Devilish Secret ✦Steve Roger & Bucky Barnes✦

♔Chapter 9♔

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As I walk to my campus, I suddenly felt someone walking really close behind me. When I they got even closer, I grab their hand before they can even touch my shoulder. Anthony Smith looks at me with an unsatisfied face. "Why can I never scare you?" I smile and give him a hug. "Since my mom would always come to see your grandmother and I play with you sister as you inject yourself on our play dates." Anthony held his hands up. "To be fair you are my age and three years older than Mariah." I chuckle, "I'd rather play with a baby than a little boy who would always shoot me with his toy guns." Anthony rolls his eyes. "You know I barely saw you in the past few months. What has been going on?"

I turn to look at him shocked. "Ellaria how can I not notice my friend gone for 3 months." I sigh. "I'm sorry I have been working for Mr. Stark to save up for a place. "What did you do?" I stopped in my tracks and smile. I put my hand on his chest chuckling. "Won't tell Anthony because I know you being in the journalist degree, you'd write it." I look in the distance behind Anthony and saw a familiar blonde haired Sokovian guy again.

"Hey Anthony, I'll meet you for dinner with your sister later today?" Anthony smiles. "Wait. are you finally agreeing to it?"

"Don't make me change my mind." I sing walking away as I walk backward motioning for him to text me. As I walk up to Pietro, I see him smirk. "Pietro." "Ellaria." I excitedly squeal and give him a tight hug. "What going on? Normally you'd see me at Stark Tower."

"It's Steve."

Wait what? "What about Steve?" I ask looking around making sure no one was of ear shot. "He needs you. Wanda needs you." Wanda? "What happened?" He gives an annoyed look. "Did you not hear anything?" I shake my head getting closer to him. "No exams have been getting on my ass and I work." He looks around but surprises me by picking me up bridal and super sped to the Avenger facility. He puts me down as I put my hand on his arm and trying to hold in my vomit. "I'd rather fly here than do that again." Pietro laughs. "We'll see about that."

He walks me into Wanda's room as we hear the TV blurt out. "See." Pietro motions to a Wanda deep in her own mind. "Eleven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Logos, Nigeria last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Logos when the attack occurred." I walk up to Wanda sitting down next to her grabbing her hand.

"Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil not only because of the actions of criminals but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all." Suddenly the TV turns off and all three of us turn to see Steve holding the remote. "It's my fault." Wanda says. I turn around seeing the guilt in her eyes. "That's not true," Pietro says back. "Turn the TV back on. They are being very specific. Wanda looks at each one of us.

"I should've clocked that bomb vest," Steve looks down disappointed, "long before you had to deal with it. Rumlow said Bucky and suddenly I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn." He rants sitting next to me. "And people died. It's on me." Steve says looking at the grown.

"It's on both of us."

"This job... 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." Steve says looking at us as Vision comes from the wall. I turn to look at Pietro who glared in confusion to the cyborg. "Vis! We talked about this."

"Yes, but the door was open, so I assumed that... Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving." Steve nods. "Thank you. We'll be right down." I smile. "Me too." I look to Wanda and give her a hug. "I'll see you later." Vision looks at the floor to the door. "I'll use the door," Vision says walking out but stops at the door frame. "Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest."

"We know who it is?" Steve asks. "The Secretary of State."

As we get up to head to the meeting office I walked next to Steve. "So how are you doing Ellaria?" I look up smiling. "I'm doing good. School is amazing." I chuckled awkwardly. What I didn't notice was Pietro picking up his sister. "Yeah, she said she'd go to dinner with that Anthony Smith guy." He blurts smirking and me and super speeding away.

Steve stops and looks at me. "Peggy's grandson?" I stopped looking at him not understanding the look he is giving me. "Is that a problem Cap?" Steve walks up to me, but he gets way to close. "Peggy's grandson, Ellaria." I nod. "Yeah. You said that already Rogers." I sigh looking around seeing it was just him and I. "Let's just go see what the Secretary of State wants."

We were sitting there hearing the man ramble on and on. "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 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 prefer the word 'vigilantes'."

Nat speaks up, "what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" "How about dangerous. What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals... who routinely ignore sovereign boarders... and inflict their wherever they choose... and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?"

He moves to the side showing us the aftermath. "New York." I thought of my dad and how afraid I was. My father's death. My mother's well-being. And if I was going to even survive. "Washington D.C." He played more clips. I turn to look at Sam who was closing his eyes. "Sokovia." Ultron. "Lagos."

"Okay. That's enough." Steve says. "You know it's so bold of you to assume we don't care Secretary." I say glaring at him. He smiles at me. "You and your mother are witches, right? ...Salem." My heart stopped. "Was that a threat?"

"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 turns to his partner and gives Wanda a booklet. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries... it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead... they will operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel... only when and if that panel deems it necessary.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve says keeping his eyes to the floor. "Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" The secretary of state says walking to Steve. "If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes... you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works."