Alright people! Here we go! I'm sure you have all been waiting for this. The airport battle!
I've been waiting to write this chapter. I just hope I can make it as good as your expectations.
Now, let us begin.
Chapter 23- Civil War
Barry smiles as he hands the woman manning the stand a few Euros, and she hands him his donuts. He smiles before walking away.
After Sam reached out to the guy he knew, Steve had reached out to Clint and asked him to get Wanda from the Facility. Then, the foursome of Barry, the two of them, and Bucky all left to meet up with Sharon and get Steve's shield and Sam's wings.
Steve was now driving to the airport in Leipzig with Sam and Bucky to meet up with Clint. Not wanting to be stuck in the already crammed car, Barry had elected to just meet them at the airport, but he needed to satisfy his body's needs. Hence the donuts.
Barry takes a minute to eat two, then sneaks off to an alley, knowing it's about time for him to meet Steve at the airport. After taking a moment to make sure nobody will see, he races off, heading for the airport.
He reaches the airport parking lot right as Steve and Clint, who have both gotten out of their vehicles, are shaking hands.
"Hey, Clint," Barry says.
Clint grins and says, "Good to see you, Barry." He then looks at the box before asking, "Did you seriously bring donuts?"
"Of course. We can't go into a fight on an empty stomach," Barry says, making Clint laugh.
"Barry," a familiar voice calls. He glances behind Clint, and gets that very familiar joyful feeling when he sees Wanda standing there, smiling brightly.
"Hey, Wanda. Glad you decided to come," he says.
She shrugs as she glances at Clint. "It was time to get off my a**," she says, making Barry laugh.
He grins as he walks over to her, holding out the box as he opens it. "Donut?" he offers. She giggles and takes on. Barry holds the box out to Clint, who takes one and chucks one to Steve, then one to Sam, and one to Bucky.
After taking a bite of his donut, Steve asks Clint, "What about our other recruit?"
Clint, chewing a bite from his donut, turns to the van as he says, "He's raring to go." He opens the door as he says, "Had to put a little coffee in him, but he should be good."
As Clint opens the door, it reveals a middle aged man, maybe in his late 30s, with black hair, wearing a blue shirt and black jeans. The sound of the door slamming open apparently wakes him out of a nap, and he slowly clambers out of the van.
"Ahh. What time zone is this?" the man says before he notices Steve, and his eyes widen a bit. Clint nudges him towards Steve.
The man takes Steve's hand and says in amazement, "Whoa. Captain America!"
"Mr. Lang," Steve greets the guy.
Wanda leans over to Barry. "His first name is Scott," she whispers before taking another bite of her donut. Barry smiles down at her before looking back at the newly introduced Scott.
Scott just looks at Steve as he keeps shaking his hand. "It's an honor," he says. He then looks down at Steve's hand, which he's still shaking, and then back at Steve as he says, "I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow, this is awesome."
He finally lets go of Steve's hand and turns around towards Wanda and Barry. "Captain America," he says if to show them just how cool this was. He starts to turn away, then looks back at Wanda, pointing at her, and says, "I know you too. You're great."
"You have no idea," Barry whispers as Scott turns back to Steve. Barry takes the opportunity to plant a quick kiss on the side of her head, making Wanda beam.
Scott continues to stare at Steve awe-struck. He reaches out and grasps Steve's biceps as if he can't believe them. Nearly everyone is grinning in amusement by this point.
When he lets go of Steve, Scott takes a breath and says, "Look, I just want to say. I know you know a lot of super people. So, thinks for thanking of me."
Barry grins in amusement. "I am really starting to like this guy," he whispers, making Wanda giggle again.
Scott then looks around Steve to where Sam is. "Hey, man," he says.
"What's up, Tic Tac?" Sam asks.
"Ahh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time..." Scott says.
Sam cuts him off. "It was a great audition, but it'll...it'll never happen again," he says with a chuckle.
"Did he tell you what we're up against?" Steve asks Scott, drawing Scott's attention back to him.
"Something about some psycho assassins," Scott replies.
"We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man," Steve says.
Scott shrugs and says in an indifferent tone, "Yeah, well, what else is new?"
"It's official. I love this guy," Barry whispers, which makes Wanda giggle again.
"We should get going," Bucky says.
"I've got a chopper lined up," Clint says.
