I do not own anything from the MCU.
"The better part, the human heart, you love 'em or dissect 'em
Happiness or flashiness? How do you serve the question?
See, in the perfect world, I would be perfect, world
I don't trust people enough beyond they surface, world
I don't love people enough to put my faith in men."
—PRIDE. by Kendrick Lamar
Will didn't want to watch.
The two teams were fighting, definitely much harder and more desperately than before. She felt awful about sitting it out, but Steve was right—she had to think about Jackie and her mom. They needed her, and she needed them.
"We gotta go," She heard Bucky say over the comms. "That guy's probably in Siberia by now."
"We gotta draw out the flyers." Steve said "I'll take Vision. You get to the jet with Will."
"No," Sam interjected. "You get to the jet. Both of you!" He flew up, narrowly avoiding a blast from War Machine. "The rest of us aren't getting out of here."
"As much as I hate to admit it," Clint admitted, "if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it."
Will clenched her jaw. I should be helping, she thought dejectedly.
"This isn't the real fight, Steve!" Sam continued.
Steve was silent for a moment. "Alright Sam. What's the play?"
"We need a diversion. Something big," Sam explained as War Machine fired at him again.
"I've got something kinda big," Scott piped up, "but I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."
Bucky seemed a little concerned. "He's gonna tear himself in half?"
"You sure about this Scott?" Will asked nervously. "Tearing yourself in half doesn't sound fun."
"I do it all the time," He reassured them. "I mean once... in a lab. Then I passed out." He began muttering under his breath. Will watching with wide eyes, not daring to make a sound when—
"Holy shit!" Will yelled as Scott grew to roughly the size of her apartment complex and grabbed War Machine by the legs.
"I guess that's the signal," Steve commented in disbelief.
"Way to go, Tic Tac!" Cheered Sam.
Scott flung War Machine across the airport, and Underoos caught him in a web ("What the fuck?" Will muttered under her breath). Kicking a bus at Panther Man, he allowed for Steve and Bucky to sprint across the airport.
"I can get you guys into the jet!" Will yelled. "I can take more than one person when I pop in places!"
"Will, what did I say?" Steve asked sternly as he and Bucky ran. "I am not going to let you get hurt. The fighting is for real now, and it's not even the real fight yet."
Blinking back tears, how she had come to care for these people in such a short amount of time was beyond her, Will nodded. "Okay," she said. "Okay. Hurry please."
"Don't worry, kid."
Scott ripped the arm of a plane and threw it at Iron Man before turning to Panther Guy. "You wanna get to them, you gotta go through me." He swept his foot across the boxes Panther Guy was standing on, but fell back a little as War Machine began to fire missiles at him.
The fight continued on, but Will's attention was now on Bucky and Steve, who were extremely close to the Quinjet.
"Hurry!" She yelled. "I've got it started up!" She screamed when the rubble collapsed, hoping to whatever god was up there that Bucky and Steve were still alive. They were, and they were running like their lives depended on it, and at this point, it really did. Will let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and slumped back into the seat. Pushing a few buttons, she got the main doors open.
The Black Widow stood in between Steve and Bucky and the Quinjet. Between them and their freedom. They talked, but Will couldn't hear what the woman was saying. She got the gist of their conversation when the Black Widow stunned the Panther Guy, who was quietly sneaking up behind them.
Steve and Bucky got into the Quinjet, and Will moved into the back next to Bucky.
Looking back at her, Steve gave a half-smile. "Good job, kid."
Will smiled and gave a small nod. Glancing over her shoulder, her smile fell. "We've got a tail," she warned. War Machine was flying behind them, and she turned around in her seat to get a better look.
"Good eye," Steve said, pushing the thrusters.
The Falcon was flying after War Machine and Iron Man, and there was some sort of energy chasing after the former.
"Behind you!" Will yelped, her eyes wide.
The Falcon ducked down, missing the energy, which slammed into War Machine. He instantly began to fall toward the earth, gaining speed as he went.
"Oh, my God!" Will cried as she watched Iron Man and the Falcon chase after him in an attempt to catch him in time. She strained her eyes to watch, but the scene was soon too far away. "Do you think that he'll be okay?" She asked. "He doesn't deserve to die—he was just doing what he thought was right."
"Rhodey should be okay," Steve responded, keeping his eyes in front of him. "I hope. He's a good man."
They flew in silence for a while until Bucky spoke up. "What's gonna happen to your friends, Steve?"
Sighing, Steve replied, "Whatever it is, I'll deal with it."
"I don't know if I'm worth all this," admitted Bucky.
Steve shook his head. "What you did all those years, it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice."
"But I did it," Bucky retorted.
"I think you seem like a pretty nice dude now," Will commented.
Bucky didn't say anything, pursing his lips.
Steve landed the Quinjet, and the three of them clambered out. Bucky pulled out a rack of weapons, grabbing a machine gun. Reaching into the pockets on his side, he pulled out a large knife. "Can you use this?" He asked Will. "You're gonna need a weapon."
Shrugging, she replied, "Stab 'em with the pointy end?"
Bucky huffed out a small laugh. "Good enough for now." He placed the hilt into her hand. "Stay close, kid."
