Destruction, devastation, chaos; all different words, yet they hold the same meaning. Maniacal screams fill the streets while the unfortunate souls of so many humans cower in fear. The breeze of the night's wind carries away the embers of the house fires that appear so suddenly and scatter throughout the city. Dilapidated buildings and demolished cars crumble as shots are fired and the air, now a heavy blanket of intoxicating fumes and the scent of death, chokingly wraps itself around those victims that remain in hiding. With a city in shambles, and survivors scarce, all eyes look towards what was once a beacon of hope, a sign for a prosperous future. The Adonis of buildings, baring only a single word. STARK.
Its resolute stature empowers those who remain to continue fighting, until an explosion erupts from within the heart of Stark Industries. Windows shatter outwards and floors upon floors come crashing down, each one taking more and more victims to their grave. This is indeed an ending, an ending of suffering perhaps? Of danger? Or rather an ending to humanity's own disturbed political views. No one can say, as exceptionally large ornament begins its descent from its previous throne. An ornament shaped like an A.
Getting closer and closer, the disfigured letter comes tumbling down, until finally, it hits its target, a young human girl, and everything... turns to black.
Somewhere in Oregon, a pair of blue eyes snapped open, wide and fearful, and a tad confused. Her breathing was heavy, coming out in gasps, and her heart was pounding within her chest. The girl moved into a sitting position, her hand holding onto her head. She knew there was only one plausible reason for her nightmare, yet she couldn't bring herself to form the words.
Without warning, the door abruptly swung open, nearly flying off its hinges to reveal the striking blue hair of a slightly older female, dressed in her typical punk outfit. Her eyes fell on the girl, worry seeping into her blue irises. Upon meeting her gaze, Chloe understood what had just happened.
"Max?"
"Oh no..."
OXOXOXOXOXOXO
219 West 47th Street, New York City
S.H.I.E.L.D Headquearters
09:30 a.m. – January 14th
An unearthly silence had fallen over the small enclosed room, allowing suspense and angst to fester in the minds of its occupants. Three figures were seated next to each other on the auburn sofas that were situated in the room, neither daring to utter a word. Dread had somehow filled the air, and Steve knew, whatever the S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to talk to them about, wasn't going to be good. He remembered reading the text only a few hours prior to their meeting.
'Meet up at New York Headquarters at 10:00 a.m.
Phil Coulson'
Steve was in Manhattan at the time of the message, completing an infiltration mission. Needless to say, it shocked him when Natasha Romanoff arrived but moments later and dismissed him, telling him the mission had been terminated and that the other Agents would handle it.
'S.H.I.E.L.D.'s arranged for an intervention, Steve. No time to waste. '
Upon remembering Natasha's words to him, he gave her sideways glance. Somehow, he knew that she was hiding something from him. During their flight in the Quinjet, she hardly answered any of his questions, claiming that it was classified information and that they would all probably find out soon. He also couldn't understand why they had to meet up in New York of all places. They hadn't used the location in months. In fact, he hadn't set foot there since he had woken up from his episode in the ice.
A grunt to his right tore him from his thoughts. Sam had arrived there only a few minutes after they had. Unlike the other Avengers, Agent Maria Hill had contacted him when he was doing a fly by in New York. He wasn't keen on attending at first, but upon being subject to Agent Hill's wrath, as well as hearing of Steve's arrival, he decided against his reluctance. Sam remembered that he promised the age old soldier to aid him in finding Bucky. He was definitely not going to abandon him now. He shifted in his seat, and decided to break the silence that had encompassed the room.
"Why'd you think they got us all rounded up here?" he asked, maintaining his unreadable expression.
"I don't know," Steve replied curtly, before her turned to Natasha, tossing her a scrutinising glance at Natasha who simply glared back.
"I told you everything they told me," she replied impassively.
Steve was about to question her again, when he heard the door open, and saw both Phil Coulson and Maria Hill enter the room. Sam shifted uneasily in his seat, his glasses masking the suspicious glint in his eyes. Coulson walked over to a nearby table and placed a suitcase on top of it, before Agent Hill addressed the three Avengers in the room.
