Chapter 147: Journey to Siberia

"We need to move now, that guy must be halfway to Siberia by now!" Bucky said to Steve Rogers.

"We need to draw all the flying ones away. I'll handle Vision, you go fly the jet!" Steve Rogers ordered.

"No, you both get on the plane, the two of you!" Sam called out from the air.

"As much as I hate to admit it, if we want to win, someone's gotta lose! This isn't a real fight, Steve," Barton said, shooting arrows from atop a shipping container.

"Alright, Sam, what's your plan?" Steve Rogers asked.

"We need to make a big distraction to draw their attention!" Sam said while dodging Rhodey's pursuit.

"I do have a big guy, but I can't hold it for long. Wait for my signal, and then you guys run for your lives! Even if I get ripped in half, don't come back for me," the shrinking Ant-Man said as he ran.

"Is he going to rip himself in half?" Bucky asked, shocked.

"Are you really going to do this?" Steve Rogers asked as well.

"I've done it a few times before—well, actually just once, in a lab, and I passed out from the pain..." Scott Lang hyped himself up, then leaped onto Rhodey's iron armor.

He cranked the Pym particle energy to the maximum and pressed the growth button on his left hand. Suddenly, a giant Scott, dozens of meters tall, appeared on the tarmac and grabbed Rhodey right out of the air.

"Holy crap, what is that?!" Peter Parker, who had been standing with Arthur and Wanda, shouted at the sight of the colossal Scott.

"That's the signal, run!" Steve Rogers and Bucky turned and sprinted toward the quinjet with all their might.

The giant Scott Lang flung Rhodey away. Realizing things were going sideways, Peter Parker shot a web and swung into the air.

Peter Parker fired another web to catch the hurtling Rhodey, preventing him from crashing into a parked airliner.

Scott Lang then kicked away a bus, which rolled and smashed toward Vision and T'Challa. Vision punched the bus straight through the middle, splitting it in two.

T'Challa pursued Bucky and Steve Rogers, while Sam entangled Tony Stark in the sky.

"Anyone else on your side with special abilities they want to show off? I'm totally open to it," Tony Stark had barely finished speaking when Sam beaned him in the head with a remote-controlled drone.

Meanwhile, T'Challa was intercepted by Scott Lang. Just as Scott reached for T'Challa, Rhodey flew in and beat him back with a barrage of over a dozen missiles.

Swinging in right behind Rhodey, Peter Parker launched himself at Scott and kicked him square in the face, nearly knocking the giant over.

Barton clashed with T'Challa again. Barton was clearly no match for T'Challa, but T'Challa's eyes were fixed on the fleeing Bucky, so he merely toyed with Barton in a protracted scuffle.

Vision also noticed Steve Rogers and Bucky as they neared the quinjet. The yellow Mind Stone on his forehead flashed, firing a beam of yellow energy that cracked the control tower above the hangar, causing it to crumble and collapse directly toward the two men.

Just as the tower was about to crush them, a surge of red energy blocked its descent. It was Wanda's chaos energy. Seeing this, Colonel Rhodes immediately unleashed a sonic attack against Wanda.

Wanda could only cover her ears and drop to her knees. Deprived of the support of Wanda's energy, the toppling tower resumed its plummet toward Steve Rogers and Bucky.

Steve Rogers and Bucky leaped forward, diving past the hangar doors and reaching the jet just in time to escape the collapsing tower crashing down behind them.

However, an unexpected person was waiting for them by the aircraft. It was Natasha.

"You're not going to stop, are you?" Natasha asked, looking at Steve Rogers.

"You know I can't!" Steve Rogers replied.

"I am definitely going to regret this!" Natasha declared, raising her arm and suddenly discharging a taser disc that dropped the incoming Black Panther, T'Challa, to the ground.

"Go!" Natasha told Steve Rogers.

Steve Rogers gave Natasha a grateful look and boarded the fighter with Bucky, while Natasha stayed behind to hold off T'Challa...

