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Chapter 750 - Chapter 750: Another Civil War

-Broadcast-

Steve grabbed his shield from where it had fallen and began slamming it against the magnetic restraints on his ankles. The metal rang with each impact until finally the clamps shattered, pieces scattering across the floor. He pushed himself to his feet just as the section of ceiling hit by Tony's missile began to give way.

The structure groaned ominously. Large chunks of concrete and twisted metal supports began falling toward them.

Steve rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a massive piece of debris. Bucky, who'd managed to drop to the ground during the chaos, scrambled away as rubble crashed where he'd been standing moments before.

Tony was less fortunate. A huge piece of machinery—part of the cryogenic system—broke free from above and slammed directly onto him, pinning him beneath its weight.

Bucky pushed himself to his feet and looked at Steve. Steve immediately waved his arm urgently.

"Go!" he shouted.

But Tony was already tearing free from the debris, his armor's servos whining as he forced the machinery aside. He burst upward, repulsors flaring, and fired a palm blast at Bucky. The shot barely missed as Bucky dove and rolled, sprinting toward the exit from the chamber.

Steve stepped into Tony's path, shield raised.

Above them, Bucky reached a ladder leading to the upper levels and began climbing. A hatch at the top would lead him out of the facility.

Tony's boot thrusters engaged, lifting him slowly off the ground. He started to ascend after Bucky.

"It wasn't him, Tony!" Steve called out desperately. "HYDRA had control of his mind!"

Tony's voice came out cold, mechanical through his helmet speakers. "Move."

He accelerated upward.

"It wasn't him!" Steve yelled again. In one fluid motion, he grabbed Tony's ankle and swung his shield, bringing it down hard on the left boot thruster.

Sparks exploded from the damaged repulsor. The boot went dead, and Tony's flight became immediately unstable. He crashed back down to the ground with a metallic clang.

Tony's head snapped toward Steve, who was preparing to interfere again. Tony's targeting system locked onto the ceiling above Steve. A red laser sight appeared, and then a concentrated beam cut through a support structure overhead.

Debris rained down, creating a barrier between Steve and Tony.

Tony looked down at his left boot, which was sparking and smoking. Friday's voice came through his HUD: "Left boot jet failing."

He glanced up. Bucky was already halfway up the shaft, climbing fast.

Tony engaged all remaining thrusters—right boot, both palms, back stabilizers—and rocketed upward in pursuit. The asymmetrical thrust made his flight erratic, wobbling and spinning slightly.

"Flight systems compromised," Friday reported as more sparks erupted from his damaged systems.

"Ah, damn it!" Tony growled, but continued his unstable ascent. He caught up to Bucky and kicked out, his armored boot connecting with Bucky's torso and sending him flying.

Bucky slammed into the concrete wall and fell, landing hard on a metal grating.

Tony raised his right palm, targeting Bucky for another blast. But Steve came out of nowhere, leaping from a lower platform and executing a perfect backflip. He landed between Tony and Bucky, his shield angled to intercept.

The palm blast reflected off the vibranium surface and shot back at Tony, striking him in the faceplate and sending him careening backward into the opposite wall.

Steve helped Bucky to his feet, glancing down at Tony far below. "He's not gonna stop. Go."

Bucky nodded and continued climbing as Steve pulled a grappling hook launcher from his belt, setting his shield on his back.

Tony shook off the impact and launched himself upward again. Steve timed his jump perfectly, leaping from the platform and firing his grappling line. The cable wrapped around Tony's neck, and Steve's weight dragged him back down.

Both men crashed onto metal grating, landing on opposite sides. Tony, protected by his armor, was up instantly. Steve took a moment longer to recover. Tony looked up and saw Bucky nearly at the hatch.

He raised his arm. The micro-missile compartment opened.

But his combat sensors detected movement—Steve's shield spinning through the air toward him. Tony's other hand came up, firing a repulsor blast that knocked the shield off course. It clattered to the ground far below.

