Chapter 4 –
It didn't take Vision long to walk them back up to the Avengers level of the Compound and show them the three rooms FRIDAY had had prepared by the Compound staff during the flight from Siberia to the Compound. Strange had protested his being given a room since he had his rooms at both the New York Sanctum and Kamar-Taj he could just portal to but Vision had calmly said that the room was there if Strange was too tired to portal or thought it'd be best for him to stay for however long if he had business at the Compound and that it would always be ready for him to use if he was in need of it. Strange had fallen silent for a few moments before he asked FRIDAY to pass on his gratitude to Tony when she could, which the A.I. had promised to do.
Ed hadn't paid much attention to that conversation as he'd been too busy checking the room he and Ayala were allocated out as much as he could without Mustang or Nala leaving his sight. Ayala did most of the exploring for him and reported on everything she found. The room was large, easily big enough to fit two queen-sized beds on each side with plenty of space for Animals and people to walk between them without bumping into each other, though there was only one queen-sized bed that sat on the wall opposite the en-suite. The attached bathroom held a shower large enough for Ayala to stretch out in and enjoy, a toilet, a large bathtub Ayala reckoned she could've swum in (Ed thought she was exaggerating until she shared her memories of it), storage shelves that held things from towels to shampoos to soaps and everything else he and Ayala could possibly need, and a sink with a mirror above it. The rest of the bedroom was filled with a mattress on the ground three times bigger than Ayala would need, a walk-in wardrobe and a small bookshelf that matched the bedside table. The bedside table held a lamp on top of it with a shelf under it for Ed to keep things he wanted on hand inside. All in all, Ed and Ayala were duly impressed with the room and had made mental reminders to thank Tony themselves when they next ran into their host.
Ed's attention was grabbed by Mustang's voice and he turned in time to watch his commanding officer address Vision and ask, "would you mind showing Fullmetal, myself, and our Animals to the medbay once more? Fullmetal has an injury that requires stitches and we did promise Doctor Stark that we would allow his medical staff to run the standards tests they need to on us."
Ed growled lowly as he realised that Mustang hadn't forgotten and that growl ended up being aimed at the man himself when he saw the small smirk on his boss' face. "You do realise that even if he'd forgotten about it, both Ayala and I would've remembered and reminded him, don't you?" Nala asked, voice amused as her eyes flicked over to Ed from where she was sitting next to Mustang.
"If you both really loved me, you wouldn't have snitched on me to Mustang and I wouldn't have been forced to go to medical," Ed muttered through his bond as he reluctantly followed the group led by Vision, who was giving Ed concerned glances as his eyes searched for any signs of injuries. Ed wasn't about to help the zynthezoid out by showing him his injury since he wasn't in the habit of giving a complete stranger the chance to exploit even the smallest of his weaknesses.
"We remind Roy of your need of medical aide because we love you and you know it," Nala said easily. Ed swore he could hear the grin in her voice but his suspicious glare went unnoticed by the lioness.
"I do apologise for not noticing you were injured, Edward, or for neglecting to ask after the health of yourself or your companions," Vision was saying, immediately getting Ed's attention back on him.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm gonna drop dead or anything," Ed muttered, feeling a little uncomfortable in the face of Vision's genuine concern. "Mustang doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't even need to get stitches. The injury is minor," he said, glaring at his fellow alchemist.
"Yes, you do," Mustang said, completely unphased by Ed's glare or words.
Vision watched their exchange with interest but elected to interject with a neutral, "I'm sure our medical staff will be happy to administer whatever treatment is necessary," instead of the siding comment Alphonse or one of the team would've made instead.
Ed couldn't really say anything in response to that so he didn't bother trying, just followed the zynthezoid and everyone else into the closest elevator. The group stayed silent for the few seconds it took for the elevator to travel up to the medical wing and laboratory level. When the doors opened, Ed immediately noticed that they'd arrived in a different area this time than they had during the tour. "How many elevators are there in this place?" Ed asked Vision even as he tried to concentrate on his memories of the tour to try and figure out where the other elevators were on his own.
"Due to its size, the Compound has five elevators, though one of those is Tony's personal elevator and is the only one that runs all the way down to his workshop – which I cannot show you without his permission, hence why it wasn't included in the tour," Vision answered as he walked them towards the medical wing. "Three of the remaining four – including the one we just took – only run from the first level to the roof while the last one runs all the way from the roof to the garage. That one is the one you would've taken when you first entered the Compound with Tony and Captain Rogers," Vision told them. "For safety reasons, we also have five staircases, one next to each elevator, that can be used in the case of a fire or structural damage to the building," Vision added as they walked through a set of frosted glass doors and entered the medical wing.
"Mr. Vision," the first nurse to spot them greeted with a polite but warm smile, "what can we help you with today?" she asked, her brown eyes flicking over everyone in the group in the way medically trained personnel did to assess for injuries.
"Dr. Stark has asked that our guests undergo the standard testing needed for any new tenants of the Compound and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric has an injury that needs to be tended to by a medical professional," Vision reported, gesturing to Ed.
The nurse's – Kylie, according to the badge attached to her breast pocket on her light blue scrub top – brown eyes immediately found Ed's and started scrutinising everything about his appearance, trying to find the injury Vision was talking about. The nudge Ayala and Mustang gave him had Ed sighing and gesturing to his left arm. "Puncture wounds to my left forearm," Ed told her, not moving an inch to let her actually touch his arm.
"Cause?" Kylie asked as she strode around a large desk and gathered two lots of paperwork, clipboards, and pens before she used a device to do something.
"Leopard," Ed replied.
"Claws or teeth?" Kylie asked, completely unphased by neither his short answer nor his actual response.
"Claws," Ed told her and watched as she scribbled his response onto first piece of paper attached to one of the clipboards.
The device she'd used – a rectangular, flat object a bit bigger than her hand from fingertip to the heel of her palm – trilled and she glanced at it. "If you'd like to follow me, I'll get you set up in one of our rooms. We can start collecting what we need for the tests and assess that injury at the same time," Kylie said before she glanced at both Ed and Mustang. "Do the two of you want to undergo these tests in private or would you prefer to stay in the same room?" she asked.
Ed bit down the immediate response of, "we'll stay together," before he could voice it. Though he had no urge to have his only allies in this world out of his sight, he also couldn't bring himself to drop the masks he normally wore while with Mustang and around strangers. Thankfully, Nala gave Mustang a nudge before looking pointedly at Ed then back at him, leaving Mustang to sigh and say, "my Animal wishes for us to be in the same room, so long as it's fine with Fullmetal."
All eyes fell on Ed, who shrugged as casually as he could manage and said, "I don't care. If Nala wants us in the same room, I'm fine with it." He could feel what he could only describe as a teasing grin from Ayala and sent her a glare that only served to increase the teasing feeling from his wolf.
Kylie seemed to be satisfied with his answer and turned to Strange to tell him that, "you will be seen to in a separate room as we've been made aware that you're not related to the others in anyway."
Strange seemed to relax slightly at the news and nodded respectfully at the nurse. With Strange's silent agreement, Kylie led them down the hall and through a set of wooden doors with a small glass window in each of them. Waiting on the other side was another nurse who was dressed in the same scrubs as Kylie but was male and blonde and two doctors dressed in darker blue scrubs and white coats with a stethoscope draped around their neck and over their shoulders. Kylie gave the three others a smile before she came to a stop and directed the group into the rooms they were being assigned. Ed noticed as he followed Mustang into the room Kylie had indicated they go into – followed closely by the Animals – that Vision didn't make any move to join either of them. He didn't get the chance to ask what the zynthezoid was going to do while they were poked, prodded, and questioned as the doctor with them started speaking.
