📍AVENGERS COMPOUND
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It had been a while since (Y/N) had stepped foot on the Avengers facility in Upstate New York, but it was refreshing to be back. Even if she was here for a serious matter. She'd first heard it on the news before Steve had called her; informing on how people were injured due to an explosion in a building in Nigeria. According to several news reports, they all shifted the blame on Wanda, which (Y/N) thought it was stupid.

Because of this, Tony had brought along a guest to the compound, a guest that went by the name of Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, to discuss the matter with the Avengers. (Y/N) knew this meant no good, but she just had to wait and see. Besides, from the moment she saw him, (Y/N) knew there was something bothering Tony. He hasn't said anything about it, so she did a mental note to ask him about it later on.

All members of the Avengers living or working on the compound gathered on the conference room to hear what Secretary Ross had to say. Half sitting on the left side of the table and the other half sitting on the right.

"Five years ago. . .I had a heart attack. . .and dropped right in the middle of my backswing," Secretary Ross began his speech. He had his arms up and mimicked a batting position. "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."

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt," he continued. "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'."

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asked him politely from her seat at the table, stuck in between Steve and Rhodey.

"How about 'dangerous'?"

(Y/N) swallowed the lump in her throat by his words, yet her eyes trailed down to Wanda sitting across the table.

"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?"

Secretary Ross stepped aside to allow everyone a view toward the screen. A map of the entire globe firstly appeared before it panned closer to a specific location already marked with a different color. There were approximately four locations pinpointed on the map, but (Y/N) wasn't so sure since she was only able to see that image for a short second. Whatever Secretary Ross was planning on showing them was not meant to cause any good, and she was terrified of that.

"New York," he changed his tone into a much serious one.

Videos that civilians had recorded over the Battle of New York appeared on the screen, the sound of people screaming and running for their lives being the only sound in the room. The videos showed footage of the Hulk jumping from building to building while bringing debris on top of innocent people. There even was footage of (Y/N) trying her best to stop one of the Leviathan creatures from crashing against a building, but her attempts had been useless. (Y/N) felt Rhodey's stare from where she sat, and she didn't dare to look up and meet his eye.

Secretary Ross continued. "Washington, D.C."

The screen now showed footage of the three helicarriers letting out smoke in midair before they collapsed on the river. (Y/N) hadn't been there to presence it, yet because of how Steve and Natasha retold it, it wasn't pretty. Yet again, the videos included people's yells for help as the helicarriers crashed into the water and raised high waves. From the corner of her eye, (Y/N) saw how Sam lowered his head in shame.

"Sokovia."

The much recent footage of the flying city of Sokovia appeared on the screen, the familiar images of the buildings collapsing due to the shakiness and unevenness of the rock. So many lives were lost that fateful day, including the brother of one of their members. Tony, who still hadn't moved from his chair on the back of the room, raised his eyes for a short moment before returning to glare at his hands.

"Lagos."

News reports were now visible, the footage of the building caught on fire being filmed from different angles before it switched to a siren wailing in the background while medics aided the injured. Wanda couldn't bare to look at the videos any longer so she moved the chair to face away from the screen.

"Okay. That's enough," Steve immediately noticed her discomfort.

Secretary Ross turned to his assistant and got him to remove the footage from the screen. "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."

His assistant handed him a heavy book, to which Ross took carefully before sliding it onto the table. Since Wanda was closest to it, she was the first one to grab it and read the front page.

"The Sokovia Accords."

Rhodey gestured for Wanda to hand it over so he could get a better look for himself, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She slid it across the table for him to grab, while the others listened to what Secretary Ross had to say.

"Approved by 117 countries. . ." Secretary Ross paced across the room, his voice filling the quiet conference room. "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 the panel deems it necessary."

(Y/N) couldn't help but frown at Ross's last words. Only when and if the panel seems it necessary. What does that mean? That innocent people might die because a stupid United Nations panel didn't deem the problem as necessary for the Avengers to intervene? Sincerely, she thought it was stupid, yet she didn't want to draw to conclusions. She wanted to wait until Secretary Ross finished talking to voice her final opinion on the matter.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place," Steve argued from his spot. "I feel we've done that."

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes. . .you can bet there'd be consequences," Secretary Ross returned to his spot at the head of the table, the eyes of everyone on the table followed him cautiously.

"Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works," he emphasized. "Believe me, this is the middle ground."

Rhodey raised his voice to speak. "So, there are contingencies."

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords."

At this, Steve turned his neck back to face Tony, who was leaning his shoulders onto his knees. When he felt a pair of eyes on him, he raised his eyes to lock them with Steve's for a short period of time before he returned to his original position.

