For better or worse, Marvel owns all of this stuff, not me.
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Many thanks to my wonderful Beta, AutumnFroste, who writes some pretty cool stories. Go read them!
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Chapter 7: Make Peace, Not War
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"I saw it as clear as day. I saw us. At war. It had never occurred to me before that very moment. But right then, I knew we were going to war. We're warriors, with weapons and ideals and things to fight for—things worth dying for. It's who we are, it's our defining characteristic. We fight. The Avengers avenge, X-men defend, the Fantastic Four explore. But we all fight. At first I thought we'd be fighting a war against evil. But that's just that holier-than-thou attitude that we're always the good guys and all we fight is bad guys. But in a war there are no good guys and there are no bad guys…There're opposing forces. A war was coming…I saw us fighting each other."
–Tony Stark, "Civil War: The Confession," by Brian Michael Bendis
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New Avengers Facility
Days later
"What're you doing?"
"Looking up stuff from previous SHIELD agents," Natasha answered her boyfriend. "Most of them basically had to give up on the whole family life for this, but some still managed to make it happen."
Bruce nodded at that, Barton was a perfect example of that, though he had buried his secret deep. "To help make sure Laura gets a semi-normal life?"
"Yes and no. She'll get the life I never got." She pointedly made no mention of Bruce's own sorry childhood, which he appreciated, and given how people would assume that Laura would be groomed to be a superhero in turn, the Red Room was a far better example. "But she'll also have to grow up able to protect herself. Other parents relied on secrecy or their own personal efforts, but I'm not taking chances. Not with our lifestyles and history."
While a little uncomfortable with raising his daughter to be a trained fighter, Bruce had to concede she had a good point. Also, "And she'll have to know who the Avengers are," he added as if it were obvious.
Seeing her raised eyebrow at his comment, he elaborated, "I doubt you or I will be able to get out of this life too easily. And I want them to know who she is and care about her. So that the most powerful heroes will want her happy and safe."
For a moment Natasha thought Bruce had been hanging around her too much, that he was planning to influence the Avengers to be another set of security for their daughter, before she remembered how he had been hacking some of SHIELD's files and what he had been reading, and then connected the dots.
"You're worried about the Sokovia Accords, or the Superhero Registration Act as they're also calling it."
Bruce might not be much of a sociologist, and contrary Tony's attempts he was no psychologist. He was however a good hacker, especially when helping Natasha who was a master hacker. A witch really. Moreover, while Natasha was no ivory tower academic, the Red Room had still taught her a lot about predicting people's motives and actions, finding the patterns in their behaviours.
Ever since she had discovered that the organizations that she had served so loyally was so irredeemably diseased that only indiscriminately cutting off large pieces of flesh could save what the body represented, and HYDRA's connections to the KGB and thus the Red Room, Natasha had chosen to be more…proactive in identifying threats as opposed to waiting around for orders. Her extensively trained paranoia had also escalated, especially now that it was not just her life she was concerned about. With Steve acting as her guiding compass she had still been discrete, but with Bruce to help her and fearing for their daughter's safety, she had taken to hacking into various government databases. What they had found there had led them to broaden their searches to what sociologists, respected psychologists, political analysists were publicly saying, and what they were covertly advising various officials and intelligence agencies.
Conclusion: various powerful individuals were afraid of those whose power came not from wealth, connections, or the ability to manipulate public perception or the bureaucracy. Those who had the ability to singlehandedly level military bases, undermine nations, and go toe-to-toe with entire armies. At the moment the only ones who could do that were members of the Avengers, but it was clear that the number of those with special abilities were growing, especially given what Natasha had managed to sniff out from SHIELD.
Solution: ask, cajole, or outright conscript those with powers to serve their nations, or the United Nations in the name of appeasing the masses. And there was a growing momentum, albeit still a slow one, towards starting with the Avengers.
"We've still got some time before it'll become a problem," Bruce tried to reassure her, knowing he was fooling no one, "especially if we can prevent another public incident," although they would be fools to depend on that, "but yes, I'm worried about how it will divide us."
For the Avengers and SHIELD were already aware of the threat posed by Registration, and were carefully working to avert it. What the more forward thinking behavioural analysts were concerned about though was: What would happen after Registration was implemented? Which heroes would obey and register for the Sokovia Accords, and which ones would choose to be vigilantes? Criminals? A minority even predicted a conflict between the heroes who refused government oversight, and those that were inevitable ordered to arrest their former teammates since no ordinary law enforcement agents could hope to succeed. For evidence they pointed out to instances where Stark had displayed symptoms of ongoing and untreated PTSD while in public.
