So, here we are with another interlude. I was going to stark Infinity War this chapter but this chapter was getting too long, so next chapter will be the beginning of Infinity War.
Before we get started though, I want to address something.
I know some of you are dissatisfied with me having future Wanda and Bucky together. That is fine; you are entitled to your opinion on the matter. If I couldn't handle people disagreeing with me, I would not have gotten through Civil War. But some of you have taken it a step further by using my past criticism of Bruce/Nat to call me a hypocrite. I would laugh at you trying to compare two ships that couldn't be more difficult in just about every way if you hadn't decided to call me a hypocrite, even if you just barely avoided using the word. To dislike something in my story is one thing, but to be so upset about it you call me a hypocrite is another and it's crossing a line.
To everyone else, I apologize. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Gabe: I know. I was talking about in the CW flashback; Tony seems to be aware of the nature of Howard's work, which doesn't match up with Iron Man 2.
Guest: Yeah, it's gonna be a wild ride for sure.
The next morning, Clint lay on the bed in the room he had been shown to, staring at a picture. It was of him and Wanda, taken a few months ago. The whole team had thrown a party for her twentieth birthday. Someone had snapped a picture with their phone, probably Natasha, as he looked at Wanda while she laughed at something; he thinks it was Sam making a joke. In that moment, all the troubles she faced seemed to be far away as Wanda looked happy, truly happy, for the first time since he'd known her.
Clint sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed as he stared down at the photo. He's had a long night of uneasy sleep; his dreams filled with Wanda in pain and locked in an insane asylum. He had failed Pietro, but he wouldn't fail Wanda. He swore that on his life.
After staring at the photograph for a few more minutes, Clint put it back in his wallet, where he kept it right next to the picture of his family, and put it in his back pocket. He went to the door and opened it, nearly walking right into Wanda as she rounded the corner.
"Sorry, didn't mean to give you whiplash," Clint joked as they stopped themselves from colliding.
"It's okay," Wanda said as she noticed he was looking at her oddly, like she was a piece of art he was trying to memorize. "What?"
"How are you doing? With…everything," Clint said lamely.
"What, that the whole world hates me in the future?" Wanda deadpanned.
"The whole world does not hate you," Clint said with passion that surprised her. "Corrupt politicians who want to control you and biased media want the world to fear you. Doesn't mean everyone does."
"Thanks," Wanda said, looking at him oddly. "Are you okay? You seem on edge."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…some stuff the other me said," Clint said as he remembered Barton's warning. "Just...if you ever wanna talk, if it ever gets to be too much…I'm here for you Wanda. Just call me, I'll be there before you hand up the phone."
Wanda looked at him, touched. It had been…a long time since someone besides Pietro had looked at her like that, had reached out with no alternative motive. It warmed her heart.
"Thank you," Wanda said gratefully.
At the same time, Tony was walking into the kitchen, deep in thought. To be honest, his head was a mess with everything he'd learned about yesterday, especially about his parents. He knew that he needed to stand with The Avengers to stop Thanos, but could he stand with Steve and Barnes? Cap, maybe, but he wasn't sure he could face his parents' killer. Not yet.
He almost missed Parker in the room as he walked in, sitting at the table, on the phone.
"Yeah, everything's fine…yeah, I'll be home in a few days. Yeah. I'll see you soon. I love you Gwen," Parker said before he hung up.
"That the Misses?" Tony asked and Parker jumped. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay, just didn't hear you come in," Parker said as he pocketed his phone.
"So, her name's Gwen," Tony teased and Parker rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, her name's Gwen, Gwen Stacy," Parker gave in; knowing it was more trouble than it was worth trying to keep Tony from prying. "We met in my senior year of high school. Do me a favor, don't tell Peter. It's best that he makes his own mistakes."
"Sure, you're secret's safe with me," Tony shrugged and Parker nodded.
"Good. I'm actually glad you're here," Parker said and Tony raised an eyebrow. "We need to talk."
"About what?" Tony asked confused.
"In a few months, one of your decisions is gonna come back to bite you," Parker said, confusing Tony. "Sit down."
"What are you talking about?" Tony asked as he sat down across from Parker.
"After New York, You bought Damage Control and used it to clean up the damage left behind from the Chitauri Invasion. When you did, you also put more than a few construction crews out of work," Parker said and noticed the guilty look on Tony's face. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty Tony; I'm telling you this to warn you."
"Warn me about what?" Tony asked.
"Adrian Toomes. He was one of the construction workers put of work because of a job he lost to Damage Control. He and his crew turned to a life of crime in order to support their families. They used some of the Chitauri tech they managed to get their hand on to create weapons they could use for themselves and also selling them on the black market to earn money. Toomes resented you for losing his job, he went after you and I barely stopped him," Parker explained.
"You fought him?" Tony asked horrified and Parker nodded.
"I stumbled onto his crew a few months after Zemo," Parker said and Tony sighed.
"So not only did my mistake create another supervillain, I also put you in more danger," Tony said in guilt.
"You're not responsible for Toomes' actions. Anne Marie Hoag gave him the chance to talk to you about it; he decided to turn to a life of crime instead," Parker told him.
"If it weren't for me, he would never have lost his job in the first place," Tony said glumly and Peter didn't argue. "Why didn't we see this yesterday?"
