Virus (Sequel to Glitch)

Sokovia Accords

The sounds of skin against leather ring through the training room as I slam my fist into the punching bag one more time. The T.V. is switched onto the news and the topic is the incident that occured last month.

"11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusi--"

Slamming my fists into the punching bag harder, I try to drown out the sound, the bag swings back and forth and I steady it with my hand. I move over to the knife table and pick up one, feeling it through my fingers and widening my stance to face the target.

"Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil." King T'Chaka speaks as I throw one knife to hit the second ring of the target, "Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all."

I throw knife after knife, all hitting the center area until I only have two left.

"What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?" At the sound of Wanda's name, anger boils up inside me and I turn to the T.V., releasing my knife so it wedges itself in the news anchor's face, cracking the screen and turning it off. 

"It's not her fault." I say quietly to practically no one, placing the last knife back on the table as someone behind me speaks.

"Nice throw." Turning around quickly, I relax when I see Steve standing there, leaning against the doorway.

"Is Tony here?" I ask and grab a towel from the racks, wiping my face with it.

"Yeah he's here." Steve stands up straight as I walk over to him, "And he brought the Secretary of State."

I raise a questioning eyebrow, shaking my head and walking past Steve out the doorway.

"What for?" I start towards my room as Steve follows. "Not just another drinking buddy is it? Won't Rhodes be offended?"

"He wants to meet with us." Steve says and I sigh, reaching my door and stopping.

"Can I at least take a shower first? I mean, it's the Secretary of State."

He smirks, "Of course."

I smile and walk into my new room in the Avengers facility, putting my towel in the hamper and heading towards my bathroom.

*********

I sit next to Wanda as Secretary Ross stands before the team.

"Five years ago... I had a heart attack. I 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. 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'."

I sigh and glance back at Wanda, already annoyed as Nat speaks,

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" She says and I look back at him.

"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?" He displays a map on a big screen, zooming on to a familiar city. "New York."

I watch curiously as the New York battle is played before my eyes. I remember when I was fourteen, I had just started living on the streets and that's when the giant metal worms atracked. Aliens, everywhere. I was terrified, alone. I stayed hiding in my attic, listening to the ruccus and crying.

Now I watch as one of those horrible giant worms swing around a corner, crashing into buildings as the Hulk jumps off an apartment rooftop.

"Washington DC." I watch the screen as three giant helicarriers grace the sky, I watch explosions and I watch one sink into the water as it catches fire.

"Sokovia." My heart stops as I watch the screen. People rushing into the lifeboats, screaming. The city lifts into the sky and I look at my hands, guilt and grief taking over my senses. I glance up and see a building collapse onto the city and immediately turn my chair away from the screen slightly. I remember the events of that day. How happy I was when Pietro kissed me, and how scared I was for Clint. I remember the feeling of utter devastation that settled in my heart as I saw Pietro fall. And the sense of slight hope that he was still alive. A single tear falls down my face and I wipe it away quickly, hoping nobody saw. Looking up, my eyes meet Steve's as he looks at me with pity. I just look away from him and back at the screen as the Secretary speaks.

"Lagos." I frown as I see the explosion from last month erupt in the building. I see people taken out of the rubble and fire rescue everywhere. I see a girl lie on the ground, not moving and I glance at Wanda, who looks at the table.

"Stop." I say quietly, but loud enough. Everyone stares at me and the Secretary raises his eyebrows.

"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." He puts a thick document on the table in front of me and I glance at it. "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 document is passed along as Steve speaks.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that."

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Secretary Ross asks, "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 says.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords." I frown at the Secretary, "Talk it over."

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

"Then you retire."

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Hello people of the earth.

I know, I know, my updates are slow and sucky. School work is loaded on me, so I need to focus on that, for future and crap's sake. This book is so far not great, so please please please please, give me some advice for what to do with it. I have gone a blank, and I need your help. 

What's gonna work? TEAMWORK!

Ok, ok ok.

Comment, vote. Yadayadayada.

-Gerald Billingsley.