Suddenly, the airport PA system comes on. Everyone hears an administrator speaking in German. Since they all speak little or no German, they all turn to Bucky. He listens for a moment, then shifts his stance as he translates, "They're evacuating the airport."
"Stark," Sam says simply, drawing a nod from Barry.
"Stark?" Scott asks clarifyingly.
Steve looks around at the team, then says, "Suit up."
As the team moves to get suited up, Clint taps Barry's shoulder. Barry turns to Clint, who says, "I've got something for you."
Clint leads Barry around to the back of the van and opens it up. And Barry smiles to see the Iron Flash suit resting in the back.
Barry and Tony had worked together on upgrades for the Iron Flash suit following the end of the conflict with Savitar. The first upgrade, the Mk II, was minor, with the changes being limited to a reversion to the only-red color scheme, an updated, thicker belt design, slight changes to the material and shape to make it more aerodynamic, and the addition of a life support system, enabling him to breathe underwater or in an otherwise dangerous environment, as well as an unlimited use defibrillator, powered by the Arc reactor.
But Tony had much better ideas in mind. And, just a month ago, he had finished the Iron Flash Mk III. The Mk III was a vast improvement over the previous two. It returned to the red and black paint scheme of the Mk I, but retained the belt design of the Mk II. Tony, with help from Barry, had also improved the Speed Force Enhancer, which now boosted his top speed to about Mach 16. He had also upgraded the HMD to include more data displays, and installed various equipment containers on his belt that could hold anything from metahuman handcuffs, to tranquilizers, to a grappling hook, to medical supplies, to food. Also, as an added weapon against speedsters, Tony had installed special weapons in the wrists that when fired, shot blasts of cold at the target. They could be used for a variety of purposes, and had even been shown capable of filling in holes in ships to prevent them sinking, and could freeze wounds over to prevent someone from bleeding out until proper medical attention could be sought.
Barry smiled at the sight of his suit. Clint then held out the wristband Barry had left behind when he left the Facility. "Suit up, Barry," he says before going to suit up himself.
Barry grins as he slides the wristband on. He then presses it. Instantly, the final added feature of the Mk III activates, and the suit's pieces fly towards him, assembling around him in moments. In just seconds, Barry is wearing the Iron Flash suit, his mask down. Barry flexes his arms as he says, "Alright. I'm ready to go."
(A few minutes later)
Barry waits anxiously in his position in the terminal. He's on back up duty. Steve told him to support anyone who needed it.
He watches as Tony's team slowly gathers around Cap. Then, some guy in a red and blue suit swings in, binds Steve's hands, and steals his shield.
"Who the heck is that?" Barry whispers to himself.
Barry watches the scene unfolding before him. Then, he hears Sam say over comms, "We found it. The Quinjet's in hangar five. North runway."
Steve raises his hands, and from his position elsewhere in the terminal, Clint shoots an arrow, which cuts right through the binding on Steve's hands. A few seconds later, Scott grows back to normal size as he kicks the shield-thief and steals the shield back. Barry grins to himself.
In seconds, the situation dissolves into chaos. Natasha moves to engage Scott. Rhodey and T'Challa head towards where Bucky and Sam are in the terminal, while Tony heads towards Clint. The mystery guy also heads towards Bucky and Sam. Steve rushes after T'Challa.
Thinking that Steve needs the most help, Barry puts on his serious face, his mask activates, and he races off towards where Steve is.
When he gets there he sees Steve trying to fend off both T'Challa and Rhodey. Deciding Steve can handle T'Challa easier, Barry races right at Rhodey.
Rhodey turns to face Barry. "You've gone far enough, Barry. If you fight me, I'll have to take you down," Rhodey says to Barry.
"You can't beat me, Rhodey. You're not fast enough," Barry taunts, then starts running, trying to charge up a lightning bolt.
Rhodey opens fire on Barry, who easily dodges the bullets. He charges the lightning, then throws it. Rhodey responds with a repulsor blast. The two meet, causing an explosion that knocks both of them back.
Barry recovers and races right at Rhodey. But, as he gets close, a machine gun on Rhodey's back turns at him and fires. Barry tries to race out of the way, but is shocked when the gun turns to follow him, and is gaining on him.
"Speed Sensory Machine Gun. Upgraded by Tony to track and keep up with speedsters. I can keep up with you, Barry," Rhodey replies.
