When It Rains...
For the first time in nearly half a year, the Avengers were all gathered under the same roof. With May coming to a close, the United Nations had decided that the Sokovia Accords had finally reached a state that satisfied all concerned parties: from the enhanced who it would affect the most, to the nations who sought to better secure their borders against random superhuman activity. Thus, over one-hundred twenty nations all sent representatives to Vienna for the official ratification of the Accords, and the Avengers have assembled to show their own support for the documents that the Accords had become.
The official ratification ceremony was not until later in the day, but that was just the public spectacle, the real signings were all happening beforehand. Together, the Avengers all sat in a private room overlooking the documents to ensure that nobody had tried to sneak in any unsavory changes at the eleventh hour (Tony was surprised to find that no, nobody had. Even Thaddeus Ross had apparently accepted defeat in the wake of international pressure). Matthew Murdock was leading a team of lawyers from SI to help explain any complicated legalese to the members of the team who didn’t understand the terminology. It would not be ideal for any of them to sign the Accords without understanding just what they were putting their name to.
Tony for his part hadn’t needed the help of the lawyers, having been involved in contract signings and other legal proceedings almost every day of his life since he took over Stark Industries. As such he simply read through the documents quickly before taking a pen and signing his name. Rhodey had done the same, as had Natasha and Clint who had made it just in time from wrapping up their mission in Finland. They left the six Widows they had freed in the capable hands of Director Coulson’s new SHIELD for reintegration to society. According to the two spies, SHIELD hadn’t even offered them jobs, instead opting to simply keep them safe until the Red Room was destroyed and they were ready to live their own lives. What the two of them hadn’t said, was where the Widow they were working with went, saying that she had already had her own life, and they didn’t have a right to pry. Part of Tony wanted to dig into it, and if he really tried he’d probably figure out the answers pretty quick now that they knew more about the woman, but out of respect for her help he ultimately decided against it. Rhodey and the rest of the team besides Sam had wrapped up relief efforts in Sri Lanka and made it back to New York in time to spend a few days relaxing at home before they all flew together to Austria.
It was an hour before the official ceremony when all the Avengers had finally signed. From the corner of his eyes Tony saw Wanda flop backwards onto the couch, rubbing the strain away from her eyes; the result of spending multiple hours going over the Accords with a fine-tooth comb. With their jobs done, the lawyers began to pack up their supplies, and Tony picked himself up off the recliner he had claimed to intercept Murdock before he left.
The blind lawyer seemed to sense his intentions, having tilted his head to the side at the sound of Tony standing up. “Anything else you need, Doctor Stark?
“No, but I do want to thank you again. You didn’t have to take the time to help iron out the final wrinkles, but you did.”
“Tony’s right. I’m not sure we would’ve been able to push through the secret identity clauses without your help. You’re a good man.” Steve joined in, moving to stand next to Tony while giving his own thanks.
Murdock responded with a tight smile and a polite inclination of his head. “I’m glad to have helped, but I didn’t do much. You guys had done most of the heavy lifting by the time I joined in.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Your input put lots of us at ease, me especially. After everything with HYDRA… It was a bit hard for me to not see agendas and control in everything.” Steve continued, not backing down from giving the necessary thanks.
“Take care of yourself out there blind justice, if you change your mind about that private flight back to the states, Happy will be happy to drive you to the airport.” Tony offered, grinning as Murdock’s lips rose into a smile that he tried to hide. He’d been hitting the lawyer with any nickname he could come up with to try and get a response from the man, and ‘blind justice’ had been his best one, and thus he kept coming back to it. Of course Steve had berated him for it at first, but Murdock had saved his hide and said that he found it funny. Turns out the irony of the saying ‘justice is blind’ got to the usually stern man.
Once Mudock had left, Tony allowed himself to slip back down into the chair he had claimed, taking a page out of Wanda’s book and slouching down into a more relaxed position. He’d been up longer than the rest of them had, schmoozing with politicians and intelligence officers alike to make sure that the Avengers had friends around the globe if they ever needed to go somewhere for a mission. It was the biggest point of contention for Steve still; the super soldier didn’t like the idea that people could need help somewhere and that they’d have to take the time to ask for permission before going, if they hadn’t been asked for help first.
