Chapter 13
"I'm sorry, what now?," Rhodey asked, confused.
"Who the hell are you?," Sam asked, even more confused.
"Did I stutter, Big Bird?," Osborn smirked, "Name's Norman Osborn. Sure you've heard of it. I mean, the name's on the building and everything. So, who's the boss, applesauce?"
"Uh no, back up, man," Rhodey interrupted, "What the hell are you doing in that suit?! Cause I'm sure as hell Stark Industries didn't give you that!"
The billionaire scoffed, "Oh, this little thing? Well, believe me, it ain't Stark Tech. Colonel James Rhodes, right? The War Machine himself."
"I asked you a question."
"Right. Well, you see, Stark Industries doesn't exactly have a monopoly on iron-themed heroes flying around. Wasn't as hard to build one of these as people think. And last I checked, you're not the Iron Patriot anymore. Probably should've copyrighted that one, buddy."
Rhodes only knew this man for a few seconds and he was already tempted to punch the shit out of him.
Luckily, Strange stepped in before he could, "So, what are you? Some type of Tony Stark fanboy or-?"
"Acutally the opposite, Professor Dumbledore, but hey, don't speak ill of the dead and all that jazz," Osborn replied, "I'm just a concerned citizen doing his part to make the world a safer place to live in. I just want peace."
With that last sentence, he flipped up the peace sign, genuinely making Rhodey's blood boil more.
"So, the circus back in town or are you all some new superhero boy band?," Osborn asked, looking around, "Lemme guess, the Defenders? No, those are the guys from Hell's Kitchen. Power Pack?"
"We're the Avengers," Sam spoke up, caught off guard by this man.
"Ah. And here I thought you were some of the best cosplayers in the world," Osborn chuckled before turning his attention to Sam, "Sam Wilson, right? The Falcon? Our new star-spangled hero?"
Sam stuttered, the man's fast pace confusing him, "Yep. Did the shield not tip you off?"
"Impressive," Osborn mused, bending down to look at the disc, "That real vibranium you got there or-"
"I would advise you not to touch that," T'Challa stepped forward, eyeing the man carefully, "How did you find us?"
"What, you kidding me, Salem?," Osborn snickered, "With that light show you were pulling, how could I miss the party? Which by the way, can't believe you left me off the guest list here, Captain. Would've thought an iron hero would help out your little team."
"Standing right here," Rhodey pointed out, a false smile covering his face.
"I'm just yanking your chain, RoboCop, I respect your work," the billionaire raised his arms up defensively, "I always felt we must cherish our nation's troops, the men and women who risk it all so that we can have our greasy fast food and MTV music videos."
"Can we return to the question as to why you are here?," T'Challa asked, clearly tired.
"I think the real question is 'Why are you here, your highness?'", the man asked, "I mean, no offense, Wakanda forever of course-"
Osborn did the salute and everything, causing T'Challa to visibly cringe.
"But I'm pretty sure there are laws regarding foreign dignitaries walking in and out of other people's countries," Osborn pointed out, "As for why I'm here, well, I saw you guys were in trouble with the Kree and I figured, 'Hey, us superfolk gotta stick together!'"
Carol's posture quickly straightened after hearing Osborn, "How did you know they were Kree?"
Norman coyly smiled, "Oh come now, Ms. Danvers, you think a man in a position as high as mine, going around saving people, didn't try to check any of the government databases he could get his fingers on to know what he would have to deal with?"
"You know me?," Carol asked, growing more suspicious of the man by the minute.
"I do. The Avengers are gone, so I gotta know who's left to pick up the pieces," Osborn shrugged, "I know about all of you. Read all the files. Birdman and Tin-Man over here. The Bleecker Street Wizard. And of course-"
He turned to the awestruck boy, "The amazing Spider-Man himself."
Peter was watching the whole thing in stunned silence before he burst into his his usual, well, Parker-isms, "OhmygodohmygodohmygodOH! MY! GOD!"
