Never Too Late

(Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago)

Wanda tapped her foot impatiently. Her wigs were still itching, but Natasha told her that she couldn’t take them off until they’re somewhere safe. She said she was just going to check the news for anyone suspicious of them, and she knew for a fact that Natasha was telling the truth. But for some reason, she was feeling… unsettled.

It was the people. They were… staring, pointing. Cold sweat dripped in her back as she heard the accusations in their minds.

Murderer. Terrorist. HYDRA.

She quickly walked out through the least crowded exit she could find, and took out her phone. Said phone burned in a burst of scarlet mist just minutes later.

How did Stark get his dirty hands in those videos?!

No, no, no. This was not supposed to happen. She made sure no one could get suspicious. After all, it was Stark’s own weakness that gave birth to Ultron, it was only right for him to get the blame. But now….

Nearby trash can burst in scarlet flames.

“I’ll kill him!” she screeched.

“No, you won’t” a calm voice answered from her back.

Wanda whirled around, only to notice that she wasn’t even in the airport anymore. “Where am I?!” she demanded, hands lighting with her power as she took in her surrounding.

It was dark, it was cold, and her mind reading power was in a fritz. The man standing in front of her was tall, muscular, and downright intimidating. The darkness of the space seemed to creep out of his body, writhing around the both of them in an erratic dance.

Frantically, she pushed with her power, eager to read his mind. But just when she reached into him, some kind of energy shield flared, and bounced her power back, giving her a terrible feedback in her own brain. The black wall parted, and two… twins floated in, hands swaying in a complex formation.

“What is this?! Who are you?!”

Another shield blocked her mind’s probe, and it was clear that the twins were the source. Angrily, she flooded even more strength in her attack. But just as the twins started to struggle under her assault, the darkness parted once more, and in came a group of three. One man, hands ablaze with golden flames, one woman, floating gracefully with glowing silver spheres orbiting around her, and a girl with an ostentatious looking pole arm.

The girl slashed at her, sending ripples through the cage, and shredded her mind power. Flinching, she threw a shield of her own, just as one of the orbs following the white-clad woman sent a lance of silver energy straight at her.

“Who are all of you?! What do you want?!” she screamed, nervous now that it was clear that all six of them had hostile intent.

The fiery man smirked devilishly. “Those guys are Jin, Kinnara and Kinnari,” he nodded at the first three people to enter. “I’m Apolaki, and that’s Mayari and Bunian. We’re from AERA, and you’re under arrest.”

“Please, resist,” the girl he called Bunian added. “It would be a shame to think that we went all the way here just to sight see.”

With a scream, she threw a flood of red energy at all of them, but the large man flicked his fingers lazily, and the darkness swallowed her power like a bottomless pit.

“I think we just get our answer,” the silver woman, Mayari said coolly.

Apolaki’s smirk grew even wider. “I can’t believe I’ll ever say this, but let’s gang on her!”

(The Rogue’s Hideout, Trinidad and Tobago)

Steve was left speechless and confused the moment Sam walked out the door. He knew things had been hard lately, and that he and Sam had been butting head over Tony’s little show and tell with the press. But Sam had been watching his back since DC! He never would’ve believed Sam would take Tony’s side of things over his like this.

With heavy heart, he trudged to the living room and turned the TV on, but the news made him wish he didn’t. Tony didn’t just stop with him, he extended the same courtesy to Wanda as well. The video was incredibly ridiculous, he didn’t know how and why any news station would air this.

Wanda is a good child! There’s no way any of this was true!

Angrily, Steve switched the TV off. He wore his hoodie, and head out to the airport. Natasha and Wanda were supposed to call in a few minutes ago, but with this news blasting on international media, there could be a chance of them getting attacked on the way home.

Just as he was about to take a turn at the strangely empty alleyway, however, a bullet suddenly struck the wall just inches away from his face. He flinched back, immediately looking around. But he was alone, and the small neighborhood that used to bustle with activity was now eerily quiet.

Dread filled his stomach when he realized that they had been played.

Natasha was with together with Wanda, but both Sam and himself were alone. He looked around again, settling his eyes at a dingy looking tower, far in the distance. He couldn’t hear any other people around, so the shooter must’ve been perching up there, sniping at him.

Steve smirked. The missed shot told volumes about this supposed sniper’s ability. The council should’ve done their research that no sniper could’ve made that kind of shot from so far away except for the one and only Hawkeye. Confidently, he flit around the corners, trying to discretely make his way to the tower and take out this impostor.

