Chapter 15

Herr Stark was…a lot of things. His reputation was well known even to her, it was hard to avoid the fanfare and media coverage even all the way in Germany. Four years ago, his existence as Iron Man probably caused the most 'shift' in incidents that she has since seen. They weren't that surprising to her, but she was unique in the sense that she had seen even weirder things in her previous life. Or was it even her previous life? Was she actually reincarnated here? The appearance of Perseus's group had given her much thought about-

"I'm just saying, if you want some real good New York Style Pizza, you will need to remain in the Avengers..."

"I can get better pizza in Italy in Europe."

Steve choked on his own slice next to her, clearly surprised at her retort to Tony.

"Okay, wow, if you said that in public I'm certain most of New York is going to be out for your head right now, and two, are you reeaaaaly sure?"

When he said that 'I know a place for lunch', she didn't expect it to be a high-class establishment in the center of Manhattan. Perseus turned to Bismarck with a questioning look, as if she was asking if this man was who she described as an 'ally'. The Royal Navy carrier had seen their interaction earlier on her ship, needless to say, she wasn't happy about the arrangement at all. The fact that it was even open was a mystery since they were the only people in there right now. She guessed that he had to pull some strings for it to happen.

"I am not a good fit for this team anyways. Besides, why can our two organizations not work with each other? It's not like we are enemies."

Tony scrunched his face at her. "Yeah, but it's just gonna be way better if we were all united. Okay fine, I'll also throw in R&D-"

"I think you should let it go, Tony." Steve cut in before Bismarck could reach for his neck. He was getting better at reading her moods.

"Even you Cap?! I'm hurt, aren't you our poster boy team leader now? Shouldn't you be, I dunno, keeping team cohesion together?"

"Sure, but I also take into account the wishes of our teammates. Thor left, why didn't you try and stop him?"

"Because he went to ASGARD! I can't just send him a text like-"

Bismarck tuned out of that conversation and went back to eating her pasta. Everything on her end was nearly set up, and in a couple of days she and Perseus agreed to set off from New York to a temporary base in Chatham, an actual permanent location had not yet been decided. Curiously, they really wanted her to leave the United States as soon as possible, she suspected there were some backdoor dealings that were happening-

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.

The sounds of heavy footsteps impacting the cold marble floor got her attention instantly, it was coming from the restaurant's main entrance. Steve had heard it too, as he stopped arguing with Tony to look at where she was also looking at. A group of men, well dressed, some in uniform and some in suits walked towards them in a beeline. Bismarck suspected trouble, judging by Tony's frowning face.

"Ugh, now of all times?"

"You know him, Herr Stark?"

"Yeah." He got up and sat properly in his chair before turning to face Bismarck again. "Don't talk, I'll handle this. He's going to try and rile you up, don't take the bait."

Don't take the bait? Interesting…

Whatever prior mood was there before was now completely gone, as the expectation of trouble now loomed over them. Steve gave a look of reassurance to her, before turning his attention to the lead man of the new group, now standing right in front of them.

"Stark."

"Ross. We're a little busy here, can't you see we're having a quiet lunch?" Tony said it dismissively, he definitely didn't want him staying here for long, whoever this 'Ross' was."

"Aren't you going to introduce your friends here?"

"They're my friends alright, I'm just not sure if they're going to be yours." Bismarck raised an eyebrow at his words, they weren't anything diplomatic, indicating the two have a…less than friendly relationship.

"Besides, you wouldn't come here if you didn't know who they were already. So, why are you here to bother me again?

"Actually, it's about Miss Schultz here…and her friend."

Perseus and Bismarck shared a look for a brief moment, but both were prepared for any sign of trouble. The former grabbed the staff that had been leaning next to her slowly. A fight was not expected by either of them, but being prepared for the possibility helped. Steve also stopped 'acting casual', as he dropped his fork in favour of sitting up straight.

"I'm General Thaddeus Ross, sorry, Secretary now. And I'd like to borrow a moment of your time, alone."

