Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER XLI. The Airport
The airport was eerily quiet, the kind of stillness that felt wrong, unnatural. It wasn't meant to be this way-a place filled with movement and noise, with lives in transit. Now it was the stage for something far darker, more personal. A great place to fight your own team.
Elina stood off to the side, adjusting the straps of her old suit. It fit the same as it always had, hugging her like a second skin, but it felt heavier now, as if it carried the weight of every decision, every regret. Earlier, she'd taken a long look at herself in the mirror. The person staring back wasn't the same. She'd shed her long hair months ago, but it wasn't just the physical changes. The last time she'd worn this suit, innocent people had died. No amount of armor could protect her from that memory.
At her side, her new katanas gleamed, their edges sharp enough to split the air. Stark had handed them to her with a grim expression, telling her he hoped she wouldn't have to use them against people she once called friends. She had agreed, but deep down, she knew it might come to that. There was no time for doubt now. She flexed her fingers, feeling the familiar weight of her weapons, and inhaled deeply. Beside her, Blake stood, arms crossed, her expression unreadable but her body taut, ready for what was coming.
Ahead of them, Tony, Rhodey, T'Challa, Natasha, and the new kid-"Spider-Man," as Stark had called him-formed a line. Across the tarmac, Steve, faced them alone, the tension between the two groups crackling like electricity.
"Wow," Tony said, his voice cutting through the silence. "It's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?"
"Definitely weird," Rhodey replied, his tone dry.
Steve stepped forward, his shield glinting in the sunlight. "Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist-he's behind all of this."
T'Challa joined their formation. "Captain," he said, his voice low, almost a warning.
Tony raised an eyebrow, his patience already wearing thin. "Anyways," he said, brushing off Steve's plea. "Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in. That was twenty-four hours ago. Can you help a brother out?"
"You're after the wrong guy," Steve said, his voice firm but not unkind.
Tony's gaze hardened. "Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday."
"And there are five more super soldiers just like him," Steve shot back. "I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't."
