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Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel. I own Addison Carter.

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May 2016, Avengers Compound

Wanda stayed in her room. Steve explained what happened to us. Rumblow had taken the fight to the street and set off a suicidal bomb, Wanda moved the blow away from the pedestrians but lost control and it was sent in the building.

Let's just say journalists were dying to get a word from any of us. Pietro was frustrated and angry, his sister was shutting everyone out, even him.

"Thanks for...informing me about this Alistaire." I hung up, putting my phone against my lips in thoughts.

Alistaire called me to tell me a hundred and seventeen countries were about to sign something called the Sokovia Accords. On a more...personal level, I had received a text from Sharon. I had no idea how she got my number, but she did.

There would be a ceremony honoring Grandma in London on June 22nd, almost ten years after her death. My whole family was buried in England, but it had been very private back then. Thinking about it, I think Tony had something to do with that.

Anyway, it would be a very public event. Sharon was supposed to speak. Her parents would be there. She texted me asking me if I wanted to speak as well.

I said yes on a whim, but I had nothing.

I put my phone in my pocket and left the Compound to go at the Tower. Tony was there, I knew it. The Avengers were no longer officially there but there was still some equipment. To be fair, he seemed to spend more time at the Tower than the Compound, if he was in NYC he'd be there. I rolled my eyes when I had the Tower in sight. The traffic was bad, as usual, but there was a crowd of journalists in front of the place.

I dodged the journalists and went to Tony's lab. The one he examined the scepter in.

He was there. I knocked as I was leaning on one leg.

"How was England?" he asked me with obvious dark circles under his eyes.

"I learned a lot." I pursed my lips. "Care to tell me what the Sokovia Accords are?" He widened his eyes at me.

"How do you know about them?"

"I have my ways." I looked at his computer screen. "Answer my question. A hundred and seventeen countries is not nothing." He took a deep breath.

"Sokovia was a mess, alright? Johannesburg too, and now Lagos. Clearly, we destroy more than we save to the world's eyes."

"They want to control our movements so that we don't act abroad as a private organization based in the US?" I summed up and he frowned.

"Pretty much yes...how did you figure this so quickly?" It was what Pete and Alistaire had been implying.

"Let's just say I met people in England." I took a step closer to him. "Why did you keep this to yourself?"

"I tried to talk to people okay, I tried to tell them it was not necessarily the right thing to do but…" He sighed deeply and leaned his elbows on his desk, tapping on his computer.

The screen showed various pictures. I gulped when I recognized the mother of the kid I saved in Sokovia.

"They're all victims," I whispered to myself.

"Some would call them collateral damage, but yes. They're the people who died in Sokovia because of our heroing. I'll spare you those from South Africa. Or New York. Or Lagos now." He looked deep in thoughts. "I think I'm going to sign it."

"You're serious about this? What does this even entail?"

"The Avengers would work for the UN and be dispatched out of the US only if authorized to do so. If you sign them you're allowed to act in your country."

"But not abroad." I looked at the ceiling with a sigh. "If we don't sign?"

"You're considered a criminal if you use your powers and is sent to jail without a trial."

"And if I, Pietro or Wanda don't sign?" My eyes met his. "What about us who have a criminal past that's ignored only because we're in the Avengers?"

"Well then...you would need to purge your sentence for the Pentagon and terrorist actions years ago. Pietro would be judged for helping Ultron and being a part of HYDRA on his own free will. Wanda would have the same but with Lagos as well. Your powers would be considered as weapons you are not allowed to wield and then…" I scoffed, shaking my head.

"Unbelievable." I clenched my fists. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Believe it or not, I had other things to care about!" he shot back in a yell, jumping on his feet. He ran a hand on his face. "I know, I know Wanda didn't do it on purpose, but it just rushed things. I would have told you all once I had the final draft but...I've known for a month anyway, between Pepper and…" He stopped himself.

"Pepper? Is she okay?"

"Yes, I think, it's just...we're on a break." I widened my eyes.

"I...I didn't know. Still, the Mutant Registration Act didn't happen and I'm not going with another version of it. Damn, what about mutants Tony?"

"Professor Xavier is actually already aware of it. He's been talking about the best way to deal with this while avoid that the Mutant Registration Act is not brought up again. It's…"

"They would be treating anyone with powers or enhancement like weapons, we're not, we…" I stopped ranting and sat down on a chair. "It can't happen. Not again."