A couple of bullets hit a fuel truck Barry is running by, and the truck explodes, knocking Barry flying. Thanks to his suit, he's only slightly dazed.
Barry gets back up and faces down Rhodey. "You may have a weapon that can keep up with me. But I'm still the fastest man alive," Barry says.
"Maybe. But Savitar almost beat you, and even he couldn't escape these," Rhodey says, before two anti-Speedster missiles rise out of his shoulders and fire.
Barry stares down the two missiles. Then, he raises his hands and fires his repulsors at the missiles. Using his HMD and laser targeting systems to help him aim, he scores two direct hits, blowing up the missiles.
"Jocasta, find me an advantage," Barry says.
"You'll need to take his Speed Sensory gun out. If you get in behind him and under him, it will give you the best chance," Jocasta replies.
Barry nods and starts racing in circles around Rhodey. Again, Rhodey fires his Speed Sensory gun, but Barry races out of the way. Once he gets behind Rhodey and slightly under him, he raises his hand and fires his repulsor. The blast hits the gun and destroys it. Rhodey cries out in frustration and fires several rockets down at Barry. Barry races away from the explosions, then races up to Rhodey and punches him hard, just enough to knock him down. He then races away, ending up right beside Steve.
"Hey, Cap!" Barry and Steve both turn to see Scott run up. He tosses something to Steve, who catches it. It looks like a toy tanker truck.
Scott stops beside then and says, "Throw it at this." As he says this, he holds up a tiny disc, with a glowing blue center.
"Now!" Scott says as he throws the disc. Steve throws the little truck at the disc, and the truck suddenly grows to full size.
"Oh, come on!" Rhodey shouts. The truck slams into the ground and bursts into a fireball. T'Challa dives away, but the fireball overtakes Rhodey.
"Oh, man. I thought it was a water truck," Scott says. Both Barry and Steve look at him as he says, "Uhh, sorry." They all run off, Barry running at normal speed.
They soon meet up with the other four. "Come on," Steve says. They all gather and start running for the Quinjet. Barry is about to speed over there and secure the Quinjet when a beam of yellow energy hits the ground before them, cutting a trench in the tarmac. They all stop, and look up to see Vision floating in the air in front of them.
"Captain Rogers! I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good, you must surrender now," Vision says loudly so all of them can hear.
The rest of Tony's team comes in and assembles in front of them. Tony. Rhodey. Natasha. T'Challa. Vision. And the mystery guy, who has a spider logo on the front of his suit. Barry decides to call him Spider Man.
Both teams stare each other down. Finally, Sam asks, "What do we do, Cap?"
"We fight," Steve responds. And together, his team begins to march towards Tony's, who soon starts marching towards them.
Slowly, both teams pick up the pace. Barry rubs his hands together, then runs right at Vision.
Vision flies right at Barry. Barry dodges out of the way and starts circling him, charging up a lightning bolt. But, when he throws it, Vision just phases and allows it to pass through him.
Barry charges at Vision. He tries to throw several high speed punches, but Vision increases his density, and the punches don't affect him at all. Vision then punches Barry in the chest, knocking him flying back into a 747 parked nearby.
Barry gets back to his feet, and finds himself faced with the Spider Man. Barry races forward to punch him in the face, but to Barry's surprise, he shoots out a strand of webbing and swings up out of his way. Then, Barry feels something snap his feet together, and he trips and skids across the ground.
Barry turns around, and sees his feet are encased in webbing. He quickly vibrates his hand to cut through the webbing. He looks up and sees the Spider Man standing on top of a nearby jetway.
"Wow. You're fast. How do you compensate for the friction heat caused by you running?" Spider Man asks, which shocks Barry, as he sounds like he can't be older than his teens.
"I'll leave you to figure it out. But, for the moment, I've got something else to do. If you are gonna stand in my way, then I'll take you out of my way," Barry says before he runs at Spider Man.
Spider Man jumps up, then shoots more webbing at Barry. Barry dodges it, then leaps up at high speed and lands a punch to the face. Spider Man falls to the ground.
Seeing Steve close by, Barry decides to leave Spider Man to him. He instead turns to look towards Tony. Glaring at his former friend, Barry races off a short distance and starts charging a lightning bolt. He throws it, but Tony's armor just absorbs it. Tony turns to face Barry, and without a word unleashes a powered up repulsor blast. Barry races out of the way, barely managing to get out of the blast radius in time. Tony quickly follows up by firing an anti-Speedster missile. Barry races away, drawing the missile after him before turning around and throwing a lightning bolt into its path, detonating it.
