May 3rd, 2016 - Lagos
It worked. She got him to stay. And just as she was about to embrace Bucky, the simulation ended. Everytime. After the sixth test, AJ told Tony she couldn't do it any longer. That even though she believed in this project , her heart couldn't take it any longer. Seeing Bucky, nearly being able to touch him...it was too much. Because it wasn't real. All she wanted was to be held in his arms for real.
Tony was presenting the program at MIT, while AJ joined Steve, Natasha, Wanda, and Sam in Lagos on a mission after getting a tip that an ex-hydra agent may be in the vicinity. AJ had hoped it was Bucky, but after receiving more info, Sam had revealed that the ex-hydra agent was none other than Brock Rumlow. It was AJ's choice to go on the mission with the team. Tony had wanted her to stay, to help him present. But too much had happened in the last few months. AJ had become an outsider to the people, and she didn't want to give him negative publicity.
Inhumans were a known species. They had been hunted, killed, captured by the ATCU after being forced into terrigenesis from taking something called Nature Max Supplements Fish Oil Pills. According to Andrew, his fellow teammate, the daughter of Jiaying, had flipped a quinjet into the ocean that was carrying the terrigenesis crystals. The crystals had spread through the ocean and contaminated a shoal of fish which were caught and used to make fish oil pills.
During the hunt of Inhumans, AJ had been kept in the Avengers Compound, safe from being taken by the ATCU because of her status as an Avenger, but still on alert for the creature who was tracking down Inhumans and killing them. It had been an exhausting few months but now everything was settled and more importantly, Andrew was safe. He didn't talk much about his team other than Daisy Johnson, who he spent most of their conversations speaking about. He was smitten, that was clear. AJ was just glad he was no longer in danger.
"Alright, what do you see?" Steve asked over the comm, causing AJ to break away from her thoughts. Her eyes briefly met Wanda's, who was two tables away from her, stirring her cup of coffee and discreetly scanning the area.
"Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target." Wanda replied.
It was a mission, but it was also a good learning experience for Wanda. AJ remembered Clint and Natasha doing the same for her when she first started out at SHIELD. Now Steve was guiding Wanda, like the good Captain he was.
"There's an ATM on the south corner, which means?" Steve asked.
"Cameras." Wanda answered.
AJ lifted her napkin to her mouth, pretending to wipe at it. "Both cross streets are one-way." She added.
Wanda was quick to reply. "So compromised escape routes."
"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen." Steve corrected Wanda. "He isn't afraid of making a mess on the way out." He added. "You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?"
"Yeah, the red one?" Wanda replied. "It's cute."
AJ tried her best not to smile at the comment.
"It's also bulletproof," Natasha chimed in. "Which means private security. Which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody." She pretended to sip her coffee. "Probably us."
AJ looked over at Wanda and watched as she mimicked the way Natasha pretended to sip her coffee. "You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?" Wanda reminded them.
"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature." Natasha told Wanda. It was the same thing she told AJ all those years ago.
"Anyone ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" Sam's voice came through clear over their comms.
"Not to my face." Natasha played along. "Why? Did you hear something?"
"Eyes on target, folks." Steve stopped their playful banter. "This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months, I don't want to lose him."
Sam chuckled. "If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kinda hates us."
The sound of a truck honking its horn followed by people arguing causing AJ to look over her shoulder briefly, scanning the area. It looked like a dump truck.
"Anyone else have eyes on the garbage truck?" AJ asked.
"Yes. Sam, tag it." Steve ordered.
After a few moments of silence, Sam got back on comms. "That truck's loaded for max weight." He told them. "And the drivers armed."
"It's a battering ram." Natasha said.
"Go now." Steve told them.
"Why?" Wanda asked, confused.
AJ walked over to Wanda's table, motioning for her to get up. "He's not hitting the police." She said. "Come on." They said, going in one direction as Natasha went another.
They followed after the truck on foot, moving in a sprint after hearing the sound of the truck crash, followed by gunshots.
"Body armor." Steve said. "AR15's. I make seven hostiles."
"I make five." Sam reported.
