{Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on the update. I know you want chapters and not excuses, but I had to be social during the holiday, which is fine and fun, but it took away from my writing time. Anyway, here's another chapter. It's not very long, but I've got a decent start on the next chapter, so I hope this will tide you over for a day or two. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and all of the encouragement!}
ERIK POV
One military-grade jet ride, two army watchdogs, and some odd hours later, Erik arrived in Vienna. Now, he was riding in the backseat of a black unmarked SUV wearing his cape and armor ensemble with his helmet sitting on his lap. Being that the helmet wasn't the most comfortable piece of attire in the world, Erik wasn't about to put it on until he felt it was absolutely necessary. Since he wasn't in the Avengers' Wanda's immediate vicinity, and he didn't know of any other people with telepathic-like abilities in this world—besides possibly his daughter—he felt he could afford himself that simple luxury.
His two-man escort sat in the vehicle's front seats. The young army operative who wasn't driving kept glancing back at Erik so frequently that it looked as though he had an uncontrollable twitch, and it took all of Erik's self-control not to take a piece of metal and tie it around his head, so that he had no other option but to look forward.
Erik wondered what Secretary Ross had told his 'escorts.' Probably that he was a dangerous enhanced individual who for the time-being was cooperating with them. It was obvious Ross didn't think Erik would cause any trouble or he wouldn't have assigned such a young army recruit to accompany him, though the driver seemed more seasoned, so perhaps they balanced each other out.
Ignoring yet another glance in his direction, Erik turned his head to look out at the city passing by. He'd leave it to Ross's men to find the Winter Soldier; he wasn't about to assist the government in locating a man who had so publicly gone against the Sokovian Accords, even if he had a few screws loose.
In Erik's opinion, it really would be better if Captain Rogers just dealt with his former friend how he saw fit, without the government getting involved, but Erik would hold up his end of the bargain. If Ross's men did indeed locate the man with the metal arm, then Erik would secure the Winter Soldier, and in doing so, secure his children's future.
No. I'm not going to think about them right now.
Erik struggled to push the thought of his children aside. He couldn't think about his children right now, or he might become distracted from the task at hand. Instead, Erik let his mind wander. He relished in the feeling of the pulsating hum of metal all around him, and the familiar comfort of his old attire.
It seemed like a lifetime ago since he'd last worn the gladiator-like outfit. A lifetime since he, Wanda, and Hank had liberated Pietro from his prison.
Damn. I'm thinking of them again.
It was hard not to think of his children. They were his life now and he welcomed it, but worrying about them while he was trying to get into his old frame of mind, the mind of a cold-emotionless killer—though he didn't plan on killing anyone today—would not be helpful.
Erik took his helmet off of his lap and shoved it onto his head. Maybe it would help him focus, and though there were no telepaths around to fulfill its true purpose, the helmet did aid him just a bit. It helped him realize that part of him would always be called to fight. Fight for revenge. Fight for justice. Fight for his family…
I suppose I should just accept that they will forever be on my mind…
"The extraction failed. Our men and the local police are in pursuit." Said the young army man from the front passenger seat. The man—neither he nor the other military personnel had offered their names and Erik hadn't inquired—was talking to the driver, but Erik listened in, grateful for the distraction from what otherwise might be plaguing his mind.
"They are in pursuit now, as is Captain America and Falcon, along with an unidentified, possibly enhanced, individual." continued the younger man.
The driver scoffed in reply, "Where do all of these people keep coming from? Was there a recent nuclear explosion I'm not aware of that let off endless waves of radiation?"
Finding their topic of conversation of interest and a tad insulting—Erik didn't appreciate the disdain in the men's voice as the spoke about enhanced people—Erik voiced his thoughts, "Tell me if I have this right…your Secretary of State enlisted my help to bring in this Winter Soldier, yet instead, he already sent in a team that attempted to capture him. Now that team is failing, and it seems the Winter Solider, Barnes, may escape. So I ask you, why is your government wasting my time and taking me away from my family, if they didn't want to use my skills in the first place?"