"Nope, just me," Osborn joked.
"You-You're Norman Osborn! Um, hi!"
"Hi."
"I've read everything about you! I've been following up on the latest tech from Oscorp! I've heard about your work on the super soldier serum! Fascinating idea, sir, but I think if you-Sorry, what am I saying?! You're freaking Norman Osborn, you've gotta have it all figured out by-"
The surprised look from Osborn told Peter to slow down, "I'm sorry, sir, I'm just a huge fan."
"Don't apologize. You must be Mr. Parker. Your friend told me a lot about you," the Iron Patriot grinned, looking amused, "I can tell a fellow genius when I see one. I'm guessing you were the one who found out how to track the Kree?"
Peter rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Yeah! Well, okay, I couldn't have done it without Mr. T'Challa and Dr. Van Dyne, but-"
"Remarkable! From what I've read, those things are untraceable," Osborn laughed before looking at the other heroes, "You all better be appreciating this dude right here!"
Carol rolled her eyes at the man before turning away and walking into the Kree's warehouse, Scott and Hope following behind.
"Come on. There's gotta be something in here," she groaned.
"Yeah, I need a break from this shit," Hope agreed.
"So, what? You want to join us or something?," Sam asked.
"I would love to join! Thanks for asking!," the billionaire replied.
"Not a damn invite and you know it," Rhodey interjected, "Look, I don't know what the hell this is, but you're gonna take that suit off, go back to your little company, and enjoy your little one-percenter life. Got it?"
The soldier's face was right in front of Osborn's, who looked unafraid, "Sure. After I do that, I'll sell my company to the highest bidder, send all of my money to Stark Industries, and go vegan."
Rhodey bitterly smirked before turning away, his helmet sliding back down onto his face. An alert came on his helmet, surprising him.
He read it out loud to the others, "S.W.O.R.D. sent a message. Said they're arriving to cover the area."
Sam nodded, recognizing the name of Fury's new organization. He looked into the warehouse, "Find anything?"
Inside the building, Carol lifted her arms up in frustration, "Not seeing anything, man."
Hope and Scott enlargened, taking their helmets off.
"Nothing here, Cap," Scott shrugged.
"Are you serious?," Sam moaned.
"Checked the whole place," Hope replied, "No sign of any weapons, devices, all empty."
"Shit," Sam whispered.
"Well, that's gotta suck," Osborn commented, "So the professional heroes screwed up and the newbie did great. Guess that's good news for rookies like us, huh, kid?"
He nudged Peter, the boy letting out a small giggle before the looks from his allies shut him up.
"I think we should head back to base. Regroup. Restrategize," T'Challa offered an idea.
Sam sighed, "Strange."
"On it," the wizard nodded, opening up a portal. The heroes began to walk in, feeling defeated and tired.
The last to enter the portal was Peter. Before he could enter, Osborn shouted out to him.
"Hey, Peter, hold up a sec," Osborn shouted, "I get that I'm still new to this whole hero thing, so I'm not as caught up with anything, but someone like you's gotta have more experience than me."
"Oh, uh, I don't know about that."
"Oh, come on! I remember reading the news about you from before you even starting beating up half of these guys in German airports," Osborn told the boy, "Now, I need someone in my corner. Someone who can help me out with all this tights stuff! You think you can be that someone?"
Peter thought it over. On the one hand, this man was incredible. Even outside the costume, Norman Osborn was an impressive man, a trustworthy man from what Peter saw. On the other hand, the last time Peter trusted someone calling themselves a hero, he almost died and was blamed for nearly destroying England.
The teen sighed, his eyes averting Osborn's, "I'll think about it. It was an honor to meet you, sir."
"The honor is mine," Osborn smiled.
…
"Now, this incident doesn't mean we won't still open up our facility in Washington D.C," Osborn told the hordes of reporters and cameramen at the scene of the Gobin's attack on Oscorp, "We've all worked hard so that we can have a spot in this beautiful city and we're not giving that up because of some gremlin."
