Chapter 5
Okay. So maybe Steve should have set a better game plan. Hell, he was no stranger to strategies and plans. However, Steve honestly wanted to spend Christmas with both the Collins family and the Avengers. He had no doubt about being invited and welcome in both groups, that was not the issue. His lack of a game plan was the weak link this time. He thought he’d spend the first half of the day with the team, and then he’d head over to the Collins’ house for dinner. This seemed like a good solution on the surface, but Steve knew the Avengers would be doing a big dinner of some sort. He’d heard Tony mention a few times that he was going to make sure there was enough to feed Thor’s appetite.
So Steve hoped there would be a way for him to slip away and go to the Collins’ without it being a big deal. Maybe the day would kinda dissipate or something.
What he had NOT wished for was a mission that dragged them all the way to Liechtenstein on Christmas Eve. So there they were in Vaduz, Liechtenstein; a country so small Steve wasn’t sure how Switzerland or Austria had allowed it to exist in the first place. Vaduz, the capital city, was located in the alps. It was a small city overlooked by a small castle on a hill. It would be very picturesque Christmas card… if said castle wasn’t being overtaken.
Apparently someone thought a tiny country with only 38,000 people and no army would be a good place to use as a headquarters. It seemed this was beyond just wanting to run their own country, but their goal was to base themselves in Vaduz and slowly work their way out to other parts of Europe.
Steve just wished it wasn’t Christmas Eve.
“Okay, so we have word that the Royal family was evacuated. There are no known civilians inside. Tony, do you have specs on the building?” Steve said, as the Helicarrier started to land.
“There are about 130 rooms. It’s pretty small, fortification is not really our issue here. There are a few entrances, mostly on the south side. Jarvis says if we get to the top tower, there is easy access through the windows there. It is unlikely those are guarded.”
Steve nodded in response to Tony, as he looked at a 3D map of the city being projected.
“And the Parliament building below the castle is taken as well?”
“Yes, most of the buildings along that strip are occupied, but the main power is in the castle” Natasha answered, reading over the briefing they had been provided by SHIELD.
“Okay, so these guys are not only heavily armed with some crazy weapons, but there is word that they may have some powered individuals on their side. It is unclear exactly what their abilities are as the reports are vague and disjointed.”
Natasha paused as she scrolled on her tablet, probably going through the rapidly incoming reports. Steve felt the Helicarrier start to rapidly descend, meaning Clint had managed to find a viable landing spot.
“Okay, so it looks like there is a strong chance at least one person has telekinesis and another person has some form of vanishing ability. It is unclear if they are turning invisible or teleporting themselves.”
“Are they the ring leaders?” Clint asked from the cockpit.
“Unclear. There are reports of a, seemingly, non-powered man in control. But it’s still inconclusive.”
Turns out this third individual WAS in charge, but he was not non-powered. Clint had been dropped by Tony on the top tower and made entrance through those windows. Thor and Steve took the servant’s entrance and Tony was to enter through the balcony once the men inside were drawn towards Steve and Thor. Meanwhile, Natasha was lower down the hill at the parliament. She originally was to scope the area, see how heavily armed the men in the city were.
It should have been fairly simple. The building was small, there wasn't a large opportunity for civilian casualties.
Should…that is always the keyword, isn’t it?
The third individual turned out to be way more powerful than originally thought. He also armed his men with stronger weapons than anticipated. The only information that was accurate was about the man with telekinesis and the vanishing woman. The woman not only turned invisible but she could also turn anything she was touching invisible.
The man in charge? Well…had they known what he could do this mission probably would not have taken almost 24 hours. It also would not have yielded the same consequences that it did.
Unfortunately, sometimes you get blindsided on missions. Sometimes you fight a man who can absorb the powers of those he fights. Unfortunately sometimes said individual keeps that particular ability secret until they have gained the powers of the entire Avengers team. The specifics of this man’s powers were somewhat confusing, but needless to say between him, the other two super-powered individuals, and the heavily armed mini-army this man had? Well, it was not the simple “in and out” mission they had hoped for.
