Chapter 6 –
"I don't think this is what your doctor meant when he told you that some light exercise would help with the stiffness in your back," Zara said dryly while she watched Rhodey move from doing push-ups to sitting so he could stretch out his back by twisting from side to side.
"Then he should've been more specific, shouldn't have he?" Rhodes snarked as he ignored her to continue his version of light exercise. "Besides, knowing his luck, Tones will be attacked while we're heading back to the Compound and I'll be damned if I let a little thing like a stiff back stop me from saving his dumb arse," he grumbled, wincing a little at the burn he could feel in his back.
Zara sighed in his mind. "Could you at least not act like you're back at basic?" she asked, sounding like she didn't believe he would listen to that request.
In Zara's defence, Rhodes didn't listen right away but when his back reminded him that Edward had only healed his spinal cord, not the bruising that accompanied it, he did decide that listening to his brown bear wasn't the worst thing he could do. He still did three more sets of stretches so he could pretend as though he was stopping on his own terms and not because Zara asked but from the faint hint of smugness he could feel from his Animal, he knew she was aware of why he wasn't continuing with his self-imposed exercise regime.
"Have you heard from Elio or Lily yet?" Rhodes asked, ignoring his Animal's smugness and refusing to give her the chance to try and say something like 'I told you so'.
"Nothing from Lily but Elio was kind enough to let me know they were leaving Stark Tower fifteen minutes ago," Zara told him as she watched him climb carefully to his feet and move to sit on the edge of his bed so he could catch his breath and drink some water while relaxing a little.
"And you didn't tell me straight away?" Rhodes asked, pretending to be irritated with her. His bear's only response was her usual one of rolling her eyes whenever Rhodes tried acting upset or angry with her. "What'd you think to the strangers with Tony?" he asked after a couple of moments silence.
"You're asking me now about my opinion of them? After one of them used a previously unheard-of healing technique on you?" Zara asked, fuzzy brow raised incredulously.
"I figured you would've intervened if you didn't think it was a good idea or if you sensed that he was going to do something that would worsen my situation," Rhodes replied calmly. Zara still looked unimpressed. "So? Thoughts?" he asked promptingly.
Zara went quiet for a few seconds and Rhodes let her be, knowing she was looking back on her memories of last night and figuring out the best way to answer his question. "I sensed no malice from any of them," she started saying, "and I felt nothing from them that would indicate that they were a danger to you or me but I also sensed fear, uncertainty, apprehensiveness, suspicion, and wariness from them all. The older of the two humans hid it better than the blonde did but saying that, for most of the time they were here, all I sensed from the blonde was an overwhelming amount of suspicion and wariness. Everything else was covered by that up until his offer to heal you was given to you," she told him.
"So what'd you sense then?" Rhodes asked, water bottle still open but forgotten in his hand as he listened to his bear. Zara was on par with Elio when it came to how accurate their instincts were about strangers around their humans.
"His fear, mostly," Zara said without pausing to think about it. "But I think the underlying reasons for that fear were a mix of what would happen if he messed up your healing, what our responses would be to that, and the fact that they aren't from here," she told him. "His fear was most evident when he was healing you so I think it would be safe to assume that in that moment, his sole concern was not being able to help you as much as he'd promised he could," she added.
Rhodes thought about that for a moment as he screwed the top back on his water bottle and placed it on the table next to him before asking, "so what does that mean about your opinion of him? Of the others with him?"
Zara hummed thoughtfully before she answered. "I think it means that he wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone who wasn't a danger to him or those with him. I'd probably even bet to say that he wouldn't hurt someone who was a danger to him or those around him if that person/Animal wasn't actively threatening him or someone else," Zara told him. Rhodes let out a small sigh of relief. It had taken every ounce of self-control he possessed when Tony and those with him had left to not ask Zara to ask Elio to contact her with regular updates throughout the night. "I will say that his commanding officer is protective of him though. More so than any commanding officer you've ever had has been of you," she said.
"How so?" Rhodes asked, his brow furrowing slightly. While not unheard of that commanding officers could become protective of their team, it was unheard of that they were obvious about it and that protectiveness normally only extended to other high-ranking officers trying to persuade lower-ranked officers to request a transfer onto their team or if their team or specific team member was being unjustly targeted by someone. Even then, commanding officers had to be careful about how obvious they were about their feelings regarding their team, even if they were off the base.
"You wouldn't have noticed since you weren't facing him and I doubt anyone else noticed as they were focused on you but I noticed when I checked on him and the two Animals with them to make sure they weren't going to try anything while you were vulnerable," Zara said, completely unashamed about her own protectiveness. "To the untrained eye, he would've looked casual, uncaring but I could see how tense he was. The way his eyes were flicking rapidly between the blonde and everyone else, ready to intervene at a moment's notice if any of us showed the slightest hint of attacking the blonde, that told me that he cares about him to a higher degree than a commanding officer should care about a subordinate," she reported.
"Well, they are from another country," Rhodes pointed out. "It could be that their military is a little laxer around their regulations regarding commanding officers and their subordinates," he rationalised.
"Possibly," Zara conceded, "but I still got the feeling last night that if one of us had tried something against the blonde, we would've had a fight on our hands and not just from his commanding officer," she told him. "The wolf and lioness were both ready to attack on his behalf as well," she said before Rhodes could ask.
"Which one was his Animal?" Rhodes asked curiously. In all the excitement the previous night, the only one out of the four strangers they'd been somewhat introduced to was Edward. He was certain he heard Edward call his commanding officer "Mustang" but he wouldn't be able to swear to it if pressed. He certainly didn't get the name of either Animal with the pair.
"The wolf," Zara answered immediately, "but that lioness is fiercely protective of him as well. I wouldn't be surprised if we learned that she's defended him as much as she would her own human," Zara told him.
"That's certainly interesting," Rhodes said, brows raised in intrigue. If overly protective commanding officers were unusual, someone else's Animal being as protective of a human unrelated to theirs as they would be of their own human was all but unheard of.
"There's something unusual about the blonde," Zara said. "Something more than his alchemy or his commanding officer's and commanding officer's Animal's protectiveness of him," she added before Rhodey could voice the sarcastic response he'd been about to.
"Guess that means we get to keep an eye on him. Keep an eye on them all, really," Rhodes said seriously. Tony had only managed to tell him everything about what had happened in Siberia in mild detail. Rhodes knew there were plenty of smaller, likely significant details he was missing and he had plans on cornering his best friend when they got back to the Compound before Tony and Elio could disappear into the workshop, not to be seen for the next week.
"How is that any different to what we've been doing when we've stayed at the Compound?" Zara asked, her brows raised questioningly. "We both had an inkling that Rogers was hiding something from Tony and Elio and we'd been watching him as closely as we could manage whenever we were at the Compound at the same time as Rogers and Timothy," Zara pointed out. "How well did that work out for us?" she asked, her tone sad as she remembered what Tony had told them the night before.
Rhodes winced a little as guilt, as well as shame, washed over him. His best friend had been forced to not only find out that his parents had been murdered rather than killed in an accident like he'd been told but that someone he'd considered a good friend for the last four years had been lying to him for half the time he'd known him and he'd found out all of this because a bad guy had revealed it in an effort to destroy the Avengers. Not only that but Tony had found out with only Elio there as his support. T'Challa and Illoh barely counted as they had known each other for a few hours at that point and there was no way Rhodes was counting Rogers and Timothy as support, not to mention Barnes or Zima.
