Chapter 3
Hela had seen much in her long life but somehow Midgard and its people still managed to surprise her. Her son’s reunion with his godmother had revealed more than she had expected. Her list of those who would suffer now included Sharon Carter who had informed Tony of Peggy’s death with cruel words. They had been raised together and when Peggy had died Sharon informed Steve though a text saying she passed in her sleep. When Tony received a call it was Sharon telling him coldly not to come to the funeral, that Peggy deserved to be honored and remembered, not have Tony make it about himself.
When Tony showed Peggy the security footage from the parking garage when Sharon handed over the equipment to Steve and his group even Hela nearly lost her lunch at the sight of Peggy’s niece kissing the man she’d been romantically interested in. It was sickening not because both woman had been interested in the same man but because it was not long after Peggy had been buried. For Hela who was a goddess and lived thousands of years it was not odd for family to at some point have crossed paths with each other’s lovers. It seemed to be a difference between her people and humans as Peggy was disgusted both because of the short period of time between being buried as well as the fact this was the man she could admit she was beginning to love during the war.
Peggy had spent a good amount of time ranting and promising pain to not only Steve Rogers but his team and her own niece. Sharon was already in custody for her aiding criminals but the others were so far on the run. When Peggy looked over the information she had looked to Tony with eyes that made him know he’d regret if he tried to lie to her next question.
“You know where they are.”
Tony shifted his gaze looking ready to run but Peggy reached out gripping his ear in a painful grip.
“Ack, Aunt Peggy!”
“Don’t lie to me Anthony Edward Stark; do you know where they’re hiding?”
“Yes!” He answered his pitch a bit high in his fear of his godmother’s wrath.
“Where are they?” Both women sounding like they were on a warpath asked/demanded.
“Look right now things are safer with where they are.” He said as Peggy released his ear leaving it red and sore.
“Why are you protecting them?” Hela asked her son trying to understand how he could allow those who had nearly killed him to remain free from the law.
“I’m not protecting them. I’m protecting civilians and those where they’re currently staying. Look, I know it doesn’t make sense but I know what I’m doing. I’m done protecting them when they don’t deserve it. I’m just trying to do the right thing.”
“Where are they Tony? We won’t do anything but you’ve got to give us something. They nearly killed you.” Rhodey cut in and the request coming from his loyal friend and brother seemed to finally do him in.
“Wakanda.” They all looked alarmed by that but before they could speak he quickly continued. “Princess Shuri told me why they’re there I can promise you its better they’re there instead of running around where they could be doing more damage with civilians in the crossfire.”
“Wakanda’s a third world country Tony, how are they even staying under the radar? It’s an African nation, other than Wilson the rest of them would stick out like a sore thumb.”
Tony sighed before he decided on something.
“Friday, contact Shuri and see if she’s willing to have a video conference with me. Update her on the situation and explain my family will be included in the call.”
“Of course bossman.” Friday chirped.
“How about we sit down and talk while we wait. Knowing Shuri it won’t be too long before she responds.”
They sat down in the conference room with Tony showing Vision and Jarvis how to make tea the way Edwin Jarvis had taught him. Peggy loved tea and whenever she use to visit when he was a kid they’d have some together. They brought it to the group gathered and sat down once everyone was served a cup.
“So what else did you have to take care of besides bringing back Peggy Carter and getting your friend here?” Rhodey asked looking at Fenris that was sitting in the massive conference room that still seemed too small for him.
“I reestablished the connection between Olympus and the other realms as well as invited Anthony’s other side of the family to visit and get to know him.”
Tony had been about to take a sip of his own tea before he faltered and looked at her with wide eyes.
“Wait what?”
“You recall me mentioning I wedded a man known as Howard Stark?”
Anthony froze his eyes showing he was considering now her wording when she spoke of her former husband.
“He wasn’t human was he?”
She smiled. He was her talented little genius.
“He was not; Howard Stark was in fact Zeus. He is the one I originally learned the spell I used from. He and his people had been outcast from the nine realms unable to return. While Odin sought to conquer and rule he found the Greek pantheon stood in his path. I have restored the connection to this realm and informed Zeus that you still live.”
