Arcs Collide

Chapter 21: Agreement and Disagreement

Summary: Plans are being offered. Some are good, some are... well. And the criminals get their fist desrving smack which left some of them worried.

Tony sent Daisy a quick grin, always appreciating a good nickname. He then took a deep breath and began, "As we discussed, the only logical choice for Thanos is to go after the Mind Stone first once he's close enough to Earth."

"Ummm..." a timid voice sounded from behind Tony.

The genius turned around to see Shuri with a frown on her face and Peter looking from her to Tony with a raised hand. Tony let out an exhausted sigh before saying, "Underoos, this isn't a classroom; you don't need to raise your hand."

The kid slowly put his hand down before speaking. "Oh, okay. Anyway, I mean, Wakanda is super safe with all the technology and the barrier and stuff, so won't that stone be safe too?"

Before Tony could answer, Rocket snorted and began ranting, "This Vibranium tech doesn't suck, but the asshole that's coming for the stone has the best technology in the universe. Your so-called energy shield will hold him back for a couple of minutes at best, and then he'll go after the stone and—"

People began to grow annoyed with the raccoon's ramble, but fortunately, the tree came to the rescue by calling out, "I am Groot," even though his eyes didn't leave the PSP Tony had given him last night.

Rocket shut his jaw in an instant before turning to the teenage member of his team and started screaming, "Rant?! I wasn't ranting! I was educating them!"

After a heavy sigh, Quill spoke. "Rocket might be rude, but he's not wrong."

Tony nodded. "With that information in mind, it's obvious that Thanos will consider the Mind Stone the least defended and target it first. From the reports of the Guardians, his first move is always using his pawns rather than dealing with it himself, which gives us the advantage."

"Then the plan is obvious," spoke the idiotic blond at the end of the table. "We will take our stand in Wakanda and defeat Thanos again."

Everyone paused and stared at him like he was crazy. Rhodey was scowling at the man, and after a moment of silence, asked, "Did you consider the destruction and death toll of this course of action, Mr. Rogers?"

It was Romanoff who took it upon herself to answer in her usual flat voice, "There are always casualties in a war. This way, the casualties won't be in a main country that will cause a backlash."

Rogers nodded in approval of her words, but T'Challa jumped from his seat and slammed his hands on the table while growling at the redhead, "These are my countrymen, Widow. Be careful how you talk about them, or the backlash you speak of might find you sooner than you imagine."

Romanoff looked at Carol and Rhodey, and Tony could see the smugness in her eyes. Of course, she had provoked T'Challa with the intention of discrediting him in front of the rest of the team so his information on them, which would no doubt show them in a bad light, wouldn't be believed.

It was Nick who responded to her. "Oh my, Romanoff, you're slipping. Seems your vacation had a cost. Wakanda created a partnership with SI some months ago and has since helped the world in many ways. If someone is the reason for their destruction, the backlash will be real, but not on the side you're predicting."

Romanoff's eyes widened in shock. Tony couldn't guess what rattled her more—was it the fact Nick spoke to her like that again? Was it that she once again missed an important piece of information that would have destroyed her if she took action? Or was it the snickers from everyone around the room showing her how little respect she now commanded?