• I would like to put out that I am not team Iron Man or Team Captain America. I am team, Natasha. I wanted the team to stay together.
• If this story seems to float one way over the other, it's because of the character's point of view I am in. I will NOT bash characters just because I can. I love Natasha. I love Tony. I love Steve.
• Please, don't argue in the comments.
• I don't own the title or the lyrics. They belong to the song, watch by Billie Eilish
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When you call my name Do you think I'll come runnin'?
. . .
"...had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass."
The Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, glares at the Avengers gathered around the conference room. His eyes travel over every one of the members, pausing momentarily on the individuals he believed to be the biggest threat.
Wanda. Steve. Natasha.
"...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," he pauses, his voice dropping as it becomes more serious, "but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word, vigilantes."
Everyone was listening quietly, the Avengers sitting around the table as he told them this story. Natasha knew Ross wanted to start this conversation off lightly before he got to the more serious parts.
"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?"
Natasha sees Steve stiffen slightly from his seat at the far end of the table, as she taunts the Secretary. He is silently watching Ross, all traces of the good mood he had earlier was gone. She taps her foot up against his, a minor reassurance that she knows he needs.
The past month, Ross had been one of the supporters of the U.N. detaining Wanda, which Natasha and Tony have been trying to shoot off the table, but he has remained a consistent thorn in their sides. Natasha had a couple of guesses on what he would call them.
Dangerous. Reckless.
Just to name a few.
"How about "dangerous"?"
She called it.
"What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose?" He pauses, just to see if anyone would interrupt, but none of them do. "And who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?"