"I'm Doctor Jackson Torres," the doctor introduced himself, looking up from the clipboard Kylie had handed to him. "Which one of you is Lieutenant-Colonel Elric?" he asked, green eyes flicking between the two of them.
"It's Ed or Edward," Ed told him, barely managing not to grumble his answer.
The doctor nodded, both at his name preference and in greeting. "Alright, Edward, I will be the one to tend to your injuries once I've had a look while Nurse Kylie starts getting everything we need for your tests ready," he told him. Kylie nodded at the doctor's words before she started bustling around the room, pulling things out of drawers and off of shelves. "It was your left forearm that was injured, correct?" Doctor Torres consulted the clipboard. "By a leopard's claws?" he asked and Ed nodded in response, reluctantly pulling off his left glove and pushing his left jacket sleeve up to his elbow, exposing the bandages. "It's already been treated?" the doctor asked, giving the bandages a small frown.
"Mustang cleaned them out on the quinjet," Ed told him, gesturing with his chin at the other man. "He reckons I need stitches. I reckon he needs his eyes checked," he muttered loudly enough for Mustang to hear him.
"You just have an annoying tendency to pretend your injuries aren't as severe as they actually are," Mustang commented, rolling his eyes at the blonde.
"He's not wrong," both Ayala and Nala said at the same time.
"Traitors," Ed hissed at them through his bond with each of them before he realised the doctor had asked him a question that he'd completely missed. Thankfully, the way Doctor Torres was gesturing to the bandage around Ed's left arm gave Ed everything he needed to know and he nodded at the doctor. His smugness at being proven right when Torres started unravelling the bandages earned him twin chuckles from the Animals and had him mentally flipping the both of them off.
Once the bandage was completely off and the gauze carefully pulled away from the puncture marks, Doctor Torres started examining the injuries. Ed glanced at them himself, getting a good look at them for the first time without blood covering them or his paranoia that the quinjet was going to crash or he, Mustang, and the Animals were going to be attacked demanding his attention more than the injury. He did have to admit that a couple looked a little deeper than Ed had originally thought they were but he still didn't think stitches were absolutely necessary, especially considering his tendency to rip his stitches before they got removed. Doctor Torres continued his examination and Ed alternated between watching him and Kylie, who was now asking Mustang murmured questions and recorded his answers on the clipboard in her arms. Both Nala and Ayala were positioned next to their respective humans but Ed knew that Nala would be able to reach his side in a heartbeat if he needed her and Ayala would be able to provide Mustang back-up in no-time if she was needed. Despite their outwards appearances of being merely curious and expectedly suspicious of their surroundings, Ed could feel that that the two Animals were, in fact, on as high alert as Ed and Mustang were, which was the only reason Ed wasn't tracking Doctor Torres' every twitch as closely as he normally would've.
Finally finished with his examination, Torres lowered Ed's arm so it rested at his side and looked at the blonde. "I'm afraid that a couple of these do need stitches," he told him, pointing to the ones he intended to stitch and causing Ed to glare at his arm slightly while Mustang fought to hide a smug smirk. "However, the rest of the injuries are shallow enough that I would merely recommend simply gluing them shut and wrapping the arm for the next couple of days," he said.
"Fine," Ed scowled, slumping slightly where he sat. "Stop looking so smug, bastard," Ed snapped at Mustang, noticing the smirk finally.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Fullmetal," Mustang said, the smirk disappearing though his eyes twinkles with amusement.
"Sure you don't," Ed muttered, still glaring at Mustang while Doctor Torres readied the syringe Ed assumed was filled with a local anesthetic.
"You'll feel a slight sting now," Torres warned just before he let the needle tip pierce Ed's skin. Ed did his best to hide his grimace as he felt the liquid be injected into his arm. Torres pulled out the needle in a quick, smooth motion and held a small cotton-ball over the injection site to stop the small beads of blood from dribbling their way down. "Hold this for me," Torres asked and Ed complied, freeing up the doctor to ready the stitching supplies.
It only took a few more moments for Ed to lose enough feeling in his arm that Doctor Torres decided they could start stitching him back up. Mustang now had a needle of his own in his left arm so that Kylie could draw bloods and Ed sighed internally when he realised he still had that to look forward to as yet. Torres sat himself on a small stool fitted with wheels for easier maneuverability before he started stitching the first injury with Ed's silent consent. "So how did this happen?" Torres asked conversationally as he started his work.
Ed recognised it as the attempt to distract Ed from what the doctor was doing it was. "Doctor Strange in the next room decided to kidnap me while I was with my brother and his Animal. My brother's Animal happens to be a leopard and he latched onto my arm while Ayala kept a hold of my leg to stop me from being pulled through the portal Strange opened," Ed said simply, not bothering to try and lie since the story would likely find its way around the Compound anyway. That and Ed was still pretty pissed about the whole situation so he had no problem with not sugarcoating his and Mustang's arrival.
Ed was kind of curious about what kind of crazy situations the residents of the Compound got themselves into when the only reaction his answer got was Torres widening his eyes slightly in surprise. "Did your wolf injure you as well?" Torres asked, eyes flicking momentarily to Ed's legs to see if he could spot any blood or tearing in Ed's pants before they went back to the puncture wound he was halfway through stitching.
"Maybe some bruising from her nails but no, she didn't," Ed told him, pretending not to notice the fact that Mustang's attention had been completely on Ed the moment the doctor had asked about the possibility of another injury.
Unlike the doctors back in Central Hospital, who actually knew Ed and what he was like, Torres accepted his answer without consulting Al or Ayala. Ed filed this information away because even though he had been telling the truth this time, he was willing to bet that he'd be injured again during his stay in this dimension and if he could get out of hospital visits by having the medical staff believe him when he said he was fine, he was definitely going to utilise that as much as he could.
"I will dob you into Nala, who will tell Mustang and Mustang will tell the medical staff so don't even bother trying," Ayala informed him, immediately causing Ed's hopes of no future medical visits whilst injured to go up in flames.
"Why are you never on my side for this sort of thing?" Ed whined, taking advantage of the fact that Torres didn't seem to be inclined to start a conversation with him now that he's ascertained that Ed's only injury was to his left arm to speak with Ayala through their bond without ignoring the doctor.
"It's a real mystery," Ayala said sarcastically, rolling her golden eyes at him.
"Come on, you know how good I am at patching myself up these days. Especially now that I've got Cretan healing alchemy completely down!" Ed said, not pouted, no matter what Ayala said.
"Doesn't matter. You can use healing alchemy if you desperately need to on the field but you know as well as I do that that alchemy is taxing and that you haven't built up your levels yet to keep from passing out when you heal something worse than a fracture," Ayala reminded him. "You'll be seeing a medical professional for any injury that requires one and that you can't heal by yourself without losing consciousness," she ordered.
"Fine," Ed grumbled after several moments of not being able to come up with a counterargument. "Stop being so smug! What is it with everyone today?" Ed muttered exasperatedly as he glared at Ayala, who looked as unphased by it as she always was.
"Yes, how dare we feel happy about getting you to agree to seek medical help without being forced to do so or unconscious so you can't argue against it?" Ayala asked sarcastically.
