Philophobia ➤ W.M.

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  Wind disrupted Astrilde's hair as she sat on the edge of a roof. Her vantage point allowed her to see the ensuing battle below, where Tony and Cap stood, an uncomfortable amount of distance between them. Astrilde closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself from bad memories.

  Astrilde knew the reasons for the tension, and she regretfully knew part of it was out of love. Not for each other, but Steve's love for Bucky. Natasha had stayed for her love of the people within the team, even if she claimed it was to "clear the red from her ledger". Astrilde was too close to the problems starting this fight, and she refused to put herself near it. There was a difference between fighting for political reasons and fighting for personal, no matter how fine the line was.

  By the time Astrilde opened her eyes, a new individual stepped out onto the playing field. After stealing Steve's shield and landing neatly on a nearby container, he introduced himself as Spider-Man. She grimaced at his young voice, but didn't mention anything. Sam started speaking through the com, but she could barely hear him over the rush of her own blood. Not that she needed to.

  Team Cap, as they so lovingly referred to themselves as, had no clue that she had a direct line to them. She had nicked a com from the new guy when he wasn't looking, before leaving them to gather themselves. She had also left Wanda, but only because of encouragement from Wanda's side.

  Her gaze drifted down to her hands. She was falling apart, knowing just how badly this was going to end. She loved them all, so how could she bring herself to fight against them? She shook her head, looking back up. Brown eyes met brown when she landed on Tony. He looked at her as if wondering if she was on Steve's team. Teams, as if they were children playing a game. Still, Astrilde shook her head 'no', because she wouldn't fight in their war. He seemed semi-surprised, but looked away from her.

  Astrilde watched as Steve raised webbed hands, and Clint shot an arrow through his bounds. She followed where the arrow had left from, Wanda filling her vision. Suddenly, Astrilde was back in the van, kissing Wanda, trying to discover something new. Something that they may never be able to discover.

  "All right, Lang," Steve's voice stopped Astrilde's thoughts about everything that could have been. She was in no position to be thinking about it at that moment. Instead, she watched as Scott switched to normal size, knocking down Spider-Man. Ant-Man quickly handed Steve his shield.

  "I believe this is yours, Captain America," Scott said.

  That's when true chaos erupted. Every person split off in different directions, and Astrilde was focused on Wanda's location. She shook her head though. Wanda would be fine with Clint, and from what Astrilde had gathered, Spider-Man was but a child.

  After clambering to her feet, the Asgardian followed the spider-themed hero via the rooftop. Suddenly, Spider-Man veered to the left and crashed straight through the airport's glass windows. Astrilde dropped from the roof through the window, careful to be as discreet as possible.

  Thankfully, she was far enough away from the ensuing battle between Sam, Bucky, and Spider-Man. She watched as the red and blue hero took over the battle, and nearly won before Redwing hit him and threw him out the window.

  A panicked Astrilde quickly followed after the young boy, who lay dazed on the concrete. She knelt beside him, her golden cape pooling over the ground. "Are you okay?" She asked as Spider-Man came to. He glanced over to her, white eyes narrowing like he was just waking up. She smiled softly, before getting to her feet. She held out her hand for the boy, which he looked at for a moment before hesitantly grabbing her hand.

  "Aren't you on Mr. Captain America's team...?" A dazed Spider-Man asked in response, his eyes widening and narrowing as if they were focusing. She shook her head, her smile disappearing.

  "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

  "Can't it?" The kid asked, as if there was a fine line between sides, and not a grey area. Astrilde chucked at his adorable obliviousness. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably, as if he was unsettled by her laugh.

  "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you, just the... situation." That was putting it lightly.

  "O-oh! Well, I gotta go! Thank you cool lady!" With that slightly awkward remark, the kid swung off in the direction of his team members. Astrilde watched him with softened eyes, heart hurting at his youthful innocence.

  The sound of Vision's laser beam had Astrilde's eyes darting in the direction of Cap's team, all of which stood in a line. Her eyes locked with Wanda's figure, red powers swirling around the brunette's hands. Astrilde stepped toward the two groups, which stood across from each other like those old western movies Midgard had. She just hoped that this wouldn't end with someone getting killed, like those movies often contained.

  "Captain Rogers. I know what you believe you're doing is right," Vision started. Then, Astrilde's coms hissed in her ears, like radio static. She shook her head, gritting her teeth in pain. Just as she was about to yank out her faulty com, a familiar voice filled her ears.

  "Before you ask, I had F.R.I.D.A.Y. hijack your coms. Which, by the way, why are you using their frequency? I saw you help the kid back there, why be on their team?"

  "You act as if there are only two sides." Tony belted out what sounded like a mix between a laugh and a cough.

  "That's because there is. You can't create your own side."

  "I'm on the side of life, as Vision has so eloquently mentioned before."

  "Nobody's going to get killed, Astrilde. I won't let it come to that."

  "And sometimes you don't have a choice." Radio silence followed. Tony was stunned at the use of his own words against him, especially when Astrilde was using them. The Asgardian didn't let her friend get another word in, pulling out her com and throwing it behind her. She was officially disconnected from both teams.

  Her eyes focused on the two groups, and she could feel them flash as she unwillingly felt their conflicting feelings of love. Love for their family and friends. The heartbreak that came with breaking their ties of trust. It was almost too much for the goddess, but she couldn't leave. She had a confliction of the heart as well, and that happened to sit with everyone, especially a certain girl who would certainly be hurt at the end of all of this.

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