“I…huh…so Zeus, wouldn’t have been my first guess if you said dad was a god.”
She raised a brow at him curious.
“I would have guessed Hephaestus if you mentioned Greek gods.”
“No he is your half-brother. You and he do share a love of the forge though. Perhaps if he visits you can show him your armor.”
“Bossman, Princess Shuri is willing to video call. She does request the same as she did with you if the call is to connect.”
“Ok, guys whatever you hear during this call stays between us. Wakanda has been isolated from the rest of the world for good reason. I promise Shuri can be trusted.”
They all looked at each other before they nodded in agreement and the TV on the far wall lit up with the image of someone that could not be out of her teen years.
“Is that a teenager? Tones please tell me you haven’t been having secret meetings with a teenager.” Rhodey partly pleaded with him.
“I promise I haven’t been secret meetings with a teenager. I mean Shuri is sixteen and we’ve been talking since she was thirteen but her dad knew about it.”
“How? Why? I have so many questions.”
Tony smiled at him before he turned his attention to Shuri.
“Hey Princess, how’s our favorite group of idiots doing?”
Shuri rolled her eyes.
“I swear some days I think it might just be better to launch them into space. I’m sure I could build a space ship to do it.” She teased with a hint of a serious tone to it.
“If you decide to turn your genius in that direction let me know, I’ll help.” Tony matched her tone.
“Sooo…how did you end up friends with a teenager that happens to be princess of an isolated country?” Rhodey asked confused.
“Oh she hacked me, well tried to at least. It was awesome and I hacked her right back. King T’Chaka was worried and freaking out about it but I promised him I wasn’t mad and that he didn’t have to worry about Wakanda’s secrets getting out.”
“Why? Why would she hack you?”
“To see if I could.” Shuri answered easily.
“Rhodey you remember when I told you how I hacked the pentagon on a dare? It was kind of the same thing. I wasn’t going to go after Wakanda for it, not when Shuri didn’t mean any harm by it. She’s a genius and I’ve had fun going back and forth with her on ideas. The only reason she hacked me and not someone else was she knew I was the best outside her country.”
“It’s true, he’s given me pointers on things and I’ve helped where I could to. It’s like mentoring. My father…” Her eyes changed with the mention of her late father. “My father knew the potential with our conversations. He was here for many of them but in time Dr. Stark came to be someone my father trusted and even conversed with regarding Wakanda’s reintegration into the world. Dr. Stark had my father’s respect and his trust, two things no other outsider has ever had.”
“When you say he’s the best outside of your country you make it sound like your own country’s abilities are beyond that of most others.” Peggy said catching something in the conversation most others didn’t seem to notice.
Shuri smiled and allowed her lab to be shown in the camera’s view.
“Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation in the world. Our advancements are due to the vibranium that our country possesses.”
“You’ve managed to keep that a secret from the world for so long?” Vision asked curious because it wasn’t an easy feat.
“Yes, we didn’t want the vibranium to be stolen but there have been incidents in the past like with Klaue as well as when Howard Stark stole vibranium to make the shield used by Captain America.”
“The potential for such a metal I would imagine could be quite dangerous.” Jarvis commented earning a nod from Shuri.
“People in the past have been known to take what they wanted, Wakanda could not risk it.”
“We are curious why your nation has taken in the criminals that nearly killed my son. He seems to believe there is due cause for allowing this and not seeking to capture the criminals.” Hela spoke her gaze cold as she was not happy that those that had harmed her child were still free.
“That…it is a complicated matter. My brother felt guilty over having attempted to kill Sergeant Barnes for the death of our father. In an attempt to make amends my brother offered Barnes and Barnes alone sanctuary here in Wakanda until a way to fix the damage done to his mind by Hydra could be reversed.”
“That doesn’t explain-”
“You know Rogers.” Tony interrupted Rhodey. “You know how delusional he is and how he hears what he wants to hear.”
Rhodey made a face likely realizing what had happened.