It’d taken a lot of hard conversations with his fellow Avenger to convince him that it was necessary. Luckily his task had been made easier by the Accords council creating a condition that, if absolutely necessary, the Avengers could act without permission first, but they’d be required to face a panel afterwards to see if they had abused the privilege or not. Tony hadn’t even had to ask for that one, and it ended up being the lynchpin to convincing Rogers to give up the argument.
Another half hour passed with quiet discussions between team members, all of them simply enjoying being in each other’s company again after so long. Wanda had taken to resting her head on her brother’s shoulder, the two of them watching some show on the Stark-brand tablet he had given each member of the team. Natasha and Clint were both on their phones, one texting her sister probably, and the other speaking with his kids quietly. Their relaxation was interrupted by a polite knocking on their door, before the handle twisted and their designated United Nations assistant poked her head into the room.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but the ambassador of Nigeria has expressed his desire to speak to you all before the ceremony.”
“You weren’t interrupting.” Steve assured the woman before glancing over at Tony, shooting him a questioning glance.
Tony stood, straightening his suit. “We’d be happy to speak with the ambassador. Would he like us in his office?”
She shook her head. “No, he’s actually outside right now.”
“Please, send him in then.” Tony asked, getting a nod in return before the door closed once more.
A few moments later and the door opened again, this time admitting the Nigerian ambassador who had an apologetic smile on his face. The smile didn’t reach his eyes however, which Tony could see were clearly worried, a fact that the rest of the team noticed as well, evident in the way they all straightened their backs, prepping for whatever news had the ambassador nervous.
“I thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I wish that this could’ve been a social call, but the people of Nigeria need your help.” The man greeted them all, his voice laced with concern.
“What happened?” Steve asked from next to Tony. The Captain was fully alert now, ready to hop into action at a moment’s notice if need be.
The ambassador sighed, rubbing a hand over his bald head. “Earlier today, the Institute for Infectious Diseases was attacked in Lagos. Most of the staff was murdered, and a sample of an experiment was stolen from quarantine.”
“What kind of experiment?” Natasha questioned, her voice cold in the way that Tony prayed would never be directed at him again. He had enough of that voice immediately after Ultron came online.
The answer to her question was somewhat obvious, as there were only so many things that would come from an infectious disease’s quarantine storage. But Tony knew they needed a specific answer nonetheless.
“It was an experimental virus, created by our scientists for the purposes of helping in designing better medicines to fight against rapidly spreading diseases. The entire project was classified at the highest levels specifically to prevent something like this from happening.” The ambassador rushed to explain the Institute’s actions.
He couldn’t prevent the grimace that crossed his face. An experimental bio-weapon in the hands of unknown parties was a nightmare scenario, and it was apparent why the Nigerian government approached them about this. The Avengers were probably their best bet to prevent catastrophe at this point in time. Judging by the swears he heard exclaimed from around the room, everyone else was just as aware of how bad the situation was.
Steve recovered first, asking the obvious next question. “Has any group claimed responsibility for the attack? Or have any of them been identified.”
Their guest nodded, lifting a tablet that he had been holding by his side and tapping the screen until he reached whatever it was he was looking for. He then turned the screen around to face the Avengers, revealing a face that all of them were aware of, and a few of them (namely Steve, Natasha, and Clint), were more than familiar with.
Brock Rumlow. A.K.A, Crossbones.
More swears left the mouths of the Avengers, and much like the previous round, nobody was in the mood to play into the running ‘language’ joke that the team had going. If Crossbones was involved, the odds were good that HYDRA was involved in some way. Of course, the man had branched out from HYDRA since its global reveal, acting more as a terrorist-for-hire rather than a fascist loyal to the cause, but still. History has shown that in most cases, once-HYDRA meant always-HYDRA.
He could practically hear Steve’s teeth grinding against each other. The blond supersoldier’s jaw was clenched tightly as his eyes seemed to try and bore holes through the tablet screen. Seeing that Steve was otherwise distracted, and the rest of the team seemed more than willing to let him and the Captain take the lead, Tony decided to speak up. “You have a location for us? Or are we going to be looking for a particularly burnt needle in a very large haystack?”
“We know that they have not yet left the city, but we have not been able to find them. We currently believe that their target is a music festival that will start on Saturday. The government hopes that we do not have to cancel the event, but we will do so if the terrorists are not found.”
Saturday. That gave them three days.
“We will head out after the ceremony. We are expected to be there, but after that we can gather our gear.” Steve promised, finally having dragged his attention away from the screen. His fellow team leader’s words seemed to console the ambassador a bit, who reached out to shake Steve’s hand and shook it forcefully in gratitude.
