The note at the end is important so do not skip it!


So...who's starting?" Bruce asked, looking around the room. To his surprise, Rhodey and Sam had also joined them along with Mia. He felt reassured that there were people in here who could be voices of reason and bring a different perspective than the two major perspectives the team had.

Tony tapped the table and got up.

"Avengers Inc. Let's go with it for the moment. Basically, better, improved, and more efficient SHIELD with transparency and no secrets and lies."

"so basically you are planning on privatizing global security?" Sam asked

"that's the basic idea. More than that, it is supposed to be a safe space for people who don't fit the bill of a regular functioning human. I've yet to think of a term for that."

"Enhanced?" Steve piped in, "Enhanced individuals."

Tony nodded, "Let's go with that. It does have a ring to it."

"So what exactly are the requirements for an enhanced individual?" Clint asked

"Anything that a regular person, even with years worth training cannot do."

Clint raised a brow.

"It's subjective." Rose said, "Dad and I are far from a concrete foundation. We just had a base idea. 'Enhanced' can range from dad's ability to make prehensile flying armors and your ability to hit bullseye even while doing a cartwheel to Thor's ability to conjure lighting and my magic. And everything in between. even more. As I said, we don't have a solid definition as of yet."

"You guys are including the magical world into this?" Mia asked

"Not until we discuss this in ICW. Though I do have a hunch that it would be voted against or vetoed." Rose muttered

"Ever since the Fantastic Four, and then us, there has been an increase in the appearance of enhanced all around the globe. though it's only just 3-4 a year, that SHIELD handled pretty nicely, we cannot stick to those statistics."

"What is the purpose of this safe space?" Fury asked

"Give them training."

"To make them spies and assassins?" Steve asked

"No. these enhanced could very well turn out to be children. Training so they can control those powers of theirs, while still having a childhood. This is so they won't end up blowing up places and setting buildings on fire and end up in a prison or worse."

"How come SHIELD didn't have a program like that?" Rhodey looked at Fury

"Between World security and taking care of you guys, we didn't have a lot of resources to spare to babysit a bunch of enhanced children."

Clint elbowed Nat when he heard her mutter "Bullshit" under her breath.

"This program would be completely voluntary. If a person doesn't feel like attending, then there would be no pressure on them. But if they needed any sort of help, we'd do that." Rose said

"where is this place going to be?" Bruce asked

"We are taking suggestions for the same."

"Inside a volcano sounds good. People won't be disturbing us." Clint chuckled

"And there would be good odds that lava will burn us alive," Nat grunted

"I'm sure these two could come up with something."

Nat rolled her eyes

"Or Antarctica," Sam said

"Too chilly. and all you could see for miles are ice, bears and penguins and seals." Clint said

"What about your private island?" Bruce asked Rose, who blinked

"Idea's not bad. But there's a small problem. The island is saturated with magic. To have a base like that with cutting-edge modern tech, there are quite good odds that they'd be fried sooner or later." Mia answered

"Besides those places are quite prone to tsunamis and hurricanes and stuff," Rhodey added

"Not if we have a barrier," Rose muttered

"What?" Steve asked

"We can make a dome barrier for tsunamis and hurricanes. Private islands would mean no livelihood for miles. and large enough for spacious training grounds."

"and magic?" Nat asked

"It doesn't have to be my island. I'm sure if we talk to the UN and provide good reasons to back our claims on why a private island would be best suited, I'm sure we could get a big enough private island for a considerable price."

"And what about the magic problem?" Clint asked, "You and any other magical who wishes to join. And I presume this barrier would have a tech with magic."

"There can be controlled usage. NYX can work in a perfect magical environment. We can work with that."

"So a private island. That's settled. For now." Tony noted

"Okay, I have a question." Sam said, "You are planning and providing sanctuary and training to enhanced people. What's stopping them from taking that training and then going evil?"

They all shared a look before some looked at Tony.

"This is a discussion. Not a presentation." Tony crossed his arms and sat down

Nick looked around, seeing some hopeful, some thoughtful and thinking faces before he piped in, "At SHIELD we only trained people who we knew would work for us."

