[On the other side, Rhodey was flying toward Steve Rogers, wielding a steel baton. Seeing this, Steve Rogers reacted instantly, executing a precise hook kick that sent Rhodey crashing to the ground.]
[The impact was brutal. The baton in Rhodey's hand snapped in half as he landed.]
[Meanwhile, Black Panther continued his relentless assault, swiping his vibranium claws at Steve. But Steve Rogers leaned back, narrowly avoiding the attack, then countered with a powerful straight kick that sent T'Challa stumbling back.]
[Rhodey got back to his feet, glancing at the broken baton in his hand before tossing it aside. "Alright. Is that enough?"]
[Just as Steve Rogers was preparing for another clash, Scott Lang sprinted toward him, yelling, "Captain! Keep going!" and tossed something in his direction.]
[Steve instinctively caught it—a tiny toy oil tanker.]
[Scott held up a magnifying plate and quickly instructed, "Throw it at this!"]
["Throw it!" Scott repeated, tossing the magnifying plate forward. Steve Rogers didn't fully understand, but his instincts kicked in—he hurled the tiny tanker as instructed.]
[Natasha, sensing something was off, immediately ran for cover.]
[The moment the toy tanker made contact with the magnifying plate, it expanded back to its full size in an instant.]
["Oh! No way!" Rhodey's eyes widened in horror as the massive tanker truck came hurtling toward him. T'Challa barely had time to react before leaping away.]
[The tanker slammed into the ground with an earth-shaking explosion. The shockwave sent Rhodey flying, knocking him out of the air. Natasha barely managed to dive behind a car in time, while Black Panther was sent tumbling backward from the blast.]
[Scott's eyes went wide as he realized the extent of the destruction. "Oh, man! I thought it was a water truck!"]
[He turned to Steve Rogers with an awkward smile. "Uh… sorry."]
[Steve exhaled, glancing at Scott with an expression of mild exasperation. He had no words—but Scott was here to help, after all.]
[Without wasting another second, the two of them took off running.]
"What the hell was that?!" Rhodey nearly choked as he watched himself get buried under the explosion from inside his fighter jet.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., do we have anything in the database that matches this tech?" Tony asked, frowning. He had already been curious before, but now, he needed answers.
"The Pym Particles developed by Dr. Hank Pym exhibit similar capabilities," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported. "Records indicate that Dr. Pym and his wife, Janet van Dyne, operated as Ant-Man and The Wasp."
"After a mission led to Janet's disappearance, Dr. Pym withdrew from S.H.I.E.L.D. and founded Pym Technologies," the AI continued.
Tony's eyes narrowed. "Wait—he was with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
He hadn't expected Hank Pym to have that kind of history. Now, he definitely wanted to meet him—if he ever got the chance.
Of course, Tony was completely unaware of the long-standing feud between Hank Pym and his own father, Howard Stark. If he had known, he might not have been so eager.
"What was that?" Dr. Otto Octavius muttered, fascinated by the technology being displayed.
He was particularly intrigued by Scott Lang's abilities—clearly a technological marvel rather than a natural superpower.
If possible, he had to study it. As a top scientist, Otto's curiosity for the unknown was insatiable.
"This is getting out of control." George Stacy's brows furrowed as he analyzed the battlefield.
Up until now, both sides had been holding back. Tony's missiles were placed strategically to cause minimal harm. Rhodey hadn't deployed any heavy weaponry. Everyone had been using calculated force—enough to subdue, but not kill.
But this?
Scott had just escalated the fight to a deadly level. The sheer force of that explosion could have easily resulted in casualties.
If Tony hadn't been angry before, he would be now. And once that happened, the situation would spiral into something much harder to contain.
[Rhodey pushed himself to his feet, shaking off the dust. His expression was one of pure frustration. "Alright… now I'm pissed."]
[Hearing the commotion, Tony flew over, spotting Natasha dusting herself off. He reached down and pulled her to her feet. She was still stunned by the force of the explosion.]
["Was that part of their plan?" she asked incredulously.]
[Tony, still reeling from what had just happened, exhaled sharply. "I was trying to be nice to them. Should I increase firepower?"]
[Meanwhile, Barton and Wanda had reached the north runway. From a distance, they spotted the Quinjet waiting inside the hangar. Barton's eyes lit up. "That's our ride!"]
[Steve Rogers and Sam regrouped with them. Steve signaled forward. "Move!"]
[They all sprinted toward the hangar—only for a sudden beam of energy to blast down in front of them, halting their escape.]
[Steve and the others looked up. Floating above them was Vision, his expression impassive.]
["Captain Rogers," Vision said. "I understand that you believe you are in the right… but for the sake of the greater good, I must ask you to surrender."]
[As he spoke, Tony and Natasha landed beside him. Black Panther stood at their side, steadying himself after recovering from the blast. Behind them, Spider-Man swung into position, forming a line of defense that blocked Steve's path.]
[The screen's narration resumed: "Confused about the airport battle? Wondering who's who? Curious about the stakes? No problem! Let's break down the lineups!"]
["First, we have Team Iron Man: The King of Wakanda—Black Panther, T'Challa! The Black Widow—Natasha Romanoff! The synthetic super-intelligence—Vision! The third-generation Spider-Man—Peter Parker! And the War Machine—James Rhodes!"]
["Next, Team Captain America: The leader himself—Captain Steve Rogers! The high-flying Falcon—Sam Wilson! The incredible shrinking Ant-Man—Scott Lang! The sharpshooter Hawkeye—Clint Barton! And the once-feared Winter Soldier—Bucky Barnes!"]
["And finally, the one who will become the strongest Avenger in the later years—Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff!"]
"The strongest?" Nick Fury narrowed his eye. That statement caught his attention.
Did the Sky Screen mean that Wanda was stronger than Captain Marvel?
Nick knew exactly how powerful Carol was. She had single-handedly scared Ronan off and kept him away from Earth for years.
Even Carol herself frowned at the claim. She wasn't one to back down from a challenge. If Wanda really was as strong as the screen claimed, she wanted to test it for herself.
Thor, listening nearby, also became intrigued.
For the longest time, he had believed himself to be the strongest Avenger—until he met Carol.
Now, the two of them often sparred for fun. More often than not, he lost. But he was never discouraged. If anything, it made him train harder.
Still, unlike Carol, he wasn't in a rush to challenge Wanda. He was self-aware enough to know that if he couldn't defeat Captain Marvel, he wasn't ready to fight someone even stronger.
"Tony, you might want to be careful with this Wanda," Rhodey warned, watching the broadcast.
"Yeah," Tony replied absentmindedly. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this information.
Wanda, meanwhile, was stunned by the evaluation. She and Pietro exchanged uncertain glances.
The screen had labeled her as the strongest. But if that were true, then why wasn't she using her full power now?
And more importantly—if she could tear through Tony's armor with ease… why hadn't she?
Looking at the battle from this perspective, it was becoming clear—both sides were holding back.
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