Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Sam massaged his temples. A storm was brewing, category 5 hurricane, right behind his eyeballs.
“So I don’t get this wrong,” he reiterated, squinting at the Vision. “You have no idea where Stark is, but instead of tracking down the bad guys you detour over here - conveniently hep on our secret hidey hole - just to tell us to stay out of the way? Whose fancy was that? No, let me guess—”
“It was Mr Stark’s explicit request should the situation present itself,” the Vision confirmed.
“The situation being him blown to pieces?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s obtuse, even for him.”
Wanda just looked back and forth between the two parties. Sam couldn’t be sure, but he’d bet his right hand that she was performing her mind reading tricks right about now. Getting all the uncensored off-script commentary. He wondered how much intel she could winkle out of the Vision. Speaking of, what was going on there in the first place? Wanda had been miffed, not surprised, about their unexpected house guest. Had she anticipated his arrival?
As if on cue he ended up on the receiving end of a scowl. The corners of his mouth crinkled. Ha! Hadn’t he known?
“You’re on Interpol’s most wanted list. Criminals in 158 countries,” the Vision said. “They will give you chase the moment you leave your refuge.”
Point taken. They were throwing themselves into a modern-day witch hunt if they said goodbye to T’Challa and chances were slim that they found another benefactor before the media blew up in their faces. It was going to put considerable time constraints on a possible search and rescue OP.
“We can take care of ourselves,” Steve argued, unwavering.
Sam had known him long enough to get the idea that when Steve put something in his head he pulled through with it come hell or high water. Especially when someone told him no. That was like gasoline to the fire. For being the epitome of military brilliance Captain America, out-of-this-world trooper, was deplorable at following orders.
“If Stark has it covered,” Wanda piped up. “Why risk the asylum? He doesn’t want help. You have to force it on him?”
“You showed me the tapes,” Steve countered. “Did that look like he had a handle on the situation?”
Wanda rolled her eyes. She made no secret of her grudge against Tony Stark. She was part of the Avengers - well, Exvengers now - and had kept it civil whenever cooperation between Iron Man and Scarlet Witch was required. On a personal level a deep chasm divided the two, dug by no other than one of Stark’s own bombs. It would be a long time until he could wash himself clean of that atrocity in Wanda’s eyes.
“All I am asking,” said the Vision. “Is that you consider the aftereffect of your undertaking. The Accords will be brought up against you. There will be military intervention. A calamity. Out of your hands to control.”
Sam could see how the public going topsy-turvy could play right into their enemy’s hand, whoever said enemy was. If he were to plan a strike against the Avengers, right now would be the perfect timing to go whole hog on it. Split, guideless, they were at their weakest. An assault on Iron Man, the media’s golden boy, was bound to key up the public, justly so.
However, it would also be a splendid opportunity for Captain America to ride in and save the day. Redeem himself in the eyes of his critics. Sam wasn’t sure if Steve pursued that line of thought or if he just felt like he owed Stark after Siberia. Steve had recapped that in a boiled down version of ‘things that shouldn’t have happened, did’ and that a fix-it wasn’t in sight anytime soon. It needed some needling on Sam’s side before he opened up and filled in the blanks leading up to Bucky Barnes’ missing bionic arm. Sam cut Stark some slack after that. Had it been his ma and pa in that video, he would have ripped Barnes a new one too. He told Steve as much, no hard feelings.
“We’ll consider,” Steve promised.
Wonder who had their fingers crossed behind their backs when saying that?
Sam cornered her in one of the hallways. She submitted to it, tranquil enough. She’d been expecting it.
Wanda crossed her arms, puffing up her five foot frame.
“What?”
He leant against the wall, smirking. “Read my mind.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“You’re right,” he said, holding up his hands. He didn’t come to pick a fight. He certainly didn’t come to pry into Wanda’s personal life. That was dangerous territory to wander. “White flag, ok? We’re on the same team here. But I need to know what’s going on.”
She played it defensive. “Best you talk to Vision, then.”
“I want to know what you’re thinking.”
She hesitated, unsure whether he meant what he was saying or not. For all the telepathic powers she had, Wanda carried a big load of self-consciousness with her. Sam wasn’t privy to the particulars, but losing her twin brother had left its marks on Wanda. Being rejected by society for what passed as witchcraft didn’t help matters either. Alone in the lion’s den, she kept her back to the wall.
“I think it’s bigger than he lets on,” she said. “And I think we should listen to him. Stay away.”
“You don’t want to help?”