Wanda and AJ stood outside the Institute for Infectious Diseases, "You go high, I go low." She told the young woman, watching as Wanda nodded and used her powers to lift her in the air. AJ walked forward, hands in the air and heading over to where the trucks had plowed through, creating a wall of ice to keep people from getting in or out.
Once the wall was big enough, AJ met back with Sam and Wanda. "Rumlows on the third floor." Sam told them after scanning the building.
Steve walked up to them, walking over to where Wanda stood next to AJ. "Wanda, just like we practiced."
"What about the gas?" She asked.
"Get it out." Steve told her. AJ watched as Wanda used her powers to lift Steve in the air and into the building, the sound of him crashing through the window causing AJ to wince.
She looked at Wanda, who shrugged her shoulder innocently. "Next time try to aim for a window that has already been broken."
Wanda's face scrunched up as she focused on getting the gas out of the building, Sam and AJ keeping her from getting hit by firing at some of the remaining men. Wanda lifted the gas in the air just as Sam sent a small missile to the remaining men shooting at them, covering AJ with his falcon wings to protect her from the blast.
"Rumlow has a biological weapon." Steve told them over the comm.
"I'm on it." AJ heard Natasha say over the sound of a motorcycle.
AJ looked up at the building, spotting Rumlow's team escaping by using wires to zipline down on the ground. She growled in frustration, her barricade of ice not able to stop them. She lifted her hands, cold air leaving them causing some of Rumlow's team to fall from the wire.But Rumlow still got away.
"Sam, lift me." AJ told him, wanting an aerial view. He did as he was told, gripping onto AJ tightly as they left the ground. She looked around, trying to spot Rumlow.
"Sam, he's in an AFV heading North." Steve told Sam.
"Wanna be dropped off or do you want to stay around for the ride?" Sam asked her.
"Take me along for the ride." AJ told him, and they flew in the direction of the AFV. It was parked under one of the market booths, crashed into the busiest part of the city. They landed on top of the AFV.
"I've got four, they're splitting up." Sam said after scanning the area.
"I got the two on the left." Natasha said, joining them.
"And I'm going for Rumlow." AJ said, her voice low. She spotted Steve, running in her direction, knowing that he was after Rumlow as well.
"They ditched their gear." Steve said over the comm as AJ ran up to him, seeing him bent over to look at the tactical gear left behind. He stood up, scanning the area. "It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload."
"Steve!" AJ yelled as a bomb was thrown onto his shield. Steve's eyes widened, quickly throwing his shield in the air. She looked up, watching as the bomb exploded without damaging Steve's shield. She made a move to go after it only to be knocked over roughly by someone from behind.
AJ groaned, nails digging into the dirt as she watched Steve being kicked away from her. She tried to stand up, only to be retrained on the ground by a pair of cuffs. The same cuffs they used to arrest Steve in D.C. They were unescapable to any other person, but AJ closed her eyes, finger touching the cuff and turning it to ice, making it cold enough to shatter when she threw her arms up.
"There you are, you son of a bitch!" She recognized the voice. Rumlow. "I've been waiting for this!" He punched Steve, the force of it causing Steve to fly backwards.
"Payload secure. Thanks, Sam." AJ heard Natasha say as she got up off the ground.
"Don't thank me." Sam replied.
"I'm not thanking that thing."
"His name is Redwing."
"I'm still not thanking it."
"He's cute. Go ahead and pet him."
"Eyes on Rumlow." AJ interrupted their back and forth as she ran in his direction, where he was currently engaged in combat with Steve.
He had him back into a wall and as AJ got closer, she watched as a dagger attached to Rumlow's armored hand nearly hit Steve in the head. AJ ran up to Rumlow, grabbing the hand and yanking it out of the wall, freezing it completely. He grunted, kicking at her legs only to have AJ jump, narrowly avoiding being tripped. She climbed onto his back, placing her hands on either side of her helmet while pushing him into the ground.
"Where's Bucky?" She shouted, causing Rumlow to laugh. Her anger took over her and his helmet turned to ice, shattering while slicing his face. He threw his head back, hitting AJ and causing her to stumble off of him. But Steve grabbed Rumlow before he could get away again.
