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【chapter zero: the fates 】
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Toni Stark couldn't help but grimace at her reflection. Her mother, Maria Stark would have been appalled to find her daughter in such... such a state. Toni sighed in frustration rubbing a hand across her face.
The infamous 'Superhero Civil War' was just over a year ago. Only one year had passed since Toni was left behind in a cold bunker in Siberia, suit disabled, chest busted open, and all promises of family and friendship dashed.
Lying on that frost-covered floor for seventeen hours, slowly bleeding out and freezing to death, gave Toni a lot of time to think and looking back, she knew that could have easily pushed her into the arms of depression. Family fractured, trust destroyed, betrayals suffered. She could've given into that inner voice, one that sounded like Howard, She could've listened and believed that she deserved what Rogers did to her. She could've given up and let herself die on that damn bunker floor.
She wasn't sure which god out there took pity on her — with her luck, probably Loki — but that wasn't what happened. No, instead of getting depressed, Toni just got angry. It was a boiling, seething sort of fury and it kept her warm, just warm enough to survive until Vision and a rescue team showed up to scrape her half-busted form off the floor.
She remained angry, all through the rescue, the long hospital stays, and the return to a belligerent Ross, a frenzied media, and a half-empty Compound.
The Accords were another can of worms that came back to haunt her. In hindsight, it was stupid, Toni wanted to slap Ross' smug face at the thought that he could control the Avengers. The Accords were bullshit. And while she hated the idea of waiting till shit blows up in the face to go and save people, it was a necessary evil.
It was either signing the Accords or retiring. Neither of which was good, but what Toni needed was time. Time to twist the Accords to their favor. She needed time to revise the Accords and present a new outlook, one where both the Avengers and the other countries had their input.
All she needed was Cap to cooperate.
But he did not.
And then stuff escalated to the point where Cap tried to kill her.
A younger, and naive Toni might have forgiven the 'Rogues' for what they did. Hell, she might have forgiven them for refusing to sign the Accords. But, them causing such a huge mess, destroying property, and harming civilians, that's where she drew the line. She might have let them back into her life, but not anymore. She was no longer responsible for them.
