For the Love of a Father ✓

The Accords

I find a spot next to Steve in the conference room. I watch him nervously as we wait for Secretary Ross to begin. "Five years ago I had a heart attack and dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective."

We all look around at each other, waiting for him to make a point. "The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives... But while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word 'vigilantes'."

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Nat asks.

"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'd call us a government initiative. Your government if I remember correctly, Mr. Secretary. You wanted security so badly you created an abomination for it. Former Director Fury gives you an alternative and you would rather use it as a scapegoat." I say, speaking up from the back corner. I look over to Dad and I'm not surprised in the slightest that he's quiet. This was what he had been working on, whatever was coming.

"And yet, you weren't operating on behalf of a government agency when most of these events occurred." He steps aside, the screen coming to life. "New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia, Lagos." I turn away at the scene unfolding before me, ash and devastation mixed with the crying of a nation. I watch Wanda start to crumble. I look to Steve, silently begging him to make this stop.

"Ok, that's enough." He says.

"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. 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."

My mouth has dropped open at the sheer audacity of this proposal. "The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve says.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes, you could bet there'd be consequences."

"But these aren't nukes. These are real people. I find it funny that someone who represents the American government, for a country that was created to help escape persecution and enjoy freedoms, is sitting here asking us to give ours away." I state, looking Secretary Ross dead in the eye.

"Believe me when I say, this does ensure your freedom Miss Stark. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. This is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies." Rhodey states.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords." Steve and I turn to look at Dad but he refuses to meet either one of our eyes. "Talk it over."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Nat asks.

"Then you retire." Ross says before leaving. I watch as they make their way to the front of the building and leave.

"So this is what you were keeping from me? This blatant display of government force?" I ask Dad softly as we all move into the living room. I stand behind Steve and read the document over his shoulder. "Wait, pause." I tell him as we come across an Enhanced Individual clause.

"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have." Rhodey tells Sam.

"So that means he's infallible?" I ask. "Let's not forget it was this asshole who hunted down Bruce like a dog."