Here is the news
Coming to you every hour on the hour
Here is the news
The weather's fine but there may be a meteor shower

Here is the news
A cure's been found for good old rocket lag
Here is the news
Someone left their life behind in a plastic bag

Here is the news
Another action filled adventure
Here is the news
All the worst from the world convention

Here is the News, by Electric Light Orchestra, from the album Time, released in 1981

Tony rubbed his head, trying to get past this fucking clusterfuck that Steve had caused. For once, Tony's life had been going well. Pepper accepted his proposal, he hadn't been kidnapped or abducted recently, and at the very least, both Sparrow and Peter were doing well.

And, the darling teens had resurrected JARVIS, his first AI, and had managed to not neglect FRIDAY in the process. He'd genuinely cried once JARVIS had announced himself with a quiet 'Hello Sir', and despite himself, he hugged the two of them, thanking them for the best wedding present ever. Tony was on top of the world.

Of course, Steve Bloody Rogers had to screw that up. Tony had retired from the Avengers for a god damn reason- and yet he kept dealing with their fuck ups regardless. And the worst god damn thing was that Tony had found out via the news. Not just the news, but by his secretary telling him about the large and sudden influx of phone calls from reporters wanting an interview. If he'd had any warning, any at all, he could have been on top of this with the PR team.

But no. Apparently, he wasn't good enough for the forewarning. A 'Hey Tony, we messed up in Lagos, a couple of civilians were killed, just warning you' would have been appreciated. But his voicemail and phone were emptier than his bar, which was currently lacking any alcohol. Thanks a fucking lot Steve.

Pepper came up from behind him, taking over messaging his temples as he leaned into the touch, trying to relieve his building headache that had been escalating ever since he'd met Charlie Spencer's mother. Pepper turned to look at the television, with a neutral look on her face. Lips pursing together, Tony could tell that she was disapproving of what was happening, in one way or form.

"You know you don't have to deal with this any more, right?"

He sighed, moving upwards to go fix him a drink of coffee. Contrary to what Pepper said, he did have to deal with this. Not just for himself, or some kind of promise to Steve, but for who really mattered in this whole thing: Sparrow and Peter. They were both too young to have to deal with this whole political thing: or in Sparrow's case, too overwhelmed.

"I do. It's my responsibility."

"How? You've retired from the Avengers, effectively washing your hands of them."

Tony tapped his coffee machine, willing it to go faster. In the older days, in a time before Peter and during the playboy days, a day like this would've resulted in a bottle of vodka being drained per two hours, one if he had wanted to be an overachiever. Nowadays, he would just consume cup after cup of strong, caffeinated coffee, that he hopefully believed would rid him of his Steve Roger's sized headache.

"I have to do it for Peter, Pepper. For Peter and Sparrow. They need a world where they don't have to worry about being chased by the press because of someone else's mistakes."

Pepper looked disapproving, moving over to his side and kissing him on the cheek. Placing his mug on the counter-top, he resisted the urge to drink another one. As the hours went on, he found himself realising that he was going to need a lot more coffee to get through the day.

His phone started to vibrate inside of his pocket, and although he was tempted to leave it, he took it out, reading the name on the screen in his head. Thaddeus Ross. What the hell kind of name was Thaddeus anyway? Realising yet again that his headache was going to get worse, he put his phone up to his ear and answered it, the thoughts of Charlie Spencer still dwelling in his mind.

The round table was filled with both new and old Avengers. With Ross taking the head of it, and Tony being moved to the middle chair on the right, he had Peter in his full Spider-Man gear on his right, and Sparrow in her uniform on his left. Steve, looking unrepentant in the slightest, was directly in front of him, with the Witch- Tony couldn't find it in himself to call her any different, not after what she'd done to Peter- on his left, and Natasha on his right.

At the bottom of the table, directly across from Ross himself, Sam was sat. To Wanda's left, Vision was awkwardly sat, looking stiff and uncomfortable, and to Peter's left, Tony's favourite Rhodey Bear was sat, in full army uniform which was proudly displaying his rank of Colonel. What was normally Bruce's chair was as deserted as the Sahara, and Bucky's chair, the one closest to the door, was also absent, the man in question still gallivanting around the world on his trip.