“My brother did not offer Captain Rogers and his group sanctuary but when they arrived newly freed from the Raft my brother saw an opportunity to help. I spoke with Dr. Stark once he had been healed and he had a chance to contact me. T’Challa believes with the rogues here they will not be a danger to anyone else. They are content to enjoy the luxuries of the wing in the palace they’ve taken residence in and do not realize it is simply a gilded cage. They are not a danger to the world or civilians as they are now. They’ve already proven to be dangerous and not yet possible to contain when they know they are imprisoned.”
“They’ve broken out of the Raft, destroyed an airport, and hurt or killed countless people through the streets of Bucharest during the pursuit and attempted escape. They’ve proven to not care about the lives they hurt or take in order to escape the consequences of their actions.” Tony added to Shuri’s explanation.
“When a means to contain them becomes available Wakanda will release the rogues into the care of the authorities.” Shuri said.
“Unfortunately there’s also a very good chance that the rogues will be pardoned.” Tony said with a grimace.
“Why? They killed and destroyed all to avoid being arrested for very real crimes.” Rhodey argued.
“I know it doesn’t make sense but Rogers is still an American hero and our president is a fan. Also there’s Ross that was added to the mix. I’ve submitted all his illegal activities to the proper authorities. He stuck his head in every step of the way and with his corruption is revealed there’s a likely chance the public will blame him for what happened instead of realizing the rogues acted on their own and are responsible for their actions. Too many people are blinded by the American icon’s legend to realize it’s just that, a legend. Rogers did this to protect Bucky, Wanda has never been a hero and just wanted to avoid facing any punishment, Clint is an idiot that hates me, Romanov isn’t loyal to anyone, Wilson has a blind spot in the shape of Rogers, and Lang is a blind Captain America fan that had no idea what was going on and didn’t seem to care. Either way there’s a chance they’ll be back but for now they’re contained. If their location becomes known there’s a chance they’ll try to run again and we just can’t risk that kind of damage or lives.”
Their expressions darkened but they could agree there was always damage when they were involved.
“Why did T’Challa offer Barnes sanctuary though? He may not have killed his dad but Barnes is responsible for the deaths of others.” Rhodey asked.
“Because he’s been brain washed.” Tony began and Shuri added what she’d found next.
“Sergeant Barnes has been programmed with more than just trigger words. His actions show the depth of the programming that Hydra put into him. Even if the words are removed the winter soldier programming includes not being held by enemy hands and to avoid capture. He may have appeared calm when he was first captured but eventually he would have tried to break out of UN custody regardless of the words. He would have studied his guards, his prison, and all relevant details before escaping. It’s also why he chose to run from both Rogers and the task force when they were sent for him. Hydra made sure their greatest weapon wouldn’t be taken from them. He’d managed to fight the programming enough to stay away from Hydra but everything else is still there. So even if he were sent to the authorities there would still be a threat of him escaping and hurting others.”
“What prevents him from escaping now?” Vision inquired.
“He’s currently in a cryostasis chamber. Dr. Stark has sent the B.A.R.F technology and we’re working on it to adapt to Sergeant Barnes in order to help him. When it’s ready we’ll unfreeze him and begin removing the triggers and programming. When he’s as safe as we can make him then we’ll discuss him going to the proper authorities to face trial for his actions.”
“He’s going to need one damn good lawyer not to end up spending the rest of his life in prison.” Rhodey said before his gaze turned to Tony. “You’re getting him a lawyer aren’t you?”
“He’s not responsible for his actions…even I can admit that. If Shuri’s right, and she usually is, he wasn’t even responsible for what happened in Siberia. I tried to capture him and became a threat. He calculated that with Rogers’s help he could take me out so he fought.”
“If he has been programmed to avoid capture and to stay out of the hands of enemies of Hydra why did he fight alongside Rogers? He ran from him before.” Rhodey pointed out.
“Because the other winter soldiers were a threat to Sergeant Barnes as well as Hydra.” Shuri drew their attention back to her. “The other soldiers were unstable and turned on their handlers which is why they were put on ice and only Barnes was used for assassinations. Zemo proved to be an enemy and when he intended to go awaken the other winter soldiers while they were unstable Sergeant Barnes calculated he would be unable to fight them and win on his own. An enemy of my enemy is my friend type of mentality as well as already knowing he’d beaten Captain Rogers before. He allied himself but would have escaped Rogers again once the necessary alliance was no longer needed.”