But another bullet buried itself, this time just a breath away from his ankle. He took off to the other way, only to have a bullet ricocheting, thrice, right in front of his face. Desperation and doubt started to creep into his mind. This guy is definitely pretty skilled in his own right.

But Steven Rogers never backed down from a fight.

He kept dodging and dodging as hails of bullets zipped around him. Maybe his attacker wasn’t that good after all? What kind of self-respecting sniper missed this many shots and keep trying??

His line of thought was cut short just as soon as he stepped into something that gave under his feet. Immediately, ropes shot out of nowhere and bound him in an inescapable vice grip. Steve cursed and wriggled around, but the ropes only dug deeper into his skin. He continued to struggle for what seemed like an hour, until he heard motorbike closing in on him.

The biker, a man in black combat jacket with a sniper riffle slung across his back made his way calmly and wordlessly attached a hook into the rope cocoon around him,

“Hey! Who do you think you are?!”

“Arjuna. AERA. You are under arrest, anything you say can and will be added to the charges waiting for you. So please spare my ears and sanity, and shut the fuck up.”

Steve sputtered indignantly. “Don’t you know who I am?? Let me go! You’re making a big mistake here, son－”

The man hauled him with no noticeable strain at all, and dumped him on his motorbike. “First of all, don’t fucking call me “son” when you’re barely even 30. Second, if you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll gag you.”

Steve opened his mouth to retort, but his captor pulled a handkerchief and stuffed it in his mouth. “MMMGH!” he protested.

“Told you.”

“Mmmgh!”

But Arjuna just secured more ropes from his binding to the motorcycle, and kick started it. “Arjuna reporting. Captain America has been apprehended. Bringing him to the extraction spot. Over,” the man said to what appeared to be his com unit, before revving the bike with unnecessary grandeur.

As the motorbike drove away, he heard cheering from the houses they passed.

(Chaguaramas Sea Port, Trinidad) 

It has been a long while since the last time she faced a baseline human that could give her a workout, especially with injured legs. But Srikandi was obviously just toying with her right now. She moved like a blur, evading her bites and shots, not even bothering to draw her own guns again, opting to hit her bare-handed (and footed) instead.

“This is the perfection you were talking about?” she mocked.

Natasha gritted her teeth and reached for the electricity grenade Stark had given her for the confrontation in Germany. Just as she was about to throw it, Srikandi pressed a button on her wrist watch, and her grenade chip clattered harmlessly on the floor.

“Nu uh. No fancy toys for you, Missy,” she said cheerfully, kicking her square in the stomach.

They clashed again, but it seemed like Stark had given them more than just a grenade defuse switch, because her bites had also lost power the moment Srikandi pressed the button.Natasha had been in a disadvantage with her legs before, but now she’s just powerless.

Srikandi staged a yawn. “You know, I’m getting really bored now. Can we wrap this up? My boss just bagged your boss, anyway.”

Well there went her escape plan.

“I don’t need him to beat you.”

“Hah!” she laughed derisively, “I’d like to see that happen too, hon, but your mouth is writing checks your body can’t cash.” Srikandi pulled her gun out then. “Final chance. Surrender, and you’ll walk to your cell, or don’t, and you’ll get thrown in instead.”

“Try me.”

Srikandi smiled turned cold. “Your choice.” She danced out of Natasha’s line of sight.

Before she could even retaliate, bullets flew around her, grazing her muscles, puncturing the tendons with surgical precision. Limb by limb, Natasha fell to the floor. She tried to roll out of the way, but Srikandi’s assault was unending. Her own guns had fallen from her grip, and now all she could do was curl on the floor, trying to guard her torso.

“That’s it? Damn, I thought I brought the low calibers. Should’ve brought the BB guns instead, huh?”

That would explain why she wasn’t bleeding to death by now.

“You had enough? Bullets don’t grow on trees, you know.”

Natasha knew that it was time to give up, but not before she set the stage for another resistance. “I won’t talk until I have a lawyer.”

“Tell that to your jailers. I’m just the delivery girl.”

“I won’t stand for internment.”

Srikandi tossed an innocuous disks that exploded into thousands of metal strings that bundled her up in seconds. “You would know all about illegal custody, won’t you, Black Widow?”

Natasha swallowed her pride when Srikandi attached a lasso around her bondage and started to drag her like a sack of potato. “The people won’t let you get away with it if you ever make the Avengers disappear without trial.”

