Winter's Sister

7

Secretary Ross had just recently left, and we were all in the living area of the compound. I was seated on the couch next to Wanda.

Sam and Rhodey were having a small argument about whether or not they should sign the Accords, while Steve was skimming the large booklet. Then, from my other side, Vision spoke up, showing us how since the Avengers had formed, there had been more world-threatening events. He believed there was correlation, which none of us could really deny.

"Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand," Vision concluded.

"Tony," Natasha asked. "You're being uncharacteristically non hyper-verbal."

"It's cause he's already made up his mind," Steve stated.

"Boy, you know me so well," Stark said sarcastically. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort." Walking into the kitchen area, he asked, "Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

Stark put up a holographic picture from his phone. "Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way," he said, and I looked away, remembering the lady from MIT. "He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas, or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't got to Paris, or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where. Sokovia."

Beside me, Wanda gasped. Sokovia was her home. I took her arm, leaning against her so she wouldn't feel alone.

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose," Stark continued. "We won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ***. There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! and whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Steve said.

"Who said we're giving up?" Stark asked.

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions," Steve argued calmly. "This document just shifts the blame."

"I'm sorry, Steve," Rhodey interupted. "That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not Hydra."

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change," Steve defended.

"That's good," Stark jumped in. "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

"Tony, you chose to do that," Steve pointed out. "If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if the panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later," Stark stated. "That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

"You're saying they will come for me," Wanda concluded. Looking at me, she corrected, "For us."

"We would protect you," Vision assured.

"Maybe Tony's right," Natasha sighed. "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-"

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her *** a few years ago?" Sam interrupted.

"I'm just... I'm just reading the terrain," Natasha explained. "We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back. Like Ross said, they don't even know some of us exist. Undoubtedly, he will have told them we were hiding Ree from the public eye. They won't like that."

"Focus up, I'm sorry," Stark joked. "Did you just agree with me?"

"I want to take it back now," Natasha stated.

"No, no, you can't retract it," Tony said. "Ok. Case closed. I win."

Steve looked at his phone, and his expression seemed to crush. "I have to go," he said, walking out. I followed him.

"Steve, what happened," I asked. There were tears in his eyes.

"Peggy," he said softly. "She's gone."

I knew who Peggy was, mostly from his letters, back before I was kidnapped. She was the girl of his dreams. The only one other than us and Bucky left from our time period.

I placed a hand on Steve's arm. "Go," I said. "Pack to go to the funeral. She would want you there. I'll tell the others. I'm sure Sam will want to go with you."

"Thank you, Ree," Steve replied, and I hugged him.

"Also, I'm not signing anything until you agree," I stated. "And that's probably not going to happen, either."

Steve gave a dry chuckle, hugging me back. "I could always count on you."

I went back into the living area and pulled Sam aside. I let him announce it to the others. Like I had guessed, he wanted to accompany Steve. I needed to stay with Wanda. It wasn't like they would let me out of the compound, anyway.

♤☆♤

Over the next three days, Stark, Rhodey, and Vision signed the Accords. Natasha would sign at the conference in Vienna. Wanda was undecided, and I, along with Steve and Sam, had outright refused. Their friend Clint, whom I had yet to meet, declared he was retired and they should just leave him alone.

Then, on the day of the conference, I was sitting on the couch reading, while Wanda sat on the other side, using her powers to play with a rubber bouncy ball in the air. The TV was on a news channel, reporting about the Vienna conference, but we were barely paying attention to it. That changed, however, when the building on screen exploded, drawing my attention from the world of fairies and dragons, and causing Wanda to lose focus and drop her ball.

"A bomb hidden in a news van," the reporter was saying, "ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than seventy people injured, at least twelve are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of the suspect, who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous Hydra agent, linked to many acts of terrorism and political assassinations."

"No," I gasped. "H-he didn't! He's not under their control anymore! H-he remembered! He's not a bad person, he wouldn't do that!"

"Shh," Wanda shushed me. "I know, from what you've told me, Ree. It's going to be alright. Steve will make sure of it. They were best friends."

"That is exactly why I signed the Accords," Stark said from behind the couch, startling us both. "Cap's gonna be a criminal if he goes after your brother, kid. Things aren't up to us anymore."

I left the room quickly after asking to borrow Wanda's phone. Once in my room, I called Steve. As soon as he picked up, I was rambling.

"Steve, it's Ree," I said. "They think Bucky bombed the UN building! He didn't! He wouldn't do that. He remembers! He's not under Hydra's control anymore. Steve, he wouldn't-"

"Ree, slow down," Steve ordered. "I know he didn't do it. I'm going to find out who did, I promise."

"But Stark says if you go after him, you'll be arrested," I replied.

"He would've done the same for me, and we both know it," Steve answered. "I'll be fine, Ree."

"Promise?" I asked.

Steve sighed. "I promise. Now go take care of Wanda. I don't want to hear about her and Vision getting too close."

"Aye, aye, Captain," I joked, hanging up. But I was still worried.