//------------------------------// // Chapter 31 - One More Stop // Story: This War of Ours // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Upstate New York New Avengers Facility 9:47 p.m. The explosion was loud enough to wake everyone up. Practically tripping over each other, Pinkie Pie and Spike raced down the dark hallway and stumbled into the living room, where Wanda was already standing by the window. Pinkie, in her adorable onesie pajamas, and Spike, with a toothbrush stuck between his jaws, stood in silence and stared at the Maximoff, at the shower of lights from beyond the glass window. Pinkie’s eyes lit up, her hooves clapping together. “Ooo! Are there fireworks tonight? Hold on! I’ll go get my stash!” As Pinkie disappeared back into the hallway with a trail of dust following her, Spike stepped forward next to Wanda’s side. Swallowing his wad of toothpaste, Spike pulled out his toothbrush and wiped his mouth. “Wanda,” he said, “what’s going on?” She shook her head, eyes glued to the rising flames. “I don’t—” She gasped, head darting to her right. Spike followed, watching as the Vision materialized through the floor, rising to stand on Wanda’s right. Eyes forward, glare evident, Vision said clear and crisp, “Stay here, please.” With that, Vision floated beyond the glass and into the tree lines. Both Wanda and Spike watched him disappear together, a surprising gasp emerging from the Maximoff, just enough to frighten the baby dragon right out of his scales. Spike spun around as Wanda did, her telekinetic powers ripping a kitchen knife from a cutting board and flinging it across the room. The knife stopped in mid-air, just mere inches away from the tall figure standing in the center of the living room. Wanda gasped, Spike joining her. As for Clint Barton, he just chuckled at the knife in his face, pushing it away with his pointing finger. “Guess I shoulda knocked,” he said. “Clint!” Spike yelled. Barton nodded his way. “Hey, Spike. Long time no see.” “Oh, my God,” Wanda breathed. She approached the man, the baby dragon right at her heels. “What are you doing here?” “Disappointing my kids,” Clint answered nonchalantly, whipping out an arrow from his quiver. He fired at the other end of the room, sticking an arrow right into the wall. He pulled out another, whipping around and shooting the kitchen table. “I’m supposed to go water skiing.” While the two kept their eyes focused on Barton, they paid no attention to the pink pony walking back into the living room, a pile of fireworks stacked on her forelegs. Pinkie grunted, saying, “Alright, I got about a hundred bottle rockets, some smoke bombs, and some mortars to finish off the—!” Pinkie gasped, her eyes widening. All the fireworks she carried were promptly forgotten, spilling on the floor surrounding her hooves. Clint just smiled, waving her way. “Hey, Pinks,” he greeted. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was damn near to exploding. And she did. Letting out a piercing cry, the pink pony shot across the room with speeds so like her to deliver a powerful Pinkie hug to the Hawk. It was so fast and so unexpected that Clint fell back with the pink party animal clinging to his chest. Groaning a bit, Clint forced a smile and patted her head. “Clint! I missed you sooooo much!” Pinkie cried, rubbing her head into his chest. “You have no idea how boring it is around here! Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting one more time!” “Yeah, good to see you too, Pinks!” Clint told her, clearly struggling to catch a breath with Pinkie’s abnormally strong forelegs tightly coiled around his chest. “But I’m not here to visit, so if you could please!” Hopping off of him, Pinkie smiled innocently at the Hawk standing back up, a slight crack in his back. With all three of them keeping their attention on him for the short moment they had, Clint quickly explained, “Okay, look, we don’t have much time, but the Captain needs all of your help, so we gotta go.” Grabbing Wanda’s wrist, Clint made an effort to the exit. He, however, was stopped by Spike’s voice saying, “Wait, what’s going on? Why does Steve need our help?” It took a moment for Clint to respond. “Let’s just say he’s gotten into a bit of trouble.” “Like getting arrested?” Spike objected, crossing his arms. “Like trying to hide away a wanted criminal? And he needs our help in hiding the Winter Soldier away, I bet?” Turning back around, Clint shook his head to the baby dragon, saying, “It’s not like that.” “Then what is it?” Wanda asked, breaking free from his grip and crossing her own arms. “Bucky’s been brainwashed, but he’s fine now,” Clint quickly explained, earning a curious brow raise from both Wanda and Spike. Continuing, he said, “He had no control over every horrible thing that he did, but