Chapter 363: Civil War V
On a deserted island, a man and a woman were locked in a passionate kiss.
"Hah... you..." Silas was the first to pull away. He truly hadn't seen Wanda's sudden move coming.
"I'm not sure either..." Wanda's face was flushed, her eyes shimmering with a lingering, hazy emotion. She couldn't explain what had come over her; looking at Destiny's handsome face, she had simply lost herself in the moment.
Silas gazed at Wanda. In this light, she was breathtaking, like a red rose in full bloom, waiting to be plucked. Feeling the intensity of his stare, Wanda shyly looked away. "What... what is your name?"
"Let's get reacquainted. My name is Silas Parker," Silas said, unable to help a small smile at her bashfulness.
"Silas Parker?" Wanda whispered the name to herself, as if etching it into her soul.
Silas turned his gaze back toward the ocean. "Surprised?"
"Yes. I always pictured you as an older man. I didn't expect you to look barely older than me." A soft smile tugged at the corners of Wanda's mouth.
"An older man?" Silas pointed at himself, amused. "Do I really seem that old?"
"Definitely. When you wear the mask, you seem so mature—like a middle-aged man who has lived through a lot." Wanda sat on the sand, pulling her knees to her chest and drawing circles in the dirt with a twig.
"Is that so?" Silas smiled inwardly. If he added the years from his previous life, he was indeed a middle-aged man. However, he was the type who kept his youthful heart, which was why he got along so well with Peter and the others.
"So... how old are you?" Wanda asked, looking up.
"Eighteen," Silas replied.
"I see..." Wanda nodded, and a comfortable silence settled between them.
Leipzig-Halle Airport
THUD!
"No!" Tony cradled Rhodey in his arms, his voice trembling with panic. "Rhodey! Talk to me!"
Just moments ago, without Wanda's intervention, the tide had turned against Steve. Despite the teamwork between Barnes and Steve, Tony—with the help of Jarvis—had successfully analyzed their combat patterns and held the upper hand. However, Natasha had suddenly defected, delivering a literal backstab to Tony's flank.
Steve seized that split second to smash the Arc Reactor in Tony's chest with his shield. Deprived of its core, the suit became a hunk of dead weight. After a brutal beatdown, T'Challa eventually pulled Steve off a battered Tony.
Steve didn't want to linger. He picked up his shield and turned to leave with Barnes. Tony shouted at his back, "You don't deserve that shield! My father made that shield!" Steve paused, looked at the disc of vibranium, and dropped it into the dirt without a word.
To buy Steve time to reach the backup transport, Scott Lang—still in his giant form—had been throwing planes and causing chaos. Peter and Pietro teamed up to stop him: Peter used his webbing to bind Scott's legs while Pietro distracted him. When the giant eventually fell, he accidentally swiped Rhodey, who was trying to intercept Steve.
The sheer mass of the giant's hand, combined with the fall, slammed Rhodey into a crater, leaving him unconscious. It seemed that even with Silas's interference, Rhodey's fate was a difficult hurdle to clear—though, notably, he had only lost the use of his left leg instead of both.
"Rhodey..." Tony retracted his mask. His face was a mess of bruises and blood, his expression one of pure agony. He pulled off Rhodey's helmet; the Colonel blinked weakly and whispered, "Tony..." before slipping into unconsciousness.
The battle ended there. Steve and Bucky boarded the jet provided by Natasha and disappeared into the clouds. Tony held Rhodey, blaming himself. If he hadn't held back, maybe his friend wouldn't be broken.
"Medical evac is on the way..." Jarvis reported.
"Is he okay?" Sam Wilson landed nearby, his voice quiet. Tony didn't answer. If his Arc Reactor weren't smashed, he would have blasted Sam right then and there.
"Mr. Stark..." Peter didn't know what to say. He had never seen Tony look so vulnerable. But what shocked Peter most was the revelation that Steve's friend had killed Tony's parents.
Pietro blurred to Tony's side. "Need a hand?"
"The evac is coming. Don't touch him," Tony said, looking up so his tears wouldn't fall.
Before anyone could catch their breath, the government arrived.
"Don't move!" General Ross and a legion of soldiers surrounded the area. Ross looked at the exhausted heroes with cold disgust. He couldn't stand "freaks."
The soldiers began handcuffing everyone who had sided with Steve. Clint didn't try to run; he dropped his bow and raised his hands. Scott, exhausted and shrunken back to normal size, was stripped of his suit and taken into custody. Clint, Scott, and Sam were officially arrested.
Ross initially intended to arrest everyone, but Tony barked him down. Given Tony's status and the messy legality of the situation, Ross settled for the three fugitives and let Peter and the others go. Peter quickly opened a Shadow Portal and moved his team away.
On the Hangar Bridge
"Wait! I'm seriously just a tourist!" Deadpool held his hands over his head, a paintbrush in his left hand and a sketchbook in his right. The soldiers didn't buy it and moved in with handcuffs.
"Well, I've got other places to be. Catch ya later!" Deadpool dropped his gear and jumped off the high bridge.
The soldiers rushed to the edge and saw Deadpool splayed out on the concrete like a starfish, unmoving. "Is he a psycho?" one soldier asked.
"Definitely not right in the head," the other replied. He radioed the ground: "We have a suspect who jumped. Check the body."
But when they looked down again, the body was gone.
"What the...?"
On the Flight Away
"Will they be okay?" Barnes asked, clutching his chest. Tony had ripped his metal arm off during the final struggle.
Steve flew the jet in grim silence. He wanted to turn back and save his team, but he knew if he did, their sacrifice would be for nothing. He had a mission.
Meanwhile, back at the airport, Rhodey was being loaded into a medevac. He was lucky; unlike the original timeline, his injuries weren't life-threatening, though his left leg was severely damaged.
Tony sat on the floor of the hangar, staring into space. Natasha approached him. "I really don't understand you anymore, Tony."
"No," Tony replied coldly. "I'm the one who doesn't understand you. Did you get too used to being a double agent?"
Natasha gave him a long, hard look before turning on her heel and leaving. Tony punched the wall of the hangar in frustration. The Avengers were gone. The team he had tried so hard to protect was in ruins.
The Avengers Villa
"Where's Wanda?" Pietro paced the empty living room. He had expected Silas to bring her back here, but the house was silent.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!