Spoiling for a fight
Spoiling for a fight
Trying to make it right
Spoiling for a fight, spoiling for a fight
Trying to make it right
You'd better stand your ground
And keep out of my town
Fight to live another day
Spoilin' for a Fight, by AC/DC, from the album Black Ice, released in 2008
She floored the car, a Discovery, following the route pre-planned in the GPS. Germany was admittedly, a little uncomfortable for her, but she pushed through. She'd slipped into the combat uniform she never left without, and didn't bother with the seatbelt, knowing she would survive any impact that she could receive.
Her knuckles were white, tensed and rigid as the speedometer reached 160, the engine spluttering at the speed she put it through. Time was tight, and she had no time to waste, not if she wanted to prevent this fight. Erfurt was 100km away from Leipzig Halle, and if she was going at 160kmp, it would take her roughly 37 minutes and 30 seconds. That was not good enough, but even with her flying herself, it would still be slower.
And if she pushed the engine much more, the engine would conk out. With the heightened emotions, there was a tell-tale thrum of her powers, contained tightly within her skin. She threw the steering wheel to the side to avoid oncoming traffic, and pushed the pedal down even further, hoping that it would exceed the current speed.
They are going to fight. I knew this from the minute I saw the animosity between Steve and Tony. With Bucky being tied to Steve and Peter tied to Tony, it was no longer a battle of opposing wills: it was a battle of attrition.
The wheels scratched as she slammed the brakes on, entering a skid as the tyres lost traction. There were planes scattering the airport, as expected, but otherwise it was empty, as desolate as a desert. Ditching the car, tearing out of it and locking it, while throwing the keys under the tyre arch, she sprinted as fast as she could to where the GPS on her phone was pinging her to.
She leapt up into the air, propelling the air to give her a push, attempting to speed her up. She was only a few hundred metres away from where she needed to be. And sure enough, she found the battle, not quite ensued yet. On the right side stood Tony's team. Peter, T'Challa, Natasha, Rhodey, Vision.
On the left, Steve's team. Bucky, Sam, Clint, someone she hadn't seen before dressed in a particularly stupid-looking suit, and the Scarlet Bitch. Steve had his shield covering his midbody, lazily draped yet somehow still appearing alert, the Scarlet Bitch had red energy sparking over her hands, hissing and silently threatening to lurch out and attack, Sam had his wings spread out wide, Bucky was dropped into a fighting position, weird guy had his fingers tensed on his bracer, looking at whatever was on it, and Clint had an arrow drawn.
On the other side, Tony and Rhodey had their faceplates up, Peter was perched high up, sticking to a wall, T'Challa was in a crouched position, Natasha was standing calmly and Vision was hovering. They moved to charge towards one another, and Sparrow propelled herself, hurriedly setting up a barrier. Separating the two teams, there was a wall of air, with forces pushing away from it, forceful enough to move them, but not harsh enough to send them flying.
"Stop!"
She called out, drawing their attention to her as she kept her hands raised in the air, helping to channel the air. Whilst not strictly necessary- although it had been in the first instance- it helped her to have a focus, and when covering a wide area such as this one, it certainly helped to have the finesse. Tony and Rhodey flipped their masks up yet again,
Steve stopped roughly, his hands tensing around the patriotic shield, and everyone else simply froze. Tony raised his hands slowly, in a deliberate movement to show that he had no intention to harm her, and Steve bowed his head, momentarily obscuring his eyes. She kept her eyes split between the two of them, while keeping the shield up- one wrong move, one wrong statement, and the war that was on the edge would erupt- and Sparrow would be forced to pick sides.
Something that, she really didn't want to do. Bucky may have been her father now, but she just as equally had a strong bond with Tony and Peter. Perhaps even moreso, considering all this scandal about the bombing, and the fact that Bucky never replied to Tony's numerous phone calls when she'd been struggling. Even the letters had stopped for a while. Glancing at Peter, there was a subtle smile of relief, hidden underneath the mask but distinct in the ripples that followed.
"Okay. We'll stop Roe."
If he was confused by her sudden appearance when she should have been in London, he didn't show it. Still, Tony and his side was fully complicit, and he didn't raise her voice to her. That was something she appreciated, for more than one reason.
Steve on the other hand.. well.. Steve gritted his teeth, but lowered his shield, his eyes fixed on Sparrow as she continued to speak, her own hands clenched as she continuously kept the wall up.
All this, over the Accords? Something that will make the world a better place and help to prevent things like Sokovia?
