(MCU) Arcs Collide: Chapter 28 - Rogue Simulation

Chapter 28 – Rogue Simulation

Carol stood next to Rhodey at the entrance of the simulation room, feeling a sense of trepidation.

How the hell did she end up in this situation? Oh yeah, she almost forgot...

Flashback

“Sorry, Madam Secretary, we didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” Rhodey said as he and Carol entered the conference room where Rosalind Price, the current Secretary of State, was sitting patiently.

The woman gave them a tired smile and said softly, “Oh, it’s no problem. I enjoyed the rest.”

Rhodey chuckled before saying, “Can’t really blame you. So, to what do we owe the pleasure of you coming to our humble home?”

Both Rosalind and Carol laughed at his words before the older woman turned somber and said, “Actually, Rhodes, I’m here as a representative of the Accords Council.”

Carol let out a deep sigh. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

The American representative nodded before saying sympathetically, “You’re not the only one, trust me.”

Rhodes kept his professional tone and expression as he asked, “And what business does the council have with us today?”

The former intelligence director sighed heavily. “Queen Ramonda informed the council a few days ago that Wakanda denied the criminals any right to practice during their stay there. The request has been made to test their current abilities.”

Rhodes raised a confused eyebrow. “While the request does seem reasonable, why are you here talking with us if they’re not part of the New Avengers team? Shouldn’t you be talking with Director Coulson?”

Rosalind looked a little uncomfortable. “SHIELD refused to dedicate any resources to the criminals, particularly Rogers and Romanoff. Also, the simulator Tony created will be the perfect tool for the task.”

Rhodey looked like he was about to argue further, but Carol took a deep breath and said something that, even to her own ears, sounded insane: “It should be us to test them.”

Rosalind looked even more surprised than Rhodey, but to be fair, it was probably because Rhodey managed to keep his professional mask in place. Years of working with Tony Stark and his radical behavior granted him the practice to hold face in any situation.

With a raised eyebrow, Rhodey asked, “Why exactly is that?”

Carol looked at him and said flatly, “As annoying as it is, when it goes down in the field, we’ll be the ones in command of them, and we need to test if they can follow orders.”

Rhodey paused, giving it a moment of consideration. When he was done, he said with resignation, “You’re right.” Then he turned to Rosalind. “And what will the council do if Carol and I find them unfit for the field?”

The older woman shrugged. “File a report with your reasoning, and we’ll discuss possible courses of action.”

Rhodey nodded. “Sounds about right.” Then his eyes widened, and he pulled a piece of paper from his jacket, handing it to the council member. “Tony asked me to pass this request to the council.”

Rosalind’s jaw dropped as she read. Once she finished, she shook her head in wonder. “Tony wants to provide Barnes with therapy using the BARF technology? After all of this?”

Carol gave her a small smile. “Tony isn’t one to hold meaningless grudges. He says it consumes too much of his IQ. He wants to help Barnes get rid of the Winter Soldier—the weapon that killed his parents—and even if the name sucks, the BARF tech is the best option we have.”

Rhodey nodded along with her words and added, “Of course, Tony won’t be handling the sessions himself. And since Barnes is under the purview of the Accords Council, your permission is required.”

The secretary nodded and, with a smile, signed the documents before handing them back to Rhodey. She stood up from her chair and said, “The council asks that you perform the tests on the criminals during this week. We’ll be waiting for your report.”

The three shook hands before the politician left the room. Once the door was closed, Rhodey dropped his professional façade and asked tiredly, “How bad do you think it’ll be?”

Carol let out a heavy sigh. “Nightmarish.”

End Flashback

The loud sound of footsteps came from down the hall, and Carol whispered, “Here we go.”

Rhodey sighed for a moment, but then both he and Carol adopted their professional expressions and stood straight. Carol suspected that if Rhodey could stiffen his back more than the limits of his armor suit, he would.

Of course, Rogers led them as if he owned the place, with Romanoff and Barton not far behind, looking much the same as their leader. Maximoff walked close behind Barton, trying to appear meek. The final two members kept some distance from the main group, looking more determined and focused than entitled.

Without a word, Carol and Rhodey turned toward the door behind them and beckoned the Rogues to follow.

Once everyone was inside, Rogers hurried to speak first. “So, Rhodes, you ready to talk about us joining the team?”

Rhodey sighed heavily before replying to the blonde oaf in a dry tone. “Mr. Rogers, as we’ve already told you, neither you nor any of your companions is qualified for the New Avengers Initiative.”

Rogers frowned and retorted, “Just because some pencil-pusher said so.”

Carol answered in much the same tone Rhodey used. “I assure you, Mr. Rogers, the decision was made by all current members of the team, the Accords Council, the U.S. government, as well as the leaders of New SHIELD—Fury and Coulson included.”

Before Rogers could speak again, Rhodey cut him off. “You and your team are here for a field assessment.”

Rogers looked outraged. “We’re battle-tested! We don’t need some assessment.”

Carol contradicted him. “You haven’t been in the field for over a year, and from what we’ve heard, you haven’t practiced either. We need to measure your current ability level.”

Rogers was still frowning and looked like he was about to snap again, but Wilson cut him off by asking respectfully, “Excuse me, Captain, if we’re doing a battle assessment, why are we in this viewing room?”

Wilson was referring to the control panel with holographic screens surrounding it from all directions except the back. Carol smirked and waved for them to follow her through a second door in the room.

Once they passed through, they entered a large space that took up half the floor. The room looked high-tech in design but also very bare.