And as if that wasn't enough to piss Rhodes off, there was the reason why he and Zara hadn't been by Tony and Elio's sides when Zemo had played that damned video. Though Rhodes had been honest when he'd told Tony the previous night that he didn't blame anyone for his injury, he was still angry that it had even happened. The shot that had taken him down should have never been aimed at Tony in the first place. Rhodes had no idea who was on the end of that weapon and fired it but when he got back to the Compound, the first thing he was going to do was kick both Rogers' and Barnes' arses for firing that shot in the first place. They were supposed to be friends and even though that confrontation at the airport had turned into a fight neither he nor Tony had expected, Rhodes would never have thought in a million years that Rogers would allow a weapon like the quinjet's to be aimed and fired at someone he'd called a friend for four years.
"We weren't there for as long as we will be this time," Rhodes said, a touch defensively, "and Rogers and the strangers won't be able to leave the Compound for any reason for several days at least. The Air Force won't put me back on active duty until I've been cleared by my doctors and I can drag that process out if I need to so I can keep an eye on Tony and Elio," he told his bear.
"So we can keep an eye on Tony and Elio," Zara corrected, resting a large paw on Rhodes' arm. "Plus, I think we won't have to keep much of an eye on Elio. In fact, I think he'll be helping us keep an eye on everyone else," she told him.
Rhodes smirked and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if he did but as much as I love the dingo and his human, they're both as oblivious as each other sometimes. I'd much rather our efforts got to keeping an eye on them both rather than slacking off on Elio and something slipping past him."
"Good points," Zara said with a nod. "Nothing will get past us and I highly doubt FRIDAY is going to be slacking off either. Can you imagine just what she's doing to Rogers and the others now without Tony there to keep an eye on her?" she asked, chuckling at the images she was conjuring up in her mind. Young as she may be, FRIDAY was a force to be reckoned with if you got on the wrong side of her creator and Zara sincerely hoped Rogers and company were learning that the hard way.
Rhodes grinned at both his own set of mental images and Zara's amusement. "Think we could delay Tony for a few hours so FRIDAY has more time to make Rogers start paying for his actions?" he asked his Animal, who laughed as she pretended to consider it.
"Unfortunately, Elio and Lily are outside the hospital now so I don't think any delaying will be happening but maybe we could try to convince Tony that the strangers need a tour of New York before we go back to the Compound?" the brown bear suggested cheekily.
"You know what?" Rhodes said contemplatively, a large grin growing on his face. "That isn't a bad idea," he told his Animal. "We may just get away with it," he said just as a nurse walked into the room to do one final check of Rhodes' injuries before they let Tony take him to the Compound.
The nurse pinned him with a suspicious look but Rhodes managed to convince her with just a smile that he wasn't talking about something that would be detrimental to his healing. She gave him a polite smile before she started instructing him to do things and asking questions that he barely had time to answer before she was moving onto the next one. She was scrawling his answers and her observations onto the file she was carrying with her, her left hand all but a blur as she wrote, before she produced scripts for pain relief and handed them to him.
"Even if you don't think you'll need the painkillers because you'll have access to medication in the Avengers Compound, keep a hold of the script so the doctors there will know what we've recommended if you do end up needing them," she instructed once Rhodes had taken the script. "Doctors Brown and Sharp will be with you in a minute and your friends are on their way up," she told him as she finished writing a few things down before she placed a blood pressure cuff around his upper arm and a pulse reader on his index finger.
"Is there a reason why you're letting Tony and the others into the room instead of having them wait near the entrance like normal?" Rhodes asked as the nurse studied the readings she was getting before she added them to the chart.
"We figured it would be for the best if Mr. Stark wasn't in one spot for too long. Less chance of a crowd forming around him and hindering our ability to get places in the hospital quickly if he came up here and walked with you down to the car he has waiting," she explained, packing away the blood pressure machine as she spoke.
"Clever thinking," Zara praised and Rhodes had to nod in agreement. Though he was far less likely to be hospitalised than Tony was, the few times he had been and Tony had come personally to pick him up had resulted in Rhodes and Zara being stuck at the hospital longer than necessary while Tony dealt with people demanding his attention despite Tony's attempts to hide his identity and get them out of there quickly when it had been found out.
Brown and Sharp walked into the room just as the nurse placed the blood pressure machine out of the way of the next patient to be moved into the room. Both doctors checked Rhodes over with a clinical eye in the same way every nurse and doctor who'd been in his room over the last 18 hours had. "How are you feeling, Colonel Rhodes?" Brown asked just as the nurse left and Tony and the rest of them entered.
"Bit sore and tender in the back still," Rhodes said honestly. Unlike a certain best friend he could name, Rhodes didn't believe in lying to doctors on the off chance the honest answer would have him stay an extra night or two in hospital. He saw the flash of concern in Edward's eyes and immediately said, "but a lot better than I felt yesterday," before the blonde had the chance to think he'd screwed up somehow.
"Oh please don't tell me you're already thinking of adopting him like some kind of older, blonder, version of MIT Tony?" Zara asked, though she sounded like she already knew the answer to her question.
"No," Rhodes said a bit too quickly. "Shut up," he muttered when he felt the disbelief through their bond. He didn't even know why but seeing that concern and self-doubt in Edward's eyes, even momentarily, had been enough to trigger Rhodes' need to erase that completely from him, much like he'd done to Tony during their MIT years and still did these days. "I'm not going to adopt him," Rhodes said firmly.
"Sure you aren't," Zara said, even going so far as to nod her head as though she truly believed him when he could sense the scepticism and sarcasm in her voice.
Rhodes elected to ignore her and focus on Doctor Brown, who had been speaking while he and Zara had had that small exchange. "- as Edward had said. If the pain doesn't seem to be decreasing or is increasing during the next two weeks, I'd urge you to see your regular doctor. I'd still like you to see your doctor in two weeks either way for a check-up but definitely see them beforehand if the pain becomes too much," Brown said.
Rhodes gave a nod, giving no indication that he'd missed the first half of Brown's statement. "You should be paying attention to your doctors," Zara tsked cheekily. "Isn't that what you tell Tony all the time?" she asked amusedly.
"Zip it," Rhodes ordered through their bond as he said, "I'll get a hold of my doctor and see if they can fit me in for an appointment in two weeks' time and I will go to the medical wing in the Compound if the pain worsens and the painkillers I've been prescribed have no effect," out loud, raising the script he still had in his hand.
Brown gave a relieved nod as Sharp gave his own reminder. "Don't do any kind of heavy lifting for the next few weeks. I've attached my recommendations for how much weight you can lift over the next two months to your medical file and can send one directly to your email if you would like a copy," Sharp said.
"I'd appreciate a copy of it, Doctor Sharp," Rhodes said and the doctor nodded in acknowledgement.
"Assuming Doctor Sharp doesn't have anything else to add, we'll give you some privacy to get changed," Brown said, looking at his co-worker, who shook his head. "In that case, it was a pleasure to meet you, Colonel Rhodes, but let's not make it a habit," Brown said with a wry smile as he held his hand out for Rhodes to shake.
"The same to you, Doctor Brown. Thank you both," Rhodes said, shaking Brown's hand and nodding to Sharp when the younger doctor didn't make a move to shake Rhodes' hand.
"You're welcome," Brown said. "Just stop by the nurses station on your way out so they know you've left," he requested.
"Shall do," Rhodes promised as he accepted the bag of clothes that Tony handed out for him to take. He was grateful his best friend had thought to do so considering the only clothes he'd been wearing when he was taken to the German hospital had been his flight suit and boxers and both had been cut off him since the nurses couldn't remove them any other way without risking his spine. It had only been last night that he was able to get dressed in the hospital pyjamas rather than the gown that had been placed over him to preserve some of his dignity.
Both doctors left without another word and Rhodes was finally able to greet everyone properly for the first time that day. However he was beaten to it by Tony who said, "well, you're certainly looking better today. How many nurses' numbers did you get to make that happen?" with a teasing grin on his face.
