[ chapter twelve ]
Andi had never been so far away from home but she always thought that if she were to travel outside the country willingly, it would be for leisure. Not to fight the people she considered to be her family.
The 'battlefield' where it was all meant to take place was the airport. It was a good choice, if Andi thought about it, but she knew it hadn't been chosen specifically for them to hash things out. Steve needed access to a jet and this was the closest place he could get one. It just happened to in a large area so if things went to hell — which she had no doubt they would — at least this time no civilians would be hurt as a result.
Andi had stayed on the sidelines with Peter, just as Tony instructed. He made his presence known to Steve first, deactivating the chopper he'd been running to and putting a stop to his plan. Andi knew Steve though. She knew that it didn't just end here. There was a reason he was standing there alone right now.
Rhodey flanked Tony and they came to a stop beside each other, facing Steve. Andi couldn't hear much of what they were saying, but she knew someone who would pick up on it easier than she could.
"Can you hear?" She asked Peter as she peered around his taller frame.
He nodded and then spoke without looking back. "He said the doctor's behind all of this. The psychiatrist?"
Andi remembered him. The guy who'd been speaking to Bucky before he went into rage mode and almost killed half of the Avengers singlehandedly.
"He seems sure that we're going after the wrong guy. Apparently there are more like him," Peter explained, now turning to face her. "More Super Soldiers."
So that's what this was all about. That's why Steve needed a jet. Not to protect his old friend, but to put an end to what had turned him into the soldier in the first place.
If Andi had doubting her decision before, it was nowhere close to how uncomfortable she felt now, not knowing where exactly she stood.
Nat came into the picture too, and it wasn't long after that that they were given their cue.
"Underoos!"
"That's us," Peter murmured turning away from her and pulling his mask down to cover his face. In a matter of seconds, Peter was gone from her side. He was up in the air for a moment, almost soaring through, before he used his webbing to grab Steve's shield and bind his hands. He landed on top of the chopper surprisingly gracefully and looked around.
"Nice job, kid," Tony called out, though he looked straight at Steve.
"Thanks," Peter sounded pleased, and Andi took the opportunity to slowly come out of her hiding place, so she stood behind Steve. He hadn't noticed yet. "Well, I mean, I could have stuck the landing better, it's just... a new suit, y'know?"
Tony tried to silence him. "Yeah—"
"It's nothing Mr. Stark," Peter continued, making Andi smile just a little. "The suit is great. It's perfect. Thank you."
"We don't really need to start a conversation," Tony finally got a word in and Peter nodded.
"Okay," he said, glancing around again. "Hey everybody," Peter looked directly at Steve and did a small salute. "Captain. Big fan. I—I'm Spider-Man."
"Yeah, We'll talk about it later," Tony's patience was definitely running low.
With one more nod, Peter finally shut up. That was when Steve turned around. He probably guessed she would have come. He knew her well enough. He knew she wouldn't be willing to stay behind with all of this going on.
"Andi," he spoke, addressing her in a kind of greeting.
Andi wasn't sure how to respond, so she didn't. She just stood there, looking at him, with her lips pursed. He was smiling, as though he didn't blame her for coming here more or less as his enemy in this situation. It made her feel unsettled. He should be angry at her, shouldn't he? Or feel betrayed, at least? She knew that's what she would have felt.
Hell, it's what she felt right now since she wasn't so sure she was on the right side in all of this.
Steve turned back to Tony. "You've been busy."
"And you've been a complete idiot," he countered. "Bringing Clint out of retirement. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave."
Wanda? What happened to Wanda? Andi last saw her back at the base, and she had assumed that that was where she remained. She remembered feeling anger toward Tony for keeping her locked up, as though she were a wild animal. She completely forgot to address it after everything went down with Peter. How could she have been so ignorant? Wanda was like a sister to her, the one person she knew longer than anyone.
"I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart," Tony said finally.
Steve let out a small sigh. "You did that when you signed."
"Okay, I'm done. You're going to come with us now," Tony's voice was raised, and Andi could hear the frustration in his tone. "You're going to turn Barnes over and come with us because it's us. Come on." The last few words had been softer, and Andi stared right at him as he said it. He was more or less pleading, because Tony didn't want this to go sideways.
But Steve wasn't willing to give up his mission.
Instead of answering, he raised his fists in the air, and an arrow shot out from nowhere, ripping through the webbing and freeing Steve's hands.
