"Wanda?" I asked as I knocked on her door.
I could hear the telly on, it was the news, the voice of the female reporter rang through the air as she described the events of the Avengers newest failure. Lagos. I sat on her bed beside her and watched but not really paying attention.
"....killing dozens of Nigerians and eleven Wakandans......."
That caught my attention. Wakandans? In Nigeria? Why were they there? I silently hoped to myself that I didn't know any of them. Wanda seemed to notice my sudden interest and questioned me on it.
"Did you know them?" She asked
"No. I don't think so. Why?" I knew why I just went along with it anyway.
"You took a very sudden interest when the Wakandans were mentioned. I was just assuming you may have known......."
Wanda didn't get to finish before Vision came through the wall. Again. It startled me really, I'm still trying to get use to this guy. I've never seen anything as advanced as he is. Even in Wakanda, the tech isn't that powerful, no matter how much Vibranium they could dig up. I was brought out of my thoughts by Wanda speaking.
"Vis, we talked about this."
She looked at him like you would to a pup who's just walked across a clean carpet with mucky paws.
"Yes, but the door was opened and I assumed that-" he gave a sigh before continuing. "Mr. Stark requests your presence downstairs. He has brought a guest."
And with that he left the same way he came. I exchanged a look with Wanda both of us asking the same question: 'who?'.
I just shrugged my shoulders and stood up to leave, Wanda following close behind.
We walked in the room to see all Avengers had been assembled and are now sitting around a conference table. The look on Steve's face said it all, something was going to happen today and not everyone was going to agree with it. I took a seat beside Steve, just across from Wanda. Tony sat in the corner of the room, a serious expression painted evidently across his face. One I have never seen Tony wear before. Something was seriously wrong. Everyone was silent all eyes on the Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross.
"Huh, 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 thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I have found something forty years in the army had never thought 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 heros, there are some who would prefer the word 'vigilantes'."
I stared at him quizzically, trying to soak in and make sense of what he's just told us.
"And what word would you use, Mr.Secretary?"
Natasha spoke up, asking the question on everybody's mind. Ross took no time to even think of an answer before saying:
"How about 'dangerous'?"
The was a pause as everyone sank into thought, before he continued.
"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 with what they leave behind?"
Again silence. Secretary Ross began to play footage from previous Avenger missions, some of which I wasn't involved in, presumably when I was either still in Hydra or Wakanda.
"New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia, Lagos......."
The footage from Sokavia had struck a chord with Wanda, and I could see that. So, before Ross could show anymore I stopped him.
"Okay. That's enough."
I was stern, and at this stage this Secretary Ross was really starting to piss me off. He gave me a curious look, he obviously didn't know who I was. I plan on keeping it that way, if he knew the things I've done, where I've come from, he'd have me locked up quicker than I could say the word 'Avenger'. After a moment of exchanged glares, he continued.
"In 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 then placed a thick document on the desk and passed it to Wanda.
"The Sokavia Accords. Approved by a hundred and seventeen countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organisation. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."
Everyone was in thought and occasionally exchanging looks with each other. Steve broke the silence that was eating us all up.
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that."
I couldn't have agreed more. In the short time I've been with the Avengers we have saved a lot of people, we've fought off aliens and evil robots. I know there have been casualties along the way, but that was to be expected in this line of work.
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, it's in the middle ground."
I had just about enough of this guy, and he ain't gonna get away with talking to my friends like that. I don't care whether he's the Secretary of State or a school, he wasn't leaving without hearing it from me.
"First of all I'd like to say........"
Everyone turned to look at me. Steve's eyes warning me not to take it too far.
"How do you make the comparison between a thirty megaton nuke and a God and Scientist? Really it puzzles me deeply."
Ross went to speak but I stopped him by putting up my finger to hush him.
"I'm not finished. Secondly I would like to ask you how dare you come in here and not only call us 'dangerous', but offend us by saying, how did you put it, ' individuals who seem unconcerned about what they leave behind.'That was a bit harsh now. We have saved thousands of people who could be dead now if the Avengers hadn't been there to save them. Yes, I know that people have died because of our actions, but tell me something Secretary, how many people can your army save? How many people could your army save if they had to fight against what we've fought against? How many casualties would their be then?"
I was serious and my sudden outburst had surprised Ross.
"We were trained to fight against aliens and robots, people like us. Your army, they were trained to fight other humans. I think there's a slight difference there, Mr.Secretary. All I'm saying is you won't be seeing my signature on those accords."
And with that I finished. I must say I felt pretty good after it. Steve stared at me, his eyebrows raised at my rant. Secretary Ross said nothing, but I knew if I had a run in with him anytime soon, I'll put in a cell.
"And what if we come to a decision you don't like?"Nat asked.
It was a good question because I'm guessing the outcome won't allow us to be free citizens. Ross turned to look at us as he walked towards the door.
"You retire."
And then he was gone.
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We were all sitting around a coffee table in the kitchen. Tony started giving out about coffee granules in the sink, again. He then pulled up a picture of a young boy. Tony took a minute before he spoke.
"Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree. 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig. An intel plan for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul. Before he parked it behind the desk. See the world, maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam. Sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia. 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."
There was a pause and silence filled the room.
"If we can't accept limitations, we're boundless, we're no better than the bad guys."
Those words played over in my mind: 'No better than the bad guys.'
That's what I was, the bad guy. I've killed and destroyed. And now when I've finally joined a group of people who did the opposite, I find them falling apart.
A conversation had started between the Avengers, most of which I zoned out for. Until Nat speaking brought me out of it.
"Maybe Tony is right. If, we have one hand on the wheel we can still steer."
"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss our ass a few years ago." Sam replied, shock and disagreement evident in his words.
"I'm just......monitoring. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win our trust back."
"I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me." Tony voiced, surprised at Nat's agreement, but she instantly regretting it.
"Oh, I want to take it back."
"No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. I'm impressed by what you did. Okay, case closed. I win."
Steve's phone had gone off, when he read the text he was up and out of his seat in an instant.
"I have to go."
Was all he said.
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