"A gentleman never kisses and tells, not that I'd expect you to know that," Rhodes sniped with no heat and a grin of his own. Tony managed to look offended for all of two seconds before he couldn't stop his laughter. Happy just rolled his eyes at the familiar banter while Edward and his commanding officer looked a little unsure of themselves. "How about you make up for your lack of manners last night and introduce us properly to these guys?" Rhodes asked, gesturing to the non-Americans.
Tony blinked owlishly a couple of times before asking, "did I really not introduce you all last night?"
Rhodes smirked in amusement while Zara shook her head fondly. He was certain from the dingo's expression that Elio had sighed and through the bond if the way Tony was looking at him was any indication. "No, Tones, you didn't," Rhodes confirmed.
Tony still looked bewildered that he hadn't done so, causing Happy to snort softly but he shook himself out of his shock quickly enough. "Right, let's fix that tragedy this instant," Tony declared. "Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Elric and Brigadier-General Roy Mustang, meet Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes, my best friend and brother in all but blood," Tony said, gesturing to Ed and Mustang in turn. "His Animal's name is Zara and don't let appearances fool you, she's a complete sweetheart and mother-hen unless you try something against Rhodey," he told them, earning an unimpressed look from the bear in question. "Ayala is the wolf and Nala is the lioness and they are bonded to Edward and Brigadier-General Mustang respectively," he said, finishing off the introductions.
Rhodes blinked at both the rankings of the two in front of him and though he managed to snap a salute to Mustang – who looked surprised and mildly pleased by it, though he dismissed it immediately – he couldn't help but blurt out, "how the hell did you get promoted to lieutenant-colonel in four years?" at Edward, whose scowl at Mustang being saluted only deepened at Rhodes' question.
"Unwillingly and I've been part of the Amestrian military for more than four years," Ed told him, certainly sounding bitter about his rank.
Mustang's smirk was smug and self-satisfied as he said, "Fullmetal has been with our military for ten years as of two months ago and his promotion was given due to the dedication he showed to his country during a… conflict five years ago," Mustang told them. Everyone noticed the slight hesitation before he said conflict but no one got the chance to comment as Mustang continued. "Truthfully, with everything Fullmetal has done in his career, he could've been promoted numerous times to the point where he might be of equal rank to myself today," he said.
"Fuck your promotions," Ed grumbled. "I didn't even want to be a lieutenant-colonel! I was fine being a major!" he snarled, causing Mustang to grin as though this was a familiar argument. Rhodes noticed the glare the golden wolf was pinning the raven-haired man while she pushed her head under her human's left hand. Even the lioness wasn't looking impressed with her human stirring up the young blonde.
"Unsurprisingly, I have more questions now than I did before," Rhodes said after a couple of moments passed with stunned silence on one half of the room and amused/irritated silence on the other. "But I think I should get dressed first then ask those questions while we're in the car," he said, already heading for the small bathroom that was attached to his room.
"I think that would be a good idea," Happy said. "I'd hate to have to call for another car because ours got towed while we were waiting here for you to finish interrogating those four," he said, completely straight-faced, though there was a twinkle in his eye that had Rhodes rolling his eyes.
Edward looked mildly relieved that the questioning would be put off for a few minutes at least, though he was quick to school his expression once more. "You'd just drop Tony's name to the towing company and they'd be bringing the car back with apologies," Rhodes said as he got to the bathroom door. Zara, not being able to fit in the bathroom with him, was staying behind and took up a spot near Tony.
"Or they'd quadruple their release price for us to get the car back," Tony grumbled in the tone one would use about a situation they'd already been in.
"They'd try," Rhodes corrected, pausing at the bathroom door with a grin. "Remember what happened the one and only time someone tried that?" he said. Tony and Happy's faces immediately lit up with joy as they recalled the memory while Edward and Mustang looked varying degrees of curious. "Now imagine their response if you add in the fact that you're Iron Man," he said, grin widening in response to the worryingly gleeful looks on both Tony's and Happy's faces. Ignoring the glare Elio shot his way for putting those thoughts in his human's head, Rhodes disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the dingo to try and mitigate Tony's plans on having someone tow the car in the hopes that they'd try charging him extra to have it released so that scenario could happen.
"So I remember you saying something about State Alchemists last night before the doctors came back into the room," Rhodes said, directing his words to the two alchemists in the town car. They'd left the hospital only a few minutes ago and the drive to the Compound looked like it would be on the longer end of the 20–40-minute drive due to the traffic. "I didn't get the chance to ask this last night but what is a State Alchemist?" he asked.
Zara shifted slightly from where she lay on the long bench seat next to Rhodes and the colonel made a mental note to thank Tony and Happy for bringing the larger town car that easily accommodated Zara's size and everyone else comfortably. As it was, Rhodes, Zara, Tony, and Elio were sharing the one set of seats that backed onto Happy's seat while Lily took possession of the front passenger seat. The two alchemists and their Animals were sitting on the second bench seat, facing Rhodes, Tony, and their Animals. To Rhodes' intrigue, Nala was touching both her human and Edward while Ayala had squished herself in between her human and the side of the car. The wolf was barely able to fit but managed to do so by resting her front half on Edward's lap. It also, Rhodes noted, allowed her to keep an eye on all of them without risking Edward's safety to do so.
Mustang shifted slightly, catching Rhodes' attention in time for the colonel to see him glance at Edward questioningly. When the blonde did a very good job of acting like he hadn't noticed his commanding officer's silent question, Mustang sighed, looking unsurprised at Ed's actions before he faced the others once more. "Fullmetal and I are both active members of the Amestrian military and the both of us are State Alchemists," he reiterated. "While I am no longer an active field State Alchemist thanks to my duties as a brigadier-general –"
"And being a lazy bastard," Ed muttered, probably not meaning for his words to be heard by anyone other than his countrymen and Animals.
The only sign Mustang gave that he'd heard the remark was the glare he gave the blonde, who looked more amused with his reaction than cowed by the look. Mustang continued speaking as though Ed hadn't said anything and Rhodes thought he saw a flicker of amusement on his best friend's face. "Fullmetal, on the other hand, is an active field and research State Alchemist at present," Mustang told them. "What that means is that if Fullmetal is researching something and nearing a breakthrough or completion of his research and he gets ordered to go out on the field, he can turn down the mission to focus on his research if he believes his research needs his focus more," Mustang explained. "In answer to your question, Colonel Rhodes, a State Alchemist merely belongs to the State Alchemy branch of our military. They can be field, research, or both State Alchemists and though the branch originally was created so the military could use State Alchemists as the front line for any war Amestris found itself in, under new leadership, State Alchemists now have the choice of whether they want to participate in war on behalf of Amestris," he told them. "The military funds the research of any non-field State Alchemist, as well as reimburses the costs of travel, food, lodgings, medical bills, or anything else a field State Alchemist or research State Alchemist pays for whilst on a mission for the military or in pursuit of more information for their research," he explained.
"So it's an elite branch of your military? Like the Navy SEALS are to the Navy?" Tony asked, brows scrunching slightly as he tried to put Mustang's explanation into terms he understood better.
Mustang and Ed both looked confused at the mention on the Navy and Navy SEALS but Mustang gave a nod. "It certainly sounds like our State Alchemists are in a similar vein to your Navy SEALS," he told them.
"How does someone become a State Alchemist?" Rhodes asked curiously.
"They pass three exams. A written, a physical, and a medical," Mustang answered almost immediately. "The doctors who perform the medical exam also use the opportunity to perform a basic psychological exam to ensure that the military doesn't allow someone who isn't psychologically fit to become a State Alchemist," he added.
"Yeah, no one wants more Kimblees running around with a State Alchemist title," Ed muttered, glowering at no one in particular as Ayala leaned back up against him in a show of comfort. Rhodes thought he saw Ed rub the left side of his lower abdomen but couldn't be sure considering Ayala was covering that area with her body.
