Wilder: An Altered Civil War

Chapter 4- The Debate

I tried to block out the sound of Sam and Rhodes arguing as I curled up beside Steve on the couch and read the Accords over his shoulder. A lot of it flew over my head and meant close to nothing to me, but the parts I did manage to catch weren't good.

"Tony," Natasha said slowly, "You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal,"

"That's 'cause he's already made up his mind," Steve interjected, looking up from the Accords.

"Oh, you know me so well," Tony muttered, rolling off the couch and to his feet. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache,"

He stood, rubbing his head with one of his hands and making his way into the kitchen area of the room.

"That's what's going on, Cap," he announced. "It's just pain. It's discomfort,"

He began to dig around the sink a little bit. 

"Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal?" he asked a bit roughly. "Am I running to Bed-and-Breakfast for biker gang?"

He moved to the counter with a coffee mug. He pulled out his phone and placed it in the fruit basket, tapping the screen. An image of a young man popped into the air.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way," he said a bit harshly. "A great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor level gig and an 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 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,"

I looked down, knowing what was coming next. I brought my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them, trying to force back painful memories of the attack.

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know, because we dropped a building on him while we were kickin' arse,"

Tony took a sip from his mug, walking around the counter. "There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check!"

I tried not to remember all of the broken bodies of the Sokovians in the streets while we were fighting Ultron. Steve patted my shoulder comfortingly.

"Whatever form that takes, I'm game," Tony finished. "If we can't accept limitations, we're boundaryless, and we're no better than the bad guys,"

"Tony, when someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Steve stated.

"Who said we're giving up?" Tony argued.

"We are for not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame," Steve said.

"Sorry, Steve, that- that is dangerously arrogant," Rhodes said. "This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the world Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA, it's-"

"I know, but it's run by people with agendas, agendas change,"

"That's good." Tony declared. "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, you chose to do that," Steve argued. "If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose!"

There was a strange pause.

"What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go. What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us?" Steve demanded. "We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own,"

"If we don't do this now," Tony said softly, "It's going to be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty,"

"So you're saying they'll come for me," Wanda stated softly.

"We would protect you," Vision replied.

"Maybe Tony's right," Natasha interjected. "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer,"

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss our arse a few years ago?" Sam asked.

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

"I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you actually agree with me?" Tony asked. "Because that would be the first time since Bryce,"

"Oh, I'm gonna take it back," Natasha grumbled.

"No, no, no, you can't retract it," Tony said. 

He went on to saw a few more things, but I noticed Steve pulling out his phone. I accidentally glanced at the screen and read the words, "She's gone. In her sleep."

"I have to go," Steve said quietly, getting to his feet and heading for the door. I silently stood and followed him down the stairwell.

"Dad?" I asked softly. "Who-"

"Peggy," he replied quietly. "Peggy is gone,"