Second Sphere

Secretary of state

The three of them were quiet after watching the footage I showed them on my laptop. By now the tears had stopped.

"I told you, especially you Steve, what he was to me. And none of you, NONE of you. Told me he was out, that you knew he wasn't with Hydra." My voice is shaking as I call them out on this.

Steve starts, "Magdalene I-"

"No" I cut him off. "Steve you led me on missions! We looked for Bucky together. And you didn't say a word! How am I supposed to trust any of you?" I look around between the three of them.

Even Natasha, who normally is fairly stoic looks guilty. "We thought it was best to wait to tell you. To let you heal, to give you time."

I snap at her, "That wasn't your decision to make!" I look at them all incredulously, "You don't get it do you? I was literally created to be by his side. Hydra did this to me to be his tool, not just some omen of death. But to protect him, to fight with him. For years all we had was each other. Steve I spent longer with him than you did. How could any of you possibly understand what this feels like to me?"

A sudden thought hits me. It's been two years. He would have seen footage of Sokovia a year ago, seen footage of me. Was he looking for me? Did he ever look for me? Or did he plan to abandon me with Hydra once he got out? I collapse, falling to my knees at the stress. I let my wings fold around me to shelter me from their stares.

I swallow, my voice hoarse from yelling. "I don't want to talk to any of you. I'll be in my room." I shakily get up and go back to my room, shutting the door before collapsing again in a heap.

Days come and go. Every now and then someone will knock at my door but I don't answer, sometimes whoever it is will talk for a while but I just bury myself deeper into my bed. The only time I leave my room is for the mandatory therapy sessions, but even then I just stare at the doctor. He doesn't force me to talk.

It's a couple of weeks later when Vision phases through my door. "I knocked but no one answered." He says.

"Because I don't want to answer." I say back.

"Yes, well. The Secretary of State is here. You are needed." He phases back out again.

I hide my wings away and pull a crumpled sweater over my head. It seems clean enough.

When I make it up to the meeting room the Secretary of State is in the middle of a story. "5 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 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. 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 world 'vigilantes.'"

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asks.

"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?" He pulls up a presentation. "New York." A video plays, "Washington D.C." again more footage. "Sokovia." Footage continues, "Lagos" and even more footage.

Rogers finally puts a stop to it, "Okay, that's enough."

"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 slides a thick book onto the table. "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 and only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

Rogers begins to protest, "The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. 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. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies." Rhodey says.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over." The Secretary of State starts to walk away.

Natasha speaks up again before he can leave, "And if we come to a decision you don't like?"

"Then you retire." There is no room for compromise in the secretary's tone.