Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 53 - Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Straightening her back, she took a deep breath before starting to talk. "While I can't argue against the facts just stated, I do not believe that they show the whole picture. Ever since humans first set foot on this Earth, chaos has always surrounded them. Mutants have been here since the dawn of time, coexisting in secret with humans. And yet, what species initiated the first war? Humans." Feeling a reassuring hand on her knee, she shot Wanda a grateful smile.

"Let's face the facts. Humans thrive in chaos. Wars have raged since before any of us were born and history just keeps repeating itself. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't be held responsible, because we should. But how does being put under governmental control change that? How will that stop more innocent people from getting hurt? I can't see the criminals backing down just because the government put a collar around our necks. Do you?"

A deafening silence fell over the room and Keira crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for someone to contradict her. She understood both sides, but knowing what it felt like to have somebody else control her every move, what she did or didn't do, she couldn't sign the Accords. But reading the rest of the team's faces, she knew that there would be two sides to this.

"Boom." Sam mirrored Rhodey's words from before and gave her an appreciative nod. "Now, that's how you deliver a speech."

Normally, Keira would've laughed at Sam's comment, but now really wasn't the time. The heavy atmosphere in the room was so thick you could've cut it with a knife. But still, no one could form a satisfactory answer to her question.

"Tony." Natasha was the one to break the silence, and turned her focus to the billionaire. "You're being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal." She noted, lightly teasing him about his unusual silence.

"It's 'cause he's already made up his mind." Steve stated with a grim look on his face.

"Boy, you know me so well." Tony replied, removing his hand from his face. He winced slightly as he got up on his feet. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort." The man picked up a mug from the kitchen counter before looking down at the sink with a disapproving look. "Who's putting coffee beans in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

He turned around to face the team, placing down his phone and tapping it so that a hologram popped up. It lit up immediately and an image of a smiling, dark-skinned young man was shown. "Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way." Tony briefly pointed to the hologram before continuing his monologue. "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."

Keira's gaze dropped to the floor, and her jaw clenched, almost painfully. In an attempt to ground herself, she blindly searched for Wanda's hand. Feeling it, she intertwined their fingers.

Because Keira recognized Charlie's face. He had been one of the bodies she had helped to recover when she had been working in Sokovia. But back then, he had only been a number to her. Another body.

And while it wasn't a surprise to any of them that innocent people died when they tried to stop a greater evil, to see a picture, and getting a name on one of their victims, it hit differently.

"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." Tony shook his head before swallowing down some pills, probably something to counter his headache. "There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! And 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."