"I'm sorry Addie, I really wish it had not come to this but it's what it is."

"And you're going to sign it," I spat at him. He frowned.

"You don't agree with me fine but don't disrespect me, got it?" I bit the inside of my cheek and a young black man was in my face. "This is Charlie Spencer. He was killed in Sokovia. Let's just say his mother telling me I killed her son made it impossible for me to ignore we save people as much as we put them in danger."

"Steve wouldn't agree with that." He smirked.

"Of course he wouldn't, but just because the number of people we saved is bigger than those who died because of us, it doesn't mean we should forget them and move on."

"Don't I know that already?" I whispered to myself. I grabbed my head. "God they're gonna make me sign it."

"Who?" I straightened up.

"MI:13." He frowned. "Every hero born on the British Isles is automatically a part of it to defend the Crown and its interests. There was a situation in Darkmoor and they were there, saying that they ordered it so that the Avengers wouldn't be blamed for acting in another country. I'm glad they did now."

"Is that why you spent so long in England?" I nodded.

"They evaluated my skills. They...there are a lot of mutants. I can't tell you why they were there, but they share our goal and...Dad worked in Darkmoor on an energy source in the nineties. Something tells me it was the Tesseract and knowing how the twins and I were impacted by other stones, maybe that's what Essex was after."

"It's...bad, it's pretty bad," he said with his eyebrows up to his hairline.

"Tell me about it. We got information about him but...I can't help but think in some weird, twisted way, everything has a connection with everything." I ran a hand on my side. I had very small scars still. "What's going to happen now?"

"The official signing is in Vienna on June 22nd, I'll try to be at both but I can't promise anything."

"Grandma's homage? I already told Sharon I'd speak with her."

"You're in contact with her?"

"I went home after Sokovia, Staten Island, she was there. Thanks for keeping the house by the way."

"That's nothing. So you're good?"

"I don't know, I don't even know how she got my number. Her parents will be here, that's what I worry about." I stood up. "What...what is Professor Xavier using as arguments?"

"That forcing mutants to register was categorizing them as weapons and blatant discrimination. If they control their powers, they shouldn't have to wear the tracking bra…"

"We would be tracked like prisoners on probation?" I asked him, stunned. "What the…"

"I'm working on that, alright! Xavier and I are both trying to turn this into tracking people who only committed crimes okay? It's complicated."

"Having to fill a paper saying we're mutant is like a yellow star in WW2. Every administration in the country, if not the whole world, will have us in their files. I bet they want fingerprints as well."

"That, blood samples, DNA…"

"I'm not giving that to any government. I'm not trusting the American government. I can't sign these."

"Please read them at least," he almost pleaded me. I looked at him with distrust. "I know it's a touchy subject for you but please see the other side as well."

"That's the issue, I see it Tony. I've been the other side, the one that's dangerous. I see your point, it's just I wonder how much freedom we would have left if we sign. I mean...I sign or go to jail basically." I widened my eyes. "Wait, SHIELD hid my actions at the Pentagon and with Aksel, well Fury did, but it was done with HYDRA. Could they accused of having worked with HYDRA?"

"I'm not sure, SHIELD covered you but you didn't work for them. I'd need to check but…" I shook my head.

"I...I need to go. To be alone. You need to tell the others before it blows up in all our faces."

"I...the Accords have already been announced on the internet you know."

"Tony!"

"Fine!" He sighed. "Fine."

I left and fell on my bed once back at the Compound. Everything was a mess, how could we possibly get out of this? I had...I had a bad feeling about it. A few hours after I got back, I raised my eyes from my phone, failing at distracting myself, when there was a strong wind next to me. Pietro was now sitting on my bed, next to me.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" I told him, dropping my phone to bury my face in my pillow. His lips were set in a thin line, his brows furrowed. I almost sighed at the lack of answer. "Rough day too?" I asked him, lifting my head from the pillow.

"Wanda keeps saying it was her fault and that…" He exhaled, frustrated. "I don't know what to do."

"Just do what's best for her. You're her brother, take care of her even if she doesn't want to." He rolled his eyes.