"We can't just handpick people to train them and abandon others just because they don't wanna be employed in World Safety and shit." Nat frowned a little

"Thor," Mia spoke up, "You haven't said anything yet."

"I'm merely thinking of solutions, Lady Mia," he answered,

"We have to keep them close though," Rhodey said, "If you guys are going to give these enhanced people military-grade training or anything along the lines, you can't just let them go."

"We can keep tabs on them," Rose suggested

"Wouldn't that be an invasion of their privacy? Not to mention, stalking?" Steve asked

"I'm not accustomed to earthy armies, but what procedures do they follow when they soldiers wish to retire early?" Thor asked

"the military keeps tabs. But from distance." Sam answered

Thor looked at others and tilted his head.

"We can let them know firsthand that if and when they leave, remote tabs would be kept on them so they don't turn into a supervillain or something," Clint suggested

"Put in a clause and everything." Tony added, "Anything else?"

"What about the departments you were talking about?" Nat asked,

"so far, this is the list I've got." Tony muttered, pulling down a holoscreen and showing a list.

"Weapons and Tech. R&D. HR. Finance. Operations. Comms. Legal. Interplanetary Affairs. Magic. The last one's still dicey."

"I'll take Weapons and Ammo." Clint volunteered

"Clint, maybe I should take it." Rose said, "As Stark Industries would be the major supplier of tech and defensive weapons"

"she has a point," Steve said as Rose's name got typed ahead of Weapons and Tech.

"Bruce and I'll take R&D as a whole," Tony said and Bruce agreed

"You are good at convincing people and recruiting them. And you can be a hardass when it comes to training." Nat smugly looked at Clint who raised a brow, "HR would suit you better."

Clint rolled his eyes but didn't object.

"Thor would be better for Interplanetary Affairs," Bruce said and Thor nodded

"I'd be honored. Though, I suppose you all should look for a substitute for my position in my absence," Thor suggested

"You have any suggestions?" Rhodey asked

"Yes, I do. But I have to consult with them first."

"I'll take Operations," Steve said

"I'm with Clint in HR." Nat exhaled

"If Jen wants to be on board, Legal is all hers." Tony looked at Bruce who shrugged.

"You gotta talk to her."

"Mia, wanna come aboard?" Clint smiled

"I'd love to, but I don't I'd be better suited." she softly smiled, "Besides, I want to focus on others things in life right now."

"Got it. Understood."

"We can't really include Magic until we get approval from them in the first place," Nat said

"But keeping our options open, I do know some people who can fill that post," Rose said

"That leaves us with Comm, Finance and...you didn't put Military liaison?" Rhodey asked

"Doesn't that come under Comms?" Nat raised a brow

"That comes under Comms." Rose nodded

"Okay, so you still got Comms and Finance." Rhodey re-stated

"Do you think Hill would be up for it?" Mia asked, "She's worked for SHIELD long enough. She'd do great in Comms."

"I'll ask her," Rose shifted and changed her sitting position.

"We've gotta scout someone for Finance, then."

"Will someone be governing us?" Steve asked, "I mean keeping us 7 in check?"

"Not like the World Security Council, no. Though we don't know what the UN and the other country leaders would be proposing." Tony replied

"We can't function properly if there's a group of politicians are breathing down our backs. One of them is going to find a way or another to stir problems."

"While you do have a point, Country leaders are not going to let a group of super-powered individuals run amok with the 'responsibility' or global security with no checks," Rhodey said

"So you'd rather we be at their beck and call?" Steve asked

"Didn't say that, Cap. I'm saying that we have to be strategic about it."

"That's gonna cause more issues because HYDRA will most probably now be operating in foreign soil." Nick piped in

Steve looked confused

"Everyone here is fully American. Except for Rose and Mia." Tony started and they all looked at her. They knew Mia was British but were under the impression that Rose was fully American.

"I hold dual citizenship. British-American," she answered

"so we don't have rights of entering foreign lands and doing as we please."

Steve started to speak but Tony spoke up, "I know what you are going to say, Steve, but we still can't operate on foreign soil without the permission of the countries government. It's illegal and criminally offensive."

"Then what do you suggest?" Sam asked

Tony took a deep breath and looked at Rose who pressed her lips.

