Author's Note: So Captain America: Civil War was awesome. Captain America, not so much. He annoyed me. This is an imagination of what may have happened after the credits and beyond. For the record, I am Pro-Accords albeit with some amendments. Nickygp's great story on Archive of Our Own, And The World Moves On… It Has To, is what ultimately inspired this one. I would definitely recommend going to check it out if you're a fan of Team Iron Man or just want a good story. I also adopted a concept from tarapandaes' The Futurist, another AO3 work worth checking out.
Also, in case you hadn't guessed, SPOILERS!
Disclaimer: I don't own the MCU. If I did, Captain Marvel would've been introduced in Phase 1, Iron Man would've beaten Cap and the Soldier and Maria Hill would've been in everything.
Avengers' Compound, May 2016
Tony Stark glared at the small phone across the workshop. Taking another sip of his whisky, he flung the glass at the phone, watching the glass shatter against the wall as it flew wide of the mark. The shards joined the growing pile of glass behind the phone. Tony reached up to the table above him and pulled another glass off before filling it from the bottle on the floor next to him.
The door to the workshop slid open and there was a click-click as two high-heeled feet stepped into the room. Tony jerked in surprise, spilling his whisky over himself and the floor around him, prompting him to swear loudly. The click-click of the high-heels approached the workbench he was leaning against.
'Not Pepper. I don't need Pepper. I don't want to see Pepper after everything," started racing around Tony's head as the sound got closer.
Maria Hill stepped around the edge of the table, eyes immediately finding the crumpled form of her employer next to the bottle of 25 year old Laphroaig. Hill paused before retrieving a glass of her own from the table and pouring both of them some whisky from the bottle. She sat down next to Tony, uncaring of the whisky on the floor.
"What happened? I go "on vacation" to help Fury in Asia, next thing we know the Avengers have torn themselves apart and torn into each other at an airport in Germany."
"I take it you heard about the Accords?" Stark challenged.
"I did. I suspected something in that vein was coming. Sokovia scared a lot of people," Hill answered, taking a sip of whisky.
"Yeah well, maybe Rogers was right. Rogers and me disagreed on the matter. He felt we shouldn't sign while I was encouraging us to do so. I tore the team apart because some government flunkies asked me to," Tony summarised.
Hill paused, looking at the amber liquid in the glass in her hand.
"That's bullshit, Stark, and you know it. The problem wasn't with you, the problem was with Rogers. He decided the wishes of one-hundred and seventeen countries were irrelevant, decided that he knew best and fuck everyone else. The problem is that the only experience he's had of accountability and chain-of-command are the SSR and S.H.I.E.L.D. One of them basically let him do what he wanted and the other turned out to be full of Nazis," Hill began.
"That doesn't excuse his actions, although it does give them a bit of context," Maria continued. "However, more than that, the problem was Barnes. Not Barnes himself, I should say, but Rogers relationship with Barnes. When it comes to Barnes, Rogers gets tunnel vision. I noticed it when we went to take out Project Insight. I noticed it again watching the coverage of the pursuit in Bucharest. Rogers loses all perspective as soon as he believes there is any sort of threat to Barnes.
"I've read the official report and the more complete one FRIDAY provided for me. As far as Rogers' actions go, it wasn't about the Accords. It was about trust. It was about not trusting anyone besides himself with the fate of Barnes. In other words, you didn't tear this team apart. Rogers tore this team apart because he valued an old friend over the world's security. He justified the need for the Accords by being overprotective of Barnes and didn't even have the balls to try and fix it," Hill concluded.
Stark just stared at the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director in shock at her defence of him and his actions. Hill calmly finished off her whisky before pushing to her feet, ignoring the whisky running down the legs of her catsuit.
"Now, pull yourself together, Stark, we have work to do."
Wakandan Royal Palace, September 2016
"Were you able to get the data?" Steve Rogers asked as T'Challa, King of Wakanda, entered the room.
"No, Tony Stark was adamant that the data was not to be shared. He feels Killian's research is too dangerous," T'Challa responded.
"Great. As usual, Stark chooses not to help," Scott Lang snorted.
"Not quite. Come," the King of Wakanda instructed, waving for the former Avengers to follow him.
He led them through the palace before stopping outside a door.
"It is possible that there is a way to help Barnes in this room. Whether it can be used depends, I believe, on you," T'Challa told them before leading the group in to the room.