"Easier said than done Addie, she can be so stubborn. The only one who somehow can talk to her is Vision and only because he doesn't understand doors." I smiled a little and he frowned at me. "What?"

"Wanda and Vision." He blinked and scrunched his nose, shaking his head.

"No, not happening. He...he can't even do anything, can he?" I blinked, pondering on it for a second before shaking my head.

"It's a question I don't need an answer to."

"So rough day?" I grunted.

"Don't mention it or I'm gonna have a headache." I sat up next to him. "What's your opinion on that?"

"Wanda didn't do it on purpose," he immediately said.

"I know she didn't but…" I pursed my lips. "People died." He stared straight in front of him at my closet door and the perfecto hanging on it. "But innocent people died."

"She feels guilty about South Africa you know. She feels like shit right now. I know people are...are angry, or even scared of her powers but…" He stood up and started pacing. "She didn't want to, she's not evil! You wouldn't think that a girl who can quote almost all the lines from the Dick Van Dyke Show is evil, would you?" I smiled a little.

"No, of course not. She needs more training to control her powers."

"Yes, control, she needs control!" He took a deep breath. "But she can't go to jail. I won't let her go to jail."

"Let's hope it doesn't get to this," I said in a whisper. "Because if she is sent to jail, then you and I might be the next in line." He stared at me, stunned. "Criminal past overlooked because we're in the Avengers. Who knows if it could be stripped down from us?"

"You know more about the situation, don't you?" I pursed my lips. "It's that bad?"

"I'm afraid so."

I was glad he didn't ask any further.

June 19th 2016, Avengers Compound

Tony told the team about the Accord three days ago. Needless to say, it wasn't really well received, especially considering on the 22nd, they would be ratified and signed in Vienna.

Still, there was Thaddeus Ross, now Secretary of State, in front of us. We all knew how Banner turned into the Hulk, his research and who ordered it.

The guy probably had the country's best interests at heart, but I highly despised when someone with a little bit of power considered others like disposable pawns.

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack." Ross moved his arms back as if he had a golf club. "I dropped, right in the middle of my back swing." We were all sitting in the meeting room, Tony next to the door. "Turned out it was the best round of my life because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something that forty years in the army never taught me. Perspective."

I almost sneered.

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives, but while a great many people would call you heroes, there are some who prefer the word 'vigilantes'." I smirked to myself.

"And how would you call us?" Nat asked him.

"What about 'dangerous'? How would you call a group of US-based enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose." Well...he was not entirely wrong but…

Fuck.

"And who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind." I exchanged a look with Pietro.

"That's what you were talking about?" he thought as Ross projected images of NYC in 2012. I gave him a small nod.

"Washington D.C." We broke eye contact as the Triskelion incident was showed. "Sokovia." Nova Grad was flying.

I took a sharp breath when a building crashed on the ground.

"Lagos." Wanda lowered her eyes.

"Okay that's enough," Steve stated firmly. I raised my hand.

"Carter," Ross said with a clenched jaw. Everyone looked at me.

"If I understand you correctly, you're implying that the repercussions of these events are our fault?"

"It is correct." I nodded but raised my finger to my lips with furrowed brows.

"Hum...yet if I remember correctly, the Chitauri invasion was stopped when Tony sent a nuke to the mother ship, right?" He pursed his lips.

"It is exact."

"Yeah...yeah, remind me who decided to nuke Manhattan already? Oh right." I pointed a finger at him. "You, the government, did. Like you thought using an energy source you had no knowledge of was a good idea to...to do what already? Right, weapons." I smiled sweetly. "One would think the attempt at nuking Manhattan was a way to cover up the government's and military's mess. Not that...it would be a first." Ross narrowed his eyes at me and flared his nostrils.

"Addison," Steve called me sternly. I shot him a brief look and raised my hands in defense.

"I'll stop, I just thought I might remind everyone that we cleaned up others' messes as well and transparency would be critical if any Accord were to be signed."

"You already know about the Sokovia Accords then," he noted, shooting Tony a quick glance. He gestured at his assistant who dropped a thick file on the table. "You've acted on your own for the past four years and the governments of the world can no longer tolerate this arrangement. The Sokovia Accords have been approve by a hundred and seventeen countries. It states that the Avengers would no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of the United Nation's panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we accomplished that," Steve said.