The twitchy young soldier looked like he was about to answer Erik, but the older driver beat him to the punch, "If you have been following the news at all lately, Mr. Lensherr, then you'd know that the issue of enhanced individuals is a very controversial topic at the moment. Secretary Ross sees both the advantages and disadvantages of your people, but he's not about to publicly use one enhanced person to capture another, unless it is the only available option. You are a last resort to have on hand in case this operation goes south. So just sit tight and wait until we instruct you to do otherwise."
Erik narrowed his eyes at the older man who had made eye contact with him in the vehicle's review mirror as he finished speaking. They had taken him away from his family as a back up plan?! Erik was already furious at having been manipulated into do their dirty work, but this gave him a new reason to be livid.
"You want me to…just…wait?" Erik said coolly.* "And for how long does Ross think I will just sit idly by waiting to be summoned like a common prostitute? The sooner this is finished, the sooner I can return to my children. I will not—"
"Mac." Said the younger military operant unabashedly interrupting Erik in his rant, as he looked down at a tablet displaying something Erik couldn't see.
It would just take a little piece of metal to silence him. I could do it…
Picturing his son telling him he had anger management issues, Erik managed to contain his violent impulse, as the younger man continued speaking.
"They are all on the lower highway system. If we maintain our position and they remain on their current trajectory, they should be below us in less than five minutes. How should we proceed? There's an exit a few miles ahead."
"We keep going." Answered the older man (Mac, Erik now knew) "Stick to our orders and hang back until called upon. We continue on this stretch of road, and we'll take the next exit to make our way down to the lower highway. We may be able to cut them off that way, and we'll be ready if they need us."
No way in hell that's what we're doing. I'm finishing this now and getting back to Wanda and Pietro.
"I have a better idea." said Erik as he focused his abilities and stopped their vehicle—rather abruptly—in its tracks. Behind them other vehicles screeched to a stop or swerved around them honking their horns, while Mac and the other member of Erik's escort cursed in surprise. Engaging his powers once again, Erik threw open the car door, easily breaking through the police-like back seat car lock meant to 'discourage' him from leaving the vehicle.
Wasting no time, Erik exited the vehicle, his cape billowing in his wake. He didn't even pause as he put out his hand to stop a couple of other vehicles that were standing between him and the edge of the overpass.
"Lensherr!" Mac's voice called behind him just as Erik reached the edge of the highway. Erik looked back to see that both Mac and the younger man had abandoned the vehicle, and the younger man had his gun trained on Erik.
Humans and their guns. Will they never learn?
"Lensherr!" Mac repeated again loudly so as to be heard over the cars speeding by, separating Erik from the other two men. "Stand down!"
"Sorry Mac. That's not happening."
And with that Erik forced the gun downward out of the younger man's hands—he figured it wasn't a good idea to have a loaded weapon go flying into heavy traffic—and he stepped over the highway's railing, levitating himself to the ground right in front traffic, but he easily stopped the vehicle that would have hit him.
He landed gracefully and turned his head up just in time to see his two former companions appear at the rail above, gazing down at him with irritation, if not malice, before they disappeared from view, presumably to return to their vehicle and continue with their original plan as to how to make their way to the lower highway.
Turning his gaze back to his immediate surroundings, Erik made eye contact with the people in the vehicle he had prevented from plowing him over after his short descent. In the front of the car was an older couple, looking at him with what could only be shock and fear. Erik supposed it wasn't everyday people came falling—or flying—out of the sky, but then again, Tony Stark obviously did it from time to time…though Erik needed no suit to take to the skies.
Looking past the couple Erik saw a little boy peering between them from the backseat. The boy was holding a Superman** action figure and he kept moving his eyes back and forth between Erik and the toy with impossibly wide eyes.
For a moment, Erik thought painfully of Pietro and wondered what he might have been like at that age, but he forced himself to stay focused on the present.
I'm no Superman kid.
