I sat in my usual chair in the corner with my arms crossed, staring at the old ass man in front of me. Mr. Secretary of State: Thaddeus Ross. Yippee.
My father brought along his little friend there to Avengers Towers. Why? Because he was having a psychotic break. Though I was forced into retirement years ago by Ultron I still had a seat at the table probably because if I did not I would kill someone. Namely my father.
"Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. 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 un-payable 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,"" Ross said dramatically making me want to blow my brains out if I had any. Damn humanoid body.
"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha spoke up from the table with the 'real' Avengers on it. I nodded to her silently, silently being the only thing I could.
"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?"
"The U.S. military?" I piped up from the corner causing everyone to glance at me, Nat smirking at my comment while Ross glared daggers at me. Yeah, government workers were not a fan of me. Mostly because my father refused to sell me all those years ago but come on guys, you need to get over that.
He proceeded to ignore me and showed video footage of our last battles from the news on the screen behind him.
"New York," he listed showing videos of the destruction the Chitauri caused and Hulk going awol on buildings. Oh yeah sure, show soldiers with crippling PTSD from past wars, that will get them. I would love to see you show U.S. military soldiers videos of their past wars killing middle easterners for raw resources.
I bit my tongue begrudgingly. I was not in the position to make comments after Wandas' mistake of blowing up an entire building that was going to blow up anyway if it was not for us.
Mistake. Like no one has made a mistake. Out of all the lives she saved, this mistake will cost her and us everything.
"Washington, D.C.," Ross listed showing the helicarriers crash making Sam look down. That is it, I am going to kill him now.
"Sokovia." Wanda and my father stare at the screen as we watched the city crumble and citizens scream while I stare intently at my father. It would be an understatement if our relationship still has not 'healed' from his inexcusable actions from the past. First building me and playing god, then exploiting me, and then making an entirely new Android that wanted to kill all of mankind. Nice going, creator.
"Lagos." The burning building, destroyed, as paramedics wheel away a dead girl. Wanda looks like she was about to break down right then and there before Steve intervened. I never particularly liked him but suddenly I did.
"Okay. That's enough," Steve said harshly making Ross nod to the aide and making the screen turn off.
(I changed the years because the timeline makes no sense for homecoming if it was only four years)
"For the past eight 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," Ross declared before sliding over a thick booklet to Wanda who picked it up, glanced at it, and slides it over to Rhodey.
"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," Ross explained making my eyes widen as I gaped at him. The fuc-
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that," Steve argued calmly but firmly and I nodded slightly. I would not say a safer place but we sure as hell saved a couple of thousand lives.
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Steve looked up from the table and met Ross's eyes, silently.
"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." I bit back my tongue harder. They are people you patronizing little-
I squeezed the arms of my chair, silently still as a flash of electricity shot out from my body making a popping sound. Ross glanced at me with a raised eyebrow like he was daring me to say what I was thinking.
"Sorry. Glitches," I excused, gritting my teeth at the man. Technically, that was not a lie, that was from a glitch but I also left out it was because my body was encouraging me to fry his brains right then and there.
"So, there are contingencies," Rhodey noted, tapping the Accords with his fingertips.
"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords," Ross informed causing Steve and father to share a look. "Talk it over."
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Nat asked calmly, leaning over the table.
"Then you retire," Ross answered firmly causing Nat to stifle a smile like a dare to get them to try.
As Steve read the Accords in deep thought, Sam and Rhodey argued intently behind him. Annoying much? If I had not already read the trash pile that was those Accords I would be annoyed at how long it takes Steve to read the damn thing.
"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have."
"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."
"How long are you going to play both sides?
"I have an equation," Vision, my brother, spoke up making everyone, who was not already distracted by their own thoughts, look at him.
"Oh, this will clear it up," Sam snarked, rolling his eyes.
"In the twelve 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 pointed out making Steve do a double take.
"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow causing Viz to pause for a moment before explaining further.
"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." I looked up at him and blinked at the absurdity of the observation.
"Viz, I love you but that is the dumbest thing you have ever said," I said causing the eyes that were on him to be on me instead. "So what? Sure it looks unusual but it could be chalked up to coincidental because people evolve so obviously they are going to do it together. Almost everything we have faced was bound to happen if we existed or not. You know, besides all the villains that father dearest over here created," I jabbed, glancing at my father who looked like he had a hangover. Vision went silent as we stared at each other until Nat got our attention with her voice.
"Tony," she spoke up causing him to look up from his palm and to her instead. "You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal," she pointed out.
"It's because he's already made up his mind," Steve figured as father stood up, wincing.
"Boy, you know me so well," he snarked back. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache," he informed, heading to the kitchen and grabbed a mug. "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?" He casually placed his phone in a basket and taps it. The phone projects an image of a young boy in, his early 20s at most. He looks down at his mug, then back up, and pretends to notice the floating picture for the first time. Oh, so this is where he is going with this whole bit.
"Oh, 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." Is this...asshole really trying to make everyone share the blame with him?!
