----
"Fury we need backup!"
Steve's voice roared through the comms, urgency in every syllable.
"I'm on my way."
BOOM.
A streak of red and gold descended from the sky like a meteor. Lightning caught the gleam of the Iron Man armor, plating shining amidst the fire and smoke.
"Friday call for emergency medics and fire response. Immediately."
As sirens wailed in the distance, Tony scanned the battlefield flames, debris, and blood.
He turned to Steve and the others.
"Let's go."
With no time for debate, Iron Legion suits descended and swept up the battered Avengers.
Staying here meant one thing: scandal.
They needed to disappear before the press turned this into another Civil War.
"Wait—my shield!" Steve reached out, spotting it among the rubble.
Tony nodded, boosting toward it—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Grenades rained down.
EMP pulses detonated mid-air, scattering bursts of red static. Inside Tony's HUD, error lights blinked to life.
"Massive electromagnetic interference detected. Defensive subsystems online."
Failsafes loaded. Tony's suit groaned, adapting mid-flight.
Then—headlights.
Vans. Media vans. Dozens.
Reporters spilled out like a flood, shields against the storm with umbrellas and raincoats.
"It's Iron Man!"
"Captain America! What happened to him?!"
"Are the Avengers attacking Oscorp?!"
A thousand cameras flashed.
"Biggest headline of the year!" one shouted.
Another barked into her mic, "This just in Iron Man and Captain America spotted at the Oscorp explosion site. Eyewitnesses claim large-scale corporate sabotage."
"Should superheroes operate above the law?"
"Should we allow masked vigilantes to act without accountability?"
"Did Tony Stark just violate the Sokovia Accords again?"
One guy even shouted, "Mr. Stark! Is it true you're dating Jenna or is it still Monroe?"
Tony threw up his arms.
"Okay, we're done here."
He yanked Steve and the others upward. The suits blasted off, slicing through the storm.
"Back to the Tower—now!"
Reporters didn't panic.
They'd been through this drill before.
"Follow them!" someone shouted. Tires squealed. Dozens of vans tore after the trail.
Left behind, only flashing sirens and emergency responders picked through the wreckage.
---
Oscorp Underground Lab
"Boss. You alright?"
Conners looked up as Nolan stepped into the light, soaking wet, shirtless, burned but smiling.
He threw on a fresh lab coat, his eyes locking on the prize:
Captain America's shield vibranium is lying on the table.
Perfect condition.
"I'm fine," Nolan said. "Better than fine."
This was always the plan.
The moment he sensed Natasha, everything shifted. He had to pivot to use the chaos to his advantage.
The inferno wasn't collateral damage. It was the checkmate.
He'd buried explosives and incendiaries beneath the battlefield, right beneath his feet. Why stay put?
Because he knew Steve's instincts if Nolan fled, the Captain would follow.
But if Nolan stayed and raised the stakes…
Steve would do the only thing he could: throw the shield.
The shot at Barton wasn't meant to kill it was a psychological gambit. One that paid off in vibranium.
And, just as he'd expected…
Tony Stark showed up.
Of course, he did. Stark had the mobility, the proximity, and the ego. The Sokovia Accords may have fractured the Avengers, but Tony always knew when to play the bigger game.
Nolan counted on that.
"I'm guessing the press was your idea too?" Conners asked, half in awe.
"They're just sharks," Nolan said. "Smell blood and they swarm. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. Only the picture matters."
The truth?
Wasn't important.
Norman Osborn stepped into the lab.
"Press conference is ready, boss."
"You'll be the face," Nolan said. "You know what to do."
"Of course. Shift all blame to the Avengers."
Norman nodded. He'd already begun preparing a full dossier: 'Corporate sabotage,' 'superhero misconduct,' 'unauthorized military tech usage' enough to spark a media wildfire.
"And the super-soldiers?"
"Three survived," Conners said. "Heavily injured. The rest were vaporized."
"Good," Nolan nodded. "Inject them with Phoenix-1. Let's see if we can back-engineer Jessica's formula from them."
Conners took a breath. "By the way, there's new intel. That chemical plant from the military… it belonged to Wilson Fisk."
Nolan stopped cold.
"…Fisk?"
"The one and only."
Nolan didn't like that.
He could handle raw power from Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and even Cap. Physical threats were manageable.
But men like Fisk?
They were a different kind of dangerous.
A calculated kind.
Wilson Fisk The Kingpin. Criminal mastermind. Ruler of Hell's Kitchen. Arch-nemesis of Daredevil, Punisher… and now, potentially, his enemy.
Nolan clenched his fist.
He knew better than to start a war with someone who fights like a CEO but kills like a mob boss.
And worse smart ones always find your weaknesses.
----
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