Erik released his hold on the family's vehicle and after a moment it sped around Erik. It seemed people in this world better understood that when something abnormal was happening, one should run away from it rather than just gawk. Erik watched as the vehicle disappeared into the distance, with the little boy turning in his seat to gaze back at him in awe.
Unsure of which direction the Winter Soldier and his 'posse' would be coming from, Erik strolled forward in the direction the car with the older couple and boy had gone. The other cars on the road avoided Erik without any assistance, though many honked. Erik wasn't concerned about them. He could feel the metal in each one that went by. He would stop them if he needed to. Nothing as mundane as being hit by a car was going to kill Erik Lensherr.
Erik continued forward, being sure to look across the way at the cars moving in the other direction as well, on alert for anything out of the ordinary.
Like a man with a metal arm.
Erik tilted his head. He heard the sound of sirens growing louder behind him. Turning around, Erik saw the single headlight of a motorcycle speeding toward him from some distance away in the tunnel he had dropped down in front of.
Past the motorcycle, he could feel metal speeding through the air, and he could see the outline of a man soaring along the top of the tunnel. Just below that he thought he could make out a dark figure moving just as fast, but beyond that there was no mistaking the red, white, and blue shield in the hand of a man who could only be Steve Rogers. Guess it was a good thing Al had chosen to get Pietro a Captain America t-shirt, or Erik might not have made that connection so quickly.
As the motorcycle drew closer, Erik could see and feel clearer than before that the man riding it had a metal arm.
The Winter Soldier.
As the motorcycle made its inevitable exit from the tunnel, an explosion brought down the ceiling at the tunnel's edge. Erik watched and felt as the flying figure made a drastic change in direction to avoid the falling debris.*** The dark figure that Erik could now see was a man in some sort of black pather-esque suit, as well as Captain America had somehow both managed to make it out, but all of the police cars in pursuit were trapped inside.
Well, almost all of the police cars. one car came flipping sideways out of the tunnel behind them.
Erik thrust his hand out, stopping the tumbling vehicle, and preventing it from plowing Steve over, though it didn't look as though the Captain was even aware it had almost pummeled him from behind.
Time to end this.
The motorcycle was almost upon Erik now with no signs of stopping. The Winter Soldier probably thought Erik was just some deranged man in a cape…maybe he wasn't far off with that assessment.
Thrusting out his hand again, Erik forced the motorcycle to a halt causing the Winter Soldier—Bucky Barnes Erik remembered now—to go flipping forward over the front of the handlebars and soaring into the air. Since it wasn't Erik's intention or mission to kill the man, he used his abilities to go with Bucky's momentum and slow him down before bringing him to a complete stop. Erik lowered him to the ground and pushed him to his knees, using the metal in his clothes and his arm to do so.
From this position, Bucky couldn't do much, but he managed to raise his head to look at Erik incredulously and say, "who the hell are you?"
Erik replied emotionlessly, "Does it matter?"
That was as far as their conversation progressed however, as Erik became distracted by the catlike figure still barreling toward them, or more precisely toward Bucky. The cat/man made a dramatic leap at Erik's stationary prisoner, but it was to no avail, as Erik raised his other hand and swiftly stopped the man mid-jump, preventing him from his evident goal of tearing Bucky limb from limb. Thankfully the man's costume? suit? uniform? had metal claws and other random spurts of metal throughout that made the job fairly easy though the man fruitlessly struggled in Erik's invisible clutches.
A moment later Captain Rogers, shield still in hand, came sliding to a halt behind the two immobile men.
"Erik?" said Rogers with a near disbelieving look on his face. "How—what are you doing here? You're working for Ross now? This isn't your fight."
Erik knew he didn't have to give Captain Rogers an explanation. With copious amounts of metal at Erik's disposal, not too mention a shield made of metal, there was nothing Steve could do to stop him. Yet, for some reason, Erik felt the man deserved some sort of response, and Erik felt compelled explain himself.
"You're right. It's not my fight, but I've been dragged into it anyway. And I work for no one but my family…I'm doing what's necessary for them, for their future."
