I sat beside Pietro on the couch back at the compound, staring at the wall.
"What's gonna happen now?" I asked him. He looked down at me. "You know something's gonna happen. I know you do. The government is flawed. There's no way they're gonna see the hundreds of people we saved over the thirty we didn't." He sighed.
"I don't know," he said quietly. "But whatever it is, we'll deal with it. That's all we can do." I looked up as I heard footsteps, Tony soon appearing in the doorway.
"Hey, kids," he said. "Meeting in the conference room. The SOS is here." He walked off quickly, and I furrowed my brow, looking up at Pietro. What was the Secretary of State doing here?
Soon, I was sitting next to Pietro and Wanda at the meeting table. Secretary Ross was at the head with a screen behind him.
"Five years ago," he said, "I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass...I found something forty years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives-" He glanced at me. "-or given them...but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some...who would prefer the word 'vigilantes'." Natasha smiled tightly.
"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" she asked. I nodded.
"How about 'dangerous'? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" I frowned.
"You seriously think we don't think about what happens every single day?" I asked. He looked at me but didn't say anything, activating the screen behind him. News footage flashes onto it as he speaks.
"New York," he said. I furrowed my brow. Tony had told me about what happened in New York. "Washington DC." Three helicarriers appeared, firing on each other as one crashed into the Potomac. Sam looked down.
"Sokovia." I froze at the sight of the city rising from the ground. I subconsciously held a hand to my side, where I could feel a bullet scar through my shirt. Pietro pulled my arm away from myself, lacing his fingers through mine, as Wanda placed a gentle hand on my knee. Nat looked at me sympathetically. "Lagos." Images of a burning building and paramedics moving a body appeared, and I glanced at Wanda as she looked down at her lap. Steve noticed as well.
"Okay," he cut in. "That's enough." Secretary Ross nodded to an aide and the images disappeared.
"For the past four years," he continued, "you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution." He placed a thick document on the table and passed it to Wanda, who picked it up and showed the cover to Pietro and I (I definitely didn't roll my eyes) before sliding it to Rhodey.
"The Sokovia Accords," Ross said. "Approved by 117 countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary." I frowned, looking up at him.
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place," Steve said. "I feel we've done that."
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" I sighed.
"Well, Thor is literally a god, he can do whatever he wants," I said. I looked up at the annoying man in front of us. "And I think Banner deserves some vacation time from being the Hulk." He shook his head.
"That may be, but if I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." Rhodey nodded.
"So, there are contingencies," he said. Ross nodded.
"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over." Nat looked up at him.
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" she asked. Ross looked at her.
"Then you retire."
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Not Afraid To Die || "To The End" series
Fanfiction<<The 2nd book in the "To The End" series>> Christine Stark was dead. She gave up her life for two of the people she loved the most. But now, things have changed rapidly, and the Avengers are caught in a fight not against a bad guy, bu...
