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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒

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𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑

Not much had happened in the month since Alex began staying with Charlie. They bought her some new clothes so that she wouldn't be stuck borrowing the older girl's and got her a haircut to trim off the split ends. There were a few conversations about enrolling her in the local high school but it was decided that it was safer to have the Barton girl tutor her instead. In between their academic lessons, the two girls had been training day and night to get to the level Alex wanted to be at. According to the redhead, she wasn't even halfway there.

Alex came through the door with three bags of groceries after Charlie finished cleaning up the kitchen from the mess they made during breakfast. The younger girl greeted the Barton girl with a smile as she placed them on the counter before they put everything away. As soon as that was taken care of, they sat down on the couch and began to watch a movie. The two girls were only ten minutes in when Charlie got up to get them some drinks from the fridge. Right as she grabbed the cold bottles, her phone went off before she placed the cans on the counter and pulled out her phone to reveal a text from her father.

CLINT:
How's it going
with Speedy?

CHARLIE:
Everything's great!
You'd really like her!

CLINT:
You sure you can
trust her, Char?

CHARLIE:
Well, it's been a month and she
hasn't done anything so...yeah

CLINT:
Just be careful

CHARLIE:
Always am

Just as she was about to put her phone away, it started ringing again before Steve's contact picture popped up. Charlie just stared at his name on the screen for a moment then she let out a sigh and walked into her bedroom to answer the call.

"I need you to come in," the Man Out of Time told her before she even had a chance to get a word out.

"This really isn't the best time. I-"

"Charlie...it's Wanda."

As soon as the telekinetic's name left his mouth, the Barton girl's body became as still as a statue. A million thoughts swam through her head about all the things that could be going on with the Maximoff girl.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

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After arriving at the Avengers Facility for the first time in a long time, Steve told Charlie more about what happened on the mission that happened in Lagos a month ago. The mission that the news had been covering all day, every day. Once he finished explaining everything, the Barton girl made her way through the white halls of the building and toward Wanda's room.

Charlie found the Maximoff girl sitting on her bed watching the news story about how she accidentally sent Rumlow into a building full of civilians after he tried attacking Steve. The Barton girl continued to study her best friend until she saw the pained look on her face. A quiet sigh passed over the archer's lips before she grabbed the remote she left near the door and turned off the TV.

"It's all my fault," Wanda whispered just loud enough for Charlie to hear her while she kept her eyes glued to the black screen.

"That's not true."

When the familiar voice met the telekinetic's ears, the brunette girl spun around to look at the blonde before a small smile formed on her face. A matching grin appeared on Charlie's as she walked over to meet Wanda in the middle of the room for a hug that was long overdue. "I missed you, Charlotte."

"I missed you too, Wan."

"When was the last time you slept?" the older girl asked as the two of them sat down on the edge of the bed, "you have exhaustion written all over your face."

"What day is it?" the Barton girl tried to joke, only for her smile to falter when she saw the serious expression on Wanda's face before she let out a small sigh, "I know I need to try and sleep but-"

"You're still having nightmares?"

"'Nightmares' is somewhat of an understatement," Charlie muttered just loud enough for Wanda to hear as her eyes fell to the floor.

"I can make them go away."

"No. Even though they're always terrible and cause more harm than good, I...I need them." After a moment of comfortable silence passed, the younger girl looked up from the floor to find Wanda staring back at her with a hint of pity in her eyes. Charlie studied the look on the telekinetic's face for a moment before she shook off all her previous emotions and forced a smile on her face. "Enough about me, I came here for you. What happened back in Lagos wasn't your fault."

"Turn the TV back on. They are being very specific."

"I should have clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it," a new voice said, causing both girls to turn their attention toward the source of the sound to find Steve leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

The Man Out of Time studied them for a moment before he made his way over to them and sat on the other side of Wanda. "Rumlow said 'Bucky'...and all of the sudden I was a sixteen-year-old kid again in Brooklyn. And people died," he paused again then looked to the floor near his feet, "it's on me."

"It's on both of us," Wanda whispered while Charlie continued to watch them with a blank expression on her face.