Steve still looked baffled after this explanation, and also possibly a little disappointed and betrayed by Erik's response. Under the Captain's gaze, Erik felt shame growing within him, but why should this man's opinion matter to him? It didn't matter what the Captain thought of Erik's actions. Erik knew he was doing what was necessary under the circumstances, just like he always did. He in no way supported the Accords, but the interests of his children had to come first, no matter the consequences for everyone else.
It looked as though Captain Rogers was about to speak again, but he didn't get the chance as Erik felt a large metal object approaching from the air, and all four men looked up. A moment later, a bulky metal suit of armor landed beside them and trained a machine gun and blasters their way.
Stark.
Though the suit was different in its appearance, Erik's first thought was that it must be piloted by the annoying man who had turned up on Al's farm. Erik was not exactly pleased to see him, but when the man inside the suit spoke, Erik could tell the voice did not belong to Stark.
"Stand down. Now." Said the man as countless police cars and officers suddenly showed up in the man's wake.
Erik wasn't quite sure who the man in the suite was talking to, though he wouldn't be surprised if that statement was directed at him. He had already heard it once today from another individual Erik had pissed off. His uncertainty was quickly cleared up though when the man spoke further.
"Congratulations Cap. You're a criminal."
If Captain America is a criminal, what does that make me?
It was hard to see the emotions on Captain Rogers face due to the man's mask, but Erik thought he looked rather dejected, though not particularly sorry as he stowed his shield behind his back and raised his hands in surrender.
Then, the unidentified man addressed Erik, "Mr. Lensherr, you're not particularly good at following orders are you? But I guess you delivered on what Ross asked of you. We haven't met, but Tony has told me quite a bit about you. I'm James Rhodes."
"I don't care." Said Erik impersonally. Erik knew Rhodes was one of the Avengers who had signed the Accords. That told him enough about the man.
"I guess Tony's depiction of you was pretty accurate. Would you mind exercising your abilities to remove our friend's mask here?" said Rhodes nodding his head—with some difficult due to the suit—at the man in all black.
Before Erik could follow or dismiss this request—what was it with people in this world thinking they could control him?—the man in question spoke out in an unusual accent, and despite his current powerless position, a very dignified voice, "I can manage that myself, if I am given use of my hands."
"Alright then. Mr. Lensherr?" said Rhodes nodding at Erik, indicating he should allow the mystery man to do so.
Erik was irritated that Rhodes seemed to have no problem making the decisions, but seeing no reason not to allow the man in question this small dignity, he released his magnetic grip on the man, who promptly removed his mask.
The man beneath the mask was a young African male who looked dissatisfied with himself and maybe saddened or angered by how the current predicament had unfolded. Erik thought he recognized the man from the news coverage of the ratification of the Accords, and he felt sure he was the Prince of Wakanda. Then Rhodes spoke once more, confirming Erik's assumption in what could only be reserved surprise, "Your Highness."
Having kept up on the news coverage regarding the explosion, Erik could only guess that the Wakandan prince was after Bucky in revenge for killing his father, but how he came by the suit or his extreme agility, Erik didn't care. There was only one question he wanted answered: how long would it be before he would be back in the U.S. with his children again?
*This is probably weird, but I imagine Erik saying this like Snape (From Harry Potter. I hope I don't have to tell you who Snape is.)
**I've read fics before where DC characters are fictional comic book characters in the marvel universe, and I like that idea, so that's how it works in this story.
*** I re-watched the scene with the tunnel chase from Captain America Civil War, but I can't figure out what happens to Falcon? Can anyone enlighten me? Does he make it through the debris or end up trapped inside? He's obviously okay because he appears not too much later, but how did he not break his legs or something when he flew through or ran into the falling debris? I'm baffled.
{Author's Note: Personally, this isn't my favorite chapter. I'm not much into writing action sequences, but next chapter will be more emotionally centered, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, you should all watch HISHE for Captain America Civil War; it's hilarious.}