“It seems this Hydra were very careful and detailed in their control of this man.” Hela said sounding disgusted and impressed.
“They were. I spoke with Sergeant Barnes before he went back into cryostsis in order to know where to begin treating him. Our scientists have also been going over the data from the information dump and have been picking apart the programming recorded to ensure we don’t do more damage when we attempt to treat him.”
“If I may ask, what other contact has Tony had with your people?” Peggy asked.
“He helped to protect Wakanda during the Ultron attack.” Shuri told them shocking almost all of them.
“What do you mean?” Rhodey asked clearly being the most surprised by this piece of information.
“Ultron was seeking a way to destroy this world. He was unable to get the nuclear codes and then he was seeking vibranium. The idea that what little Klaue had was all there was didn’t sit right with him and he tried to expand to all corners of the world to find more. Dr. Stark gave my father warning and we strengthened our defenses to hide our country from his sight. When the attack was over he also compensated Wakanda for the vibranium that had been stolen and used to craft the Vision. Though it wasn’t necessary it was yet another action that earned him my father’s respect.”
Something seemed to occur to Jarvis then.
“Is your brother not aware of yours and the late King T’Chaka’s connection to Tony?”
Shuri shook her head.
“No, father didn’t think T’Challa was ready yet. T’Challa wasn’t as open to the idea of returning to the world. It was only recently that I’ve seen T’Challa’s opinions on Dr. Stark and with your permission, I was going to speak with my brother about you and what you’ve done so far for Wakanda and its people.”
“And what does T’Challa think of Tony? He can’t have a high opinion of him if he left him in Siberia to die.” Rhodey growled.
Shuri looked sadden by that and her gaze landed on Tony.
“I don’t think T’Challa left you on purpose. It is common practice among our people not to believe rumors. So regardless of rumors and stories spreading through the media about you, T’Challa’s thoughts on you would have been based on your published scientific papers as well as verified video footage. You are a genius that is nearly unmatched. The proof of your suit’s capabilities has been seen in the aftermath of your battles. You hold the highest count of kills during the New York invasion, you handled the Mandarin with your genius and suits almost without any aid of others, and you went toe to toe with the Hulk while preventing as many causalities as possible. He saw your attempts to keep the situation from escalating with Rogers and his team. He knows you understand priorities and that you calculate the best course of action. Taking all that into account one wouldn’t think Dr. Stark would have lost that fight, even when against two super soldiers.”
“So from a technologically standpoint of looking at it he shouldn’t have. That’s not taking into account Tony Stark’s personality. He wouldn’t have gone all out against friends, even one that kept the secret of his parents’ murder.” Jarvis spoke up thinking it over. “Tony has enough blood on his hands from the lives taken with his weapons when he was unaware they were being sold to terrorists. Even hurt and betrayed he would have avoided killing the two. King T’Challa would be unaware of this.”
“You could have beaten them, right? You were holding back?” Rhodey asked Tony.
“I have tank missiles in my suit. Yes I could have beaten them but I still thought maybe it was just the situation had gone south and no one was thinking straight. I still had hope for those I thought were my friends.” Tony admitted.
“What happened to change that?” Shuri asked carefully.
Tony hesitated in answer before he sighed deeply looking tired.
“I saw the look in his eyes when he was on top of me. If I hadn’t lifted my arms with the still active repulsers, Rogers would have killed me. I’m sure if not for that he would have decapitated me…the look in his eyes said it all. He wanted me dead. Whatever made me think we were friends was wrong. I’ve never been anything but a resource to him.”
There was silence as everyone processed that information. “They deserve to rot in prison.” Shuri surprised them with the venom in her tone. “Yeah but we’ll see what happens. Hey I know your father was considering letting you come to the states to maybe science it up. Maybe when you talk to your mother and brother you could come over and meet the kid I’m mentoring. He’s pretty smart and on his way to building the future.”