“My government, and the people of Nigeria thank you all! I will have my aide send you all the information we have so that you are prepared for your mission.” The man finally released Steve’s hand, before giving thankful nods to each Avenger and turning to leave the room.
“What's the plan Cap?” Sam asked, looking towards their field leader for his input.
“We’ll have to head out as soon as possible after the ratification is complete. Let's use this time before the ceremony to get our equipment loaded onto the Quinjet. Once we are free to leave we can head straight there.”
“Can’t we just skip the ceremony? Surely they will understand seeing as it's an emergency?” Pietro wondered, looking between him and Steve.
Tony shook his head. “No, we have to be there, and we have to wait for the Nigerian government to get us the information we need anyway. The ceremony shouldn’t take too long anyway, it's just the official announcement of ratification, followed by a few speeches from heads of state. Probably about an hour or so, then we can get going.” He explained.
With a plan in place, the team left their waiting room to head back to the Quinjets, one of which was brought from New York, and the other came with Natasha and Clint from Finland. With only half an hour before the team worked quickly to make sure all their equipment was gathered and ready for a flight down to Africa. Thanks to the fact that they were all professionals, all their gear was ready within twenty minutes (though Tony wouldn’t really consider the twins professional yet, they just had less equipment than everyone else did) and they made it back to the main conference hall with just a few minutes to spare, slipping into the room as some of the last arrivals.
As Tony had expected, the ceremony was a bore, mostly a presentation of the nations that had all signed, followed by speeches from different world leaders regarding the documents, and how they viewed the future to be bright and yada yada. Unfortunately, there was always one TV camera perpetually pointing towards the Avengers, forcing him (and the rest of the team) to behave. None of them wanted to give their detractors more ammo to use against them, especially Ross. The new Secretary of State might’ve decided to not make a fuss about the rewrites, but that in no way meant that the sanctimonious bastard wasn’t looking for them to slip up.
Everyone in attendance gave a standing ovation as the last speech, given by the Secretary General, wrapped up. Tony knew from experience that most people here were clapping more for the fact that their obligation here was over, rather than the speech itself, but overall it was a decent speech. Nothing special, and most of what the Secretary General said had already been said by other speakers, but that was par for the course at events like this really.
Once they had waited long enough for it to now be polite to slip out, the team slowly began to trickle out of the auditorium. Of course, being who they were, every now and again one of them got dragged into answering questions from one reporter or another who had all been waiting in the wings like a bunch of vultures, just waiting for their chance to grab someone for an interview. Tony was an expert at navigating events like these, and would swoop in to free the besieged teammate without making it seem like they were all rushing to leave.
In the end though, it was Cap and him who got caught in a conversation that they couldn’t just slip out of with a few polite words. The team had just left the auditorium and were making their way towards the landing pad that their jet was on when a voice called out behind them.
“Excuse me, Captain Rogers, Doctor Stark, could we have a moment of your time?” The voice had an African accent, and when Tony turned around he was surprised to see King T'Chaka and his son T'Challa following them out the door. The royals of Wakanda were not like the reporters they had passed by, it would be a bad idea to blow them off. Thankfully, the Wakandan king had only asked for Steve and him, so Tony motioned for the others to continue while he turned and walked back towards the King.
“We’ve got some time.” He lied, though it wasn’t really a lie when they were forcing themselves to make time. “What can we do for you, Your Majesty?”
T'Chaka laughed, his face friendly “Please, call me T'Chaka!” He insisted. “But really, I would like to speak more on what Wakanda can do for you. My son and I have a private room nearby. Perhaps we can speak there?”
Sharing a look with Steve, Tony nodded. “Sure, lead the way.” He motioned for the two royals to pass him. As they walked past, he noticed how T'Challa was not nearly as relaxed as his father was, standing alert with his eyes darting around. This behavior continued all the way back to the rooms that were designated for the Wakandan delegation, the door guarded by two women in red and silver armor which looked far too put-together to be ceremonial.
One of the women opened the door for them, and shut it behind them once they were through the threshold. The four of them stood silently for a second, the King seemingly thinking of a way to broach whatever subject he wanted to speak to them about. Steve, like normal, decided to be as blunt as possible.
“What was it that you were thinking you could do for the Avengers, Sir?” The soldier asked, too set in his ways to call a King by their first name, but respecting the man’s wishes enough to use a less ostentatious title.
