(MCU) Forged Reality: Chapter 7 - We are off

Chapter 7 - We are off

Summary: The team reacts to Steve's decision.

Tony leaned his back against the wall of the hallway and began to rub his temples. Even though he was now twenty years younger than his actual age, right now he felt twenty years older.

Tony was also wondering what the unusual warm feeling was he felt spreading in his veins; even with the arc reactor inside, he had never felt something like that.

Before Tony could ponder it any longer, he heard Bruce's voice calling out to him, "Tony, how did it go with Steve?"

Tony chuckled without humor and replied, "Oh just great, so apparently, I am off the team... Not that I was a part of it from the beginning according to Romanoff."

Bruce blinked at him incomprehensibly for a moment before exclaiming, "They what?!" He then went on to rant, "That's rich! Well, guess what—I never wanted to be on it as well."

Tony blinked at Bruce before shaking his head. "You really shouldn't be saying it, Brucie-bear."

Bruce's fists clenched tighter, and he growled, "Like hell I shouldn't! The only reason..."

"Hey, what's going on here?" The voice of Clint filled the corridor as he and Thor turned the corner to enter the one he and Bruce were standing in. Clint then gave a small smirk to Bruce and said, "Usually when Bruce is that angry, he is green."

Before Tony could even say anything, Bruce cut in grumbling, "Rogers just took Tony off the team."

Clint frowned, shaking his head trying to deny what he just heard. "You have to have got it wrong. I mean, no way Cap and Nat let someone from the family go."

Tony wanted to believe it as well; he did believe until a few minutes ago, and that's probably why the next words out of his mouth carried some bitterness. "Well, unless there are other ways to understand the phrase 'off the team,' I think they are doing just that."

Clint shook his head once again, still trying to think of ways to make sense of all of this.

It seemed like all of them forgot about the presence of a certain Viking during the exchange and only remembered him when, without a single word, he stomped his way to the room Tony just left.

He pushed the door a little too hard, not causing the door to fly off the hinges, but certainly denting it. Though what truly startled Tony, and probably everyone else in the compound, was his angered scream, "Friend Rogers, what is the meaning of your action?"

The three men left in the hallway exchanged uneasy looks before following Thor to see what would happen. Tony tried to stay behind and hidden by Clint and Bruce, not wanting to draw the attention of Steve and Natasha again.

Steve and Natasha seemed to be stuck blinking at the blonde god. It took them a moment to shake their shock off, and Steve asked Thor with his usual disapproving voice, "Thor, it's very rude to enter the room like that. And what is it that you are asking about?"

Thor, completely ignoring Steve's admonishment of his entrance, frowned and replied to the blonde idol as if it was obvious, "I have heard that you have removed Friend Tony from the team."

Steve seemed to be caught off guard again, until he caught a glimpse of Tony behind Clint and frowned. His voice of disapproval grew harsher by a few degrees as he addressed the engineer, "Really, Tony? You will cause team infighting to get your way back into the team?"

Tony had to fight very hard against the full-body wince he felt at the captain's words, or more accurately, accusation. Clint stepped aside to fully cover Tony from Steve's gaze and retorted, "Whoa there, Cap, no need to jump to those conclusions. Tony didn't want any of it; me and Thor just wanted to understand what's going on."

At this point, Natasha chose to push her way into the conversation, "You have to see the reason in it, Clint. Stark was the one to create Ultron behind the back of the team. It's because of him that an entire nation is gone. It would be a bad look for the Avengers if he wasn't punished. Taking him off the team is us showing leniency."

Tony was shocked by her words. Is this really how they see it? Because from Tony's point of view, all of that was a pile of bullshit.

During his time in Sokovia, the UN and the USA government cleared him and Bruce from all responsibility in the creation and crimes of Ultron, so there would be no hit to the reputation of the Avengers by keeping him on the roster.

In fact, Tony would argue that right now he and Bruce generated the best reactions from the public as they were the only ones who showed up in Sokovia to help build it back up as fast as possible for the people.

On the other hand, recruiting the Maximoff twins so early would be sure to bring some bad attention to the team.

Clint seemed to disagree as well as he retorted, "Don't forget I was an agent too, Nat. I can see the news just like anyone else, and I know Tony and Bruce were cleared of that shit, so care to try again?"

Tony noticed Natasha pursing her lips tighter, something he came to associate with her being displeased. But before the spy could find another way to convince her best friend, Steve spoke in a firm voice that didn't allow for any further argument, "Enough of this. Clint, it doesn't matter what the news is saying; Tony made those mistakes and needs to pay the price. I, as the team leader, can make any choice that I feel is in the best interest of the team, and this is my choice. Tony is off the team."

There was a tense silence for a long moment before Thor's voice boomed, "This is a grave disservice for the heroic actions of Friend Tony. I will not allow such an insult to stand."

Clint shook his head and cut off any response to Thor by saying flatly, "No point, blondie. Nat and Cap are not going to budge on that; I can see that on their faces."

Steve gave Clint his proud smile and said happily, "Glad you understand, Clint."

Clint narrowed his eyes at the leader of the Avengers and immediately responded, "Didn't say that, Cap. I just know when I'm looking at a lost cause. And anyway, it's not like it matters much to me from now on."

Steve frowned at the response he received and asked carefully, "And why is that?"

Clint shrugged and answered calmly, "I was going to talk with you later, but I guess now is as good a time as ever. Now that a lot of people know about the farm, I feel like it will be the best time for me to retire and be with my family more. So, I quit."

