Steve Rogers was restless.
After the disastrous show put on by Ledov, Romanov, and Stark, Steve realized something had to change. So he turned to the only person he could reach.
Following Jarvis's directions, he made his way through Stark Tower.
Entering the right room, Captain America saw Iron Man's creator manipulating holograms on a table.
"Hey, Cap, how's the suit? Is it a bit tight?" Tony asked, not looking up from his project.
Steve was recently issued the kit he would wear on his first combat mission to Mars. After testing it, he was shocked by the new technology that could fit into clothing, but he was there for a different reason.
"Very..." Steve struggled to find the words. "Unusual for me."
- Don't worry, I'm sure you won't be able to get out of it later.
Tony smirked at Steve, but kept one eye on his project.
- Tony, we need to talk.
Stark looked at his colleague.
"Be careful with phrases like that. Many people immediately start to tense up when they hear that."
Steve didn't appreciate Stark's jokes.
— We need to do something about those aircraft carriers in the sky.
Stark finally turned his gaze completely to Rogers.
— Are you eager to send them on a combat mission?
Panic flashed across Rogers' face for a moment.
- God, no! We have to give them back!
- To whom?
The philanthropist's calm question caused a slight tremor in Steve's confidence.
— To the government, of course.
"We're waiting for them to send this guy." Tony grinned, looking at the soldier. "What were you listening to when we were talking about this?"
Captain America's entire behavior was misunderstood.
- But I thought you and Ledov wanted to take them for yourselves through this scam!
Stark looked closely at the perplexed captain, then burst into laughter. It wasn't just laughter, but a loud, almost hysterical outburst, full of sarcasm and disdain for the very idea.
Steve watched as one of Earth's heroes tried to calm himself down, but it didn't work right away. As he watched the billionaire's mirth, he began to sense that something was wrong.
"Ahaha! Oh, that made me laugh!" Tony wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
— Did you find it funny?
- Of course! Why do we need this junk?
- But I thought you wanted to use them.
"Pfft, we need to kill whoever designed these!" Tony abruptly activated a hologram of one of the cruisers and jabbed angrily at the transparent dome below. "There! Who came up with this? What kind of scientific degenerate decided that one of the ship's most vital areas should be left open to attack?!"
At that moment, as Steve looked at the ship, he thought about it himself. It was truly stupid. But something else was nagging at him.
- But then what do you need them for?
Tony poured himself some juice and sat down on a chair with a satisfied face, as if he was getting ready to tell an interesting story.
— To be honest, I wanted to make a show of destroying them at the meeting.
"Why?" Steve wanted to destroy them too, so he didn't think his goals would align with Stark's.
"What good are they? I looked at their stats and realized they're only good for killing some peasants with spears. A proper missile strike would put an end to this marvel of hellish engineering."
— Then why do you keep them at all?
"Because we don't need them." Rogers's gaze demanded further explanation. "I can't send them anywhere because they're terrible as is, but the cost of operating them would be considerable."
— Then why not just give them away?
Tony set down his glass with a loud thud, his face turning serious.
"Because I have little trust in my government left now. They recently tried to kill me. Now SHIELD is turning out to be a shill. Who am I supposed to hand them over to? People who are in one position today and another tomorrow?"
Tony's questions hit Steve, making him cringe. He wanted to retort about duty and country, but the words stuck in his throat.
"They're demanding that we answer for our actions. This is simply another move on their part. Who among them is willing to sign up if something goes wrong? I'll tell you: no one. And if someone is willing, they're doing it for their own reasons, not out of obvious altruistic motives."
Tony spun the hologram, seeing more flaws that others couldn't see.
"Besides, even if the cruisers are crap, they're still an asset, at least. And assets aren't just thrown away."
— So for you this is a business?
Tony replied smugly.
"Yes. If you want, I can give them to you. Believe me, it will solve a huge problem and give me less headaches."
Steve was stunned by this proposal.
- I cannot accept such responsibility.
— There you go. We also asked for someone responsible for this junk at that meeting, but they haven't provided us with one yet.
— It's only been a few days. I'm sure if we wait a little longer…
— And then we'll wait a week, a month, maybe a year.
- I don't think it will come to that.
"Steve, if you have any ideas, let us know. Because the only real use for them right now is as a battering ram."
