MARVEL/DC: DOCTOR IN THE MULTIVERSE

Steve looked at Clint and offered no further argument.

He knew Clint Barton well enough to understand that once the archer had made up his mind, persuasion was unlikely to change it.

The secure telephone rang.

Tony.

Steve answered.

The conversation was brief and strained, every sentence separated by the tension that had been building between them for weeks.

"Don't go, Steve."

Tony's voice came through the receiver.

"Going after Barnes now will only convince everyone that you're protecting him."

"I'm trying to stop them from killing him."

"You're not the judge."

"Neither are they."

Silence.

Tony exhaled.

"If you cross the line, I have to stop you."

Steve's hand tightened around the shield.

"I know."

The call ended.

Sam looked at him.

"Going now?"

Steve slung the shield across his back.

"Now matters even more."

...

Late that night.

An unmarked transport aircraft lifted from the Avengers' auxiliary runway.

Steve Rogers.

Sam Wilson.

Wanda Maximoff.

Pietro Maximoff.

Clint Barton.

Five people.

Destination:

Bucharest, Romania.

Their objective was to find James Buchanan Barnes before the rapidly expanding international manhunt reached him.

The situation was already more complicated than a simple arrest.

Under the emerging international framework, any unauthorized superhero operation across national borders could become a political incident of its own.

And Bucharest was Romanian territory.

That meant Steve was not merely pursuing a suspect.

He was preparing to enter another sovereign nation without formal authorization.

...

At the temporary international command center, an emergency video conference was already underway.

Six windows filled the main display.

American representatives.

European officials.

A Romanian liaison.

A German security representative.

A Wakandan representative.

And a United Nations official.

The American representative spoke first.

"We have confirmation of activity consistent with James Buchanan Barnes in Bucharest."

"Our current objective is to locate and apprehend him before he can leave the area."

The German representative followed.

"This operation must remain within Romanian jurisdiction. Any foreign security operation on Romanian territory requires coordination with Romanian authorities."

The Wakandan representative appeared last.

His expression was cold.

"The murderer responsible for King T'Chaka's death must be brought to justice."

"Our nation reserves the right to pursue him."

Tony Stark sat in the command center listening.

He leaned back.

"Excellent."

He rubbed his forehead.

"Three governments, two intelligence organizations, one suspect, and one corpse."

Natasha glanced at him.

Tony raised both hands.

"I didn't say anything."

The screen changed.

General Ross appeared.

The United States Secretary of State looked exactly as stern as usual.

"Mr. Stark."

"Mr. Wayne."

"You have both repeatedly argued that enhanced individuals can act responsibly without constant government supervision."

"Now is the opportunity to demonstrate that."

Tony's expression darkened.

Ross continued.

"Captain Rogers has exceeded the boundaries currently recognized by the international authorities."

"We have intelligence indicating that he is moving toward Bucharest."

"If he assists Barnes in evading apprehension, the consequences will be severe."

"You will stop him."

Tony stared at the screen.

"You want me to arrest Captain America?"

Ross corrected him immediately.

"I want you to prevent an unauthorized enhanced individual from interfering with the apprehension of a suspected terrorist."

Tony's mouth twitched.

"You certainly know how to choose your words."

Bruce finally spoke.

"What are our operational restrictions?"

"Minimum necessary force."

"Barnes is to be captured alive."

"Any accomplices are to be detained if circumstances require it."

Bruce's eyes narrowed.

"Who determines what circumstances require detention?"

Ross paused.

"The field commander."

The transmission ended.

The screen went black.

Tony slowly put down his pen.

Then he slammed it against the table.

Rhodey entered a moment later.

"You knew Steve was going to do this."

"Of course I knew."

Tony rubbed both temples.

"He saw the name Bucky and every warning light in his head switched on."

Rhodey placed a coffee on the table.

"You know you can't let this escalate."

"Ross isn't leaving us much room."

Tony stared at the coffee.

