Maya Stark

Chapter 11: Sokovia Accords

Let's just say, it wasn't a very successful trip. And things only got worse from there. I had a new superhero name. It was stupid, The Shadow. Nobody knew who was under the mask and the suit was basically black. People are not very creative with their names. They blamed Wanda for the Lagos attack and it was taking a toll on her. I was sitting next to her on the bed as we watched the news a month later.

The first news anchor said, 'They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these. What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff, and whoever is under the mask of the Shadow, who seems to have similar powers, have to operate in Nigeri—' The T.V turned off and I turned to see Steve in the doorway.

'It's my fault,' Wanda said.

'That's not true,' Steve said.

'Turn the TV back on,' Wanda said. 'They're being very specific.'

'I should've clocked that bomb vest before you had to deal with it,' Steve said as he walked over to us and sat beside Wanda. 'Rumlow said "Bucky" and...all of a sudden, I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn. And people died. It's on me.'

'It's on all of us,' I say, putting a hand on Wanda's shoulder.

'This job...' Steve said, '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, next time...maybe nobody gets saved.'

Vision materializes through the wall, and Wanda and I jump slightly.

'Vis!' Wanda said. 'We talked about this.'

'Yes,' said Vision, 'but the door was open, so I assumed that...' he gestures at the door and trails off. I suppress a smirk. 'Captain Rodgers and Maya wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.'

'Dad's here?' I ask, smiling.

'Thank you,' Steve said. 'We'll be right down.'

'I'll...use the door,' Vision said, walking towards it. 'Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest.'

'We know who it is?' Steve asks.

'The secretary of state,' Vision said before leaving.

I huff. 'That makes it less exciting.'

I get up and walk down to the conference room. 'Dad!' I say, giving him a hug.

'Hey, kid,' he says, patting my back. 'This is Secretary Ross.'

Secretary Ross didn't look like fun at all. He was here on business. Me, Rhodey, Nat, Steve, Sam, Vision, and Wanda are all sitting around the table. My dad was sitting in a corner on a chair as Ross stood at the front. A meeting. I hated meetings because they usually ended in a fight.

'Five years ago,' Ross was saying, '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 13 hours of surgery and triple bypass...I found something 40 years in the Army 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".'

'And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?' Nat asks.

'How about "dangerous"?' Ross said. '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?'

Ross activates the screen behind him. News footage from past matters flash on the screen as he speaks. 'New York.' A Chitauri leviathan and terrified citizens. The hulk smashes into a building and sends a dust cloud, engulfing the camera. I grimace and quickly glance at Nat. We still haven't heard anything. 'Washington DC.' Three Heli carriers are firing at each other and one smashes into the Potomac, throwing a massive wave, engulfing the citizens and camera. 'Sokovia.' I don't look at the screen. I don't need to remember that. None of us do. I was getting angry. 'Lagos.' I looked back up. The building on fire, paramedics, a dead woman.