“Why would I catch them? They didn’t break any laws.”

“We’re the Avengers.”

“Uh… no? I’m with AERA, and you’re with a band of terrorists. Get it right.”

Natasha didn’t say anything else the whole way to Srikandi’s car.

(Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago)

Wanda threw waves after waves of magic at her assailants, one hand held up to maintain the circular shield that surrounded her. She had tried to bend their minds, time and time again, but the twins and the girl with pole arm kept countering it.

So far, those three hadn’t shown any energy manipulation like their other companions, so they were her focus of attack. But each time an attack got through Apolaki’s golden inferno and Mayari’s barrage of silver beam, the muscled man simply flicked a finger and darkness would swallow her magic and spit it back out at her.

She dodged a particularly harsh silver light, but her escape was cut short by the slicing blade of Bunian’s pole arm. Angrily, she thrust her hand out at her, but the darkness coagulate in front of her fist and morphed into a portal, through which Jin sprang out and grabbed her hand harshly.

The man twirled her around by her hand, holding her in a lock. “What rotten manners,” he said dismissively. “Shall I teach you a lesson in etiquette?”

Dark walls turned into shadowy tentacles that grabbed her wrist and threw her away like a rag-doll.

She used her magic to stabilized her landing, but Apolaki and Mayari’s bombardment chased her around the black cage. “Can’t teach this dog new tricks, Jin-O,” the fiery man sneered.

“I don’t know, I kinda think I’d like to see her groveling,” Mayari countered, silver spheres burning bright with power.

“I’ll never grovel to weaklings like you!”

“True power comes from restraint,” one of the twin chanted mysteriously.

“Restraint comes from discipline,” the other continued.

They both moved their hands in synchronous dance, sending barriers around her like a cell. “Discipline is the true measure of one’s strength,” they concluded at the same time, voice blank and devoid of emotion.

“You know you’re milking that creepy twins trope too much, right?” Bunian said, planting her weapon into the ground with a loud clang. The vibration raced through the barrier-cell, creating loud noise she was sure only she could hear. “Whose quotes even was that? I don’t think I read that in Arts of War, but that sounded Sun Tzu-ish.”

“No, we made that up just now,” they answered, still with their annoyingly blank voice.

“Wonderful. You really are creepy.”

“Arjuna and Srikandi have already caught their targets,” one of the twins said, unflinching even as she flung her magic into her face.

“Should we wrap this up, then?” Jin asked with a wave of his hand, swallowing her spell into his darkness.

As if on cue, the six of them amped-up their offensive, sending waves upon waves of attacks of flames, rays, and blades of shadow and steel. Jin locked his hands in a complicated arrangement, and darkness solidified all around, making platforms that Apolaki jumped around from. He danced on the air, not unlike how Mayari soared, held up by her silver aura. Now his meteor-like flames rained down on her from every direction, and she was reduced to holding the barrier without being able to retaliate.

Mayari floated down to her eye level, her orbs already combining into a large, moon-like sphere of pure energy. Distantly, she realized how Apolaki had landed on the opposite side of her barrier, golden flames gathered in his palm and held aloft like a miniature sun. Both sent forward their attacks, and her barrier finally failed when the powers clashed with her being stuck in the middle.

The noise in her head suddenly picked up again, reaching a deafening level. She cried out in pain, and fell into her knees. Immediately, the darkness collapsed on her, latching itself unto her skin like a skintight suit.

And then, the feeling of a collar around her neck was the last thing she felt before the darkness consumed her whole.

(United Nations Detention Unit, The Hague, Netherlands)

When they brought in Wanda to the neighboring cell, unconscious and collared, Steve quickly stood and pounded his fist into the glass walls. But they had somehow made the cell not only strong enough to keep him in, but also soundproofed it. The man that dragged Wanda in didn’t even look in his direction, much less heard him.

To think that Tony retrofitted his tech to this drab of a jail in Europe, just to keep them away. Steve had never met a man with less honor than the disgraceful billionaire. He pounded on the wall again, but before his fist made a contact, the door opened again, and in walked a blonde dame in a man’s suit. The woman reached for the suit’s pocket, pullet a small device out and pressed a button. Suddenly, voices came flooding in to his cell.

“Who are you?! Where am I??”

“You are in the United Nations Detention Unit, in Den Haag, Netherlands,” the dame answered in an accented english. “My name is Eline de Haas. I will act as your court-appointed attorney during your trials by the United Nations.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god we actually got one…. Eline, isn’t it?”

