Sorry it's been a bit since my last update, I was preoccupied with life and some other stories. But I will try to update on a more consistent basis.

Guest: Glad to hear it.

Merlin and Gwen's house

Morning

Arthur, Merlin and Gwen sat around the kitchen table, Excalibur laid out in the center. For several moments, the trio just stared down at the sword in silence. Then, Merlin spoke.

"You just woke up and it was in your hand?" Merlin asked and Arthur nodded.

"Like I told you, I dreamed that I saw my mother. She handed me Excalibur and, when I woke up, it was in my hand," Arthur explained and it was silent for a moment. "What do you think it means, that it's returned to me?"

"I don't know. But it's hard not to feel like it's an omen of some kind. So many different things are happening at once," Merlin muttered as he thought of Arthur's return, his encounter with Morgana, The Accords and now this. "I fear that your return is no coincidence Arthur."

"Then my mother is right. I have returned for a reason," Arthur muttered.

"What I've learned is that there are rarely any coincidences. Whatever the reason for your return, the world will need you now more than ever," Gwen said wisely.

Arthur frowned, looking down at his sword as he thought deeply.

Matt's apartment

Same time

"Foggy was able to convince his family to help," Matt explained to Luke. "They sent out a shipment every few weeks to Florida. The driver stops midway at a checkpoint. That'll be your opportunity to slip away. It's the best I can do."

"It's enough, more than. Thank you Matt," Luke said gratefully.

"It's what friends do," Matt said simply and Luke stared at him for a long moment.

"The world would be a better place if it had more men like you and less like Ross," Luke said.

"Maybe, but that's not how the world is. Good can't exist without evil. Without sinners, there would be no saints," Matt pointed out.

"Guess you got a point there," Luke noted then paused. "You've already done so much for me…but I have something else I need to ask."

"Name it," Matt said without hesitation.

"I need you to look out for Jessica," Luke said, taking Matt back. "She signed the Accords, but a man like Ross is gonna watch her like a hawk, waiting for an excuse to send her to the Raft or worse, some black sight where he can experiment on her. And I think we both know Jess has a habit of getting herself into trouble."

"I think that goes without saying," Matt said dryly as the two men chuckled. "I'll do what I can to watch out for her, but there's not much Matt Murdock can do."

"Maybe not…but Daredevil might," Luke pointed out gently.

New York

Later in the morning

Merlin was sitting in his usual table at the café where Morgana worked, deep in thought. Arthur's return, him running into Morgana, the Accords, now Excalibur…All the signs pointed towards something big coming. He just wished he knew what that was.

A few feet away, Morgana was staring at Merlin, thinking of her dreams last night. She could have just dismissed them as dreams, likely caused by her co-worker's suggestion that Merlin was an admirer. But they had felt so real and she had never met half of those people. What was going on, Morgana wondered.

As if sensing her thoughts were on him, Merlin looked up and their eyes locked. Suddenly, an image came to Morgana's mind.

Morgana was in a tent, Merlin with her. He was dressed differently, more modest with a red handkerchief around his neck.

Morgana shook her head as the moment passed, wondering what that had been about.

In another part of town, Arthur and Gwen were walking out of a clothing store, bags in hands. Arthur couldn't keep wearing Merlin's clothes forever, after all. They had spent most of the morning going to clothes stores and getting Arthur his own clothes. As they began making their way over to the car, Arthur paused, something catching his attention.

From a window, a display from another shop was visible. In the display was a painting. The painting depicted a warrior in black armor, using a sword to fight off multiple enemies.

"Arthur?" Gwen called out when he stopped; following is gaze when she saw he was distracted. "You like the painting?"

"What is it?" Arthur asked not looking away from it.

"A Ronin," Gwen said and Arthur looked over at her in confusion. "A samurai, a warrior from Japan who spent years training in discipline and the art of swordsmanship. A Ronin is a special kind of samurai. The Ronin are samurai who have no place in the world, who no longer have any cause to fight for."

Arthur knew the feeling, he mused as he looked back at the painting. Everything he had fought for, that he had died for, was all gone. And Arthur was still trying to figure out his place in this new world.

"You know a lot about this," Arthur noted as he looked back at Gwen.

"The owner of the shop is a friend of mine. I'll introduce you sometime," Gwen promised. "But not today. We should get back home."

Arthur merely nodded, looking at the painting one more time before following Gwen. He idly wondered how long it would take him to start thinking of Gwen and Merlin's house as home.

