Most likely no chapter next week sorry guys, my brother is coming to town!
Late June, 2016
The Avengers got to work.
They began days of work, late nights, and arguments over reams of paper. They made secretive phone calls and brought befuddled lawyers and lawmakers into the Facility. Life in the Facility became strange, with the buildings largely empty save for what remained of the team, half of them living there incognito. They all gathered in meeting rooms and living quarters and the common room, wearing whatever had been closest at hand when they dragged themselves out of bed, living on coffee and microwave meals as they expended all their energy on the work.
Despite the arguments and stress of their task, Maggie noticed tentative bonds being reformed - she found Steve and Tony on the second day eating a meal together, which they'd not done in months. Vision's dourness began to fade, though he talked often of their friends in the Raft. Rhodey healed slowly, and Pepper threw herself with all her energy into their new work, her determination and intelligence sparking them all into action.
T'Challa delivered Zemo to the Joint Terrorist Task Force in Germany, so Ross and the world's attention fell on that bombshell. Ross fielded questions, and the JTTF got to work unravelling Zemo's plans and machinations, though apparently the man himself said nothing to them. Rumor and questions began to circulate about how Zemo had been brought in. The Avengers let the rumors take root.
In between bouts of head-splitting planning, Maggie and Bucky stole moments while the others weren't looking; while making coffee, in the corridors between offices, at the doors of their rooms when they said goodnight. Maggie was sure that at least a few of the others had noticed something had changed, but it was nice to pretend that this was just theirs, for the moment.
The first day, after Pepper had given them an initial rundown of their options and they'd started making a list of people they would need to bring in, Maggie had pulled Bucky around the corner from the common room. He'd been mostly quiet, as was his way, but once they were out of sight of the others some of his stillness and caution faded. His eyes took on a new light.
Maggie reached up to brush his hair behind his ear, her fingers lingering on the side of his face. He leaned his head into her touch.
I can't believe I get to do this.
"So… best plan you've ever laid eyes on?" she said doubtfully, as she traced the edge of his face. She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of their friends, who were no doubt still planning.
His eyes roamed over her face. "I think you're incredible."
She smiled. "I can't help but notice that you avoided the question." But she reached up and kissed him, intending for it to be quick; only to pull back a full minute later, breathless.
"For what it's worth, I think you're the best person I've ever met," she said frankly. "But, I mean it. What do you think?" She jerked her head in the direction of the common room.
He leaned in toward her, wholly engrossed by her, and it felt addictive. But she saw the shift as he seriously considered her question.
He cleared his throat. "I went into that room thinking we were going to make an escape plan," he murmured, his arm looped around her back and his thumb running down the knobs of her spine. His mouth curved. "Came out realizing that thanks to you, we might not have to." She watched his grey-blue eyes track over her face. "You mentioned Ultron," he continued. "It reminded me… do you remember what you said to me, after you made Ultron?"
"I said a lot of things," she frowned.
"You said 'when you can do what I can do, settling for what is feels wrong'. You said you wanted to search for what could be. And part of what makes you incredible is that you can see what could be." His eyes seared her. "Make it happen. And I'll be behind you with everything I have."
"Could be another Jurassic Park," she murmured, almost afraid of his faith in her.
He pulled her closer to kiss her. "I always wanted to see a dinosaur."
More and more people began to get involved, and slowly they began to draw up plans. T'Challa kept in touch remotely from Wakanda, and passed along ideas from his lawmakers there. It felt strange, brainstorming with all of them; like a strange mix of preparing for a team mission, and engineering with her brother. Only instead of violence and machines, they were talking about international law.
On the third night, fed up with stolen moments, Maggie did not break her goodnight kiss with Bucky - she dragged him through the doorway to her rooms, and he shut the door behind them. They weren't able to do much, what with two arms out of order between them, but the warmth and easy laughter drove away all thoughts of legalities and politics for a while.
Maggie woke when she sensed the pale glow of morning seeping through her forest-facing window. She felt brilliantly warm, as if she were tucked up against a radiator, and the warmth wrapped around her; Bucky, she realized, with his right arm looped around her back and his palm resting on her bare hip. She cracked her eyes open to see him sleeping with his dark hair spilled out on the pillow around him, his mouth slightly open and his eyes closed. Her pale sheets were pulled up to his chest.
Her gut burned at the sight, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. They both wore very little, because they both apparently preferred to sleep that way. The stump of her right leg was tucked over his left leg under the sheets, the warmth a comfort.
She remembered the undisguised fascination and desire on his face last night, when they'd been exploring with hands and eyes. He'd brushed the metal moorings set against her spine with interest, traced the corded strength in her arms and the curve of her neck, and watched curiously as she'd removed her prosthetic and changed into her sleeping sock. She'd been more than curious in return. She couldn't believe she'd ever been oblivious to just how devastatingly attractive he was; he'd blushed when she told him so, and she'd spent the better part of an hour inspiring more blushes in him.