AJ groaned, wiping the blood from her nose, and walked over to stand next to Steve, looking at Rumlow. His face was half melted, burn scars all over his features. "I think I look pretty good all things considered." He smirked.
"Who's your buyer?" Steve asked Rumlow, grabbing him by his shirt.
Rumlow looked at AJ and then to Steve, smiling. "You know, he knew you." He told Steve. "Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky ." He sneered.
Steve gripped onto his shirt harder, yanking him forward. "What did you say?"
"He remembered you." He chuckled, looking over at AJ. "Both of you. I was there." He told them. "Got all weepy about it." He looked back at Steve. "Till they put his brain back in a blender." AJ moved forward, ready to strike Rumlow only for Steve to stop her. "He wanted you to know something," Rumlow told them. "He said to me... Please tell Rogers -- when you got to go. You got to go." No. He was lying. AJ could see it in his eyes. He looked at her and smirked. "And you're coming with me." Rumlow grabbed onto AJ as his finger pressed down on a detonator.
AJ felt the fire from the explosion burn her hand, her powers fighting to work against it only to be thrown back. Wanda was with them now. She had been the one to get AJ away from the explosion surrounding Rumlow and was currently containing it as well as she could. She screamed as she lifted it in the air, higher and higher to get away from the crowd of people until she finally lost control and Rumlow and the bomb were thrown into a building, completely destroying the building and killing or injuring all who were inside it.
"Sam," Steve's voice caused AJ to look away from the building. "We need fire and rescue on the south side of the building." He said before leaving.
AJ held onto her hand, badly burnt from the explosion. She walked over to Wanda, who had collapsed onto her knees, eyes full of tears.
"He had you." Wanda said in a shaky voice. "I had to protect you."
AJ moved to her knees, moving her uninjured hand to the side of Wanda's face as she began to hyperventilate. "Breathe." AJ instructed Wanda, who took in deep shallow breaths after some coaching. "We'll take care of this, okay?" She told Wanda. "But you need to get up and you need to help people to safety."
" I did this!" Wanda argued with AJ. She looked at her with big tear filled eyes. "I didn't mean to." She cried. "I was just trying to save you."
"You did." AJ assured her. "I'm alive and so is Steve, thanks to you. But you need to get up and help us find survivors." Wanda shook her head, breathing hard. "Wanda, you are an Avenger now. We defeated the bad guys, now we need to go help the innocent. Get up."
Wanda closed her eyes, but after a moment, she got up and went with AJ to help Steve, Sam, and Natasha find survivors.
When the building was cleared, AJ used her cold air to put out the fire, trying to focus on the building instead of the screams around her.
This was a devastating loss. AJ didn't know if Wanda was going to be able to bounce back from it.
_
June 19th, 2016 - Avengers Compound -- Upper State New York
Steve sat in his private quarters, watching a news anchor broadcast the footage of their failures in Lagos. His whole body was wracked with guilt. He shouldn't have been so distracted but when Rumlow had said Bucky's name -- God, it was like all his common sense had turned off. He shouldn't have gotten so close to listen. And because he had, he'd put his and AJ's life in danger. He sighed, listening to the woman continue on.
"11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria last week. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred last month."
The picture on the TV changed to a man that Steve recognized as the King of Wakanda, T'Chaka. He stood in front of a press conference and spoke about the loss.
"Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals. But by the indifference of those pledged to stop them." Steve swallowed hard at T'Chakas words. "Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all."
Steve grabbed the remote, turning off the news. He closed his eyes, sighing loudly, only to open them again when he heard the same broadcast he had just turned off being echoed down the hall. He got up from where he sat, following the noise. Steve stopped outside of Wanda's bedroom, frowning when he saw her watching the news as well with a guilty look on her face. No matter what any of the team said to her; she still wasn't able to let that guilt go.
"What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria ? " Steve shook his head at the man's words and grabbed a remote off of the desk, switching off the TV to keep Wanda from seeing any more.
She didn't look away from the screen to see who had turned off the TV. She just sat on her bed with her eyes glued to the blank screen. "It's my fault." She told him.