Everyone looked confused until a voice echoed through the room. “CI12 simulation generating.”

The floor and walls began to move and change shape while beams of light covered every surface until the entire room looked like a neighborhood Carol thought she recognized from Seattle—the only difference being the big blue hole in the sky.

The Rogues looked around with their jaws dropped. Rogers had a strange smile on his face as he said, “This room will be useful for as much training as possible.”

Romanoff nodded before adding reluctantly, “Stark outdid himself here.”

Carol gave them a flat look and said, “This room can only be used with either me or War Machine present, and even then, only on special occasions. It takes a lot of energy and money to power it up each time.”

Barton snorted. “Of course, Stark’s being petty with the cool stuff. It’s not like he doesn’t have the money. What else is he going to use it on? His daily skanks?”

Maximoff snickered next to him, and Carol’s fist began to glow. She wanted to send both of them into oblivion, but before she could, Rhodey’s voice filled the space. “Captain Marvel, explain the scenario and let’s begin. We have a meeting in an hour.”

After a deep, calming breath, Carol spoke in a dry voice once again. “The Chitauri are descending on the city. SHIELD agents have secured the portal device and are working to shut it off. Your job is to hold the enemy back and allow the people to evacuate. War Machine and I will have a wide view of the scene and will give you orders. Follow them, and you’ll most likely pass.”

With that, she left the large space and returned to the control room.

She and Rhodey watched the screen as the simulation began, Chitauri soldiers falling from the portal toward the city.

Rhodey pressed the microphone button and said calmly to the Rogues, “The enemy is spreading across the city. Create a perimeter. Black Widow and Falcon, take the west side and stop them before they reach the train station. Hawkeye and Barnes, cover the south side and keep them away from the school grounds. Rogers, go north and defend the hospital. Maximoff, take the east and make sure none of the enemy reach the portal site.”

With the orders given, Falcon’s new wings spread, and he took off to his designated spot, followed by Barnes, who looked around before jumping onto a Chitauri rider that was low enough to catch.

Barnes ripped the rider off the flying bike and took over. It took him about a minute to figure out the controls, but soon enough, he had full command of the vehicle and was on his way to his position.

The other four stayed put, ignoring the orders. Three of them looked to Rogers, waiting for his direction.

After a moment, Rogers pointed to the east and ordered, “Clint, take the tower there. Have Wanda drop you on top, and shoot down as many enemies as you can. Wanda, after dropping Clint off, go to the device and do whatever you need to shut it down—read their minds if you have to.”

Maximoff had a feral smile on her face as she used her powers to levitate both herself and Barton to the east.

Rogers smiled at Romanoff and said, “You’ve got my back, Nat.”

Romanoff smiled in return. “Of course, Steve. Let’s take them down.”

The redhead drew her guns while Rogers activated his pair of new weapons. The man had whined for two days about not getting his shield back, and no one knew where it was even if they wanted to give it to him. So instead, the support team used artificial vibranium to create two shields that unfolded from his forearms, complete with sharp edges.

With that, the two began fighting each Chitauri that crossed their path.

Annoyed, Carol spoke into the microphone. “Barton, Maximoff, Romanoff, and Rogers, get back into formation. The city’s being destroyed, people are dying in the streets trying to evacuate. Your mission is to protect them, not just defeat the enemy.”

The only response was Barton snapping, “We only follow Cap’s orders.”

Both Carol and Rhodey groaned, but with no way to force compliance, they could only watch as events unfolded.

Falcon made another dive to intercept a Chitauri aiming for a family on the street. He tackled the rider mid-air, then used a small missile from his wings to blow the enemy’s head off. He pointed the family toward the train station stairs, telling them they’d be safe there, before resuming his search for more civilians.

Barnes, facing fewer enemies on his side, used the flying bike he had stolen to observe the area from the sky, picking off enemies with his rifle.

Meanwhile, Rogers and Romanoff were still fighting Chitauri, managing to take down the few that reached them. The hospital and most of the city, however, were already in ruins. Neither criminal seemed concerned, smugly continuing their fight.

Barton kept shooting arrows until he reached for another and found his quiver empty. Not too worried, he stood up, about to contact Rogers through the comms, but before he could, a couple of Chitauri destroyed two of the tower’s legs, sending him crashing to the ground.

Seeing this, Rogers pointed it out to Romanoff, and the two ran toward the site, abandoning the small section of the city they had barely kept intact.

Meanwhile, Maximoff tore through SHIELD’s defensive lines without a care and began using her powers on the scientists working near the portal machine, without even talking to them.

After a moment, she decided there was nothing useful to learn and used her powers to crush the machine. To her credit, the portal did close.

But she was shocked when the Chitauri began swarming her. Rogers had probably told her that last time, when the portal closed, the aliens fell like puppets without strings.

Though she put up a fight, the sheer number of Chitauri overwhelmed her, and she was soon knocked out by several shots from the aliens.

The Chitauri then swarmed Rogers and Romanoff, who were still digging through the rubble for Barton.

When they saw the enemy approaching, they froze in shock. They looked up at the closed portal, then back at the advancing aliens, confused. Before they could complain, they were shot and taken out of commission.

Wilson and Barnes held their ground for an impressive amount of time before they too were overwhelmed by the numbers.

Carol and Rhodey sighed as they watched the simulation end, leaving the room bare once more, with six people lying on the floor.

Ten minutes later, the Rogues regained consciousness, looking around the empty room in confusion.

Carol and Rhodey made a dramatic entrance, with Carol declaring, “Congratulations, you all failed.”