[Holly, Hadley and Howard were sitting in Holly's living room, gossiping]
Hadley: I hate Victoria
Holly: who doesn't
Howard: What's bad about her
"She's a little shit, that's what" Charlotte deadpans.
"What's so bad about her?" Steve asked, until Natasha warned him against it.
[Clint and Laura walk in]
Laura: she's like her mother who is a jealous little bitch, who knows she can never be as good as your parents
"See even Laura knows" Holly says at the same time
Holly: see even Laura know
Howard: you two are over reacting
Holly: [in Hungarian] your not saying anything bad, because you're dating her sorry ass, but as soon as you break up, your gonna say some bad shit about her
Howard looks at her
"I was right though"
[Clint and Laura slightly laugh, knowing what Holly said and Howard flipped Holly off, because he couldn't understand her]
[Soft piano is playing. Tony Stark's mother, Maria, sits at a piano. A young Tony is on the couch.]
Tony looks down and Hadley holds his hand as she knows her father's boundaries with somethings.
Maria Stark: Try to remember the kind of September. When grass was green . . . [She stops singing as Howard Stark walks in, but continues playing.] Wake up, dear, and say goodbye to your father.
Howard Stark: Who's the homeless person on the couch?[Tony, wearing a Santa hat, staggers to his feet and chuckles.]
Young Tony Stark: This is why I love coming home for Christmas . . . right before you leave town.
Natasha smiles at Howard and Tony's banter.
"He liked you" Tony complains to Natasha
"Did he fuck. He just sorry for me"
"Yeah that's probably right"
Maria Stark: Be nice, dear, he's been studying abroad.
Howard Stark: Really, which broad? What's her name?
Young Tony Stark: Candice.[Howard pulls off Tony's hat.]
"Tony, you better not of been talking about 'candice'?" Natasha asks/states
"I was"
"Dirty bastard"
Howard Stark: Do me a favor? Try not to burn the house down before Monday.
Young Tony Stark: Okay, so it's Monday. That is good to know. I will plan my toga party accordingly. Where you going?
Maria Stark: Your father's flying us to the Bahamas for a little getaway.
Howard Stark: We might have to make a quick stop.
Young Tony Stark: At the Pentagon. Right? Don't worry, you're gonna love the holiday menu at the commissary.[Maria stops playing the piano.]
Howard Stark: You know, they say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that's true, you'll be a great man some day. I'll get the bags.[He walks out of the room, and Maria stands up.]
Maria Stark: He does miss you when you are not here. And frankly, you're going to miss us. Because this is the last time we're all going to be together. You know what's about to happen. Say something. If you don't, you'll regret it.[Howard walks back in.]
Young Tony Stark: I love you, Dad. And I know you did the best you could.[Maria leans in to kiss Tony on the cheek, and when she leans back, an older Tony Stark is standing in the background. Howard and Maria walk out, leaving the two Tonys.]
Tony Stark: That's how I wished it happened. Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or BARF. God, I gotta work on that acronym. An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus to . . . clear traumatic memories. Huh.[He blows on a candle and everything around him shimmers, then starts to dissolve. It's a hologram.]
Tony Stark: It doesn't change the fact that they never made it to the airport . . . or all the things I did to avoid processing my grief, but . . . [He takes off his glasses.] Plus, 611 million dollars for my little therapeutic experiment? No one in the right mind would've ever funded it.[He is standing on a stage in front of a large crowd. A sign reads MIT Alumni Honors: Tony Stark.]
Tony Stark: Help me out, what's the MIT mission statement? "To generate, disseminate . . . and preserve knowledge. And work with others . . . to bring it to bear on the world's great challenges." Well, you are the others. And, quiet as it's kept . . . the challenges facing you are the greatest mankind's ever known. Plus, most of you are broke.[The crowd chuckles.]
Tony Stark: Oh, I'm sorry. Rather, you were. As of this moment . . . every student has been made an equal recipient of the Inaugural September Foundation Grant. As in . . . all of your projects have just been approved and funded.[The crowd breaks out in applause and cheering.]