"Sorry pal, this table on seats four-"

"Herr Stark." Bismarck cut Tony off before he could launch into another tirade. Though he looked betrayed, Bismarck knew that whatever this was, they needed to handle it themselves. She gave a reassuring look to Steve, who then took Tony outside with him, despite his protests at the action. Most of his entourage had also left, thus leaving only the three of them alone. The first thing he did was take the seat where Tony sat, his legs crossed as he addressed them both.

"Sorry for the secrecy, but I'd rather Stark not butt his head into what I'm about to say."

Bismarck motioned for him to go on. "As the current Secretary of State, I am asking you to…reconsider your options with the European Union's offer. The United States of America would like to act as the sponsor for the organization that you wish to create instead."

Immediately, something odd about his proposal struck Bismarck. Aside from how he knew about the plan to recreate Azur Lane, the question was why he even approached them in the first place. In theory, they already had the Avengers, which was what Ambassador Kirchbach implied about the organization. So why did he come to them instead with a similar proposal? To understand one's intentions, she learned to never look at their words, but rather their actions. The fact that he even came here spoke of alternative motivations already.

"I thought you already had the Avengers, why does the United States need even more…individuals of great ability like us? The European Union and your nation are allies, no?"

That was what she learned about this world. Europa in her world was bitterly locked against each other in constant petty wars and struggles, while this world seemingly had one that was united in strength and goals. She was not an expert in the geopolitics of this world, but even she picked up that they were supposedly allies. This indicated that they weren't as close as the media depicted.

"You've seen from Stark just now that we don't really control the Avengers. You and your friends on the other hand readily signed an agreement to be under the command of the EU. I'm asking that you should reconsider whether or not they are really your best option."

Thinning her lips at him, she looked at him with a stare normally reserved for meeting with high government officials or the leaders of the other factions in her world. If he wanted to play this game, then she too could also play in it.

"You're sure this is the correct place?"

Hanazuki nodded, the signal that Perseus was giving out led directly to the restaurant ahead of them. Having been told that they were going out for Lunch, Minneapolis looked forward to finally eating some good old Eagle Union cuisine, or at least an alternate version of it. Sure, sampling the local foods of all the regions they visited on their way to London was fine, but there was something about a good old burger that she missed.

"We're getting a lot of weird looks, have you noticed it?"

Yes, she did. And most of the weird looks weren't on Hanazuki, but on her instead. Though it was roughly equal. What was with the fashion sense of this world though? If anything, it was a lot more plain and drab looking compared to the styles that she was used to in NY Port. Guess they were just a bit more boring looking, or even lazy in their clothing options.

The restaurant was located high on top of a hotel, it seemed that Manhattan Island of this world had that in common with her own at least. After walking past some very surprised bellhops the two made their way up, sharing an elevator with wide-eyed guests. Their attempts at sneaking glances at her every once in a while were pathetic, the least they could do was not make any quick and sudden movements.

Eventually, they arrived at the top level, only to find Steve and Tony right outside the entrance to the restaurant proper.

"You're telling me I left my cousin alone with someone like him?!"

"Yeah, that's why I didn't want to go! Great job, Rogers. I'm fully prepared for her to start strangling him any second now by the way, and I am going be recording it-"

It seemed like they were arguing about something, with Steve looking agitated. Minneapolis and Hanazuki reached them just as he was about to open the doors.

"Oh hey, it's the girl that makes Cap blush like a fourteen-year-old and the walking contradiction to human evolution! Took you a while to get here huh?"

…This guy…

"You know the city still has rubble blocking large sections of the street, right? We had to jump over rubble a couple of times just to get here."

He waved her concerns off casually. "Aaaah, don't worry. It's New York, a flood could happen literally tomorrow and some pizzeria is still going to stubbornly open or something. Anyways, your boss is inside with someone that she will most likely kill. Want to watch her do it?"

"Tony!"

