After multiple run-ins with death and many shocking self-discoveries in the course of a few months, all America Evans wants to do is hide away in Washington with Steve until she finds out who she really is. But life as an Avenger doesn't allow for a...
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AMERICA'S POV
Wanda and I enter the conference room, where everyone is already seated at the long table. I take the seat between Steve and Pietro, watching the Secretary with unease. I didn't greet him at all. Currently, I'm not a huge fan of the government.
Secretary Ross clears his throat and begins to speak. Here we go. "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 thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something forty 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."
"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asks, folding her arms.
"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? You know what you have here?" He clicks a button, and videos appear in holographic form. My blood runs cold as I watch these scenes of mass destruction. Everyone else is just as uncomfortable. "New York. Washington DC. Sokovia. Lagos."
"Okay, that's enough," Steve finally says. I think I catch a gleam of triumph in Ross' eye. He knows he's messed us up.
"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." He places a thick document on the table. I reach for it before anyone else can.
"The Sokovia Accords," I read aloud, glancing up at the Secretary in confusion. I slide it to Sam, who frowns.
"The Sokovia Accords," he repeats, nodding. "Approved by one hundred seventeen 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."
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place," Steve says. "I feel we've done that."
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Steve ignores him, and the Secretary begins to pace again. "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, this is the middle ground."
"So, there are contingencies?" Rhodes asks warily.
"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over." He starts to leave, but I stop him.
"And if we come to a decision that you don't like?" I ask, drumming my fingers on the tabletop.