"You're in a mood today," Ed said, glancing at Ayala from the corner of his eye before he went back to watching Torres continue his work.
"I guess that's what happens when you've been kidnapped alongside your human and told that in no more than three months you'll be helping a world full of strangers fight against a tyrant who wants to wipe out half of all life, possibly including other dimensions – which apparently exist! – and you haven't had the chance to process all of that because everywhere you turn, there's something else to add to the list of things to absorb," Ayala rambled before managing to stop herself, her surprise evident to Ed even without the help of their bond.
"Aya…" Ed said, not sure of what he could say to comfort his Animal. It wasn't like he didn't know exactly what she was feeling but he was still so on edge from everything that he was sure that all it would take to set him off was one more thing that shouldn't exist except in sci-fi novels being real.
Ayala sighed slightly, sounding annoyed but Ed knew it was more at their situation than at his inability to soothe her fears. "I think the only reason I haven't lost it yet and held Strange by his throat while you or Mustang force him to open a portal back home is because you haven't indicated that you want me to do something so drastic," she admitted.
"While that certainly sounds appealing and if you'd offered before we'd left that frozen wasteland, I'd have probably taken you up on it without a second thought, I think that right now it'd probably be best that you didn't do that," Ed told her, surprising himself with what he was saying. There wasn't much in any world that he wouldn't do or give up so that he, Mustang, and the two Animals were back home and his bonds were back how they should be but as much as he wanted to get back to Alphonse, Chester, and everyone else back home, he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if Thanos succeeded in destroying half the life in all universes because he, Mustang, Ayala, and Nala weren't here to stop him.
He didn't get the chance to voice any of that out lout before Ayala was nodding in agreement. "That pretty much sums up the other reason why I haven't gone for Strange's throat," Ayala told him. "The only other reason is because Mr. Stark hasn't done anything to deserve having to clean blood off of his floors," she added before Ed could ask.
"He has been pretty nice about the whole situation considering he got as much warning about having guests as we got about being those guests," Ed said with a small laugh. "The least we could do is not get blood on his floors," he said, mock seriously.
Ayala grinned toothily, their conversation doing wonders at helping her relax a little but any reply she was going to make was cut off by Torres saying, "that's it for the stitching. Do you know if you're allergic to any particular kind of glue?"
Ed shook his head, eyes taking in the neat, precise stitches that held four of the puncture marks closed. "No, I haven't reacted to anything in the past," he told him.
Torres nodded just as Kylie made her way over, leaving Nala and Mustang by themselves. Torres looked up at his nurse and they seemingly had a silent conversation before Torres turned back to Ed. "Do you mind if Nurse Kylie asks you the needed questions for the tests while I finish working on your arm?" he asked Ed, who shook his head once more and turned his attention to Kylie.
"This shouldn't take very long," Kylie assured Ed, giving him a small but warm smile. "From what your commanding officer has told me, it sounds like your country is a few decades behind ours in terms of medicine and technology and that you haven't been vaccinated against many diseases, correct?" she asked right off the bat.
"Yeah, I think I've been vaccinated for smallpox and pertussis but that's it," Ed told her. Kylie didn't look surprised, which meant Mustang likely had said something similar, but Torres was surprised enough to look up from the puncture wound he was carefully applying glue to.
"That's about what your commanding officer said," Kylie told him with a nod. "I'm sure one of the Avengers or perhaps FRIDAY will be able to assist you in getting more information about our country's medical history at some stage for you to get a more detailed account on other vaccinations but I'll run you through a condensed version of the ones we'll be giving you , as well as what we'll be doing with your blood and the purpose behind my questions and the small tests we'll have you do," Kylie explained.
"Sounds good to me," Ed said, giving Kylie a small nod to indicate he was ready for the questions and explanation to start.
"Okay, so the first thing we need is your personal information," Kylie said, clicking her pen – which caught Ed's interest – and placing the tip to the top piece of paper on the clipboard. "Can you give me your full name, birthdate, and address please?"
An hour later, Ed, Mustang, Nala, and Ayala found themselves sitting in the common room on one of the larger couches while Strange and Kim took up an armchair, Vision serenely sat in another, and Clint and Wanda shared the loveseat with their Animals perched on their shoulders. The Cloak of Levitation being introduced to everyone else had caused a slight stir but not a big enough one, in Ed's opinion, and their lack of reaction only increased his curiousity about what kind of things they normally went up against that made a sentient cloak barely a blip on the weird radar. They would've likely been there ten minutes sooner but Ed had gotten into an argument with Doctor Torres when Nurse Kylie had gone to touch his right arm so she could draw blood from it. Doctor Torres had obviously thought there was only one reason for Ed's reaction and vehement denial to let them draw blood from the arm and had tried to Ed into either showing him the injury he assumed Ed was hiding. Ed's insistence that he wasn't hiding an injury had fallen on deaf ears – and Torres' mutter of being sick of people coming into his medical wing and hiding injuries made Ed very curious about which Avenger or person was the reason for that comment – and it had only been thanks to Ayala and Nala forcing their way in between Ed and the doctor with a couple of equally terrifying snarls and Mustang's eventual injection into the conversation that the argument hadn't ended up lasting several more minutes or ending in bloodshed.
Ed knew Mustang was curious as to why he hadn't just told the doctor about his automail but the raven-haired man hadn't asked as of yet, not even via Nala which meant he was waiting for them to be alone by themselves to ask Ed himself so Ed knew that at some stage – likely that night – they would be having a conversation about everything. To say Ed was having conflicted feelings about that future conversation was an understatement. On one hand, Ed didn't like talking about his feelings with anyone who wasn't called Ayala or, at times, Nala and Chester but on the other hand, his relationship with Mustang had improved so much after Promised Day and the talk Nala and Ayala had tricked him into having with Mustang that talking with him wasn't the torture Ed had acted like it was during most of his first military contract. But despite how much their relationship had improved, there was still a small part of Ed that baulked at the idea of showing any weakness voluntarily to Mustang that he couldn't get rid of or completely stop believing in.
Movement caught Ed's attention and brought him back to the present in time to see Wanda and Clint leave the room with their Animals still perched on their shoulders. Ed couldn't help but watch them suspiciously as they left the room, heading for the kitchen. Strange and Vision were still talking to one another, apparently having not finished their earlier conversation around the yellow stone in Vision's forehead. Ed didn't know why exactly that particular stone was so intriguing, other than the fact that it was in Vision's forehead and was called the Mind Stone, but in must've been since they were still talking about it.
"You'd probably know why if you were paying attention," Ayala pointed out dryly.
Ed rolled his eyes, his gaze going from the kitchen door to the golden wolf laying next to him on his right. "Probably but you know why I'm not," Ed said, subconsciously flicking his gaze back to the kitchen door Clint, Ronin, Wanda, and Aleks had disappeared through before it went back to Ayala.
"I do but you also know that I'm not sensing that she's a danger to you," Ayala reminded him.
"Yeah, I know and it's not that I don't trust your instincts but you can't blame me for being suspicious of her. She can read minds and control people!" Ed exclaimed through their bond.
"I know and I know that that's why you're ignoring my words about her but I just wanted to remind you of what my instincts are telling me," Ayala told him, "because if you get any tenser while she's around, you'll probably burst if me or Nala accidentally poked you," she teased, earning herself another eyeroll from her human.
