Chapter 80: Played Captain America!

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At Deguo Airport, the chaos of battle had erupted.

Captain America was engaged in a fierce struggle with Iron Man, while Natasha grappled with Hawkeye. Nearby, Wanda glanced from side to side, hesitating, but finally waved her hands, summoning her red, pulsing magic. In an instant, she captured both Falcon and the Winter Soldier in her mystical grip, immobilizing them mid-air.

"What?!" The Winter Soldier's eyes widened as the scarlet energy wrapped around him, restricting his every movement. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free.

"What is this?" He murmured, bewildered. Years of being under Hydra's control had detached him from the world of the extraordinary. Magic was an unknown force to him, a power beyond comprehension.

"Damn it!" Falcon, on the other hand, was petrified. He had seen firsthand what Wanda's abilities could do—she had the power to crush trucks into compact balls of metal. In that moment, the only thing on his mind was the terrifying possibility of being reduced to a mist of blood.

"Captain! Captain!" Falcon screamed, his voice cracking with desperation as he frantically called out for help.

The Winter Soldier, noticing Falcon's terror, asked in a panic, "Why are you so afraid? What the hell is this?"

But Falcon was too scared to explain. All he could do was continue to scream for Captain America.

Hearing Falcon's cries, Captain America glanced back, instantly recognizing the gravity of the situation. This was no longer just a civil war—it was a fight where lives were truly at stake. If they started killing each other, there would be no end to the conflict.

"No!" Captain America shouted, shoving Iron Man away with a powerful kick before turning to Wanda. "Don't kill them!"

Wanda was taken aback. She hadn't intended to kill anyone—she was just trying to prevent them from fighting. Realizing the misunderstanding, she released her grip, and with a couple of loud thuds, Falcon and the Winter Soldier were slammed to the ground, but unharmed.

"No problem," Wanda said, her voice steady, "but they'll be out of commission for a while."

With her focus now divided, Wanda stepped out of the immediate conflict. She was no longer actively fighting, just ensuring that Falcon and the Winter Soldier stayed put.

Just then, a familiar tone chimed from Wanda's phone. It was a special alert, one she had set just for Lorien.

She quickly pulled out her phone and saw the message: [Lorien: I'll be there right away.]

Wanda's brow furrowed in confusion. "Right Away?" she thought.

In the next moment, a strange red light shimmered on the airport ground. The light flickered for a brief second and then vanished, revealing Lorien and Gwen in their car, right in the midst of the ongoing battle.

"What?" Tony Stark blinked in surprise at their sudden appearance. "What kind of technology is this?"

Captain America frowned, sensing trouble. His instincts told him that things were about to get even more complicated.

Natasha was just as stunned, recognizing Gwen beside Lorien. "Ms. Spider?" she muttered in disbelief. She hadn't expected these two to show up together, and the fact that they did meant something serious.

Meanwhile, Wanda was equally intrigued. It finally clicked for her—Gwen was Ms. Spider! She had always seen Gwen as just a regular girl, someone Lorien was close to, but now she realized that Gwen had been hiding her true identity all along.

Lorien, noticing the look Wanda gave him, felt a bit embarrassed. "Ahem, I only found out about it recently," he explained. Technically, Gwen had only revealed her identity after the incident with the Lizardmen, which wasn't too long ago. So, Lorien couldn't really be blamed for keeping it a secret.

The others, some of whom had never met Lorien, remained silent, their expressions a mix of caution and curiosity.

But Captain America was more concerned than curious. He took a defensive stance, holding his shield and a card in his hand as he addressed Lorien, "This is an internal Avengers matter. We'd appreciate it if outsiders didn't interfere."

His words immediately drew the ire of both Wanda and Gwen, who glared at Captain America in unison. But Lorien simply raised his hand and shook his head, signaling them to stay calm.

"I didn't come here to fight," Lorien said in a measured tone. "Wanda was feeling conflicted, so I'm here to help her sort through that. That's all."

Captain America's expression tightened. He knew that Lorien wasn't going to actively interfere, but his presence alone, especially because of Wanda, was unsettling. He looked at Wanda, disappointment in his eyes. "The Avengers' internal affairs shouldn't involve outsiders. You've broken the rules, Scarlet Witch."

But Wanda didn't back down. She met Captain America's gaze head-on. "This internal matter is corrupt. Lorien is my partner, and there's nothing wrong with inviting him to help resolve things."

At Wanda's bold declaration, Captain America's face remained stoic, but Gwen's expression changed immediately. In her ears, Wanda's words sounded like she was announcing their relationship to everyone!

This couldn't be allowed to stand!

So Gwen, clad in her Spider suit, quickly wrapped her arms around Lorien's, agreeing with Wanda. "That's right! There's nothing wrong with it!"

Everyone turned their attention to Gwen, now clinging to Lorien's arm. Wanda noticed too and smiled at Lorien, but he could sense the mischief behind that smile.

*Great,* Lorien thought sarcastically. *Now I'm in the middle of a mess I didn't even need to be in.*

But what's done is done. Lorien decided to play it cool. "I'm just here to observe. You all go ahead and continue your fight," he said nonchalantly. "But I do have a suggestion. If Wanda isn't going to fight, I could have Gwen here step in and face you. Whoever wins gets to decide what happens next."

The idea was simple: resolve the conflict through battle, just like they had been doing. Human instincts were to fight for survival, and sometimes that was the only way to resolve a conflict.

After a quick exchange of glances between Tony, Natasha, War Machine, and Black Panther, they all nodded in agreement.

But Captain America wasn't convinced. He glanced at the Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Falcon, and Hawkeye. None of them nodded, which was a clear sign of rejection.

"We don't have time for this," Captain America said firmly. "We're on a mission, so if you know what's good for you, don't stand in our way."

With that, Captain America's unyielding nature came to the forefront. He signaled to his team, "Go!"

And with that, they sprinted towards the waiting fighter jet, the Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Falcon, and Hawkeye in tow.

Lorien watched them go, a slight smile playing on his lips. He didn't immediately move to stop them, even though Tony and Natasha were visibly tense.

"Lorien!" Natasha called out, her voice tinged with urgency.

But Lorien remained calm, looking over at Gwen. "Do you want to fight today? You can pick one of them."

"I do!" Gwen replied eagerly, her eyes locking onto the Winter Soldier. "I want to fight the guy with the metal arm."

"Good," Lorien nodded, raising his right hand.

*Snap!*

With a snap of his fingers, the group that was running away found themselves mysteriously back at their starting point, directly in front of Tony's team again.

Captain America and his team stared in shock.

"What the hell?! We're stuck!" Falcon shouted, looking around in confusion.

"What just happened?" Winter Soldier demanded, bewildered.

"Doesn't matter! Keep running!" Captain America ordered, and they took off again.

They had barely made any headway when...

*Snap!*

Once again, they found themselves right back where they started, running past Tony's group for the third time.

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