Though there was slight hesitation behind his actions, Tony did his best to find (Y/N)'s gaze, only to find her staring at her hands with an emotionless expression. After spending so much time together, he would've known how to read every expression of hers, though this was different. It seemed like a mixture between conflicted and angered. Tony wasn't sure if that was a good combination.

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha questioned before it was too late.

"Then you retire," Secretary Ross concluded.

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"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor. . .which is one more than you have."

"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?"

After Secretary Ross had left, it was up to the team to decide whether or not to sign the Accords. Sam and Rhodey were arguing in the middle of the room like two children, and honestly it was getting exhausting to watch. (Y/N) was sat on the couch with Natasha and she could watch how Tony lay on a different seat with a hand over his eyes, as if his patience was running out. Steve was silently flickering through the pages of the document in his hands, reading in between the lines to catch any sort of disagreement.

"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam. And you're just like 'No, that's cool. We got it'."

"How long are you going to play both sides?"

"I have an equation," Vision cut off their argument, and all eyes fell on him.

"Oh, this will clear it up."

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. 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 lifted his eyes from the pages to stare at Vision.

"I'm saying there may be a causality," Vision corrected. "Our very strength incites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict. . .breeds catastrophe. Oversight. . .Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom," Rhodey muttered under his breath.

"Tony," Natasha spoke for the first time since Secretary Ross left. At the call of his name, he looked up from his hands. "You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper verbal."

(Y/N) knew this could only mean one thing. "That's because he's already made up his mind."

"Oh, honey, you know me so well," Tony responded, standing up from his deflated posture and rising up to his feet.

He left the couch and walked over to the kitchen right beside the living room. (Y/N)'s eyes followed his every move, worried that something might happen if she removed her eyes from him.

"Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on. It's just pain."

"It's discomfort," Tony grabbed a clean mug over the sink. "Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

(Y/N) knew this was a sign of him avoiding a certain topic, already fearing the worst. She was about to voice her concern when he spoke again. Tony had pulled out a screen from his pocket and placed it on the table before clicking on it, projecting an image of a young man smiling at the camera.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way," he began. "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 perked 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 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."

"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."

"There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check!" He exclaimed with his arms crossed. "Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're not better than the bad guys."

"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Steve tried to remind him.

"Who said we're giving up?"

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame."

"I'm sorry, Steve. That is dangerously arrogant," Rhodey interrupted with a scoff hidden in the back of his throat. "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."

"No, but it's run by people with agendas. And agendas change."

"That's good. That's why I'm here," Tony interfered, moving away from the kitchen and joining the quarrel in the living room. "When I realized what my weapons were capable in the wrong hands. . .I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

"Tony, you chose to do that," (Y/N) knew it was her turn to speak, otherwise she wouldn't find another time to do so. "If we sign this, we don't have a say on what we do anymore. What if we're sent to place where they don't need us or completely dismiss a case where they do need us? I think that none of us here would want a group of random men to decide whether or not a situation calls for a world-ending one."

"They're still going to find a way to shift the blame on us, even if we're under their control. They would either prefer to bury a case where innocent people died under the rug than to admit they had a say on it," (Y/N) continued. "I know that better than anyone, and it's not pretty."

"Boom," Sam copied Rhodey's expression from before.

"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later," Tony told her, lowering his volume. His words were professional, though his eyes were the exact opposite. He didn't want to talk about it in front of the whole team. "That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

Wanda already knew what this meant for her. "You're saying they'll come for me."

"We would protect you," Vision reassured her.

Unexpectedly, the last person (Y/N) thought that could agree with Tony spoke up and jumped to his defense. "Maybe Tony's right."

All eyes fell on Natasha's, especially the person who she was siding with looked utterly confused by her stand in the argument. (Y/N), on the other hand, could only frown at her friend.

"If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off — "

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam asked hypothetically to her, arms crossed.

"I'm just reading the terrain," the redhead defended. "We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back."

"Focus up," Tony interrupted and leaned forward to catch her eye. "I'm sorry. Did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?"

"I want to take it back now."

"No, you can't retract it."

"Thank you. Unprecedented."

Meanwhile, Steve's phone buzzed from his pocket and he curiously pulled it out to check what it was. It seemed like whatever he read was unexpected, since his shoulders deflated and he lost every shred of composure he had in his body.

"Okay. Case closed. I win," Tony announced since Steve hadn't said anything.

"I have to go," Steve excused himself, leaving the room with his absence.

the angst is starting, hang tight on your seats, you're in for a wild ride. (that's exactly what i said for my other book lol) :)

- see you soon, bex <3