(MCU) Forged Reality: Chapter 25 - Team up

Chapter 25 - Team up

Summary: Alliances shift as betrayal sparks a dangerous new hunt.

Tony groaned as he ran three floors down back to the lobby. Thanks to the emergency mode, all the elevators had been disabled, leaving Tony with no choice other than the staircase.

He left T'Chaka with T'Challa so he could see what the entire mayhem was about.

When he finally got there, what he saw sent shivers down his spine.

Barnes, with a vacant look in his eyes and no emotion on his face, had Sharon wrapping her legs around his neck and trying to punch his head.

The first thought passing through his mind was that someone managed to trigger the Winter Soldier. Tony knew about the brainwashing thanks to Maria, who chose to share some of the details they learned during the fall of SHIELD, unlike some other people he called teammates at the time.

Tony cursed himself for leaving his armor at the jet. Even if he asked Friday to send it over, there wasn't enough time for it to arrive before the Winter Soldier made his escape. There wasn't much he could do with the designer suit he was wearing right now. Well, there was his...

Tony's thoughts had to be cut abruptly when he saw the brainwashed man slam his younger cousin into one of the tables in the lobby. He could see Sharon's face twist with repressed pain, and her arms and legs, which were wrapped in a way that stopped any arm movement from the metal prosthetic, went loose.

Barnes took the chance and raised his metal fist, aiming to bring it down on his Sherry-bear's face.

Tony didn't think. His body just moved.

He began walking quickly toward the pair, his hand already turning the dial of his wristwatch around. The watch began to turn and expand.

But it was too slow; the metal fist was already coming down. Tony was about to scream, to try anything to save Sharon's life, when a heavy metal object hit the back of the Winter Soldier's head.

Tony shifted his eyes to look at the origin of the throw. There stood, tall and defiant, more like a warrior than a king—T'Chaka.

The soldier dropped his cousin on the table, where the girl groaned and didn't get back up. Those vacant eyes turned to the foreign king, and in the blink of an eye, he drew a gun, aiming it at the politician's heart.

Tony didn't hesitate. He aimed his now-formed gauntlet at the Winter Soldier and released a blast.

The blast from the gauntlet was not powerful enough to knock someone out, but when it hit the soldier's shoulder, it knocked the shot released from the gun off aim, completely missing the king.

Before Barnes could take another shot, T'Challa pounced out of nowhere, kicking the gun away from the super soldier before engaging him in battle.

Tony looked to where Sharon was, only to notice she was gone. Tony frowned.

Instead of lingering on it, he made his way quickly to the king and asked, "Are you okay?"

The king gave him his usual calm smile. "Of course; I had you to save my life again, Tony."

Tony shrugged. "That's what friends are for. And you saved my cousin, so we'll call it even."

The king just looked amusedly at him. Tony then looked back at the last place he saw T'Challa fighting Barnes. He was shocked to see the prince of Wakanda already had the brainwashed super soldier on the floor, dazed and ready to be transported back to his containment.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, came a flying shield that went straight toward T'Challa's head. On instinct, Tony raised his arm again and released another blast.

The blast hit the blue and red shield, sending it off course. The shield was embedded into the frame of the entrance door.

T'Challa was so shocked by the attack that he was left gaping at the shield for too long.

Steve came right after the shield and used the moment T'Challa had his guard down to push the man away from his friend with his full power, sending the prince across the room.

Steve picked up his still dazed, brainwashed friend and ran out of the building, pulling his shield with him on his way.

What was left behind was a complete mess. The lobby was in ruins, there were bodies of security guards on the floor, and T'Challa was just picking himself up after being sent away with Steve's full strength.

The only thing Tony learned from this entire fiasco was that T'Challa was one hell of a fighter to defeat a super soldier in a minute flat.

It was an hour later that they all sat in one of the offices.

T'Challa and T'Chaka flanked each of Tony's sides; Rhodey sat next to the king with Natasha sitting next to the prince.

