Rogue (An Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter 32: We Messed Up

*WARNING: Contains 'Captain America: Civil War' Spoilers!

"11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of Mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria..."

I turned the television off harshly, throwing the remote down on my bed and closing my eyes. We were back in New York after the mistake that we made in Lagos and the press hadn't taken too kindly to us, Wanda taking the brunt of the abuse. She blamed herself for what had happened, but we all had an equal part to play.

Rumlow mentioned my mom and all of a sudden I was this 12-year-old kid again, in Harlem. The saddest part: I had no idea who that kid was now...

If I hadn't been stupid enough to take Rumlow's bait, if he hadn't mentioned my mother, we would have had nothing to do with Lagos. Rumlow would have gotten away with his plan and we'd be blaming ourselves for not getting there in time. Still, I'd rather be blamed for not doing something than for doing it wrong.

"You OK?" I heard from the doorway. I turned to see Nat staring at me.

"Fine," I lied. She came into the room and sat beside me.

"We killed a lot of people," she said. "We messed up."

"Thanks Captain Obvious!" I said scathingly, turning the TV on again to drown out the sound of Nat's words and my own thoughts.

"What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?" the reporter asked.

"He's right y'know," Nat said. "None of us had any authority to be there."

I thought back to our other missions – New York, D.C., Sokovia. When had we ever had authority to be anywhere? Isn't that what we did? Solved the problem before the government even realized that there was a problem?

"I didn't think we needed authority," I replied softly. Nat remained silent, telling me that she disagreed with me. She blamed Wanda.

"I need to tell you something," she said after a while. "Girl-to-girl." I resisted the urge to let my jaw hang open. Natasha Romanoff needing girl talk? This never happened!

"Sure." I made myself comfortable – Nat never had any kind of boy drama.

"I kissed Steve," she blurted, waiting for my reaction. I visibly, subconsciously, cringed, thinking of my own awkward kiss with the star-spangled man with a plan.

"Wow," was all I could think of saying.

"I like him," she continued.

"What about Bruce?" I wondered.

"No way. Bruce and I are like the really weird couple in a movie – we were forced together. I don't think we ever suited each other, not really. This is different."

From the way she spoke, I could tell that it was. And in that moment, I let go of any feelings that I may have been holding in for Steve. We shouldn't be together, especially when I was using him to get back at Stark. Steve and Nat deserved each other.

"Tell him how you feel," I urged her. "Forget the team and the missions and Lagos – you guys deserve to be happy."

"He told me you kissed him," she smirked. "Do you like him too?"

I scoffed. "No way. Steve's a friend, a really good friend. But that's all, promise!" I promised. Nat leaned over and we hugged as there was a knock at the door and Steve walked in. Nat blushed slightly when she saw him and I smiled to myself, revelling in the cuteness of them.

"The Secretary of State is here – he wants to address all of us."

"Are we in trouble?" I asked, cursing myself internally for sounding like a schoolchild who'd forgotten to hand in their homework.

"Unless he's forgotten what happened in Lagos already..." Steve trailed off.

"Let's face the music," Nat said with a groan, lifting herself from my bed.

"Oh, and Rogue?" Steve said, stopping me in my tracks. "Stark's here," he warned me. Of course he was – could this day get any worse?

***

"What the hell were you thinking?" Stark asked, immediately pulling me away from the rest of the team. He looked like he'd aged 5 years since the last time I saw him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Taking Maximoff to Lagos? What if she'd hurt you?"

"Wanda isn't dangerous!" I hissed so that she wouldn't hear me from where she was sitting at the table, awaiting the presence of the rest of the Avengers.

"She killed hundreds-"

"She made a mistake!" I cut him off. "You should know what that's like."

"You trust her?" he asked me.

"I trust her more than I trust you," I answered truthfully, happy to see the look of hurt in his eyes. "And even if Wanda, or anyone, killed me, it wouldn't be your problem. Because, in case you've forgotten, I'm not your girlfriend anymore!"

"You're being stupid!" he argued.

"I'm stupid for trusting Wanda?" I asked, thinking about the irony of this situation. A few months ago, I would have been called stupid for trusting Stark – but I didn't stop trusting him because someone told me that I should. I stopped trusting him because I had to.

"Look, the Avengers are supposed to save lives, not take them!"

"Really? Because, looking at your track record, you've done your share of both. Not forgetting that one of the lives that you took was my dad's!" I reminded him.

"Obadiah Stane was crazy. He wanted to kill me-"

"Like father like daughter!" I remarked. Not that this was technically true, but I wanted him to feel like it was. I wanted him to feel abandoned, alone.

"Oh, and remember when you asked me if this was a break or a break-up?" I asked. "Well, I have my answer. It's a break-up. We are never, ever, getting back together, Stark!"

As I said this, Thaddeus Ross, the Secretary of State, walked into the room and the rest of the Avengers took their seats. I turned away from Stark to sit between Wanda and Falcon.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

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Thank you for reading!

So, what are the consequences of Lagos? Will everyone accept their punishment? Find out next Saturday!

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