The next day, Tony found himself at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. The avengers always ended up back here after saving the world so Fury could yell at them for something or something. Tony never paid attention anyway. The avengers sat around a long conference table.
"Morning guys." Natasha said with an almost sarcastic tone. She perched on the chair next to Clint.
"Why do mortals always have meetings such as these? It is not normal." Thor said tiredly.
"I mean, we gave our bodies for these people. Risked our lives. Yet they still find something to yell at us about." Bruce added.
"Yeah we should threaten to quit if we have to sit through one more meeting." Clint suggested.
Steve walked through the door and sat in the chair directly across from Tony. He was usually happy to follow protocol and tried to convince everyone of how important it was. But today, he sat down without a word and kept his head down and traced mindless doodles on a sheet of paper.
Tony took a mental note. But before he could say anything, the doors opened and in walked Chief Davidson with Director Fury behind him.
Tony barely caught the fear that flashed across Steve's face. That was something he had genuinely never seen before on him.
"Good morning, my avengers." the Chief said with a false warmness.
When no one answered him, he continued, "You guys did a great job the other day in New York, and we are ever indebted to your services. However, I have not been pleased with the amount of reckless behavior displayed by your team."
"Reckless behavior?" Natasha asked.
"Yes, Miss Romanov. Reckless. Unnecessary civilian deaths, buildings being torn apart. Roads torn up. Vehicles demolished. It's all too much. And it needs to be stopped."
"With all due respect sir, Can you really peg this as our fault? I mean it was the aliens, not us, who decided to start open war in the city. We were there to stop it, not fuel the fire." Tony asked with as much patience as he could muster, but this guy was spewing absurdities.
"Understood Mr. Stark. But even someone at your caliber could understand that destruction means money wasted."
"So this is about money?" Clint piped up.
"No, it certainly is not." Clint and Natasha looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"It's about control. You guys are acting like you are out of control, and we cannot have that. The US government is already on our backs about putting you under contracts and such to keep you under tabs, so things like this are not helping our case. This is why we will be keeping track of all the unnecessary damage you inflict from here on out."
Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat but kept his head down. Tony remembered him to be the first one to offer his opinion on things like this, but he still had yet to chip in.
Director Fury mediated, " I know you guys don't think it's your fault that this stuff is happening, and it's not… to an extent. But there is always room for improvement."
Davidson rounded the table until he stood behind Steve. "I think your Captain would agree that the less damage that is done, the better it is. Right, Captain?"
Davidson put his hands on his shoulders awkwardly and rubbed. It was impossible to miss Steve's flinch.
"Yes." Steve said in monotone.
"Here, have some water. A big guy like you needs to stay hydrated." Davidson whispered to him and handed him a water bottle.
The entire team sat in confusion at what had transpired.
Fury turned on the projector and showed footage of the hulk smashing into building, iron man falling onto a school bus, Clint blowing up part of a playground etc.
In the dark of the room, Tony saw the Chief bend over and whisper into Steve's ear. Steve stiffly nodded in reply. And sunk in his chair once he left.
After the footage stopped, the lights turned back on and Davidson and Fury promptly left with a warning to the team to be mindful of the damage they cause.