"You're so funny that I forgot to laugh," Ed deadpanned just as Wanda, Clint, Aleks, and Ronin walked back into the room, the humans' hands full of what Ed assumed was snack food.
Wanda's eyes scanned the room but her face fell slightly when she caught Ed's gaze, like she'd heard him talking about her and since the only one he'd been talking to about Wanda was Ayala and their talk had been through their bond, that could only mean one thing. But before Ed could confront her about reading his mind, Wanda placed the bowl of chips on the coffee table and softly said, "I wasn't reading your mind." She took her seat once more – joined quickly by Clint once he'd emptied his hands of the snacks he'd been carrying – and glanced up at Ed to find his disbelieving and angered eyes looking back at her. Her eyes fell to her hands, which she was wringing in her lap until Clint reached over and grabbed one gently. "I don't read people's minds without permission or unless I absolutely have no other choice. Not anymore," she told Ed.
"Then how'd you know what I was thinking if you weren't in my mind?" Ed snapped, unable to rid himself of the violated feeling that sparked down his spine. Mustang had been quick to reach over Nala and lay a hand on Ed's arm, preventing him from rising if he chose to do so but his dark eyes were watching Wanda and he wasn't bothering to hide his suspicion right now.
Wanda flinched at Ed's tone, causing her little dormouse to press his paws to her cheek while Clint squeezed her hand encouragingly. "I have to consciously chose to read someone's mind but I can always hear surface thoughts," Wanda explained. "It's not something I can simply turn off and the people who… trained me never bothered to teach me to control it; only to control and use my other powers," she told them. Ed wasn't the only one to notice her slight hesitation before the word 'trained' but he didn't get the chance to comment on it as Wanda continued speaking. "Most of the time I only catch snippets of surface thoughts because they're just passing thoughts but sometimes, like in your case, surface thoughts are too loud or amplified by a person's feelings and I can hear them clearly. You don't trust me because of my powers," she said, her mouth turning down at the corners and her eyes glinting with resignation.
Clint squeezed her hand one more time and when Wanda looked up at him, he gave her a warm smile that she returned as best as she could. However, when Clint looked up to speak with Ed, he found himself cut off before he could open his mouth by the blonde. "No, it's not because of your powers," Ed told her. "It's because of what we were told you did during the Ultra-thing. You used your powers against practically everyone on your team, sided with a genocidal robot hellbent on destroying everything that was human because of some beef you had with Stark, and only decided to switch sides when you realised that you'd be killed alongside everyone else if the genocidal robot actually succeeded with his plans! Forgive me if that doesn't inspire warm and fuzzy feelings about you from me," Ed said bluntly.
"You've always had a way with words that I admire," Ayala sighed even as she lifted her top lip in a snarl, showing that she was ready to defend her human at the slightest provocation.
"I believe that this is partially my fault," Vision said, reminding Ed of the fact that he and Strange were still in the room. "I explained the events surrounding my birth but neglected to explain the aftermath of the battle for Nova Grad as I wanted to move the tour along. I do apologise to you all but especially you, Edward and Wanda, for my error," Vision apologised.
Wanda gave Vision a warm smile that only trembled slightly. "It's okay, Vis. There's no need for you to apologise to me," she assured him.
"My oversight has caused there to be a divide between yourself and Edward before the two of you got the chance to know one another first so I believe there is reason enough for me to apologise to you," Vision countered gently before he turned to Edward, who was watching the conversation calculatingly. "Miss Maximoff did indeed side with us primarily so she, her brother, and their Animals might survive past the battle of Nova Grad but she also sided with us because she, Pietro, and their Animals saw the error of their ways and truly wanted to make amends. Wanda and Aleks have taken ownership of their mistakes publicly and did stand with Tony and Elio at the press conference held in regard to Nova Grad and the conclusion of the investigation into Ultron. She admitted her role in Ultron's birth and that it was her powers that had triggered Tony's vision in the Sokovian HYDRA base, stating that it had been her goal to make Tony "self-destruct" but that she hadn't anticipated just how that would come about. She admitted that she'd joined Ultron initially because he promised her and Pietro the chance to exact their revenge against Tony but that she, Pietro, and their Animals had started having doubts about their actions shortly after Johannesburg. She admitted that her words about Tony that caused Captain Rogers to try and stop my creation were a result of her lingering grudge against Tony and that she regretted them almost as soon as she'd said them. She also made both a public and private apology to each and every member of the Avengers – with the only exception being Doctor Banner as he fled shortly after the battle of Nova Grad – as well as to her victims, home country, and the rest of the world for her actions and she has accepted the consequences of her actions. She has made and continues to make amends so that she can earn and retain the trust of the public," Vision explained.
Ed listened to everything Vision said while Ayala kept her eyes on Wanda, reporting her reactions to Vision's words to Ed as they happened. Everything Ayala saw led her to believe that Vision was telling the truth and that Wanda still felt guilty and ashamed of her past behaviour. Once Vision stopped speaking, Ed spent a few moments going over what he'd said and sorting through his thoughts on the matter now. Eventually he nodded and glanced over at Wanda before simply saying, "okay."
"'Okay'?" Clint repeated, looking and sounding stunned. He was still holding Wanda's hand and the brunette looked equally as surprised at Ed's response as Clint was.
Ed nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Like Vision said, we don't know each other and I'm assuming everything he said in your defense would be easy to prove or disprove so there wouldn't be any sense in him lying about it. You've apologised and paid for your mistakes and I have no reason to believe that no one on your team believes you've been anything less than genuine about your apologies and since my concerns and curiousity about you have been settled for now, I don't have any reason to be as suspicious of you as I was. Not entirely thrilled or comfortable about your powers or the fact that you can't do anything to stop yourself from reading surface thoughts but if you truly don't have the ability to, it's just something I'm gonna have to make peace with eventually," Ed told them, shrugging nonchalantly as he leant slightly back into the couch.
Mustang's lips quirked in a small smirk as they sat in silence, waiting mainly for Wanda and Clint to react to Ed's words but it was Strange who broke the silence. "Miss Maximoff, I'd like to extend the offer, as Sorcerer Supreme, for you to join me at Kamar-Taj so that you may undergo training with some of my fellow Masters of the Mystic Arts so that you may learn to control the telepathic side of your powers and discover your full potential," he offered.
Wanda's eye lit up in excitement and gratefulness but she didn't accept the offer right away, despite obviously wanting to. Instead, she first turned to her Animal before turning to Clint after several seconds of silence went by. Clint shrugged his shoulder but gave her an encouraging smile. "It sounds like it would be a good opportunity for you to learn everything you can from people who would have a better idea about your powers than we do," Clint told her.
"Doctor Strange has been kind enough to tell me about his order and what they do," Vision said, causing everyone to look at him. "He's invited me to go with him to Kamar-Taj so that he and some of his fellow sorcerers can study the Mind Stone and possibly ward the Stone against anyone trying to steal it as well as provide me somewhere I can train with the Mind Stone without fear of damaging a nearby structure or harming my training opponent," Vision told Wanda. "I would be more than willing to accompany you to Kamar-Taj so that you may have a familiar face with you, if that is what you would like," he offered, giving Wanda a kind smile.
"Thanks, Vis. That would help me feel less out of place there but are you sure it's a good idea for the Avengers to lose both of us for the same amount of time at the same time? What if something happens?" Wanda asked, her voice concerned and brow furrowed in worry. Aleks chittered softly reassuringly but Wanda still looked uncertain.
