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Steve was confident that Tony saw reason. After all, he was back home, wasn't he? He expected Tony to come back to him and his team. The Avengers would be one unit under Steve and everything would be fine. But it's been nearly 5 weeks since Steve and his friends flew back to the States. Everyone had been so excited to be back, they still are per se but the mood had be dampened by Tony. He decided to be petty. Even though it's been 5 weeks since Steve and the others came back, there was no sign of the eccentric billionaire. Steve wanted to go look for him but that woman, Carol? She had been appointed as the team leader and didn't let Steve out of the Compound.
Yet another thing to talk to Tony about, how dare he make this woman the leader when Steve was right there? He even gave Tony a way to communicate with him, if the man bothered showed up.
Poor Wanda had been ignored by Vision and stated that she wanted to have a talk to Tony about it. Steve knew that Tony had a role in this, why else would Vision ghost sweet Wanda like that? Steve also knew that Tony would see reason if the team talked to him about it.
~*~
It had been a normal Thursday morning and Steve and the gang were headed to the training area because he’ll be damned if the only training his team would get be from a dame. He walked in followed by the rest of his team and for the first time in 2 years and 4 months, he saw Tony.
Tony was just there, typing away in a hologram screen that was connected to the Simulator.
“Tony!”
The brunet turned around to face him and he could feel his face split into a grin because it’s been so long since he saw that face in real life and not through a screen.
The brunet simply stared at them before an obvious fake smile made an appearance. “Mr.Rogers what a surprise!” He stated with so much false enthusiasm that it nearly made Steve wince.
“Tony, we need to talk and it’s Captain.” Steve stated seriously, this was no playing matter, Tony had pulled his funding and he stopped making weapons for them, not to mention the cafeteria! What was wrong with the fridge? They shouldn’t have to pay and worry for mundane things like food!
“You can make an appointment with FRIDAY or Miss Potts if you wish to discuss things” He said calmly before dusting off invisible dust from his expensive looking suit “I am busy at the moment so have a nice day, Mr.Rogers and company” He gave a nod to the others and was about to walk past them when Wanda moved in front of him but before she could get an word out Clint was already talking.
“Busy? Stark you’ve never worked a day in your life, admit it you’re just being petty!” Clint sneered but Tony cut him off with a startled laugh.
Steve barely registered Bucky shifting uncomfortably behind him. Oh gods, this must be so uncomfortable for him, standing so close to the man who almost killed him! To reassure Bucky that Steve was here for him, he moved to partially cover Bucky with his build.
“I don’t know if you’re really that ignorant or if you’re just really dumb but since when have I not worked a day in my life?” Tony said, still slightly chuckling “if anything I’ve never not worked a day in my life, who do you think turned a million-dollar weapon manufacturing company to a billion-dollar tech company that makes everything from phones to building beams for baby hospitals?”
Natasha scoffed “Enough about your ego, Stark, we need to talk about more pressing matters.”
Steve nodded and he was about to tell Tony to make them weapons again when Wanda screamed and stomped towards the brunet.
“Stark! What did you do to Vision? You made him hate me!” She screeched, “Did you mess with his programming? I’ll ki-” She was interrupted by Tony, Steve internally sighed, everyone here was enabling him, but that fact would change soon enough and Steve would teach Tony some manners.
“Oh, but Miss Maximoff, only you would mess with someone’s head like that” Tony said nonchalantly “I did the opposite, I gave him an identity, Jonas Cho Stark, he learnt about abusive relationships and he clearly saw that’s what you had.”
How could he say that?
Poor Wanda. Having to deal with this.
Wanda screamed again and red mist filled the room as she lunged at Tony (Steve didn’t notice how Sam and Bucky pressed themselves against the wall), her hands reaching for his head.
His eyes glowed orange once Wanda’s hand made contact with his temples but Tony only sighed.
“That won’t work with me anymore, Miss Maximoff.” He said as he removed her hands from the head.
“Wha-” Wanda stuttered before Tony softly shushed her.
