Chapter 418: Civil War II!
Steve Rogers remained silent, his gaze fixed steadily on Natasha.
Natasha immediately understood what he meant; their entire conversation had been monitored by Nick Fury.
Crackle!
With a flick of her hand, Wanda used her chaos magic to crush the hidden listening device in the corner. She lowered her hand, her chest heaving slightly. It was clear that Nick hadn't trusted them from the very beginning.
"What do you plan to do?" Natasha asked, looking at Steve.
Steve shifted his right arm, and a triangular black shield snapped out from his wrist.
"Regarding the battle ahead... you all have the choice to walk away now," Steve said, exhaling slowly.
Clint Barton shrugged. "We made our choice the moment we showed up here."
"I'm with you, Cap," Sam Wilson added, his gaze unwavering. He would always stand by the Captain.
Scott Lang stepped forward. "Me too. And Cap, that new shield is awesome. Where'd you get it? I want one."
"Thanks. If you want one, you'll have to ask T'Challa in Wakanda," Steve said with a slight smile. Steve's charisma was undeniable; despite everything, many of the Avengers still stood by him by default.
Natasha glanced toward the door. "Have you considered that there might already be people surrounding us outside?"
"Don't worry. They can't hold us," Pietro said with a disdainful smirk. Dealing with standard agents was something he could do in his sleep.
With a blur, Pietro vanished from the room. Moments later, the sounds of heavy thuds and muffled groans echoed from the hallway.
Flash!
Pietro reappeared in the room, dusting off his hands. "Done."
"Hmph~ Not bad at all," Natasha said, looking at him with newfound respect. His efficiency was impressive.
Hearing the praise, Pietro lowered his head sheepishly. Whenever he felt Natasha's admiring gaze, he couldn't help but remember the time he used the Transformation Scroll to look like her. Beside him, Wanda gave him a knowing look, recalling the time she had exposed his secret.
"What's going on?" Natasha asked, sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere.
"Ahem, nothing! I'll... uh, go check if there are any other ambushes." Pietro beat a hasty and awkward retreat from the room. His behavior left Natasha even more confused.
"When do we leave for Stark's location?" Wanda asked, stepping in to change the subject.
"We don't actually know where Tony is yet," Steve said, shaking his head. Nick Fury hadn't revealed Tony's coordinates before he left, likely to prevent them from interfering.
"Sigh~ To be honest, going against your own boss feels a bit strange," Natasha said, pulling a USB drive from her pocket.
"What's that?" Scott asked.
Natasha smiled. "This contains S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operational plans. Hill and I are on good terms, but doesn't Stark always call me a double agent?"
"Hmph~ Women really are dangerous, especially the pretty ones," Clint joked from the side.
Steve couldn't help but laugh. The atmosphere was good; he only hoped they could remain on friendly terms with S.H.I.E.L.D. after the fighting was over. After all, they were the ones who had pulled him out of the ice.
"I need a computer," Natasha said, waving the drive.
"I know where one is! I'll be right back," Scott said. He donned his helmet, shrank to the size of an ant, and flew off on a winged ant.
"That shrinking ability is truly something," Clint noted as Scott vanished.
"Yeah. And knowing Fury, he's definitely contacted Banner," Natasha added. Having worked for Nick for so many years, she knew his playbook.
"I hope he doesn't show up," Steve muttered. He didn't want Banner there; if the Hulk lost control, the situation would become impossible to manage.
While they talked, Scott returned, carrying a laptop. "Here you go," he said, handing it to Natasha.
"Thanks." Natasha opened the laptop and plugged in the drive. Soon, a file titled Project: Iron Control appeared on the screen. The group crowded around to see what S.H.I.E.L.D. had planned.
Natasha's fingers flew across the keyboard. "S.H.I.E.L.D. files are encrypted with a kill-switch. If you fail the password attempt once, the data wipes itself."
"Uh..." Scott looked nervous. "If you fail, isn't that game over for us?"
Natasha's lips curled into a smirk.
Click!
She hit the Enter key, and the encryption broke. "Relax. I'm a professional."
Scott was left speechless.
Steve ignored the banter and scanned the files. They were filled with specialized weapons and tactics designed specifically to counter the Iron Man armors.
"Tony is in real trouble," Steve said, standing tall. "We need to move. The files say he's in North Hempstead."
"I can get there first. I'm the fastest," Pietro said, having re-entered the room.
"No, your stamina won't support a long-distance sprint," Wanda countered immediately. She knew his limits; high speed in short bursts was fine, but a long trek would put too much strain on his heart.
"Don't worry. I've been training every day," Pietro said, bouncing on his toes.
"Training?" Wanda looked surprised. "Since when? I haven't seen you do a single push-up."
She lived in the same villa as him; usually, when she came back, he was just a "couch potato" eating snacks.
"Every time you go out, I go out to train. You just didn't see it."
Pietro thought of Silas dragging him to the plains every day for forced sprints. He had complained at the time, but now he was grateful. He could run nearly fifty kilometers in one go without breaking a sweat. In the past, he would have been gasping for air halfway through.
"Fine, go then," Wanda said, seeing his confidence.
"Alright. I'll find Stark and give him a heads-up." With a flash of silver light, Pietro vanished.
Steve turned to the rest of the group. "This time, please try to hold back. These agents are regular people, and they were our comrades once. Don't be as ruthless as we were during the last Civil War."
"Don't worry, Cap. I'll definitely hold back—just like last time," Scott said, glancing at Natasha. During the previous conflict, Scott had fought her first, only to be taken out by one of her electrical stingers. Natasha just smiled back.
"I'll go prep a Quinjet for our extraction," Sam said.
"Clint, watch your aim. You don't usually miss," Natasha joked.
Clint pointed to his quiver. "Don't worry. These are all shock arrows. They'll just take a little nap."
"Then let's go. Avengers, move out!" Steve raised his shield. This time, he was fighting for Tony.
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