The air in the Wakandan guest room felt suffocating. Toni Stark's ice-blue eyes stared back at them from the screen, chilling the room with the weight of unspoken accusations.
Natasha's breath hitched, trembling fingers reaching futilely toward the screen as though she could touch the woman she'd once called a friend.
"What has she done to herself?" Clint whispered, his voice filled with horror. He couldn't reconcile this unyielding, frozen woman with the warm, brilliant force of nature they had once known.
Wanda, with eyes red from the tears she shed watching the murder of Toni Stark's parents, shook her head, "It's not what she did," she stated before glancing at the blonde soldier who had tried to confess his innocence when the video had been shown, "It's what he did,"
Sam reached out instinctively to steady Wanda, his hand firm on her arm, as the tension in the room spiralled out of control.
On the screen, Toni’s voice cut through the room like a blade, delivering her damning truth.
"Antonia Ella Stark is dead."
The words echoed, reverberating through the room like the tolling of a bell.
'Antonia Ella Stark is dead'.
Then who was the woman on the TV?
Why did she wear Toni's face?
Scott Lang sat frozen, his wide eyes locked on the screen now displaying a slideshow of images and evidence, each one driving home the finality of Toni Stark's death.
And her murderer was in the same room as him.
Sam couldn't help the string of curses that left his mouth when it was shown that the arc reactor had been surgically placed and removed from Toni Stark's chest.
He felt sick.
"She still went out as IronQueen?" he muttered, disbelieving, staring at the woman on the screen who had now begun to threaten Steve, even when she knew that there was a possibility that she couldn't go home one day.
Steve turned paler, if possible when Toni turned to the screen and not only revealed that she knew where he and the team were, but also had threatened him.
Superior.
Steve felt his chest constrict as the name Superior surfaced, uttered by Toni herself in icy defiance.
It chilled him more than any physical blow ever could. That single word carried power, terror, and a stark reminder of their failure.
That single word had made the Ex-Vengers shudder in fear at what the name meant.
There were a few beats of silence before the image cut back to Christine, who was turned partially away from the camera, a hand covering her mouth and the other wrapped around her abdomen.
Several moments passed before she turned back to face forward, her eyes red and it was clear she was holding back tears.
Steve wasn't sure when he had started crying, but he could feel the tears on his face.
Christine cleared her throat, closed her eyes and took a slow breath.
Her tear-streaked face turned toward the camera, her gaze hardened by cold fury. Steve flinched at the sight, shame coursing through him like a tidal wave.
Her words came sharp and steady. “A warrant for the arrest of Steven Rogers for the murder of Dr. Antonia Ella Stark has been issued, and another for James Barnes for accessory to murder.”
Steve froze, eyes wide.
Steve froze. Murder? No, no, that couldn’t be right. He hadn’t known—he hadn’t meant for this to happen!
Christine continued, her voice unrelenting. "And for anyone who believes this should be a charge of manslaughter instead of murder, who will claim that Rogers only meant to injure and not kill, I will remind you of two things."
Her words carried the weight of a hammer.
"One, we have all seen footage of what the Iron Queen suits are capable of, how much damage they can cause. If Dr. Stark had wanted Rogers and Barnes dead, they would be. Rogers and Barnes showed no such restraint. They wanted to put her down and keep her there."
Steve opened his mouth to protest, but no words came. It was true.
"And two," Christine pressed on, her voice colder than ever, "Rogers was Dr. Stark’s teammate for four years. The entire world knows about the arc reactor and how it has been keeping her alive for nearly a decade. Do you expect me to believe that Rogers was unaware of what would happen if it was destroyed?"
Steve wanted to protest, but...It was true.
He'd fought alongside Toni enough to know it was.
At the moment, he was sure Toni was trying to kill Bucky and so his only thought was to stop him.
But now, looking at it...
"And two, Rogers was Dr Stark's teammate for four years. The entire world knows about the arc reactor and how it has been keeping her alive for nearly a decade. Do you expect me to believe that Rogers was unaware of what would happen if it was destroyed?"
But he didn't know! He didn't-
Because he had always tuned Toni out after she started rambling for too long.
Because he had never stopped to check on her after battles, assuming the suit kept her safe. He had forgotten there was a fragile, human soul inside that armor.
A sharp sting snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts. Natasha’s punch left his cheek burning, her expression venomous.
“You lied.”
Steve stared at her, stunned and trying to stand up, “Nat—”
But one kick from Natasha to Steve's face had him sprawled on the floor.
“You looked me in the eye two years ago and told me that you would tell Toni,” she hissed. Her voice cracked with betrayal. “You promised me, Steve. And when I asked how she took the news, you told me she was ‘healing.’” Natasha’s words cut like a scalpel. “Healing by giving us her money and resources to find James Barnes. The man who killed her parents!"
Natasha never shouted.
She never had reason to.
One sentence from her could stop arguments at the Tower from breaking out.
One shake of her head could stop rash decisions from being made.
One word could have her opponents scurrying away in fear.
But the rage that boiled inside of her needed to be released.
"Toni was our friend," she started betrayal covering her entire expression.
Steve stood up, protesting, "She still is."
Clint scoffed, flexing his knuckles and pondering if they would break if he landed a hit on Steve, "I'm the one with hearing issues, Steve, yet I heard her loud and clear. Superior just announced to the entire world that Toni Stark is dead and showed video proof of the actual murder taking place. The same video that you and your murder buddy are fucking starring in!"
The room descended into chaos, voices raised and accusations flying. But elsewhere in the palace, another storm was brewing.
In the king's office, Shuri stood trembling, her fists clenched as tears of rage rolled down her cheeks.
“Shuri, calm down,” T’Challa urged, his voice steady but weary.
The teenager rounded on him, her voice sharp as a blade. “I will not calm down. How can I, when you house the murderers of Dr. Stark?”
“Shuri,” Queen Ramonda interjected, stepping forward, her tone soothing. “If Dr. Stark is dead, then who was the woman at the press conference?”
Shuri hesitated, her anger momentarily abating. Her gaze softened as she turned to her mother, but the fire in her voice remained.
“That woman,” she said quietly, “is all that remains of Dr. Stark. What you saw today, Mother, was the rage of a woman who had been abandoned. Abandoned in a Siberian bunker, forced to watch her parents die at the hands of Barnes.” Her gaze snapped back to her brother, sharp and accusing. “A woman who was betrayed by those who claimed to be her allies.”
T’Challa looked away, unable to meet her eyes.
“And now,” Shuri continued, her voice trembling with emotion, “that rage has come for those who wronged her.”