Arcs Collide

Chapter 18: New Accommodation

Summary: the Rogues are not pleased with what they are offered once they are back in the tower. Couple of punches thrown.

Carol stood as close as she could to the elevator doors while Rhodey and Stephen stayed slightly behind her, serving as a buffer so she wouldn't be too tempted to kill the bastards in the back.

She managed to keep herself reasonably calm until Rogers' voice filled the space around them: "Why are we here and not in the Avengers Compound?"

Stephen snorted and replied condescendingly, "Oh, someone is out of the loop. The Avengers Compound doesn't exist anymore."

Maximoff immediately exploded, "What do you mean, doesn't exist?! It's our home!"

Carol couldn't help but scoff before responding, "The compound was owned by SI, and as such, the CEO and majority shareholder had the power to decide what happened with it."

"Stark screwing us over again—what a surprise," growled Barton.

Carol wanted to spin around and blast him, but before she could do anything, Romanoff chose to diffuse the situation by asking calmly, "And what about the stuff we left behind?"

Before any of them could reply, an Irish voice spoke from the speakers. While the AI usually spoke politely and softly, this time her tone had an edge, reminding Carol of Siri. "All things purchased with Boss's credit cards and money have been sold, recycled, or thrown away. Anything you purchased with your own money is in storage and will be delivered to you shortly after you settle into your accommodation."

Carol risked a glance over her shoulder to see all the Rogues, except Wilson and Barnes, scowling at the information. Oh yeah, Tony did say even the clothes they used to own came from his money. Well, that sucks for them. Carol had to bite the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't laugh out loud.

"Friday, tell Tony I need to speak with him," ordered Rogers.

Carol heard the tone and the disrespect the blond showed to her baby girl, and her clenched fists began to glow, ready to strike the one who dared speak like that straight in the face. And if a few teeth got misplaced during the exchange, well, she'd call it an improvement.

Rhodey put a hand on her shoulder, silently urging her to calm down. But he himself had a very satisfied smirk on his face as he informed the tall blond and his team, "As you repeatedly informed Tony and anyone who would listen that you were uncomfortable with Friday and any other AI after the events of Ultron, it was decided that you will have no access to Friday or any of her services. She will only pass urgent messages in an emergency."

"And how are we supposed to communicate with the team?" Romanoff asked in a deadpan voice. It was obvious that the more they learned about their new situation, the more irritated she got.

Now Strange had an off-putting smile on his face as he commented casually, "In the unlikely case any member is interested in talking with any of you, the council generously provided you with smartphones and basic plans for them."

Before any of the team could voice their displeasure, Wilson asked something that drew everyone's attention to where Carol was standing. "Umm, why are the buttons for the top floors different from all the others?"

Carol glanced at the object in question. Sure enough, all the buttons up to the 30th floor were the ordinary silver buttons anyone could push to access the floor. But floors 31 to 40 had gold buttons with a scanner on their surface. Each scanner identified the fingerprint of the user before a camera scanned the visuals, allowing the elevator to reach those floors.

Carol turned with a smug smile and explained, "While the council bought most of the tower for use by all their workers in the Avengers initiative, Tony refused to sell his personal floors. As such, they are his property, and he gets to decide who's allowed access to them."