𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 ⌁ 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 [𝟐]

XIV. WHAT WE LOST

all the things she said by t.A.T.u.

"mother looking at me
tell me what do you see?
yes, i've lost my mind
daddy looking at me
will i ever be free?
have i crossed the line?"

JUNE 18, 2016

          "Five years ago, I had a heart attack..." Secretary Ross started, standing before us in the conference room. I sat in between Vision and Sam, with Dad across from me on the other side of the table. "and dropped right in the middle of my backswing." Ross held up his fists, visualizing his golfing incident. "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." I slightly tilted my head to the side as I listened.

          "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." Ross informed.

          "And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Nat inquired.

          "How about dangerous?" Ross answered. "What would you call a group of U.S.-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?" He questioned as I breathed in through my nose and shifted a bit in my seat. A map was projected onto the screen before a clip of the 2012 New York attack began playing.

          "New York." Ross showed the videos of civilians panicking as the Chitauri attacked. The tension in the conference room only skyrocketed as we all watched. "Washington, D.C." The videos switched to the destruction caused by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarriers. I noticed Sam look down in guilt. "Sokovia." Recordings of the city's destruction started playing as I nervously picked my cuticles under the desk. I could sense Wanda growing uncomfortable at the front of the room. "Lagos." The screen showed people being carried out of the burning building before it switched to the corpse of a young girl. Wanda quickly looked away in discomfort, which Dad noticed.

          "Okay, that's enough." He intervened before Ross signaled his assistant to stop the videos.

          "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." Ross was handed a thick book that he placed down on the table. "The Sokovia Accords." Wanda grabbed the book to see the cover of it. "Approved by one-hundred seventeen countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization." I grew more nervous when I heard how many countries approved this.