Agent Ross stood across the room; he was leading this debrief of the breakout. Not just Barnes's, because Steve and Wilson decided to join him as well.

The TV on the wall was filled with the face of Nick Fury. His usual frown looked deeper than usual, in Tony's considerable opinion.

"As we all know, an hour ago the suspect James Barnes managed to escape his containment unit," began the agent. "After that, he went on a rampage while making his way to the exit. The result was six dead agents and three security personnel. Agent Carter engaged him and was about to be killed when King T'Chaka intervened. Afterwards, Dr. Stark stopped the attack on the king, which was when Prince T'Challa intervened and quickly subdued the suspect. Unfortunately, Rogers chose that moment to appear and rescue his friend."

There was one question Tony needed to know the answer to before everything else. "What about Sharon?"

Tony noticed Nick flinching a little bit, which was unlike him, and Ross let out a heavy sigh of his own. "Agent Carter disappeared during the fight with the Winter Soldier. When we checked how Rogers had his shield back, we saw that the falcon wings were removed from storage as well. When I checked the log..." He paused, hesitant to say the next words. "It was Agent Carter that unlocked the safe and returned them their weapons."

Tony cursed internally again. What the hell was Sharon doing? Was she really that deep into the Steve Rogers perfect icon wagon? Tony knew he should have said something to her earlier; now he had a sinking feeling he knew where she was, or more accurately, with whom.

Ross shook his head and instead declared firmly, "Agent Carter is reported as missing, while the three that escaped are officially recognized as fugitives."

Tony noticed from the corner of his eye as Romanoff shifted a little in her seat at this declaration.

"What about the psychiatrist?" the calm and collected T'Chaka asked.

Ross frowned in confusion. "He was injured during the breakout."

"Hmmm..." the king hummed. "Convenient. While watching the footage of Romania, Barnes seemed to be the most compliant one to come once he realized the magnitude of the situation. It was unlikely he was triggered then."

Tony felt like a cartoon character with a lightbulb on top of his head. "The only people allowed to speak to him were the guards and the psychiatrist. Considering their current status, it wasn't the guards who triggered him. Why would Barnes spare the only other man in the room after already killing two?"

T'Challa nodded. "If he was triggered during transport, he was too cooperative for a long period of time, and I doubt any of us was a target, or if there was even a hit list, as the soldier headed straight toward the exit."

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at the agent. "So is he with the recovery team?"

Ross cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "Well, he claimed to have his own private doctor that he wished to check on him, so... we allowed him to leave."

Tony let out a deep sigh. "Fri, do me a favor and look into this doctor for me."

"On it, Boss," the response was instant.

Fury himself let out a sigh before saying, "While she is doing this, the council has decided they have enough reasons to issue official warrants for the arrest and questioning of Captain America, Falcon, and Barnes. I'm afraid it falls to you and the team to capture them."

Tony almost missed the quick frown crossing the spider's face before she masked it in an indifferent expression.

He turned to Fury and said, "First, Rhodey is the leader here, so I think he is the one you should pass the order to. Second, how long do we have?"

"Thirty-six hours would be ideal, though if you need longer, the council will be acceptable," Fury replied.

Rhodey considered it for a moment before nodding. "We will take care of it."

T'Challa seemed to want to voice his approval when his father spoke before him. "Son, I believe we should step outside."

The king gave Tony a meaningful glance. Tony knew what his plans were.

After the Wakandans left the room, Tony turned to the redhead and said, "I already have a couple of people who will join us on their way." He noticed how her eyes widened ever so slightly, but he ignored it and asked in a fake friendly tone, "Do you mind trying to pull that kitty prince to our side?"

Tony saw the gleam passing in those green eyes before the spy smiled a little and said calmly, "I will do my best."

With that, she stood up and left the room, presumably to find the prince.

"What the hell, Tony? Why would you want Romanoff to talk T'Challa into joining us when he already agreed?"

Tony shook his head. "It was only an excuse to get her out of the room while we do the real planning. T'Challa will play hard to get, so we will have a little while."