Bucky was fun. And it had been a while since she'd been with anyone, but she already knew it would be different, easier, with him. There was no chance of her sharing her body but withholding her heart and mind from him, as she had with all the others. Bucky already knew everything about her. He knew her thoughts without her having to speak them, could read each fleeting expression on her face.
She realized her hand rested over the fabric wrapped over the stump of his arm, as if covering a hurt. She swiped her thumb over the cotton, testing the rigidity of the metal beneath. Her fingers brushed over what remained of the metal plating, following it up onto the angry red and pearlescent scarring that stretched around his shoulder and onto his chest. She remembered how the same touch had made him shiver last night. Her fingers found smooth, warm skin, and she rested her palm over his heart. It beat slow and steady under her hand.
"Get a good look?" Bucky mumbled.
She instantly grinned, her eyes flicking up to his face. He had one eye cracked open, squinting at her. "No, actually, maybe I should get more of a look-" she snagged her fingers in the sheet over his chest and began creeping it down, exposing inches of skin-
Bucky laughed and rolled toward her, freeing his arm from under her and catching her hand at his chest. His eyes glinted as he crowded her, putting the bulk of his chest over her. The heat of him washed over her and Maggie grinned. His head ducked low.
"You are a terrible flirt," he murmured against her jaw, the burr of sleep in his voice. He was careful not to put any weight on her broken arm.
"I've been hearing such good things about your flirting back in the day," she replied, almost distracted halfway through her sentence when his lips met her neck. Her eyes closed. "So far I'm yet to see any evidence of it. I've had to do all the flirting."
"Hm," he said, drawing back a little to consider her, her hand still trapped in his. His dark hair framed his face, tangled from sleep. "Well, I can't let that stand."
The look in his eye only made her grin grow. "Oh, am I about to experience the famous Bucky Barnes flirting? Let me prepare myself." She wriggled upward, sitting up against the headboard, and clasped her hands expectantly. He followed her every movement.
He huffed a laugh and his head hung for a moment as he half sat over her. The dawn light glowed on his bare chest and shoulders. Maggie swallowed.
Bucky cleared his throat, his head lifted, and then he leaned in to cup her chin in his hand. His eyes met hers. "Morning, doll, how's it feel to be the most beautiful woman in the room?"
She laughed. "I'm the only woman in the room."
"Smartest, too," he grinned. He sat back on his haunches, fingers lingering on her face, then looked down and frowned. "Your hand okay?"
She looked down. "What?"
"It looks awful heavy. Want me to hold it for you?"
She snorted even as he lifted her hand from her lap and brought it to his mouth, his eyes glinting at her as he kissed it. She'd not seen this lightness, this brilliant smile, in so long, and even when she'd seen it before it had been fleeting. Having this 1000-megawatt smile trained directly on her felt dizzying.
"You're terrible," she decided, her heart thumping. "All of that was terrible."
"But it's working?" He leaned in, still kissing her hand. "Gee, my lips are getting awful sore, you might have to kiss 'em better."
"Next thing you'll be asking me if it hurt when I fell from heaven," she rolled her eyes.
"You don't fall," he said, suddenly right by her mouth. "You fly." And then he kissed her, and she was smiling when he did it. She curled her fingers through his and pulled his hand down-
"Ms Stark, Sergeant Barnes, you are wanted in the common room."
Maggie sighed at the interruption from F.R.I.D.A.Y. and dropped her forehead on Bucky's shoulder. He chuckled under his breath and lifted his hand to the back of her neck.
"When this is over," she said, "you and I are taking a holiday."
His fingers curled through her hair, and he said nothing.
Maggie slid out from under Bucky, extricated herself from the bed and reached for her prosthetic, slipping it over her sock and standing without a wobble. She gathered together her clothes for the day, and as she was pulling on her shirt looked over to find Bucky sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her. The hint of a smile curved at the edges of his mouth.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "I know it's a good view, handsome, but you'd best get yourself up and dressed as well."
He continued to just look at her, and she frowned.
"What's on your mind?" She tugged one leg of her jeans over her prosthetic.
"You've been the best part of my day for a long time now," he said, simple and earnest. "Just thinking how lucky I am to be starting the day with you."
Maggie paused with one leg in her jeans, disarmed entirely. "I… well, that's significantly better flirting." She finished pulling on the jeans, then stepped back toward the bed. She rested her hand on the side of Bucky's neck - he sat, still shirtless, and looked up at her with an impossibly open look in his grey-blue eyes. His fingers brushed the outside of her thigh. Maggie could look down at him like this all day.
"For what it's worth," she murmured, "you're the best part of my day too." She traced the edge of his smile with her thumb. "Out of curiosity, when…?"
He chuckled and glanced down for a moment, perfectly aware of what she was asking. "Can't pinpoint a moment. It was just… all of a sudden, you were the most important thing in my life, and I couldn't imagine being me without you." He kissed the inside of her wrist, and she shivered at the faint graze of stubble. His eyes lifted to hers again. "Though the morning you took me flying - that's when I knew I was done for."
She remembered it - her hand in his, the world below them and the universe above, the two of them slowly spinning and weightless in the air.
"Is that why you left?" she asked softly.