"Our initial plan was giving the intel to these countries. If they wish to deal with it in their own ways, the best we can do is keep an eye. If they ask for our help, we help." Rose replied

"What if they underestimate the threat?" Steve asked

Rose exhaled, "Lemme try with an example. Hope this will clear things up. Say, you have a rat infestation in your house. You find out about it. You consult a professional and they tell you the ways. You do that on your own. It works. You end damaging some parts of the house but in the end rat infestation is ended.

Second scenario. Say you have black mold in your house. Or asbestos. Whatever suits your tastes. Again you call a professional and you realize that you can't deal with it all by yourself and you have professionals do it for you. Again, some damages happen but you were prepared for it.

Now imagine in the first case, just as you finish talking to the professionals, they barge into your house to deal with the infestation themselves. Since you are not prepared for them, the damage is much more and severe.

Which situation do you think is ideal?"

Steve pressed his lips, his thinking face taking over.

"And if your rat infestation gets out of hand, you can always call the professionals. Better late than never." She shifted again, "I hope I made sense."

"And we can always make sure our intel is spot on," Clint added

"I'm with the idea." Bruce said, "If we give the government a heads up before coming, they could prepare for evacuation and things. The damage we leave behind isn't little or meager. I mean," he snorted, "hate to say it, but Hulk isn't the most controlled fighter."

"Me too. And I'm favoring this because of that HYDRA shootout that happened in the busy street when we were heading for HQ. Any civi could have gotten shot. They didn't have a contingency plan or heads-up. We'd risking more lives by dropping in blind."

"What if the bad guys get the hint and getaway or something?" Sam asked

"Do correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't our priority saving innocent lives and then catching the bad people?" Thor asked

They all looked at him.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked, confused

"Uh...no. No. I don't think so." Rose looked around

"No. You're right." Clint nodded, "Priorities. We can always divide the team. Or have some plans made. But I guess that's just details that need working."

"what about enhanced with criminal backgrounds?" Nat asked

"Criminal background?" Sam asked

Nat raised her brow and raised her hand. Next to her, so did Clint.

"SHIELD gave us a cover which doesn't mean we'll still get leeway," Clint added

"Get them a probation period while training. If it works, well and good. If not," Rhodey shrugged

"What about HYDRA? How are we going to deal with them?" Steve asked

"Have you found anything yet?" Tony looked at Rose

"Nothing too concrete other than that Twin thing. I'm looking. NYX and J are looking. But it's an ocean of data and I'm still human. It will take time."

"What about Barnes? Think you can get something from him?" Nat asked

"Barnes?" Nick asked

Everyone looked at Fury's confused face. Sam somewhat mirrored the look.

"Yeah, he's alive. In the hulk-out room." Bruce piped in

Fury raised his brow at Rose. The questions he was going to ask very clear by the look on his face.

"I didn't tell you about Barnes the same way you never bothered to tell us about Phil." she made an expression as if daring Fury to challenge that decision. He didn't.

She looked at others, "I'm not sure about Barnes. I still say Zola's archives are our safest bet."

"Are we going to be recruiting all SHIELD ex-employees?" Clint asked

"With a thorough background check, yeah." Tony nodded

"So how are you going to do it now?" Mia asked

"We ask for an appointment with UN. Give our presentation and hope our best that they listen." Tony answered

"Can we get those World Security Council people to back us up or something?" Bruce asked Nick

"I don't suppose they will. But I will ask."

They continued to talk about the finances they'd be needing and how they'd be getting it, best contenders for offensive weapons since SI was only going to be supplying their new venture with defensive things and cutting-edge technology if they should be incorporating different militaries into their organization and if so, how, and almost everything that came to their minds.

"What about Phil?" Tony asked, "Should we contact him?"

Everyone shared a look.

"I'd like to talk to him first," Nick said

"No." Rose, Clint, and Nat interrupted at once

"You've told him enough things. We'll talk to him." Nat said

Nick reluctantly nodded.

"Anything else left?"

"Nope."

"I'm all done."

"Not that I can think of?"

"Nothing comes to mind."

"Nuh-uh"

Others remained silent.

"I'll put in for the UN appointment ASAP," Tony muttered and they all agreed.


Rose exhaled, pulling on her shrug over her one arm and draping it over the other shoulder.

She brushed down her hair and pulling a pair of slip-ons, walked out of her room. She found Steve in the hulk-out room, just looking at Barnes. She swallowed.

Honestly, she had no idea what she was feeling. While on one hand she felt sorry and wanted to help Steve, on the other rage bubbled inside her whenever she looked at Barnes. No matter what, she couldn't forget his face when he had almost strangled the life out of her all those years ago.

Barnes was not even looking at Steve. he turned around in his cage and his eyes landed on her standing in the doorway.

This was the first time they had met face to face after she had dropped him unconscious in that cage. It was the first time where he wasn't trying to kill her and vice-versa.

She exhaled a shuddering breath.

"Rose?"

She tore her gaze from Barnes and looked at Steve, who was looking at her.

She softly smiled, though she could still feel his trickling gaze on her.

"It's almost 7," she replied, trying her best to ignore that feeling.

Steve blinked and it seemed that realization dawned a second late.

"Just give me a second."

Rose nodded and walked out leaving Steve inside.

Once outside, she exhaled, running a hand over her mouth and through her hair. she swallowed again and leaned against the wall.

About a couple of minutes later, Steve walked out.

"Sorry to disturb your time with Barnes," she muttered

he shrugged, "You didn't disturb anything.

"Have you been spending all your time in there?" she asked

"Not all. I've been busy with some old SHIELD paperwork. Reading all your entries and research work. Whenever I get some time, I come down here."

"I've got some files if you are interested. Got them from Nick and some of them date back to Grandma Pegs' time. Maybe there's something useful in them."

Steve nodded, "Yeah. I can do that."

They had made their way down to the ground floor lobby but stopped seeing everyone else there too. Except for Mia, Nick, Rhodey, and Sam. Mia had left quickly after the meeting and spending a few more hours with the team. Rhodey had invited Sam for drinks and catch-up and the two had left. Nick was at the tower, his flight back to his current city scheduled for the next day afternoon.

"What's going on?" Steve asked

"Well, when was the last time we all spent quality time together?" Clint beamed, though it wasn't as strong as it used to be.

"We didn't mean to interrupt your date," Nat added

"It isn't a date." Rose replied, "We were just getting dinner."

"We thought we should get some dinner. All of us. Together." Bruce said

"Team-building exercise, heh, Cap?" Tony chuckled

Steve shrugged, a smile forming on his face, "I got no problem. Rose?"

"Sure. we haven't done shit like this in quite some time. Honestly, I was starting to miss it."

"Where are we going?" Thor asked

"Oh, I got us a table reserved at one of the best bar-restaurants in the whole of New York." Tony smiled

"As long as we don't get banned, I got no problem." Rose chuckled

"You are going to be with us. We'll be fine." Clint smiled, swinging an arm around her shoulders, mindful of her sling.


The dinner was in fact, fun. Keeping in mind what happened the last time they went drinking, they chose to keep it light; some of them not even wanting to drink. Only Thor, Tony, and Clint ended up ordering something for them.

The evening passed a lot faster than she had expected. Looking around, this all felt...normal. Like those times before the shit show. She knew they were still lingering feelings of anger, distrust, and caution, among few other things, in pretty much all of them but what made her happy was that everyone was trying their best to work on those issues so they could function together like they used to. She hoped they all were because she'd hate to lose this family.

Tony, despite his quite loose attitude for the night, wasn't being very talkative with Steve. She just wished those two would work on their issues like she was trying to work with her issues with Steve.

After dinner, the prospect of after-dinner coffee was being tossed around. Thor and Tony opted out, rather ordering another round of drink for them two while others had their coffee.

"Anyone in the mood for ice cream?" Rose asked after a while

"I could definitely call it a night. I'm full." Clint leaned back on his chair.

"I could really have some Unfinished Business." Steve smiled

"Oh, I want the Mint Ice cream with choco chips. But I don't fancy walking an extra mile." Nat said

"We'll get it. No big deal." Rose smiled

"In that case, I want chocolate ice cream," Clint said

"Aren't you full?" Tony asked

"I could definitely spare some room for chocolate ice cream. I'm ought to get hungry after we walk back to the Tower."