Rhodey's face broke into a smile, and Tony knew his best friend was doing his best not to laugh out loud. That was when Friday spoke again. "The team from the States has arrived at the building."

Now Tony smiled widely. "Lead them here; make sure to keep them out of sight for now."

"Of course, Boss," Friday replied.

Soon the door opened again, and in walked the people Tony was waiting for, as well as... wait... Tony frowned. "What the hell?!"

Across from him stood Pietro with a wide grin on his face, Vision with an exhausted look and vibe to him, and finally Clint, who looked equally amused and sheepish.

The problem was the two standing behind them. One of them wore a high-tech spandex-looking fiber in the colors of red and blue, while the other one had a purple color scheme, a hood over her head, and a mask covering her face.

Bringing back Tony to the damn question of what the hell Peter Parker and Katie Bishop were doing here.

Peter looked a little nervous and sheepish himself, while Kate looked purely smug.

Tony snapped his gaze back to the archer, who shifted a little uncomfortably. "Look, they were with Wanda and Pietro at the house; they heard everything on the call and kind of... snuck into the jet while I said goodbye to Laura."

Tony narrowed his eyes at the man. "You are supposed to be a spy; how could a couple of teenagers sneak past you?"

Clint just looked away, unwilling to answer.

Tony sighed and muttered, "At least Harley had more common sense."

"Well..." Tony's attention snapped to Peter when he said it. The spider boy pulled a drone from behind his back and pushed a button on it.

The drone began to float in the middle of the room, a small red light shining on top of it, when a voice began speaking. "Hey there, Mechanic."

Tony narrowed his eyes at Peter again, and the boy yelped. "We need a guy in the chair, and Harley doesn't have his own armor yet..." he explained as if it was something obvious.

A chuckle behind him forced Tony to turn and glare at his best friend, who shrugged in return and simply stated, "Come on, Tones, you picked these kids; did you really expect anything else?"

T'Chaka hummed with a soft smile. "Greetings, young heroes. If Tony saw potential in you, I am sure you shall prove valuable allies, now and in the future. My name is T'Chaka, the king of Wakanda." He now turned toward Tony. "If you are recruiting talent for the future, I am now more eager to introduce you to my daughter."

Tony just dropped himself into the closest chair with a groan.

T'Challa chuckled. "It is a pleasure meeting you. I'm T'Challa, prince of Wakanda."

Before anyone could react, Peter immediately began bowing repeatedly. "Your Majesties! I am Peter Parker... Wait! I mean I am Spider-Man... I don't know who Peter Parker is!"

Kate facepalmed at her friend's panic and said loud enough for him to hear, "Jeez, Pete, just stop."

Peter yelped again and took a step backwards, hiding behind Pietro. Kate tried to move on by introducing herself. "My name is Kate Bishop; you can also call me Artemis." She pointed at the drone. "The guy flying this is Harley Kenner; goes by Iron Legacy for now."

Tony's eyes snapped up, and he asked, stupefied, "When the hell did you get code names?"

Kate smiled widely. "Friday suggested it! She said we need to be code-named in the field so Rogers won't know who we are. She also was the one to suggest our names. She is the best!"

"Friday!" Tony screamed, outraged, at the closest camera.

Friday responded immediately and without an ounce of shame. "Don't worry, Boss; I know I'm the best."

Tony's lips twitched at the corners unwillingly as he mumbled, "Cheeky AI."

Rhodey rolled his eyes with a smile. "I wonder where she learned it."

Ross cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him. "As wholesome as all of this is, I'm afraid troubles just keep multiplying."

Nick took the job of informing them. "Wanda just sent a text; she has crossed the borders into Germany a few minutes ago. She said that Wilson mentioned a couple of new recruits to their team."

Tony groaned. "What the hell is Steve trying to do? Turn this argument into an all-out war?"

Rhodey's smile was gone; instead, he wore his 'Colonel face.' "It's time to talk plans."