"I'm becoming exactly the kind of government instrument I used to hate."

Rhodey looked at him.

"No."

"You're trying to clean up a disaster."

"The difference matters."

Tony remained silent.

After several seconds, he spoke quietly.

"Rhode."

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever feel like I've spent my entire life cleaning up disasters I helped create?"

Rhodey considered that.

"Then clean up this one too."

Tony gave him a tired look.

"Helpful."

...

In another room, Bruce contacted Victor Stone.

"Cyborg."

"I need every publicly available surveillance feed and satellite pass covering Bucharest."

"Search for inconsistencies."

"Already doing it."

Victor's voice came through the encrypted channel.

"But there's a problem."

"Several municipal surveillance nodes were compromised before the bombing."

Bruce's expression hardened.

"The suspect identification?"

"It appeared almost immediately after the systems came back online."

"How reliable?"

"Not very."

Victor pulled up a damaged data map.

"The image is there."

"The biometric match is there."

"But the movement trail is missing."

"It looks edited."

Bruce's fingers stopped against the console.

"Can you recover the original footage?"

"Eventually."

"How long?"

"Forty-eight hours."

"We don't have forty-eight hours."

Victor sighed.

"Then we're operating with incomplete information."

Bruce stared at the map.

He knew exactly what that meant.

They might not be following evidence.

They might be following a script someone else had written.

...

Before the operation, Natasha caught Tony alone in the corridor.

"You're really going after Steve."

"I'm going to stop him from turning this into an international incident."

"Do you think he'll listen?"

Tony looked at her.

"Do you really need to ask me that?"

Natasha remained silent for a moment.

Then lowered her voice.

"Do you believe Barnes killed T'Chaka?"

Tony didn't answer immediately.

The emergency lights cast a pale glow across the corridor.

"I believe the evidence against him is compromised."

He looked toward the command room.

"But I also believe Barnes is dangerous."

"Those aren't contradictory statements."

Natasha nodded.

"No."

"They aren't."

...

Airport.

A military transport stood ready on the runway.

A Wakandan vehicle arrived first.

The passenger door opened.

T'Challa stepped out.

He wore a restrained black combat uniform beneath a dark coat.

His posture was controlled.

His eyes were not.

He had come for one reason.

Vengeance.

Tony stood near the aircraft's boarding ramp.

As T'Challa approached, Tony spoke.

"Your Highness."

"This operation is being conducted under joint command."

"The objective is to apprehend Barnes alive."

T'Challa kept walking.

"I don't accept your command."

Tony frowned.

"That's not how joint operations work."

T'Challa stopped.

"You may arrest him."

His voice was quiet.

"I want him alive long enough to answer for my father's death."

Then his expression hardened.

"But if the opportunity arises..."

"I will kill him."

Tony's jaw tightened.

"This is not a revenge mission."

T'Challa looked directly at him.

"To me, it is."

Bruce's voice came through Tony's communicator.

"If you kill Barnes, you may be eliminating the evidence we need to identify the real perpetrator."

T'Challa turned toward the communication device.

"Do you have proof that someone else is responsible?"

Bruce paused.

"Not yet."

T'Challa's expression remained cold.

"Then obtain it."

He turned and entered the aircraft.

"Until you have proof..."

"...do not ask me to abandon the only suspect."

Rhodey stood beside Tony, watching T'Challa disappear into the transport.

He lowered his voice.

"That prince is going to be difficult."

Tony looked at the aircraft.

"Who's easy to work with anymore?"

The boarding ramp began to retract.

Everyone took their positions.

Steve.

Sam.

Wanda.

Pietro.

Clint.

T'Challa.

Tony.

Rhodey.

Bruce's remote command unit.

The aircraft doors closed.

The engines began to spool up.

Five minutes before departure, Tony reached into his pocket.

He pulled out his phone.

He stared at the contact for several seconds.

Then opened the encrypted channel.

He typed a message to Lynn.

Visit /ShiroTL for more chapters.