"We chose not to show my recording because it didn't show in the best light. You need to trust each other and mine wasn't going to help the others trust you," Parker said and Tony winced. "Tony, you're a good man, but you're a futurist. It's not a bad thing, but you focus so much on the end result, on the future, you forget about the here and now, how your actions affect things in the present."
"So what am I supposed to do then?" Tony asked in frustration.
"Trust your friends," Parker said simply. "You seem to think the entire world needs you alone to protect it. You're not alone in this Tony. You don't have to go it alone."
In another part of the Tower, in what had been designated the shower room, Steve stepped out, freshly showed and changed into clothes that had been provided for him last night when Strange had shown the to their rooms. He nearly ran into Natasha on the way out.
"Nat," Steve said surprised.
"Hey. How are you doing?" Natasha asked and it was silent. "That bad huh?"
"I should have told Tony," Steve said after a moment.
"Maybe, but you could say the same thing about me. I was there to, I never looked deeper into it either," Natasha said before placing a hand on Steve's shoulder. "We can't change our past. The only thing we can do is learn from it and move forward."
After a moment, Steve nodded. Natasha moved to head towards the shower when Steve called out to her.
"Nat," she turned back to see him looking at her curiously. "The way you reacted to how Bucky was almost killed by T'Challa… there's something you haven't told me about your history with him."
"You caught that huh?" Natasha said and Steve nodded.
"I think Clint did to. What aren't you telling me Nat?" Steve asked and she was silent for a few moments.
"In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised…he was there," Nat said gently, stunning Steve. "He trained me, helped me become what I was. And, in secret, we were…more than a student and teacher. Much more."
"Oh," Steve said lamely after a few moments as the implications sunk in.
"Yeah, oh," Natasha said with a weak smile before frowning. "But, eventually, our superiors found out. They came for him in the night, used tranquilizers to knock us both out. I was…punished for it. I never saw him again until he shot me. And even then, I never knew it was him until I saw his face on the bridge. Given how much they messed with his mind, I'm not sure he even remembers."
"I'm sorry Nat," Steve said gently and she nodded.
"Me to," Natasha said.
"Did you love him?" Steve asked, part wanting to know and part dreading her answer.
"No, I didn't love him," Natasha said with certainty. "Back then, I couldn't love him. I wasn't capable of love. Not until Clint got me out. But, at one point, he was the closest thing to love I had in the lowest point of my life. For that, I will always care about him."
Steve didn't say anything else as she walked into the bathroom, not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed by this news.
"Is everything alright?" Thor asked as he came upon Steve a few moments later.
"Yeah…I think so," Steve said before he glanced over at Thor. "How are you doing?"
"I am doing the best I can. Is not every day you find out everything you believed in was all founded upon lies," Thor sighed.
"I'm sorry Thor," Steve said kindly as he placed a hand on Thor's shoulder and Thor smiled weakly.
"I know. I'll be alright, thanks Cap," Thor said gratefully.
A little later, they all met in the kitchen. Tony and Parker had begun eating some cereal as everyone else, both future and past, entered. However, Sam noticed a few absences.
"Where are Strange and Fitz?" he asked Barton.
"Fitz had to leave for personal business and Strange said something about heading to the New York Sanctum. They'll be back, but for now, it's just me," Barton said before turning to Cassie, Parker, and Lila. "Shouldn't you three be getting back?"
"Yeah, Cap's expecting us," Cassie said and Parker nodded.
"Actually…I think I'm gonna stick around for today," Lila said and the two looked at her. "Oh don't look at me like that. The mission isn't for another few days, I have time. Besides…"
Lila trailed off but she didn't need to finish. Everyone knew how close she had been to Natasha and how much she missed her. It was obvious she wanted to spend as much time with Natasha as she could.
"You know what, I think I'm gonna stick around to," Parker said and Cassie looked at him incredulously.
"You can't be serious," she deadpanned.
"Sorry Cas, but I'm staying. Don't worry, I'll take the heat from Cap when we get back," Parker promised and Cassie sighed.
"Why do you both have to be so stubborn?" Cassie grumbled as she walked over to Scott.
"Bye dad."
"Bye Peanut. I'll miss you," Scott said as they hugged.
"You'll see me when you get back," Cassie pointed out.
"Yeah, but I won't see you like this for another seventeen years," Scott argued.
Cassie only laughed as she pulled back, kissing Scott on the cheek before she walked out.
"So, how many more of these recordings are we gonna have to watch?" Rhodey inquired as they all looked over at Barton.
"Three, but two of them will be the most important and hardest ones to watch," Barton said with a look in his eyes that had most of them dreading those records. "I have one more person coming. I thought she should be here for this. She should be here once we finish eating. Then, we'll all head to the viewing room and get started."
Yes, Peter's wife is Gwen Stacy. Most of my love for this ship comes from the Spectacular Spider-Men series, but from what I know about this in the comics, I honestly prefer it to Peter's relationship with Mary-Jane.
Before anyone bites my head off, I'm not blaming Tony for Toomes' decisions. Toomes made his own choices to turn to a life of crime, but the fact is that if Tony had considered the implications of using Damage control to clean up the city on working class, Toomes may not have been driven to crime. As I said, Toomes is ultimately responsible for his own choices, but Tony does play a role in the circumstances Toomes found himself in.