They will not force us They will stop degrading us They will not control us We will be victorious - Uprising, Muse
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I sat with Tony quietly as the Secretary of State started telling the Avengers why we're needed. Tony hasn't spoken a word to me since I arrived, which is weird even for him. Something must be going on in his mind and I don't know if it's good or bad.
Secretary Ross sighed as he started his story. "Five years ago...I had a heart attack..." Bored already, "...and 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 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..."
"Great, can we go now?" I asked. Tony slapped my arm for the interruption, I glared at him.
"You might want to listen to this," he whispered. I sighed before listening to Ross finish...whatever it is he's trying to say.
"But while a great many people see you as heroes...there are some...who would prefer the word vigilantes."
"What word would you use, Mr Secretary?" Natasha asked.
"How about dangerous?" Us? Dangerous? "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?" People who try to save the city. Ross clicked on the monitors to show us the map of the world. "New York." The video played and showed this weird whale-like creature. Hulk going berserk. Then the map changed to show a ship crashing into the city. "Washington, D.C." It changed again. This time it was place I know all too well. The video playing was of Brushogun releasing his ink while the Titans and I attacked. "Tokyo." Then a small clip of my gum ad was played.
"Raven, why is your face on an ad for gum?" Sam asked.
"You don't wanna know," I responded.
The clip changed again to Sokovia. It was when Ultron raised the city. Ross changed the clip again to this morning. Lagos. The bomb that went off. I glanced towards Wanda, who was looking more guilty by the minute. It's not her fault. I could feel more of her guilty as the video continued playing injured citizens. Some covered in dirt and rubble, others being rushed to the hospital.
"Okay. That's enough," Steve told Ross.
Secretary Ross nodded at his guard to stop the video. "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."Like they could do any better if they're dealing with those things. "But I think we have a solution." The guard handed him this big book. Ross placed it on the table and pushed it towards us. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries...it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead...they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel...only when and if that panel deems it necessary."