Natasha and Bruce might not be trained to see the big picture, but they knew the Avengers, and with the details they had picked up from all the readings, and their own personal knowledge, they had reached their own horrible conclusion that a lines would be drawn between members as they chose to register or not if the Accords were ever put into practice. And with emotional and erratic personalities like Tony's, or Steve's refusal to compromise in any way, it might not even take governmental pressure for relationships to turn tense. If something unforeseen happened, and it would, it could easily turn to violence.
[Flashback]
"Do you really think it could come to this?" Natasha whispered as she re-read the report from a particular analyst. His superiors had dismissed the man's findings as being too unreasonable even for their own suspicious minds, but the Black Widow kept coming back to it.
Lifting his face from where it had been buried in his hands, Bruce forced himself to look her in the eye, "Nat, you weren't there when Vision was born, so to speak, yet right beforehand we were all fighting each other. It wasn't Tony or Steve, but Iron Man versus Captain America. We had reached a dispute on something serious, lives were hanging in the balance, no one was willing to back down, and the next thing we know we were at each other's throats." He waved his hand in irritation, "Oh sure, it was a bit more complicated than that, but the fact was that in a span of a few days, the Avengers had gone from joking around about Thor's hammer to trying to kill each other."
Leaning back, Natasha closed her eyes, "Tony's too arrogant and increasingly unstable the longer he refuses to actually address his issues, and sorry, I know he's your friend but you know it's true, and as much as I respect him, Steve won't back down if he feels the Accords are the wrong thing to do, too prideful even at times. It might not even take governmental pressure for things to get tense between them while pulling the rest of us in, not to mention Thor's response when or if he returns from being Prince of Asgard. Add in the possibility of someone else with powers causing trouble by stirring up emotions and causing violence…"
"…and we've got a recipe for disaster," Bruce finished, "with our friends going for their throats and pulling more and more people in along with them."
[Flashback End]
Stooping down, Bruce picked Laura up and started to bounce her up and down in his arms, "We don't even know if it'll stay at dividing into just two sides, it could fragment into several different groups, each with members with powers and skills others can't handle." He was silent for a moment, "Way back when we met Loki, I said we were all a time bomb, like it was only a matter of when and not if we self-destructed and hurt those around us. Too many competing egos and other issues."
Natasha stayed silent, knowing that he would not bring up that horrid day without good reason, and her faith in him was rewarded when he looked back up and she saw the dork she loved so much back in his eyes, "But we can't let that happen."
Rising with a feline grace that would have any other man panting, Natasha stalked over and planted a light kiss on his lips, "For Laura's sake. But also because our friends, our family, doesn't deserve that."
"Yes."
"And based on what you said earlier, you're planning to shove an adorable little girl into their faces whenever they get upset? To help keep the peace?"
"Something like that," he smiled at her teasing, but he knew her brilliant mind was already coldly and logically working through it all, and she was not disagreeing with him.
It could work, Natasha conceded to herself, not even realizing how her thoughts and priorities had grown and changed over the years, and for an instant, a scene popped into Natasha's head:
Tony and Steve yelling at each other across a conference room, both of them backed up by officials and spokespersons on either side. And then a sharp voice cutting them off, and making them turn to the man at the head of the table. A frowning Bruce was holding an upset Laura, and telling them to calm it down.
The green stick, holding the angelic carrot, as he reminded them both what they were all really fighting for.
Suppressing the urge to smirk, she grimly also had to acknowledging the dangers of Bruce, the Hulk, seeming to take a side. The power he controlled could easily escalate the situation, especially since the only means to guarantee victory for the other side would be a pre-emptive strike to take him out of the fight, and that would only set everyone off. And I very well might end up killing someone then, she thought with no small amount of concern. She did not want to have to explain to Laura what had happened to one of her "aunts" and "uncles," or worse, lie to her daughter.
"If fighting does break out," she said aloud, "nowhere will be safe for Laura. Not just from people trying to use her to control us," Natasha gave no response when Bruce's eyes flashed green for a moment, for the Black Widow was in agreement, "but also because if the enhanced start fighting it out who knows how destructive it'll be? So we have to keep it from breaking out, by keeping them from wanting to actually beat each other senseless. Or worse."