It turned out to be a conference room, with a long table in the middle with chairs arranged around it. A large window overlooked the jungle outside, a jungle being observed by a figure in a suit.
"Maria. It's good to see you," Steve began, stepping up to join her.
He got no further because Hill had turned and slapped him soundly across the face.
"What the hell, Hill?" Clint Barton shouted as the rogue Avengers all tensed.
"Oh don't you start, Barton, I'll get to you in a minute. As for you, Rogers, congratulations," Maria snapped.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, bewildered, while the other ex-Avengers positively cowered in the face of Maria Hill's anger. Even T'Challa looked ready to bolt.
"You have successfully torn apart the Avengers, torn apart everything we have spent years working toward, for a friend who barely remembers his own name never mind yours."
"Tony-"
"DON'T YOU BLAME STARK FOR YOUR STUPIDITY, ROGERS! Stark was trying was trying to save the Avengers, keep the world from fearing you more than it fears your enemies. You elected to jeopardise that over the most prolific assassin in history because he was your friend. Because you were arrogant enough to believe that you and only you know how to protect the world. "The safest hands are still our own"? Do you know where I've heard that before, Rogers? Alexander Pierce," Maria snarled.
Steve looked like someone had slapped him again.
"That's right, Rogers, you share an opinion with a now-deceased leader of HYDRA. Or should I say, you share an arrogance with him," Maria snapped.
Steve stood by the window, looking as though his world was falling apart. Done with him for now, Maria turned toward Sam Wilson, who quailed at her look.
"As for you, Wilson, I expected better. You followed Rogers without looking. I have to wonder, was it just blind loyalty or are you less intelligent than I give credit for? No one is perfect, not even "Captain America". I would've thought you knew that," Hill sneered.
Clint Barton cowered when she turned her gaze to him.
"Four words, Barton. Laura, Cooper, Lila, Nathaniel," was all Maria said to the archer.
Clint's eyes widened in shocked understanding before he collapsed in the seat next to him, head in his hands. When Wanda Maximoff moved to comfort him, she found herself pinned by Maria's glare. To Scott's shock, the Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful people on the planet, seemed to practically shrink in on herself in fear at Hill's glare being directed at her.
"Wanda, I'm disappointed in you. Did you ever stop to consider why Stark and Vision confined you to the Compound? They did it to protect you. You had a lot of people out for blood, including a number of people placed high up in the American government that were just waiting for an opportunity to kick you out of the US, at the very least. True, they should have told you but I honestly expected better from you," Maria chided, voice ice-cold.
Wanda looked down in shame at Maria's words while Maria refocused onto her next target.
"As for you, Scott Lang, you must be very proud. What an excellent role-model you are for your daughter. Dropping everything and breaking the law again because Captain America asked. Not to mention Doctor Pym is livid at you for running off with his tech and putting it in danger of falling into the wrong hands. Miss Van Dyne, of course, was more concerned about you but in the wake of your actions is also not happy," Maria finished with a snarl.
Scott gripped the back of the chair in front of him for support as he tried to cope with what Hill had told him. Distantly, he noted that he now understood why his compatriots had been so afraid of this woman. She was not afraid to go for the jugular.
Maria looked around the room for a moment, glare still burning through them, before she stepped up to the table and pulled the briefcase there around to face her.
"As far as Barnes goes, this should help. Stark's been working on it for years, ever since Loki. After Ultron he spent more time on it than before, incorporating Killian's research. It's designed to break mind control or brainwashing. Stark makes no promises it will work but he says it's worth a shot," Hill explained.
"Why would Tony want to help Bucky? Last time they met, Tony tried to kill him," Steve pointed out.
"He's had time to think about the situation," the former spy replied, giving Rogers a pointed look.
Avengers Initiative Global Headquarters, January 2020
Steve stepped off the Quinjet, flanked by Sam and Scott, looking around at the former Avengers' Compound. It had changed since Steve and Sam had last been there, almost three years ago, having become the global headquarters of the Avengers Initiative. More buildings filled the space and people rushed around the facility, clad in S.H.I.E.L.D.-style jumpsuits with the Avengers' logo replacing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s.
Maria Hill stepped forward to meet them, eyes steely.
"Rogers, Wilson, Lang. Welcome to the global headquarters of the Avengers Initiative," Hill greeted as the pilot stepped past them out of the jet.