"Every Master in Kamar-Taj has the ability to use a sling ring," Strange said, gesturing to the large, two-fingered gold ring on his hand. "That means that there'll always be someone nearby who can portal you to wherever you're needed if an emergency arose. I would also be willing to portal you to and from the Compound myself every lesson or have one of my associates do so for you, if you'd rather not stay at Kamar-Taj for days at a time," he offered easily.
Wanda looked at Vision, obviously wanting his input but the zynthezoid gestured almost imperceptibly at her, silently telling the young woman that he would follow her lead. Taking a deep breath, as if she was steadying her resolve, Wanda looked Doctor Strange in the eye and said, "I appreciate your offers and would be delighted to take you up on them both as I don't feel comfortable with the idea of being away from the Compound for longer than a few hours at a time. I don't think I would forgive myself if something happened and I couldn't be there to help as soon as I could."
Vision gave Wanda a proud smile while Clint squeezed her hand one more time. "I will also take up your offers to join you in Kamar-Taj so your order and I both can learn more about the Mind Stone and potentially protect it from thieves but I too would also prefer to join Wanda in being portalled to and from Kamar-Taj for each lesson," Vision told Strange, who didn't look surprised in the slightest at either of their answers.
"Very well," the sorcerer said in agreement. "I will need to consult the Elders about this decision, as well as the Masters I think you'll best learn under. Once I have an idea of their availability and their thoughts on lessons, I'll present them to the both of you and we can go from there. Though I think that it would be best if the two of you undertake as many lessons as quickly as possible for the first few weeks at least," Strange told them and got himself two nods of agreement, although Wanda's was a touch more obviously eager than Vision's was.
"I believe that that would be for the best as well," Vision said, voicing his and Wanda's agreement.
"What would be for the best?" All heads turned to the owner of the new voice and the group watched as Tony, Elio, Steve, Timothy, Barnes, and Zima walked into the room from the elevator none of them had heard ding to indicate its arrival. It was plainly obvious to even Ed, Mustang, Ayala, and Nala that Tony was still pissed at the others with him and that Steve knew it as well but was clearly unsure of how to approach the goateed man.
"Doctor Strange has offered to take both Wanda and myself to Kamar-Taj a few times a week, for a few hours each time. The purpose of these visits would be training under the Masters in his order for the both of us, as well as new knowledge learned and gained about this," Vision gestured to the yellow stone in his forehead, "and protection applied to it to prevent anyone from trying to steal it," he told them.
Tony was obviously surprised by what Vision said and looked torn between whether he was going to give a negative or positive opinion on it but it was Steve who spoke first. "I'm not sure it's a good idea," the blonde said, frowning at Strange. "They're two of our most powerful members. What if we need them on the field? Not to mention we don't know anything about your order or your base of operations. How secure can it really be?" he asked.
"Have any of you heard of Kamar-Taj? From SHIELD or anyone else?" Strange asked, one brow raised questioningly. Steve shook his head, as did Barnes and Tony. "That's how secure it is," the doctor said, tone bored. Tony looked mildly approving of his attitude. "The order I now lead has existed for thousands of years and yet, not one of you – be it ex-SHIELD employees or ex-HYDRA, willing or not – have ever heard of it. I'm inclined to believe that that is evidence enough that Kamar-Taj is perfectly safe," Strange told Steve bluntly. "As for the other matter you raised, as explained to Miss Maximoff and Vision, there will be plenty of sorcerers on hand if I cannot personally portal them to and from each lesson or to a battle within mere moments, if they're needed," Strange added, silencing the last of Steve's protests.
"Steve, they could teach me the finer control I need to handle my powers," Wanda told him, her voice equal parts excited and pleading. "With their help, something like Lagos wouldn't happen again!" she told him when Steve didn't look like he was going to budge.
Her comment made Steve's face fall into an understanding one. "Wanda, Lagos wasn't on you. That was on me. You shouldn't blame yourself for that," he told her gently.
"But I do blame myself for that, Steve! If I'd had greater control over my powers, over my reactions, over my emotions, I wouldn't have panicked and I wouldn't have sent that bomb into that building! I wouldn't have used my powers to kill all of those people with Rumlow's bomb! I would've sent it straight upwards or maybe I could've created a forcefield of some kind around it and contained the explosion or – or… I don't know! But I wouldn't have panicked and had my only instinct be to get it away from you and me as quickly as possible!" Wanda said, getting to her feet. She wasn't quite shouting but it was a close thing as she kept eye contact with Steve. Her fingers sparked with red energy that had Ed flinching back slightly, the colour far too close to that of a Philosopher's Stone for his liking. He noticed that he wasn't the only one to do so as Barnes' hands twitched towards weapons he no longer had. "You say it wasn't my fault, that it was your call and that I shouldn't blame myself but, Steve, how can I not?! I've been with the Avengers for nearly a year and I did that! Your training and the training I've gotten from the others has been great for my hand-to-hand, for weapons, for my reflexes, but it hasn't helped me with what I need help with the most and Doctor Strange is giving me the perfect opportunity on a golden platter!" Wanda forced herself to take a deep, calming breath and the red energy sparking around her hands disappeared. "I respect you, Steve, but if you try and order me to turn down the offer because you're not convinced I'll be able to look after myself or whatever this is, I will ignore you and go with Doctor Strange anyway," she told him.
The room went silent after Wanda fell quiet. "Good job sticking to your guns, Wanda," Tony was the one to break the silence with an approving tone. Wanda gave him a small but tight smile while Steve looked mildly stunned at Wanda's rant. Tony turned to Strange and said, "is there anything magical – and fuck, even asking this is hurting my scientist heart – that'd block an electronic signal at your version of Hogwarts?"
"No, we have wi-fi. The signal just can't be traced or found by anyone outside of Kamar-Taj," Strange told him, looking unimpressed at the Hogwarts comment.
Tony nodded, seemingly oblivious to Strange's slight ire. "Right, in that case the two of you will take a communications unit with you. They're all linked to FRIDAY and you'll be notified of a mission or emergency that you're needed for by FRIDAY, as well as given updates from FRIDAY until you're on the ground. If for whatever reason you can't wear a communications unit during your lessons, leave it near your phone and keep your phone nearby. FRIDAY will be able to use your phone's speakers to inform you that you're needed," Tony instructed.
Vision, Aleks, and Wanda all nodded in agreement, with Wanda giving Tony a grateful look. Steve still didn't look happy about the situation but when Wanda looked back at him, that same steely resolve mixed with pleading in her eyes, he gave her a nod that had her beaming. "Thanks, Steve!" she cried happily. Her excitement seemed to melt the last of Steve's worries because the smile he gave her held none of the concerns he'd felt just a few moments ago.
"Right, well now that that's all sorted, Birdbrain, what are you doing here?" Tony asked, directing his question to Clint, who was still seated on the loveseat he and Wanda had been sharing.
