----
"You just took a swing at me?"
Tony's voice was cold, mechanical, as he glared at Steve through the eye lenses of his helmet. "That shield my father made that for you."
Steve's grip tightened. "And?"
His voice broke through the rising fury.
Since Peggy's death, Bucky had been his last tether, his red line. When Bucky went after Nolan and got blown to pieces, only to be dragged back from the brink by Hydra… Steve had been willing to let it go. After all, Bucky had attacked first.
But since then, Bucky had done nothing wrong.
And yet here Tony was, hell-bent on vengeance. Still clinging to that old wound.
"You think you deserve this shield?" Tony growled. "You protect the man who murdered my parents. You told me my father was your friend."
Red light flared across the arc reactor on his chest.
Suddenly, from behind him, a black blur shot forward.
Steve reacted on instinct, raising his shield just in time—
SCREEEECH!
Vibranium claws raked across vibranium alloy, screaming like nails on a chalkboard.
"You shield a killer," T'Challa snarled, face twisted beneath the Black Panther mask. "The man who assassinated my father!"
"T'Challa!" Nick Fury barked. "Your father wasn't killed by Bucky! He was still at the base during the bombing!"
"I trust my instincts!" T'Challa roared.
That was it.
A match dropped into a powder keg.
War didn't need strategy. It just needed a spark.
Captain America vs Black Panther.
Falcon vs War Machine.
Sharon Carter vs Black Widow.
Hawkeye vs Spider-Man.
Wanda vs Vision and Iron Man.
Chaos erupted across the battlefield.
Fury turned to the one man still standing, Nolan.
"You did this," he hissed. "If you'd just stayed quiet, none of this would've happened!"
Nolan crossed his arms, watching the clash unfold with cold eyes.
"Fury," he said flatly, "your time's over."
"They're gods now. Rebellious. Untamed. You still think you can control them? No. Only someone with power can rule over power."
"You mean you? Or Stark?" Fury shot back. "Do you realize what you're doing to human-superhuman relations? The Earth is surrounded by enemies. We need unity!"
"And you think you're the one to lead that unity?"
Nolan scoffed.
"Fury, your ego's writing checks reality can't cash. You think because you've dealt with Skrulls and Danvers that you understand the real shape of this world? You're even more arrogant than Tony. At least he has the tech to back it up."
"If you hadn't kept the Tesseract to yourself… if you hadn't shut out Stark and Banner and every other genius who could've helped you, we might've prevented the invasion of New York."
He didn't shout. He didn't need to.
His words cut deeper than any punch.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had only existed since World War II. In the grand scale of cosmic power, it was a toddler pretending to wear a crown.
Their only real strength had come from standing behind the U.S. government, masquerading as the world's defenders while chasing mutants, hunting Inhumans, and threatening anyone they couldn't control.
That illusion was crumbling now.
Fury narrowed his one good eye. "Who are you? A Kree agent? A galactic warlord?"
"Don't bother asking," Nolan said, his gaze still locked on the battle. "I know more than you ever will."
---
On the battlefield, Black Panther's claws slashed again and again at Steve's shield. Sparks flew. The silver "S" emblem Nolan had painted on it was now scratched and warped.
Their fight was brutal, raw, fist and steel, conviction and fury.
The others?
Less impressive.
Hawkeye and Peter were practically play-fighting. Peter wasn't even trying. He ducked, flipped, and bantered like he was sparring a gym teacher.
But Wanda…
Wanda was the storm.
She wasn't the same angry, unstable girl who once lost control of her powers.
Now, her scarlet energy pulsed with purpose, disciplined, focused, lethal.
"This is the result of my training," she growled, flinging a red wave forward.
Tony barely dodged, only to be slammed midair by another blast.
BOOM.
His HUD flickered. "Warning: Damage threshold exceeded. Chest plate integrity compromised—armor at 67%."
He crashed into the dirt, smoke rising from his suit.
Wanda didn't stop.
She wasn't aiming for him anymore.
Her real challenge… was Vision.
Hovering above the battlefield, Vision's forehead glowed bright with the power of the Mind Stone.
"You have to stop this, Wanda!" he pleaded. "You must control yourself!"
"I am in control!" she screamed.
But this wasn't rage, it was focus.
Scarlet magic crackled from her hands and surged through her eyes. Not chaotic, not explosive tactical.
The way Nolan had taught her.
She remembered his words clearly: "Don't let your power drive your emotions. Let your will guide the chaos."
A glowing crimson whip unfurled from her hand.
CRACK!
She lashed forward, and Vision countered with a concentrated beam of Mind Stone energy.
BOOOOM!!!
The two forces collided midair, red and gold clashing in a seismic burst. The shockwave shattered the ground, sent debris flying, and silenced the battlefield.
A moment later, a body flew from the cloud of dust, slammed into the ground, carving a crater.
Everyone turned.
Vision.
He staggered to his feet, a deep gash torn across his vibranium chest, glowing with wild scarlet energy.
"I didn't mean to—!" Wanda gasped.
She hadn't realized how strong she'd become.
Had that hit landed on anyone else… they'd be dead.
Vision's body flickered, yellow light flooding from his wound as the Mind Stone worked to repair him.
"You've… grown so powerful," he whispered.
"Since when did you—"
Tony stared at her, dumbfounded. His sensors were still buzzing from the blast.
"How did you get that strong?"
Wanda looked past them all.
To the man still standing at the edge of the battlefield.
Watching. Silent.
And she said, with quiet conviction:
"He taught me."
----
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