It was difficult for Steve, but it was possible to imagine such a picture: huge ships descending from the sky just to crash.
- So you don't plan to use them as weapons?
Tony thought for a moment, looking at the model of the helicarrier.
"Well, if we tweaked a few things, they could be used as mobile platforms or as the front line. But for now, I'd rather build something I like better," Tony said, looking slyly at the man from the twentieth century, "with blackjack and whores."
Steve's eyes widened in shock at the sight before him, and then a realization struck him.
- I get it! It's from a cartoon!
A pleased Tony stood up and patted him on the shoulder.
— You see. You're starting to learn some really interesting things.
A weak, apologetic smile appeared on Steve's face.
"I'm sorry, Tony. After what I saw, I thought you..."
"We want to take over the world?" Tony finished for him, his gaze growing piercing.
Steve nodded slowly, lowering his head slightly, as if admitting he was wrong but not completely freed from suspicion.
"We're trying to save him. But if we do it all correctly, as we're told, we won't achieve any significant results."
— It's all so complicated for me.
"That's why we're not dragging you into all this," Tony smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry. If you have any suggestions, prepare them, and we'll review them as a team. There's a first, second, third reading, just the way you like it."
The inventor's calm face calmed the captain a little, and some of his fears went away for now.
— If anything, we're open to suggestions. Just make it more constructive and brief, please. I don't want to listen to all this boring nonsense for hours. I'll just go crazy. Deal?
- Agreed.
Steve, having calmed his conscience a little, was about to let Tony work, but something still bothered him.
- Tony, can I ask you something?
Stark looked at Rogers in surprise.
- How can I help Mr. America 1943?
— Can you help me find someone?
*****
In a quiet, impersonal apartment in one of Asia's megacities, there lived a man who felt like a guest in his own home.
Jin, a man in his late fifties, was afraid to touch his new things for fear of damaging them after moving from his modest but familiar home. He wouldn't have moved anyway, but his daughter managed to persuade him to move to a better place.
The entire interior was unremarkable for an ordinary apartment. True, it was three times larger and more luxurious than his previous residence.
The most notable thing was the camera-like devices that hung throughout the room and could attract unwanted glances from uninvited guests.
Now, sitting in the kitchen, calmly sipping tea, the man noticed several cameras moving in sync.
Literally in the middle of the kitchen, a multicolored image of a teenage girl with long red hair and a contented smile began to form.
- Daddy, you won't believe what happened to me!
Yumiko appeared in the room as if she were alive.
- Hello, daughter. What do you mean?
The man's features softened at the sight of his child, albeit not in his usual form.
— I took part in saving the world...
The man listened as his child burst with energy and recounted the enormous role she played in opposing a dangerous organization. How she rescued recognized heroes. How she fought a Nazi scientist who had taken up residence in ancient machines.
Yumiko moved around the room, and the cameras constantly followed her, creating the image of a living person.
— …and now we will fly to Mars to save people.
Jin, listening to all this, could not believe it, but he saw no reason not to trust his daughter.
— Is this possible?
"Now yes!" the girl answered smugly.
"Maybe you won't fly?" Father couldn't help but look worried. "What if something happens?
" "Dad, you're such a silly little thing. What could happen to me? I'm an omnipresent ghost who can be anywhere."
The man had long since gotten used to his daughter's behavior and couldn't stop it. So if she didn't text him for a while, he always began to worry.
- Just be careful.
- Of course I will.
Yumiko, overcome with emotion, rushed to hug her father, but only walked right through him, causing a sad look to appear on her face.
- Okay, I'll stop by before departure.
As quickly as she had appeared, Yumiko vanished into thin air, and the cameras that had tracked her movements and created her image froze in place.
A single tear appeared on Jin's face, which he quickly wiped away. This wasn't the first time she had vanished so quickly.
After losing her mother as a child, Yumiko immersed herself in her computer and spent much of her time there. Seeing that she was struggling with the loss of her mother, Jin tried to support her in every way possible. Until one day, he discovered her unconscious body near some burned-out equipment.
After rushing his daughter to the hospital, doctors pronounced her dead. This triggered a heart attack in the father, who suddenly lost his daughter as well.
After spending several weeks in the hospital and just about to find peace with his wife and daughter, he began receiving strange messages on his phone.