Steve watched as Tony took Wanda’s chin and made her look at his glowing eyes.
Was he going to hurt her? Steve wanted to step in but he couldn’t, he legs wouldn’t move.
“Hive mind,” Tony said softly like that explained his glowing eyes and why Wanda's magic didn't work on him anymore. “I have 5 AIs in my head at all times, sweetheart.”
“You deserve to die, Stark. First, you took my parents, then, my brother and now? Now you took my Vision!” Wanda seethed, breathing heavily.
Tony hummed noncommittally, “You know, Miss Maximoff” he started, voice flat yet soft at the same time “I didn’t kill your parents.”
Wanda growled and Tony simply shushed her again.
“With your logic Miss Maximoff, I should kill you” Everyone in the room tensed, sans Tony, as the orange glow of his eyes burned brighter. “HYDRA killed my parents and your HYDRA, are you not? It doesn’t matter that Barnes was the hand that strangled my mother or that his hands were the ones that caved my father’s skull in,” Bucky flinched violently, “No, of course not, that fact isn’t important, Barnes was simply a fist of HYDRA, HYDRA was the one that ordered the hit. It also doesn’t matter that HYDRA was an entire organization, with hundreds of agents.”
“So Miss Maximoff, do you know how many people HYDRA as an organization has killed? Do you know how may children you helped orphan? How many twins you helped orphan?” Tony’s voice was calm the entire time, “and that was only HYDRA, do you know how many were killed in Sokovia, in Johannesburg, in Lagos?”
“After all, you were the one who made Ultron, you were the one who made me ‘self-destruct’, your words Miss Maximoff, not mine” Tony sighed again, Wanda was trembling, the holograms behind Tony lit up and filled up with profiles on random people “Take a good look at them Miss Maximoff, you killed them all” Wanda let out a choked gasp and another hologram lit up showing only children. “And they are the children that you orphaned” Steve wanted to tell him to stop but he couldn’t.
“You know what’s ironic Miss Maximoff?” Tony asked, his tone hadn’t changed a bit, like he wasn’t hurting Wanda. No sympathy, no remorse. “Look at that screen” Another hologram lit up and Wanda cried out, it was a picture of a shell with STARK written on the side, a serial number was highlighted “Look at the number” Tony directed.
Another holoscreen lit up with the same serial number and the page slowly scrolled down “That shell that hit your house wasn’t even mine, Stark tech rarely fails Miss Maximoff, the shell was nothing but a fake” Tony pushed on, not letting Wanda process the information of her parents’ death, “You created Ultron, Ultron killed your brother, hence, you killed your brother. It's as simple as that.”
“N-No” Wanda stuttered.
“Oh, I’m not done yet, Miss Maximoff,” Tony stated, he tilted his head to the holoscreen with the serial number, the document had scrolled down completely and a signature was on the dotted line. “See that? Look who bought the bomb that landed on your house... Dr.List.” A video popped up on the screen “And look who fired,” von Strucker was shown clearly on the small video “and you know who killed List? Me.”
A picture of Strucker’s dead body showed up with PEACE written in blood on the wall above his head. “I think that image speaks for itself.” He said whilst shrugging.
“I avenged you parents Miss Maximoff, I killed Ultron, my dear creation, and I avenged your brother too, yet this is how you repay me?”
“N-No pl-please stop... Please.” Wanda sobbed, not able to move her head from where Tony was holding it in place. “S-stop, please.”
“Why should I? You caused my son heartbreak and pain, the first emotion that he fully experienced was emotional pain, if you can cause so much, then why can’t I?”
“I housed you, fed you, and kept you safe from the vengeful public and here you are trying to kill me yet again” Tony tutted.
“I-I’m sorry, p-please” Wanda begged and hiccuped.
Wanda was trembling like a leaf, tears pouring freely down her cheeks, the pictures wouldn’t stop, Steve saw her eyes take in everything on the screens, Steve saw her break.
“Did you know that the day you broke out of this very compound, I was fighting for your rights? I was fighting to keep you from being deported to Sokovia, the place that is now back on its feet after I helped with the relief efforts.”