Steve's frown turned into a scowl, and Tony noticed that even Natasha was holding back from frowning as she tried to softly call out, "Clint, think about that for a moment. Stark was never even a real member of the team. Remember my assessment, so if he is the reason you..."

Clint cut her off with a slightly annoyed tone, "Tony has nothing to do with it. Like I said, I wanted to bring it up later anyway." Then he shrugged and added with a small smile, "But if you want to look at it as a protest walkaway, I have no problem with it. Not exactly wrong either."

Steve didn't look too pleased by this development, but didn't look like he was about to argue any further either.

He was further annoyed when Thor spoke next in a dramatic manner, "Aye, I agree with Friend Clint. I have a journey I must take beyond the nine realms and as such can no longer take part in the Avengers team. Let it be known as well that I disagree with the course of action Friend Rogers chose in this matter."

Steve's fists clenched and he started to say, "Thor..." before trailing off, realizing he didn't have a good argument to force the prince of Asgard to stay.

"You can count me out too," Bruce was quick to add. So far he had kept his silence so he could stay as calm as possible, but he finally spoke, adding his own resignation.

This time a look of surprise did pass across Natasha's eyes before she shut it down and spoke with a seductive tilt to her voice, "Come now, Bruce, how are we supposed to have any time together if you just leave the team?"

Bruce snorted. "Just more reason for me to get away from here, Romanoff."

Natasha seemed to be taken aback by the words Bruce spoke, and Steve was quick to defend his second in command, his voice firm and disapproving, "Bruce! This is no way for you to speak to your teammate, especially someone who cared very much for you."

Bruce snorted even louder this time before answering with a slightly mocking tone, "Yeah, cares so much she pushed me off a cliff. And as for the first thing you said, I refused to be part of this team from day one. The only reason I joined some of the missions you carried out was because Tony asked me. No Tony means no Bruce as well."

Natasha seemed to be annoyed by the ultimatum and exchanged a look with Steve that went over Tony's head. It felt like there was something in consideration here beyond what they said and what Tony knew, which left him quite curious.

After a moment, Natasha looked away with a heavy sigh, as if she didn't like the result of the stare-off but knew she couldn't change the blonde's mind.

Steve looked at Bruce with a very disappointed look and said in a matching tone, "It's very sad to see you can't put the needs of the world above your own feelings, but if this is your choice, so be it."

Tony was surprised about that. Steve just lost both Thor and the Hulk; with Tony himself kicked out, there were no powerhouses left on the team. True, Steve and Nat would be enough to defeat most spies and soldiers, but against stronger opponents that Hydra might be hiding, they might find themselves stomped without a powerhouse.

And all of that just to make sure Tony stayed off the team. Now Tony began to suspect there was far more than just the leader disliking him; it began to feel like some hostile takeover mixed with conspiracy.

After a moment of silence, Clint shrugged and turned toward the door. "Anyway, we should get going. Us not-Avengers guys have other things to do."

Tony agreed and was the first to head out, followed closely by Clint and Bruce; finally, Thor left as well after throwing a side-eye at Steve.

There was some tense air between the four walking down the corridor, so Tony tried to break it with a light conversation, "So, Pointbreak, leaving Earth for a while, are you?"

Thor's stiff body sagged a little and he said casually, "Aye. The vision I saw requires my immediate attention."

Tony almost forgot about the vision everyone else saw; Thor really did look the most distressed about them. He decided to inquire carefully, "Something that worried the god of thunder?"

Thor nodded seriously and responded with an absent-minded tone, "The Infinity stones."

Tony frowned. Infinity stones? Sounds like some video game or something. "Umm, what are those?"

Thor's eyes widened as if he just realized what he said and shook his head with his usual confident smile, "A conversation for a different day, my friends."

Tony felt a little uneasy but let the subject go and with a teasing smile changed the subject, "I hope you at least planned to stop by Jane's to say bye."

The four of them just exited the building into the fresh air of the afternoon sun. The scenery around them was much better than anything in NYC; the large green fields were surely a nice change of pace, at least in Tony's opinion.

Thor frowned a little, responding with a clueless tone, "I had no such plans. I had planned to call Heimdall from the patch right there."

Tony glared at the blonde god and retorted, "Do you have any idea how much I pay the gardeners here?"

Thor just chuckled awkwardly. The four of them stopped near the entrance to the building.

Clint threw a pity look toward Thor and said casually, "You know, if you want to still have a girlfriend when you get back, you really should talk with her."

Thor froze and rubbed his chin in thought, before a smile spread across his lips and he laughed, "Very well, my friends! I shall take your wise advice and meet with lady Jane before my departure."

He took a step away from them, seemingly ready to fly away before hitting himself in the forehead and turning around. He reached for something inside his belt and quickly threw it to Tony.

Tony barely managed to catch it, and when he looked at what he was holding, it was a stone with a series of runes carved into it. Tony looked up at Thor's smug face and said, more as a question than anything else, "Thanks?"

Thor smiled at Tony and his booming voice filled the entrance, "Think nothing of it, Friend Tony. In a time of need, press the stone to communicate with me. Though bear in mind this is a one-use magic."

Tony stared with awe at the stone in his hand. This was a multi-realm communication device; the ideas and experiments running through his mind right now were endless.

Still, Thor's booming voice drew him back to reality as he announced, "Until we meet next, my friends." And with a swing of his hammer, he flew away. Tony could only wonder if he had any idea where he was flying to, because Tony sure didn't.