Gunpowder and Satin ; BW

3.12

"Y/n, what the hell is going on? Some guys in suits were at my house, then the secretary showed up!"

I sighed, leaning my head against the wall, "I would have warned you if I knew this was going to happen. What did they say to you?"

"They want me to operate under them and if I refuse, I can't use my powers."

"What did you say?" I scratched my cheek.

"I agreed to the terms. I can still use my powers but only when they need me. Y/n, I've never been happier. I mean, I get to finally have a shot at a normal life."

"You agreed that quickly?" I asked in shock.

"I chose to act on my powers to help people, y/n. I know it doesn't all fall on you.. but, you've let a lot of people die."

"yeah.." I deadpanned, "I guess I did."

"Have you made up your mind?" Miles asked softly on the other end.

I shook my head, chewing on the inside of my cheek, "No."

I ended the call with Miles after that, stuffing my phone in my jeans pocket. I walked back into the room, Steve sat in a chair 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." Rhodey poked Sam's chest.

Sam rolled his eyes, "So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?"

"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, "No, that's cool. We got it. "

Sam scoffed, "How long are you going to play both sides?"

I sighed under my breath, making my way over to my girlfriend who sat on the loveseat. I plopped down next to her, resting my head in her lap and her fingers threaded into my hair.

"I have an equation." Vision spoke up, cutting off the men's banter.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate." Vision explained carefully.

Steve looked at him baffled, "Are you saying it's our fault?"

Vision shook his head, "I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict . . . breeds catastrophe. Oversight . . . oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"He's got a point." I said sitting up, "Even back when the battle of New York happened, Thor was right when he said our experiments with tech we didn't understand made us look like we were searching for a higher form of war. We're the best of the best, guys. So they're going to send the best of the best after us."

"Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal." Nat called over to the man who made a drink in the kitchen.

Steve sighed, "It's because he's already made up his mind."

Tony smiled sarcastically, "Boy, you know me so well. Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. 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?"

Tony put his phone in a basket and taps it. The phone projects an image of a smiling young man, "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."