Kai Romanoff

91

Kai walked around the compound after the Lagos incident. Every room had a different news channel on but the topic they were talking about was all the same. She walked to Wanda's room and saw her watching the news intensely.
"Ya know, it's pretty narcissistic to watch people talk about you for hours on end." Kai told her.
"Not what they are saying about me." Wanda shook her head.
"Well they are wrong so no need to listen to them at all." Kai joined her on her bed.
"How do you know?" Wanda asked.
"Because I know you, and I know that they don't know you. And I know they don't understand. Their journalist that went to preppy universities and spend their whole lives in some stuffy boring news station. They'll never understand the sacrifices and decisions we have to make." Kai told her.

"But it's my fault." Wanda said.
The TV turned off at that.
"That's not true. I should've clock that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it. Rumlow said Bucky and all of the sudden I was a sixteen year old kid again in Brooklyn. And people died. It's on me." Steve said.
"It's on both of us." Wanda said.
"I disagree, it's on Rumlow. He was the problem, we stopped it." Kai shook her head.
"This job, we try and 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." Steve told them.
"Very well put, captain." Kai smiled.

Suddenly Vision appeared through the wall.
"Vis! We talked about this." Wanda said.
"I know, but the door was open so I assumed-Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving." Vision told them.
"Thank you, we'll be right down." Steve nodded.
"I'll use the door. Oh and apparently he's brought a guest." Vision walked towards the door.
"Do we know who it is?" Steve asked.
"The Secretary of State." Vision said before leaving.
"Welp get your popcorn this is going to be a fight. Me and Mr. Ross don't have the best relationship." Kai sighed.

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"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." Secretary Ross started as the Avengers all sat at a table, expect Tony he sat in a chair off to the side.
   Kai in between Nat and Steve and listened, trying not to make any problems.
   "The world owes the Avengers an h payable debt. You have fought for us protected us, rocked your lives, but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word vigilante." Ross told them.
  "And what word would you use Mr. Secretary?" Nat asked.
  "How about dangerous? What would you call a group of US-based, enhance individuals, who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly seem unconcerned with what they leave behind." Ross looked at her before turning on the TV.

A map showed up with a few yellow marked dots.
   "New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia, Lagos." Ross showed the horrible scenery of each event.
   "Okay that's enough." Steve told Ross and he switched it off.
   "Those weren't our fault though, three out of the four are problems that occurred from the government. The government worked hand and hand with S.H.I.E.L.D. you cause those problems not us." Kai couldn't bite her tongue any longer.
    "I didn't kill hundreds of civilians." Ross told her.
    "Neither did we." Kai spat right back.
    "For the past four years you've operated with u limited 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 counties, it states that the Avengers can operate on when and if that panel deems it necessary." Ross handed them the Accords.

  "The Avengers were formed to keep the world safe. I feel we've done that." Steve told him.
   "Captain can you tell me where Thor and Doctor Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes you can bet there would be consequences." Ross said.
   "Thor and Bruce aren't nukes though, they are people, they are Avengers." Kai scoffed.
   "I know how much pride you have in being an Avenger Miss Romanoff, with your dark past and everything, but if you don't sign these you won't be anymore. Compromise and reassurance, that's how the world works. Believe me this is the middle ground." Ross walked around the table.
  "So, there are contingencies." Rhodey observed.
  "Three days from now the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over." Ross said.

   "And if we don't come to a decision that you like?" Nat asked.
   "Then you retire." Ross told them before leaving.
   "God, he's a prick. Does any one else hate him the way I do, like seriously I feel like I'm the only one on this level." Kai looked around.
  "Nah I'm right there with you. I'm not signing it." Sam shook his head and stood up.
   "Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have." Rhodey stood up as well.
    "So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?" Sam asked.
   "117 countries want to sign this. 117 Sam, and you're like nah it's cool we got it." Rhodey said.
   "How long are you going to play both sides?" Sam asked.

  "I have an equation." Vision said.
  "Perfect thank you." Kai gestured for him to go on.
  "In the six years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man the number of known enhanced persons has grown rapidly. During the same period the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate." Vision told them.
   "Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve asked.
  "I'm saying there may be a causality. Out very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight. Oversight is not an idea that can dismissed out of hand." Vision explained.

   "Tony, you're being uncharacteristically non-hyper verbal." Nat looked at him.
   "It's because he's already made up his mind." Steve said.
   "Boy you know me so well. Actually I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on Cap, it's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" Tony said before putting up an image of a young man on his phone and projecting it.
  "Oh that's Charles Spencer by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale which is what I would have done. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam which sounds fun. He decided to spend he's summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where? Sokovia. He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass. There's no decision making process here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes. I'm game. If we can't take limitations if we're boundary-less we're no better than the bad guys." Tony explained.

"Tony, if someone dies on your watch you don't give up." Steve said.
   "Who said we are giving up?" Tony asked.
   "We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame." Steve said.
    "I'm sorry Steve, that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the world security council it's not S.H.I.E.L.D. it's not HYDRA." Rhodey started.
   "And you must be completely naive to believe that every government in the world especially the American government has the common persons best interest at heart. Every government has an agenda. We do not fight for a governments agenda, we fight for the people. We can't do that with the UN's thumb always pushing down on us. People's agenda's always change." Kai shook her head.
 
  "That's good, that's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands I shut it down and stopped manufacturing." Tony told her.
   "Tony you chose to do that. If we sign this we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go but they won't let us. We may not be perfect but the safest hands our still our own." Steve immediately back Kai up.
  "I agree." Kai nodded.
  "If we don't do this now it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty." Tony said.
   "You're saying they'll come for me." Wanda said.
   "Over my dead fucking body." Kai looked at her.
   "Maybe Tony's right. If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer, if we take it off-" Nat started.

   "Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam asked.
   "I'm just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back." Nat told them.
   "Focus up, I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?" Tony asked.
  "Oh I wanna take it back now." Nat said.
  "No, no, no you can't." Tony shook his head.
  "I have to go." Steve said looking at his phone.
He stood up and left. Kai watched him when a thought pop up her mind.

  "What about me? I'm only seventeen? Do I get my own decision in this?" Kai asked.
  Everyone looked at one another. Oh Kai was about to lose her shit.