"That's not true." Steve said as he leaned against the door.
"Turn the TV back on." Wanda looked over at Steve. "They're being very specific."
Steve pushed himself off the doorframe and walked into Wanda's room. "I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it." He admitted. It was something he had said privately to AJ and Natasha, but not yet to Wanda. "Rumlow said Bucky and," He sighed, shaking his head. "All the sudden I was a sixteen year old kid again in Brooklyn." Steve sat down next to Wanda on her bed/ "And people died." He said in a whisper. "It's on me."
Wanda looked at him for a moment. "It's on both of us." She replied quietly.
Steve inhaled deeply. "This job," He breathed out. "We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody." He tried to tell her. "But if we can't find a way to live with that...the next time," He shook his head. "Maybe nobody gets saved."
Wanda nodded her head slowly, only for both of them to jump when Vision walked through the wall, startling them both. "Vis," Wanda hissed. "We talked about this."
"Yes," Vision agreed. "But the door was open so I assumed," He trailed off and then looked to Steve. "Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving."
Steve nodded his head. "Does AJ know Stark is here?"
"I have informed her." Vision replied.
"Thank you." Steve told Vision. "We'll be right down." He said.
Vision stood by the wall awkwardly before he looked to Wanda. "I'll use the door." He told her, walking across the space to leave the room. But before he walked through the door, Vision stopped and looked back at Steve and Wanda. "Oh, and apparently he's brought a guest."
"Do you know who it is?" Steve asked.
Vision nodded. "Secretary of State." He told Steve before leaving.
Steve closed his eye briefly, a headache already forming at the idea of speaking to someone from the government. He looked to Wanda, whom wore a worried expression. He got up from the bed, extending his hand to her. "You're not alone in this." He reminded her as she accepted his gesture and got off the bed.
Together, they went upstairs to see why Tony had brought in Secretary Ross into their home.
Steve looked around the room they all sat in now. He was joined by AJ, Sam, Natasha, Tony, Rhodey, and of course Wanda, who sat between AJ and Vision. Ross stood in front of them in the conference room, his guards in every corner of the room. Steve realized that the man didn't feel safe with the Avengers -- were they the enemy now?
Ross sighed, "Five years ago I had a heart attack." He told them and then mimicked what looked like him swinging a golf club. "Dropped, right in the middle of my backswing." He informed them. "Turned out it was the round of my life because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something that forty years in the army had never taught me." He looked at them all. "Perspective."
Steve looked briefly over to AJ, who looked back at him in response. What was he about to try and sell them? The two of them had worked in the military in the 40's, they knew a pitch when they saw it.
"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt." Ross told them all. "You have fought for us, protected us -- risked your lives." He looked at Steve. "But while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some ," He stressed the word . "Who prefer the word vigilantes. "
"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha spoke up, looking at the man.
"How about dangerous?" He looked at Natasha before his eyes scanned the room. "What would you call a group of US-based enhanced ," He stressed. "Or not even human at all," He looked to AJ and Vision. "-individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose." Ross looked back to Natasha. "And who frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind."
Secretary Ross walked away from the table and over to the wall, a map appearing on the glass. It zoomed in on an area before showing a video taken in New York during the Chitauri attack.
"New York." Ross said, looking at the screen as it showed Hulk jumping from building to building, smashing through them and causing parts of the building to fall on the people who were recording. "Washington, D.C." Ross said next, a video showing people running as the Triskelion fell. Of the damage done as the three Helicarriers fell from the sky.
Steve looked over to AJ, her hands balled into fists in her lap as she licked at her lower lip, head tilted to the side as she refused to watch the footage. Bucky. It was hard for Steve to watch, too.
"Sokovia." Ross said as the footage of D.C switched to a map again, focusing on the destroyed city and bringing up footage from Ultron's attack. "Lagos." Ross added, the footage switching to the latest disaster the team had to face. Or, had caused. Footage of people screaming and crying as they were taken from the destroyed building and then a picture of the body of a girl, face down on the ground with debris covering her body. Wanda inhaled deeply, looking away from the footage and Steve watched as tears filled her eyes.