Tony is soon distracted by Scott messing with his systems. Barry races off to gain some distance to evaluate the situation, and finds Bucky and Steve hiding behind some equipment.
"We need to go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now," Bucky says.
"We need to draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision. You get to the jet. Barry, you cover him," Steve says.
"No. You two get to the jet. The rest of us aren't getting out of here," Sam says over the radio.
"As much as I hate to admit it. If we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it," Clint says.
"This isn't the real fight, Steve," Sam adds.
Steve sighs before saying, "Alright, Sam. What's our plan?"
"We need a diversion. Something big," Sam says.
Then, Scott cuts in. "I've got something kinda big. But I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like h***. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."
Bucky shakes his head a bit before asking, "He's gonna tear himself in half?"
"You sure about this, Scott?" Steve asks. Barry feels the same, not wanting his new friend to get hurt.
"I do it all the time. I mean once. In a lab. Then I passed out," Scott responds. A few moments later, Scott suddenly appears, and continues to grow until he's several stories tall, and grabs Rhodey by the foot.
Barry, Steve, and Bucky all look on in shock. "I guess that's the signal," Steve says in awe after a moment.
"Way to go, Tic Tac," Sam calls out.
Barry turns to Steve. "I'll keep Vision distracted. Go, Cap," he says. And with that, he races off.
He finds Vision having just blocked a bus that Scott sent flying at T'Challa. Barry races right at Vision, catching him off guard and landing a punch on the side of his head that sends Vision through a jetway.
Vision soon comes floating back towards Barry. He flies right at Barry, but Barry races back, before running in circles to charge a lightning bolt and throwing it at Vision. Vision responds with a blast from the Mind Stone that collides with the lightning bolt and causes a big explosion.
Barry's HMD activates infrared vision, allowing him to see Vision flying at him through the smoke. He races to meet him.
The two clash, their fists meeting. Vision's punch packs more power, and Barry gets knocked back. "You can't beat him with pure force. You have to try and catch him by surprise," Jocasta pipes up.
Barry quickly gets back to his feet and races behind Vision, before leaping up and punching him from behind, knocking Vision down.
Vision turns back to face Barry. Barry runs at him, but Vision phases, and Barry runs right through him. Not able to stop in time, he crashes into an airplane tug, and goes tumbling across the tarmac.
Barry tries to get back to his feet, only to hear Jocasta warn, "Hostile incoming." Barry whips around, just in time to see Vision come flying in at high speed and at a higher density.
The impact dazes Barry a bit as Vision lifts him into the air. Vision then drops him before punching him hard. Barry goes flying back into the ground.
Dazed, Barry retracts his mask as he looks around. He sees Tony and Rhodey distracted with Scott, and Clint fighting T'Challa. And he sees Vision floating in front of him.
He looks at Vision with resignation, having known all along he probably couldn't beat him. Vision looks at Barry sadly before saying, "I am sorry, Mr. Allen." He then releases a blast from the Mind Stone, and Barry's vision goes black.
And, I'll end there.
I hope this chapter was good. I tried to do my best while not letting Barry dominate too much. For those wondering why Barry didn't dominate more, I get the feeling that members of Team Iron Man would've gained ideas by now of how to fight back against speedsters.
I really hope this chapter didn't disappoint, as I'm sure this was the chapter many of you were highly anticipating.
For those wondering about the donut scene, I just thought about Barry's appetite while writing this, and the idea if him and the Avengers eating donuts before the fight came to me, and I liked it, so I figured "What the heck?"
I hope you liked Barry's new suit. I hope I didn't go too far with all the upgrades. I was originally going to include weaponized lasers, but thought that was too much. I don't plan on making a Mark IV anytime soon, unless any of you have upgrades you really want to see.
Obviously, Barry's gonna lose the Iron Flash suit for a little while. But I promise he will get it back. So, don't worry about that.
Also, to address something some people have mentioned. Yes, Harry seems to have a fair amount of knowledge about the multiverse. He did in the show, at least after Season 2, so I figured it wasn't too far fetched. I'll explain later how he knows of Earth-99, and part of why he reacted the way he did. You won't find out all of why Harry thinks Earth-99 is a problem until the sequel to this.
Alright. I'll end here. Review and stay tuned.