Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 2

Causality (Stark x reader/Civil War references)

"Tony," you approached cautiously, but he continued without missing a beat as if you had said nothing.

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kickin' ass."

"I know what you're doing, Tony, and it's not your fault," you finally broke in. "What happened in Sokovia isn't on just you, okay? We all had our part in that."

"Because I created the situation, (Y/N). Please, don't sugarcoat this, and spare me the pity. Listen, even if that never happened, 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, we're no better than the bad guys."

"But you've already made yourself the bad guy, like you always do."

"(Y/N), maybe Tony's right," Nat added quietly, with a look of apprehension as she spoke to a group that was shocked by her words, none more than Sam. "If...we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer."

"Wait, aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss our ass a few years ago?" Sam asked, looking to you to back him up. When you shifted your gaze away, his mouth hung open in shock that you would actually be agreeing with what was happening. You had been mission partners since he joined the Avengers, and it would never once occur to him that you might disagree with him on something so important as this. "(Y/N), come on, tell me you're not buying into this too?"

"She's reading the terrain. We've made some very public mistakes, Sam, and we need to win their trust back. I know that you can agree with at least that much."

"I'm sorry," Tony scoffed, "did I just mishear you ladies or did you just agree with me?"

You looked around the group, particularly to Steve, who was shaking his head in disbelief that he and Sam seemed to be the only ones left to disagree with what was happening. He had been burned by government control before, rocking the core of his character when he was betrayed by a system that told him they were doing what was right and he had willingly followed. This was just another attempt at control that he now wanted nothing to do with.

"Oh, I want to take it back," you groaned, seeing Natasha nodding her head in agreement, but it was too late; Tony took it and ran.

"No, no, no, you can't retract it," he gloated. "Thank you, unprecedented."

~~~

It was my legacy.

You, Avengers. You are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword, and the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure.

His name was Charles Spencer, and you murdered him. He's dead, and I blame you.

"Son of a bitch," Tony shot forward from his tortured sleep, throwing his pillow angrily across the room with a pained yell. "Time?"

"2:30am, boss."

He sat in complete silence for several minutes, weighing his options of if he should try to sleep again as he so desperately needed, if he should give up and work in the lab to keep his mind occupied, or if he should try to drink himself into passing out just for the rest it would provide. When none of those options sounded appealing, he finally gave in to what FRIDAY had known was the answer all along.

"Okay, you can call her now."

~~~

"Ma,am?"

"Hmm?" you murmured, turning over in your bed and pulling the pillow over your head.