He bowed his head a little. "Partly, yes. I wasn't lying about needing to go track down my past, but… I thought I was wanting something you'd never want, and I needed… space. To clear my head." He shook away the darker thoughts and looked up at her again. "But you did want that. How long, for you?"
"Oh, ages," she sighed, tossing her head back. "But I was an idiot and didn't realize until-" she paused. "No, it's going to sound stupid."
His hand wrapped around the back of her leg. "What?"
She sighed again. "You remember earlier this year, when Sam took us out on that boat?"
He frowned. "Yeah." Then his frown deepened. "You left right after, to visit your friend Darcy. I thought it was weird. What happened?"
"I'd been head over heels stupid for you for months, I think - don't give me that look - but I hadn't realized it. But I was sitting on that boat, next to you, and you looked at me and…" she shrugged simply. "You were beautiful."
His eyes softened.
"And I realized… well, I tried to ignore it a bit longer, but I realized that you were it, for me."
"Doll," he breathed, and Maggie swayed forward -
"Ms Stark-"
Maggie let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back. "I'm coming!"
She hurried through her morning routine, as Bucky got himself dressed more slowly, and minutes later she stepped through her front door and into the corridor.
She instantly sensed a presence to her left and looked over - to see a redhead in a black leather jacket and black jeans leaning against the wall, her arms folded.
Natasha examined Maggie for about a millisecond. Then her lips quirked. "I knew it. Clint owes me ten dollars."
"I - Nat-" Maggie finished buttoning her jacket, her mouth opening and closing. "What…?"
"Got your message," Natasha said, her brow lowering a little. She jerked her head. "Tell Barnes to hurry up, we've got work to do."
They got back to planning, this time with Natasha amongst them. She did not reveal how she had got to the Facility from Europe without being caught or noticed, and they hardly had time to ask. Steve greeted her with a relieved hug, and though she and Tony were a little frosty, they appeared to thaw over the day. Natasha had greeted Bucky with an arched eyebrow and a smile when he'd eventually followed Maggie out of her room.
It was easy to forget sometimes, especially since Natasha encouraged forgetting, that she was not just an assassin. She was trained as a spy, too, and she brought with her a frighteningly incisive knowledge of how to manipulate people in power. She laid out the key figures they were going to be dealing with, and the best ways to persuade them. At Pepper's insistence they kept things relatively above board and legal.
By the end of a week, they had formulated an initial plan: a new draft of the Accords, and a rough plan of how to make it happen. It had all felt like planning for a battle, even though none of them intended to spill a drop of blood.
The draft of the Accords itself had taken the longest time to create. They'd argued bitterly for hours over certain points.
They had all agreed that detainment without proper legal process had to go, but the rest became a swamp of legal and ethical quicksand. They argued about how regulated enhanced people should be, how the Avengers could continue to operate as an international force, how much control the Accords should have… the sticking points grew more and more numerous, and it seemed they hardly agreed on anything. Steve did not believe in budging when it came to his morals, Tony was against giving the Avengers anything that appeared to look like unlimited freedom, Vision was immobilized by self doubt, Natasha was painfully aware of just how those in power would react to anything they suggested, and Pepper and their many lawyers often struggled to find ways to facilitate what the team were trying to achieve.
But after hours, arguing became debating. And hours after that, debating made its way to… a kind of compromise. And it didn't just come down to Steve versus Tony, in the end. They had employed a small army of highly qualified international lawyers, policy makers, legislators, human rights lawyers, judiciary, intelligence operatives and law enforcement, and it turned out that relying on the minds of those smarter and more qualified than them produced some interesting results.
A week after Siberia, Maggie, Steve, Bucky, Natasha, Pepper and Vision found themselves gathered in the medbay, around Rhodey's bed. Rhodey was mobilizing already, but the doctor wanted to wait a few days before he could be moved to his rooms.
A small stack of bound paper booklets sat on Rhodey's hospital bed. Sunshine streamed through the windows, making the paper glow white.
They weren't as neatly bound and embossed as the first Accords had been. They'd had to print in-house, still trying to keep their activities as secret as possible, so the document they had produced was a simple sheaf of paper, hole-punched, with block black lettering on the front. There were only ten copies in physical existence, all stacked next to Rhodey's orange juice.
"I don't like how quickly we've done this," Natasha murmured. "We'll be accused of rushing it."
"The first Accords were rushed too," Pepper demurred. "And really, a lot of what's included here has been discussed ever since the first Accords were published."
Maggie reached out and picked up the copy on top. It wasn't as heavy as the first Accords; their version was shorter, partly due to what they'd taken out, and partly because the first Accords had been needlessly complicated. They had streamlined the structure, and there was a handy table of contents at the front.
Looking at the sheaf of paper in her hands, Maggie felt… something like hope. She leaned in a few inches toward Bucky, who stood at her right. They'd taken to standing like this, with his missing arm facing her, so she was there to defend his left side. Not that she'd ever needed to. Bucky leaned in and read the cover over her shoulder.
They'd also argued over the title. Tony had wanted to call it The Sokovia Accords: Mark II, Natasha had joked about titling it Uno Reverse, and they had finally settled on The Sokovia Accords, with a minor subtitle: The First Amendments.