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack. 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. 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".

Tony smoothly kept his stare from Peter and Sparrow, a master of keeping Ross' attention away from the two teenagers. Callous as it may sound, Tony didn't particularly care about the fact that Ross had a heart attack how so many years ago.

Tony had done things that were significantly worse and had shrapnel in his chest, forced to have an electromagnet in his chest for so many years as a result, and crippled lung efficiency and heart efficiency. All because he'd made weapons that were used to kill enemies of the United States and United States soldiers as a result. He had no regrets about stopping the manufacture, not at all, but he would forever hold all of the innocent lost lives on his shoulders.

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?"

Let it be known that hell hath no wrath like a Black Widow's scorn. Natasha, when she wasn't being her usual secretive and shadowy self, was absolutely terrifying when she wanted to be. And she knew it. Even Tony found himself unnerved by Natashalie at times.

Tony's watch buzzed silently on his wrist, almost drawing his attention to it, before he ignored it, intent on checking it later. What was about to be discussed would need all of his concentration, and he didn't want Steve giving him the 'disapproving puppy' look.

"How about "dangerous"? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?"

Behind Ross, a projection flickered to life, showing a reel of what looked to be old news footage from previous Avenger missions. Even without Ross' cue, Tony could pick up that it was New York almost straight away. How could he not recognise the place that haunted his nightmares for many years, and still have the lingering traumas?

He swallowed thickly, his throat feeling tighter like there was no air going into it. The cold blackness of space, of the wormhole, flickered tauntingly in front of his eyes, and he blinked heavily, trying to get in air and blink the haunting images away. Peter's leg nudged into his, snapping Tony somewhat out of his memory, but not out of his building panic attack.

The newsreel was still focused on New York, specifically featuring a Chitauri Leviathan, the very same one that Hulk punched in the face. Masking his build-up of a panic attack, the whole event being enough to trigger him even with his Therapist helping him- yes, he was admitting he needed help- through it.

"Washington DC"

Tony watched, transfixed almost, as three helicarriers began to fire at one another, dragging up tufts of smoke into airs, and plumes of smoke turning the immediate sky into an ashy blue. Rhodey looked down, looking like a kicked puppy as he watched the film, looking ashamed almost.

Tony caught Rhodey's sideways glance at Natasha, as the film changed to the picture of another helicarrier, this one crashing into the Potomac River and displacing a large volume of water, most of which covering several civilians who were no doubt terrified, and the cameraman.

This time Sam looked down, as the footage yet again changed, this time to Sokovia. That was an incident that Tony would rather not revisit.. with it being his own fault. Ultron had been his creation, his mistake, and he had nearly dragged Peter and Bruce down with it. With him.

"Sokovia."

His eyes were fixed to the screen, as was Wanda's, Sparrow's, and Peter's. Sparrow gave no outward signs of awkwardness, over then the slight, and he meant slight, tensing of her right wrist, which was currently resting on the table. The videos showed a wide range of things: civilians running, screaming in terror and fear as the image of Peter and Sparrow came into focus, with them trying to move them to safety like a herd of caribou.

The image of the city continuing to rise high into the air, cutting to a picture of the ground, where a large cone-like shape was missing. The video then cut again, this time to a graphic picture of a falling building, after several of Peter's webs snapped, with two people being trapped underneath it, bleeding profusely over their bodies.

"Lagos."

Tony wanted to obscure Peter's vision. Make sure he didn't see what Tony knew he hadn't seen yet. Peter had heard of what the press were calling 'the Lagos Calamity', but Tony had prevented him from seeing any footage, afraid of what Peter would see. It wasn't for the light-hearted, that much was evident.

Still, there was nothing Tony could do to prevent him from seeing this, a breath coming up short in his throat. There was a burning building, almost collapsing in on itself as the flames ate at the foundation within. There were strewn body parts everywhere, evidence of, as Tony knew quite well, being too close to a bond.

