Avalanche (Book 2)

Chapter 2: Why Do You Have To Go?

Avengers Compound

Pietro Maximoff's POV

The team was gathered in the living room. Cap was studying the Accords while sitting on a chair. Sam and Rhodey argued behind him, and Wanda, Vis, and Natasha were sitting on a couch across from me. Claire sat next to me on another couch. Tony was lying on a couch, separated from the group.

My eyes were on Claire as Sam and Rhodey argued. She seemed shaken up from the videos, especially the Paris one. She was also clearly angry at Cap, Sam, Natasha, Wanda, and me about the Crossbones mission. I desperately needed to talk to her privately, but the team was insistent on discussing the Accords now.

"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have." Rhodey told Sam. My gaze moved to them.

"So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?" Sam asked him.

"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, 'No, that's cool. We got it.'" Rhodey said to him.

"How long are you going to play both sides?" Sam asked Rhodey. He was referring to Rhodey's military background.

"I have an equation." Vis spoke up. Sam groaned.

"Oh, this will clear it up." Sam said. Claire forced a smile at that, bringing my attention back to her. I grabbed her hand. It was ice cold, but I held on tightly. She looked at me and gave me a small smile.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate." Vision said. He looked at Claire with a smile. They were close friends, and he seemed to care for her greatly.

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Cap asked him. Vis met his eyes.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand." Vis told him. Rhodey nodded in agreement.

"Boom." He said.

"Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal." Natasha said to Tony. He removed his hand from his face and looked at her.

"It's because he's already made up his mind." Cap said. Claire looked at me and shook her head subtly.

"Boy, you know me so well." Tony said. He got up and winced. He rubbed the back of his head and walked over to the kitchen. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache." He said. He grabbed a mug from the kitchen.

"That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" He asked us. He put his phone on the table and a picture of a young man popped up. We looked at it in confusion, but Claire looked down knowingly.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. 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 go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia." Tony said. We looked at him sadly.

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass." Tony said. He took a pain killer pill with a sip of coffee. "There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! 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."