To make things worse, it turned out that there HAD been a few civilians inside, and that did nothing but complicate things. The men set up their digital headquarters in the basement level of the castle, a bunker if you asked Steve, and used a series of tunnels to transport more soldiers than expected into the castle. Some groundsmen and servants had been taken hostage in various parts of the castle and worked as deterrents for extreme force from the Avengers. If Steve hadn’t known better, he would have thought SHIELD was personally feeding them wrong information. How was Steve supposed to run a smooth mission when even the damn Prince Regnant was still in the castle? Of course, Steve did not find out about the man being a hostage until the vanishing woman showed up with him halfway through the fight.
Great, may as well add political hostages to the list, thanks SHIELD for the heads up.
The Avengers were no strangers to adapting on the go, to scrapping their original plans. One of those choices was sending Bruce a bit further from the action. They could NOT allow for Hendrik, Steve only learned his name after the first 5 hours of being there, to absorb and acquire the powers of the Hulk. Thank God for small victories, like avoiding having to fight a man with the power of the Hulk. Steve would have appreciated a few more bits of good luck, but it seemed like the Avengers luck bank was running low on funds today.
That is how Steve found himself flying back across the Atlantic on Christmas day with an injured and fully depressed team. That is how a 64 year old castle groundsman ended up dead, a 700 year old castle lost its western exterior wall, and why the main city strip of Vaduz would receive money from both the U.N. and Stark industries to help it rebuild.
It was not the worst loss the team had experienced, but it was not the success they hoped for. The loss of life, the injuries sustained, and the frustration at their bad information was enough to render the team silent for the majority of the flight home.
It was around 2:30 pm when they landed in New York. No one felt like cooking the food they had originally planned to eat today. Tony already arranged to have the catered portion of their meal delivered to a local homeless shelter. After debriefing the mission, and being reassured that there was nothing they could have done differently, Steve felt like he needed to do something for his team.
“I know this was a rough one. Our information was bad going in, but you all did everything you could with what we knew. We adapted as quickly as possible and shut down what could have become an even worse situation.”
Before anyone could respond Steve continued, “How about we all get cleaned up and rest a bit. I am going to make a phone call, and I’d love it if you could be ready to leave here by 6. I have a place that I think will be really comforting for everyone tonight.”
Steve knew the Collins family had been a big comfort to him last year during one of the lowest times in his life. He figured that maybe on a fairly horrible day for the team, they might appreciate the warmth that he had gotten to experience from the Collins family. That being said, he was not blind to the bewildered and somewhat shocked faces standing in front of him.
“Uh…okay. So as curious as I am about this situation, I am honestly too tired to ask right now. I look forward to the Secret Santa surprise thing you've got going. Should I bring the turkey?” Tony asked, already halfway out the door.
“And the ham!” Thor added less enthusiastically than usual but still sounded like he had a full appetite.
“Yes, bring the turkey and ham Pepper was cooking. Since a godly metabolism was likely not prepared for. Also, tell Pepper she is invited as well.”
The rest of the team watched Steve pull out his phone to make a call. They exchanged equally confused looks at each other before going to get cleaned up. The mental exhaustion honestly made them resigned to whatever Steve had planned. If he had some mysterious place he was taking them, they lacked the energy to put up much of a fight. The only thing on their minds was a shower and a nap.
As Steve made his way to shower, he pulled out his cellphone to call Brian. Steve would usually hate feeling like he was imposing himself on someone. He was expected for dinner, the rest of the Avengers were not. Maybe it was rude of him to ask if the team could tag along. But after the mission they just had…it did not feel right to let everyone just sulk on Christmas night. He knew what it was like to sit with your failures, to sit with yourself. It was hard sometimes to be left alone to the dark thoughts, and the deep pain you felt. He did not want his team to end the day like that.
So he called Brian, and Steve already knew the man would agree to the Avengers joining him for Christmas dinner. He and his family cared for Steve and would be more than willing to extend their kindness to those important to him.