logan grunted as he popped out three foot-long metal claws out of his wrist. "There's somethin' in there alright. But I ain't sure it's what it is. So get ready," he snorted as he slashed his claws downwards, slicing through the door handle like a hot knife through butter. And with a single motion, both Pepper and Jessica stormed into the room, ready for a fight.
They got one for sure. Pepper was quickly tackled by a man with magma-like skin while Jessica quickly avoided a concussive blast of energy coming from her left. Leaving Pepper to handle herself, Jessica ducked underneath a machine in order to avoid a second blast, only to be attacked from behind by a wolf-like woman. She was too slow to avoid having a mouth full of teeth bite directly into her shoulder. Thankfully nothing pierced her uniform, but the bite still hurt. If it wasn't for her enhanced durability her shoulder would have been broken.
Jessica managed to easily toss the wolf-woman off and into the wall as the other Avengers entered the room. And each was quickly engaged by more previously unseen enemies. Logan was quickly attacked by a four-armed behemoth wielding pipe wrenches, Wanda and Azari faced a ghost-like man and Hank was being tag-teamed by two women who appeared to be identical twins.
She quickly got to her feet, just in time to catch her assailant's next attack before it hit by grabbing the wolf-woman's jaws before they closed around her neck. Jessica kicked outward, thrusting the wolf-woman into the wall. Which was how she noticed the peculiar collar around her neck. Several lights blinked along it's length, and a portion of it seemed to reach under the woman's skin and towards her brain stem.
Nothing in all her medical studies could tell her exactly the collar was doing. But luckily, she had a Brother who was a huge geek and some of that had rubbed off on her.
"I think they're being controlled somehow!" she shouted as she once again grappled with the wolf-woman. This time she was in a much more dominant position, and was able to put her into a tight hold. "They all have collars, right?" she continued as she pushed her fingers underneath the cool metal collar. A second later, she pulled hard, snapping it off with a loud crack!
The wolf-woman went unconscious and dropped to the ground instantly. Luckily she was still breathing. "Take em' off!" she barked as she dragged her former enemy out of harm's way. Just in the nick of time, as a plasma blast rocked the section of floor Jessica had just been standing on. As soon as the wolf-woman was in a safe corner of the room, Jessica leapt back into action. She grabbed the shoulders of the four-armed man that Logan had been grappling with and tugged him backwards, giving the clawed Mutant a chance to swipe a well-aimed strike at the collar, slashing it in two. Just like the wolf-woman, the man slumped to the ground as the other Avengers made quick work of the remaining controlled mutants.
Soon enough there was a pile of unconscious bodies lying in the middle of the floor, surrounded by everyone still standing.
"What're we going to do with them?" Hank asked. Out of all of them, he'd taken the worst beating, and had several noticeable welts along his forearms. "We can't leave them here," he said with a sigh, "and it'll take too long to carry them all back to the jets. Not to mention there might not be enough room for them and the kids."
"I'll see if I can do something about that," Pepper said with a nod. "Maybe we can 'borrow' a jet to get them out of here."
"In the meantime," Hank said, "we should split up. Half of us continue to the rendezvous point while the rest stay here." Everyone nodded in agreement, and they quickly went about splitting themselves up into two teams. Pepper, Hank and Logan would remain behind while Jessica, Wanda and Azari kept going.
...xxXxx...
"Something is wrong here," Thor said aloud as they crept through the barren hallways of the SHIELD installation. In the past hour, they had seen no signs of life, but they had seen signs of habitation. Food left out in the mess hall, lights on in different rooms, televisions playing in the bunkers. All telltale signs that someone had been there very recently, and had evacuated themselves in a hurry.
"You mean other than the kidnapped children and the creepy abandoned military base?" Peter Parker quipped jovially. Thor shook his head, pondering the young man's annoying habit of talking too much. A habit which was only made up for by his usefulness in battle. But only by a little. He often wondered how others had managed to put up with his nonchalant attitude for so long. "Because other than those two things, I can't seem to find anything wrong here."
"We should have seen some sign of someone by now," Steve replied from the front of their group. "But...there's nothing. And that's what truly worries me." he said as they rounded another corner and went into another hallway. One which was just as abandoned as the previous had been. He agreed with Steve's assessment. The lack of human occupation was far more disturbing than anything else.