Clint gave Steve a look that Ed couldn't quite translate before he looked back over at Tony. "Steve called me before your fight in Germany," Clint told him. "He told me that the world was in danger, that you were keeping Wanda locked up here, and that the Accords were tying your hands so you couldn't assist with the danger," Clint said, repeating himself from earlier. "I haven't been paying attention to the Accords stuff admittedly since I'm retired so I had no idea whether they were that restrictive or not and I didn't know much about the Lagos situation but Ronin and I couldn't quite believe that you would lock Wanda up like a prisoner nor that you would let yourself be put on such a short leash. I told Laura what Steve had said and our feelings on the matter and asked her opinion on what I should do. Carmen was the one to veto asking Elio or Zara what was happening just in case you and/or Rhodes were involved in a fight or couldn't afford the distraction so I came here to talk to Wanda and whoever was still in the Compound," Clint explained.
"I've always known your wife and her Animal were the smarter bond in your marriage," Tony said, a small teasing smirk on his lips.
Clint rolled his eyes in a fond manner. "Yeah, yeah," he grinned before turning serious again. "Anyways, we got to the Compound and Ronin went in for the closer look while I hung back, just in case. He told me that Wanda was heading for her room while Vision was still in the common room so I figured I'd sneak into Wanda's room to ask her what was going on since she was being held prisoner, according to Steve. I'm actually not sure why FRIDAY didn't alert everyone about me being there," he said, frowning a little.
"Your access hasn't been revoked," FRIDAY said, startling those who weren't used to her voice coming from the ceiling yet. "If I had reason to believe you were a danger to anyone inside the Compound, I would've informed them. I was curious as to why you chose Wanda's window as an entry point but I figured you'd explain your reasons to her soon enough, if she didn't throw you back out the window before you got a word out," FRIDAY explained. "If you had been a danger, I would've taken you down before you got out of Wanda's room."
Clint looked mildly surprised before nodding. "I would've been surprised if you didn't manage to bring me down before I got out of Wanda's room," Clint told the A.I. before moving on. "Anyways, I spoke to Wanda and while she didn't know the whole story she did tell me that she wasn't being kept prisoner and that's when I learned about the shitshow that was Lagos," Clint said, side-eying Steve before his focus went back to Tony. "After I'd spoken to Wanda, we went and found Vision, who explained what he knew was going on and I told him what Steve had told me. Vision gave me the rundown on the Accords and the fact that there's a whole section in it about world-ending events and that Tony wouldn't have been held back by the Accords in that case. After talking to Vision and Wanda, Ronin and I decided it would be best for me to stay here until either you or Steve got back so I could get the whole story," Clint finished saying.
"Well, Vision was right. The Accords wouldn't have prevented me from doing anything to stop a world-ending event," Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest as Elio glared at Steve, who shifted slightly, looking guilty again, "not that there was a world-ending event to worry about in the first place," Tony continued, eyes going back to Clint. "The fight at the airport was about the Accords but only because Steve didn't want Barnes over there to be potentially held accountable for his actions with HYDRA," Tony said, causing Clint's brows to almost fly off his face in surprise.
"That's Bucky Barnes? Your bestie from the '40's? He's HYDRA?" Clint asked, switching between looking at Steve and Barnes.
"No, he's not HYDRA!" Steve exclaimed, the words seeming to burst from inside him. "He didn't have a choice!"
"Barnes, it turns out, is the Winter Soldier," Tony said, cutting Steve off before he could keep going. Barnes flinched at the use of his title, which intrigued Ed quite a lot.
Clint looked like someone had slapped him. "He's the Winter Soldier? The one who's rumoured to have been assassinating everyone from a common drug lord to JFK himself? The one who shot through Nat to get to the scientist she was protecting back in '09?" Clint asked, eyes flicking between Barnes and Tony as his fingers twitched towards his back, as though he was reaching for a weapon that was usually strapped to it.
"The very same," Tony confirmed, looking thoroughly unphased by it. "So we get to the airport and I give Steve one more chance to stop being an idiot and come in so I could work some kind of miracle – again – to try and make it so he and his team weren't jailed for most of the rest of their lives but he decided he was going to do what he does best when faced with something that wouldn't get out his way: punch his way through it," Tony said. "Barnes, Sam, and some guy named Lang were on his side while I had Rhodes, T'Challa, Spider-Man, and Natasha on mine to try and bring them in with minimal damage. Of course," Tony snorted but there was no amusement in it, "it didn't quite go the way I wanted to," he said, sounding slightly pained.
"What happened?" Clint asked, his concern obvious now while Wanda held her clutched hands in front of her, her eyes darting between Steve and Tony.
"We fought," Steve told them. "It wasn't pretty," he added with a grimace.
The blonde's words caused Tony to scoff. "You fought. We tried to bring you in without injury to anyone on your side," Tony corrected, his voice venomous. "Admittedly, T'Challa was barely being kept in check by Illoh but considering he'd just lost his father – presumably due to Barnes' bombing of the UN building in Vienna – I think he did a pretty admirable job of not trying to kill any of you," Tony said before visibly forcing himself to move on. "Anyways, we fought, like Steve said. My side was trying to bring them in and his side were trying to not get caught so they could keep doing whatever they wanted to do without being held accountable. I don't know what happened or why but Natasha decided to switch sides towards the end of the fight and knocked T'Challa unconscious, giving Steve and Barnes the chance to escape, while I was busy making sure Spider-Man wasn't going to drop dead after someone threw a shipping container at him," Tony told Clint.
"Natasha said she knew we weren't going to stop," Steve said, his voice quiet enough that Ed almost had to strain to hear him. "I think she let us go so we wouldn't cause anymore damage," he told them.
"Well, whatever her reasons were, she's now wanted for going against her Accords agreement so congrats to her, I guess," Tony said, his eyes flashing with anger and resignation, like he wasn't surprised by this Natasha's actions. Ed looked at Clint, who looked torn for some reason, making Ed and Ayala think that Natasha was a close friend of his. "So Steve, Barnes and their Animals stole my quinjet before taking off. After ordering Spider-Man to get himself back to America, Rhodey and I headed after Sam, Lang, and the quinjet. I got distracted by Lang – whose suit allowed him to shrink or grow – shrinking suddenly just as one of the super soldier besties fired at me. I didn't see the shot coming but Rhodey did and got between me and it," Tony said, his face filling with pain.
"What happened? Is Colonel Rhodes alright?" Wanda asked, a hand covering her mouth in shock.
Tony nodded but still looked pained. "The shot hit Rhodey's ARC reactor in his suit," Tony said, causing Wanda and Clint to gasp in shock and Steve to shrink back slightly. "Thankfully, it only glanced the reactor but it was enough to knock it out of action temporarily. He fell from about a mile up with no control over his suit. He got power back a few hundred metres above ground but it wasn't enough to stop the suit from hitting the ground and Sam and I weren't quick enough to grab him before he hit. He was unconscious when I pulled the helmet off and Zara wasn't awake either so Elio couldn't get a report on Rhodey's injuries that way. Sam landed next to us and tried to ask if he was alright but I may have hit him with a small repulsor blast to knock him out," Tony admitted, sounding mildly ashamed of his actions. "Rhodey and Zara were taken to a nearby hospital but they've been sent to Columbia Medical here in New York and I've spoken to their doctor. Right now, he's still unconscious but they're worried about his spine. It's very possible he's broken a couple of vertebrae and damaged his spinal cord but they're not positive right now. There's too much swelling in the area for them to be sure," Tony told them.
"I hope he's going to be alright," Ayala said as Clint and Wanda struggled with their emotions. "Spinal injuries are nothing to scoff at and I've always dreaded the day where you wind up with one," she said, looking sympathetically at Tony and Elio, who was leaning up against his human's leg in an obvious attempt to comfort him.
