Chapter 225: The Indiscriminate Bill
The battle erupted completely.
The entire airport apron became an arena where steel, energy, and superhuman strength collided.
The fight between Black Panther and Bucky was the most direct and brutal. Every collision between T'Challa's vibranium claws and Bucky's cybernetic left arm produced an ear-piercing metallic shriek and showers of sparks.
T'Challa attacked relentlessly, moving like a black blur around Barnes.
On the other side, Tony and Steve's clash was almost a physical manifestation of their opposing beliefs.
Tony's repulsors fired repeatedly, targeting openings in Steve's defense.
Steve used his vibranium shield to block and redirect each blast.
"Tony! Stop! There's something bigger going on!" Steve shouted as he regained his footing.
"I'm dealing with the biggest problem right now, Cap!" Tony snapped.
"You!"
His thrusters roared.
Iron Man shot forward like a crimson-and-gold missile and slammed into Steve.
Wanda's crimson Chaos Magic swept across the battlefield around her.
She disintegrated several non-lethal projectiles fired toward her and then overturned an armored vehicle blocking her path.
"Her energy signature still won't resolve into any conventional model," Cyborg warned over the pro-Accords channel.
Meanwhile, Natasha and Clint—once among S.H.I.E.L.D.'s closest partners—continued their duel.
"Clint, you're really willing to fight everyone over this?" Natasha asked as she rolled beneath a stun arrow.
"I'm helping a friend, Nat."
Clint drew another arrow.
"Same way you've helped me before."
Steve looked across the battlefield.
The longer this continued, the less chance they had of reaching the Quinjet.
"Scott!" Steve shouted over the team channel.
"We need a distraction!"
"On it!"
Scott Lang's voice came back with nervous enthusiasm.
He had been moving across War Machine's armor at insect size, interfering with external systems and forcing Rhodey to divide his attention.
Scott jumped clear.
He returned to normal size in midair.
"Okay!"
He landed.
"Sorry in advance!"
His hand struck the regulator on his suit.
The Pym Particle system surged.
Scott began growing.
Five meters.
Ten.
Twenty.
Higher.
Within moments, Giant-Man towered over the airport.
His shadow stretched across the apron.
Rhodey stared upward.
"Okay..."
"That's new."
Tony's systems immediately recalculated.
"Large-scale Pym Particle transformation detected."
Scott swayed slightly.
He clearly wasn't accustomed to moving at this size.
"Wow."
His amplified voice rolled across the runway.
"This is a lot taller than I expected."
He took a step.
The ground trembled.
Spotting a parked passenger aircraft nearby, Scott reached toward it, apparently looking for something large enough to use as an obstacle.
His hand caught the outer section of one wing.
The structure tore away far more easily than he expected.
"Oh!"
Scott stared at the section of wing in his hand.
"That was definitely not supposed to happen."
He swung it toward Tony's side to force them back.
"Move!" Tony shouted.
The pro-Accords team scattered.
Peter Parker looked up at Giant-Man.
His eyes widened behind the lenses of his mask.
Then inspiration struck.
"Stark!"
"I've got an idea!"
"What?"
"You ever see The Empire Strikes Back?"
Tony's expression went blank inside his helmet.
"Kid, this is not the time—"
Peter was already moving.
He fired web-lines around Scott's legs.
Then another.
And another.
Peter swung rapidly around Giant-Man, layering thick bands of webbing around both ankles.
"Hey, big guy!"
Peter shouted upward.
"I think your legs are tied together!"
Scott looked down.
"What?"
He tried taking another step.
His trapped legs crossed.
"Oh, no."
Scott lost his balance.
The enormous body tilted backward.
"Everybody move!"
Giant-Man crashed down.
The impact shook the airport.
Windows rattled.
Loose equipment bounced across the runway.
For a moment, Peter thought it had worked perfectly.
Then Scott screamed.
"Ah—!"
His body immediately began shrinking.
The strain of maintaining the giant form, combined with the impact of the fall, overwhelmed the Pym Particle regulator.
Scott returned to normal size violently.
Something went wrong during the transition.
His chest compressed under the sudden dimensional recoil.
Several ribs fractured.
One fragment punctured his lung.
Another tore into the pericardial region.
His heartbeat immediately became erratic.
Then stopped.
At almost the same moment—
Peter's Spider-Sense exploded.
Too late.
The unstable Pym Particle discharge from Scott's collapsing transformation expanded outward in a violent pulse.
Peter was still too close.
The wave struck him.
His enhanced body was hurled through the air.
He coughed blood inside the mask.
Then he slammed hard into the runway.
His head struck first.
Peter bounced once and stopped moving.
His breathing became shallow.
Internal bleeding rapidly increased.
"Scott!"
Sam's voice cracked over the battlefield.
"Peter!"
Tony's voice changed completely.
No anger.
No argument.
Only panic.
"Cease fire!"
Steve shouted the same order almost simultaneously.
"Everybody stop!"
The battlefield froze.
Sam sprinted toward Scott.
Scott had already returned to his normal size.
His chest was visibly deformed.
Sam dropped beside him.
"Scott?"
No response.
He pressed two fingers against Scott's neck.
Nothing.
"Come on..."
Sam's hand began trembling.
Across the runway, Tony landed beside Peter.
His armor retracted around his hands.
He pulled Peter's mask away.
The face beneath it was frighteningly pale.
Blood stained the corner of Peter's mouth.
Tony stared at him.
For an instant, everything else disappeared.
"No..."
His voice came out barely above a whisper.
"No, no..."