"It's changed," was all Steve could bring himself to say as he looked around.
"The world moves on. We expanded, in a lot of ways," was all Maria said in response.
Maria led them through the main building until they reached a door marked Briefing Room A3. The door opened as they approached allowing them in. Maria signalled for the three to sit in the three nearest seats before she joined Tony Stark at the front of the room. Steve looked around the room as he sat down, surprised to find himself surrounded by the primary Avengers team.
Since the introduction of the Sokovia Accords and under the leadership of Tony Stark, supported by Maria Hill, the Avengers had grown significantly. Compounds existed around the world, each continent having multiple Avengers teams in residence providing super-powered enforcement, relief and training when necessary. With the resources and backing of the United Nations as well as Stark Industries, the Avengers Initiative was extremely well funded and well equipped as well as having military rank structure to allow them greater and easier authority in the field.
However, while teams existed worldwide, the top team resided at the Avengers Initiative Global Headquarters, the site that had once hosted the Avengers Compound. Led by General Tony Stark in person, the Avengers Initiative Gold Team was the most well-known and well respected team under its banner. With a roster comprising some of the Initiative's most powerful members, it was no wonder that they were only called in as a unit in the direst of circumstances. In addition to Iron Man, Gold Team included War Machine, Black Widow, Vision, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Wasp, Thor, Hulk, Quake, Sif and Songbird while the Initiative's second-in-command, Lieutenant General Maria Hill, acted as their handler.
Gold Team comprised the majority of the original members of the new Avengers Initiative. In the wake of Siberia, only Tony Stark, James Rhodes and Vision had remained of the Avengers with T'Challa joining them. Natasha Romanoff had returned not long after and was readmitted while Hope Van Dyne had joined as Wasp a week later after initially coming to apologise for Scott Lang's actions. Maria had brought Carol Danvers to the Initiative next, with Captain Marvel becoming an important part of the team. Eventually, Bruce Banner, and thus the Hulk, had returned to the team, bringing with him a young Inhuman former-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent by the name of Daisy "Quake" Johnson who preferred to go by Skye off duty. Thor had come next, accompanied by the Lady Sif who wished to join the team as well.
After that, more compounds began to open worldwide as more superhuman individuals came into the open. The Avengers Initiative went from a "team of extraordinary people to fight the battles we never could" to a global organisation dedicated to training superhumans in the use of their abilities and, if they wanted, give them a place to use those abilities for the protection of the people of Earth. It was through this that Melissa "Songbird" Gold had joined what would become Gold Team, joining in late 2017.
Early the next year, Clint and Wanda had returned to the Initiative, signing the Accords and receiving pardons for their actions. Now, just under four years after the Accords had been introduced, the last members of the old team had elected to sign.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I believe we all know why we're here. Rogers, Wilson, Lang, if you would come here," Tony said.
The trio stood up to join Tony and Maria at the other end of the table. Three sets of paperwork sat on the table, each with the encircled A of the Avengers Initiative next to the seal of the UN's Superhuman Affairs Committee. After quickly reading through them, all three signed. Hill scooped them up to quickly glance over the paperwork before giving Stark a nod.
"Welcome to the Avengers Initiative."
Author's Note: Just to clarify the rankings. The members of the Avengers Initiative all have a military rank but don't answer to those of a higher rank out with the Initiative, although the reverse is applicable. For instance, a Major in the Avengers will have authority over anyone below that rank but cannot give orders directly contradicting those of a Colonel or above, nor can they give them orders. However, a normal Colonel is unable to give a Major with the Avengers orders. Whether an Avenger listens to the officer is entirely up to them.
For those interested, Gold Team are ranked thus:
Tony "Iron Man" Stark - General
Maria Hill - Lieutenant General
James "War Machine" Rhodes - Major General
Vision - Major General
Natasha "Black Widow" Romanoff - Major General
Thor - Major General
Bruce "Hulk" Banner - Major General
Clint "Hawkeye" Barton - Brigadier General
Carol "Captain Marvel" Danvers - Brigadier General
Sif - Brigadier General
Hope "Wasp" Van Dyne - Brigadier General
T'Challa "Black Panther" - Brigadier General
Daisy Skye "Quake" Johnson - Brigadier General
Melissa "Songbird" Gold - Brigadier General
Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff - Brigadier General
Note that Clint and Wanda are not Major Generals yet because of their initial opposition to the Accords.