Mustang gave Ed an understanding look but didn't elaborate on who Kimberlee was or what he did. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to know a bit about your military," Mustang said, changing the subject before anyone could ask about Kimblee or Amestris any further. "You mentioned an Air Force and now a Navy. What are those?" he asked.
"Two of three branches of our military," Rhodes told him. "The Air Force is primarily responsible for search and rescue, disaster relief, peacekeeping, civil assistance, and aiding our troops on the ground from above. We also specialise in aerial surveillance," he said. "The Navy maintains, trains, and equips combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintain the freedom of our oceans. Naval personnel are trained to operate every type of military equipment available to our troops, including aircraft carriers. They have elite groups within themselves, including the Navy SEALS who are giving specialised training for advanced warfare situations," he explained.
"And the third branch?" Edward asked, his anger at whoever Kimblee was forgotten in the face of new information.
"Our Army," Rhodes answered promptly. "They are primarily the ones sent out to the frontlines of wars or conflicts on the ground, but they do aid the Navy and Air Force from the sea and air. They also contain elite groups, like the Army Rangers and Special Forces, who, like the Navy SEALS, receive specialised training for advanced combat situations," he told them. "From what you've told us of your military, I'd liken it to our Army and the State Alchemists to our Special Forces," he added, managing to hold back the comment of how little they actually knew of Amestris' military but only just.
"It's not like you've told them all of the Air Force's secrets either, you know," Zara pointed out. Though he couldn't see his bear's face, he just knew there was an amused look on it and he couldn't resist nudging her in the side.
"Boss, sorry to interrupt but I've been asked by the UN to pass on a message to you that they've been trying to reach you for the last 18 hours and are requesting an urgent call back," FRIDAY said, sounding from Tony's breast pocket.
Rhodes wasn't surprised when Tony sighed but made no move to grab his phone out of the pocket it was hidden in. "Thanks for letting me know, Baby Girl. If they call back before I'm back in the Compound, tell them I'll call them back in whatever our ETA is plus ten minutes," Tony instructed.
"Will do, Boss," FRIDAY agreed immediately and with, if Rhodes wasn't imagining it, a bit of glee in her voice.
"What's the latest with everything?" Rhodes asked, wanting to be caught up so he could help his best friend mitigate the damage caused by the Avengers. "I haven't heard about anything since the first lot of talks about Lagos," he added so Tony knew where to start from.
"The Maria Stark Foundation has offered aide to Lagos and Bucharest and from what I know, the aide has been accepted by both. The Avengers – well, specifically Rogers, Maximoff, Wilson, and Romanoff are persona non grata in Lagos until further notice and we're lucky that the whole of Africa haven't followed their lead," Tony told him. "Bucharest is this close," Tony held up his thumb and forefinger separated by a few millimetres, "to following Lagos' example when it comes to Rogers, Barnes, Wilson, and T'Challa so I think it would probably be best if the four of them didn't show their face there any time soon. I know that Wakanda has offered aide to Lagos and Bucharest as well, mainly because there was a Wakandan embassy in Lagos at the time and Wakandans were killed and because of T'Challa's involvement in what happened in Bucharest and I've gotta say it's nice that the Maria Stark Foundation isn't taking care of both places by itself and that T'Challa has owned up to his role in Bucharest. From what I understand, he's planning on releasing a press statement which will include a formal apology and offer of reparations to Bucharest," Tony told him, sounding slightly amazed by the fact that someone other than him was owning up to their mistakes and offering apologies and compensation for the damages they'd caused.
"What about the airport and Vienna?" Rhodes asked, deciding not to make a comment about how the rest of the Avengers – minus Vision and probably Wanda, but only because she hadn't received any kind of PR training as far as Rhodes knew – could take notes from T'Challa.
"Vienna declined aide from the Foundation," Tony said, nodding at Rhodes' surprise. "The damage to the UN building was severe but it was the only thing to cop any sort of severe damage so the Austrian government and Vienna's local government have agreed that the costs to repair the building will be shared between the Austrian government and UN while Vienna's local council will take on the costs of repairing whatever damage was done to the street and other buildings," Tony explained.
"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that but it's good to know there are some countries out there who are willing to turn down the Foundation and admit they have the funds there to take care of the costs themselves," Rhodes said. Tony gave a nod in response and Rhodes took the opportunity to prod for information on the one thing Tony hadn't spoken about yet. "What about the airport?"
Tony sighed once more as he sunk slightly in his seat. Rhodes was a little surprised to see concern in the eyes of the Amestrians as they watched Tony. "Germany isn't sure what they're going to do as yet because they're still investigating the airport and tallying the damages," Tony said. "Since you called the airport and organised for it to be evacuated before anyone got there and because surveillance cameras show that we tried to keep the confrontation from devolving into a fight, we're likely going to be in the clear as far as criminal charges go but it's up in the air as to whether Germany will be that lenient with Rogers and his team," Tony told him. "I've already offered to pay for any damages caused by you, me, and the Spider-Kid – though the damage done by him is pretty negligible. T'Challa said he will personally reimburse Germany for any damage he did during the fight as well so that's good and I've heard from Pepper that Pym Technologies is in talks with Germany to cover the costs of any damages caused by Ant-Man who was wearing a suit Pym had developed but hadn't given him blanket permission to use so there could be a criminal charge pressed against Lang for stealing it if Pym and his daughter decide to go down that road," Tony reported.
"So, the others could face criminal charges?" Rhodes asked and Tony nodded. He wasn't sure how he felt to learn about that since he had counted them – well, minus Barnes for obvious reasons – as friends but on the other hand, they'd deserve to be charged and tried in a criminal court for their actions, especially Rogers.
Rhodes knew his thoughts were probably a little harsher than they would've been if he hadn't found out about what Rogers had kept from Tony and for how long he sat on that secret like he had every right to do so but he couldn't find it in himself to feel that bad about it. In between sleeping and thinking about everything that had happened, Rhodes had found himself thinking about what Tony had told him regarding Siberia the previous night and he'd found himself being shaken lightly by Zara when his thoughts turned to what could've happened to Tony if Strange hadn't chosen that moment and that place to kidnap Edward, Mustang, and their Animals. He knew his best friend, knew him almost as well as he knew himself, and Rhodes was willing to bet that Elio wouldn't have been enough to stop Tony from lashing out physically at Rogers.
Whether Tony would've gone for Barnes was the one thing Rhodes wasn't sure about but he knew Tony would've definitely gone after the person who'd betrayed his trust and Rhodes knew that Rogers would've responded in kind. He had no doubts that Rogers would've fought back instead of trying to calm or restrain Tony long enough for Tony's grief and anger to simmer down to a point where his rationality would come back and let him think things through a bit more logically. If Barnes didn't sit back and watch his best friend and Tony duke it out or try and stop Rogers and Tony from fighting, Rhodes knew his best friend wouldn't have won that fight without resorting to his suit's missiles, uni-beam, or the laser in his shoulder and he knew Tony wouldn't have used any of those weapons against Rogers or Barnes, no matter how pissed off and betrayed he was feeling. And Elio, no matter how good and quick-thinking the dingo was, wouldn't have lasted long against both Timothy and the snow leopard that belonged to Barnes if the two Animals decided to go up against him. Rhodes knew, in the bottom of his heart, that if Strange hadn't turned up right then and there, Tony and Elio would've been sharing a hospital room with him for the foreseeable future, if not laying in a morgue somewhere.
"I am going to see if we can work out a deal with Germany so that if they are criminally charged for their actions, they aren't thrown into jail though," Tony admitted and Rhodes' attention went straight back to his best friend. "We'll need all hands-on deck for Thanos and Rogers and Barnes are the heaviest hitters we've got outside of us and Thor," Tony said defensively before Rhodes could say anything. "I'm not sure whether I'm going to let Vision onto the battlefield considering he's got one of the Stones in his head or whether I'll ask Strange to keep him at his version of Hogwarts. I'll talk to both Strange and Vision though before I decide anything about that but if Vision agrees to stay off the battlefield, we'll be down one of our strongest members so we'll need Barnes and Rogers to make up for that. We'd also be down a flier so we'll need Wilson and you saw what Lang could do with the suit," Tony said, speaking a little rapidly as he tried to defend his thinking. "If Pym doesn't take the suit from him and lets him help us out, he could do a significant amount of damage to the enemy," he added.
