Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

53 - The Sokovia Accords

THE TRIP BACK TO THE UPSTATE HEADQUARTERS WAS SPENT IN SILENCE; NO ONE SPOKE A SINGLE WORD. Wanda was silent for obvious reasons, but no one else said anything because they didn't know what to say. How could they comfort Wanda when she was obviously too distraught to be comforted? Even though the explosion had been a result of her powers, her intentions had and were in the the right place. She was trying to protect Steve, and they all knew that. But they also knew that vocalizing it wouldn't help. It wouldn't do anything.

Raevanna blamed herself for it. She was so focused on helping Steve and why her magic had been blocked that she hadn't seen the bomb vest, but she should have. She should've known that Rumlow would've pulled something like that, and prepared herself to handle it. But instead of her, it had been Wanda, and now the young girl was paying the price for it.

When they reached headquarters, Raevanna returned to her room and flopped back onto the bed, only to hiss in discomfort as stinging pain flashed through her back and arms. Quickly getting back up, she walked into the bathroom that was conjoined to hers and pulled off her shirt, putting her back to the mirror and twisting her neck so she could see her injuries. There were nasty bruises, scrapes, and abrasions all over her shoulders, sides, wings, and the backs of her arms, and when she touched them, she flinched from the pain.

Raevanna sighed, shaking her head before pulling out a first aid kit and doing her best to clean and patch up the injuries. And when she finished, she shook her head again, huffing at her crude attempt. "This looks like a three-year-old did this," Raevanna muttered.

Still, there was nothing else she could do. So she changed into looser, lighter clothing (which she also had to cut holes in for her wings) and left the bathroom, walking out of her room and down the hall. But then, she heard a voice she didn't recognize, and she frowned before heading into the main room, where the team - as well as Vision, Rhodey, and Tony - were sitting around a table, and where a tall, older man with white hair and a dark mustache was standing at the head of the table.

As soon as she entered the room all eyes went to her, and the mood immediately shifted as everyone fell silent. Raevanna looked around at the team, seeing the looks on their faces. Some wore looks of disgust, others looks of pity and disappointment. But even though nothing was said, Raevanna knew why they were looking at her that way. Somehow, in the short time that they had been back, Steve had told the team about what had happened. So now they knew. Everyone in that room knew exactly what she had done.

The only person who didn't seem disgusted, angry, or disappointed was Blake. The older woman was watching Raevanna with sympathetic eyes, and it was then that Raevanna realized that Blake didn't believe that what had happened had been her choice. Blake knew her, and she knew that Raevanna loved Steve too much to ever hurt him like this. So when Raevanna met Blake's eyes, she nodded faintly, and Blake nodded back in response, knowing exactly what Raevanna meant. They would talk later.

As Raevanna took a seat next to her friend, she looked up at the older man, recognizing him as the Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross. Confused by his presence, Raevanna glanced at Blake with a slight frown. Blake, however, shrugged softly in reply; she clearly had no idea why he was here either, or why he had summoned the Avengers to a meeting.

"Five years ago," Secretary Ross began after a moment, "I had a heart attack." He mimicked swinging a golf club before he went on. "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." He looked around at the team. "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'."