he wants to make up for it.” “How?” Spike asked. “He’s giving us information on more Winter Soldiers,” Clint said, noting the change of expression from Spike to that of shock. “A lot more.” It quickly shifted to dread, Wanda’s mirroring Spike’s. “If those Winter Soldiers break out of their prison, they can take down our entire infrastructure, probably worse. There’s no telling what these guys can do, or how fast they can do it.” Turning to Wanda, Clint said, “Stark and Twilight are beyond reasoning, so the Captain came to me and the rest of you. We can set things right, but only if we leave now and get to Cap and Buck.” “Wait, wait, wait, wait! Hold up!” Pinkie interrupted, stepping forward so she was the center of attention. Clint, Wanda, and Spike all remained silent, listening as Pinkie asked, “Sooooo… you’re saying that we get to go outside the law, do a bunch of highly illegal things, and finally take on some psycho assassins to stop them from destroying the entire country?” Clint kind of nodded. “That’s the… that’s the gist of it.” Screeching in delight, and causing all three to flinch back in surprise, Pinkie hopped up and down. “Yay! Winter Soldier Stopping Vigilantes! I like the sound of that! Oh, I am so excited I could just scream!” Pinkie declared, taking in a deep, long breath. However, Clint’s hand shot forward and covered her mouth. “We’ll do that later,” he told her, gripping the pony’s foreleg. “We just gotta go now!” “Why can’t Twilight help?” Stopping dead in his tracks, Clint tightened his jaw, dreading the inevitable question from the inevitable dragon. Turning slowly back to Spike, he could see the confusion, the innocence burning in each of his reptilian eyes. Clint knew the relationship between the two, he knew how much Twilight meant to Spike, and vice versa. But Steve specifically requested for as much help as possible. They needed to leave. “Like I said,” Clint replied, letting Pinkie go, “Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, and Applejack are beyond reasoning.” “Yeah, but why?” Spike asked, stepping forward. “Twilight’s the Princess of Friendship, so why would she deny Steve for helping his friend?” “Listen, Spike,” Clint said, bending down to one knee and meeting the dragon’s eye level. “I don’t think it’s my place to say it, but Twilight probably doesn’t see the whole story the way you and me do. Cap told me that Rainbow and the others got a pretty nasty beating from Buck when he was still brainwashed. Any opinion they had of him before is definitely gone now. They probably just see him as a killer.” “But… shouldn’t we at least try? Can’t we at least see if she’ll give him a chance?” Spike asked. Unfortunately for him, Clint shook his head. “With the other Winter Soldiers… we just don’t have that kind of time, Spike.” With that given, Spike’s expression flattened, a saddened sigh escaping him before the eventual nod came. “Now, come on,” Clint said, spinning around and grabbing Wanda’s wrist once again. “Honestly, if you ask me, she’s being pretty hypocritical—” “Clint!” He stopped once again, cursing under his breath. Spike spun around, Pinkie, Wanda, and Clint eventually doing the same. Through the glass window, Vision phased into the living room, meeting with his feet to the floor and approaching the invading Hawk. “Aw, shit,” Clint mumbled, tightening his palm into Wanda’s. “Hey, Vis.” Vision could see as Barton seemed to be pushing Wanda closer behind him. Narrowing his focus, standing on edge, Vision said, “You should not be here.” “Really? I retire for, what, like five minutes, and it all goes to shit.” “Please consider the consequences of your actions.” “Okay, they’re considered.” Frowning, Vision stepped forward, only to be stopped by the young drake. “Vision, wait!” Spike declared, claws held forward in an effort to stop the synthetic. “Spike, this does not concern you. Please stand aside,” Vision said, trying to walk around him. Spike, however, continued to block his path. “I won’t! This isn’t right, Vision! You of all people should know there is always another chance, and Bucky deserves that chance!” “Mr. Barnes is a war criminal who has committed unspeakable acts of inhumanity,” Vision replied rather sharply, causing Spike to back away. “Mr. Stark had informed me of everything he’s done, and to be certain that none of you would be involved with this madness.” Spike stopped, his brows furrowing at that statement. “So, it’s true…” he said, Vision’s head tilting. “You were working for Stark all along to keep all three of us away from the fight!” “I only did so to keep her safe,” Vision tried to argue, but stopped when Wanda stepped forward. She shook her head, an incredulous look in her eyes, filled with signs of betrayal. Vision nearly fell apart at that sight. “You