"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asked, looking over at Bucky.
Bucky smiled. "Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?"
"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead," Steve told him, smirking.
"What was her name?" Will asked, trying to picture the scene.
"Dolores, I think," Bucky replied, his voice trailing off.
Steve nodded in affirmation. "You called her Dot."
"She's gotta be a hundred years old now," Bucky commented.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Steve reminded him, "So are we, pal."
"Does that mean y'all get the senior discount when you go to the movies?" Will joked, laughing softly when Steve rubbed her hair a little.
They made it to an entrance in rock, staring at the open door.
"He can't have been here more than a few hours," Steve noted.
"Long enough to wake them up," Bucky warned.
Will tightened her grip on the knife he gave her. She had been told about the super soldiers, and if the two next to her were anything to go off of, it would definitely not be a good thing if five others were released.
They went into the bunker and down an elevator, no one saying a word. At the sound of a loud thud, they turned around, each standing defensively. Iron Man pried open the doors and walked toward them, retracting the face guard.
"You seem a little defensive," he quipped.
Bucky raised his gun, stepping slightly in front of Will.
Steve walked toward Iron Man, his shield raised. "It's been a long day," he retorted.
"At ease soldier," Iron Man mocked. "I'm not after you."
"Then why are you here?"
"Could be your story's not so crazy," Iron Man shrugged. "Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way, otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."
"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork," Steve agreed, lowering his shield. "It's good to see you, Tony."
Iron Man—no, Tony—gave a small smile. "You too, Cap." He looked over at Bucky, who still had his gun raised. "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop..." He motioned to the gun. At Steve's nod, Bucky lowered his weapon.
They walk down the hallway quietly. Or at least, it was quiet, until Tony piped up again, "So, where'd they dig you up, Eliza Doolittle?"
Will rolled her eyes. "Oakland."
Tony said nothing, getting the hint that she didn't want to talk.
They soon found themselves in front of a large chamber with capsules in it.
"I've got heat signatures," Tony informed them.
"How many?" Steve asked
"Uh, one."
As they entered the chamber, lights flickered on, and a hazy, yellow mist descended in the capsules. Each one contained a super soldier, all shot in the head. The four of them looked at each other in confusion.
"If it's any comfort," a voice called over the intercoms, "they died in their sleep." It was Zemo. "Did you really think I wanted more of you?"
"What the hell?" Bucky murmured.
"I'm grateful to them, though," Zemo continued. "They brought you here." He appeared behind a wall in the control room.
Steve threw his shield at the wall, only for it to bounce back.
"Please, Captain," Zemo chided. "The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets."
"I'm betting I could beat that," Stark chimed in.
"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark," agreed Zemo. "Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."
"You killed people just to get them here?" Will demanded, clenching the knife tightly.
"You were not supposed to be here," he admitted, locking eyes with her. "but the rest of them, well, they were all I could think about for more than a year." Zemo turned his attention to Steve. "But now that you're here, Captain, I just realized, there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."
"You're Sokovian," Steve noted. "Is that what this is about?"
Zemo shook his head. "Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No, I'm here because I made a promise."
"Did you lose someone?" Will asked quietly.
Zemo clicked his tongue, studying her. " I lost everyone. And so will you, Captain." He turned on a video feed from December 16th, 1991. "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumples from within? That's dead... forever."
Tony's eyes widened. "I know that road. What is this?" He demanded.
Will couldn't watch the video. She felt like a coward, but she couldn't watch the man she had begun to look up to in such a short period of time kill two people. Tony's parents. She looked over at him, and she saw the raw pain and grief in his eyes. Tony lunged at Bucky, only to be stopped short by Steve.
"Tony," Steve pleaded. "Tony."
"Did you know?" Tony asked, his voice strangled.
Not meeting his eyes, Steve replied, "I didn't know it was him."
"Don't bullshit me, Rogers!" roared Tony. "Did you know?"
"Yes."
Tony stepped back, his helmet sliding back into place before he punched Steve to the floor. He tried to move to Bucky, but Will stood in the way.
"Stay out of this, kid," Tony commanded, his voice hard. "This doesn't concern you."
"I can't let anyone else die, sir," Will pleaded, and she was shocked to realize that she was crying herself. "Please, don't do this."
Tony clenched his jaw. He didn't want to do this, but he had to get to Barnes. He had to. "I'm sorry, kid." He fired energy from his hand, hitting Will in the chest.
The last thing Will saw as she fell back was Steve slamming his shield at Tony.
Shuri studied the girl her brother had brought back to their country alongside the two white men. They both refused to leave her side, and it made Shuri wonder who this girl was, and what made her so special? Shuri knew that she had helped the two men, and that Iron Man had blasted her in the chest to make sure she didn't get into the fight. Captain Rogers and Sargent Barnes both called her Will, but, as far as Shuri knew, that was a male's name in America. Eventually, curiosity got the better of her, and she began to research the young girl.
Her real name was Wilma Farai.
That's a nice name, Shuri mused.