“No,” she said, but there was no rancor in her words. This one wasn’t about her discord with Stark. “I don’t want to interfere.”
There was a lot that Wanda Maximoff wasn’t telling.
“You’re gonna do this no matter what I say, right?”
He watched Steve continue to jam-pack the duffel. Red, white and blue stripes looked out from under stuffed t-shirts. He was bringing the uniform. Sam had a feeling that this wasn’t going to end up as covert an op as they had originally planned it.
He mused, grin on his face, if the paparazzi were going to comment on the patchwork repair Steve had given his outfit after Russia. God knew he’d been struggling to get the blood out of the fabric. It hadn’t been as easy as ditching it after mission end and picking a new one from the armory.
Alienating Iron Man had more drawbacks than losing public face. Say what one will about Tony Stark, but he’d backed the Avengers with money and tech like nobody’s business. While T’Challa had given them bed and bread, he flat-out refused to fund Avenging. Steve had lost his shield in Siberia and EXO-7 had been confiscated upon Sam’s arrest in Leipzig. They didn’t have as much as a handgun to take into this.
Saving the world on a budget was going to pose as an unwelcome challenge.
It took all of Steve’s superhuman strength to zip the bag shut. Sam wagered that if he poked a finger at it, it’d burst forth its innards.
“You pack the beauty case, Cap?”
“Listen, Sam.” They’d had this conversation four times already. Steve was getting annoyed. “You won’t change my mind. Something’s amiss and I’m going to investigate. Wanda’s staying. You don’t have to come. I’d understand. But I’m not gonna let this slide.”
“What about Vision?”
“He won’t stop me. He said as much.”
“He also asked you, repeatedly, politely, to sit it out. Feel spoken to by any of that?”
“We’re four days in. You weren’t part of the Avengers yet, but last time Tony was sounded off dead he played a lone hand against the Mandarin plus entourage. It got hairy, not only for him. The President was at risk.” He paused, thinking. “We’ve got, what - a dozen dead already? All aspiring thugs will want to have a go while the Avengers are busy licking their wounds. Who’s gonna stop them? Rhodes?”
That was low down. Steve realized, because he flinched at his own words. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”
Sam made a cut-off gesture. War Machine’s fall was a sore spot, a first, rude slap in the face that it was all fun and banter until someone got hurt. Nothing in the world justified crippling a man that way. Steve kept preaching how they’d done the right thing, but the more time passed, the more Sam was convinced that it hadn’t been the Accords they’d crossed swords about at Leipzig Airport.
“Sam…”
“It’s alright, Cap.” He turned on his heels, unwilling to let this unfold into some personal drama, but also unable to continue the conversation right now.
He hovered in the doorway.
“Just don’t do anything stupid.”
They saw off the Vision in the morning. Sam had knocked on Steve’s door to persuade him to join them - and to bury the hatchet over the night before - but found the room devoid of super soldier, bags included.
“He left at night,” Wanda told him as they walked to meet with the Vision. When Sam’s brows waggled she added, “He’s not as hush-hush as he thinks.”
He wanted to ask her if she knew where he’d gone, but they intercepted the Vision at the helipad before he found an apt way to phrase it. Dressed in suit and slacks the red android looked oddly out of place. Sam was used to the vibranium cape, and that was fine, but any ordinary piece of clothing just emphasized the Vision’s… otherness.
“Captain Rogers departed?”
“Yeah,” Sam said, trying to quench that pang of disappointment at having been left behind. “He’s set in his ways.”
The Vision nodded. If he was bothered by the turn of events he didn’t let it on.
“What will you do now?” Wanda asked.
“Restore order,” the Vision said, as if the endeavor to uncover Iron Man’s whereabouts was as straightforward as finding a lost kitten.
The farewell itself was unexciting. The Vision didn’t particularize his plan of action and neither of them asked. Despite her disinterested attitude, Sam was confident that Wanda had more insight than she let on. He just had to find a way to tickle it out of her. Preferably before either Iron Man or Captain America suffered the consequences of overzealous, yet unprepared allies.
Wanda took her gaze off the shrinking silhouette on the horizon.
“You didn’t go,” she said. “I didn’t expect that.”
Well, that was half the truth. He would have gone after reconciling with Steve. He just hadn’t been given the option. And reaking camp in a hurry just to put a tail on him now would be half-witted. He might just as well do the reconnaissance Steve had been so eager to neglect.
“There’s more to it than meets the eye, right?”
Wanda turned to heed back inside. The corner of her mouth quirked up.
“I like this one American proverb,” she told him. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It's befitting.”