BANG//Marvel

IV. I.: The accords

Lagos. The moment Liam and Jack heard the news, Liam drove them to the new Avengers base. Jack didn't even wait for his brother to park his bike, he just hopped off and ran up to find Pietro and Wanda. Liam let out a saddened sigh and soon followed after him. Walking into the living room connected to the kitchen, he saw Natasha sitting at the bar, staring into her empty coffee cup.

"Hey." He said with a soft voice. "We heard what happened. How are the two?"

"It was their first fuck up on a mission. So they probably feel like shit. But Jack went to talk to them. He can probably talk to Pietro, but I'm worried about Wanda. She seems to be taking it pretty hard." The red head sighed.

"I'll go talk to her." Liam said with determined look. Natasha smiled at him.

"They grew on you." She said and Liam chuckled.

"Yeah, they did." Liam said and Natasha leaned to him, softly brushing her lips against his. Liam smiled into the kiss and his eyes fluttered closed.

"I'm glad you're here." Whispered Natasha as she leaned her forehead against his.

"I'm glad I'm here too." And with a final peck, he went off to find the female Maximoff.

-Time skip-

"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. 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. They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these. What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri-" Liam used his powers to turn the TV off.

"It's my fault." Wanda said with guilt in her voice.

"That's not true." Liam said and Wanda flinched, clearly not expecting him to be the one to go to her. Liam frowned at her tense shoulders and her eyes, which seemed to be avoiding him.

"Turn the TV back on. They're being very specific."

"I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it." Someone said from behind Liam and he almost jumped out of his skin. Cap smiled apologetically at him. "Rumlow said "BUCKY" and all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn. And people died."

"It's on me."

"It's on both of us. 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 then next time maybe nobody gets saved." All three of them jumped when Vision appeared through the wall.

"Vis! We talked about this."

"Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that... Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving."

"Thank you. We'll be right down."

"I'll use the door. Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest." Liam raised his eyebrow.

"We know who it is?" He asked.

"The Secretary of State." All three of them stared at Vision with various levels of surprise.

"Well... Guess I'm staying up here." Sighed Liam.

-Time skip-

"Five years ago I had a heart attack and 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." Liam and Jack watched the whole scene on the security cameras on the second floor in the base.

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?"

"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? New York. Washington, D.C. Sokovia. Lagos."

"Okay. That's enough." Said Steve when he saw the pain the pictures were causing Wanda and Pietro.

"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. 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. " Both Mills brothers frowned, not very fond of the idea of being under some third party.

"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? And that ghost of yours? 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 consequences."

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

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Asked Natasha.

"Then you retire." Said the secretary and Natasha send him a sarcastic smile.