At first, he suspected it was some kind of prank, but it turned out his daughter was alive after all, just not in the usual sense. These messages were the only reason he abandoned his earlier plan.
With a bad heart and a lot of debt after treatment, after being discharged, he returned to his old apartment, where receipts for payment were already hanging.
The money issue was quickly resolved with mysterious transfers to his account.
After a brief exchange via text, Jin realized it was Yumiko and that she was stealing the money. Without thinking twice, he spoke to her and told her he wouldn't accept it.
So, after a while, he started receiving new transfers. Yumiko provided all the necessary documents and said they were from her new job.
He didn't know where she worked, but her deteriorating health and the documents she provided showing she was a freelance programmer convinced him to accept the money.
For a while, everything was stable, until one day a Russian came to his house, who introduced himself as Alexander Ledov and said that he was working with Yumiko.
The ghost girl confirmed all this, acting as a translator between the two men. Alexander was able to cure all his ailments with some mysterious ritual, placing Jin in a bath and keeping him there for about half an hour. Afterward, Jin couldn't believe how wonderful he felt, as if he were young again.
After drinking some tea and talking, Yumiko's mysterious friend left him, and the next time he saw him was when the news was showing the people who protected the world from an alien invasion in America.
After that, Yumiko began telling him about her adventures with the heroes over the phone. Until one day, a package arrived containing a device that was able to return his daughter to him, albeit only as a living image.
- I hope you look after them as much as they look after you, my little bunny.
*****
Camera flashes and the voices of journalists looking for a scoop were everywhere.
"Don't worry, we'll figure it all out. The interview is over."
A senator from one of the American parties ended his speech and left the podium for the administration building. Entering his luxurious office, he closed the door, took a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet, poured himself a glass, and sat down at his large desk.
Just after he'd taken a sip and felt the first wave of relaxation, his aide, Dean, entered.
"Senator Jones," Dean began immediately, "your speech did not particularly calm the press.
Taking another sip, Jones decided to give an answer.
"What was I supposed to tell them? That we're in deep shit after everything that happened."
Dean was a little embarrassed by the expression.
"The Avengers stopped a global conspiracy, and they were forced to back down and blame all the problems on them. Of course, people are unhappy. Their reputation was already high after all their antics, and now they're simply at the top of the food chain."
- So what should we do now?
"Wait." The assistant looked at his boss in bewilderment. "Wait for them to make a mistake, and in the meantime, try to be as friendly as possible with them."
"I thought you wanted to get rid of them.
" "Of course I do." The senator even slammed the table, but not enough to spill his drink. "They're a pain in the ass, but now any move against them will look like an attempt to take it out on the heroes. And that's not even taking into account this whole Hydra nightmare."
"I'm so glad you didn't end up in that organization, Senator."
"They offered it to me." Jones was shaken slightly by the memories. "But it's good that my predecessor showed the futility of their path, and they left me alone for a moment."
- So, nothing can be done with the Avengers?
"Of course you can," Jones smiled slyly. "If you want to end up like those journalists."
Dean remembered the media hype that Ledov had created and swallowed hard.
"Ledov showed what can happen if you go against him. He alone is dangerous, but together with Stark, they can easily change power throughout the world as they please."
— Is it really that bad?
"At this comedic trial, they showed the whole world that it's thanks to them that we're all alive today. They were the ones who uncovered and stopped a conspiracy that affects almost the entire world, and the consequences will reverberate for years, if not decades, to come."
Hearing this, Dean looked at him for permission to drink, and the senator gave him permission with the same look.
Dean took a sip from his glass, and the idea was evident in his eyes.
"But we can quickly regain some of our lost influence if we bring the helicarriers back under our control."
The senator looked at his protégé in disbelief and realized how much work still lay ahead with him.
"You don't fully understand the whole situation. They said they'd give them back, and that's true, but we still won't be able to take them back."
- Why?
— Because the rest of the American establishment has turned into crabs in a bucket.
Dean thought for a moment.
— Everyone pulls at themselves.
— Exactly. That same evening, after the proposal was announced, several candidates were put forward. By morning, there was a mountain of dirt on them online, preventing the Avengers from handing over this weapon to any of them.
Dean sat with his eyes wide open in shock.
— Was it really a trap?
"It was a brilliant trap. With Hydra, who still needs to be dealt with, and our constant squabbling over this weapon, we'll only lose ground. Meanwhile, the heroes themselves will continue to gain ground."