"Relax, Tones, and take a breath," Rhodes instructed, smirking slightly when Tony did just that. "I get why you don't want them in jail but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it," Rhodes told him, "and I really hope you're not doing all of this by yourself. I hope you're making them take part in their defence," Rhodes said, one of his brows raised. "Maybe by being a part of the talks with Germany and the UN, they'll realise just how fucking stupid they were being," Rhodes muttered.
Tony looked amused but nodded. "I already made Rogers and Barnes sit in a conversation with the UN with me and they certainly came out of that room a lot more cowed than they were when they went into it," Tony told him. "I'll be doing the same thing with Wilson and – assuming Pym doesn't take him off my hands straight away – Lang so they'll get the same treatment. All four of them will be sitting in any conversation regarding Bucharest and Germany and Wanda will take Lang's and Barnes' place if Lagos wants a piece of them. If Romanoff turns back up from wherever she scurried away to, she'll also join any conversation to do with Lagos," he said. "I'll only be involved in those conversations if I have to be though you may be asked to join the Bucharest conversations if they happen," he warned Rhodes, who nodded.
"Speaking of, where is Romanoff?" Rhodes asked.
Tony shrugged. "I have no clue," he said honestly. "I didn't bother keeping track of her so I would be able to honestly tell Ross that I had no clue where she was if he tried to drag me into an interrogation about her whereabouts," Tony said. "If she comes back, she'll have to go in front of the Accords Council and defend her decision to turn on T'Challa and her Accords contract and she'd better hope she has something better than that whole "you won't arrest us because you need us" bullshit she spewed after the whole SHIELD thing happened to say in her defence or she'll find she won't like the response she'll get," Tony told Rhodes, who snorted lightly.
"What's her worst-case scenario looking like?" Rhodes asked curiously.
"Forced retirement from the Avengers, criminal charges for breaking her contract, assault charges from T'Challa, and the US government may jump on the bandwagon and charge her for dumping all of SHIELD's files on the internet. After all, there is no statute of limitations on treason," Tony said. It was obvious to everyone that Tony was torn on whether he wanted Romanoff to suffer that worst-case scenario or not. "But if I know Romanoff – and I do, thank you very much – she'll have a plan to ensure that she came out of this situation with the best possible results for her as she possibly can get. She knows her worth to the government and the Avengers program and she knows exactly what she needs to say to who to make sure she doesn't end up in the deepest, darkest prison cell the UN could find for her," Tony said with a small sigh.
"Plus, she does have the advantage in the fact that the government didn't charge her with treason two years ago when she admitted fully to helping throw all of SHIELD's files and information on the internet for the whole world to see," Rhodes pointed out. Tony seemed to know what Rhodes was saying as he gave an agreeing nod but it was obvious Ed and Mustang didn't, which was understandable considering this wasn't their country and they didn't know what the pair of them were talking about to start with. "She could play it so that the government looks like they're being petty by charging her for something she admitted to – publicly, I might add – two years ago," Rhodes clarified once he'd explained what SHIELD was and what Romanoff, Rogers, Fury, and Hill had done to the Amestrians. Tony had been the one to realise that Ed and Mustang were still slightly confused and why so he'd been the one to explain the internet to them and why it was such a big deal that a secret organisation like SHIELD had their files put on it.
"Wait, so she didn't suffer any consequences for that?" Ed asked, face creased in a frown. Ayala had given up watching them to mimic her human's expression. "But you said they put all of their files onto the internet, right?" Ed asked and Tony gave a nod. That confirmation only increased Ed's confused look. "Surely that didn't include things like personnel files though, right? Because you said SHIELD was a secret organisation that specialised in intelligence gathering and spying. I'd find it hard to believe that an organisation like that wouldn't have enemies that would give anything for information on all the people who work for SHIELD. They didn't release the personnel files, did they?" Ed asked.
"You're right when you said SHIELD has numerous enemies in practically every country on this planet and that all of them would trade just about anything they had just to be able to take out a SHIELD employee or twelve," Tony said, "but I'm afraid to say that they didn't have to trade anything because the personnel files went online with everything else," Tony told him. Ed's mouth dropped in shock and surprise while Mustang physically flinched as though struck by Tony. "I spent weeks working with my A.I. and Iron Legion to identify the field agents who were legit SHIELD employees and get them to the closest safe house or SI building I could find but SHIELD still lost hundreds of good agents because I couldn't get to them in time," Tony said, voice grief-stricken.
Rhodes placed a comforting hand on Tony's shoulder, giving his best friend a warm smile before he spoke. "They claimed that they had to put the personnel files up on the internet with everything because they didn't have the time to sort through it all to try and filter out who was SHIELD and who was HYDRA," Rhodes told the aghast Amestrians. "I've never told anyone but Tony, Happy, and Pepper this but the four of them lost a lot of my respect that day because they had Tony on their side and Tony could – and did, though he was late to the party through no fault of his own – sort through the agents and other personnel which would minimise the casualties the true SHIELD agents would suffer and they couldn't find the twenty seconds needed to call him and ask him to filter the personnel and protect the information of the agents that weren't HYDRA. It only took him and JARVIS minutes to do that after the information went online and he was multitasking, trying to protect any information SHIELD had on him or SI and other important information from falling into the wrong hands," Rhodes told them, his words turning into a rant the more he kept speaking. "He still managed to save over 60% of the actual SHIELD agents despite the fact that Fury and Hill didn't call him in and that Rogers and Romanoff didn't think to give their resident tech expert a heads-up," Rhodes said, his pride in his friend outshining his anger at the four people he kept mentioning.
"I only managed to save that many because JARVIS came up with the idea to send a mass text to as many SHIELD agents we could risk sending them to, telling them to that their cover and mission had been compromised and to get to the nearest confirmed safe place," Tony said, looking mildly uncomfortable in the face of Rhodes' pride.
Rhodes gave a conceding nod. "But you were the one who built and raised him so he would have the thought to do that," Rhodes countered, "and you were the one to instruct him to send a similar message to all of the agents' listed family members and friends so they could get to safety until given the all-clear. Don't sell yourself short, Tones," Rhodes ordered gently. "You're short enough as it is," he obviously couldn't help but add teasingly, though judging from his smile, the eyeroll and shove to the shoulder Tony gave him was what he'd hoped his comment would result in.
"Just remember this moment when you mysteriously run out of hot water during a shower," Tony instructed him, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
Rhodes faked an offended gasp. "You do that to your recently hospitalised friend?" he asked, voice teetering on the border of overly dramatic.
"Damned right I would," Tony told him, his grin widening as Rhodes' aghast expression became more exaggerated and Zara rolled her eyes, turning the offended look on her human's face into a betrayed one. "Even Zara thinks you're being too dramatic," he snickered.
"Zara says that I'm still yet to match your level of dramatics," Rhodes shot back, a little too quickly for anyone in the car to think Zara had managed to say that.
"Sure she does," Tony said, rolling his eyes once more. He caught sight of Ed and Mustang glancing at each other and seemed to realise in that moment that he and Rhodes had kind of gone off track just a little bit.
"The two of you forgetting other people are part of the conversation and excluding them? Colour me shocked," Elio snarked dryly from where he lay half in Tony's lap.
"The sass on you. Is this where FRIDAY is learning it from? Have I developed an A.I. who can understand Spirit Animals?" Tony asked through their bond.