It didn't escape him that had he been closer to his own bomb, he wouldn't have had the Arc Reactor, but he would have been in several pieces, like they were. It would have been a poetic ending, that's for sure. Then it switched to a pair of paramedics, their uniforms painfully stark, moving a limp body, blood rolling down the edge of the body's mouth, their legs bent in the wrong direction.

Tony couldn't help but notice that the body's chest was still. There was a final picture, of an obviously dead girl, making bile rise in Tony's throat. She couldn't have been any older than Sparrow's biological age. And now, she was dead, just because Wanda had gotten too big for her boots, and had blown up a city block.

"That's enough."

Steve announced. He had been looking at Wanda for the last few minutes, watching the girl's face fall with every slap in the face that was Lagos. So she should. It was her mistake that resulted in this, and she needs to be able to live with that. Not have a hug and think everything is okay. At Steve's words, Ross nodded, and the scarring image was removed, but not wiped out of mind entirely.

Glancing around at the two youngest- that was, Sparrow and Peter, he tried to determine what they were feeling. While Peter's face was mostly hidden by his mask, the eyes were wide open, and the tensing of his hands on the table was enough to tell Tony that he was feeling sick, and likely angry or sad, some combination of the two maybe. Sparrow was much harder to read, but even she looked a little sick at the images.

It seemed that HYDRA had failed to take all of her humanity, even if she acted similarly to a robot- not one of his ones- some of the time. Ross slid a thick book across the table like it was a hockey puck towards Wanda. Whatever it said, Wanda only read it quickly, before she slid it across to Rhodey, who picked it up with narrowed eyes.

"The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries... it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

Steve narrowed his eyes in scrutiny, staring at Ross with some kind of critical, disapproving stare. Tony was, admittedly, a little confused over Steve's apparent disapproval of the Accords. Everyone he had asked: Pepper, Happy, Peter, Sparrow, and even Rhodey, agreed with it 100%.

They, the Avengers, needed to be held accountable for their mistakes, for the lives lost because of their actions, for the destruction caused by their hands. They needed to be told when it was okay to intervene, if there could have been a way for them to avoid collateral damage, if they could have evacuated the civilians in a safer matter. All the things they needed to know. It sounded like, on paper, something that Captain America- that Steve- would agree with. So why didn't he?

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that."

It was like Steve was ignoring the other things. The casualties, the people who suffered. The innocent people Wanda blew up when she was carelessly using her powers. The people who were trapped under buildings brought down by Hulk. People who were electrocuted because they got too close to a piece of metal while Thor was creating an electrical storm.

The people who got hit by one of his repulsor blasts, one of his rockets, hit by Captain America's shield or one of Hawkeye's arrows. They were the people who mattered, and the Avengers needed to be held accountable for the sake of their lives.

"If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes... you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So there are contingencies."

Ross nodded slowly. The Accords weren't perfect- nothing truly was- but with time, persuasion, and a little bit of underhanded spying, they could become good. Working with Ross was a means to an end, and until he could understand what the man wanted- other than the Hulk- it was a necessary means to an end.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords."

That date was marked clearly on his calendar. Or rather, Pepper. As one of the main creators of the Accords, and the general spokesperson of the Avengers, his presence was heavily requested. So of course, he was going to Vienna. It was a nice enough place, with Tony having gone a couple of times before. Originally he had intended to make a holiday out of it, take Pepper and Peter on a little trip, a nice break from the stress of SI and MIT respectively.

But he ultimately decided against it. He'd take them to good old Italy at some point. Perhaps Venice- Pepper would love the canals- or even Florence. He hadn't decided yet, his mind too focused on the Accords. Steve looked over to him, in a glance that didn't escape his notice. He held his hands up slightly. It's not completely my idea Steve. Ross smirked, his aide murmuring something in his ear as he stood up, placing his hands on the table in an intimidating way.

"Talk it over."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?"

