ALTHEA✓AVENGERS

Chapter 42

Althea was seated beside Tony away from the group who was sitting around the table. She felt incredibly anxious. She had that bad feeling again. Something's definitely gonna go wrong, she knew that for sure. She could sense that Tony was still upset by what happened.

She couldn't really blame him. She felt just as bad as him on what happened but she wanted to compartmentalize. It something Natasha taught her in the past 6 month of her finding herself. She has become awfully good at it.

She even went as far as changing her hairstyle. She cut her hair to her shoulder length and had bangs. If only her mother could see her right now, Althea would not hear the end of it. She smiled at the thought of her mother.

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack. And dropped right in the middle of my back swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hour of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something 40 years in the army never taught me. Perspective." Secretary Ross started as he looked around the room.

"Get to the point." She muttered under her breath but Steve and Tony heard it considering they were close to her. Tony and Steve sent her a glare which made her look away. "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 word 'vigilantes'." He continued which made Althea roll her eyes knowing he probably said it.

"What word would you use, Mr Secretary?" Althea heard Natasha asking him which got her attention. She was curious to learn the answer for it. "How about 'dangerous'? What would you call a group 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 continued which made her let out a sigh as she looked around to see her teammates expressions.

"New York." Secretary Ross said as a video of the chitauri's invading New York played which made her wince as she heard the screams of innocent people. She saw as hulk jumped at crashed into a building which made her squeeze her eyes shut missing her best friend. But in a way it was a good thing he wasn't here now. He would never agree for this. She knew that for sure.

"Washington DC." Secretary Ross listed as a video of the helacarriers crashed in to the lake causing the water to hit the civilians. "Sokovia." He continued which made her feel incredibly guilty. She held Tony's hand which made him look at her. She could feel tears brimming in her eyes as the words of the women rang through her. At the looks of him she knew he was reliving it too.

"Lagos." He stated which made her realize she had enough of it. "That's enough Mr Secretary. We get the message." She stated in a most unpleasant tone which made him shot her look as he stopped the video. Tony shot her a look that clearly meant 'stay out of this' which made her her roll her eyes but she listened and calmed herself down.

"For the past 4 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 started. Althea knew right away the moment she dreaded came. His assistant handed him a file which he slided to Wanda who looked through it.

"The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries. It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organizations. Instead they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary." He concluded as he walked around the table.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve spoke up, voicing his thoughts. She knew beforehand that he would not agree for this after everything that happened and she really couldn't blame him. "Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of  30 megatons nukes, you can bet there'd consequences." He said which pissed Althea off.