"Oh dear, you've discovered our secret. Whatever shall we do?" Elio asked, yawning widely to emphasize his lack of worry.
"I don't know why I put up with you. I should've seen if there was a way to exchange Spirit Animals so I could have one with less sass," Tony grumbled, not meaning a single word of it. Elio just snorted as he shifted slightly, causing Tony to automatically start petting him lightly along his jaw. "Sorry, that usually happens when we're part of the same conversation," Tony apologised to Ed and Mustang. "But to answer your original question, Edward, no, Romanoff didn't face any consequences for her actions even though she indirectly caused the death of hundreds of actual SHIELD agents and exposed innumerable state secrets and not just America's. She dumped confidential and classified information from dozens of different countries online," Tony told the blonde.
Ed seemed to be shocked by the news and Rhodes had to remind himself once again that Edward, Mustang, and their Animals weren't from America or even this planet and therefore didn't know anything about the Avengers or their prior missions. "How the hell did she get out of being arrested for those deaths?" Ed asked, eyes flickering with outrage. Rhodes felt his opinion of the young blonde grow immensely and the wave of smugness it prompted from Zara, who took his elevated opinion of Ed to mean her earlier words were being proven right. "If I'd done that to Amestris, it wouldn't matter how bloody popular I am and useful I am to the military, Grumman would've arrested me! How'd she get out of facing justice for her crimes?" he asked, sounding thoroughly offended by the idea that someone didn't suffer consequences for breaking the law.
"Grumman would've tried having you arrested," Mustang corrected dryly before Tony or Rhodes could reply. "Havoc's said it before and I'm sure he'd say it again but if the military tried declaring you a traitor again, you'd have no issues evading us thanks to the number of civilians who'd be willing to help out the People's Alchemist," Mustang informed him. It was obvious that his use of the unfamiliar title – to Rhodes, Tony, and their Animals, at least – was meant teasingly but there was an undernote of seriousness in his tone as well.
"That is not the point, Mustang," Ed growled at his commanding officer.
"Wait, your military declared you a traitor?" Rhodes asked, looking astounded. "How are you still a part of it?" he asked.
Ed flapped a hand dismissively at him as he said, "it was a whole thing a few years ago and our current Fuhrer is a lot more chill than our last one," as though being declared a traitor wasn't a big deal. "Besides," Ed said, "I was only declared a deserter and there were only orders to arrest me for going AWOL, not to shoot me on sight or anything like that," he added as though that explained everything. "You still haven't told me how this Romanoff got away with doing what she did," he added, trying to prompt the subject back over to what it was originally about.
"She declared that she and the others were too important for the US government to arrest and that they needed her too much to even try," Tony said, obviously willing to let the deserter topic rest for now. Rhodes didn't look as eager to leave it but wasn't given the chance to force the topic back onto Ed's status as a deserter. "The government believed her, though I personally think it was only because they had more important things to worry about than finding and arresting Romanoff, Rogers, Fury, and Hill. Plus, I sincerely doubt Ellis would've allowed someone to arrest Captain America," he added with an eyeroll that Rhodes mimicked. "The amount of bad press he would've gotten nationally and the way America would've looked internationally would've had him giving Rogers a presidential pardon for his actions and if he'd done that, Romanoff and the others would've received one as well since they were an equal part of everything," he explained.
"So she took advantage of the chaos she'd helped cause by exposing all of SHIELD's secrets and the fact that your president wouldn't arrest one of her co-conspirators to make sure she wasn't arrested?" Ed asked, wanting to be sure he got this right.
"Yeah, that about sums it up nicely," Tony told him with a nod.
Ed leaned back into a seat and shared a look with Ayala that Tony, Rhodes, and their Animals couldn't read. Mustang, however, was the one to speak next. "Seems like she'd be an interesting person to meet." The unspoken "and keep a close eye on" didn't go unnoticed by any of them but no one commented on it.
"That's one way to put it," Rhodes all but growled.
The Air Force colonel wasn't impressed with Romanoff and wasn't looking forward to her arrival back at the Compound whenever she came crawling out of whatever hole she'd scurried away into after the airport fight. He wasn't sure how he'd react upon seeing her since it was highly likely that if she hadn't disabled T'Challa and Illoh, Rogers, Barnes, and their Animals probably wouldn't have gotten the quinjet and Rhodes wouldn't have taken that shot aimed at a distracted Tony. Not that he'd ever regret his decision to take that shot in the first place. Even if he'd ended up permanently paralysed as a result, he didn't think he'd ever regret taking the shot but it was the fact that if Romanoff hadn't turned around and stabbed their team in the back, he probably wouldn't have had to and could've avoided the stress and worry of what his injuries were and the hospitalisation. All in all, he couldn't say whether he'd smack Romanoff out while wearing the War Machine armour or not when he saw her next.
"You probably should find out where the War Machine armour is to start with," Zara commented.
"Good point," Rhodes said, though he was certain he knew what had happened to it.
"FRIDAY was able to recall it before the Air Force could so I could start running diagnostics and fixing whatever I needed to. It's waiting at the Compound for me to get started on it," Tony confirmed when Rhodes asked the question out loud.
The colonel felt Zara's eyeroll at his smugness at being proven right but he knew he didn't give any outwards sign of it. "Thanks, Tones. Let me know when you plan on working on it and I'll come down to give you a hand. Wouldn't want you to take the opportunity to add any unnecessary "improvements" to it while I'm not looking," Rhodes said, creating quotation marks with his fingers as he levelled Tony with a deadpan look that the brunette seemed shocked by.
"I would never do something like that to such a magnificent piece of technology," Tony sniffed haughtily even as he tried his hardest to suppress a grin.
Rhodes' deadpan look only deepened. "A margarita dispenser is not an improvement," he said flatly.
Tony's grin could be heard in his voice as he said, "depends on who you ask," and Rhodes' immediate response was to roll his eyes at the wink that had accompanied the cheeky words.
"I'm sure most professionals," Rhodes emphasized the word, "would agree with me," he told his best friend.
"Most professionals are sticks in the mud," Tony retorted with no hesitation.
"Those professionals are my superiors," Rhodes reminded him with a raised brow.
"That doesn't exactly disprove my point, Rhodey-Bear," Tony said, his grin still in place.
Rhodes found himself rolling his eyes again and ignoring Zara's astonished comment of "how haven't your eyes rolled out of your head yet?" before he decided to move to topic to something else so the rest of the car ride wouldn't be them arguing over what was considered an appropriate improvement for the War Machine armour. "Let's get this conversation back to something a bit more pressing than the improvements to my armour," Rhodes suggested. He caught the mildly relieved look on Mustang's face, the slightly disappointed one on Ed's, and the resigned but serious expression on his best friend's face. "What are the plans for when we're back at the Compound?"
Thanks to FRIDAY telling them so ten minutes before Happy had dropped them off in front of the Compound, none of them were surprised to find three new – or new to Ed, Mustang, Ayala, and Nala, in any case – humans and two new Animals waiting for them in the common room on the Avengers floor of the Compound. Ed first took in the dark-skinned man, Sam, with the capybara, who was introduced as George to the group. His attention then went to the brunette man, Scott, with the enthusiastic looking golden retriever named Melanie that reminded Ed of Suna so much he felt a pang of homesickness so intense he almost winced from it, drawing the attention of Nala, Ayala, and Mustang. He shook his head slightly, indicating it was nothing, as his attention went to the red-headed and only female and Animal-less person in the room. It only took Ayala moments to inform Ed that she had a very faint trace of a Bond but that it was decades old. He noted that Natasha Romanoff seemed to be studying them just as much as they were studying her and he felt Ayala shift slightly so she was in front of Ed a little more. As he expected her to do, Natasha noticed that movement as well.
