Avengers: Divided We Fall

The World's Gone to Hell

After Dean's phone call with Tony, he returned to the den to find that Wanda and Vision had started watching reruns of Three's Company. Dean smiled as he recalled recommending it to Wanda, who had a deep love for old sitcoms. Dean joined them on the sofa and sought to lose himself in the make-believe drama but his thoughts constantly drifted back to The Problem.

He knew that Tony was acting on pure guilt and the belief that superheroes needed to be held accountable for their actions. That superheroes should be government-sanctioned, trained and made to adhere to specific laws was the solution in his eyes and the eyes of so many others. He reflected on what the general public had been saying about the Avengers. While there was still so much support for them, there had been a very vocal part of the world that was afraid of them and the destruction they inevitably brought. He began to think that maybe signing a piece of paper was a small price to pay to ensure the peace of mind the rest of the world wanted. Superheroes could be dangerous. He loved Bruce to death, but he was proof of that. What happened in Johannesburg was proof of that. While it didn't sound appealing to be told where they could act, knowing that there was a chance for a discussion to be had, and that good Samaritan acts were covered so long as the hero in question was sanctioned, gave him a type of reassurance.

Thinking about Bruce opened a fresh wound in him. The man had been missing for so long now, and with no sign of resurfacing. Natasha had moved on in the eyes of everyone else. But Dean knew there was still a lot of residual hurt beneath the cool, accepting surface.

Thinking back to The Accords, he could see Steve's position too. His fear was that registered heroes wouldn't be able to have a say in how they operated. It would be as if the world had put each and every one of them on a leash instead of trusting them to be accountable for their actions. Steve believed that it was a person's depth of character and their commitment to doing the right thing that made them a hero, not a collection of laws. Besides, a set of laws wouldn't prevent tragedies like Lagos or what happened with Reed Richards and the rest of The Four from happening. Like Steve said, the laws would just shift blame. Insert superhero was acting within the parameters of the Sokovia Accords. Get over it. He thought about everything the Avengers had done to protect the planet and knew in his heart that the tragedies that had happened would have been far worse had the Avengers not intervened at all. He also told himself that if the Avengers had been under the mandate of the Sokovia Accords, perhaps one of those tragedies would have turned out far worse. If the council didn't think it was necessary for them to be there, a world-ending event could happen without them even knowing about it.

He recalled memories of all of Sokovia floating in the sky. Had the Avengers not been there, Ultron would have made certain that Sokovia would have been dropped back onto the planet and destroyed life as everyone knew it. Just thinking about that happening stirred how he'd felt at the time.

After a few episodes, it was time for dinner. Wanda and Dean ate in silence as Vision sat with them. Though hungry, Dean found he couldn't make himself eat much. His anxiety was running high as he ping-ponged back and forth in his mind between registration or rebellion. Deciding that the silence was far too imposing all of a sudden, Dean spoke up. "I'm going to Vienna tomorrow," he announced.

Vision smiled. "That's good news, Dean," Vision said. He looked at Wanda. "There's no rush at the moment to make a decision, of course."

Wanda merely looked at her teacup, her expression troubled.

Dean decided not to say anything about being indecisive to Vision. Instead, he changed the subject. "Steve said the funeral was beautiful. He said the church was packed so full that they were afraid there wouldn't be enough seating."

"One could hope to lead such a life as Peggy Carter," Vision surmised. "To be so loved and admired."

After some subdued conversation over dinner, Dean retired to his room. He walked over to the window and looked through it and at the sky.