"Tell me Captain, do you know where Banner and Thor are?" Cap looked up at Ross. "If I misplace a couple of 30 megaton nukes, you can bet there would be consequences."

Thor was not even from Earth, of course he wouldn't stick around forever. The Hulk was born out of experimentation Ross ordered and…

I caught Rhodey looking at me from the corner of his eyes and he shook his head. Okay, stay calm Addie.

"Compromise. Reassurance. It's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." I shook my head in disbelief and stood up. "Carter, do you have another comment?"

I didn't reply and left the room, slamming the door with a flick of my hand behind me. I headed to the training room and changed, tying my hair up in a messy bun before going to a punching bag.

I punched.

Hard.

Flashes of Alkali Lake, of Wade as a Special Force operative kept coming back in my brain. How the government and SHIELD, HYDRA, used the Tesseract for weapons. How the US government was happily sweeping under the rug the whole Weapon Plus Program. They were happily making sure they would have a total control over the people they hurt and…

I sent the punching bag in the wall. The noise echoed in the room and I stared at it and the hole in made in it, panting. I looked down at my right fist and opened it. Dark matter was over my knuckles. I tapped my nail on it. It was hard like steel.

"It was quite the dramatic exit." I looked up. Steve was leaning against the doorway at the entrance. He shot the punching bag a quick look. "I wouldn't want to be in its place." I scoffed. "I guess you're not really pro-Accords."

"I was a terrorist Steve," I reminded him coldly. "A pro-mutant extremist and I attacked the Pentagon and did other things. What do you think is my opinion on the government?"

"From your tone, not a good one."

"Let's go with that and not utter disgust and distrust." I used my powers to put a new punching bag on. Steve decided to go behind it as I started punching it again. "There is a department in the government, the Department of Domestic Security and Defense," I said between punches. I gave it an overhead kick. I lost my balance and fell on my ass.

"What's the purpose?" Steve asked me, taking my hand to pull me on my feet.

"Dealing with the mutant problem." I frowned, my eyes in his. "Literally that. They think we're a problem. In 2003, the Mutant Registration Act was abandoned, I don't know if you were told about it but it was a mess, people for or against the bill in the street and in front of Congress. The Accords...they're gonna wreck havoc in mutant communities all around the globe."

"Then it's one more reason to not sign them."

"It's not that simple Steve. I know that Tony and Professor Xavier have been trying to change what the Accords state for mutants or enhanced individuals, but extremists will always find something wrong with whatever happens. The thing is, we can't save people who don't trust us. Public opinion matters, it's only because you guys came like heroes in New York that we can exist."

"I'm struggling to see if you're for or against the Accords Addison," he admitted with a frown. I pursed my lips.

"Personally? I'm against them, but for personal reasons and experience. However, supports from official leaders are also necessary. That's how the world works now. You can't just go somewhere there's issue because you want to 'save the day'. It's not an open war." I sighed. "I don't think the Accord is the solution, but I think we need to have something."

"I'm finding it hard to blindly trust governments nowadays." I looked down.

"Same here."

"Have a way to fix that?"

"No, no I don't."

"You won't sign them then."

"I won't." He nodded.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm relieved to hear that. Now if we could convince Tony then…"

"Steve, that we agree or not the Accords will be signed and be law. We're asked to sign them, not give our thoughts on them." I shrugged. "It's a lost fight, the only thing that can happen is modifications. I still have to read through them, I'll do that on the plane for London."

"For Peggy's memorial?" I furrowed my brows at him.

"Yeah, did I tell you about it? I was pretty busy so…"

"No, I was contacted by someone named John." I felt myself turning white.

"He contacted you but not me or Tony, what a wanker," I hissed through my teeth.

"Family you don't talk to?" I nodded. "Your British slang and accent pops up every now and then now."

"I know." I took a strand of my hair. "I'm gonna cut my hair too, I want to look good."

"You look fine Addie." I punched him weakly in the shoulder.

"Sweet talker, I'm gonna think you have a thing for me Rogers."

"I'm not interested in little kids."

"I'm twenty-six in two months Steve."

"I'm ninety-eight next month."

To my surprise, Ross had not left. He actually wanted to talk to me alone, which I didn't like.

