Edited 18/11/2024
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"If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes..." the man continued "...you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground"
"But they aren't nukes, these are living people" Olivia said but was ignored.
"So, there are contingencies" James Rhodes said shortly.
"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords..." Steve glances at Tony "...talk it over"
Natasha spoke up for the first time in the day to snap a comeback at the man.
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" she asked him.
"Then you retire.
Natasha stifles a smirk as his gaze crossed with Olivia's, both of them already knowing what would happen if they tried to...'retire' them.
Ж
CLEVELAND
The Avengers are gathered at HQ with Steve is sitting, studying the Accords, while Rhodey and Sam argue behind him.
Olivia was there and Wanda and Pietro had been told to stay in their own rooms but had joined either way, sitting on both sides of the couch Olivia was sat down.
"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have" Rhodney said.
"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 protested.
"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, 'No, that's cool. We got it'" Olivia glared at the man.
"How long are you going to play both sides?" she and Sam Wilson asked the man.
"I have an equation" Vision said as he stepped forward.
"Oh, this will clear it up" Sam shook his head and turned to the man in the cape.
"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate"
"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve Rogers asked as he leaned against the shelf.
"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict...breeds catastrophe. Oversight...oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand" Vision said.
"Boom" Rhodney responded.
"Boom? Boom what Rhodney?" Olivia brought their attention to her "Even if Stark hadn't come out as Iron Man, the whole chitauri thing would have happened due to Loki finding his way here. Hydra would have kept doing their experiments and making even worse things with time without Cap and the rest...I think you have left out a few factors out of your equation" she finished.
"Boom" Sam sassed back to the other man.
Tony was lying on the couch when Natasha spoke up, he looks up at her as her eyes turned to him.
"Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal" she asked him with her eyebrow raised.
"It's because he's already made up his mind" Steve sighed out.
"Boy, you know me so well" Tony said as he got up and winced rubbing the back of his head "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache.
He walks to the kitchen and grabs a mug, filling it with the coffee Olivia had made that morning making the young woman almost pull it away from her.
"That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" he puts his phone in a basket and taps it.
The phone projects an image of a smiling young man. He looks down, then back up, and pretends to notice the picture for the first time.
Look, Olivia loved the man and his character, but he was insufferable in this part of the timeline and right now, it was taking all in her to keep herself back.
"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" he slemmed a bunch of files onto the table "Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia"
The others look affected by this, even the curly haired woman looked somehow disturbed by it.
"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass" he takes a pill with some coffee, then faces the others "Tony Stark: 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 accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys"
"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up"
"Who said we're giving up?" Tony asked.
"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames" Steve said.
Olivia yawned and leaned her head back. She smiled and closed her eyes as Wanda stroked her fingers through her curls despite feeling as nervous as she did at the moment.
Pietro looked down at Olivia and caressed the other side of her hair fondly.
"I'm sorry. Steve. That...that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA" Rhodes said.
"I thought America was the land of the free?" Olivia asked sarcastically as she bumped Sam's fist from over the twins' laps.
"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change" Steve remarked, remembering his experience back during the World War.
"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 stop manufacturing. Don't" Stark held up a finger to Olivia who held her mouth open to say something else.
"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, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own"
"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 Stark continued his rant.
"You're saying they'll come for us" Wanda said from her place making her brother look over at her worriedly.
"No they won't" Olivia grumbled.
"We would protect you" Vision told the red haired woman.
"Maybe Tony's right" Natasha said as she shot a look at Olivia who was now glaring at her.