"I'm surprised to see the two of you here so quickly," Rhodes said, nodding in the general direction of Sam and Scott, from where he stood level with Tony and on his right. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and it was obvious from his body language that he was neither impressed with them nor the fact that they were here and that he was ready to defend Tony – physically or verbally – if needed.
"Yeah, so are we if we're being honest," Sam said, scratching the back of his head. "We weren't told much when the UN came and got us out of the Raft," he said, eyes darting between Tony and Rhodes in an obvious attempt to subtly ask them for the details.
"Long story short, your imprisonment on the Raft was illegal, I was able to get proof that Ross owned it and had had it intentionally built in international waters so that he could get away with disappearing supers he caught and was able to use that as the final nail in his metaphorical coffin," Tony told them. "And then some mysterious person or persons found all of the dirt I'd dug up on Ross and released it to the entire world in a very public matter so Ross had no chance to try and bury it," he added with a rather convincing awed and shocked tone paired with a casual shrug.
"I hope you and FRIDAY plan on working on fixing whatever hole in her system that mysterious person or persons took advantage of to get that information. Would hate for that to happen to information that shouldn't see the light of the internet," Rhodes said, his expression serious.
"You can rest easy, Colonel Rhodey," came FRIDAY's voice from the speakers in the ceiling. "I have already taken the appropriate steps to ensure this sort of oversight doesn't happen again," she assured him. Ed was absolutely fascinated by how sincere she sounded, as though some mysterious being really had gotten into what Ed was told was a near impregnable system and released the information Tony, Rhodes, and FRIDAY were talking about and she was truly worried about how they managed it.
Rhodes gave a sharp nod. "Of course you have. I'd expect nothing less of you, FRI," Rhodes said, a proud smirk on his face.
Ed noted the questioning look Scott gave Sam and Natasha, as though he wasn't sure whether Tony, Rhodes, and FRIDAY were telling the truth or not. Sam gave the man a small, reassuring look that obviously put him at ease a little because the confused look disappeared. He also saw the small, amused look Rhodes and Tony shared that lasted only a moment before their expressions turned serious once more. "I assume you've been spoken to by the UN and Accords Council about your situation?" Tony asked, looking at all three humans but only the men nodded. If Tony was surprised that Natasha didn't, he didn't give it away. "What were you told?" he asked.
"Uh, that we were being held illegally and that they were sorry for any mistreatment that we'd suffered while being held illegally," Scott said, stuttering slightly at the start.
"And that we were being given permission to stay at the Compound until our legal situation was sorted, that lawyers would be provided by the UN for us if we end up needing them in the case of a trial, and that we were essentially being asked to stay at the Compound and on its grounds for the foreseeable future – missions excepted – until our legal situation was fully sorted out," Sam finished saying. "We were also told that the reason we were getting such a good deal after everything was because you stepped in and batted for us," he said, looking directly at Tony. "You didn't have to do that for someone you didn't know or for someone who was supposed to be your teammate but you did and I wanted you to know how truly grateful me and George are and how sorry we are about how everything went down," Sam said, his tone drenched in sincerity. His capybara made a noise that was obviously one of agreement.
"Yeah, man," Scott said while Tony shifted a little, looking uncomfortable in the face of such genuineness. "You didn't know me and Melanie from a bar of soap but you still vouched for us enough that the UN let us come here with Sam and George. Hank always told me that you could never trust a Stark but you've done nothing to reinforce that opinion," Scott said. "I know I said that to you when you found me and Sam on the Raft but I was forced to reconsider whether Hank was right or not when the UN came to get us and explained everything. If I truly couldn't trust a Stark, I would still be in that Raft, barely able to sense Melanie, and I would never be able to see my daughter again. Truly, man, I don't know where Hank got the idea that you couldn't trust a Stark from because he clearly has never actually met you," Scott said. Ed would've almost accused the man of trying to suck up to Tony if it wasn't for the fact that Scott seemed to be the kind of person who couldn't hide his true feelings for shit.
"Yeah, I'm going to agree with you there," Ayala said in Ed's mind as she continued steadily watching everyone, including Tony, Rhodes, Elio, and Zara, even though they'd spent most of the last 24 hours with at least one pair of them. "Besides, I sense no deception from either of them," she added.
Ed glanced over at Elio, who was looking at his human with a mixture of amusement and honesty and just knew the dingo was relaying something similar to Tony. "Well, it's good to know that those two know who they owe for not being stuck in whatever that Raft thing was," Ed said through his bond with Ayala.
Judging from the appraising look on Rhodes' face, he shared Ed's sentiment on the matter. "Glad to hear that some people around here know how to show gratitude," Rhodes said, nodding slightly to Sam, George, Scott, and Melanie. His brown eyes then landed on the one person who hadn't yet spoken and asked, "so does the Accords Council actually know you're here or did you manage to avoid them finding out?"
Natasha didn't show any kind of hurt or other emotion in the face of Rhodes' question and tone. Ed didn't know the full history between everyone here but it was obvious that Rhodes was pissed at Natasha for a bit more than what she'd done at the airport. "The Accords Council are aware of where I am and they have asked that Tony and I speak with them as soon as we can to discuss my actions," she told him.
Tony let out an irritated sigh. "As if I don't already have enough to do dealing with everyone and everything else," he growled, looking more than a little annoyed. "Why the fuck do I have to be there for a conversation about you breaking your contract? It's not like I ordered or coerced you into doing so," he asked, sounding like he genuinely wanted an answer to that question.
Ayala was the one to notice the small flinch Natasha gave at the mention of her breaking her contract and told Ed immediately, which caused him to watch Natasha a little more closely. "I believe they want you there because you were technically the team lead for our side during that confrontation," Natasha said. "I think they want your input on the fight and my actions," she added.
Tony closed his eyes, as though praying for patience, before he gave a small nod. "I'll have FRIDAY inform you and the appropriate liaison for the Accords Council as to when I'll have time free for that phone call," Tony told her. "Don't bother asking me for an ETA because I don't have one for you. I have 200 calls to return, including from President Ellis, various people in the UN, and – most importantly – Pepper and dealing with your contract is pretty low on my list of priorities right now," he warned her. Natasha gave a small nod of acceptance and seemed content to leave the conversation there, which Tony looked relieved about.
"Right, well before I take off to get started on calling people back and putting out fires once more for the Avengers, I'll introduce our newest, temporary members to the team," Tony said, gesturing to Ed, Mustang, and their Animals. "These are Brigadier-General Roy Mustang and his lioness, Nala, as well as Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Elric – though he has made it clear that he doesn't care about his rank – and his wolf, Ayala. You can ask them or Strange – who I'm assuming you've met – about why they're here," he instructed them, looking two seconds away from leaving the area so that he was spared any further conversations that might include feelings or things he needed to do but Sam stopped him before he could leave.
"Hey, man, before you go, I just wanted you to know how sorry I am about what happened in Siberia," Sam said, giving the Amestrians an apologetic look for basically ignoring their introductions. Those words seemed to cause Tony, Elio, Rhodes, and Zara to freeze. "We spoke with Steve after we turned up and he told us everything." Sam shook his head and it seemed to Ed that he was still shocked about what Steve had done. "I can't tell you how pissed off I was to find out he'd hidden that from you. He had no right and I am so sorry he did. I had no clue what he'd found out during that whole SHIELD debacle but I should've pushed harder to do so because, man, no matter how great Captain America is, he had no right to keep that from you and I would've made it so you weren't kept in the dark like that," Sam told him. His tone was genuine but his expression was pleading, as though he was begging Tony to believe him.
Tony's uncomfortableness was back but he somehow managed a one-shouldered shrug. "You have nothing to apologise for. You said you didn't know and I'm not surprised you didn't. I'm sure Rogers didn't tell anyone just in case they went behind his back and told me," Tony said.