"I'm not that bad," Ed muttered half-heartedly through their bond. Ayala's only response was a disbelieving scoff that he couldn't even pretend to be offended by.
"I know all of the doctors at Columbia Medical," Strange said, getting Tony's immediate attention. "He's in good hands with them. They're all excellent doctors," he said, his tone sounding almost dismissive if it hadn't been for the soothing undertone.
Tony inclined his head at the sorcerer in thanks but it was Clint who next spoke. "So where are Sam and Nat?" he asked.
"Sam, Lang, and their Animals were in the Raft when I spoke to Sam about where Rogers and Barnes were heading after I found out that the psychologist the UN and I had found for Barnes in Bucharest was murdered by the same person who'd framed Barnes for the bombing that killed King T'Chaka. Natasha…" Tony paused for a moment before continuing, "I have no idea where she is and if she's smart, she's long gone," Tony said, voice steely.
"Tony, that's not fair," Steve started saying only to be cut off by a glare from Tony.
"She's the one who double-crossed her team at the airport and she's the one who decided to go back on her word after giving it to 117 countries and I am beyond done pulling your ungrateful arses out of the fires you set," Tony snapped, eyes blazing, his voice razor-sharp and causing almost everyone who was standing to take a step back. "Either my PR team or I have pulled some miraculous shit out of our arses so that you lot weren't vilified or crucified by the public for your more memorably catastrophic missions and we have done so dozens of times with Lagos being the biggest one of them all and – Wanda, I promise I'm not blaming you solely for it – it was nothing short of an actual miracle that I was able to convince everyone to let Wanda stay in the Compound on a lax version of house-arrest until it could all be sorted because – and believe me when I say this, Rogers – there were plenty of people willing to deal with her the same way humans dealt with witches in medieval times," Tony informed him. "Do you know how many death threats and threats in general FRIDAY intercepted before they could reach Wanda here? I don't even know how many she got and that was just what she was facing from the public! The government was ready to revoke her visa! She would've been forced out of America and out of my not-inconsiderable protection!" Wanda was trembling where she stood and Ed had the feeling that it was only Clint's supportive arm wrapped around her shoulders that was keeping her on her feet.
"I didn't know," Steve said quietly, his head ducked in shame. Even Timothy looked ashamed of the fact that they were both unaware of how much Tony had done for them.
"Why am I not surprised?" Tony asked rhetorically, his tone nothing more than a scoff. "I was retired from the Avengers except for emergency situations. I had SI and Accords shit to take care of but poor Maria had to keep calling me for help when you lot made a mistake too big for her to smooth over and she needed me to pull some political strings to pull you out of the fire," Tony said, voice tense with anger. "If we didn't have Thanos on the horizon – and what a shock! The person who actually saw what was on the other side of that fucking portal four years ago was right to think we hadn't won the war! – I'd have half a mind to instruct the PR team assigned to you to go back to working on SI's and my PR and leave you to deal with everything. Maybe then you'd learn something about consequences and how the public views you," he told Steve, not sounding like he believed Steve would learn anything even if he did follow through with that threat.
Steve looked properly chagrined while Barnes, Clint, and Wanda looked carrying degrees of confused. Ed glanced at Mustang and knew he was feeling as uncomfortable as Ed was right now while a look at Strange showed that the man either was truly indifferent to what was happening in front of him or he had a mask that Hawkeye would've been jealous of.
"Tony?" Wanda asked almost timidly. The man in question looked over at her and nodded slightly, giving her permission to continue. "Why are you so mad with Steve? The anger I can feel from you seems like it's too much just to be about the airport fight and Accords," she said, sounding nervous about doing so.
Tony stiffened before sighing. "You're right. Even taking Rhodey's injuries into consideration, I wouldn't be this pissed at Rogers if it was just about his actions from the meeting with Ross a couple of days ago through to the airport fight," Tony said. He opened his mouth to continue before he closed it again and glanced at Steve. "Actually, I think I'll let Rogers tell you what happened in Siberia. After all, the airport fight he tried calling you into, Clint, was just so he could get his hands on my quinjet so he and Barnes could get to Siberia." Tony took an obvious step back, both physically and metaphorically, gesturing almost sarcastically for Steve to step up.
Having not been involved in whatever went down between the two super soldiers, Tony, and their Animals before they'd been forced into America, Ed, Mustang, Ayala, and Nala were watching Steve expectantly, alongside Clint, Wanda, their Animals, and to a degree, Strange and Kim. Steve looked uncomfortable at being put on the spot and glance back at Barnes, who didn't react in anyway, leaving Steve on his own with only Timothy to support him. Steve cleared his throat before he started speaking. "When I found Bucky after he was triggered in Bucharest, he told me that the man who triggered him – Helmut Zemo – only asked him for the coordinates to a HYDRA base where five more Winter Soldiers were being cryogenically frozen. When I found him after Tony's, Natasha's, and Sharon's fight against him, he told me that he'd given the coordinates and warned me that the other Winter Soldiers were so unstable that HYDRA couldn't control them. We knew we needed to fast way to get to the coordinates so I decided we needed to take the quinjet. Sam knew a guy who knew a guy who knew Scott so he called him while I called you, Clint, and we made our way to the airport…"
It took several minutes for Steve to get through the story due to interruptions from Clint, Wanda, and Vision. Clint was visibly pissed to learn that the reason he'd been told the world was in danger and that Wanda was being held against her will was because Steve had thought Clint wouldn't take the time to question anyone at the Compound about it. Wanda wasn't pleased to learn that Steve hadn't bothered calling her to check and see if she was alright because he didn't want her to tell him she was because he didn't want to chance that Wanda would do exactly what she did and follow Tony's suggestion of staying low. Vision, however, had merely been confused as to why Steve hadn't trusted Tony with the information about the Winter Soldier core and had brought up the numerous times Steve had said something along the lines of teammates needing to trust each other and how the team was a family and that secrets amongst family weren't good. That had caused Steve to give a full-body flinch before giving Tony an apologetic and guilty look that had made the Iron Man pilot's jaw clench.
The reveal about what Steve had been hiding from Tony and what Zemo had shown Tony in the Siberian bunker had caused everyone in the room – with the exception of Steve, Barnes, and their Animals – to react in shock, disbelief, and disgust. Clint had gone into a full rant when Steve had admitted he'd known since the fall of SHIELD that Barnes was behind the Stark's deaths, tearing the captain apart with his words. Ed was almost sure it would've come to blows between the two if it hadn't been for Ronin launching off of Clint's shoulder so he could hover in front of his human's face, presumably to persuade him not to punch Steve in the jaw. Wanda had turned pale from shock, looking like she was going to be sick. She didn't move or say anything while Clint continued his rant but tears did roll down her cheeks, causing Tony to cross the room – walking behind Clint so he didn't get in between him and Steve – so he could whisper something to Wanda that Ed couldn't hear because of Clint.
Ed, Mustang, and the Animals all shared a look and Ed knew that they all felt the same way he did right now. It was very obvious that this team right now wasn't much of a team and though they felt sympathy for Tony and anger at Steve for what he kept from Tony, Ed could see why Steve thought he'd made the best choice he could by keeping that secret from Tony. Ed didn't personally think it was the right choice nor was it what he would've done if he'd been in Steve's position but then again, he didn't know what Steve's and Tony's relationship was like beforehand. It was possible that they weren't even friends and were only reluctant teammates so maybe Steve didn't feel like he could approach Tony about it. The very thought caused Ed to grimace internally though. He couldn't imagine keeping that kind of secret from someone he knew, not even someone he hated with every fiber of his being, like Tucker.