"Could be all for nothing," Tony said, his hand on the head of Rhodey's bed and his eyes on the stack of booklets. He'd positioned himself opposite Pepper, though he avoided looking at her. "This is just what we've been able to agree on. Now the world's gotta digest it."
"Not the whole world, not yet," Maggie murmured, thinking of their plan. "And anyway, we're not just us. The Avengers are the best qualified people to create something like this."
Steve crossed his arms. "We didn't write it."
"Get a law degree, then we'll talk," Maggie replied with an arched eyebrow. She smoothed her hand over the cover. "But seriously, Steve… can you accept this?"
Steve eyed her a long moment, then reached out and took another booklet from Rhodey's table. He considered it for a long few moments. It looked small in his large hands. He let out a sigh. "I couldn't accept the Accords. I stand by that, but I also think I was…" his brow knotted. "You'd think I'd have gotten used to the world moving forward and changing around me." He smiled wryly. "I'm always slow on the uptake."
"You're an old man, it's expected," Tony cut in, and Steve rolled his eyes.
Steve's hands tightened on the paper and he looked around at them. "Yes. I can accept this. I can fight for this."
Maggie let out a breath, and sensed Bucky do the same beside her.
"Captain America approved," Natasha commented, picking up her own copy. "We should get a stamp that says that."
"Okay," Tony said, stretching his neck. He cast a glance at Pepper. "We've done the lawyering. Now let's do the politicking."
They set about planning pressure groups and focal points and contacting key changemakers. But the clock had run out.
Secretary Ross called Tony a week and a day after Siberia. Maggie had been in a meeting with Pepper and Natasha at the time, with T'Challa on video call, but Tony burst in on them a moment later.
"He's forced our hand," he said, his jaw tight and his hand gripping the doorjamb.
"Who?" Maggie asked.
"Ross," he shut the door behind him. "He's figured out we're up to something - said he knew about the lawyers we'd been consulting, though I don't think he knows exactly why. He was…" Tony winced. "Not happy. He said he was coming here-"
"What? When?" Pepper exclaimed.
Tony shook his head. "I went with the plan. I told him we'd meet him at the Department of State buildings in D.C."
"And he agreed?" Natasha asked with a raised brow.
"Not really. But I told him if he showed up at the Facility none of us would be here." Tony rubbed his arm. "We should still probably enact the Zeta protocol all the same."
"A sensible idea," T'Challa's voice emanated from the speakers.
Maggie rubbed her forehead. Zeta was what they'd worked out to make sure their various fugitives (Steve, Bucky, Natasha) remained hidden in the event of Ross and his men taking over the Facility.
"Okay," Natasha said. "This is fine. The timeline's a little faster than we expected, but you guys are ready. Right?"
Maggie pulled her hand away from her forehead and looked to Pepper, then Tony. She sighed. "Ready as we're ever going to be."
"And if you end up in prison, we've got the Epsilon protocol."
Epsilon: prison break.
"We will be ready," T'Challa added.
Maggie let out a long breath. "Okay. Okay. Let's go get ready."
Maggie, Tony, Pepper, and Vision said a tense goodbye to the others in the common room. They'd been working together for a week, but nothing marked their difference more now than their outfits; Steve, Natasha, and Bucky wore dark, layered clothes, optimal for blending into a crowd or going unseen in the dark forest. They each wore a backpack. They were off to take shelter in a bunker deep in the forest outside the Facility until they received one of two codewords from the others. One would have them returning to the Facility, the other would send them back on the run. The other group were dressed as if they were headed to a conference or court; they all wore their best suits.
Natasha spoke low and fast, giving them last minute reminders and advice, while Steve stood frustrated and quiet, clutching his shield.
"I know you want to help," Maggie murmured to him, when Vision and Natasha were busy talking, and Pepper and Tony listening. "But you know why you can't. And we've got this."
"I don't like sending you guys in without me," Steve replied unhappily.
"You're our backup plan, Captain," Maggie reached out to squeeze his arm. "We'll see you soon."
Steve blew out a breath. "Yeah. Good luck."
She turned to Bucky, who stood silent and still at the back of the group. His brows bunched together when she met his eyes.
"I'm coming back," she promised, stepping past Steve so they could talk more privately.
"That's what I said to you, before I left," he murmured. "Look where that got us." But before she could protest, he sighed and shook his head. "Sorry. I know… I know we've done everything we could. I'm just worried it's not enough. That Ross guy is unpredictable."
"He is," Maggie murmured, glancing over her shoulder before she stepped even closer, tilting her head a little so she could look into his face. Behind her, Pepper and Natasha confirmed a few talking points. "And, predicting that, we've got a plan to take the power out of his unpredictability." She reached out to touch his arm. "I am coming back."
Bucky looked up, and his eyes flicked over her - from the heeled shoes she wore, up her sharp dark suit, the brace on her broken arm, to her face. "I know," he nodded, then swallowed. "You're my mission."