There was a slight shift from Natasha that caught everyone's attention. "You should know that I was with Steve when he found out what had happened to your parents," she told him. There was a flicker of regret in her green eyes when Tony flinched but she continued before anyone – likely Rhodes from the way he was looking – could say anything. "I didn't tell him to keep it from you but I did tell Steve that I would leave it up to him to tell you. Since neither of you brought it up during the last two years and he never told me what he decided, I kept quiet on it," she said, back-straight as she waited for Tony's reaction.
Ed glanced over at the goateed billionaire and was surprised to see resignation and a complete lack of surprise instead of the anger he'd been expecting on Tony's face. "I will admit that I did wonder whether you were there when he found out or not," Tony said, looking a decade older than he should've, "but I think I would've been more surprised to find out that you didn't know or that you fought to convince Rogers to tell me the truth as soon as he possibly could," he admitted. This time it was Natasha's turn to flinch. "Guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from you, Natalie," he said. There had to be a reason for the name change but Ed figured it'd probably be for the best if he asked someone about it later.
Sam, unlike Tony and Rhodes, was looking at Natasha like he'd never seen her. "You kept the truth about his parents' deaths from him? What the hell, Nat?!" he exclaimed. George was looking outraged, which seemed to be a feat for a capybara, while Scott and Melanie were looking equally shocked and like they were trying to stay out of the way, like Ed, Nala, Ayala, and Mustang were.
"I didn't think Steve wouldn't tell Tony," Natasha said in her defence. "I truly thought that he would tell him. Maybe not straight away but I believed he would tell him at some stage. He was always talking about teammates not keeping secrets from each other, about always telling the truth no matter how hard it was, and I obviously bought into that too much," she said, looking truly annoyed with herself. Ed found himself believing her until he caught sight of the disbelieving expressions on Tony's and Rhodes' faces. "I am fully aware that that is no excuse for me not telling Tony myself or making Steve admit he hadn't told Tony so I could do something about it but that's why I never said anything. Besides," she snorted lightly, looking at Tony, "it's not like you and I have the best history with each other. I didn't think you'd even believe me if I told you. I didn't have the video to show you as proof, though I probably could've found it with some digging, and I wasn't sure you wouldn't see it as me trying to manipulate you or making something up to drive a wedge between you and the rest of the Avengers or something," Natasha claimed.
"Well at least one of you has the balls to come out and plainly say that you didn't trust Tony," Rhodes scoffed. "Nice to see you're capable of being that honest at least," he snipped, crossing his arms in front of his chest once more.
Natasha had the decency to look mildly ashamed but didn't try to refute his words or say he was misinterpreting hers. "I do trust Tony," she told them, refusing to break eye contact with Rhodes, "but you are right, Rhodes. I didn't trust Tony enough. Just like I didn't trust him enough to think he had a plan to deal with Ross. I don't regret my actions at the airport. I'd let Steve and Barnes go all over again if I was back in that position," she said firmly, breaking eye contact with Rhodes to lock gazes with Tony, "because they weren't going to stop. Steve wasn't going to stop. He would've done anything and everything to keep Barnes away from you, the UN, and Accords and he would've done anything to get to Siberia so he and Barnes could take care of the Winter Soldier corps there on their own so I don't regret what I did. I do, however, regret that my actions led to your hospitalisation, Rhodes, and that they led to me destroying any remaining trust you had in me, Tony," she said sincerely. "I shouldn't have said what I said to you at the hospital either. It was a low blow and uncalled for and I am sorry for that. I'm sorry that my actions and misplaced trust in Steve mean that I've put our relationship back to how it was when you first found out I was Natasha Romanoff and not Natalie Rushman," she told him, looking appropriately apologetic.
No one said anything for a few moments as Tony seemed to assess her. "You know that after the last 48 hours I can't take anything you say at face value, right? Well, nothing like this at any rate. You come up to me and tell me that you've got info on a HYDRA cell or AIM planning something and I'd believe you but this kind of thing?" He gestured between the two of them. "I'm taking it with a mountain of salt," he told her bluntly. She didn't look surprised or disappointed, simply accepting of his words. "I'll bat for you with the Accords Council and try to make it so you get something similar to probation rather than being charged if they try for that but only because we'll need in the upcoming battle and not because of any camaraderie you think I hold for you," he warned her. "As far as you and Rogers are concerned, you're up a creek without a paddle regarding where you stand with me. Barnes gets some leeway because from his reaction in the bunker, he didn't know Rogers knew and hadn't told me and it wasn't like he'd been my teammate for four years and kept that kind of secret from me for half that time," he told her, "but I will fight to keep the lot of you here and to have any criminal charges you may be facing at least postponed until after Thanos," he promised them all, making sure Scott and Sam knew they were included in that by looking at them as he gave his word.
Natasha gave a nod while both Sam and Scott thanked Tony sincerely, causing Tony to wave their gratitude off. "As I said, we will need all hands-on-deck for this upcoming battle and that includes you lot," Tony said. Rhodes didn't look awfully happy with Tony's promise but he didn't speak against either, telling Ed that he likely saw that Tony's reasoning was sound. Tony gave a small sigh before he looked over at Rhodes. "Wanna join me in dealing with the mess I get to sort out?" he asked. "I'll literally buy you whatever you want if you say yes. You want your favourite beer company? I'll get you it. You want your own football team?"
Rhodes cracked a smile at Tony's shameless bribery. "Save your money, you weirdo. I'll help where I can. Just make sure you give me access to the good coffee machine, the best coffee grounds you have in this place, and shout me dinner from wherever I wanna eat and we'll call it even," Rhodes told him.
"You got it, honey bunch," Tony said, looking immensely relieved and mildly surprised that Rhodes had even agreed. "Well, us grownups have things to do, presidents to talk to. You kids have fun. Don't leave the Compound, try not to set anything on fire, and if you have any questions about anything, ask FRIDAY nicely and she'll help you as best she can," he instructed everyone. "Also, for those of you who haven't lived here before; I have a 'no blood on the carpets' rule and it is the one rule that I will enforce every time because the carpet is very expensive and a bitch to clean, according to our cleaning staff, so consider this your one and only warning," he informed them, pointing mainly to the Amestrians, Scott, and Melanie. "And don't get your panties in a twist if you don't see me or Elio for a few days. Between the messes we get to sort out and the shit down in the workshop that I need to complete, I'm gonna be too busy to do much of anything else except eat and maybe sleep," he added.
While Ed, Mustang, Ayala, and Nala found themselves wondering why exactly Tony had to make that a rule, Scott was nodding enthusiastically. "Do you mind if I borrow a phone?" he asked Tony, who looked at him questioningly. "I need to call Hope, my ex-wife, and my daughter and beg them all for forgiveness so that I'm not killed or banned from seeing them," he explained. A moment passed before he added an "oh! And I need to call my parole officer. Technically I wasn't supposed to leave California without running it passed her first and, you know, I kinda didn't do that."
Tony, Rhodes, Sam, and their Animals were looking at Scott with an astonished and dumbfounded expression. "FRIDAY?" Tony called, still looking at Scott with the same expression.
"Yeah, Boss?" the A.I. responded immediately.
"Get Mr. Lang a Starkphone from storage, as well as one each for Edward, Brigadier-General Mustang, and Harry Potter," Tony instructed.
"Sending them up now, Boss. They'll be waiting for them in their rooms," FRIDAY informed them.
"Thank you, FRI-girl," Tony said, managing a quick smile at the nearest camera before he turned back to Scott. Sam and Rhodes were still looking at the brunette and his golden retriever as though they were still trying to process what he'd said. Tony shook his head at him and levelled him with an admonishing look as he dryly said, "yeah, you'd best get on that."
A/N - And now we've been introduced to the rest of the Avengers and characters who'll appear in this story most often! I hope you guys weren't disappointed by this chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Thank you to those of you who were nice enough to let me know your thoughts so far and I'd really appreciate some feedback on this one!