“Wakanda has always been an isolated nation…” The King began, “... our people preferred it as such. But in recent years, the younger generations have been calling more and more for our people to open our hearts and minds to the world, make friends from other nations. I have been finding myself agreeing with the youth of my nation.”
“Which is why you’ve been opening embassies and cultural outreach centers across Africa?” He asked, figuring he was right, like normal, but it paid to be polite.
T'Chaka nodded. “Yes. The world has been getting smaller and smaller it seems. Four years ago, aliens invaded New York City. Aliens ! With the intention of conquering the entire planet! What are previous wishes for isolation, against armies that threaten the entire planet? It is my duty, as well as my son’s, to protect Wakanda. For centuries that meant keeping our nation secure from any outsiders. But now? Now I feel the real outsiders come from space. And maybe next time the world will not be lucky enough to stop them by closing a mere portal.”
A cold tension wrapped around Tony’s heart at the reminder of New York. He had seen what was beyond the portal, he knew that the enemy would return. And from the sounds of it, T'Chaka was seemingly worried about the same thing, which made him even more curious as to where the King was going with this.
“I greatly respect the Avengers. The efforts you take to defend the whole world are commendable. Even more so, your defeat of Ultron. That machine was built using stolen Wakandan vibranium, and many within my country were filled with sorrow at the fact that so many died as a result of our nation’s legacy being corrupted in such a way. It may have been Klaue who stole the vibranium, but it was our failure to stop him from doing so that helped lead to that catastrophe.”
“Your people are not to blame for Klaue, or Ultron’s actions.” Steve insisted.
“Not directly. But our inaction did not help matters, and that is a mistake that we do not wish to make again. Our people supported the Accords because we believe them to be the next step in international unity against the foes that threaten us all, and we want to be a part of that step.” T'Chaka sighed, running his hands over a silver case that had been resting on the table in the center of the room. “When my council had been discussing ways to help the world, the outreach program was one of the options. My son came up with another.”
The final words from the King seemed to be a signal for Prince T'Challa to speak, and the young man stepped towards them. “Yes, as my father said, I had an idea that would benefit Wakanda, and the Avengers. I would like to join your team, if you would have me.”
Whatever Tony had been expecting from this conversation, that was not it. And it seemed to him that Steve was just as shocked as he was, the two of them sat in their chairs and stared dumbly at the royal duo across from them. “I’m sorry? You want to join the Avengers?” Tony sputtered out, looking at the prince incredulously.
T'Challa nodded in confirmation. “I would. Throughout Wakanda’s history, our people have looked to the Golden Tribe to not only lead them, but protect them. Every King and Prince in Wakanda’s history has also had the role of the Black Panther.” The prince emphasized his words by opening the case on the table, revealing a black and silver suit of what seemed to Tony’s eyes to be form fitting armor, the helmet shaped in a way to give the appearance of its namesake.
Glancing over at Steve, Tony noticed that his fellow Avenger’s brows were furrowed in concentration as he stared at the helmet in what almost seemed like… recognition? Choosing to leave that can of worms unopened for now, Tony instead turned back to the so-called ‘Black Panther’. “You said your duty is to protect Wakanda… The Avengers travel around the whole world fighting any number of threats, we can’t just focus on one nation.”
“My duty is to Wakanda, yes, but as my father mentioned, more and more threats to our people are appearing that are not directly attacking our lands. You have just said it yourself Doctor Stark, the Avengers defend everyone. You do not serve any single nation’s interests, you fight to defend the people of the world as a whole. By helping you, I can defend my people by defeating such threats before they have a chance to cross our borders.”
“This wouldn’t be the first time a Panther has acted outside of Wakanda either, would it?” Steve questioned, though his tone of voice seemed to imply that he already knew the answer.
T’Chaka coughed. “No, it wouldn’t. Though previous times it had been done in secrecy. Our support of the Accords means that it is no longer possible to act in such a manner.”
“I encountered one of you during the war, didn’t I?” Steve continued, still staring at the panther-shaped helmet.
The two Wakandans seemed confused before T’Chaka once again burst out in laughter. “Ha, I had forgotten! My father, King Azzuri, was the King and Black Panther during the Second World War. He had told me stories in my youth about meeting you in Austria, though he said your paths diverged quickly. He had his own mission against HYDRA, and you had yours.”
