"Sokovia" Terrified citizens, running. The city rising. A building falling over, Wanda stares at the screen, as does Tony and Olivia.
"Lagos" The burning building. Paramedics moving a body. A dead girl.
Wanda is particularly affected by the footage from Lagos. Steve sees this and intervenes, "Okay. That's enough."
Secretary Ross nods to an aide and the images disappear, "For the past four years, 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" An aide hands him a thick book, which Ross slides across the table to Wanda. She picks it up, then slides it to Rhodey, "The Sokovia Accords. 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."
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place" Steve states, "I feel we've done that."
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross asks, Steve looks up and meets Ross's eyes, "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."
"So there are contingencies" Rhodey states.
"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords" Ross tells them, Steve glances at Tony, "Talk it over."
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha questions.
"Then you retire" Secretary Ross answers. Natasha stifles a smile.
•
The Avengers are gathered at HQ. Steve is sitting, studying the Accords, while Rhodey and Sam argue behind him, "Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have."
"So let's say we agree to this thing" Sam starts, "How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?"
"117 countries want to sign this" Olivia reminds them, "117, Sam, and you're just like, No, that's cool. Fuck you. We got it."
"I have an equation" vision states.
"Oh, this will clear it up" Sam scoffs.
"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially" vision tells us, "And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."
"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve questions.
"I'm saying there may be a causality" vision corrects, "Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."
"Boom" Rhodey smiles.
Tony is lying on the couch. When Natasha speaks, he looks at her, "Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal."
"It's because he's already made up his mind" Steve states.
"Boy, you know me so well" Tony scoffs, He gets up and winces, rubbing the back of his head, "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache" He walks to the kitchen and grabs a mug, "That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"
He puts his phone in a basket and taps it. The phone projects an image of a smiling young man. He looks down, then back up, and pretends to notice the picture for the first time, "Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia" The others look affected by this, "He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass" He takes a pill with some coffee, then faces the others, "there's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys."
YOU ARE READING
Falling, Peter Parker
Fanfiction"I believe you." Olivia Stark the daughter of Tony Stark finally gets trusted into helping her father out, but when her father recruits a boy the same age as her she begins to feel things for the boy but can't admit it because her father would stop...
Signing over
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