Jones settled a little more comfortably in his luxurious chair.
"Now world politics is completely changing. The winner will no longer be the one who can convince the people, but the one who can convince the Avengers, whom the people trust." A smirk appeared on the senator's face. "And with them, you can't just promise and forget. If we say something, we have to do it, whether we like it or not."
"What if, well, this…" Dean ran his hand along his throat.
"Forget it and don't even think about it," the senator said sharply and a little panicked, looking around his room as if he could be heard. "You can't kill Ledov, who healed a bullet wound live on air. Do you think he'll let an assassination attempt on someone go unanswered?"
After thinking about it, Dean shook his head.
"We can organize these 'actions,' but what happens next?" The senator looked intently at his aide, making it clear this was a serious matter.
Dean had only one answer: a quick death for everyone involved—at best. And given that the water lord wasn't like typical heroes, it would likely be a public, demonstrative collapse of everything they'd fought for, before the eyes of the world, which would applaud the Avengers—and then death.
He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples.
— It will be difficult for the next president.
Jones just chuckled.
— The next president will be the one who can take a photo with Stark and Ledov.
— It looks like serious changes are coming to the world.
"They started when the portal opened over New York. Now we're just being engulfed by a storm of consequences."
- Senator Jones, let's drink so that it only touches us with the edge.
- Good toast.
And they both drank, continuing to discuss their strategy for further action.
*****
A Red Guard, wearing a suit emblazoned with the Russian tricolor, strode confidently through the corridors of the military base. Shots and occasional grenade explosions could be heard everywhere, as the base was being stormed on the orders of the Russian Avenger.
As he approached his target, he encountered several soldiers running out of the corridor. Taking cover behind his shield, he continued forward with the same confidence.
Machine gun fire couldn't stop the supersoldier's advance. Slowly approaching, he waited for them to reload, and at the opportune moment, he struck the frightened soldiers several times, scattering them in different directions and taking care not to kill them.
Fighting was raging throughout the base, but his goal was something entirely different. Reaching the right spot, he pulled the earpiece out of his ear and entered.
A study, crammed with papers, folders, and cabinets, appeared before him. A wide-open safe, with burning papers inside, distracted his attention for only a second.
The only person inside sat at a desk, a pistol in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other.
- Hmm, so he sent his dog for me.
Shestakov calmly entered Volkov's office, without fear of the threat of a pistol.
— I'd argue about which of us is the real dog here.
Alexey found a glass and placed it in front of his former colleague, who calmly poured him some from his bottle.
"You're right about one thing," Volkov said, putting down the pistol as he poured drinks for both of them. "We're both just ordinary dogs who follow orders."
- And it looks like they decided to pit us against each other.
They both drank to it.
— They decided to pit us against each other a long time ago.
"Ha-ha-ha, Volkov, you're something else. I thought all you could do was yell at your subordinates, but it looks like you're thinking about something else too."
"I should have just killed him then." Volkov poured himself another drink and drank.
"What do you mean?" Shestakov looked suspiciously at his colleague from his past life.
"I'm talking about the one you serve. He started it all. He started this whole war of ours."
- It's obvious, he sent people here.
"No, you don't understand. This was his plan from the very beginning. And the worst part is, it all started with me."
Shots could be heard somewhere in the corridor. But that didn't stop the old soldier from speaking.
"He gave me a flash drive with some very tasty information about Hydra as a way to buy his way out, and Dreykov decided to use it. Then Dymov and his guys responded, and after that, constant clashes between us all over the country began, and then you showed up."
The Soviet super soldier just chuckled at all this.
"Ledov got me out of prison, where Dreykov threw me. So I certainly won't feel sorry for your kind."
- You don't understand, Dreykov is just trying to return to his former greatness.
Shestakov looked at Volkov as if he were an idiot.
- You are just idiots who use any excuse to fight, and they threw you a bone, and you ate it.
Many footsteps could be heard in the corridor.
"You don't understand, you're just a toy to him. He used you, me, he even uses that whore Dreykova, what's her name... Right, Romanov, for his own purposes ! What are you talking about?"
BAM!
A faint smoke rose from the pistol that had just a moment ago been lying on the table, in the hand of the angry Shestakov; the pistol was pointed at the head of his old friend.
