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'I forgot how grim everything is here.'

'I'm sure that's because we've just been to a funeral, Johnny.'

'No, it's definitely the grey slab we call the sky. I'm sick of the rain. My vitamin D is dropping by the minute.'

Sue shook off her black coat as Johnny closed the door behind them. Their hotel room was heated around the clock and her frosty cheeks were blessed from the wave of warmth that encased her. Johnny kicked off his dress shoes and loosened the black tie from around the collar of his shirt. He threw himself onto the double bed on the right of the room with a loud sigh. He grabbed the remote from the nightstand and turned on the TV that was mounted on the wall. Sue walked around Johnny's chosen bed and headed to her suitcase. Perched next to her own double bed, she crouched down to open the compartment that held the sim card she recently purchased.

'Looks like life's falling to shit back home,' Johnny said, and Sue looked over her shoulder. The TV showed an American news channel the hotel had avaliable to its guests. A recent incident in Lagos, Nigeria, played on the screen and Wanda Maximoff was seen before a fatal explosion erupted. A bomb devastated an entire office building, and the Avengers were being blamed for it.

'Eleven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month,' the American news reporter informed from the studio. 'The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred.'

The scene in the studio changed to show T'Chaka, King of Wankanda. The man spoke with pain in his voice at the deaths of his people, and the Storms watched as the man said,

'Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all.'

'They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these,' another news reporter commented back in the studio. 'What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri-'

Johnny pressed the 'off' button on the remote and the TV's screen turned black. The press was always the bane of the Avengers' existence. They focused on the negatives of missions and ignored the countless successes the team had in saving the planet. Sue tried to stay away from news reports and cameras that were shoved in her face when in public, but she was never far from the controversy.

'Steve will sort it out,' Johnny sat up and swung his legs over to the edge of his bed. 'He always does.'

Sue hummed in response and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Opening it's back, she slipped the new sim card into the circuit. Once her phone turned on with the new sim inside, reception bars climbed in the corner of the screen with the Vodaphone symbol displayed beside them. She hadn't had the need to use her phone ever since touching down in London, but she purchased a sim card just in case. When the device was connected to the country's network, she dialled the American area code before typing in Tony's phone number.

'This is your future husband speaking,' Tony's voice answered after two rings.

'Hey. How did the lecture go at MIT?' Sue asked as she stared out the window. Big Ben could be seen off in the distance and the grey sky drizzled with rain. Sue fiddled with the engagement ring that sat on her finger while she smiled at the sound of Tony's voice.

'Would have been better if you were there,' the man mumbled, and Sue sensed a change in his tone.

'That bad, huh?'

'No, I was great. When am I not? But I ran into someone on the way out and... that kind of ruined it for me...'

'Who did you run into?'

'How was the funeral?'

Sue resisted the urge to sigh at the change of topic. She knew Tony was stubborn and it would be futile to try and get anything out of him that he didn't want to give. If she didn't know this by now, she wouldn't be engaged to the Stark.

'It was okay,' Sue informed, watching Johnny head into the bathroom from his reflection in the window. 'It was sad, but she was old. There were loads of people at the service, so she wasn't alone. The last time we saw her was when we were eighteen. It's been a long time...'

'Good old Marygay,' Tony sang. 'Pepper wants me to change the flowers, by the way. Apparently Australian native Bottlebrushes don't fit the theme. Beats me, if I'm honest.'

'Johnny's calling her sometime today. I'll talk to her about it.'

'Thanks, honey. When you touchdown, we've got a meeting with the Secretary of State.'

'The who now?'

'We've all gotta be there,' Tony continued while ignoring Sue's reply. 'I think it's time we had a heart to heart about the team's future.'

'I'm assuming this has to do with what happened in Lagos?'

'I'll see you tomorrow, hun. Love you.'

The line rang aimlessly at the end of the call and Sue let out a huff. Johnny exited the bathroom with the hand towel drying his hands and raised his eyebrows at Sue's reaction. Sue felt his gaze and turned around to look up at her brother with a frustrated expression.

'We're meeting the Secretary of State tomorrow back in New York,' she informed, and Johnny let out a groan with his head thrown back.

'I hate that guy.'