Shuri’s eyes lit up.
“Really? Anyone that’s drawn your attention must be smart. Is he part of that scholarship program you were working on with MIT?”
“He’s in high school but any college he wants to apply for I’ve got him covered.”
“I’ll talk to my mother and let you know. If she agrees I’ll arrive with the Dora Milaje.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to leave your bodyguards at home.”
With that their conversation ended and Shuri waved goodbye to them. The others seemed to be processing everything and both Vision and Jarvis stood to leave.
“I believe we require time to process…and understand what we’ve heard.” Vision stated.
Jarvis nodded in agreement.
“There is much about humans that I still do not understand and I find myself troubled by quite a bit.”
“If you need someone to talk to you know you can come to me.” Tony told them and they both smiled thankful for the offer.
“Of course.” They answered before they left.
“I think I will get caught up on the things I missed since my mind started going.” Peggy said standing up. “Where can I go to get caught up?”
“Agent Carter, a guest bedroom is available where I can assist you.” Friday offered.
Peggy double checked with Tony who nodded and told her that Friday would help her.
“I’m going to see what I can find out with the Accords council and the president. If there are pardons in the works or possibly going to show up I want us to have time to prepare.” Rhodey said getting up.
Tony looked towards Fenris watching the wolf and seeing how really he was too big to comfortably move around the compound. It was giving Tony idea for remodeling the compound. There was still that dangerous hole in every floor of the compound and he had been considering either simply having it repaired or doing a complete overhaul of the building. He’d need it a lot more durable if there was a possibility of gods residing within it.
“What are you thinking my son?”
“Plans for the future.” He answered looking at her. “What do you think of helping me remodel the compound?”
“You want me to help you design your home?”
“Our home yes. This place has too many bad memories and I think redoing the entire building might be better. Making it more open, more welcoming to the future heroes of this world.”
Hela smiled as she reached out for her son.
“We will make this place a home again. One that is safe for you and our family.”
Tony smiled relieved.
“I think it’s time you met Pepper. She’s perfect for helping with something like this and I’d love for you to meet her.”
Hela looked surprised.
“Is she your lover?”
Tony winced slightly at the mention of a relationship.
“Not…not anymore. She’s perfect…just…”
“Not perfect for you. I understand. I have had my fair share of lovers who were generous, honorable, and strong but simply not meant for me. If you wish me to have the honor of meeting someone dear to you I look forward to it.”
Hela was expecting to be impressed with the lover who still stood a loyal ally to her son. She was not expecting what happened when she finally met the woman. Hela for all as long as she had been alive had rarely seen anything that caused her to freeze. Beauty was something she had little care for as she’d been raised for war and to be a queen. This mortal who held herself as royalty, as a warrior always ready for battle, had her eyes widening and her heart pounding. She would swear this was love at first sight and only a few were granted such an experience by the Norns.
“Mom, you ok?” She only realized then that she had been staring at the woman he called Pepper.
“I am well.” She answered him unable to tear her gaze from the woman.
She reached out taking Pepper’s hand in her own and brought it to her lips to place a delicate kiss upon her knuckles. There was a slight gasp that was drawn from her lips as Hela looked up at her through her lashes.
“This realm has granted the nine realms a true treasure in your birth Lady Pepper.”
The blush spreading across her cheeks was truly a wondrous sight and if given the chance she would cause it appear countless more times.
“Allow me to treat you to a feast Lady Pepper, no other is worthy of your time, beauty, or talents.”
“Holy shit mom’s got game.” She barely heard Anthony breathe out.
“I thank you Hela but I’m afraid my schedule is rarely free. I’m sure your son already explained I run his company.”
“The burden of the throne is great, of this I am more than familiar with. What little time you have I only ask you offer to me so I may shower you with the admiration and treasures one such as yourself deserves. Never would I ask you to turn away from the kingdom you rule nor judge you for making it and its people your priority.”
The blush deepened and finally Pepper nodded in acceptance. Hela kissed her hand again in thanks before reluctantly releasing her.
“So…yeah, that happened apparently.” Anthony said looking between the two of them seemingly unable to believe what had just transpired.