Steve stared down at his fallen shield, for just a moment looking lost without it.

"Target system's down, boss," Friday informed him.

"I'll eyeball it," Tony said, his faceplate retracting to give him a clear view.

He closed one eye, aimed carefully at the hatch mechanism, and fired. The missile streaked upward and impacted exactly where he'd intended, destroying the support brackets.

The hatch collapsed inward with a screech of tortured metal. Bucky, who'd been about to climb out, had to release his grip and drop back down to avoid being crushed.

Tony immediately flew at him again.

Bucky grabbed a section of metal pipe from the rubble and swung it at Tony as he approached. The pipe connected with the armor's shoulder, staggering Tony mid-flight.

Tony swung his armored hand in a backhand strike, but Bucky ducked under it and swung the pipe again. Tony caught it with both hands this time, wrenching it from Bucky's grip with ease. He reversed it, bringing it around behind Bucky and pulling him into a chokehold, the pipe pressed against Bucky's throat.

"Do you even remember them?" Tony asked, his voice tight with barely controlled rage.

Bucky's response was immediate, his voice hoarse. "I remember all of them."

The answer only enraged Tony further. He tightened his grip, preparing to take Bucky down with a wrestling throw.

But Steve launched himself at Tony from the side, driving his shoulder into the armor and slamming Tony against the wall. The impact knocked all three men loose. They tumbled through the air.

Bucky managed to catch himself on a metal platform halfway down. Tony and Steve fell all the way to the bottom level, hitting the ground with bone-jarring force.

Tony, cushioned by his armor, rolled to his feet immediately. Steve took several seconds longer, his enhanced physiology already working to heal the damage from the fall. He sucked in a deep breath and looked at Tony.

"This isn't gonna change what happened," Steve said.

Tony's voice was dead, emotionless. "I don't care. He killed my mom."

Without another word, Tony charged forward, his armored fist driving toward Steve's face.

Steve ducked to the side, the fist missing by inches. He countered with a punch of his own, his superhuman strength letting him connect with Tony's helmet hard enough to snap his head to the side.

Tony retaliated immediately, throwing his own punch. Steve knew he couldn't trade blows with an armored opponent—he'd lose that fight quickly. He dodged Tony's strike and moved behind him, wrapping his arms around Tony's torso and trying to pry off the faceplate armor.

But Tony was an experienced fighter despite his reliance on technology. He raised his left gauntlet and fired the thruster at full power. The sudden burst of force broke Steve's grip and sent him flying backward. He hit the ground hard.

Tony didn't give him time to recover. He brought his fist down at Steve's head in a devastating hammer blow.

Steve tilted his head to the side. Tony's fist cratered the concrete where Steve's skull had been a moment before.

The second punch, Steve couldn't dodge. It connected with his jaw, and stars exploded across his vision.

Above them, Bucky looked down at Steve being beaten by Tony. His eyes scanned the area and found what he needed—Steve's shield, lying on a lower platform nearby.

As Tony raised his fist for another strike, Bucky grabbed the shield and, with a yell, hurled it at Tony with all his strength.

The shield flew true, spinning through the air.

-Real World 1st Gen Spiderman Universe-

"Well! The fight is really intense!" Harry couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the three people fighting.

"Civil War among Heroes! Alas!" Uncle Ben shook his head, not knowing how to evaluate them.

Peter watched Tony's actions carefully. "He didn't mean to kill them! Otherwise, that rocket of his could have been aimed at Bucky!"

Gwen nodded. "Yeah! When he was first enraged, he wanted to kill Bucky, but after Rogers stopped him, his killing intent faded!"

"Not only that! He even deliberately avoided using lethal weapons against the captain! If that laser had been aimed at the captain instead of sweeping the roofs of the buildings, ten captains would have been dead!"

"That's right! Now Tony Stark has been attacking with his fists and feet because he knows very well that if he uses weapons, Captain will easily die!"

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