Tony Stark: No strings, no taxes... just re-frame the future! Starting now.[The teleprompter above the audience reads. 'Now I would like to introduce the head of the foundation: Pepper Potts.' Tony stares at it sadly.]
"Tony..." pepper states, but Tony leans into Pepper and brings Hadley in for a hug.
Tony Stark: Go break some eggs.[He exits the stage.]
MIT teacher: Wow. Wow. That uh . . . that took my breathe away. Oh, Tony! So generous. So much money! Wow! Out of curiosity . . . will any portion of that grant be made available to faculty? I know, "Ooh, gross," but hear me out. I have got this killer idea for a self-cooking hot dog. Basically, chemical detonator embedded . . .[Tony is not listening.]
Tony Stark: Restroom's this way, yeah?
MIT teacher: Yeah. Embedded in the meat shaft.
Stark's Assistant: Mr. Stark, I am so sorry about the teleprompter. I didn't know Miss Potts had cancelled. They didn't have time to fix it.
Tony Stark: It's . . . fine. I'll be right back.
MIT teacher: We'll catch up later.
[Tony steps into a quiet corridor. He loiters by the men's room, then glances back at the stage door before walking towards the elevator. A woman in sober clothes is also waiting. Tony stops and turns his back to the wall.]
"What's gonna happen here" Holly, Ivanna, Abby, Hadley and Charlotte say at the same time.
Mrs. Spencer: That was nice, what you did for those young people.
Tony Stark: Ah, they deserve it. Plus, it helps ease my conscience.
Mrs. Spencer: They say there's a correlation between generosity and guilt. But if you've got the money . . . break as many eggs as you like. Right?[He narrows his eyes and half smiles, then turns to face the elevator. He looks surprised to find the button unlit and pushes it himself.]
Tony Stark: Are you going up?
Mrs. Spencer: I'm right where I want to be.[She digs in her handbag, Tony grabs her wrist. He realises what he's done.]
Tony Stark: Okay, okay. Hey! Sorry, it's an occupational hazard.Mrs. Spencer: I work for the State Department. Human Resources. I know it's boring . . . but it enabled me to raise a son. I'm very proud of what he grew up to be.[She shoves a photo at him.]
Mrs Spencer: His name was Charlie Spencer. You murdered him. In Sokovia. Not that it matters in the least to you. You think you fight for us. You just fight for yourself.[Tony shakes his head.]
Mrs Spencer: Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead . . . and I blame you.[She turns and walks away, leaving Tony standing by the elevator with a grim frown.]
The avengers look down and the kids just roll their eyes.
[At the Avengers Compound. Steve catches Wanda watching a news report on the Lagos attack and how they blame her for it.]
News Anchor #1: 11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred.
King T'Chaka: Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. 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.
News Anchor #1: The Wakanda king went on to . . .[Steve, who was watching the news, turns his computer off, but sound drifts toward him from another room.]
News anchor #2: They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these.[Wanda is sitting on her bed, watching the news on her TV.]
News Anchor #2 What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri -[The TV turns off. Steve sets the remote down and leans on the door frame.]
Wanda Maximoff: It's my fault.
Steve Rogers: That's not true.
Wanda Maximoff: Turn the TV back on. They're being very specific.
Steve Rogers: I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it.[He walks over.]
Steve Rogers: Rumlow said "Bucky" and . . . all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn. [He sits beside Wanda.]
Holly whispers, gay, in Ivanna's ear and they both started laughing.
Steve Rogers: And people died. It's on me.
Wanda Maximoff: It's on both of us.
Steve Rogers: This job . . . we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time . . . maybe nobody gets saved.[Vision materializes through the wall. Wanda starts.]
[Vision interrupts Wanda and Steve by walking through the wall into Wanda's room]Wanda Maximoff: Vis! We talked about this.
Vision: Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that . . .[He gestures at the door and stops.]
Vision: Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.
Steve Rogers: Thank you. We'll be right down.
Vision: I'll . . . use the door. Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest.
Steve Rogers: We know who it is?
Vision: The Secretary of State.
All the kids look at each other a bit funny and the avengers see.