The reporters shouted for the man to answer them and the billionaire was happy to oblige, "Yes, you over there."
"Mr. Osborn, what do you have to say about the suit?," the reporter asked.
Osborn chuckled, "The suit's all Oscorp tech. Think of it as a slight improvement over Stark's design. As for the colors, well, my father was a military man and his before as well. I believe that now that we live in a time where, with alien tyrants and gods flying from the sky, our country needs someone to stand for what it believes in. To keep the peace, no matter the sacrifice."
Back at Kamar-Taj, Sam watched the man speak, his interview with the press being broadcasted live and displayed on a large screen. His eyes narrowed at the billionaire's choice words about someone needing to stand for the beliefs of the nation. He couldn't help but notice the subtle jab.
"What about this new group you were seen with?," another reporter asked Osborn.
"Ah, yes, my new team," Osborn smiled, "Well, I can definitely say it's an experience. The men and women I've sided with are a diverse sort. I mean, from people as grand and powerful as King T'Challa to those as short as Lang and Van Dyne, I can definitely say I've got friends in both high AND low places. Plus, our team's even mutant-friendly apparently. As a pro-mutant rights supporter myself, I'm honored to fight next to the Scarlet Witch herself."
T'Challa frowned at the king mentioning him. Even though his people were now out in the open, T'Challa doubted they would be fine with him being name-dropped like this.
While Scott smiled at being mentioned on the news as a hero, Hope kept her eyes on the ground. Now the whole world knew about Ant-Man and the Wasp. No more hiding, no more secrets. She was now out in the open.
A glass broke behind the team as Wanda accidentally used her powers to break it out of rage. She didn't need more people knowing about her being a mutant. She already had enough people afraid of her. Now, she was about to have a whole new audience come after her.
"What about the aliens who caused these incidents?", another journalist shouted out.
"Oh, the Blue Man Group?," Osborn joked, "The Kree are dangerous, not gonna sugarcoat it for you guys. But thankfully, I believe we have a handle on how to stop these guys. I mean, one of our own, the great Carol Danvers, she spent years working for them! I'm sure she's got a few ideas on how we can take them out."
Carol began to light up her fists in anger before Strange waved a hand and wrapped them in red whips.
"Not inside please," he pleaded.
"What a prick," Rhodey grunted, "He gets some suit and all of a sudden thinks he's a hero?"
"I mean, that's kind of what we did, right? Steal suits to become superheroes. Kind of both did that", Scott shrugged, earning him a glare from Rhodes.
"What the hell was that green thing that tried to kill us?" Sam asked Carol.
"Hell if I know. If something like that was flying around while I was with Starforce, I'd sure as hell remember it," Carol answered.
"Oh, you mean the Green Goblin?", Peter spoke up.
"Excuse me?", Sam asked.
Peter explained, "Uh, well, we were fighting and I figured, 'Hey, this guy needs a supervillain name', and uh, that-that came to my mind."
"Oh, did you come up with that one before or after you abandoned your post?," Sam sternly asked the boy.
Caught off guard by the straightforward question, Peter turned his face down, looking uncomfortable, "I didn't meant to-"
"You disobeyed a direct order and because of that, we were too late to stop the bastards," Sam stared the boy down, extraordinarily disappointed.
Peter began to argue, "I was going to come back, but-!"
"But nothing. You wanna join the big boys? Then you gotta act like it!", Sam began to raise his voice, walking towards the kid.
Peter began to inch away from the Falcon, his hair standing on its end. He knew he messed up big-time, he knew that he should've stayed at his position, but instead, he still ignored directions. He still acted...irresponsible.
Thankfully, an angel came to Peter's rescue in the form of Carol Danvers, "Hey, lay off him, man, he's just a kid who wanted to enjoy himself a little."
"You knew?!," Rhodes shouted out.
"I saw him swing over to the building and I figured-"
"You figured that it was a smart move to let him go off on his own?", Rhodey asked.
