Hold On Soldier ✔️ | marvel

74. Ross

I sit in my room with my mouth gapped open. My eyes stare at my hands that carry droplets of water, they lay there mocking me. Their pruned up and wrinkled after I stayed washing away the fire along side the fire fighters. Until I weakened and was ordered away. Even when I dried the remains of soaking clothes and skin it all kept flowing back through my mind.

"Are you meditating Isabelle?" Vision slips through unwelcome and I cringe.

"No... no I'm just thinking." I force to respond lifting my head up as if it weighed millions of pounds. "Thinking we should visit Wanda to see if she's alright... right?"

Vision nods in whole agreement, "I'll see her as well, after something I need to attend to." He slips through the wall and I hurry behind him seeing him materialize past Wandas room to talk to Rhodey.

When I enter Wanda room the door doesn't creek as I see Steve talking beside Wanda, "Rumlow said "Bucky" and..." he looks at me finally acknowledging my presence, "all of a sudden I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn."He sits beside Wanda and I stay at the doorway.

Wanda sees me as I join in, "Sorry I'm intruding I wanted to see how Wanda was doing and I overheard..."

"Please don't feel you're intruding." Wanda sighed from exhaustion but still assured I was alright.

"If I could add ... We never would have known that was going to happen. We didn't know Rumlow was going to do that." I tried to ease.

Steve heartbreakingly added, "And people died. It's on me."

Wanda disagrees politely, "It's on both of us."

I leave the entryway and sit beside Wanda comfortingly, "It's on us as a team. We all tried."

"This job . . . we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time . . . maybe nobody gets saved." Steve helps but Vision pops in suddenly coming back from wherever he left to.

Vision interrupts Wanda before she's even started making her groan, "Vis! We talked about this."

Vision explains, "Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that..." He gestures at the door and then stops.

"You'll work on it." I nod for him to continue.

"Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving." Vision admitted.

Steve nods appreciative, "Thank you. We'll be right down."

"I'll . . . use the door." Vision stops before leaving, "Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest."

Steve raises an eyebrow, "We know who it is?"

Vision hesitates, "The Secretary of State."

-

Thaddeus Ross, is standing at the head of a table. The rest of us gather around and sit at a long table while he stands confidently at the end.

I gulp as he starts, "Five years ago, I 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 . . . I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an un-payable 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"."

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Nat replies slightly agitated.

Ross is sure of it when he answers, "How about "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?"

The man turns on the screen behind him and News footage from past Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D matters flash on the screen as he speaks, "New York."

The city flashes on the screen but disaster resurfaces and I swallow nausea rising up my throat, "Washington DC."

The three helicarriers mock us on the screen as well as frightened citizens. I can imagine Bucky and I notice Sam look down at his lap in disgust. "Sokovia."

People are running on screen and we see the city rise in a clump from the ground. I brace myself as a building falls off the edge to plummet, "Lagos."

Fire, screaming, my hosing flickers onto the television until it lands on a dead women. I clench my jaw and see Steve defend Wanda who's uncomfortable, "Okay. That's enough."

"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. But I think we have a solution." He tosses a document and a thick book while the tv turns black,
"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."

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve explains in offense.

"We've done what you people couldn't. We saved you all multiple times and you're saying we're the cause?" I slam my hand against the table.

"Izzy." Steve snaps making me freeze.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross interrupts.

Steve looks up and meets Ross's eyes as I grow angry, "Why does that matter?"

"If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes . . . you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." Ross pulls his eyes off of Steve to glare at me.

"So, there are contingencies." Rhodey says.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over." Ross puts simply making my blood boil.

"You can't do that." I stand.

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Nat adds to the tension.

"Then you retire." Nat smiles awkwardly as Ross replies. I get pissed.