"Why are we fighting? You are a team, aren't you? You're the Avengers"
She stressed, trying to add emphasis onto the fact that they had worked as a team before. Why would this have to change now, over what was literally a piece of paper with some regulations on? Tony matched her gaze, his eyes filled with a hidden sadness that didn't escape her notice. There was a slight tremor in his hands, and it didn't escape her notice how every so often his eyes would flicker to Peter, who was watching her with widened eyes.
She bowed her head a little, before looking back up, fighting her warring instincts. Instincts that was telling her to not yell out, not to get their attention like this, and not ask them questions about what they were doing. But as she had learned to do, she ignored them, and continued on with her perhaps harsh, but true, crusade.
"How has the Accords managed to tear you apart like this? A document designed to ensure innocent people's lives? Surely this is something we all want!"
Tony's side nodded in agreement, everybody's eyes simultaneously flickering to Steve's side, who all had variously different poses. Scarlet Bitch- Sparrow made sure to cover everybody in a shield, straining herself ever so slightly- looked angrier and angrier whenever a word came out of Tony's mouth. Steve was gritting his teeth, lips pursed and muscles locked into a fighting position.
The weird-guy was looking somewhat awkward, Sam had his wings spread out, like a bird trying to make itself look less appealing to predators, and Hawkeye just had narrowed eyes, disapproving, like a parent to a child. He should have a lot of practise at those stares. Then there was Bucky, who was cold and indifferent, a hidden look in his face.
He seemed to display no emotion, experiencing a mission-like mindset, and while Sparrow was not surprised, she did feel a little bit of hurt. It was like he didn't know how important this was.
"The Accords stop us from doing what's right Sparrow! They chain us to the Government like dog's on leashes, only to be used as and when! That's why I don't agree with the Accords."
He had conviction, that she would admit, but how much of Steve's argument was his reasons, and how much was to do with his dislike of Tony? Tony was Steve's only link to the past, a link to his old friend Howard, and Steve wanted Tony to be like Howard to the extent where he tried to push him into that role.
But when Tony resisted- because Tony Stark does not give in- haunted by the lingering memories of his absent father, Steve grew to resent him for it. And while Sparrow was by no means a therapist- otherwise she would be able to deal with her own issues instead of needing someone else to do it- she happened to be fairly good at analysing characters. Steve only saw what he wanted to see, and not Tony Stark, the man under the playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, Asshole.
"I'm not saying that they are perfect, or even that they are good as they are-"
She hadn't read them since their first draft after all, and she wasn't naive enough to think that they were infallible. Nothing was. But, this was one of the few things she could have her own opinion on, something she could choose to like or dislike. Something that would have an actual impact. HYDRA had been, as expected, a horrible experience, where she had been forced to do things that she deeply regretted.
Killed people she regretted. Assassinations and murders of world leaders and the like.. and it could have been avoided. The point that was trying to be made was that Sparrow never wanted to kill again if she could help it- or, at least, never kill anyone innocent. And with Sokovia having happened, and the lives lost because of Ultron.. she never wanted something like that to happen again.
She never wanted Bucharest to happen again.. the lists of the dead as a direct consequence of Bucky and Steve.. the innocent people who had been caught up in their struggle. That was why they needed the Accords.. she didn't want innocent people to die because of something she had done. She wanted to atone, not to make her list longer.
"-but surely something needs to be in place to stop events like Bucharest happening. People.. people died when you two did what you did. I've seen the lists myself.. they were long. The people want an apology- maybe signing would be a good way to start?"
She softened her eyes, trying to get Steve to understand. He always advocated for no unnecessary lives lost, so surely he'd accept what happened as a mistake, something they needed to atone for? Sure, he'd probably still refuse the Accords, but at least they'd stop fighting, right? She wasn't expecting what he said next.. and admittedly, it stung a little.
"Sparrow, I don't expect you to understand. You're just a kid after all."
She stiffened a little on that, but forced herself to keep calm, to show no display of anger. Not only would that prove his point, but it wasn't how she did thinks. She stayed calm, constantly, and only let the anger show when she was alone.
So when she spoke, she was calm, authoritative, and definitely kept the peaceful intentions up, no matter how much she wanted to punch him right now. Her control on her powers never faltered once, the wall not flickering in the slightest despite the fluctuation in her mood.
"Biologically, I'm a kid. But I'm a kid who went through the same shit as the Winter Soldier. So, I think I understand a little more then you think I do."
Tony widened his eyes but kept quiet. Sparrow rarely swore, for good reasons, but when she did, she tended to be pissed off. She took a deep breath as the weird guy whispered under his breath 'what did she do?' and Sam hurriedly explaining.
Bucky flinched a little as soon as she brought up his alter ego, but did nothing else, allowing Steve to continue with his charade. She leapt into the chance before Steve could make another point, trying to show him that she was not just a kid. Trying to get him to acknowledge the flaws in his arguments.