Ross' smirk turned into a shark-like grin, and even Tony could smell the danger in the air. The other Avengers were solemnly looking around at one another nervously, excluding Rhodey, Sparrow, and Peter, who had a neutral- or in Peter's case, hidden- expression on their face.

"Then you retire."

That had resulted in another headache-inducing argument, which was not aiding his steadily growing headache. After Ross had left, they had all migrated into the common room in the Compound. Peter had peeled back his mask, and Sparrow had immediately relaxed a little upon Ross' exit. It seemed she didn't like him for whatever reason, and Tony honestly couldn't blame her.

Ross was an asshole, through and through. They had been left with several copies of the current accords, which resulted in Sparrow and Peter having a copy to share, and the other's sharing amongst themselves, and muttering things under their breaths.

Tony hadn't seen either Peter's or Sparrow's eyes for the past five minutes, both of them becoming absorbed deeply into the copy of the Accords. It made sense because he knew neither teen wanted to sign something that could potentially hurt them. Not that he would ever let them sign it if it did that.

"So, say if we sign this."

Sam waved the sheets of paper in the air before slamming it onto the table lightly. They all looked at him as he narrowed his eyes at the Accords, tapping them with the back of his hand. Tony, who had retreated back to the sofa and was just quietly observing the proceedings, even pushed himself up a little to look at him.

"How long is it until we get locked up like the criminals we fight?"

His precious Rhodey-Bear looked at Sam with a serious look, one that was usually reserved for Tony when he was about to do something that Rhodey classified as stupid. He could never do something stupid- he was a genius after all. Rhodey's voice was strained, sounding like he was barely keeping a hold of his usually long temper. Tony would know- he knew how far Rhodey's temper could stretch when he was patient enough.

"117 countries want to sign the Accords. That's 117 out of 195. That's sixty percent Sam, yet you're just like 'No, it's cool, we got it.'"

Sam looked like he was about to fight Rhodey, which Tony would find amusing. He had run the numbers himself, knew the statistic like he knew weapons, and was oddly happy that someone else had too. It was simple fractions.

"How long until you stop playing both sides?"

Tony was beginning to lose the will to live at this rate. Really lose the will to live. The Accords weren't created to cause an argument, they weren't created to drive a wedge between the Avengers, and they weren't created on a selfish agenda. Nobody seemed to believe him on that point though. Vision looked over all of them, looking oddly formal with his plaid shirt that clashed with his red skin.

"I have an equation."

Vision was.. if he were to borrow one of his father's phrases.. one of his greatest creations. If he could claim Vision's creation as his own then. Vision's way of thinking was very computational in nature, which made a lot of sense considering that at his AI's core, they were a bunch of 1's and 0's. So, it made sense.

"Oh, this will clear it up."

Sam muttered, and Tony was fairly sure he wasn't supposed to hear it. He had keener hearing then most people thought. And even if he hadn't heard it, the people with enhanced hearing definitely would have heard it. Still, even though Vision had clearly heard what Sam said, he continued on unperturbed.

"In the eight years since Mr Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

"Are you saying that it's our fault?"

Steve looked a little offended at the mere thought that their existence could cause the number of enhanced to drastically increase. No, he's saying there is a commonality. A theorised cause and effect. It's not definitely correlating with one another. Vision shook his head, still looking at Steve with a peaceful yet analytical look.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

Rhodey, almost amused but still wearing his oh so serious face, slammed his hand on the table and looked at Steve with a different, almost crossed, look on his face.

"Boom."

Author's Note

Hello all!

First off, I hope you've all enjoyed your weekend. I've had a cold, and I've been revising for Prelims, so I'm fairly stressed and tired.

But, thank you all for the support! The fact that people are reading my story, a random thing I do to pass the time and destress and are taking the time out of their lives to do so, really motivates me.

Anyway, I've got a shower to have, another story (to take the place of my other story Bloodmoon, don't worry this one isn't finished for a while yet) to finish drafting, so I'll leave you with the question of the week, and the realisation that yes, it is Monday tomorrow.

QOTW: What are your opinions about the characters in my story?

Thanks and have a good week!

~Cait