Safe house

Same time

Thousands of miles from New York, Clint pulled up to the safe house in a car Natasha had gotten him. As he shut off the car, Clint let out a sigh; his arms still a little sore. Wakanda medical treatment was advanced, but even they couldn't take out all the sting from the beatings. The medics in Wakanda told him it would fade after a few days. Clint sat there for a moment before unbuckling and getting out of the car. As he walked up to the front door, Clint knew he'd have to dispose of the car soon enough. He couldn't leave anything to chance now that Ross would be looking for them.

Clint had barely raised his hand to knock on the front door when the door was yanked open and he was pulled inside. As the door was closed behind him, Clint suddenly had his wife in his arms again.

"Thank God you are safe," Laura let out a shaky breath.

"The kids-" Clint started.

"In the other room, I sent them to hide when I heard your car pull up," Laura said as she pulled back, inspecting him for injuries. "Are you alright? Nat said you were in bad shape."

"My arms are a little sore. The others had it worse," Clint said, his eyes darkening as he thought of Wanda.

Laura could see that he was holding a lot back, that there was more to the story. But for right now, she would just be relieved that she had her husband back, that her children had their father back.

Wakanda

Same time

Steve stood outside the infirmary, watching as the medics worked. Wanda was sedated as the medics worked, the scars around her neck healing from the shocks the guards had given her. Steve's hands had unconsciously clenched into fists as Natasha walked up behind him.

"She's gonna be okay Steve," Natasha said gently and, after a moment, Steve nodded.

"Yeah, she is. But others might not be," Steve noted grimly.

"Ross, he's not gonna stop," Natasha agreed, having already seen where his thoughts were headed. "He'll fill those cells back up."

"Which is why we need to stop him. We may be criminals as far as the world is concerned, we may not be the Avengers, but we can still protect people. People around the world are going to need our help once Ross comes after them," Steve said and Natasha nodded.

"Where do we start?" Sam asked as he joined them and Steve was silent for a moment.

"Let's let Wanda recover…then we'll start with up."

New York

Night

In his room in the apartment he shared with his aunt, Peter stared down at his cell phone, looking at all the calls he had made to Happy. It had been over a week since the fight in Germany and nothing. Peter was lost in thought when there was a knock on his door.

"Pete? You okay?" May's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine May," Peter said as he cleared the screen on his phone, putting it down.

May then opened the door, coming in. Peter's insides twisted with guilt as he saw the concerned look on her face.

"I know we've had a rough few months, but…we used to talk. Now even when you're here, it's like you're somewhere else. Just…I want you to know, you can talk to me," May assured her.

Peter wanted to. He wanted to tell her the truth. But he didn't want her to freak out. Then, a thought occurred to him. He could tell her the truth. Just…not the whole truth.

"There's just…I helped a guy out last week."

"Would this be the same guy who gave you a black eye? Steve was it?" May asked, a stern look coming over her face.

"No, no, different guy," Peter quickly assured her. "We were, um, supposed to work together on a …school project. But I've been calling him all week and he's not answering me back. I called one of his friends and they keep telling me he'll be in touch but he never is."

"Do you want me to talk to a teacher or the principle?" May asked after a moment.

"No, no, I can handle it," Peter quickly assured her.

"Okay. But…, Pete, you have a good heart. Some people might try to take advantage of that," May said as she sat down on his bed next to him. "Some people, they just use people and throw them away after their done. It sounds like this guy, whoever he is, might be one of them. You can't expect any help from them. Just…don't keep waiting for someone who never comes through, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah okay May," Peter said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Get some sleep. You have school tomorrow," May told him, kissing him on the cheek before getting to her feet.

After May closed the door behind her, Peter sat, musing over her words for a few moments before picking up his phone. Opening the contacts, he scrolled down to Happy's name. Peter stared at it for a moment before deleting it. If Mr. Stark wasn't going to take him seriously, was just going to use him, well, he'd been doing just fine on his own until Mr. Stark had walked into his home. He may not be an Avenger, but he could still help people.

Gwen and Merlin's house

Same time

It was after dinner. Merlin and Gwen were doing dishes as Arthur sat in the living room, watching the news. Arthur would have helped, but given he had never really washed dishes before aside from those brief days he spent hiding out at Gwen's, the three had decided it was best he leave it to Gwen and Merlin.

Currently, there was a news report on the whereabouts of Luke Cage. Merlin and Gwen had explained enough about Cage that Arthur respected what he was trying to do.

"Luke Cage was the hero of Harlem. He tried to help people; he served his time and followed the law. What right does Secretary Ross have to charge him with treason and attempt to arrest him without any kind of due process?" a news anchor was saying.