All her friends were fighters, and ready and willing to solve problems that way. Yes they were friends, family, but all too ready to resort to their firsts when tension still broke out between them. After her talk with Bruce about the fight over activating Vision or not, Natasha had discreetly hacked FRIDAY to pull up the footage of the fight, to watch Steve and Tony at each other's throats with everything they had. It was a miracle that neither of them had hurt each other, or worse, killed a brother-in-arms. That would have destroyed the Avengers. It may be time for her and Bruce to step forward, because now they had a future to protect, even if he was always afraid to fight for fear of breaking world if he went too far.
People on base gossip about the two of us, Natasha reflected, saying that I've seduced the most powerful Avenger to control and dominate him, and how Bruce must like it. Those fools just don't really see him. His strength and will. The only real difference between him and me is that he's quieter about it, yet no less unyielding when necessary.
It's typical really. People like Stark might ridicule Bruce for being so non-confrontational, yet that is what I love about him. He's already working to find a way so that a fight's unnecessary. Looking for a path that will save us all.
For if a conflict does break out amongst the heroes, we will be forced to take action. Because at the moment, no matter who 'wins' a hero civil war, Laura will lose.
Natasha could consider many, many possible outcomes of such a conflict, and none of them would build a world she wanted her daughter to grow up in.
This was not a problem she could solve with her usual skills either, since it was so far reaching that murdering a bunch of people would likely make the situation worse, and the Sokovian Accords did highlight some genuine and serious concerns.
"…But if fighting does break out," Bruce repeated, "we have to keep it contained and on a small scale. If we cannot delay the passing of the legislation, then we sabotage both sides to keep them from trying to kill each other. And if they do get into a conflict, we attack both sides to keep them apart. We don't let it build to a powder keg, or failing that we keep it from all boiling over. Because once someone dies…"
"…There's no going back. But do you really think it could end up being a throw down between two different sides, two different armies, in the streets of New York?"
"Stranger things have literally happened in our lives."
"There are so many ways that what we're planning," saying 'we' not 'you' to make her support clear, "could backfire on us," Natasha calmly points out.
He nods in agreement, "Yes, but our objective is buy time. Time to find another solution, a lasting one. Heck, we could even find a way to make the legislation work for everyone."
No words are exchanged, yet the hug and kiss they share is an oath in itself.
XXX
Nick Fury sat alone in his office, pondering. Bruce Banner was a wild card, and a powerful one. The only bigger one was Asgard itself, with its unknown number of warrior gods. Having the Hulk as a player itself could be dangerous, since whichever side did not have him would see it as an escalation. By the same token, he could not risk the good doctor being seduced or coerced by some other faction.
And there would be factions and conflict in the future over the fate of the New Avengers. If not over the Superhero Registration Act, a.k.a. the Sokovian Accords, that his sources and SHIELD analysts were certain was going to be implemented in the not too distant future, then something else. The only reason they had that long was because of how much good the Avengers had still done for the world, and how there was enough public opposition of the various governments having so much control over powered individuals. Discrete allusions to how it would be too similar to SHIELD when it was under HYDRA's control, courtesy of still-active SHIELD agents, had helped there.
It was thanks to work like this that even more extreme measures were being dismissed: like reusing HYDRA's Eye Implants to monitor and coerce super-powered victims via a bomb in their head. Or mandatory genetic testing of the entire population to identify children who could potentially have powers so that they could be raised (indoctrinated) and trained (warped) by the government. There were also suggestions about reapplying some of the inventions from Project: Insight, by using satellites to detect someone based on their DNA and monitor them for further action.
Before the Avengers, before New York, SHIELD had worked covertly to keep the enhanced or empowered as just urban legends, and had carefully recruited or kept under surveillance anyone with unique skills. These days, a teenage hacker with a laptop could be just as dangerous as a man who could make and control small fires.
Fury had briefly considered staging an event so that the newest version of the Avengers could come out as heroes against some made-up 'threat' and thus order to restore their reputations, yet he had quickly dismissed it. It was too cliché for someone to not suspect it (and Fury hated using clichés), and the consequences of it backfiring were too severe. Above all else, the Avengers had to stay in the clear, and such an event could ruin the dream, forever. Plus, the team had a bright bunch, and could figure it out and ruin it all themselves.