"Okay." Steve spoke up, looking to Ross. "That's enough." He said, wanting to spare Wanda from having to watch anymore of it.
"For the past four years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision." Ross said, moving his hands to rest behind his back. "That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate." Ross looked over to one of his security guards. "I think we have a solution." He said, taking a large book of paper from him. He placed it on the table, directly in front of Wanda so she could take it. "The Sokovia Accords." He called it as Wanda passed the book over to AJ, who read through it briefly before passing it across the table to Rhodey. Steve recognized the look she gave him. One of disbelief. One that asked; can they really do this to us?"Approved by 117 countries that states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization." He told them all. "Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of the United Nations panel. Only when and if that panel deems it necessary."
Steve watched as Natasha now looked at the book. "The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place." He said as he looked to Ross. "I feel we've done that."
"Tell me, Captain." Ross stood behind Steve. "Do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" He asked. "If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes; you can bet there'd be consequences."
Natasha looked at Steve, shaking her head. Steve simply kept his gaze on Ross, Watching as he walked forward and back over to the glass window.
"Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works." He said, pulling out his cell phone. "Believe me, this ," He pointed to the accords. "Is the middle ground."
Rhodey placed his hand on the book. "So," He sighed out. "There are contingencies."
"Three days from now the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords." Ross said, causing Steve to look over his shoulder at Tony, who refused to meet his eyes. "Talk it over." Ross instructed them as he headed for the door.
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha asked Ross, causing the man to stop walking and look over at Natasha.
"Then you retire." He told her.
Ross left the room, leaving them to discuss what had just happened.
_
AJ sat still in the common room where the Avengers usually spent their time relaxing. But she was not at all relaxing. AJ felt sick to their stomach. She remembered thinking this was some sort of sales pitch from the government. And in a way, it was. Only, the pitch was not a pitch. It was a Sophie's Choice. Or, really, the government telling them to comply or retire. That's the word Ross had used. The Accords meant that if another world ending disaster happened, the Avengers couldn't hop into action to save the day. It meant waiting for orders to be given, waiting for approval. But when a disaster struck, there was no time to decide whether or not to engage, to save the day. They did it because they wanted the world to be a better place, just like Steve had said. They did what others couldn't do to save the world. Waiting for a phone call to tell them it was okay? No, AJ thought. It wasn't right.
"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor." Rhodey argued with Sam. "Which is one more than you have."
Sam shook his head in amusement. "So let's say we agree to this thing." We aren't, AJ thought in her head as she listened to the argument. "How long is it going to be before they LoJack us like a couple of common criminals."
"117 countries wanna sign this." Rhodey reminded Sam. "117, Sam, and you're just like, no, that's cool. We got it." His voice rose in anger, causing Sam to shake his head.
"How long are you going to play both sides?" Sam asked Rhodey, making the man scoff. But before he could reply, Vision cut them off.
"I have an equation."
AJ watched as Sam crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Oh, this will clear it up." He said sarcastically.
"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially." Vision told them. "And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commissive rate."
"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve asked, holding the Accords in his hands.
"I'm saying there may be a causality." Vision corrected Steve. "Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict?" Vision paused. "Breeds catastrophe." He said slowly. "Oversight. Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."
"Boom." Rhodey said, looking at Sam.
AJ rolled her eyes at the exchange.
"Tony," Natasha said his name slowly, causing AJ's eyes to drift over to Tony who was slumped in a chair, hand covering his face in annoyance. "You're being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal."
"It's because he's already made up his mind." Steve said, looking over to where Tony sat.
"Boy, you know me so well." Tony mocked, lifting his hand from his face and sitting up in the chair. "Actually I'm nursing a electromagnetic headache." He told them as he stood, walking over to the kitchen area. "That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain." He grabbed a mug from the counter. He slammed something down in the sink in annoyance. "Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal?" He asked. When he turned around to look at the room, Tony held up an empty bottle of Whiskey. "Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"
No one answered and Tony took that time to set down his phone, projecting a picture on the wall. It was a boy. