BODY ARMOR [Currently Editing]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1 [ᴇᴅɪᴛᴇᴅ]

"ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀɪʟꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢ ᴀ ꜱʜɪᴘ ʜᴀꜱ ɴᴏ ʀᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ꜰᴇᴀʀ ᴛᴜʀʙᴜʟᴇɴᴄᴇ."― ᴍᴀᴛꜱʜᴏɴᴀ ᴅʜʟɪᴡᴀʏᴏ

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Chapter One
Scene One

[UNKNOWN LOCATION]

The 7oclock news

[7:15 pm]

"And making headlines tonight, several individuals died in a shocking terrorist attack at the Vienna International Center, including Wakanda's Monarch, T'Chaka Udaku, who regretfully surrendered to his injuries almost instantly." It is said that while delivering his speech, a sudden disconcerting scene just outside the site alerted none other than King T'Chaka's very own son, T'Challa Udaku, who rushed into action. ...."

The abrupt click of the dial on the remote control dissipated the articulate acoustics of the news reporter's voice into the background. Alternatively, her eardrums were deluged by the loud and prevalent walloping of her heartbeat. "This is..." Her shallow voice trailed off in disbelief, her dread-filled eyes fixed on the harrowing scene of a dilapidated building on the television screen. Just then, the sound of a slamming door fills the air, and hasty footsteps get closer with each passing second until the body of a slumped-over and out-of-breath man is leaning against the doorway to their shared apartment's living room. "Did you hear the news?" He asks through stifled breaths, his worried eyes searching for hers. Gulping down the knot in her throat, her right hand shot up, and a tenuous finger pointed towards the television. Following its lead, his eyes widened mildly, and a look of blame washed over his face. "What on earth happened today, Micah?" She implores, her teeth clenched, her tone low and disturbed. As he walks into the room, he sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "I know, Sage, this is bad-"

"No, this is madness..." She interrupts him. The longer the information stayed in her thoughts, the more enraged she became. This was never supposed to happen; innocent civilians were never supposed to be involved or become casualties."

"I understand how you feel," Micah asserts as he settles beside her. "Remember, Sage, we're both in this conflict together, and this is the last thing I'd want to happen as a result of it." He carefully reaches for her hands and encircles them in his warm embrace, drawing all of her attention to him. "We could have avoided this; if we had been present, it would not have transpired."

"But instead, I turn on the television, and this is what I see... It's insane, Micah," she mutters under her breath, squeezing his hands rigidly. "I know, and I agree, but what else can we do?" he argues. "I'm not invincible or endowed with superhuman abilities; I'm just a decent fighter, and you... Well, let's be truthful, you don't precisely have everything under control either..." he ends interpersonally, her fingers flinching mildly in his grasp.

"I know it may appear unfair, but the captain is only trying to protect us." "As much as you loathe hearing it, you're Tony Stark's most valuable asset, and if there's anything he wants back, it's you. It would be risky to put you out in the public like that... "We could lose you," he warns, his face solemn. She finally drops her head in shame and regret, breaking her firm stance. "I'm just mad at the whole scenario," she grumbles, discouraged. "I never thought we'd be here today... I detest having to choose sides."

"Yeah, I didn't either, but we're doing the proper thing by remaining with Captain, he's doing the decent thing," Micah assures her softly. "I know," Sage nods. "But I hate that we had to go against the others to do so," she mumbles, a certain face flashing through her mind. Micah disliked the apparent look of blame and surrender on his closest friend's face the most. He realized it wouldn't be a pretty set of circumstances, notably for Sage given her close connection with Stark, but he didn't want to see her cry. He wanted to avoid that at all expenses, but sitting beside her on this couch, looking at the despair on her face, made him feel worthless.