"If I'm a kid who doesn't get it, whether because of my age or my time in HYDRA, then what about Wanda or Bucky? Bucky was in HYDRA until a few years ago, and Wanda happens to fit both of your criteria- young, only slightly older then me, and she was in HYDRA."
She took a breath. She let her anger control her for a second there. She shook her head a little and flicked her eyes to Tony's side, who beneath the look of concern, seemed almost proud. While she didn't exactly understand why, she turned to Steve again, who somehow narrowed his eyes even more.
"That's different! Bucky was forced into HYDRA!"
Sparrow did not allow herself to display anger very often. It was an emotion that was crippling, led to rash decisions, and resulted in several negative things. But, just this once, she would allow herself to display it. It was in a hope that perhaps, since Steve wasn't understanding her polite (admittedly terse) tone, he'd get her angry tone.
Because truth was, underneath all of the conditioning and forced behaviours, and the emotions that her therapist was trying to get her to display, she was angry. Angry that he accused her of voluntarily joining HYDRA, which she had no choice in. That she was solely responsible for everything that happened to her- the murdering, yes, she could have prevented that, but at the risk of Bucky's health- and that she was just an immature child.
"So. Was. I! Do you think I chose to be born into HYDRA? Yes, I came out of my donor's womb, going 'When I grow older, I want to join HYDRA and become a murdering weapon!' Just because Bucky had a life before HYDRA doesn't mean he is any different from me! I felt what he felt every time he went in the fucking chair, and I was the one who took the brunt of his punishments! Try being treated as a-"
She never got to finish her tirade. Her angered speech. Why? Because Steve decided that enough was enough, and threw his shield at her. She had looked at Tony for the briefest of seconds, and before she knew it, the shield was whacking her in the ribs.
Growling, she involuntarily dropped the wall of air, and like she had set off a starting gun, the two sides launched at one another, and for the first time, she truly saw what had split the Avengers. And it wasn't a difference in ideals. But before they split, Bucky took a minute to look at her with hardened eyes, sharp and glaring, before he called out an order.
"Come here. Sparrow. Now."
She rebelled against the order, the movement almost causing her physical pain, She shook her head viciously, her green eyes glaring at him with an animosity that startled even Sparrow herself. The air whipped up around her and slapped Bucky in the face as she spat out, the metaphorical starting gun yet again;
"No."
And thus, the war started. Both sides began to glide towards one another viciously, automatically splitting up into pairs. As Steve ran forwards, Tony dived down from his elevated position and struck Steve's shield with his gauntleted fist. There was almost a reverberation of sound as it made contact, the two quickly exchanging punches.
Peter was currently engaging Bucky, a target he had no match for, but he was going to try his best anyway. Sparrow flew over to him, destroying one of Clint's arrows that nearly embedded itself into her shoulder. Vision was handling Wanda, the two fighting sadly with one another, and Vision looking upset. It looked like something had happened between the two, but whatever it was, Sparrow didn't know.
Sam was tangling with Rhodey in the air, Sam being more manoeuvrable but Rhodey having more power, and random guy had shrunk, disappearing quickly. As Peter blocked Bucky's strike by crossing the Iron Spider arms, she got herself involved and attacked him with a vicious strike of wind. It almost hurt her physically to hurt him like this.. after being adopted as his daughter and everything else, but she truly had her own opinion here, and all she had done was try to stop the fighting.
Now, she was left with no choice but to fight.. even if she had to fight who had quickly become her best shot of a family.
Author's Note
Hi all!
Thank you, everybody, for the reviews! We're finally getting into the good stuff of the civil war, where we see the divide between the Avengers from Sparrow's POV, and how she goes from trying to be the impartial one to being forced to pick a side.
I hope you've all been enjoying the story so far. I know that this year will be tough for many of us because of the Covid-19 virus, but I hope that everybody who is affected is doing okay. I'm always here to talk if you need some random person from across the internet to talk to!
Let's all be nice to one another during this difficult time!
QOTW: What do you think of the news?
While I think the news can be a very good thing for getting information out, it is also responsible for making things see, worse than they actually are, and causing mass hysteria because of false reporting. My example of this would be the Covid-19 virus. While it is bad, and I am in no way saying it is good, they make it sound like it's the virus to end all viruses, and that we are going to doomed because of it. The virus has an extremely low death rate, and you only have need to worry if you have a weak immune system, are in poor health, or if you are elderly.
Of course, when I say that, I'm not saying you can't not worry about your folks- it's just that the news makes it seems like a death sentence.
I apologise in advance if I have offended anybody, it wasn't my intention.
Wishing you all good health in this time,
~Cait