Ultimately though, what had Fury concerned was not the government, but how the empowered community would react, especially the Avengers.
Loki came down to Earth, calling us ants to which he felt no qualms about stepping on, and openly declared his intent to rule over us all. Ultron proved himself to be insane from the start, planning to murder them, and cause untold death and destruction. And yet still their internal strife nearly tore them all apart! I had to put on an act about Coulson and then later give them a pep talk to kick their rears into gear. Sure, they did well against HYDRA, yet being able to agree to unite against a Nazis cult isn't something to be especially proud of.
So the question is: what will they do when a genuinely controversial issue pops up? And not just the Avengers, but even all those other heroes that are crawling out of the woodwork to follow their example? And if one side gets the Hulk, that side could come out on top merely by punching the others down.
Fury sighed, and rubbed his forehead as he thought of options. Ideally, Romanoff would manipulate the scientist into staying with her, and then Fury would make sure the man kept a low profile.
Either way, a low profile seems best. We've already got people working to make sure that arrest warrant for him after Johannesburg, Africa has been dropped, and given enough time something positive might outweigh it. Helping stop Ultron and saving the Sokovians with the rest of the Avengers was definitely helping there.
If Banner stays out of sight until an appropriate, carefully controlled time, or a serious emergency, it might work out okay. Maybe we could claim that he's still in hiding out in the some slum, only emerging when the world was in greatest need?
Unfortunately, getting Romanoff to use Banner as a pawn like that is no longer feasible, since SHIELD isn't the sole focus of her loyalty anymore, because Hawkeye and I aren't the ones she feel most attached too. The Avengers and especially Rogers have become that too, even though the Bartons were always first and foremost. Now though, Laura Fury –who named her that!?— is her most precious person, with Bruce being right behind. Maybe the Red Room was onto somet—
Fury ruthlessly gutted that thought, refusing to give any praise to that sick organization, the man who saw Romanoff and the Bartons as family shoving aside the part of him that was angry at how a formerly reliable asset had been compromised.
Her highest priority right now is her baby, and that is how it should be, he grimly rebuked himself. Depending how things turn out, then for better or worse, in any future global conflicts, Romanoff would either stay neutral or follow Captain Rogers. She'll trust him to choose the path that will give her daughter the kind of world she wants Laura to grow up in. Fury stopped and thought about it some more, She might side with Registration if she thought it was the best way to keep the Avengers, her family, together, but given his guilt complex it'll probably be Stark who's supporting that and she doesn't trust him enough. Given her relationship with Banner right now and his own experience…no, she'll likely side with Rogers. In turn, Banner would either stay behind to keep their daughter safe, or follow his girlfriend.
Regardless, there was no one available that Banner was close to that Fury could count on to influence the doctor's actions. So for now, he would just let things play out, hope for the best, and do what he could to keep Banner safely in a lab with his daughter. Behind lots of guards and counter-espionage to keep other people from learning what was going on.
And keep him far, far, far away from Stark and his own mad scientist ideas!
XXX
New Avengers Facility
Steve Rogers stood outside watching the bucketing rain while staying dry underneath a tree. An unfortunate metaphor, he mused, already pouring with hints of a storm to come.
After the chaos with SHIELD, he had sworn to do his best to not be caught just reacting to whatever the higher ups decided to do to try and "fix" the world. Tony going behind his back with Ultron and then Vision had merely strengthened the need to be vigilant.
Bucky's still out there and I'm no closer to finding him, and I'm kept busy remaking the Avengers into something that won't scare governments anymore, while simultaneously making sure we don't lose our rights and freedoms. A lot of people are still afraid, especially those who are used to being in charge, and they'll want to control what makes them afraid, in the name of 'security.' And what Bruce's gone through proves the threat exists: because of the Hulk he was stripped of all his rights and forced to flee his own country, pursued by frankly criminally negligent military strikes in high civilian locations. Attacking him on two different university campuses, really?
I won't back down or surrender my rights, or let others lose theirs, because of what people order me to do, or take it from others. I wouldn't have done it back in Boston, or later during the War, and I won't now. Like Benjamen Franklin said: 'They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'
But that doesn't mean I won't fight this smart. This isn't some grand Nazis conspiracy that I can punch away; many of these people I will have to deal with are citizens who have honest concerns about heroes. Especially after Africa. Unfortunately, they're still acting out of fear.