From the other corner of the room, Valkyrie spoke up, feeling like she spent enough time listening to everything, "You're all questioning the kid, but I'm wondering where sparkle-fists flew off to while we were getting our arses handed to us."
T'Challa butted in, "Please, we do not need to turn on one another at the drop of a hat."
"Oh no, the hat's been dropped, your majesty," Valkyrie replied, "Where were you?"
Carol glared at the Asgardian before sighing, "At Osborn's party...I saw Yon-Rogg. My old Starforce commander."
"What?", Hope's eyes widened, "And you didn't think to tell us?"
"She wanted him all to herself," Valkyrie commented, "Wanted some sweet revenge, eh, love?"
"Look, asshole, I don't have to explain this to you," Carol growled, "The point is that I learned nothing from him. He got away."
"You should have told us," Hope pointed out, "We could've helped you."
"Actually, I got to help her out a little," Peter noted, "Man, that guy would've crashed into the sidewalk if I didn't show up!"
If it wasn't for his youth, Carol probably would've throttled Peter at that moment. Thankfully, Strange stepped in at that moment, holding his hands out.
"ALRIGHT! Look, we screwed up. We failed. But this isn't over yet. So if you're done trying to point fingers, we need to come up with our next plan of attack," Strange pointed out.
Sam groaned, rubbing his eyes, "Alright. Well, all we can do now is wait for S.W.O.R.D. to hit us up with any info they get. Until then, maybe we can try to get that trace back up. Use whatever's left of that green thing's bomb to find out where they are."
The team nodded, each rushing off to do their own things. Lang and Van Dyne walked off side by side, whispering to one another.
"Earth's Mightiest, huh?", Hope asked.
"Everyone's got a bad day, right?", Scott shrugged.
Both of them were a little disappointed. They joined the group so they could do something more than running and hiding, but now, it felt like nothing they were doing nothing helpful.
Peter trotted off on his own, a look of shame covering his face. Carol blasted straight into the air the moment she got outside. T'Challa slowly walked out, disappointment in his eyes.
"So, this is the team you wanted me to be a part of?," Wanda asked, "I can see why you needed my help."
"It's...it's a work in progress," Sam sighed.
"What changed your mind?", Rhodes asked.
Wanda tensed up a little, remembering her conversation with a certain deceased speedster, "What can I say? The apartment was getting boring."
Sam chuckled, "Well, you saved my life back in D.C. We're happy to have you here."
It was nice honestly. The three remembered the old days of being the first ones recruited by the original six Avengers. They remembered the pride they felt becoming a part of something bigger.
Unfortunately, that pride blew away quickly as the news broadcast they were watching displayed images of protests.
On the television set, a certain Hitler-stached, loudmouth reporter began shouting at the screen, "You've heard it here, folks! Our newest defender Norman Osborn begins a daring journey to defend mankind and the values of our American way! As for these heroes, they can learn a thing or two about how a real hero should act! Bringing mutant freaks, alien spies, and even that web-slinging MENACE to protect us?! BAH! Now, this man! If anyone has what it takes to go save the world, it's him!"
Wanda groaned, her shoulders slumping, "As I said before. The world wants someone to blame."
She walked off, leaving Sam, Strange, Rhodes, and Valkyrie on their own.
"Well, this has turned into a real shitshow," Strange pointed out.
"I mean, we were gonna go public with this eventually," Sam shrugged.
"Yes, but not this quickly," Strange argued, "We need a plan, Wilson."
"I know," Sam rubbed his forehead, "I just-"
"I mean, you must have something prepared beyond simply waiting for S.W.O.R.D.", Valkyrie leaned towards the Falcon.
"Look, can you just-"
"Sam, what do we do?", Rhodes turned to his friend, "You're the guy in charge-"
"CAN I THINK?!," Sam suddenly burst out, "...Please?"
He marched off, heading outside and soaring off into the sky.
"Dammit, Sam," Rhodes sighed.