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‘Grounded?’ Steve demanded, jumping to his feet. ‘You can’t ground us!’
‘I can,’ Tony said icily, ‘and I have.’
‘Tony, the world needs the Avengers...’ Steve started to say.
Tony spun around, eyes burning like coals. Natasha immediately stiffened in her seat. Sam flinched back, having never seen that look before. Wanda jumped, suddenly looking frightened. One thing was clear: before now, Tony had been Mr. Nice Guy. But they’d finally stepped over the line and it wasn’t “the Da Vinci of Our Time” that stood before them.
It was the Merchant of Death.
‘You.’ He enunciated each word. ‘Fought. In. The. Eiffel. Tower!’
‘We had to—’
Tony cut him off. ‘You fought in the Eiffel Tower!’
‘It’s just an old tower,’ Wanda grumbled.
Vision spoke up from behind Tony. ‘It is one of the most culturally and historically significant buildings in Europe. The damage that your fight did to the structure has actually caused the world at large to turn against you. They are using phrases like “savages” and “uncultured barbarians”.’
Wanda shot Vision a look of hurt betrayal.
‘Wipe that look off your face!’ Tony snapped. ‘If you can’t handle him telling you the truth, you’re obviously not mature enough for a relationship!’
‘Leave her alone, Tony. She’s just a kid.’ Steve tried to reprimand him.
‘Then why are you taking her onto battlefields?’ Tony asked dryly. ‘Does Captain America condone the use of child soldiers?’
Steve’s jaw dropped. ‘That...that’s...You are way out of line, Tony!’
‘No, I’ve just had it with your bullshit. You crossed the line.’ Tony walked over and glared at him. ‘And now people are demanding answers.’
Steve shook his head. ‘The people know we’re there to protect them.’
Then Tony smirked, a dark expression that sent shivers up all of their spines. ‘I’m sure you’ll be more than happy to say that to them then, when you go out to give a very contrite apology for your cultural vandalism.’
‘What?’ Steve asked flatly.
‘You damaged a national landmark,’ Tony said. ‘Just because it wasn’t America doesn’t mean it’s not important. You’re going to go up before the world and give them a very contrite apology.’
‘We had to—’
Tony interrupted him. ‘I don’t care why you did it, and neither does anybody else. The President is even on your back – which you might’ve noticed if you checked your emails. If you don’t make some effort to at least look sorry, then the only way the President is going to save our relationship with France is by denouncing you.’
‘But he’s Captain America,’ Sam protested weakly.
‘You haven’t checked the approval ratings, have you?’ Tony asked with a bland expression. ‘That doesn’t mean a lot anymore. The only thing he’d have to fear would be voter backlash, and that’s not gonna be too drastic. It’s far more important to the President to keep a political alliance than it is to keep a national icon.’
Steve sat there, frozen. Nobody moved.
‘You’re lying...’ Steve insisted, albeit very weakly.
‘No, he’s not,’ Natasha said.
Steve spun, looking betrayed.
Natasha had her phone out. She turned it around. ‘Steve, your approval rating from the American public is at an all-time low. The only support you have comes from the far right wing. I should mention, this is the area most affiliated with people like neo-Nazis and perpetrators of hate-crime. People take the Eiffel Tower very seriously. We have to do that press conference, Steve. We have to stand there, look contrite, and promise it won’t ever happen again.’
Tony said absolutely nothing.
Steve glanced at Wanda.
‘Yes,’ Natasha said. ‘Wanda too. We all need to be seen apologising.’
***
Stark Tower
‘Do you think they will?’ Pepper asked.
‘No,’ Tony said. ‘Rogers doesn’t believe in telling outright lies – or what he views as such. He’ll see saying he’s sorry for breaking parts of what he considers a massive tower and that he won’t do it again a lie so I imagine Romanoff will end up having to try and save face. But people want the apology from Captain America.’
‘If they don’t get it,’ Rhodey said, ‘then we’ll all have to drop him. What he did in Paris could have been taken as a declaration of war. Why was he even there?’
‘Damned if I know.’ Tony huffed. ‘It’s not like they don’t have superheroes of their own. Who, by the way, were the first to tell me those idiots were even there.’
‘It’s a good thing it’s made of metal,’ Pepper remarked.
‘You’re telling me. I know it’s in Italy, but can you imagine if it was the Leaning Tower of Pisa?’
Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Vision all winced.
‘Hate to interrupt, boss,’ FRIDAY said. ‘But the press conference is about to start.’
Tony sighed and leaned back. ‘Put it on, FRI.’
The TV flicked on, and nobody was surprised to see Tony’s prediction come true.
At the end, Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘We need a new team.’