She smiled quickly and leaned in, wrapping her free arm around him and closing her eyes when his arm wrapped around her back, pulling her tight.
"You're my mission too," she murmured.
His face tilted into her hair, and she felt him take a deep breath.
Walking out of the Facility into the sunlight, Maggie and Pepper's heels clipped in unison. Vision and Tony flanked them, each of them in suits as well.
Maggie could feel Tony's eyes on her. At the car, he opened the door for Pepper, then looked across the car at her and raised his eyebrows wordlessly.
"Save it," she replied sternly, and he lifted both hands.
"Alright," he murmured. "D.C., here we come."
United States Department of State Headquarters
They'd caused something of a stir, entering the building. Maggie knew that there'd be images of her, Tony, Vision, and Pepper entering the D.C. offices, a team of lawyers on their flank, circulating the media within an hour. There'd been speculation and discussion about the Avengers since the news of Zemo's arrest, and this was the first confirmed sighting of any Avengers since Leipzig. And for the first images to be of them dressed for business, united… that had power. Natasha and Pepper had said so.
It wasn't just them and their team, however. Rhodey couldn't leave the Facility, but his face peered from Tony's StarkPhone. He had wanted to be a part of this.
They were shown to a seventh-floor conference room, where they took their seats around a table and prepared their notes. Maggie had Vision on her left, and Tony on her right. Pepper sat on Vision's other side, next to their most senior lawyer, Dr Saputra. Maggie smoothed down her suit and considered the pages in front of her, trying to remember everything they'd prepared for.
But she found herself stuck on something Pepper had said months ago, before the Accords had ever been thought of.
Ross isn't a politician. He's an army man.
The man himself arrived half an hour later.
Ross wasn't alone either - he walked in flanked by a pair of soldiers, and followed by a handful of uniformed or suited men - Maggie recognized them as members of the fledgling Accords Committee. She'd never met any of them, but she'd done her research; there were a few top generals and admirals from foreign armed forces, the UN Military Adviser, a few senators. There was a single woman among them; a senator.
She'd forgotten how Ross's dark, thunderous energy filled a room. "What the hell is this," he said in a deceptively soft voice, his eyes roving over the three Avengers and their host of suited lawyers. The phone with Rhodey's video call was propped up on the table by Tony's notes. His eyes fell on Tony. "Not man enough to face me on your own, Stark? You had to lawyer up?"
"Man enough," Tony repeated, leaning back in his chair. "That's funny."
"The law is precisely the reason for our visit," Vision commented diplomatically. "It made sense to consult experts. Please take a seat."
Ross's eyes darkened at the invitation, but he and the rest of the Accords Committee took the other seats at the table. The soldiers covered the entrance and the windows. Maggie's back itched at having one of them behind her.
There was an awkward pause, until Pepper began introducing their lawyers, and in response the Accords Committee introduced themselves. They had a strange energy; authoritative, and confident, but with clear deference toward Ross, who sat silent and staring, animosity rolling off of him.
"Zemo's in custody?" Tony said once the introductions were over.
"Yes, in Berlin," said Admiral Coster, of the UK.
"And the official story is…" Tony made a show of looking at his notes. "That 'Accords-affiliated elements' brought him in?" He made a face. "Seems like the media are finding that BS as hard to swallow as when I said I was going into underwear modelling in 2004."
"The truth will come out," Maggie said. "It always does."
Ross's head snapped toward her. "You're one to talk about truth, you conniving-"
"Mind your words, Secretary Ross," Vision cautioned calmly.
"You have no authority here," Ross growled to Vision, his eyes still on Maggie. She met his vehemence with calm. "Ms Stark will still face consequences for breaking the Accords-"
"But what is my legal status right now?" she questioned. "Am I an inmate? A parolee? You let me go, on a verbal order. What authority was that under? There's been no paperwork signed, no arraignment or trial." His mustache twitched, and a few of the others on the Committee exchange glances. She waved a hand. "If you'd like to discuss my criminal record, I'm very happy to come back with a defense lawyer. But that's not what's important right now."
"Cards on the table," Tony said, leaning forward, and as it always did the attention of the room fell on him. "We're here to make some changes."
Ross's brow arched.
Maggie leaned forward, mirroring her brother. "There are two narratives here for you, Thaddeus." His face twisted at the use of his first name, but she did not break eye contact, even as she addressed the room. "There is the narrative where you and your Committee are fools." His face was positively thunderous now. "Where you went after the wrong guy for the Vienna bombing, caused a disaster at Leipzig by responding with excessive force, and falsely imprisoned half of the Avengers just when the world needed them most. Then you refused to listen to hard evidence that you were wrong about Barnes, forcing a foreign head of state and a few fugitives to be the ones to arrest the real culprit for Vienna."
Ross's fury bubbled plainly, and the other Committee members leaned back, exchanging more glances and raising eyebrows. Clearly some of this was new to thoem.
"It's not a hard narrative to believe," Maggie murmured. "Some out there are already telling it - well, the parts of it they've figured out." She folded her hands. "Then there's the other narrative. In this one, you're the Secretary of State who worked with the Avengers to arrest a dangerous terrorist who was seeking to split up the Avengers and destabilize the world's best defense system. The Secretary of State who recognizes and adapts to his situation, in the best interest of humanity."