Ledov's men, who had already secured the base and heard the shot, began running at the sound of the shot.
"Damn..." Alexey realized the situation and became upset. "You should have done it with your hands, so he'd suffer more."
*****
In a large but empty room, sparsely occupied, lay a woman.
To the world at large, she was a woman; to those in the know, she was the would-be conqueror of Earth, the God of Mischief, Loki Odlinson.
Now, lying on the bed, he was reading the latest news.
"People connected to the Hydra organization are being arrested all over the world."
"After the Senate hearings, the Avengers haven't been seen in public again. What are they up to?"
"IceStorm helps victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow."
The latest news brought back memories of that day in Loki's mind, and he tossed the tablet aside, turning his gaze to the one who shouldn't be there.
- How long will you sit here, mom?
Frigga sat in a comfortable chair and read a small book, the cover of which depicted a man and a woman kissing.
"I came here to see how my son was doing, and he sits there and ignores me." The Queen of Asgard looked up from her book for only a moment. "And luckily, I have something to while away the time."
Loki just snorted in disdain at the fact that his mother could read.
"You think I don't know how to do it? You're just an illusion, I've done it myself many times."
Frigga merely smiled a sad, motherly smile, put her book aside, and calmly approached her son.
Loki's eyes widened as his mother's hand touched his cheek, and then his entire body was enveloped in a tender, maternal embrace.
"You... are here. The real you." Loki couldn't find the words.
- Why shouldn't I be here?
— I was expelled from Asgard?
— Just because we had to keep our son safe for a while doesn't mean we love you any less.
The mother only smiled at her son's embarrassment.
— I can't believe you came to Midgard.
"I have a son here, who is being looked after by our ally and business partner. Why can't I be here?"
- Well, it's just...
— Are you worried about what happened to you?
Loki's thoughts returned to the moment when his body had been drugged, and how he had been targeted simply because everyone saw him as an ordinary woman. But then he realized something.
- How do you know about this?
— Do you think we don't know what you're doing here and what's going on with you?
Loki looked at his mother with disbelief.
"Do you think I made you like this," Frigga pointed to the illusion of the woman everyone saw, "without knowing anything?"
— And this monster that was shoved inside me, was that also a plan?
Loki winced at the memory of the creature, constantly moving its tiny tentacles and causing him excruciating pain. Fortunately, after the first time, he no longer experienced that pain.
"Not exactly. Alexander did it before he and Thor asked me for your disguise, but he explained his goals, and I accepted them."
- So, this is all a huge show?
"But you like to put on a show. So we put on one. Your father and I kept a close eye on what you would do when you were alone."
Loki didn't know what to think. He thought he'd been thrown out of his home and forgotten, but in reality, he'd merely been placed in a different environment, where his family's influence couldn't protect him but would only worsen his situation, making him appear weak and dependent.
Mother and son hugged each other for a while longer. Until the queen decided to leave her chambers and go check on the group that had arrived with her and was now under surveillance by Alexander's men.
As she was leaving, she looked at her son's illusion once again.
— This uniform suits you very well. How would you feel about having a little sister?
- M-o-o-o-m!
A satisfied Frigga left the room of her embarrassed thousand-year-old son, not forgetting to take the unfinished book.
A man was waiting for her in the corridor, accompanying her and assisting her when needed. With a gentle wave of his hand, the man fell asleep, and the queen stared intently at the empty corridor.
As if sensing the opportune moment, a figure in a yellow robe and hood emerged from invisibility in the corridor. Approaching closer, the robed figure bowed respectfully.
— Welcome to the Queen of Asgard. My name is Yao.
Removing her hood, the queen saw a bald woman and was alarmed by the enormous magical power hovering around her. Nevertheless, the queen still displayed diplomacy and nodded respectfully.
"Greetings, Yao. I didn't think there were wizards on Midgard."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." A bright, glowing circle appeared behind the woman in the yellow robe, which was a portal. "Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?"
- Of course, why not.
But the queen didn't go with someone unknown to someone unknown. She went to the next room and, after checking that it was empty, invited the unknown guest in.
Nodding in agreement, the ancient woman closed the portal, and together the two ladies entered the empty room.
As soon as one door closed, another opened. Loki's head popped out to see what was going on, having sensed the use of magic, but seeing only a sleeping man, he simply shrugged and went back inside.