“You may address me only by my surname, Mr. Rogers. And I represent only you, not the others. They will get their own attorney soon enough.”

Steve flinched at her cold, clinical tone. “I… ah, okay, Miss… de Haas? Are you going to let me out now, or…?”

Eline’s eyebrow shot up, but she said nothing as she nodded a thanks when a man brought in a chair and set it in front of Steve’s cell. “Let you out? I suppose you mean for your consultation? No, Mr. Rogers, I am not letting you out. The United Nations and the Kingdom of the Netherlands have deemed you a security risk, and thus, are not to be let out at any time except for your trials until a more suitable arrangement have been made.”

“I－That’s outrageous! I’m not a danger to your country!”

“Multiple sovereign nations beg to differ, Mr. Rogers. We are to have all our meetings here, and that is final.” She gestured at his bed. “You may sit down.”

“I thought you were supposed to be on my side,” he accused.

“I am supposed to make sure you get as light a punishment as you can. My country has generously offered her service through mine, and I will fulfill that duty, regardless of my personal opinions on it. During our interaction, you may expect me to give with nothing but professionalism and total honesty, and I expect the same from you. It is imperative that I know every little details that may make or break your case. Spare nothing, hide nothing, make-up nothing.”

Steve was speechless.

“Do you agree with this term, or must I resign and get another co-worker of mine to deal with your case?”

“I－Sure,” he bit angrily. “Are we gonna stay here for the trial too? Video call the judge from our cells?”

“Trials, Mr. Rogers. Plural. And no, you are to attend your trials in person. So will Miss Romanova and Mr. Wilson. Miss Maximoff, however, has been deemed an even higher security risk than you and Miss Romanova combined. She will not leave her cell at all until all the portable power suppression systems have been tested more thoroughly.”

Rage filled him at the injustice of it all. “She’s just a kid! She doesn’t deserve to be treated like that!”

But Eline simply scribbled a few notes in her paper, looking unfazed. “By legal definition of Sokovia, her home country, United States of America, your home country, and Netherlands, the country who very reluctantly houses her as she waits for her trials, A woman encroaching her mid-twenties is not a child.”

Steve sputtered. “She was manipulated! Wanda’s a good kid!”

Eline held her hand up. “Enough. You obviously have a lot of attachment to Miss Maximoff, and you can be sure I’ll study this fact again to see if it will play in our favor or against it. But for now, it is you that I want to learn more about.”

“Fine!” he spat. “Go on, I’m sure you’d like nothing more than to get over this sooner.”

“As should you, Mr. Rogers. We will work backwards, starting from the most recent events, and back to as far as we can go. Tell me about the events in Trinidad. And remember, Mr. Rogers, if you hide any unsavory details, and the prosecutors produce evidence that reveal them, your defense will be knocked down even quicker than you can say Mississippi.”

(Stark Tower, Manhattan, New York City)

“Pull that wire, the red one… yeah, cool.”

“But why the… ooh…. Yeah, I see. Think this will work, Peter?”

“Only one way to find out, Har.”

“I’m not feeling like sticking on the ceiling for 3 hours while you trial-and-error’d a web solvent, surprisingly.”

“That was one time!”

“3 hours, Pete! Dad have that video saved in his server forever now.”

“Aw… sorry? I’m pretty sure he won’t actually use it?”

The lab’s door opened and Tony strutted in with a smile on his face. “Think again, Spider-Boy. I save all of my kiddos’ embarrassing videos for future reference. In case any of you ever hit that rebellious stage, you know?”

Harley pouted. “I’m rebelling now. This is clearly an abuse, and I will not stand for it. Peter, back me up.”

“Uh….” he hedged, trying to hide a smirk.

“Really?! After I stick upside down on the ceiling for 3 hours for you?? Peter, why?!”

Tony guffawed and slung an arm on his shoulders. “Okay, you know what, save all our family footage in my server, F.R.I.D.A.Y..”

“Yes, Boss,” the A.I.’s answer came almost like a laughter.

“Daaad!” Harley protested, even when his mouth were stretched in a grin.

“Can it before I bring out the dad jokes, Kiddo,” Tony said, wiggling his finger comically.

Peter laughed out loud. “No, please, god no. Anything but dad jokes.”

“I’m hurt, Pete. My dad jokes are the best ever.” He inclined his head and whispered, “Especially when I’m a husband soon.”

Both Harley and he gasped. “Wait, you proposed?! When??”