Ross leaned forward and hissed: "I don't know what you're getting at-"
"The Accords aren't going away," she continued, her heart racing. "But they are going to change. They have to change. You and I both know it." She did not, in fact, think that Ross knew this, but she knew that the we're all on the same team angle would work on a soldier.
Vision stood smoothly, and began sliding their new Accords drafts across the glossy conference table - one for each member of the Committee.
Ross scoffed as he saw the cover of the document being passed to the General of the Chinese Army. "What is this? You can't-"
"We have," Tony cut in, helping slide another copy to the far end of the table.
"And any politician - any soldier - worth his salt would consider all the options here," Maggie added.
Ross bristled. "I won't-"
"Respectfully, Secretary," Pepper interrupted, and the steel in her voice made more than a few of the Committee members look up. "You're a part of a Committee." Pepper looked over the others. "This isn't just up to you."
Tony's eyes glittered as he watched her.
Pepper's interruption had caused Ross to hesitate just long enough. Pepper turned to their lead legislator, a dark-haired woman with glasses, and nodded. "Saputra? If you'd care to explain?"
The lawyers began explaining the document they had put together. Maggie watched Ross and the Committee members reviewing the table of contents, their eyebrows rising, watched as their expressions variously shifted in displeasure, confusion, disapproval, and surprise as Dr Saputra and her team explained each section.
Maggie eyed the table of contents as they spoke, proud despite the challenge she could see brewing at the other end of the table. This told the reader exactly what amendments were intended, and directed them where to go if they wanted to read more of the fine print. The people who matter won't read the fine print, Natasha had said, rather cynically. Tell them what's in it on the very first page.
So they'd told them what was in it:
THE SOKOVIA ACCORDS
THE FIRST AMENDMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Amendments to Legislation on Enhanced Individuals
1a. An enhanced individual is to be subjected to no regulation, surveillance or discrimination on the basis of their enhancement (see Section 1a pg.2 for further information).
1b. The Accords Committee may keep a register of known enhanced operators based on existing intelligence, but no enhanced person may be compelled to provide their identities, DNA, or information about their powers. (see Section 1b pg.3 for further information).
1c. No enhanced individual is to be detained or imprisoned without the due legal process of their given jurisdiction. (see Section 1c pg.5 for further information).
1d. Enhanced individuals who use their enhancements to break the law of their given jurisdiction will be dealt with by the justice system of their given jurisdiction. (See section 1d pg.8 for further information, and section 2c r.e. Avengers intervention).
2. Amendments to Management and Organisation of the Avengers
2a. Active Avengers will need to meet a given set of competencies and training before active deployment. (see Section 2a pg. 12 for further information, competencies listed below)
i. Legal Process & Evidence Gathering
ii. Fitness Check
iii. De-escalation Tactics and Techniques
iv. Digital Skills
v. Weapons Competencies
vi. Communication
2b. Avengers Healthcare and Pensions (see Section 2b pg.20 for further information).
2c. Guidelines for Avengers intervention (see Section 2c pg.23 for further information).
i. Threat and risk assessment scale
ii. Existing country agreements and proposed amendments (also see Appendix A: Treatise on the precedent of international enhanced security groups, and the role of non-governmental organisations).
2d. Incorporation of the Damage Control organisation (see Section 2d pg. 28 for further information)
Role of the Accords Committee
3a. The Accords Committee is to be the regulatory body overseeing the Avengers organization. The Committee will be responsible for ensuring Avengers operatives are receiving relevant training and meeting competencies. (see Section 3a pg. 30)
3b. The Accords Committee may be summoned as a tribunal to deliberate any major Avengers activities deemed at fault. (see Section 3b pg. 32, and Appendix B: Treatise on military tribunal legislation, culpability of security operatives, and international law court precedent)
3c. Members of Accords Committee: (see Section 3c pg. 35, amendments listed below)
i. No serving politician or political representative to serve on the Committee (see Appendix C: Treatise on the role of politics in international security).
ii. Expanding the scope of current membership. Representatives should also be sourced from realms of International Security, Counterterrorism, Cybercrime, Humanitarian Affairs, Judiciary, Finance. (see Appendix D: Treatise on the fallacy of equating Avengers actions with militarism).
iii. Enhanced membership. One enhanced individual to be on Accords Committee at all times. In addition, one serving Avenger will be represented on the Committee at all times (see Appendix E: Voting process for Avengers Accords Representative).
iv. No one member of the Accords Committee is to have more power than any other
4. Role of the Accords
4a. Safeguards and checks on Accords legislation. (see Section 4a, pg 40)
4b. Mandatory monthly reviews of Accords (later to be extended to once a year) to review Accords function and effectiveness. (see Section 4b, pg. 42)
Maggie could already see from the Committee members' faces that section 1 about the enhanced regulation would be the most difficult part of their amendments to swallow. The rest, she wasn't sure about. Ross's face had gone dark with fury, and many of the others seemed somewhere between anger and bewilderment.