"Um, what?" Hanazuki was understandably confused by that statement, but Minneapolis on the other hand…

"Sick, always wanted to see the Ironblood leader in action."

Evidently, however, that was not the correct thing to say as Steve looked on in ever-mounting horror. "Alright, that's it. I'm going in-"

"Woah woah, not so fast. Why don't you let these two go instead?"

Steve looked at them for a few moments, clearly considering Tony's words. With a sigh, he relented, but before he opened the door for them, he had a few things to say.

"Just don't make her kill anyone, okay? The last thing I want is for a shooting match between the army and her right in my city."

"Uhh, sure. I'll do just that…Wait, I need to talk to you after this, so don't go anywhere." The last part was directed towards Tony, who shrugged in response.

"Sure kid, I'm not going anywhere soon. Just saying, if Ross did get accidentally strangled by your boss-"

Steve cut him off by opening the door, and the two walked in. Who even was this 'Ross' guy anyway? He couldn't be that much of an ass, could he? In the restaurant proper, the two of them walked into the dining area, only to be greeted by suited men wearing sunglasses. Minneapolis immediately recognized that they gave off a feeling similar to the service that protected the Eagle Union President in her world, so she guessed that they were of similar function. One of them put his hand to an earpiece on his ear, murmuring something into it.

A few seconds later, he nodded in response and the two agents blocking the door into the dining area parted ways for them, even going so far as to open the doors.

"...Thanks…"

They gave no response. Definitely, an agent if she had to guess. Now in the ornate dining hall, they saw Bismarck and Perseus sitting on a table alone, save for an old-looking suited man across them. Their conversation got easier to hear as they got closer, but it was definitely helped by Perseus's loud response.

"Now this is some sort of distasteful joke, isn't it? We, proud Kansen that have more firepower than an entire artillery company under your command? An army General if I may add as well. For what reason did you think we would ever accept your ridiculous demands?"

"And you think the EU will know what to do with you? The United States is in the best position to support you-"

"Enough. I have heard enough of this farce and your proposal. You may take your leave, General Ross." Bismarck stated plainly and without room for compromise.

Suddenly, Ross turned to look squarely at Minneapolis, a glint in his eye causing her to immediately be on edge. "And what about your other two compatriots? Minneapolis, correct?"

"Yeah, that's me…"

"Your country needs your service, in these uncertain times, the United States of America has always acted against those that wish to seek the world harm. Now, I ask that you convince your comrades to decide on the course that will make the world a safer-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Minneapolis reached for the tomahawk strapped to her side and unbuckled it. The agents around them immediately drew their pistols and aimed at her, but she didn't react to them whatsoever.

"In the plains of the midwestern Eagle Union, where my namesake is from, this axe was given to me by an elder who wished me luck in defending its people. There was a lot of advice given to me by them, but one thing always stayed with me…"

Sunlight reflected on the steel axehead, revealing engravings that told the story of a people and their struggles to continue existing. Though Kansen were not born, and thus didn't have a traditional family or community to be raised in. Instead, their personalities and appearance were 'created' from various factors, such as their namesake. During a fundraising tour that she was forced to go on, she also visited the namesake city where she was from. There, she met with representatives from the local reservations. Despite not being blood-related to their tribes, she was still met with respect by them nonetheless.

By the time she left, a gift was presented to her. This gift was what she held in her hand right now.

"Beware of the white man who comes bearing promises."

To lump all of Eagle Union's native peoples into one category was an insult. But the one thing that all of them could share an experience with was that warning, ingrained into them through centuries of treaty dealings and conflicts. Even with that, however, they should not be looked at as a people long gone and relegated to history books, but as a diverse civilization with their own individual histories and pasts that continue to thrive in this very era, even with all the turmoil they have experienced.

The look on Ross's face told her that he most definitely didn't expect that answer, and it felt all the better to Minneapolis.