“I can’t control their fears Miss Maximoff, only my own” Tony quoted.
Red pooled around Wanda, Steve could feel how Wanda felt, her emotions bare in the red mist that floated throughout the room. Tony stepped away from Wanda, as soon as he moved Wanda’s legs buckled and she fell to the ground. Steve could only watch in mute horror.
Tony said something in what seemed to be Sokovian(How does it feel to have so much blood on your hands Wanda?) and Wanda cried out and shook on the floor, staring at the faces she didn’t know but lives she seemed to have ruined.
Tony just watched her impassively as she incoherently mumbled under her breath with a crazed look in her eyes before he looked up to meet Steve’s eyes.
“So, it looks like I do have time, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”
Steve only stared, he had a feeling that the others behind him were doing the same.
“H-How could you do that to her?” Sam whispered.
Tony shrugged as the corner of his lips curved up to form a slight smirk. Was this amusing to him?! “Unlike her, I don’t need magic to break someone.”
“Tony… what happened to you?” Natasha asked quietly.
Tony laughed like it was the funniest thing he ever heard. “What happened to me? I’ve always been like this Romanoff, you just didn't see it. I didn't have the Iron Man armor when I became the world’s biggest corporate shark. Merchant of Death, remember? I simply thought you as my family, well we saw how well that turned out didn’t we?” He chuckled a bit, "теперь в воде кровь"
“There’s a reason why he was an Alpha level threat and had a strict ‘do not engage’ rule in HYDRA” Bucky murmured under his breath.
Tony’s face lit up into a smile. But the smile… it wasn’t like the ones he used to give to Steve. No, this one had a dangerous edge to it, the same way his eyes glinted viciously. “So that’s why everyone ran away from me.”
Tony looked back down at Wanda, “I never do things half-way Miss Maximoff, what is that HYDRA always said? ‘Cut off one head, two more shall take its place’” Tony mocked with a Russian accent. “Well, obviously HYDRA hasn’t heard of how I’m more into fire,” His eyes flared orange again “and how Hercules burned the stumps of the Hydra’s severed heads to stop them from multiplying. Well, you see Wanda, I watched HYDRA burn.” Tony’s grin was terrifying. He looked back at Nat.
“You and I aren’t that different, Romanoff, aside from the fact that you’re Russian and I’m American. You manipulate, I manipulate. You lie. I Iie. You kill, I kill. You learned what I learned. You just learned it in the Red Room while I was served abuse on a silver platter right at home.” Tony said easily. “The Black Widow. The Merchant of Death.” Tony said something in Russian which only Clint, Bucky and Natasha understood. “Смерть не различает, ты же знаешь, что случается с моими врагами, ты же не хочешь быть добавленным в список, да, Паук?” Bucky tensed and Clint’s eyes widened as Natasha paled and stumbled back. Tony seemed amused at their reactions.
“Tony-” Steve started. Because something was wrong with him, he wasn’t like this before. Someone did something to him, it must’ve been these new superheroes. They’ve been ruining Tony.
“Ah ah ah” The man in question interrupted, “I don’t have time for your blame games Rogers,” He glanced at his watch, “The window’s closed, if you want to talk more then you can set up an appointment.”
He gave them a parting smirk and turned on his heel, “Excuse me, Miss Maximoff.” He said to the catatonic girl on the floor and then stepped around her.
“Have a nice day!” He said cheerfully… it sounded so realistic, if Steve hadn’t been here for the last 10 minutes he would’ve thought Tony was being genuine. Tony stopped in front of the door.
“Welcome to the new world Rogers,” Tony said over his shoulder “We’re all a little mad here” That grin would give him nightmares, he knew it.
The door closed silently as The Merchant of Death walked out leaving chaotic minds in his wake.
There was a heavy silence in the room. Surprisingly, it was Bucky who broke it.
“Congratulations Stevie, you and your friends pissed off the most dangerous person on the planet.” Bucky whispered in awe.