Maggie would not let that cut into how proud she felt of this document. Things had come a long way since she'd scrawled in red pen over the original Accords.
The Accords like this would give the Avengers wider scope with a little more legitimacy, and more importantly, it wasn't being done to them. It was a work of collaboration. Much of the regulation about training and competencies were things the Avengers had been doing informally for years - it was nice to have it formalized.
They'd built in plenty of safeguards for if a certain rule was deemed too restrictive, or not restrictive enough, and made it compulsory for the whole thing to be reviewed.
There has never been legislation like this, Pepper had explained early on. Whatever we come up with now will not be the finished version. Maggie had come to think of it as a sculpture they were slowly chipping away out of a rough piece of marble.
The introduction of more members to the Accords Committee had actually been Darcy Lewis's idea. Maggie had called her early on, more out of frustration than any idea she could help, and vented about her concerns about the Accords Committee. It was too militaristic, too insular, too focused on force and control. They'd created the Accords Committee on the assumption that the Avengers were a group of soldiers, when that was anything but the truth. And Darcy, a former political science undergraduate, had said 'you should look at the UN Security Council! They have a formalized Roster of Experts who helps them inform their decisions!'
Surely the UN could not disagree with building a similar group for the Avengers.
The Accords Committee argued and interrupted their way through the lawyers' explanation of the Amendments, with varying degrees of politeness, and Saputra and her team answered each question with the patience and preparedness of well-paid and educated lawyers.
As their explanation began to wrap up, Maggie leaned forward, her hand planted on her copy of the Amendments. "In here you'll find no ugly human rights abuses that people can use as a stone to throw at the UN and the Accords." She raised her eyebrows at the single UN representative on the Committee. "These Amendments would essentially turn the Avengers into a non-governmental international security organisation. We'd hardly be the first; legislation similar to this already exists for forces like the UN Peacekeepers, the Mercy Corps, NATO, Europol, things like that. A lot of the legislation and regulations in here," she touched the draft again, "rely on pre-existing laws for those organisations. There's not a lot in here that's new language."
"The public would be reassured that the Avengers are held to the highest standards of training and competencies," Vision continued smoothly. Maggie couldn't work out if the Committee were awed or uncomfortable with him. Vision spread a hand. "And there is also allowance for human error; a review and tribunal process for any faulty tactical decisions; the formalized role of Damage Control to take care of incidents after the fact; as well as healthcare, pension, and holiday to ensure the complete fitness and readiness of all Avengers staff. The public will be able to trust and rely on these measures, eliminating the uncomfortable unpredictability of former arrangements."
"Mr Stark?" prompted one of the other generals on the Committee, a stern-faced man. "Just a week and a half ago you were one of the Accords' biggest supporters. What changed?"
A silence fell as every eye turned to Tony. He still leaned back in his chair, one arm propped on the armrest. "Everything changed," he murmured, and ran a hand over his beard. "Say what you will about me, I like to think I'm an optimist."
Two seats down, Maggie sensed Pepper turn to face Tony fully.
Tony's mouth quirked. "I'll jump off a cliff and then check my engines are working. I tend to be right about things, see." Pepper smiled wryly. "So when the idea of the Accords came up… I signed on. Because I knew that we needed them. I'm not known for always following the rules. But when it came to us, the Avengers… there were no rules. No one had ever needed to write any. And that became dangerous. So… I jumped." He shook his head. "But what we have now, the Accords in existence… they're not what we needed. I've seen them tear things apart, seen them hamstring heroes and let criminals escape. I was too desperate for some kind of regulation to realize what the Accords actually were - unlike some." He shot a glance at Maggie, then slid forward the Accords amendments.
"This is what I wanted, when I first said I'd support the Accords. This is what we need. Not just for people to trust us again, or to soothe ruffled feathers. It will make us better. Together." He leaned back. "I'm an optimist, and when the situation calls for it, a realist. Realistically… this is the only option."
Ross let out an unimpressed huff.
"If I could add something?" came Rhodey's voice from Tony's propped up phone.
"Colonel," said the US Senator, the woman. She straightened. "We heard you were injured-"
"I am, but this is important. There do need to be laws, and we will happily negotiate in that." He shifted, and they could hear the crinkling of hospital sheets. "But, speaking as a US Army Colonel, the Avengers can't be subject to any one government, or one person," he said significantly. "Already there's been talk of corruption, and governments planning to use the Accords to manipulate the Avengers, and we're not even two weeks into it. The ethics we're working with are… unclear, I'll give you that - but that's something we work with, not against. NGOs and international peacekeeping forces have been an ethical talking point for decades. Let us talk about it."
Maggie watched as the UN representative flipped through the Amendments.
"It isn't about choosing security over freedom, or freedom over security," Vision added. "Life on this planet has always been about negotiating a compromise between the two." He levelled his gaze at the Committee.
Maggie could feel their words planting something in the room - a foundation, maybe. Not seeds of doubt, but the seeds of a new idea.