were keeping me imprisoned here,” she said. “It was not like that, Wanda,” Vision said, stepping forward. “I kept you here for everyone’s safety.” “Because I’m just a monster… a disaster waiting to happen?” she asked, Vision stopped. For that, he had no answer. Shaking her head, Wanda’s voice nearly cracked as she said, “I thought you saw me differently.” “That’s not what I—” Bolts of electricity shot out from the arrows Barton had stuck to the walls earlier. Vision groaned from the pulsating electric currents flowing across his body, keeping him immobilized for a short moment. Jumping at the sight of the electricity, Wanda felt Barton’s hand grip hers once more. “Time to go,” Clint said, eventually letting Wanda go when he was certain she was following. Pinkie Pie’s uncertainty could be seen from a mile away, but she eventually followed. She and Spike hurried passed Wanda’s legs, the Maximoff slowing down until she came to a complete stop. She looked back, staring at the disgruntled form of the Vision. That same feeling came back, the one she tried to push down. Now, they were just painful, building in her chest to see Vision in so much pain. The thought of leaving him behind clouded her judgement, her thoughts, almost causing her to ignore Clint’s voice. “Wanda, we’re kinda on a tight schedule here!” Turning to Clint, Wanda’s eyes told the tale. “I…” she looked back to Vision, her hands slowly entangling with one another. “I-I…” Barton looked to Spike and Pinkie, seeing them by his side and ensuring their stance on the issue. Racing back, Clint whispered, “You gotta help me, Wanda. You want the world to see you differently, you want to make amends, then get off your ass and follow me.” Wanda frowned at that, but Clint wasn’t paying her that much attention. Pinkie’s voice from behind earned Clint’s interests. “Uh, Clint…” Vision fired a golden beam from the stone in his forehead, destroying the arrow and freeing him from the electrical current. “Shit.” Wanda backed away as Vision hovered forward towards Clint. Ripping an arrow from his quiver with intense speed, Barton fired off a quick one towards Vision’s chest. The arrow phased through, hitting the glass on the opposite side of the room. Grabbing Barton’s bow and tossing it aside, Vision swung for Clint’s head. He ducked, ramming his fist to the bottom of Vision’s jaw. Instead of seeing Vision jerk back from the force of the punch, Barton only felt pain in his right arm, his fingers practically aching, like he punched solid concrete. The two locked eyes for a moment, Clint nervously chuckling. Vision frowned and punched Barton in the chest, knocking him flat on his back. The Hawk laid there for a moment, groaning at the pain in his chest. Vision, however, gave the man no time to rest and advanced upon him. If it hadn’t been for the powerful telekinetic blast hitting his back. Spinning around, Vision was almost hurt to see Wanda form of a bolt of red energy between her palms, her stance on edge, her eyes on fire. It was all directed towards him. “Vision, that’s enough. We’re leaving,” she said, her voice careful, her actions held. “I can’t let you, Wanda,” he replied, seeing the circumstances and what would happen if he let her go. He could also see as Wanda readied herself, her breathing increased, her palms at the ready. Any moment she could strike, and Vision knew he couldn’t let that happen. “I don’t want to fight you.” “Then you won’t have to,” she replied. Tilting his head in confusion, Vision was unprepared when Wanda shouted, “Pinkie!” Spinning accordingly, Vision’s eyes widened at the sight of over a hundred fireworks all lit, all pointed in his direction, and all handled by Pinkie Pie. “Way ahead of you, Wanda!” the pony declared, covering her ears as the fuses shrunk smaller and smaller until… Several gun-like shots rang out through the living room. The screeches of the bottle rockets soared ahead to the Vision, either striking him or flying right on by. The mortars, however, were the worst, hitting the ceiling, flying passed Vision, or hitting the android dead on and exploding, sending bright reds, blues, greens, yellows, and purples all across the room. Vision shielded his eyes from the brightness, backing away from the onslaught of oncoming fire. In a last desperate attempt, Pinkie lit all of the smoke bombs and tossed them to and fro. With the short distraction they had, Wanda covered her head and grabbed Clint, racing through the smoke alongside Pinkie and Spike. By the time the last mortar fired and the last bottle rocket screeched on by, the Vision lowered his arms and found himself shrouded in smoke. Catching his breath, Vision shot forward, and with his cape cleared all the smoke from the room. But by the time clarity was present, he was all alone.