"Thank you for coming Steve, all of you, and on such short notice."
"Like we had much of a choice…" Sam muttered, earning a disapproving look from her.
Leaning forward in his seat, Steve chose to address the matter at hand. "What's this all about anyway, Agent Hill?"
"I think it best to await the arrival of the others before we continue," Phil interjected. "It'll be easier to explain it once to all of you."
Natasha nodded at this, silently inspecting Coulson. She remembered when Fury had lead the operation to bring him back to life, even if it meant as a cyborg. They had done a great job at doing so; you could barely tell that he wasn't human. Fury certainly knew what he was doing.
On that note, she frowned slightly. Things had become harder to deal with since Nick left S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil had succeeded in filling his shoes, but it just wasn't the same. Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop when she heard voices approaching them.
'Finally'
The door opened in a rather unceremonious way as Tony Stark entered the room.
"All I'm saying is that if Banner would wear a super suite or allow me to make him one, he wouldn't have to worry about shredding his clothes every time he turns green," he stated matter of factly. Bruce and Clint walked in after him, looking exasperated from what appeared to have been a tedious conversation.
"I told you, he doesn't need a super suite! We already have two Avengers in spandex; do you have any idea what a green, oversized man would look like in a rubber suite?" Clint replied, frustration clear on his face.
"Um, guys… I'm right here, you know?" Bruce nervously scratched his head. This conversation had started when he had arrived at the building, in only his, now outstretched, pants. There was an incident earlier that day, and Bruce let of some steam in one of the vacant rural areas. Tony was tasked to bring him in, since he was the closest to his location. Fortunately, Bruce was already passed out when he arrived, which made it easier to fly him over to HQ. When Tony had landed, Clint had been waiting, and upon seeing the barely clad doctor in Stark's grasp, he initiated the conversation of how important it was for Banner to control his temper. One thing had led to another, and before Bruce had redressed himself, Tony and Clint had started their ridiculous debate about his attire.
"Quiet Banner, mommy and daddy are talking," Tony shushed, holding up his finger at the short tempered scientist.
"Are even listening to yourself? Oh wait, you're always doing that," Clint grunted out.
"Where else am I supposed to get expert advice? It's not like I can get million dollar ideas from Robin Hood over here."
"Why you-"
"Enough!"
All eyes turned to Agent Hill who had an impatient look on her face. This entire situation was already stressful as it was; she didn't have the energy to handle Stark's snarky attitude. Coulson chose to this moment to interject.
"Please have a seat," he motioned for the three men to sit down, before turning back to the briefcase on the desk. Banner obediently made his way over to the rest of the crew, taking a seat next to Natasha who gave him a slight smile. Clint and Tony soon followed, sending each other glares while doing so.
"Alright R2D2, what's all this fuss about?" Tony asked, reclining into the sofa. Clint barely managed to contain his obnoxious snort, while Natasha allowed a small smirk to cross her face. Coulson however, was slightly irritated, but managed to keep up his impassive mask.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why we called you in here today. Well, we have found ourselves in… quite a grim situation. Some of you may already be aware of this," he started, glancing at Natasha. His action didn't go unnoticed by Steve. "I feel it is my duty to inform you that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been… placed under new management," he ended, allowing a grave look to cross his features.
"What the hell does that mean?" Sam blurted out.
"It means the government is intervening in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operation system," Hill replied abruptly. "Meaning that we, more specifically the Council, no longer has a say in how we run S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Agent Hill and I were only informed yesterday morning."
"Are kidding me?" Clint exclaimed, his brow furrowed in frustration. He wasn't aware of this, seeing as he had time off while his injuries from a previous mission recovered.
"Unfortunately not," Coulson replied. Natasha looked down slightly, knowing Steve was going to realise that she knew. "However, the reason we called you all in was because the Council has asked for a private meeting with the Avengers. We were asked to attend as well, to answer any further questions you might have after…" Phil broke off his sentence, giving Hill another grave look. He then reached into the briefcase and pulled out a circular shaped object which he placed in the middle of the room.