"Carter."

"Secretary Ross."

"Your outburst earlier was unprofessional."

"You weren't expecting me to just accept without saying anything, were you?"

"No, but I thought you'd care about your people." I folded my arms.

"My people?"

"You became a symbol among the mutant population, it would be a shame for the whole community if you were to fall from grace because you refused to sign the Accords."

"And then sent to the Raft?" I finished for him. His lips were pursed but his eyes were harsh and sharp.

"For instance. You have a heavy legacy already left to you by your grandmother. You've tarnished it once already, I strongly advise you not to do the same thing." I smiled faintly.

"Is that a threat?"

"A warning," he corrected me. "Have a good day."

"Trying to control people who are enhanced will only create more chaos you know," I told him as he was leaving.

"We'll see about that." I took a deep breath.

I hated that guy.

June 22nd, 2016, London

Sam was there as well, as moral support. It was good because basically, while it was only a memorial for me, they were funerals for Steve. Tony was there too but he already disappeared in the room.

"I'm going to go in first for my...speech." I told them.

"You're gonna be okay?" Sam asked me with a small frown. I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think. I...I didn't say anything at her funerals, I just...watched and threw a rose on the coffin. Pepper did more than me."

"We'll see you later then," Steve told me.

I located Sharon quickly.

"Addison," she whispered when she saw me. She had a formal black dress and heels on. "You came."

"I told you I would." I took a deep breath, my clammy hands twisting my papers. "Do...do they know I'm here?"

"No they don't, but they don't really have a say in that. Aunt Peggy was your grandmother, you have a right to be here and speak." I furrowed my brows.

"You seem angry at your parents." She opened her mouth but sighed.

"Kind of yes, it's a long story." I pursed my lips.

"The...do they know I'm part of the Avengers?"

"Oh yes, they do. I'll spare you their comments on it."

"Yet your dad invited Steve." She paled.

"He's here?" I raised a brow.

"Yeah...why? Right, did you meet in D.C? You were in the hospital." She widened her eyes.

"You were there?" I nodded.

"I hid from you. Tony's there as well, and Sam."

"I know for Tony." Her eyes softened. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah! Yeah...my eulogy is just ten years late but better now than never." She smiled and rubbed my arm.

"I'll be right behind you." I gulped. "I think it's almost time for me to…"

"Go." I smiled shyly at her and watched her go on the stage. I shot a look at my reflection in the glass.

My hair was now at my shoulders. I had a side part, it was still wavy and it made me look more mature, more adult. I had a formal black dress as well that reached my knees and short heels.

Grandma used to say that the simplest way to dress could be the way to authority and respect and if you knew how to wear it. It was all in a singular thing or a posture, a way of speaking.

Peggy Carter was inseparable from her red lipstick. While the shade of bright red I had on my mouth felt strange, the eyeliner had became a habit for the past few months. It made my eyes look bigger, my long and curled lashes opening them even more.

I exhaled when I heard Sharon mentioning the tree speech Grandma would give us and I smiled a little.

"Aunt Peggy will always be a role model for me, and I know I'm not the only one. She was one for her granddaughter as well, who will now take my place." I joined her as she stepped aside.

I scanned the crowd quickly. Steve and Sam were silently supporting me and I heard Tony's thinking I could do this. I met Sharon's parents' eyes and looked down at my speech, blushing in nervousness.

The words were blurring together. I took the papers and crumbled them in my hands before clearing my throat.

"My grandmother passed away almost ten years ago, shortly before I turned sixteen. It was...difficult, and needless to say the worst birthday I ever had. I didn't give a eulogy, and after ten years, I think I owe one to the woman who raised me." I took a deep breath. "She used to think women shouldn't fight you know." I saw Steve frowning. "When the war started, she engaged in the British Royal Army but for simple tasks because she believed women shouldn't be on the field. Yet she was recommended as a Code Break for the Resistance all across Europe. Her brother Michael recommended her."

Michael Carter was a pride and a shame of the family.

"He didn't really approve of her fiance at the time." Steve was shocked and Sam shot him a look, silently asking him if he knew about this. "Ultimately, on the day of her wedding, the army came to tell my great-grandmother her son died on the battlefield."

Liar.