"Hold up," the vigilante called 'Daredevil' said firmly as he ran his fingers across the wall. He seemed to be sniffing at the air, searching for something. "No one here is wearing cologne, correct?" he asked. A chorus of 'no's' followed from everyone else.
"Why do you ask?" Steve replied with a raised eyebrow. One which Thor followed in suit with.
"Because I can smell some," Daredevil said as he pointed off down the hall and to the left. "Not much, but it's there. Someone wearing a lot of the stuff was here less than ten minutes ago." Thor looked around, bewildered. And he wasn't the only one either. The only two that didn't appear to be utterly confused where Peter and Elizabeth.
"It's kinda his thing," Peter shrugged to the rest of the group.
"It's all we have to go on," said Steve as he indicated that they move in the direction that Daredevil had indicated. Once everyone began moving once more, Thor found himself at the rear of their group, with both Steve and Jubilee beside him. And the former of the two looked slightly concerned. Privately, Steve continued in a soft tone with, "I don't know if I trust them yet." He whispered so softly that no one but the three of them could hear.
"Peter seems to trust Daredevil," Jubilee offered with another whisper.
"But he didn't trust us with the knowledge that he was very real," Steve replied. "And how long was he with Braddock? She could have easily slipped into his head and twisted some things around."
"Jean said she didn't see any signs of tampering," Jubilee said with a slight huff.
"That does not mean there was none," Thor replied stiffly as he eyed the raven-haired telepathic woman. Very few mortals could get under his skin without a word like she had done in such a short time. There was a definite air of danger behind her eyes, yet also a sense of familiarity. He had long ago guessed why she was so intent on joining them. Her child must have been taken by SHIELD. There was no other reason for her fierce determination and willingness to work with enemies. And that drive of hers was the only reason he hadn't crushed her head with Mjolnir. Because long ago, he had felt the same about Torunn, and he empathized with her desire to find her child wholeheartedly. "We should have split them up," he said flatly as they turned another corner, and this time saw something of value.
A door closing rapidly behind someone.
"MOVE!" Steve bellowed, stirring the Avengers into action as he quickly took the lead. Thor, Peter, Daredevil and Elizabeth where mere seconds behind him, with the rest following suit. Whoever had closed the door had locked it behind them, but that wasn't an issue for Steve, who charged right through it as if it was made of paper. On the other side of the door, setting up a desperate defensive line where six heavily armed soldiers, guarding another door. But as large as their guns where, they were not a match for the combined might of the Avengers.
Steve used his shield to block the incoming fire for their teammates, while Thor used his own body. Peter ducked out of the way behind a metal bin, pulling Daredevil with him. Elizabeth crouched behind Steve and his shield, with one hand on her sword and the other on her temple. Jubilee and Kurt brought up the rear, with the former shooting a beam of multi-coloured light over Thor's shoulder, blinding the soldiers and causing them to falter in their defence.
This gave the Avengers the perfect opportunity to go on the offensive. Thor was the first to move. He lashed out with several bolts of lightning, striking two of the soldiers and blasting them off of their feet. Kurt then grabbed Steve and teleported into the midst of the remaining soldiers, and they proceeded to make quick work of the men.
"See if you can get anything from them," Steve barked to Elizabeth once the last man crumbled to the ground.
"There's a plane here," she replied as soon as she touched her finger to one of the men's temple. "They're loading the kids onto it right now!" she continued as she quickly rose to her feet and pointed towards the second door. "This way!"
"What about them?" Jubilee panted as they burst through the second door. "Shouldn't we, like, interrogate them or something?"
"No time for that," Daredevil snapped back at her as they ran. "We can question whoever is on the plane." In no time at all they made it to the runway, where there where two large Military cargo jets with rumbling engines waiting for them, as well as three Helicopters. There where also over a hundred Soldiers in dark green uniforms in the midst of loading large crates onto the jets. And of course, none of them had any doubt about what was in those crates. An air of silence fell over the tarmac as the Soldiers noticed the arrival of the Avengers, and where clearly shocked to see them. Which was just fine, in Thor's mind.
"Avengers," Steve growled in a tone that Thor hadn't thought he was capable of summoning. The wrath and ire in his voice was very unsettling, but quite understandable. And it was one which resonated with Thor's current mindset. "Take them down."
