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Two days later, Nolan stood in front of the package Steve Rogers had delivered: a fractured blue crystal fragment, a vial of blood, and a USB drive.
"Well, Captain… didn't expect you to actually follow through," Nolan said with a wry smile.
Beside him, Max instantly released Scott Lang, who dashed over to Rogers like a freed puppy.
"Oh! And this too—catch," Nolan added, grabbing a vibranium shield from Max and tossing it through the air.
It spun in a clean arc before landing perfectly in Steve's grasp. The weight… the balance… it was unmistakable.
His shield was finally home.
"You'll probably want to change the paint job," Nolan added casually. "But I've got to admit… it handled beautifully."
He turned his attention to Wanda, who was sitting beside Steve with her posture stiff and formal.
"Training isn't over yet, you know. Or do you not recognize me when you're around your precious Captain?"
Wanda's forced composure cracked. "Fine. I get it."
Steve gave her a brief glance. Nick Fury had already informed him that Wanda was now staying at Nolan's place, hoping he could help her control her powers.
"Uh… hey, quick question—where's my suit?" Scott piped up.
"What suit?" Nolan asked, playing dumb.
"My Ant-Man suit! I was wearing it that day!"
Scott sounded genuinely anxious. That suit was his entire combat ability. He'd promised Hank Pym he'd destroy it after their mission, but he kept it, secretly. That choice had gotten him recruited into Cap's camp.
Without it, he was just a regular guy. If he wanted to keep being Ant-Man, he'd have to go begging to Hank again.
And that… wasn't an option.
"You weren't wearing any suit that day," Nolan said with a shrug.
Scott opened his mouth to protest, but Steve grabbed his arm and gently shook his head.
"We'll be going now," Steve said calmly.
"Sure."
Nolan watched them leave. A moment later, Wanda came rushing back.
"Can I take the day off?" she asked hopefully.
"No."
"…Then can I come back later tonight? I swear I won't slack off!"
"Fine."
"Thank you!"
She hurried off without waiting for a reply.
Nolan stared at her disappearing figure, then turned to Max. "Check if Peter called in sick today."
Wanda seemed way too eager. Could this mean… the Civil War was finally breaking out?
If so, things were about to get very interesting.
Maybe this time it wouldn't just be two team leaders slapping each other around for fifteen minutes before Rhodey took one for the team.
No, a real civil war between superhumans wouldn't have some feel-good fairytale ending. That's for Hollywood and tear-jerker finales.
Real civil war? It meant blood. Death. Destruction.
When people with power fought, cities burned. Super soldiers, psychics, tech geniuses, when they clash, people die. Especially in a world where even a cheap bullet can end a life.
Max returned minutes later.
"He took the day off."
"So it really is happening," Nolan murmured, brows raised.
He returned to his desk and pulled up the latest intelligence reports on his computer.
The situation… was spiraling.
Public pressure around the superhero registration issue had reached a boiling point. A calculated wave of media manipulation was fanning the flames.
The trigger? Vienna.
The Sokovia Accords had passed, but during the signing, an explosion killed King T'Chaka, the Accords' primary sponsor.
The suspect? The Winter Soldier.
The revelation ignited public outrage. More of Bucky Barnes' dark history came to light, once a war hero, then a Hydra assassin.
Worse, he was tied directly to Captain America.
The dominoes fell fast. What began as a regulation for the Avengers had expanded to include all enhanced individuals. It looked eerily like the initiative Tony Stark once proposed.
Except this time, he wasn't leading it.
Instead of a secret council like the Illuminati, the oversight would be handed to government authorities.
The public now casually referred to the policy as the "Hero Act." Everyone was talking about it. Debating it. Arguing about its details.
And in the shadows, something darker was brewing.
Factions with agendas were manipulating the chaos, trying to shape the law and the war to their advantage.
Nolan scanned through a sudden surge in articles. One headline made him freeze:
> "Superman Declares: All Superhumans Should Be Under His Watch."
"…The hell is this crap?"
He immediately forwarded the article to Norman. "Track down whoever owns this newspaper."
He knew damn well what he'd actually said. He supported Tony's right to implement a solution, not a blanket endorsement of the Hero Act.
This was not Stark's doing. Tony would never stoop to cheap propaganda. If anything, he was probably still refining the Illuminati concept.
Tony's idea of oversight was himself and his elite council.
He wouldn't hand the keys to the government. Not without a fight.
So why now?
Had someone uncovered Tony's plan and jumped the gun?
Norman replied minutes later:
"The paper's owned by a shell company. Funding trail is classified."
No surprise there.
If even Oscorp couldn't trace it, that meant it had official backing.
Nolan leaned back in his chair.
Here we go.
The Avengers already had enough power to fracture the world. Now, someone wanted to drag every enhanced being into this mess?
Some people just couldn't help pushing too far.
And when they do?
They bleed.
That's probably why Tony finally decided to form the Illuminati.
Because even he realized…
Some monsters wear suits.
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