"It's just 6 blocks."

Clint just waved him off.

Once the bill and tips were paid, Rose and Steve made their way to Sugar Hill Creamery.

"You got the look on your face. What's it?"

Rose looked at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her hair, a soft smile on her lips.

"I'm just...I don't...uh...regret?...I don't if that's the right words I should use but let's go with that...whatever came to light about almost everything, but...it's nothing. It's just..." she exhaled, "Just a lot of things in my head and...SI, This new Organization, the data dump...the team!...Phil...I'm just a little overwhelmed, I guess."

"I'm sorry you have to go through all of this."

Rose nodded with an exhale, "I'm sorry about Barnes."

"thank you." Steve nodded

They walked in silence before she spoke up.

"I'm not the bad guy, Steve. Sure I didn't have the most conventional childhood and...I've seen things that I wouldn't wish upon the people I hate, but...I know I haven't been the most forthcoming or honest...even loyal recently but...this team means something to me. This team has become a kind of a family to me.

And I always do this. I just...I make decisions without thinking them through and almost every time I overlook the logical shit. I...end up making decisions that are so selfish that I don't even consider how that bloody selfish design is going to affect people around me. And I always end up hurting people. I don't mean to. But...

I try so hard to not do that. I...want to not do that." she softly chuckled, "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."

Steve stopped and grabbed her arm and held her.

"Rose, what is going on? You don't ramble. I don't think I've ever seen you ramble."

She exhaled, "After that conversation with Thor, I just kept on thinking. Pretty much the whole day about all the things he said. I came to realize how much I really fucked it all up. Instead of expecting you to follow my lead blindly and doing what I wanted, I should have met you halfway. But I kept pushing my agenda of wanting my revenge for something he did to my family because I wasn't thinking straight and I called you out for not being logical and...I threw my fucking dagger at you! I just...Steve, I don't want to lose this...this...t-this...whatever I have now."

Steve's face tightened. This was probably the first moment when Rose had ever opened to him, that too like this. And he had no idea how to react. While he was a bit happy that she, most probably, will no longer go for Bucky's blood, but he wasn't sure he could trust her again like before.

"I'd understand if things never went back to the way they were, especially between us."

Steve studied her face, her posture, and expression for a second. "what do you want from me?"

She pressed her lips, looking at him, "I don't know." she pulled back and he let her go, "I'm...I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hurled it all out on you like that. Ever since Thor talked me, Clint talked to me...I just...it's everything...and...I..." she opened her mouth a few times but nothing came out.

Steve hesitantly took a step forward and carefully and slowly wrapped his arms around her.

Rose didn't hug back for a second but then she did. She pressed herself into him, her petite stature making it rather easy.

"I'm sorry." that came out muffled.

Thankfully there weren't a lot of people around and no reporters, especially. Without Mia and SHIELD, they'd have no one to handle their PR disasters.

Steve nodded with a gulp. "We both messed up. We both...fucked it. And if you want to mend this, we both should do this and meet halfway."

She nodded.

"From now on, no secrets when it comes to Avengers and world safety. We'll talk. And I can't promise that we'll always be on the same wavelength, but I'll try my very best to think things before reacting."

She pulled a little, "Me too. I'll put up a fight if things don't seem right to me but I'll try my very best to not let them affect our friendship. I can't promise but I'll my very best to be a supportive and loyal friend and not fuck what we have any more than I already have. I hope it is good enough."

Steve studied her face. She looked quite nervous and hesitant. Even insecure.

"As long we both try to do that, I think we'd be fine."

"thank you."

Steve smiled softly and let her go.

She smiled, pressing her lips, "I don't know if I deserve any of this, but thank you."

"Then buy me ice cream?"

Rose chuckled loudly, removing her glasses and running a hand over her face, "Y-yeah. No problem." she slipped back her glasses, "come on big boy."

They got ice creams for themselves and others as well and decided to take the longer route back home.

"Not to be invasive, but you seemed really upset about Phil. I assumed it would have been Nat or Clint, but you and Tony seemed way more upset than them."

she shrugged, "Dad and I've known Phil the longest in the team. It hurt so much when I learned that he died."