Elsewhere, Peter Parker asked Tony if he had ever seen a movie called The Empire Strikes Back, having just thought of a brilliant idea to deal with the giant Scott Lang.

Peter Parker wrapped his webs around Scott Lang's ankles, while Tony Stark and Rhodey coordinated a powerful joint strike straight to Scott's head.

Scott Lang instantly lost his balance and crashed to the ground. Just as Peter Parker began to celebrate, he was sideswiped by Scott and hurled hard onto the pavement.

Scott collapsed onto the earth as well, completely spent. He shrank back down to normal size, lying on the ground with his throat parched and burning.

Tony Stark immediately hurried over to the motionless Peter Parker lying on the ground to check if he was alright.

"It's me, your shift is over, you did a good job," Tony Stark said, grabbing Peter's flailing hands to calm his frantic resistance.

"No, I'm good, I can still fight!" Peter clearly had no intention of quitting.

"You stay right there, or I'm calling your aunt! Your mission is finished!" Tony Stark warned Peter before turning away.

Peter Parker was indeed completely out of energy and slumped back down to rest.

Steve Rogers piloted the fighter jet, taking off from the hangar with Bucky and ascending into the sky.

Rhodey and Tony Stark rose into the air in pursuit, with Sam tailing closely behind Rhodey, firing missiles to obstruct his advance.

"Vision, I've got a tail! Vision, do you copy? Take out his thruster, turn him into a glider!" Rhodey instructed.

Vision locked his target onto the thrusters on Sam's back, unleashing a beam of yellow energy from the stone on his forehead straight at Sam.

Sensing the impending danger just in time, Sam suddenly folded his wings tightly, narrowly dodging Vision's attack.

Vision's energy beam missed Sam entirely, striking Rhodey squarely in the chest instead. Rhodey's Arc Reactor instantly lost power, his suit shutting down completely as he began plummeting headfirst toward the ground.

Both Tony Stark and Sam accelerated downward, chasing the rapidly falling Rhodey in a desperate attempt to save him.

"Tony, my engine's fried!" Rhodey could do nothing as gravity dragged him helplessly toward the earth.

Neither Tony Stark nor Sam could close the gap in time. Just as Rhodey was moments away from a fatal impact, the ground below was suddenly engulfed in a wave of red energy, and the open area outside the airfield instantly transformed into a deep lake.

Rhodey plunged heavily into the water, sending up a massive splash.

"What the hell was that?" Tony Stark demanded, staring at the lake that had materialized out of thin air.

"Sorry, but at least Rhodey's safe," Sam said, landing beside Tony.

They watched as Rhodey floated to the surface of the water, and in a blink, the entire lake rapidly shrank, reverting back into a grassy field in an instant, leaving Rhodey lying flat on the grass.

Tony rushed over immediately and lifted his faceplate. Rhodey was unconscious from the impact, blood trickling from his nose.

"FRIDAY, run a vitals check!" Tony Stark ordered.

"Initiating vitals scan. Heartbeat detected. Subject is unconscious. Rescue teams have been notified," FRIDAY replied.

"He's fine, don't worry, Tony," Arthur said, holding Wanda's hand as he materialized beside Tony Stark.

"Was that you who just saved Rhodey? Thank you!" Tony Stark said, looking directly at Arthur.

"Don't mention it! Consider it a welcome gift; it's rare that we get to make your acquaintance," Arthur replied.

"How did you even do that?" Vision approached, staring at Arthur in disbelief. This kind of reality-warping alteration of the environment was completely beyond his comprehension, feeling nothing short of a miracle.

"By using the energy of the stone on your forehead," Arthur answered, omitting the detail that he possessed two stones.

"Alright, I'll be taking off now. See you around," Arthur told Tony. With that, he and Wanda opened a portal and stepped through it. They had watched enough of the drama for one day, and having achieved his goal of saving Rhodey, he chose to depart.

Tony Stark didn't dwell on what Arthur meant by "see you around." Exhaustion weighed heavily on him; the Avengers had fractured completely. He simply sat in place beside the unconscious Rhodey, staring blankly ahead.