USNS Salvor had a bad gut feeling in her mind. Currently, somewhere near the Indian Ocean, she knew her crew and a small task force were sent to some random patch in the middle of nowhere. Aside from recovering a bunch of weird-looking boxes for the past few weeks, she didn't even know what exactly they were finding.

Sighing, her small stature compared to other ships in the salvage operation business did not lend herself to be taken seriously by her other peers.

'She's just a salvage ship' and 'Aw, don't worry Salvor, you're still very important to us!' were things she heard a lot in her long career. Of course, she didn't hear much of that in recent days, since an entire fleet of fully physical World War Two ships, along with what she was sure were their spirits popped up in New York City of all places. That tidbit had dominated everything her task force had been talking about recently, and the question of whether or not they were also able to be like them inevitably got raised. In truth, she also wanted the same, but for now, it was something to keep in the back of her mind in hopeful patience.

"Captain! Our divers have found something, it's an entire ship!"

As a communications officer relayed to the bridge crew, Salvor followed along behind them, curious to see what kind of wreckage at sea they found now. Heading below decks, the video feed from one of her divers showed them approaching what was definitely a ship, a large one at that.

"The hell is that…?"

The 'ship' that came through in their video feed was at least the size of a Ticonderoga class, only in a completely different shape. In completely black and red, the hull resembled a triangle with two points extended out on its sides more than anything resembling a traditional hull shape. Strange symbols appeared to be carved into their hulls as well.

"Are those turrets?" One officer asked in disbelief.

The relatively intact wreck before them had three main turrets resembling ones found on old battleships, at least ten inches or more if she had to guess. They looked straight out of some science fiction movie, only that it was no longer operable.

As the diver got closer, however, the moment the video feed showed the bridge of the wrecked ship Salvor felt a sense of extreme dread come through her.

W̸͍̓e̴̩̚ ̵̧̔b̵̦͝r̵̯͘i̴̮̅ṇ̸̐g̷̮̾ ̵͍̅ḓ̸̚e̵̖̽a̶̛̙t̷̼̅h̶̫͗ ̴̿͜ṱ̶̒ọ̶̑ ̵̱̀t̵͌͜h̸̗͐e̴̠͝ ̶͎̋s̸̏ͅë̷͚́ã̸͎s̸̲̏,̵̝̚ ̶̬͝f̶̪̋o̴̠̎r̷̳̍ ̷̮̏w̶̥̿e̷̘͑ ̸͍͗h̴̥̀e̵̳̋a̴̫͌r̸̪͘ ̶̩͐t̸̼͝h̷̯̍e̴͇̔ ̷̼͘s̵͉̆į̴̓r̵̺̈́ĕ̴͖n̶̙̔ ̵̜̅s̵͙͠ö̸̮́n̴͍̒ǵ̴̠

Clutching her head, Salvor winced in pain, but it left as soon as it came, leaving her confused and scared. She had never felt that feeling before, in fact, very rarely had pain ever been felt this strongly-

"Christ, we're going to have to salvage that thing? Get the divers back up and send a new team down there, we're going to be here for a while longer…"

Despite the foreboding sense of…whatever that thing was, Salvor was only just a spirit, and she had the duty of continuing to watch over her crew. A part of her thought that old adage of 'some things should stay buried' may definitely apply here now, but alas, what was someone like her to do? The powers that be decided this was their mission, and her crew could only follow it to the best of their ability. Hopefully, it was just some new experimental test that went wrong…

AN:

Usually, when it comes to Western commentary or news on global geopolitics, there's always this unified idea of the 'West' that always comes into use. Broadly speaking, you could say that it's a correct term, but for academics and researchers who actually study events and policies that the United States and the EU have been part of, it's a very unhelpful term to say the least. The world of the MCU seems to revolve around a 'unified' global geopolitics arena, but there are cracks shown on screen in that every so often. This fic will be exploring what the events of the MCU and beyond actually translate to, i.e., what all those flashy events actually mean for the world and its continued status quo.

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