Daredevil and Elizabeth where the first to move with furious strides. Both of them lost their their calm demeanour in a vicious frenzy as they struck blow after blow. He joined them in their battle, swinging his hammer left and right, careful with his strikes so as to only seriously injure them, not kill. Because such men did not deserve a warrior's death. Several more he sent flying with quick, controlled blasts of lightning.
Beside him Steve battled his way past a group of men attempting to man an armoured Truck and it's machine gun turret. Of course they failed miserably, failing to fire off even a single shot before they where all thrown out of the truck, unconscious. However, another group of men had a measure of success as they successfully took to the skies in one of the helicopters. Thor would have taken it down himself, but he was distracted by another truck driving towards both him and Steve, threatening to run them over. By the time he sent the second truck rolling across the tarmac the Helicopter's main guns began to fire, peppering the ground with bullets designed to take out armoured vehicles. Even Thor could feel their impact as he used his body as a shield for several of his teammates.
Peter was one of the few who he did not shield. But he was also fast enough to manoeuvre himself out of harm's way, and into the perfect spot to properly retaliate. He shot out two web-lines, snatching the Helicopter's left runner and the underside of the tail. The pilot swerved as much as possible, but Peter held his ground firmly, only moving when the very ground under his feet was ripped apart from the force of the Helicopter's pull.
Unfortunately the pilot managed to manoeuvre the Helicopter around in such a way that he could now aim it's guns directly at Peter. But before he could fire, twin beams of multi-coloured light shot out from Jubilee's outstretched hands, impacting the front windshield of the Helicopter. The sudden attack both pushed the Helicopter to the side and blinded the pilot, and the shots he fired went wild by a large margin.
"Thanks, babe!" Peter quipped as he ducked for cover, clutching at one of his shoulders as he moved. Thor hurled Mjolnir at the Helicopter, striking and breaking off it's rear rotor blades, sending it into a spiral pattern before it crashed. "The planes!" Peter cried out, pointing with his good arm at the two large aircraft, both of which where about to take off with their ramps still down.
They split into two teams. Daredevil, Jean, Jubilee and Kurt sprinted for one, while Steve, Peter, Thor and Elizabeth ran after the other. Since he was the closest, Thor was the first to board the plane. He dropped his hammer to the ground and resorted to using his fists, so he wouldn't risk hitting some vital component of the plane, or worse, one of the crates with children inside. He quickly subdued three men while his teammates boarded the plane, which was starting to move down the runway. But that wasn't his main concern.
His main concern was the man standing on a walkway above them, holding a gun to the head of a young, dark-haired girl.
"Not another step, Avengers!" the man said, screaming over the roar of the engines as the plane accelerated. Unlike the soldiers around him, this man wore a white lab coat, with a name badge that read 'Dr. John Liste'. But no mortal Doctor that Thor knew of would act in such a vile manner. He had heard Jessica talk about Doctors taking an oath to 'do no harm', after all.
"Put the gun down," Steve responded in an unnerving, dark tone, "before this gets any worse."
"I don't think so," Liste replied with a sinister tone, "I hold the cards here, Captain."
"Let her go," Elizabeth said, amplifying her words with her telepathy so that they resonated within the back of Thor's mind.
"M...M...Mom?!" the girl cried as Liste shoved the barrel of his gun against her temple. "what's happ-!?"
"SHUT IT!" Liste snapped as he gave the girl a rough shove against the railing. "AND DON'T TRY ANY MIND-GAMES, AGENT BRADDOCK!" he roared violently, "if you, if any of you do, then..." he said as he indicated towards the girl. Thor clenched his fists in anger. He could even hear the rolling of thunder over the roar of the plane's engines, and see the flashes of lightning through the small windows. His inner warrior raged at the thought of crushing the man's skull with his bare hands, but he kept himself at bay. If he moved in the wrong way the girl would be killed. And he didn't want another child's blood on is hands. His heart couldn't bear it, even so many years after losing Torunn.