"It was what pushed her to leave her ring and life behind to fight for what she thought was right." I smiled faintly. "And she never stopped. Be it during WW2 in the SSR and then the battlefield, or after, often with the help of Howard Stark's butler Edwin Jarvis, she never stopped." Tony smiled a little at the mention of Jarvis. "She did great things, things complicated to live up to. But thinking back on it, I don't think she would have wanted anyone to feel bad because they couldn't live up to her. She made great things, but did not expect as much from me or Sharon. The one and only thing she always expected us to do was to be true to ourselves unlike her in her youth. She didn't want any of us to need losing a loved one to be true to ourselves."

I looked up and licked my lips.

"It was the example she wanted to give us, the one thing she wanted us to have after her passing away. She wanted us to learn from the mistakes she had made and carry on these lessons in our lives. I personally didn't realize that until long after she passed away. When she died, I was angry. I was angry because in spite of dying of old age in her sleep, she had left me. I resented her for leaving me. Yet today, I'm only relieved she can finally rest. Margaret Carter was a woman who did great things, but it came with a lot of pain, losses, and grief. She lost many people and grief was no stranger to her. From her brother, to those brave soldiers she came to care about but disappeared in the war, to trusty and reliable friends who died when her life-long work with SHIELD was barely starting, to then her life-long friend Howard Stark and his wife Maria Stark," Tony lowered his eyes, "to then her own son David and daughter-in-law Victoria, to Edwin and Anna Jarvis and finally her own husband Franck. I was angry at her leaving but today I'm happy to know that, even if I will always miss her, she can finally rest and be reunited with the people she had lost."

I shot her picture a look. It was her in her youth in the army.

"She would tell stories about the wars and Captain America, always pointing out every single thing wrong in the comic books I had as a kid. I thought she just wanted to share that with me, but thinking about it, I think it was deeper. She was my grandmother and we were close, always telling me to wear too many layers in the winter to be sure I wouldn't catch a cold or giving me another plate of food because to her I had not eaten enough." There were chuckles in the room. "But she had spent her life fighting for what she thought was right, not moving from her stand even if she were to stand alone. I remember her telling me when I left for boarding school at eleven that as my grandmother she wanted nothing more for me than being happy and healthy. But she also told me that she knew there were still fights that needed to be fought and that sometimes, it was your fight to fight as well. She must have tried to use Captain America's example and the values he would represent to tell me this, that even if it was not her fight, or that her opinion was different, she would understand it was mine and that I couldn't run away."

I took a deep breath and wiped a tear away.

"To many she was a hero, a role model, an example but...but to me she was my grandmother, I loved her and still do and I miss her. The memories I have of her will always be in my mind. She taught all I needed to know, even if I didn't know immediately. Seeing you all here today, it really makes me realize that she had an impact on more than one person. Thank you all for coming for honoring her memory." Sharon went next to me and they clapped.

My legs were shaking once we were out of sight.

"It was great, she would have loved that," Sharon complimented me with watery eyes.

"Your parents are coming," I whispered in horror, hearing their angry thoughts. Sharon gritted her teeth.

"Go outside, I'll handle them." I nodded and hurried outside.

I would revert back to a broken teenager if John were to talk to me. His wife, Lisa...she thought the same, I knew she did, and she didn't like how Grandma actually approved of Sharon's wish to join SHIELD once she'd be of age, but she was more likely to approve her husband's words than speak her mind.

"Nice speech." I raised my brows at Brian. "Hey."

"Hey. What are you doing here?" He shrugged.

"They wanted someone here today, as your grandmother was an important figure in the UK as well. They were busy so… here I am."

"Still in London then?"

"The facility is still being rebuilt and…" He looked around us, squinting. It was sunny with a small breeze. Behind the rented hall was a park, where we were. "I think I'm going to live in London for a while."

"You...got the opportunity to show off?"

"Show off is one way to put it but yes, there has been some situations. Unfortunately, with the Accords now things will change."

"You signed them?" He pursed his lips.

"I mean, technically I'm normal, it's the suit really. Alistaire is pretty adamant on saying and giving only the strict minimum."

"It's for the best. You're in the clear but…" I trailed off but he understood the meaning.

"My sister is not really for signing the Accords and registering but she's not...well, it's her life I should not tell you about it."

"Agree."