"This job," Steve sighed then looked past Wanda to make eye contact with the Barton girl, "we try to 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."

Charlie found herself staring at the Man Out of Time as she continued to take in his words, knowing they had a much deeper meaning. A quiet moment passed between the three of them before a sudden movement out of the corner of her eyes caused the Barton girl to jump higher than humanly possible and fall off the bed. Wanda tried to hold back a smile as she helped Charlie back onto the bed before she was greeted by a somewhat apologetic look from Vision, who was standing next to the open door.

"Vis!" Wanda exclaimed as a small smile formed on her face while Charlie continued to stare at the Synthezoid in awe, "we talked about this."

"Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that," he paused and gestured toward the open door before he let out a long sigh, "Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving."

"Thank you," Steve told Vision while avoiding eye contact with the archer, "we'll be right down."

"I'll use the door. Sorry to scare you, Miss Barton," the red and silver man said as he made his way toward the door before he stopped and turned around to face the trio once again, "oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest."

"We know who it is?"

"The Secretary of State."

Once Vision finally left the room, Charlie looked back over at Steve and Wanda, only to find them both still keeping their eyes away from her. The Barton girl tried to hide the irritation building up inside her as she opened her mouth to speak. "Why didn't you tell me that Tony was coming?"

"It's not his fault, Charlie," was all Steve said before he got up and left the room.

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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 thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass...I found something forty years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective," the Secretary of State said to the heroes sitting in front of him while Charlie listened to his speech from her place between Wanda and Sam, "the world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us...protected us, risked your lives for us...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 asked with an unamused smile on her face from the other side of the table.

"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?"

After he finished answering the redheaded spy with a lot more information than necessary, the Barton girl found herself struggling to hold her tongue. Charlie continued to keep her mouth sealed shut as Secretary Ross stepped to the side to reveal a world map that filled the screen behind him.

"New York."

Video footage of when Loki attacked four years ago appeared on the screen followed by the screams of the people that lived there. A wave of various emotions washed over Charlie as she watched the event that made her want to be something more in the world.

"Washington, DC."

The screen quickly changed to a video of the three Helicarriers that crashed after Steve, Sam, and Natasha disabled them. It was also the same day the Man Out of Time had to fight against his best friend.

"Sokovia."

At the sound of the name, Charlie looked away from the screen and down at the table. Despite wanting to appear strong, she was unable to look at the battle where Pietro fought his first and last fight as an Avenger. Memories of that day filled her head as her legs began to bounce like she had one too many cups of coffee that morning. The flashback of that day hit her harder than she expected and it soon became harder to breathe. It wasn't long after that when Charlie felt Wanda place her hand on her leg. To the Barton girl's surprise, the telekinetic somehow calmed her nerves, causing the latter to let out a sigh of relief.

"Lagos."

The blonde girl refused to look back up as the sound of sirens filled the room. Out of the corner of her eyes, Charlie saw the chair next to her turn away from the screen. She soon looked over at Steve without thinking to find him staring back at the two girls with a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Okay. That's enough," the Man Out of Time told the Secretary of State, causing the latter to nod toward his associate before the screen behind him went blank.

"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 announced to the heroes who sat around the table before taking a huge book from his assistant and giving it to Wanda, who simply slid it across the table to Rhodey, "the Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 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."

"You're joking, right?" Charlie questioned without fully thinking it through, causing everyone's attention to turn to her before she continued speaking, "the Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. They've done that."

"Tell me, Sparrow, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" the Secretary challenged the young girl with an unamused look on his face.

"They're two grown men. They have every right to their private lives and don't need me babysitting them."

"If I misplaced a couple of thirty-megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences," he retaliated then turned away from the Barton girl before she could respond. Charlie glared at Ross' back as he walked back to the front of the room to continue his speech. "Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies," Rhodey said as he placed his hand on top of the giant stack of papers sitting on the table in front of him.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords," the gray-haired man responded, causing Steve to send an annoyed look in Tony's direction, "talk it over."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha asked.

"Then you retire."

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