“Did she say yes?? She said yes, right?? Cus you’re getting married??” Harley asked excitedly.

Tony scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Well… not exactly? Not yet, at least. Our councilor told me that we’re basically ready, and if I want to go for it, I should…. What do you think?”

His last question came a little softer, like Tony wasn’t sure that he was actually ready for it, but Peter made sure he got his answer through a hug instead. “She’d be so happy, Dad… seriously, go get her, already!”

“Wait, you haven’t proposed? Does that mean I get to plan it?? Oh my god, Dad, you gotta let me and Peter and Hailey help you out! And Tracy! And Cassidy!”

“Ooh! What about Rhodey?? And Vision! Wait, did you tell anyone else yet? Are we the first?”

Tony chuckled and mussed their hair. “Alright, calm down you rugrats. I just came from Rhodey’s, obviously. He’s gonna be my best man, you’re the flower boys, of course he came first.” Tony pinched their noses when they scowled. “Kidding. Hailey’s insisting on taking Cassidy “flower throwing”, as she said. You guys can be the ring bearers. Speaking of which….”

The door opened again, this time letting Happy in. “You called? You said it’s an emergency.” the man asked gruffly.

“Ah, but it is, my friend. A… ring emergency,” Tony answered with a wink. But Happy’s face went blank for a second and Tony faltered. “You… still have it right? The Ring?”

“The DVD? Yeah, I still got it. Thought you hated that movie.”

Tony laughed nervously. “Hap, c’mon… you’re messing with me, right?” Tony’s eyes went wide just a little bit more. “Right?” he pleaded again.

And then, after a tense silence, Happy doubled over in laughter. “Jesus, you should see your face!”

“Not funny, Hap. I almost had a heart attack. Again,” Tony grumbled, visibly relaxing.

“Yeah, course I got it.” Happy reached to his pocket, and pulled out a beautiful engagement ring. “I’ve been carrying this since 2008. It’s gonna be weird not having to check for it every 5 minutes again.”

Tony’s smile softened as he closed Happy’s hand around the proffered ring. “Well, I’m gonna need you to hold on to that just a little bit longer, okay? I can’t just pop the question without any prep－”

“I’m home!” Pepper’s cheerful voice came from outside the room.

All of them froze on the spot, before hectically tried to act normal. Harley went to the desk and grabbed a random textbook, not noticing that it had Peter’s name scrawled on the cover… and that he held it upside down. Peter peered into a microscope, but almost gauged his eye out because he was so jittery. Tony looked like he was seconds away from a panic attack, and just threw himself to a nearby sofa and proceeded to take a “draw me like one of your french girls” pose.

Happy just stuck his hands into his suit’s pocket, looking disgustedly at all of them.

Pepper poked her head in, blinking confusedly when she took in the weird scene in front of her. “Uh… hi? Am I interrupting something?”

Happy rolled his eyes and ushered her out. “Just father and sons being weird, Pep. C’mon, I heard Rhodey was looking for you.”

“Nice to see you too, Honey!” Tony called out, still frozen in his ridiculous pose.

“You want to propose to her? With that skill?” Peter asked, still rubbing his sore right eye.

Tony glared at him. “I panicked, okay?”

“Yeah, you’re gonna need a lot of help, Dad,” Harley chimed in, looking a little shaken himself.

“Speak for yourself, Rekrap Retep.”

Harley turned the textbook and scowled. “Hey, I’m not the one proposing to the Pepper Potts.”

“And I’m the Tony Stark, kid. I don’t see your point.”

“His point is that the Tony stark just impersonated Kate Winslet because the Pepper Potts, who has been in relationship with him since way back when, made him nervous.”

“This is disrespect. I’m bringing this to Hannah and May.”

“Mom would probably just laugh at you, to be honest.”

“And I think May would cry… after she laugh at you first.”

Tony scowled at them.

“But for real, though. Can we help with the proposal? Pretty please?” Harley begged.

Tony sighed. “Fine, just don’t spill the bean on Pepper, Okay?”

Peter held up three fingers. “I volunteer.”

“Pretty sure it’s supposed to be “scout’s honor” instead, but sure. Fanboy all you want.”

“It’s a great movie, alright??”

“Yes, yes. Got it.” Tony rose and walked to the door. “I’ll leave you to it. Just please try not to destroy the lab, okay? We’re celebrating your 16^th birthday here.”

Harley kicked his shin.

Peter stuttered, “Uh… yeah. About that? You might wanna sit down, Dad.”