"The Accords are the law now. If Luke Cage didn't sign it, he's a criminal," his co-anchor said firmly.

"Mandatory registration is unconstitutional. We might as well paint targets on the backs of our citizens," the news anchor argued.

Arthur turned it off, having seen enough. What the news anchor said had struck home. Arthur remembered his father's list of all those he suspected of having practiced magic, Arthur was seeing history repeat itself. Looking over, Arthur saw Excalibur leaning against the wall. Getting to his feet, Arthur walked over and picked it up. He had stood on the wrong side of this once. But he would not stand by and let a tyrant impose his hate and fear on innocent people again.

After finishing the dishes, Merlin and Gwen walked into the living. But, to their surprise, Arthur was nowhere to be found.

"Arthur? Arthur?" Gwen called out but the room was silent.

"I don't think he's here Gwen," Merlin said grimly, looking at where Excalibur had been, seeing the weapon was missing.

New York

Later that night

On the edge of New York, a truck was driving down the highway. Inside the truck, Luke Cage was sitting in the back, hauled up in various sweaters to protect him from the cold. Only a few more hours, Luke thought as he tried to stop his chattering teeth.

Outside the truck, two vans pulled up on either side of the truck. The driver didn't think anything of it until one of the vans suddenly rammed into the side, rocking the truck.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the driver shocked.

Suddenly, a third van emerged in front of them, turning sideways. The driver was forced to slam on his break to avoid a collision. As one of the other vans pulled back, and turned sideways, the driver realized he was boxed in.

Inside the truck, Luke lifted his head. From all the shaking and swerving, it was easy for him to guess that he'd been made, someone had come after him.

Outside, the driver held his hands up as, out of the back of the vans, various men in tactical gear armed with assault rifles emerged. They cautiously approached the back of the truck and, on the leader's hand signal; the back of the truck was pulled open. Immediately, Luke slugged the leader and jumped out of the van, beginning to engage the man. They opened fire but the bullets simply deflected off his iron skin.

Nearby, Arthur was standing on a nearby building when he heard the sound of the gunshots. Gripping Excalibur in his hand, Arthur ran off after locating the source of the gunshots.

The gunfire stopped as they realized they weren't doing anything. Luke grabbed a gun off a soldier and stuck him across the face with it before Luke slugged another. One of the soldiers flipped a switch on his weapon and fired. Instead of bullets, an energy wave shot out and hit Luke. Luke stumbled back, feeling that something was wrong. His vision was blurry and he was starting to feel numb.

Still, Luke wasn't giving up without a fight. He slugged another solider and elbowed another in the face, but it noticeably had less power than before. As they surrounded him, that's when something appeared out of the darkness.

Arthur rushed in, bringing Excalibur down on of one of the men's rifles. The power of the sword caused the gun to turn to dust in his arms, sending the soldier flying back. Arthur took advantage of the soldiers' distraction, elbowing one in the abdomen and kicking another down. Overcoming their surprise, the soldier who had fired the energy at Luke prepared to do the same to Arthur.

As if sensing their intentions, Arthur whirled around, striking the weapon with Excalibur before it could completely power up. The resulting explosion sent both of them flying back, the soldier hitting one of the van's and being knocked out while Arthur landed on the ground, Excalibur landing a few inches from him.

One of the soldiers tried to grab Excalibur but Luke punched him, sending him falling to the ground as Arthur grabbed his sword, rising to his feet.

"Don't know who you are, but thanks for the assist," Luke said as he and Arthur stood back to back.

"Arthur," Arthur introduced himself as they stared at the group of soldiers surrounding them.

"Luke. Listen, these guys did something to me, I'm not gonna be much help," Luke told him apologetically.

"I've faced worse odds," Arthur said with a smirk before rushing in, swinging Excalibur.

So, not a whole lot happened in this chapter but it did help set up a lot of plotlines that will be important later on.

Usually, I like Tony but I will admit to being completely disgusted by his treatment of Peter. I'm not sure how so many people can see their relationship as a father/son relationship, because the majority of the time we just see Tony using Peter and treating him like crap, especially in Civil War and Homecoming. And what's worse is the narrative treats Tony like he's right in his relationship with Peter. As someone who has experience with being treated by someone the way Tony treats Peter, I admit I'm pretty disgusted with the writers.

Arthur has officially decided to make his stand against the Accords, which has led him to his first encounter with Luke Cage. There will be some pretty big fallout from this, as you can imagine.