TW: Glad you enjoyed it.
Guest: Glad you enjoyed. Even the Winter Solider didn't stand a chance against a United Avengers. That would not have surprised me in the slightest. They have about two years to prepare, but needless to say, no one is going to wait long enough for Thanos to get his hand on even one Infinity Stone.
The Playground
Late afternoon
"Ross left about an hour before we got to The Raft," Talbot told Coulson with a sigh as the two men stood in Coulson's office. "I've taken everyone there into custody until we can determine exactly what they knew."
"Smart plan, but that still leaves us nothing to go on with Ross. Any idea where he went?" Coulson asked and Talbot shook his head.
"If any of his men know, they aren't talking," Ross said with a sigh. "We'll have to put out a BOLO and search ourselves. We can't let him go free, with all he knows."
Coulson opened his mouth to speak when Talbot's phone rang. Pulling it out, Talbot frowned as 'Unknown Caller' flashed across the screen. Warily, he answered it.
"Hello?"
"Glenn Talbot? Tony Stark here, and I have a proposition for you," Tony said and Talbot scowled in annoyance.
"What do you want, Stark?" Talbot grumbled.
"Well, I thought you'd like to know that we have Secretary Ross in custody," Tony said and Talbot almost started. "So, should we drop him off with you or do you want to come get him?"
Siberia
Not long after
Back in the chamber, while Tony was making the phone call to Talbot and Bruce, Scott and Sam were keeping watch on Ross and Zemo, the others were making sure the Winter Soldiers were back on ice.
"We sure we should be leaving these guys here?" Rhodey asked uncertainly.
"No prison would be able to hold them. They'd be out within a day and who knows what they'd do then. It might be safer just to kill them," Bucky said, looking like even the thought made him uncomfortable.
"Maybe, but that's not what we do," Steve said firmly.
"They're not a threat to anyone anymore, that's what matters," Natasha agreed.
"We can think of a long term solution to these guys later. Right now, we need to get Ross to Talbot," Clint pointed out.
"Laura and the kids will be happy they can come out of hiding," Wanda noted and Clint smiled tightly.
"Yeah," Clint said simply, unable to help but remember Ross's threats.
"I…don't think I should come," Bucky said and they all turned to him in surprise. "Ross knew how to control the Winter Soldiers; he probably knows how to control me too. I think it's safer for everyone if I don't go near him."
"Ross and Zemo came in a helicopter. I'll fly it back with you. I…don't think it's safe for me to be near Ross right now either," Clint said and Steve nodded.
"Then it's settled. We'll see you both back at The Compound."
Wakanda
Not long after
T'Challa stood in front of the unmoving Killmonger's bed, a blank look on his face as the doctor explained the situation to him.
"Sire, the only thing keeping him alive are these machines. I doubt he will ever make a full recovery," the doctor said and T'Challa nodded.
"Thank you. Leave us," T'Challa commanded.
The doctor nodded, silently bowing before leaving the room. T'Challa stared down at his cousin's unmoving form, a decision being made in his mind.
Quinjet, en route to Washington
Later that day
"After all this time, you came back," Ross grunted from where he was tied and bound to a chair, glaring at Bruce, who met his gaze evenly.
"And you're finally going to get what you deserve. You can't hurt me, Betty or anyone else ever again. The world will know exactly what you are," Bruce sneered.
"That's enough," Steve said calmly from where he sat watching. "Bruce, don't let him antagonize you. He can't hurt you anymore."
Bruce glared at Ross one more time before nodding, knowing Steve was right. So he turned away, focusing instead on the fact that he was finally free of Ross.
And so was Betty. It was a thought he hadn't considered since returning to the Avengers, but…no. Too much time had passed. There was no point dwelling on what ifs.
In the cockpit, Wanda looked back at the scene before glancing over at Natasha, who was flying.
"Are we sure it's safe?" Wanda asked and Natasha knew what she was getting at.
"Bruce still hasn't been able to make Hulk come out. We'll be fine," Natasha said before pausing. "So…you and Barnes."
"Not you too," Wanda said with a groan and Natasha smirked.
"So Clint already talked to you about that. You do know he's probably giving Bucky the 'if you hurt her, no one will find your body' talk, right?" Natasha teased and Wanda flushed in embarrassment.
Helicopter, en route to Avengers Compound
Same time
It had been silent for most of the flight, Clint flying as Bucky stared into space, lost in thought. Finally, Clint spoke.
"So. You and Wanda," Clint said and Bucky looked over at him.
"Maybe. I guess that's up to her, isn't it?" Bucky pointed out, a hard edge to his voice.
"Easy there, Barnes, I'm not judging you. We're on the same side," Clint pointed out and, after a moment, Bucky nodded, relaxing slightly. "I know a bit of what it's like to have your free will taken away."
"Right. You were controlled by Loki when he invaded earth," Bucky noted and Clint nodded with a grimace.
"Yeah. I know how hard it is to come back from that. So one's gonna understand more than me. But I care about Wanda, very much. And if you hurt her, Winter Soldier or not, I will kill you," Clint said, looking Bucky in the eye and Bucky didn't doubt him.
"If I hurt her, I'll deserve it," Bucky said and the two stared at each other for a moment before Clint nodded.
"Just as long as we understand each other," Clint said before turning his attention back to flying. "So, you must have some good stories about Cap."
Wakanda
Not long after
Alone, T'Challa pulled the unconscious Killmonger in a wheel chair until they stopped. They were where Killmonger had died in the recordings, seeing the sun shining down over Wakanda.
"This is Wakanda, cousin," T'Challa said softly.
Killmonger did not respond. T'Challa merely stood there, placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder. Killmonger had never been a good man, but he was of Wakanda. He deserved this much.
T'Challa stood there for an hour before Killmonger took his final breath and T'Challa bowed his head, marveling at the senseless tragedy his father had created.
Washington DC
Night
The Qunjet landed at a military base, where various men and women in uniform stood outside. After a few moments, the ramp lowered and Ross and Zemo, both in handcuffs, were forced down by Steve, Sam, Natasha and Rhodey.
"Colonel," Steve greeted politely as Talbot stepped up to greet them.
"Captain. Thank you for bringing them in," Talbot said politely.
"We know what the word thinks of us, but we're not trying to take the law into our hands. We're just trying to help," Steve told him and Talbot stared at them for a moment before nodding.
"Well, this'll go a long way to proving that. Take them away," Talbot said, directing this part to some of his men, who immediately began leading Ross and Zemo inside.
"What's gonna happen to them?" Rhodey asked.
"They'll be given over to the Joint Terrorism Task Force and then held without bail until a trail can be held for Ross. Zemo is going to be put in a psychiatric ward of a maximum security prison until he's deemed well enough to stand trial. They won't be getting out of this," Talbot promised.
"I hope so. It'll be good for this country to be completely free from Hydra's influence," Natasha noted.
"I agree. But for now, we'll try to determine what else Ross might know. We owe you a debt for exposing him. Thank you," Talbot said before he turned around, heading for the base.
"So now what?" Sam asked once Talbot was out of hearing range.
"With Ross handled, it's time to focus on stopping the big threat," Natasha said, glancing over at Steve, who nodded.
"It's time to deal with Thanos."
Not a very long chapter, but hope you all enjoyed it.
Ross will get what he deserves and Zemo will get the help he needs. For Killmonger, I liked his ending in Black Panther, so thought recreating that was a nice touch and T'Challa would absolutely do that.
And with Ross handled, we will finally move on to Thanos.