Strange wasn't bothering to hide his feelings on the matter. The scorn on his face was more than enough to tell everyone what he thought about Steve in that moment. The Cloak had fanned itself out slightly in a way that had Ed thinking it was offended, something the blonde was amazed by since he still wasn't used to a piece of fabric that was able to feel emotions, let alone express them. Though Barnes wasn't openly supporting Steve and standing by him so he had someone else other than Timothy at his side, he did look like he was contemplating hitting Clint to get him to stop. Steve stood in the same spot he had been since he'd started talking, looking years older than he was but made no move to calm Clint down or to defend his choice. In fact, Ed was certain that if Clint did try and hit Steve, the blonde wouldn't stop him. Barnes might've and Timothy might've tried but he was fairly certain Steve wouldn't have so much as raised a finger to defend himself.
When Clint finally ran out of words to shout at Steve, Tony interjected himself back into the conversation. "I appreciate your creativity with some of your threats there, Legolas, and the fact that you're so mad on my behalf but all this shouting can't be good for your blood pressure and I'm not going to be the one to tell Laura that you had a stroke or some shit because of this," Tony said, voice equal parts teasing and genuinely grateful.
"Be thankful Ronin talked me outta hitting him. That definitely saved you from having to call Laura and tell her I couldn't go water-skiing with the kids because I busted my hand," Clint said, still glaring at Steve but his tone was less angry.
"Yeah, punching a super-soldier never ends well for us mere humans," Tony said, clapping him on the shoulder. "But speaking of Laura and the kids, you should probably call that wife of yours, apologise for this turning out to be nothing, and tell her you're taking the quinjet back to the farm or wherever you're nesting at the moment so you'll be back in a couple of hours," Tony told him.
Clint's eyes finally left Steve's face so he could look at Tony. "Are you sure you want me taking the quinjet? Don't you need it to visit Rhodes?" he asked.
Tony shook his head. "I'll call Happy and get him to come get me. FRIDAY can pilot the quinjet once you're out of it and bring it back here," Tony assured him.
Clint nodded and gave Tony a grateful smile. "Thanks, genius. I'll make sure I don't scratch the paint job this time," he said, eyes glinting teasingly before he glared at Steve again. "You better be thankful Laura wasn't here to hear what you did from you. Super-soldier or not, she would've hit you then tore into you worse than I did," he told him. "You may yet get a phone call from her once I tell her everything and I'm warning you now, ignoring her won't do you any favours," he said, pointing a finger threateningly at Steve, who gave a meek nod. Ed kind of wanted to meet this Laura since the mention of a phone call from her actually had Steve pale more than he already was.
"I don't care what the rest of you do but no one except Strange and Vision can leave this Compound for the foreseeable future," Tony told them, smoothly changing the subject. "I'm gonna go visit Rhodey and Zara and see how they're going and how much money I need to throw at the hospital to make sure he gets the best treatment possible," he told them. "FRIDAY will be screening all calls to the Compound and your mobiles so that only approved people can get in touch with you because the last thing I need right now is one of you talking to the press and adding to my workload because believe me when I say this: if that happens, I won't bother to help you out of whatever mess you create," he warned them.
Ed exchanged a look with Mustang before they both got to their feet, effectively gaining Tony's and everyone else's attention. "If you want, I can go with you to the hospital. Depending on the severity of the injury to your friend, I may be able to heal it with alchemy," Ed offered.
"Are you sure you want them knowing about your healing alchemy?" Ayala asked just as Tony asked, "you can heal with alchemy?"
"Yes," Ed said to both of them. Fairly certain he knew what Tony's next question was, Ed then said, "I can explain alchemy and its properties and uses to you on the way to the hospital, if you'd like."
Tony considered the younger alchemist for a few moments before nodding. "You're welcome to come with me but whether you can use your alchemy on Rhodey is up to him and his doctors," Tony told them firmly.
Ed scowled. "I wouldn't have used it on him without his permission anyways," he said snippily.
Mustang looked like he was about to lecture him about manners again but Tony looked unphased by the attitude. "Good," Tony said. "FRIDAY's already sent Happy a message so he's on his way and she'll be watching the rest of you to make sure you do nothing that'll get the Avengers and enhanced community into more hot water than they're already in," he told them, speaking primarily to the rest of them. "If you want food, feel free to help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen or FRIDAY can place a delivery order to whatever restaurant you want," he said. It was obvious he was speaking to mainly Barnes and Strange with that last part but everyone nodded. "If you four are coming with, follow me. We'll wait out the front for Happy," Tony instructed the Amestrians before he headed for the elevator.
They did as they were told, following Tony and Elio into the elevator. Ed got a glimpse of Clint and Wanda leaving the common room, talking quietly to one another while Steve, Barnes, and their Animals stood awkwardly off to the side as Vision and Strange took their seats once more before the doors slid shut, cutting them off from the common room. Tony leaned against the elevator wall the moment the doors closed and Elio gave him a worried look.
"I'm sorry you had to witness all of that. It was probably far more uncomfortable for you than me," Tony apologised to them, opening one of the eyes he'd closed when his back hit the steel of the elevator.
"I got the feeling that you guys only got the bare minimum of what you all wanted to say to one another off of your chest out there," Mustang said, causing Tony to huff out some laughter that didn't meet his eyes.
"Yeah, there's probably several years' worth of things to get off our chest still. At least some good came out of all of this shit. We're finally communicating!" Tony said, faux cheerfully. "Still, I am sorry that you guys have been quite literally forced into the middle of all of this," he said, giving them an apologetic look.
"Wasn't like you made the decision to kidnap us from Central and drag us into another dimension," Ed said with a shrug. "No need for you to apologise," he told him.
"Fullmetal's correct," Mustang said, ignoring the exaggeratingly shocked gasp Ed gave at those words. Tony's mouth twitched upwards slightly. "There is no need for you to apologise to us. What's happened has happened and unfortunately there's nothing none of us can do to make Strange send us home if he doesn't want to. We've agreed to help so we'll stay here and do our best to assist where we can," Mustang assured Tony.
"With the team in the shape it's in, I think we're gonna be glad to have you along for the ride," Tony told them honestly.
"I have a feeling that no matter what's happening between team members personally that you'll all pull together to fight as a functional team in the face of a threat like Thanos," Mustang said confidently.
"At least one of us feels that way," Tony said with a small chuckle before he sighed and straightened. "I just hope you're right," he admitted as the elevator dinged and opened its doors to show them the entrance of the Compound.
"Well, there's a first time for everything, including Mustang being right," Ed said with a shrug. Ignoring Mustang's outraged spluttering, Ed managed to keep a straight face as he asked, "so who's Happy?"
Tony's smile grew at the mention of the man coming to pick them up. "Let me tell you about the best forehead of security you'll ever meet," he said as he led them to the front of the Compound to wait for Happy to arrive in the car to take them to the hospital.
A/N - Here's chapter 4 for you all! I hope you guys enjoy this one because, let me tell you, it was rather cathartic to write. In exciting news, we get to meet Rhodes, Happy, and their Animals in the next chapter! I hope you guys are excited for that! Thank you to those of you who are still reading this story and I hope to see some reviews from you! See you next week!