“Yeah, we fought each other once when we first met, We both thought the other was in our way. He also wasn’t a fan of me having my shield either.” Steve mused, and Tony found himself lost in the conversation.
“You’ve been holding out on the war stories Cap.” He quipped.
“I forgot about it. This was a few weeks before we hit the Red Skull’s main base of operations, and after that…” The Captain trailed off, the following events of his life known to all.
“Sooo, getting back on track here.” Tony began, deciding that the past could wait until later. “You want to join the Avengers as you believe you can better protect Wakanda by going on missions with us?”
T’Challa nodded his agreement. “That is correct, though I must say that should Wakanda come under any direct threat, I will be required to prioritize that over all else.”
“That’s understandable.” Tony conceded “What can you bring to the team? I’ve gotta admit everyone we’ve recruited since becoming an independent body has kinda been in the heat of the moment, we haven’t really done any actual recruitment outside of crises at all.”
“I cannot tell you everything, as the nature of the Black Panther is a secret tradition of our people, but I can say that I am enhanced. My physical capabilities are in many ways similar to yours, Captain and are further assisted by my armor. I am also well trained in combat and stealth.” T’Challa explained to them, after seemingly receiving permission from his father.
Tony stood and offered his hand to the Black Panther. “I think I speak for both Steve and the rest of the team when I say we’d be glad to have you.”
“I agree with Tony, but I have to warn you, we are about to go on a mission. If you want, you can join us on it, but it means that your introduction to the team will be on the job.”
Smiling T’Challa moved to shake Steve’s hand after releasing his hand. “From the sound of it, Captain, that would make my introduction similar to everyone else’s. I would be glad to join you on this mission, I have everything I need here.”
Tony clapped his hands together once. “Excellent, we can walk and talk, but we do have to get going. We’ll explain the mission on the way.”
Their meeting ended with the father and son trading quiet words in private before hugging and parting ways, the latter closing and grabbing the case with his suit before following Tony and Steve out the door, the two of them explaining everything they’d been told about the situation in Lagos prior to the ceremony as they stalked through the halls. T’Challa had piped in to say that one of Wakanda’s outreach programs was actually stationed in Lagos, and that he was happy to join them so as to help his people who were far from their home.
When they finally reached the Quinjet however, Tony’s mood soured. The team was all gathered around, tension lining their entire bodies as they whispered amongst each other, and Yelena had rejoined them, standing closely to Natasha. It was Clint who noticed them first, casting a curious glance towards T’Challa before speaking up. “We’ve got a problem.”
His heart sank. “What kind of problem?”
“The Red Room is on the move again.” Clint remarked, turning towards Natasha to let her explain.
“The leak we’ve been utilizing finally reached out again. Dreykov is after the Winter Soldier.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but what is this ‘Red Room’?” T’Challa questioned, to which everyone turned to look at him.
“Long story there, we’ll explain later.” Rhodey told him, motioning for Natasha to continue.
“My source said that the death of the HYDRA agent that they told us the Red Room killed had a book containing the secret of Barnes’ conditioning. With it, Dreykov has the tools to put the Winter Soldier under his own control, rather than HYDRA’s.” The ex-Widow summarized, though Tony guessed that she didn’t touch on everything yet.
“We can’t let that happen.” Steve remarked, his face stone cold. “When is this op happening?”
“The source said they’ll be in Bucharest tomorrow. Apparently Barnes has been staying there at least for the past few months, but didn’t have specifics on where.”
“So we’ve now got a situation in Lagos that we have been asked to assist with, and one in Romania that we need to respond to, but haven’t brought up with the Accords Council yet.” Rhodey butted back in, his arms crossed as he leaned against the jet.
“Was there anything else in the message Nat?” Steve asked, turning towards the spy.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah, we got confirmation that Dreykov is sending two people to bring the Soldier in. Taskmaster…” She turned to meet Tony’s eyes “...and Payton. Apparently our source has convinced Dreykov that they made Payton immune to the Red Dust.”
He swore his heart stopped for a moment. “He’s sending her? You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be when the information comes from an unknown mole.”
“Rhodey, can you contact the Romanian government? Tell them that the terrorists responsible for the October Bombings in New York are heading to Bucharest and we want permission to act in the city.” He asked, and his longest friend agreed, heading into the jet to reach out to whatever contacts he had.
“So, Lagos and Bucharest. Both missions require our presence, which means we have to split the team again.” Steve took charge of the conversation, looking over everyone present. “Lagos has the biggest threat to civilians while Bucharest will be more dangerous for those of us who go.”
