Philophobia ➤ W.M.

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  "What are you doing, Stark?!" Astrilde exclaimed. Her, Steve, and the twins had just burst into the lab, poised to end whatever schemes Tony was brewing up. The man in question casually glanced up from the computer he had been captivated by.

  "I'm going to say this once-" Steve started.

  "How about nonce," Stark retorted.

  "Shut it down!"

  "Nope. Not gonna happen."

  "You don't know what you're doing!"

  "And you do?" Bruce asked, his normally warm voice cool and callus. Astrilde bristled at the sound, but she knew his anger was directed toward the twins, which of whom he was looking at. "She's not in your head? In both of your heads?" Astrilde snorted half-heartedly at his jab, unperturbed.

  "I know you're angry," Wanda said hesitantly, starting to walk forward. Astrilde, against her better judgement, held an arm out in front of the brunette to stop her from advancing any further. It was unwise to upset Bruce, especially with his killer alter ego.

  "Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

  Astrilde's eyes widened. She never knew Bruce could be so... aggressive. Though, she hadn't spent much time around the doctor, so her experiences with him were few.

  "Banner, after everything's that happened-" Steve said, stepping in front of Astrilde and the twins.

  "It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony interrupted.

  "You don't know what's in there!" Wanda retorted.

  "This isn't a game!" Steve growled.

  "There are lives at stake here, Stark!" Astrilde joined with the rising anger of the group, her own reasons to be upset twisting her words from cool and reasonable to irrational and vengeful. The arguing continued, Astrilde stopping only when the blue blur of Pietro speeding around filled her vision. The next thing they knew, Pietro stood beside the cradle, throwing one of the many cords he had disconnected from it. Silence followed his actions, broken by the sounds of sizzling and beeping.

  "No no. Go on," Pietro said, "You were saying?" Bruce and Tony looked surprised, while Steve still looked furious.

  Suddenly, the glass beneath the Pietro shattered, sending him through the floor.

  "Pietro!" Wanda yelled, starting toward where the glass had been broken. Astrilde followed after, wary of her teammates' anger. There was no reason why they shouldn't attack the twins at that very moment, but Astrilde wanted to attempt to keep the twins safe. No matter what they had done to her, she was a good person at heart. That's why, when all hell broke loose, Astrilde was there to help.

  The princess pushed the Maximoff girl to the floor as Steve's shield flew around the room, nearly beheading both of them. That attack was shortly followed by one of Tony's Iron Man blasts hitting Steve and sending him flying. Wanda got to her feet, and was about to hold out a hand to help Astrilde up, but Bruce grabbed her and put his arms around her neck.

  "Go ahead, piss me off," Bruce growled. Astrilde reigned in any irrational thought. She was better than the mortals and their petty reasons for fighting. Pushing herself to her feet, Astrilde rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, just in case she was about to say something to set off the Hulk. Somehow, Bruce had noticed the shift in Astrilde's eyes and relinquished his grip around Wanda's neck. The Sokovian took in a few shaky breaths, clearly more startled by the series of events that had taken place more than Astrilde had assumed.