Stained (N.R)

Chapter 33

After Stark left Pietro and I in peace, I sighed, burying my head into my hands.

"What are you thinking now?" Pietro's voice shook slightly, upset about his sister's condition, worried too. 

"I don't want to choose a team, Pietro." I looked up at him. "Metal Arm needs to get his mind fixed up, but people are shouting for his blood. They say that the dead needs to be avenged."

"Team Stark?" He asked, surprised. 

"I will never sign it." I shook my head. "It gives your last hope away, Pietro, from being normal, living and breathing and having free thought like a human being.... I am not a weapon. I am not on any team."

"That was my idea too." He admitted. "Get away from this mess, you know...."

"Wanda's killed people." I said. "The family of the dead wants her to be punished. She never meant to. But they won't listen, and I can't blame them, same as Barnes..."

Pietro nodded slowly. "And?"

"But Wanda is a friend, and my best friend's sister." I looked at him, his expression softens. "I can't just leave her behind."

"You mean..." Pietro's eyes shone with excitement. 

"We grab Wanda, we run away." I confirmed. 

"How about Romanoff." He asked.

 I bowed by head. "I'll try to convince her."

"Good plan." Pietro smiled. "Then it can be You, her, Wanda and I. We could go for a family trip round the world, that kinda thing."

Just as his sentence ended, the lighted snuffed out in the room, and sirens began to wail. 

"That's our cue." I stood and reached my hand out, my sword appearing in my right hand, and three familiar cards in my left. "I can store things in thin air, and those guys think they can keep my things away from me?"

 He sniggered and broke the glass wall of the office, not bothering to go through the door, racing away as a grey shadow. "Hurry up, slowpoke."

I let Diana out of her card, flipping onto her back, slapping runes to boost our speed as we chased after Pietro, my sword floating by my side. Pietro headed towards the exit. He then stopped abruptly, sending Diana and I crashing into the wall trying to swerve away from him. 

"Looks like we've bumped into a escape party." Pietro looked weirdly excited. 

In front of us was a scene of carnage, in the reception hall, tables and chairs were smashed or tipped this way and that, Barns, seemingly out of his mind, which he probably was, sent Tony skittering across the floor. A blonde figure who must have been the famous Sharon which Steve mentioned, was co-operating with Ilya. Ilya had her long knife, yet it met its match with Barns' metal arm. 

Sharon made a slip up and Barns bashed her into a wooden table, breaking it in half. Ilya was caught off guard, and the knife gripped in Barns' metal hand. He strangled Ilya with his arm.

I tackled him to the floor, getting slapped across the ribs by his flailing normal hand, which I was thankful for, careful not to slice the guy in any fatal places. We rolling away from each other as quick as possible, then T'Challa sent Barnes skidding across the floor again. 

I doubled back to check on Ilya, who was red faced and trying hard to breath. I pulled her up into my arms and rubbed her back. "You could at least have waited until I got here."

"I wasn't sure you were gonna turn up, Tony wouldn't let me see you." She winced, her voice barely a whisper, then gave me a peck on the cheek. "I am delighted that you showed up, though."

"I needed to talk to you." I sense her tensing up. "About what we do next."

"Katya..." She was hesitant, waiting. 

"Will you come with me, on the run, Ilya, if they won't leave me alone." I blurted.

She looked relieved, and smiled at me. "Ofcourse, but we are not running unless we have to."

"No." I agreed. "No running until we have to."

Just then, Sam tapped me on the shoulder. "Hate to break this up, bud, but they are coming for us, better run."

"I'll see you later." I promised, leaping onto Diana again, grabbing Pietro on the arm and pulling him behind me. 

"Don't have too much fun without me." She replied, giving me a small wave.

Diana raced up the stairs, to where Steve was being grabbed by the throat by Barnes' metal arm. Both of them were tipped towards the river, and just as Pietro and I race forwards, the whole thing tipped off, landing in the river with a big splash. 

Footsteps on the staircase, and Pietro and I looked at eachother. 

"Sam will contact us if something bad happens." He decided. 

"I agree." I shrank Diana back into a card. "Now it's just up to them finding us."

"You let them leave?" Tony was fuming, pacing around the room. Ilya was standing protectively to my right whilst Pietro was tense on my left, and Rhodes, good old colonel Rhodes, was staring at me as if considering to throw me in jail. 

"They toppled." I said. "What do you expect me to do, drag a whole helicopter back onto the roof?"

He huffed, not satisfied at all. 

"I don't get you, Tony." I suddenly stood up straight, and Rhodes twiched nervously. "I don't get Steve but I don't get you more."

"What don't you get," He snapped. "About protecting civilians?"

"If Pepper or Rhodes was in Bucky's place, you would have done what Steve has done." I said. "That is fair, because if I was in King T'Challa's place, I would have done what he has done. They try to protect their family from everything that they can, or avenge them, but you, who are you protecting?"

"I'm protecting people." He snarled. "All people."

 "Quarantining Wanda would do that?" I questioned. "Aren't we all family? It's the outsiders that judges on the result, it's the family members that look at your intentions. Wanda meant well, didn't she? She didn't want the bomb to hurt the civilians around her. She didn't know..."

"The outsiders want an answer." Tony interrupted. "What you gave is not an answer. You heard Ross, a dangerous weapon out of place...."

"Is she a weapon to you?" Pietro moved towards Tony, but was intercepted by Rhodes. "Are we all weapons to you, Stark, like the bombs you used to...."

"Pietro..." Ilya interrupted. 

The silver haired boy twisted his lips into a snarl, but I petted him on the arm. "Those deaths are not Wanda's fault, and they are not your fault, Tony. If we didn't go on the mission, more people would die. You know that's a fact."

"No," Tony looked up, lost, angry, bitter. "I don't."