"There's no escape," Steve snarled, "surrender."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Captain Rogers?" Liste quipped, "it wouldn't matter anyways!" he gloated, "my work will live on! My legacy will survive! Soon," he said with a devilish smile, "we will have an army so powerful that the world will fall to it's knees in submission! And there's nothing that you, SHIELD, or Tony Stark can do to stop us!" he continued as he moved the gun away from the girl's head and grabbed her by the neck and began to drag her back towards the wall of parachutes. "Now, if you don't mind we'll be-" Liste's arrogance got the better of him. The little girl seized the first opportunity she had and slammed her elbow right into his crotch. Liste's momentary painful reaction gave her enough time to leap over the railing's edge and down into Peter's arms. Despite the younger man's clear shoulder pain, he caught her without any hesitation.
As this was happening, Liste re-gained his composure and fired off two rounds before Steve could hurl his shield at the man, knocking him over the edge of the railing. He fell to the ground with a loud crunch in front of them. Even such a short fall was enough to mangle the man's body to a sickening degree.
"cut off one head..." Liste wheezed weakly, even as blood poured from his mouth and nose, "two more...shall take...it's place," he continued even as he chocked on his own blood. "Hail H-" he never got to finish his last words, because Thor brought his boot down on his skull, killing him instantly. An act which he had absolutely no qualms about.
...xxXxx...
Tony Stark paced the length of the Stark Industries Private airport's main tarmac as he watched the Avengers unload themselves and their new passengers from both Quinjets and one 'borrowed' Military Cargo plane. One which they'd managed to convince it's pilot to turn around, thanks in no small part to some psychic 'suggestions'. Pepper and Thor where walking the man away at the moment, bringing him to a group of Government Agents waiting to interrogate him. Other agents, along with faculty members from Xavier's school, where in the process of dealing with the children. All of whom looked frightened, cold and tired. Of course he'd provided them with an abundance of blankets, food and medicine to use as needed. But he had other, more pressing matters to deal with.
He watched the remaining, unoccupied Avengers come towards him, along with their 'temporary' allies, minus Daredevil, who had slipped away as soon as the plane landed. But Tony knew he could track Matt Murdock down any time he wanted to. But he had far more pressing concerns at the moment.
"You may go," he said, indicating to everyone except Steve, Jean, Logan, Elizabeth, Wanda and Jessica. The only other person who stayed was Lara Murdoch, who remained firmly attached to her mother's side with a look of shock and horror spread across her face.
Thankfully Peter backtracked and scooped her up, whispering "your Dad's waiting for you," into her ear, which seemed to bring her some comfort. Now Tony could focus all his attention on those who remained. Particularly the three fugitives from the law.
"What now?" Logan grunted forcefully, as he shifted his gaze from left to right, obviously looking for an escape route. "we goin' back to prison?" he snarled.
"Possibly," Tony replied calmly as he eyed the three of them up. "Are you going to tell me where the other members of Eric Lensherr's Brotherhood are?" he asked.
"We don't know," Wanda replied, before being hushed by Elizabeth with a glance.
"And even if we did," the older woman said, "I doubt you could get them all before they went underground."
"I have no doubts about that," Tony said with an honest shrug. "Nor would I even try, so long as they remain underground and passive."
"Then why are we still here?" Logan snapped.
"Because you two," Tony replied, pointing to both Logan and Elizabeth with his cane. "Are two of the most dangerous weapons the world has ever seen. And you know it. Everyone knows it." he snarled viciously. "And everyone wants you for their own purposes. Tonight just proves that."
"And what do you want?" Elizabeth snapped, stepping forward as she spoke. "To put us in a cage? To kill us in order to save the world from us?"
"No!" Tony roared back, before regaining his composure. "No, I don't want that. I just want to keep you out of other people's hands by keeping you in mine." He ignored the confused looks from the remaining Avengers as he continued with, "and the best way to do that is to offer you the chance to join the Avengers." Steve shot him a surprised, concerned look that spoke volumes, but Tony waved his hand in acknowledgement. They would have a private conversation about his decision later. At the moment there where far more pressing matters. "There will be stipulations, of course. You will require constant supervision by another Avenger. But you will also have much more freedom with me than you would with the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said, looking towards Elizabeth in particular. But she wasn't looking at him, but over her shoulder to where Peter was walking away from them with Lara still in his arms.
"I'm in," she said, as both Logan and Wanda nodded in agreement.