"After what?" Steve asked, his voice laced with seriousness. Phil picked up a remote and pressed a series of buttons, before a large holographic screen was projected in front of them. "You're about to find out."
Static briefly appeared on the screen, before four silhouettes took its place.
"Good morning Avengers," said the female silhouette to the far right. "Thank you for attending this meeting. We realise that this was such short notice."
"We trust you have informed them, Agent Coulson?" the male next to her asked. Phil gave a curt nod, to which the councilman continued. "Then you know that we have had no say in what follows."
"The government has come to the conclusion that crime hasn't decreased since the Avengers Initiative was put into action. In fact, it has increased almost tenfold. Not to mention the fact that the Initiative has only drawn more and more destructive forces to earth." An image of the battle of New York splayed across the screen. A few moments after, a video of the destruction of the Triskelion was shown, followed by numerous other images indicating mass destruction and casualties.
"The government has decided that we, more specifically S.H.I.E.L.D. , are incapable of enforcing the safety of our citizens and controlling the behaviour of the Avengers. For that reason, they have decided to take over our base of operations."
A short silence ensued before Clint spoke up. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad, right?"
"What's the catch?" Steve asked, knowing there was more to this than just that lousy announcement.
The councilwoman spoke again, this time with disdain. "The government believes that if people were to be… allowed to indulge in their so called fetishes without being held liable, they would be more considerate to abiding the law on other occasions. Much like a reward system of sorts."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sam exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat.
A heavy sigh escaped the councilwoman's lips. "It means that the government has decided that, in an effort to minimise the crime rates, they would allow all crime to be legal for one day every year… including, theft, fraud, murder and-"
"Are you out of your damn mind?!" Steve exclaimed, outraged. Standing up from his seat, he glared at the screen.
"Do you realise how many people will die if you allow this to happen?" Clint was the second one to jump up from his seat. Sam soon followed, voicing his own opinion on the matter as well. It wasn't long before almost all the occupants in the room were shouting in outrage. While Steve, Sam and Clint were going on about how ludicrous the idea was, the others tried to calm them down, reminding them that they were talking to their superiors.
"… Guys?"
The disputes and arguments continued, only getting louder when Tony and Steve started to argue.
" Guys…?"
The Council remained silent upon viewing the scene in front of them.
"GUYS !"
And suddenly, everyone was silent, their eyes focused on a very frustrated looking Bruce Banner. He sighed heavily. "Can we just please… listen to what they have to say first?"
Steve paused for a moment, before nodding curtly. All of them understood the danger of Banner getting angry and chose to focus on the screen again.
"Please continue," Phil replied, turning his attention back to the Council.
"As we were saying; all crime will be made legal for one day a year, including murder. Due to this event," she paused briefly. "All emergency services will be disconnected and suspended for the duration of the day… That includes S.H.I.E.L.D."
Steve was about to confront them again, but one look at Banner told him he had to wait until he had heard their entire speech. He gritted his teeth as he tried to remain his calm and collected self.
"You can't be serious!" Clint exclaimed in frustration. Steve immediately grabbed his shoulder, signalling him to remain silent and endure. The councilwoman continued.
"This also means that all S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents are to turn in their weapons, badges and equipment before that day. A date is yet to be specified. They will also be prohibited to use the S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities to aid them during this time. As for the rest of the Avengers," the councilwoman explained, her voice stern. "Meta-humans will be admitted into solitary confinement."
Banner tensed up at this, knowing full well what she had implied.
"Steven Grant Rodgers, you will be required to hand in your shield," she added, her tone serious before turning to Sam." Samuel Thomas Wilson, you are to hand in your gear to Agent Coulson. And Mr. Stark," she stopped staring at the inventor. "You know what you need to do."
At that moment, Steve's stone cold eyes found Tony's serious ones. The young inventor turned away, and nodded solemnly towards the screen. Natasha stood silently, ignoring the glare she was receiving from Clint.
"On March 21st, all crime will be made legal for 12 consecutive hours. This will be the world's first Annual Purge."
Steve clenched his fists, not daring to look up at the screen.
"I am terribly sorry…"