A Twist Of Marvel || Infinity War

36. Valid Question

Italy was quite a lovely country. Especially if one were to avoid the tourist traps like the Colosseum, or the leaning tower. There was of course, good reason to visit such historical sites, but the downside was how crowded the areas could become. It would not be convenient for any persons of international fame and controversy to stay in such cities like Rome or Venice.

For such persons, the city of Atrani would be much more suitable- a smaller city tucked in between two cliffs on the Amalfi Coast. Beautiful enough to satisfy any standards, and hidden enough to decently avoid suspicion. One could wonder, of course, why any persons of fame wishing to stay under the radar would reside in such a famous country, and not turn to some remote island, or Canada.

However, it was the proximity to another continent that Italy offered, and it appeared to be of exceeding importance to one such famous person, who wished to be close enough to the African continent to visit at a moments notice. 

This plan had been interrupted though, so the controversial people residing in Atrani were forced to pack their things, which had never truly been unpacked, and make haste for New York.

"You guys do know that putting a hat on doesn't count as a disguise, right?" Three people who definitely hadn't bought tickets sat in the back of a plane, squashed together in a row. It appeared quite uncomfortable, seeing as one of the passengers was considerably muscular, and was currently jammed in between the wall of the plane, and his very unhappy friend. The unhappy friend who had gotten stuck with the middle seat had been the one to speak his mind on the state of the other's 'disguises,' which did in fact consist of hoodies and snapbacks. 

"You were the one who didn't want a permanent disguise." The woman of the group spoke up, considerably less squished than her companions due to her aisle seat, which allowed her quick access to the rest of the plane, should an emergency situation arise, and also leg room. She flicked back her blonde hair as she spoke, throwing an accusing gaze at the middle seat who apparently, hadn't wanted a permanent disguise.

"Well I'm sorry that I don't feel like going blonde, and Steve already stole the beard gig." Sam Wilson, the unfortunate middle seat, shoved his head in Steve's direction, who had lost all of his intimidation factor the second he allowed himself to be pressed into a window. Natasha, who had taken the aisle so she could have as much fighting room as possible, smirked at Sam's pettiness. "Are you sure we couldn't asked T'Challa for a ship?" Sam asked, huffing as he glared at the headrest in front of him. "It would be easier than breaking into an airport."

Natasha mumbled under her breath about how easy it had actually been, while Steve resisted the urge to tell Sam to quiet down about the illegality of their chosen method of transportation. "I'm sure. Wakanda has a lot to deal with right now- apparently Tony has been calling everyone- and they need all the supplies they can get." Steve nodded. "They already agreed to fly Bucky out to meet us, and Wanda and Vision are taking all of the Princess Shuri's attention."

"Why are we going back?" Natasha inquired, leaning forward in her seat and resting her arms on her knees. "You said he called, and that we had to leave, but you didn't explain." Steve looked down at the floor for a moment, contemplating his answer.

"To be honest, I don't really know." He confessed. Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise- Natasha remained deadpan, clearly expecting that Steve had no idea what he was doing. "Tony didn't say much when he called, just that it was urgent and that we needed to meet him at the Avengers facility." Steve paused, thinking back on the call. "He was all disoriented- I don't think he wanted to speak to me. But he kept mentioning a woman."

"What woman?" Sam interrupted, crossing his arms as he shifted in his seat- even though he still had no room and was still very much upset about that.

"I've no idea. He got pretty defensive when I asked- but I gathered that she was the one who told him to start gathering everyone."

"And that's why Wanda and Vision suddenly took a road trip to Wakanda?" Natasha asked. The situation was very strange, even though they dealt with impossible situations everyday. Hell, Steve Rogers was literally a guy from the 40's amped up on steroids and spandex. The trio dealt with the impossible as an occupation, however this time here was no obvious perceived threat, only some vague explanations and hints at something coming.

"You spoke to them, right?" Sam said.

"Yeah, Wanda was the same as Tony. All over the place and secretive. I could hear Vision in the background- he kept saying that 'she told us to hurry.' I'm assuming it's the same woman." Steve sighed, considering the possibilities for what this woman had told them that spooked them so badly. "So I don't know what we're getting ourselves into-"

"Probably some world-ending disaster." Sam interrupted, pressing his lips together and nodding in mock seriousness.

"Definitely a world-ending disaster." Natasha joined, sharing a look with Sam that was equally serious. Steve laughed briefly, finding one of his only sources of amusement in his friends. If he was cursed to be the man out of time forever, then Captain America was at least thankful that he had people that he could trust to stay with him forever- even if they constantly called him a 'senior citizen.'

"So who's the new girl then? Are there any superpowers left for her?" Sam questioned, stroking his chin sarcastically, even if his question was valid, considering everyone they had encountered thus far.

"Maybe Tony adopted another kid." Natasha guessed. Again, it was sarcastic, but still a valid question. Steve shrugged, glancing out the window at the increasingly darkening sky. They had been flying for an hour already, and still had eight on the way. It wasn't the best situation, but if they slept in shifts of two with one standing guard, hopefully the flight would feel shorter.

"We can talk about Tony's new daughter in the morning. I can take the first shift." Steve decided, ignoring his companions grumbles about jet lag and airplane food. Soon enough, they would be able to sneak their gear out of the cargo hold, and meet Tony to finally figure out what was going on. However Steve felt a strange apprehension at meeting the Stark, especially after his cold greeting on the phone. He hadn't expected things to be the same as they used to be with Tony- easygoing and sarcastic- but he had hoped to regain some of his trust. 

It was the very fact that Tony called that bothered Steve the most- the fact that he called without a clear problem or even real instructions. Tony just told him to get to New York, because 'she said you need to be here.' Somehow, this woman had Tony convinced that something terrible was happening, and was able to get him to call. Steve knew it was unlikely, but he had hoped that Tony would one day call of his own volition- not because some strange future-telling woman told him to.

But such thoughts would only stretch Steve's guard shift out longer, so he dispelled them from his mind for the moment. There would be time to figure everything out once they landed.