"Are you signing them?"

"Nope, I don't have an ounce of trust in the government or UN." Yet I didn't want to go to jail. "I mean, I know I'd be able to work in more than one country but...I can't give them this much."

"They removed the tracking devices for people with innate powers unless they were proved to be dangerous and there won't be DNA given but there will still be a power analysis for those who sign. There will be trials for people who break the Accords only depending on their past history."

"I'm screwed Brian," I told him. "Literally, I'm gonna be sent to jail because of my past mistakes."

"Not necessarily." I frowned. "The UK's field of action is the UK, of course, but the Commonwealth as well because it is to fight for the interests' of the Crown."

"And you guys would find a way to make me work in the country freely?" He nodded and I narrowed my eyes. "Are you here to recruit me?"

"Maybe?" I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, it wasn't really subtle but do you have something left in the USA?" I couldn't reply because Tony appeared.

"There you are." We both looked at him and he looked at Brian with a raised brow. "I don't think we've met."

"Mister Stark, my name is Brian Braddock." They shook hands.

"Braddock? It seems familiar."

"Apparently Dad worked with his dad."

"Oh, I see. And you know each other because…"

"Because we know each other." Brian looked at Tony, then me.

"I'll go now. See you later Carter." He left and Tony grabbed my shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good."

"Nice speech by the way, very moving."

"Thanks."

"Are you free right now?"

"Why?"

"There's a place I'd like to show you."

"Sure, I'm going to text Steve to tell him I'm off."

"You need Rogers' authorization?"

"Hell no, I just don't want him to harass me if he can't find me after."

Of course Tony had a car in London. He drove all the way to Notting Hill and stopped in front of a typical London building, stuck between two others.

"What is this place?" He didn't say anything and I followed him. He went all the way to the last floor, no elevator, and opened the only door there was there. We were in an apartment. It was empty except for the kitchen area, but obviously cosy. There were stairs in the entrance, probably leading to the bedroom and bathroom. The first floor was an opened kitchen with a living/dining room next to it, a balcony with a terrace behind. "Tony…"

"Here." I took what he was handed me and blinked at it.

"Elizabeth Walker?" I was lost. "Who's that?"

"You, starting tomorrow I hope." I narrowed my eyes. "Look, I knew you wouldn't sign the Accords, okay? But you won't just go off freely if you don't sign so this…" He pointed around him. "Is a new start."

"It's a fake passport."

"With a bank account well-stocked. You can go to college, or work with MI:13 or anything really as long as you stay out of trouble as much as possible, or at least don't get caught."

"That's…"

"What, you've always wanted to live here, haven't you?"

"I never thought it would be in these circumstances…"

"Look, I know that changing identity must be hard but…"

"Thank you," I thanked him quietly, hugging him. "Thanks for taking care of me." He sighed softly and hugged me back.

"I kind of have some making up to do in that department." I chuckled and stepped back.

"I'm gonna look upstairs."

"Go ahead." I grinned and ran upstairs, tripping on my way. I heard Tony sighing before his phone rang.

The room was big enough to have a big bed, a dresser and a dressing table. I went to the bathroom. Big enough for one person without it being overbearing. Having too much space when you lived alone just...it just made me feel very lonely.

I went back down and frowned at the hologram above Tony's phone.

"A bombing just happened in Vienna, interrupting the signature of the Sokovia Accords. We are reporting many wounded and a few death, one being the King of Wakanda T'Chaka." I paled.

I had met T'Chaka in 2011 with Ororo. He seemed like a good and fair leader, letting us deal with the mutant who couldn't control his power to create earthquakes.

"From what we know and the footage that we have, it is the work of Winter Soldier, James Buchanan Barnes, who hasn't been seen since 2014…" A blurry picture of James appeared as my heart dropped.

I sat down in the stairs.

"It doesn't make sense…" I muttered, looking at Tony with pleading eyes. "I mean, I know him, the only way he would do that is if someone is controlling the Soldier again, it's…"

"The fact someone can trigger the Soldier is an issue Addie," Tony reminded me sternly. "Get up, we're going to Berlin."

"Berlin?"

"At the Joint Terrorist Centre Building. Something tells me Sharon will be there as well."

Dang it.

What kind of shitty mess were we getting into?

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Bye!