𝐖𝐞𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬

60 | Villain

"I demand to see my family right now. Do not lay a hand on me, don't you dare try to escort me out of this!" Pepper demanded, powering through the high security complex the heroes were detained in. The sound of her heels echoed through the hallways as she walked, looking around for Tony and Y/N.

She pushed past multiple agents, slamming her hand on the glass panelled room the Avenger's had been locked in. As they turned their heads to look up at the loud banging up on the raised platform, Pepper covered her mouth in shock at the sight of her family inside.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, I need you to step away from the glass. It's one way, they cannot see you," a guard said tapping her shoulder, flinching as Pepper raised her hand at him.

"You need to let me see my fucking family right now," she hissed, glaring at the guard before a deep voice behind her told the guard to let her see Tony and Y/N.

Agent Coulson stood behind her, clasping his hands behind his back and nodding towards Pepper as a greeting. She sighed and looked at the door, it being unlocked by a guard for her to enter.

"One minute." He said directly.

She stood in the doorway, sniffling and rushing towards Y/N, embracing her in a large hug. At this point she had begun to cry, stroking her hair and looking up at Tony who was staring at her with a confused expression.

"Y-you're alive... You're both alive," She sobbed, holding her arm out to her husband before Agent Coulson begin to pull her away.

"Pepper, please we haven't briefed them on the current situation, they will need psychiatric assessments before assimilating," he said calmly, escorting her back to the room where multiple agents were watching from the one-way glass.

Coulson walked back into the room, sitting in an empty chair across from the heroes. He took a deep breath, explaining that what he was about to say wouldn't be easy, and that a range of emotions may arise.

"I am going to say this all bluntly, as I fear that giving too much detail initially will overwhelm you. The year is 2024. It is December 14th. You have been on your latest mission in Asgard since August 2021. Since your departure, the Chitauri have disappeared and S.H.I.E.L.D has repaired all cosmetic damages which took us multiple years to accomplish. The people of Earth assumed because you had all left and not returned, you all died in action. The world as we know it now, does not like superheroes. They think that the existence of heroes, leads to the existence of villains. The government has incorporated a national initiative to better protect our civilians, Project Jericho," Coulson begun.

Almost at the same time, every hero at the table begin to express a multitude of emotions, thoughts and cursing at what Agent Coulson had explained; but he continued speaking calmly over the top of them. To them, they had only been in Asgard for two months, definitely not more than three years. None of them had physically aged, not even the slightest.

"Project Jericho equips all of our first responders with defence mechanisms. Whether they be armed forces such as the Army, the Navy or our Marines. Whether they be local police precincts or suburban nurses, they have all been 'upgraded' to be able to fight any crimes that arise. The US government has come to the conclusion that superheroes like yourselves create more damage than good, and since your apparent deaths, our crime has taken a tremendous decrease," Coulson continued.

"What the fuck do you mean by 'upgraded'?" Tony asked, leaning across the table as Y/N looked at the one-way glass. Although she couldn't see anything behind it, she knew Pepper would be watching and smiled softly, waving gently.

"They have all had digital implants inserted into their left forearms to be able to be granted temporary 'super powers' when there is danger imminent. It is a very technical initiative and it may take a while for us to explain in further detail. But for now, we will split you all into seperate rooms and take psychiatric analysis' to deem you worthy of assimilating back into day to day life. Sound good?" Agent Coulson finished.

"Sound good? This all sounds fucking horrible. Everyone thinks we're dead, they hate us and half the fucking country have artificial powers now? How does any of that sound fucking good to you?" Bucky snapped.

"Mr. Barnes, we understand this will be a difficult phase for you but please ensure the knowledge that we are doing our best to benefit our country and our citizens," Coulson said smiling, giving them a slight nod and leaving the room.

The heroes had barely had a split second to discuss amongst themselves before doctors came in and escorted them to seperate rooms. Y/N sat in a narrow area with a petite woman in her fifties, with dyed copper hair and glasses. She was dainty, polite and nice to Y/N, rubbing her hand to comfort her over the table and calling her 'deary'.

She asked a range of questions, some surrounding their mission, some testing their memory of Earth and others that seemed completely unrelated to anything.

"How long did you spend in Asgard?"

"Two months."

"Who were you in Asgard with?"

"Everyone in the room just now plus Peter Quill, Groot and Natasha Romanoff."

"Where is Ms. Romanoff?"

"She died in Asgard."

"How did Ms. Romanoff pass away?"

"She was struck by Loki Laufeyson's sceptre."

"Are you sexually active?"

"Yes."

"Is there any chance that you may be pregnant?"

"No."

"Are you on any prescribed medications?"

"Several for my neuro-chip."

"Do you partake in recreational drugs?"

"No."

"Do you know where we are right now?"

"New York."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"Who are the members of your family."

"Anthony Edward Stark and Virginia "Pepper" Potts are my legal adoptive parents."

"What colour is the pen I am holding?"

"Blue."

She ensured Y/N would not be hurt during the next process, attaching electrodes to her head and a monitor to her finger - to test her further.

"You're cleared as psychologically stable deary, I wish you the best of luck in joining society again. As Y/N Stark, not the hero version of yourself," she smiled, clicking her pen into the clipboard and leaving the room promptly.

Another S.H.I.E.L.D agent invited her back into the main room with the heroes, briefing them on their next steps and what was to happen next. They were released from that point onwards, a media crew filming their release for the inevitable shit show that would be plastered on every newspaper, magazine, article, website and blog. Not to mention social media.

They walked through a swarming crowd of reporters and protesters, a situation once where fans would be screaming their names in admiration, was now a crowd of protesters yelling at them for damaging society. Security cleared a passage for the heroes to get to designated cars safely, in the clearing stood Aunt May, staring blankly at Peter.

She too, was told that Peter had died three years ago but alongside Pepper, had an inkling of hope that they were alive. He smiled at her, waving as he picked her up into a hug, swaying with her either side as he always used to do. Putting her back on the ground she took off her glasses, wiping under her eyes and chuckling at herself.

"You're causing my glasses to fog up by making me cry Pete," she joked, relieved that her nephew was back home. Pepper was in the middle of Tony and Y/N, still crying into Tony's side about the fact they were alive.

What was usually one of Tony' favourite situations was now a dreaded curse. He loved the media attention, he loved people calling out his name in awe and having supermodels ask him to sign their fake tits; now the world despised them.

Superheroes were just as bad as the villains they fought, and without any villains... Who are they now?