"Your reaction when you heard was kind of..."

"Vague and short?"

Steve shrugged, "Yeah."

She exhaled, "We had other problems to deal with on hand. AKA, Thor's psychotic brother. Helicarrier had been severely damaged. I had to compartmentalize. Ask Fury. How many nights I called him crying, mourning for Phil."

Steve heard the bitterness in her voice he had rarely heard before.

"Tell me about him. Coulson."

Rose chuckled, taking a bite of ice cream, "I met him on my...8th, was it?... I guess, yeah. 8th birthday. Nick was supposed to attend but he got stuck somewhere so he sent Phil instead with his gift. He was really sweet the whole evening. I took quite a good liking to him." she did a twirl and started walking in front of him, backward.

"You know, as a kid, you have this crush on an adult. You just admire them. You feel so good when they give you time and attention and it frustrates you when they don't pay attention to you. You know what I'm talking about." she chuckled when she saw a smile on Steve's face, "who was she?"

"Her name was Ida. She was married with a bunch of crotch-goblins, if I remember it right. Worked with my Ma at the hospital. But she was beautiful."

"Oh, I bet. If she managed to grab your attention."

"I was 6!"

she laughed, "Well, mine was Phil. Nick didn't exactly have stellar, or even above average, skills when it came to babysitting. Especially me, at that. He brought Phil with him once or twice. I kinda got attached to him. So much so, I used to demand that Nick bring Phil with him if he was going to visit me. That's what Dad told me. I don't remember much. But he and Grandma Pegs did find that very amusing.

I used to love when he'd tuck me because Phil had these bedtime stories that I could never find anywhere else. They were simple stories but so unique. He'd tell me stories about a new Robin Hood who was causing him and SHIELD trouble. Sometimes he'd tell me about how he and Nick stopped the bad guys. This one time he told me a story about the Robin Hood saved a scary black spider just by being civil to her."

She smiled fondly and turned around to walk next to him, "It wasn't until years later that I realized that he actually told me about his missions in the form of stories. Because apparently, 'creativity wasn't his strongest suit'" she air-quoted and rolled her eyes

Steve chuckled, "so how did it feel like when you met Clint and Nat after listening to those stories?"

"I had only met Clint, like maybe twice, before the whole Avengers thing. So I didn't have much of an opinion on him. I was closer to Nat. She's every bit of a badass Phil told me." her smile turned forlorn, "I miss Phil. He was one of the best."

She pressed her lips and clicked her tongue, turning to look at him, "Now. I wanna hear about dear Ida."

"Come on. It was about a century or so ago."

"Hell no. You heard my story. It's only fair that I hear yours. Come on. Hit me with this mysteriously beautiful married Ida with crotch-goblins." she paused, "And for the record, it's only been 89 years."

Steve rolled his eyes fondly before he began his tale.


Okay, people!

I've been working quite hard on this story. These two chapters themselves took me about 2 weeks with repeated edits because I wanted them to flow well. So, please be a little kind with your reviews.

Second, I'm wondering if someone could help me with the next few chapters since they are going to quite technical and stuff and I'm a simple science girl, so I'll out of my depth. Since it would be more around the new Avengers Inc, I was hoping for someone who knew a few tidbits about US policies and laws and stuff bc I can't find anything, not the internet. I've tried.😅

Third. 22nd June 2021 marks my 2 years with this series starting with M3 of . So for that, I was hoping to do a little Q&A sorta thing where you can ask equations to either me(as an author) or Rose( as a character). I was thinking of an interview or IG live type of setup for Rose where she can answer your questions about her and I'm sure I can come up with something for me. As long as direct questions about future spoilers aren't asked, I'll happy to answer questions on behalf of me and Rose.😅

I know this sounds kinda stupid and idiotic but I've wanted to do this for a while. And this would be a bonus chapter updated on Consequences rather than this bc I don't wanna disrupt the flow here. ~22 days. whatever questions you wish to ask me or Rose you can put it down in the reviews/comments. I'd be happy to answer them. The chapter would be updated on 22nd, so 21st June is the deadline.

Thank you so much to all the people.

Ciao