'We all do. But whatever it's about, I'm sure it can't be good. Especially with what happened with Wanda in Nigeria.'

'Does Steve know?'

Sue shrugged her shoulders as she pulled off her black, denim jacket. The black dress that swept at her ankles was comfortable, but Sue wanted to change into her sweatpants and a jumper. Aunt Marygay's funeral was held in the church where she frequently attended. But the lack of heating throughout the building made the ceremony long and cold. The chill from the rain that wafted in through the cement walls made the cold settle and linger. By the time Marygay's coffin was carried out to be cremated, the tip of Sue's nose was red, and her fingers were numb. It was a time where she wished she had Johnny's abilities, who was content and a ball of heat throughout the service.

'Can I use your phone? I want to call Pepper,' Johnny asked as Sue settled herself on her bed. She passed her phone to him, and he sat down to start dialling the area code.

'Tell her that the Bottlebrushes are staying,' the woman added, a book in hand to continue where she had left off.

'I don't know what that is, but I'll relay the message.'

---

'Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my backswing. 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 un-payable 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'.'

Thaddeus Ross, the Secretary of State, stood at the head of the table in the meeting room of the Avengers headquarters. The room was tense as Sam Wilson, Rhodey, Steve, Natasha, Vision, Tony, Sue and Johnny sat slouched in their chairs. They were dressed in their respected styles of clothing, while Thaddeus Ross was dressed in a suit with a tie. Johnny sat in a leather jacket with jeans, while Sue wore white chino pants and a dark green t-shirt. The two thought they were underdressed for the meeting when the Secretary of State greeted them, but they were relieved when they saw the rest of the team's attire.

'And what word would you use, Mr Secretary?' Natasha raised a brow at the man.

'How about 'dangerous'?' Ross tilted his head at the Romanoff. '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?'

'The US army, perhaps?,' Johnny muttered under his breath and Sue jabbed her elbow into his side. Her brother yelped and glared at his sister, partially upset that the Secretary hadn't heard him.

Ross decided to show footage from each of the Avengers' missions and SHIELD's interventions with battles. The screen behind him lit up and changed from New York, to Washington, then Sokovia, and Lagos. Each of the Avengers looked down in shame at each of the scenes. Sue cringed when Ross changed the screen to Sokovia, where civilians were shown screaming in terror from Ultron's army. The memories of women thanking her in their language and men bowing their heads behind prayed hands flooded through Sue's mind.

Wanda, who sat near the front, turned her head and looked back at her team. She caught both Sue and Tony's faces, who were similar in their seldom expressions. The couple were ashamed of Sokovia and all the missions where innocent people suffered. Not everyone was super, and assailants took advantage of that. Sue remembered all too well the crying baby that a mother clenched in her arms as she fled their home. They would have had nothing to go back to. It hurt Sue to think that while she was able to walk away to be engaged to Tony, her brother by her side, and her team who she considered her best friends, Sokovia was left with the clothes on their backs.

'Okay. That's enough,' Steve saw how everyone in the room squirmed in discomfort from the confronting footage. He took the liberty to speak up for his team and glared fiercely at Thaddeus Ross.

'For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision,' Ross turned off the screen. 'That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.'

Ross's aide handed him a thick book of papers. Wanda was the first to be handed it from the man and she read the title page with a heavy heart. Johnny attempted to lean over the table and catch a glimpse, but Wanda was too far away and handed it to Rhodey who was beside her. Sue's stare stayed on Ross who talked while the book was passed around like a bomb of bad news.

'The Sokovia Accords. Approved by a hundred and 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.'

Johnny's scoff jabbed through the room and Ross turned to the man with a raised eyebrow. Johnny wasn't afraid to stare back at him while the book ended up in Sue's hands. She met eyes with Tony when he held it out to her, and the two sent the smallest of smiles to one another. They shared a kiss when Sue arrived with her suitcase in the elevator at the Stark tower. But that was the extent of their greeting, as they then got into Tony's car and headed to the Avengers headquarters for the meeting. The two were longing to talk and be in each other's arms, but they would have to wait until the meeting was over and they could have some alone time.

'Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords,' Ross informed. 'Talk it over.'

'And if we come to a decision you don't like?' Natasha asked with venom in her voice.

'Then you retire.'