At the same exact moment, Andi watched as Peter was tossed back off the chopper. Someone else took his place, someone who appeared out of nowhere, till Andi realised he grew from out of nowhere. Picking up Steve's shield, he handed it over to its rightful owner. "I believe this is yours, Captain America."
Rhodey was confused, just like most of them. "W-What the hell was that?"
"Great," Tony muttered before activating the helmet of his suit so it now covered his face. "Alright kid, do what we discussed. Keep your distance, web stuff up," he glanced to Andi. "Wanda and Clint are near the parking deck so you're coming with me," he said, flying over to her and reaching out for her hand. As she took it, she heard his voice again. "Rhodey, you want to take Cap?"
Without waiting for a reply, Tony sped up, carrying Andi below. The hood of her coat flew off because of the wind, but she was soon set down on the ground just a few feet away from Wanda and Clint, who were running out of the parking structure.
Without warning, Tony fired small missiles toward the nearby cars, attempting to try and block their path. They were forced to come to a stop, and hovered in the air above Andi, both of them facing the other two.
"Wanda," he spoke. "I think you hurt Vision's feelings."
She didn't find that very amusing. "You locked me in my room."
"Okay first," Tony began to defend himself. "That's an exaggeration. And second, I did that to protect you."
She tilted her head to the side in disbelief. Andi could more or less read her expression. Are you kidding me?
She then looked at Andi. "Is that what you believe?"
Andi never thought she'd find herself facing up against Wanda again, after Sokovia, yet here she was. And she didn't have an answer. "I—"
"Hey Clint," Tony interrupted.
"Hey man."
"Clearly retirement doesn't suit you," Tony commented, hand outstretched in a defensive stance. Clint had his bow raised as well, arrow ready to go. "Got tired of shooting golf?"
Clint shrugged. "Well, I played 18, shot 18. Just can't seem to miss." As he said this, he fired an arrow.
Andi was caught off guard, but it had been aimed at Tony. He swerved out of the way and shot the arrow out of the sky before turning back to Clint. "First time for everything."
Clint smirked. "Made you look."
Tony and Andi both looked up at the same time to see cars being pulled out of their parking slots. The familiar red wisps of energy told Andi that Wanda was doing this so she didn't bother to double check if that was true. Instead, she tried moving out of the way or she'd likely be crushed.
Tony flew over her in an attempt to avoid being hit while also making sure she didn't get hit, but one caught him off guard and pinned him down to the ground.
Finally deciding to act, Andi lifted her hands to the sky and concentrated, and the cars seemed to slow to a stop, merely hovering in mid air for a second. Wanda and Clint had used the distraction to get away, so for now, Andi did her best to settle the cars as slowly as possible, while freeing Tony from underneath the wreckage too. It was already taking a bit of a toll on her, but she persevered.
"You alright?" Andi looked up to see that Tony's helmet was off for the time being. He looked her over and she nodded in response.
"I'm fine. They got away," Andi informed him, glancing in the direction that they'd gone. Without saying anything else, Tony held a hand out again and she took it, instantly feeling herself being lifted off the ground. As they flew toward the center of the field, she noticed Vision floating in mid air. Steve had regrouped with the others — and it made her wonder where Peter was — but Vision was stopping them by drawing a line in the ground with a laser.
"Captain Rogers," he said, his voice resonating throughout the area. "I know you believe what you are doing is right. But for the collective good, you must surrender now."
At that point, Tony set her down on the ground beside Nat and he stood on the ground as well. Andi looked on both sides for Peter and just when she felt the panic beginning to set in, she spotted him swinging in. He landed on her other side and looked at her. She somehow felt he was smiling at her underneath the mask but she couldn't be too sure.
Steve began to walk forward, and Andi knew there was going to be no surrender of any kind. She felt like throwing up, but she forced herself to follow when Tony and Nat began to walk forward as well.
"This is going to end well," Nat murmured.
Steve picked up the pace, and the others followed his lead. Tony did the same.
"Uh, they're not stopping," Peter called out, breaking into a jog as well.
"Neither are we," Tony's voice came as his helmet came back on.
The jogging shifted to running for most of them, and Rhodey and Tony took to the skies just as Sam and Wanda did from the other end.
The moment Andi saw Tony's iron fist colliding with Steve's shield, she knew there might not be a way for any of them to go back from this.
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