I glanced at everybody else who looked racked with guilt. Are these idiots falling for this?! Oh right, I am the only one who has dealt with him and this bullshit for 15 years.
"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," he finished as I just stared at this man. He took a pill with a gulp of his coffee before facing us. Yeah, a building we dropped because we were busy cleaning up your mess!
"There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! 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."
"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Steve tried to reason.
"Who said we're giving up?" Father rushed out without skipping a beat.
"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames," Steve argued calmly again, not flinching at my father's attempts to scare him off.
"I'm sorry. Steve. That-that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA."
"I am sorry, I remember HYDRA infiltrating the government or did I miss something while I was in custody for Ultron hacking into me?" I spoke throwing everybody a confused look as to why we were even arguing about this.
"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change," Steve rebutted, ignoring me and my logic.
"That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing."
"Okay, no. Just no," I stopped the grown men's dick-measuring contest and stood up. "Stop making this about the Avengers. This is about you," I pointed at father, taking him back. "This is not our fault. This is your fault so stop trying to get everyone to share the blame. Conflict does not breed catastrophe, you do. You are the reason half as many villains are coming at us. You are the reason Sokovia happened in the first place. You are the reason that boy is dead so do not throw that at us or anybody else besides yourself," I spat, moving closer and closer to him until I was right in front of him. "You do a lot of shitty things but that was the most despicable. And what is worse is that you are trying to make yourself feel a tiny less responsible and a little bit less guilty by pushing it on everybody else too but that was something you decided to do. And that is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. These Accords should not be for the Avengers, they should be for you," I finished, grabbing the Accords from off the coffee table and slamming them into his chest before stalking off.
I went through the hallway and to the elevator, pressing my floor number. I waited impatiently for the doors to open, tapping my foot against the ground in irritation until the doors slid open. I stomped out of the elevator and to the end of the empty hallway before stopping at a seemingly bare wall. I typed in the password I have had since I was 2, '66092100' into the buttons on the wall that were invisible to the naked human eye and pressed 'Enter.' The doors to my room slid open with a beep and I walked in, flicking my wrist to the wall causing electricity to shoot out from my hand and make the room light up with life.
The untouched, rarely used, king-sized bed in the corner of the room flipped back to reveal my slightly plush charging dock, and the simple child-like desk flipped to a high-tech workstation emitting different holograms. The walls flipped back revealing a big television and various other screens for multiple uses but mainly just to brag about. What? I cannot enjoy the privileges I have in life just for funsies?
"Hello, Hailey Stark," Friday greeted me from the speakers in the walls.
"Hey, Friday," I greeted back as I slipped into my work chair, spinning in it a couple of times before parking it into my desk. I unwrapped the blue ribbon on my wrist and grabbed it in one hand while grabbing my blue hair in the other and tied the ribbon around my hair like a ponytail.
I quickly started working on my little pet project like usual. Simply put, I'm working on a small travel-sized, instant, backup battery for myself so I wouldn't have to worry about running out of charge in the middle of the day. Which happens a lot more than you think, unfortunately.
I messed with some formulas on a hologram to try to lower the probability of my glitches with the insertion of the instant backup battery. Stupid glitches...stupid father... could not even bother building me correctly so I did not blast electricity every time I felt feelings a bit too much?
I grumbled to myself while coming to another dead end on improving the lack of glitches with my backup batteries. I sighed and turned to the other holographic on my right, trying to increase the amount of power I maintain in a single night's charge or "sleep" to help improve the time I can potentially be awake for a day. I huffed knowing I was in for a long day of going through calculations to upgrade my body.
After a couple of days of barricading myself in my room, I heard a knock at my door causing me to look up, annoyed, at the door.
"What?" I snapped, expecting my father to be on the other side but I was surprised, to say the least.
"It's me, Nat. I just want to talk," she called through the door making me narrow my eyes at the thing like she could see me through it. After a moment I decided to open the door revealing a tired-looking Natasha Romanoff.
"Hey," I greeted simply, not knowing how this conversation was about to go down. I saw the news, though she knew that since she knew I knew everything. Connection to the internet 24/7 has its many upsides.
"I have a favor to ask," Nat started, cutting to the chase.
"Is this an optional favor or a forced favor?" I checked, raising an eyebrow at her usual bluntness.
"Sign the Accords," she said like a statement rather than a question.
"I am not an Avenger anymore."
"That's bullshit and everyone knows it."
"Tell that to my idiot creator downstairs," I shot back cooly without skipping a beat.
"Like you said, he's an idiot. You are still a hero and a part of this," Nat argued reasonably making me break.
"Even if I am, you and I both know I am not signing that," I admitted finally, stopping the excuse.
"Hails-"
"Do not Hails me, you know this is a bad idea. I can see it in your eyes you know that just as well as I do," I interrupted looking her in her eyes stubbornly before she gave up and sigh with exasperation.
"You know what you're getting into?" Nat asked hesitantly making me give her a small smile.
"I always do."