Pepper went on: "There's movement for this - or something like this - already. When the news about Zemo properly breaks, there'll be even more of a push for it."
"A wave of public sympathy for the Avengers, especially the ones being held without trial in an underwater prison," Maggie added, forcing her voice not to shake. Nine days, her friends had been locked up in those metal boxes. She'd not even been in there nine hours. She gathered together her anger and her determination, and straightened in her chair.
She looked Ross dead in the eye. He'd been angry and determined to veer away from their carefully prepared arguments the whole meeting, but with a host of lawyers and the rest of the Committee, he'd found it difficult to get momentum. He'd thought to come in here and bully them, with the rest of the Committee to back him up. He hadn't been prepared for this. Now he sat, stewing and furious, surely ready to put together some plan to arrest them all and throw away the key once they left the room. It was up to the strength of their arguments today, and the actions of the other Committee members, to see that that didn't happen.
Maggie held Ross's gaze. "You're new, Secretary. You'll want to get ahead of this. We are giving you your best narrative - be the Secretary of State that gets the Accords to work, or be the Secretary of State that becomes known for human rights abuses, destroying the planet's best defense system, and being made a fool of." She leaned in and stage-whispered: "Because you know the President won't be the one taking the fall for this shit show."
She swallowed and leaned back. She steadied herself with Vision on her left, and Tony on her right. "Secretaries of States come and go, Ross. The Avengers are here to stay. And we want to build something that lasts." She eyed him for a long moment. "Be the Secretary of State who is also an Avenger."
A long, awful silence passed. Maggie could see in Ross's eye that he wanted nothing more than to eliminate the problem sitting across the table from him. To yell and demand they all get out of his sight. But he was clever enough not to, in this moment. A room full of lawyers and international leaders was different from a room full of soldiers and agents. She could only guess how her words might stick in his mind after today.
Finally, Tony stood up. "We'll leave these with you," he said to the Committee, nodding to their Accords amendment drafts. "Thanks for having us."
State Department employees stared as they walked back through the building, lawyers and all. As they exited the front doors and made the short walk to the five dark sedans waiting to pick them up, they found their way impeded by a handful of well-connected and fast-moving D.C. journalists.
Maggie tucked her arm around Tony's, and Pepper and Vision stepped close on either side of them. They moved forward together.
"Mr Stark," called one of the journalists, holding out a voice recorder, "is it true you had to break the Accords in order to find and capture the Vienna bomber? What does this mean for the effectiveness of the Accords?"
"Ms Stark, can you comment on your alleged detainment under new Accords law?"
"Where are the rest of the Avengers, and why hasn't any formal announcement been made regarding their status?"
Happy hurried up from the cars to help get them through the growing media throng, and as he waved them onward, Maggie shared a glance with Tony.
Rhodey's voice emanated from Tony's suit jacket pocket: "Well, that seems like it went well."
Bucky waited with the others in the common room. They'd got the codeword an hour ago telling them all was well, but no other information. Bucky had desperately wanted to rush to the medbay to ask Rhodey what he'd heard, but the plan was to wait here, to avoid being seen if any unknowns entered the Facility.
He couldn't stand it. Neither he or Steve had been able to sit down.
The common room doors slid open, and Bucky looked up anxiously.
All four of them walked back in; Meg, Tony, Pepper, and Vision. They looked more tired than they had this morning, but nothing was obviously the matter with them. Bucky felt the tightness around his chest ease, just at the sight of them. His gaze fell on Meg; she looked beautiful in her suit, and her eyes unerringly found his as soon as she entered.
"Well you're not in jail," Natasha commented, her legs crossed as she sat on the couch. "So that's something."
"You were right," Tony muttered. "He's aware enough of the murkiness of the Accords that he didn't risk it. Threatened Mags a bit, but gave up on it quick."
Bucky's jaw tightened, and Meg's eyes softened, as if to reassure him.
He knew she was tough, that she could take whatever that Ross guy threw at her. She looked invincible, standing beside her brother with that same air of determination she'd worn ever since Siberia. Something had changed for her, then, when she'd said I'm not giving up yet, stopping them all in their tracks as they'd been getting ready to run. He'd known for a long time that the Wyvern, when given a mission, did not give up.
This last week with her had been better than anything he could have imagined, even despite the chaos around them.
Meg was mouthing at him: Told you I'd come back.
His mouth twitched.
"How did it go?" Steve asked impatiently. His shield rested on the couch beside Nat.
Meg broke eye contact with Bucky and turned to her brother to trade a glance.
"They... listened," Tony finally said. "Angrily. It's in their hands now. I guess we wait and see."
"Oh no," Natasha said with a tone in her voice that would worry Bucky, if he didn't know they were on the same side. "We're not done yet."
I just rewrote a fictional piece of legislation, I have reached the depths of my insanity.
Reviews
Strawberrycheese: So glad you liked it!
Shorttrooper: It did finally happen! So glad you liked it, hope it was worth the wait :) And yeah ff net has been super glitchy lately so no worries on the missed review! And I can't wait to show you how things go from here ;)
MsMoe9: Thank you, so glad it was worth the wait!