“If I may, Captain.” Vision spoke up. “I believe I should be assigned to Lagos. The nature of the threat is one that cannot affect me.”
Steve nodded. “I agree. I’m currently thinking Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Falcon, and War Machine for Lagos. Rhodey can take point and together you have a good range of skills to protect civilians and take down Crossbones. The rest of us head to Bucharest.”
The team seemed confused at the mention of ‘Black Panther’ at first, but connected the dots with the third person standing with him and Steve.
“I think Wanda should come with us to Bucharest.” Natasha countered. “If Taskmaster finds Barnes before us, Wanda could be useful in shaking Barnes loose from the conditioning. We can’t just count on him remembering you every time Steve.”
“Are you comfortable with that Wanda?” Steve asked, and when the young woman nodded, albeit tentatively, he seemed content. “Okay, Wanda’s with the Bucharest team. Thankfully we’ve got both Quinjets here so we can spread out. Now, as you’ve noticed, Prince T’Challa has joined us. He is the newest member of the team, and as mentioned, is the Black Panther, he can explain as much as he wants as you guys head down to Lagos. I wish we had more time, but we’re on the clock now.”
Having decided to split the team once again, the Avengers began to go their separate ways once more, Rhodey sticking his head out of his team’s Quinjet long enough to say that he passed the message along, and that the Romanians would be reaching out shortly for more information, but that they have permission to enter the country for the time being. Thankfully the Ambassador had still been inside for his friend to call quickly.
After some hectic transferring of equipment back to the Quinjet they brought from New York, the Avengers team destined for Bucharest (plus Yelena) was in the air, Clint in the cockpit while the rest of them gathered around Steve as he made a plan of action.
“From Nat’s source we know we have until tomorrow to prepare, but we don’t know where they will hit. We should try and locate Bucky first, so that we can be in the area when Taskmaster and Payton show up.”
“Why don’t we just get Bucky out of the area first if we find him?” Wanda asked.
“Because this isn’t just a rescue mission for Bucky, but for Payton as well. If the Red Room gets wind of us moving in, Payton will be lost again. We have to let them find him first, then move in. Hopefully before they can activate whatever HYDRA brainwashing is still in his head.”
A hologram popped up from the center console, displaying Taskmaster, and all known information about him that they could gather over the previous months. “Taskmaster is likely the biggest threat. Despite Bucky being a supersoldier, and Payton being enhanced, he is known to the international intelligence community as one of, if not the greatest close quarters combatant on the planet. As such, we can’t get in close. Tony. I want you and Clint to focus on Taskmaster, you can keep him at range, which puts him at a disadvantage. Wanda and I will go for Bucky, between the two of us, we should be able to counter his conditioning enough, and fight him if Taskmaster gets to him. Nat and Yelena, you two will get Payton. You’ll have the Red Dust, as soon as she is cured, get her back to the jet.”
Everyone agreed with Steve’s assessment, the man being the best tactician they had on the team. If all went well, they’d have more information to use to make a better plan before the battle tomorrow. Before everyone went to their own little corners of the jet however, Natasha began speaking again.
“This is our one shot to truly save Payton.” She began, her voice deathly serious. “My source told me that she has quickly become one of the best combatants in the Red Room thanks to personal training from Taskmaster and a list of enhancements that includes strength, speed, senses, the ability to crawl on walls and ceilings, and most dangerously, a sixth sense for danger that, when combined with her inhuman reaction times, makes her almost impossible to catch by surprise. Furthermore, she has an enhanced metabolism that will make us have to use multiple doses of the Red Dust to ensure she is cured… If we fail, and Payton returns to the Red Room, she will undergo graduation.”
If Tony had thought that his heart stopped earlier he had been wrong. This was what heart stopping fear truly felt like. Nat had explained what the graduation ceremony was in the past. A barbaric procedure that strips women of their choice to have children in the future. Involuntary hysterectomies used as a method of control against young women. One that would be used against a daughter he desperately wanted to get to know in person. Every conversation he had with May about the girl ever since he had finally bit the bullet and discussed the woman’s niece with her had made that feeling stronger.
Judging by the grim faces throughout the jet, everyone else knew what was at stake as well. In less than twenty four hours both Payton Parker and Bucky Barnes’ fates would be decided, and Tony could only hope that the dice came up in their favor.