For starters, we have to maintain the public's trust in us, and carefully train future heroes, with the Avengers setting an example for others to follow, and making sure that new ones are really ready for all of this. After that, I'll work it out.
XXX
Unknown Location
"So what are your thoughts?"
"It's still too early to tell, but it definitely looks like it will be split between Iron Man and Captain America."
"Honestly? I have serious issues about either one."
"Oh? I can see why you would be concerned about Captain America. That he lacks that moral courage to do what's necessary."
"Yes, but I find myself caught between extremes, since Iron Man is actually too willing."
"…" the silence seems to convey a rebuke.
"Sorry. Rather, he does so with too little forethought. He could have handled going after those terrorists in the beginning another way, one that did not involve a loud, red and gold suit of armour for everyone to see, and he failed to see the ramifications about going public about being Iron Man. Still too much ego. Granted, as expected he has made many essential advances in weapons development and science in general, but this recent debacle with Ultron and Vision shows how he can be too much of a mad scientist."
"…" now the silence almost seems amused.
"…Alright, and I disagree with having more than one mad scientist running around with this."
"That makes more sense. Captain America is also the better leader and strategist. More importantly, he can inspire people. Mobilize the enhanced and masses. That may end up being as important as weapons development by the time this is done."
"Hmph, possibly. For a little longer though, we'll just keep watching and determine which side we want to win with the Registration Act and the upcoming civil war."
"And keep an eye out for any other groups with their own ideas or solutions. No need to complicate the situation. We're fortunate Rogers' work with the New Avengers is kindly making it easier for us to buy enough time to help set the stage just right."
"Speaking of which, I found someone else who might cause the legislation forward earlier than we want."
"Alright, I'll take care of them. This the dossier? …Hmm, going to be tricky keeping this one quiet, but alright."
XXX
New Avengers Facility
"Don't worry, Laura," Natasha murmured down to her little sleeping girl, while hugging Bruce tightly at her side, "you'll get the future you deserve. You, and Cooper, and Lila, and baby Nat. We won't let your family destroy itself."
XXX
Stark Tower
Frantically, Tony Stark worked away at the information in front of him, trying feverishly to disprove his suspicions. All concerns about Laura had been forgotten days ago as he consumed himself with this task.
Tony liked to praise himself about his ability to see the big picture, even though people like Pepper, Happy, or Rhodey said it made him lose track of the smaller things that made all the difference. Right now though, the portrait that was being drawn before him was a nightmare, with countless, terrible implications.
Or maybe just one single image, painted with a green brush.
XXX
Author Notes:
Regarding the above quote, I still think Tony Stark went about the issue wrong. As for the part at the end of the Captain America scene, what bugs me about the living symbol of freedom and liberty in the comics, is that whenever a controversial issue comes about, he is always stuck reacting just as things heat up. No apparent preparation or staying aware of what was happening in the world. He had no idea about the Superhuman Registration Act, and unlike the Illuminati had the rep to maybe avert it beforehand if he had some forewarning, or find a balance that satisfied everyone and addressed some genuine concerns. Same with Avengers vs. X-men, the mutants were not willing to listen to Steve Rogers because they had endured years and years of persecution with millions of their own kind dead while the Avengers seemingly did nothing.
I admit that this is an oversimplification, and I should probably read more before saying that, yet after the Winter Soldier film, I think the cinematic version would be working to be more aware of what was coming.
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Originally written well before Captain America: Civil War, but later edited for grammar and other issues, with references to the film added in.
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Recommended reading:
"Manners," by Moore12
"Pack Your Bags, Romanoff," by Sheytune
"Auntie Natasha," by Liliththestormgoddess
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Next chapter: "Visions of the Future"
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Previous Reviews:
Guest: No! Not Civil War! That'll ruin everything! I like the Avengers in this story. You can't just turn them against each other, and have them go all Hunger Games!
First, I LOVE your Hunger Games analogy for the Civil War, the accuracy of that says a lot about the comic Avengers. Second, extra thanks for that comment since it sparked a few new ideas for this chapter and later story. Third, I am hoping that this chapter will keep your interest in place, for Laura has turned things around a bit. Fourth, I am glad you have been enjoying this story, and I plan to make it so that you can continue to do so.
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