Her father died when she was only thirteen years old. She had a younger brother named Jackson, and their mother was in the hospital with stomach cancer. They lived in a place called Oakland, California, where Wilma worked three jobs just to support her brother and pay her mother's medical bills. Shuri's heart went out to Wilma as she found herself reading more about her. She competed for her high school's track team, and was one of the best members, with a 3:54 mile time.
"Stalking, Shuri?" Her brother chuckled as he walked into the room. "I believe this is a new low for you."
Shuri rolled her eyes. "Shut up, brother," she retorted. "I was just curious."
"Captain Rogers asked that we return her to her home before she wakes up," T'Challa said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "He believes that she has helped enough and does not want to risk her getting hurt any further."
"Okay," Shuri agreed. "But, brother?"
"Yes?"
"Can we do one thing for her?"
T'Challa smiled knowingly. "And what would that be?"
"All of them?" Will asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes, Will," the nurse replied. "All of your mother's current medical bills have been paid for, including extra money for future treatments."
She was at a loss for words. "D'you know who—d—"
The nurse shrugged. "I'm sorry, honey, but the donor wants to stay anonymous."
Will wanted to cry. Her mom, who was asleep for now, had had stomach cancer for the past five years, and Will always struggled to wrack up enough money for just one treatment. Clint had promised to help her with the bills, but they were in jail now, and it was a miracle that Jackie had been brought back from the safe house. So who paid for the treatment?
For a while, she had thought it might have been Tony, but she figured that he wouldn't want to be anonymous. Speaking of Tony...
"Jackie!" She called when she popped inside their apartment. "You wanna come help me for a sec?"
"I've got another package for Tony Stank?" The elderly delivery man called, holding a smallish box.
"For the love of God—" Tony muttered as he took the package from the man, Rhodey laughing in the background.
He opened the package to find a neat, red leather-bound journal and a letter, which read,
Dear Mr. Stark,
I'm sorry about your parents. My dad was killed too, so I know the feeling. I just hope you can realize that killing people isn't going to make them come back. It's just going to make things worse.
I'm sorry about Mr. Rhodes, too. I probably could've saved him if I tried, but I was too scared. So, I'm hoping this makes up for at least a little bit. A while back, my little brother, Jackie broke both of his legs (long story), and he hated how little he could do. I bought him a journal so he could distract him, and it worked really well. I hope it works well for Mr. Rhodes, too. Jackie helped pick the journal out, by the way
My brother says hi, by the way. His name is Jackie, and he says that you and Mr. Rhodes are really cool. I hope you're doing okay, too—I have a feeling that Mr. Steve probably did a number on you. I haven't seen either of them since that day, if you're wondering. I woke up in my apartment a few days ago with a with Jackie and a note from Mr. Steve. It didn't say much, just that I had done more than enough, and that I needed to be where I would be safe(er). All of my mother's hospital bills were paid for, too. Current treatments and future ones. The donor wanted to be anonymous, so I have a feeling it wasn't you (no offense—you just seem like the kind of guy that wouldn't want his name to be hidden).
Sincerely,
Wilma Farai (Eliza Doolittle)
PS— I had never heard of the movie 'My Fair Lady' until I tried to look up who the hell Eliza Doolittle even was. It makes since, though.
Tony laughed. He was glad to know the kid was okay (he still felt awful about what he did), and he was touched that even though he and Rhodey had attacked her, she was still willing to help.
"Rhodey!" He called as he placed the journal and the letter on the table in front of his friend.
"What's this for?" Rhodey asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You remember the teleporting kid?" Tony asked.
Rhodey nodded. "Yeah, she packed a punch for a small kid
"Read the letter." Tony nodded at the piece of paper on the table.
Sighing, Rhodey picked it up and began reading, deciding it was best not to question Tony's antics. He smiled a little as he placed it down, and picked up the journal. "She seems like a good kid," he said after a few moments. "Eliza Doolittle?"
Tony shrugged. "I needed to think of a nickname, and I was a little pressed for time. It was the best I could do."
"Yeah, well I guess it does make since," Rhodey relented, chuckling a little.
Tony looked offended. "Of course it does," he said. "All of my nicknames are perfectly sensible!"
Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Calm down, drama queen."
The two of them shared a laugh, and Tony glanced down at the letter once more.
Thanks, kid, he thought silently to himself as he smiled faintly. You did good.
A/N
So, that's chapter two, and the end of Civil War! After this, I'm gonna give Will her own story, and I'm gonna try to fit her into parts of Black Panther (if you have any suggestions on how that should go, let me know!), and then she'll be in Infinity Wars, obviously.
Ooh, and Shuri sort of met Will, too! I'm still not sure who Will'll get paired with; I'd still like to see how she interacts with Peter. But, I am kind of leaning towards Will x Shuri (Willi? Shill? Idk!). Still, let me know what you think about that.
Shout out to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed, by the way! You guys are awesome, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Also! I edited the first chapter a little, fixing where I (for reasons unknown even to me) called War Machine Iron Patriot. I literally have no idea why I did that, but it's fixed now. If you have any other constructive criticism, please, please, please let me know! I want my stories to be the best they can, so I will always take y'all's opinions to heart. And, if you liked this, please follow, favorite, and/or review!
Love,
Nell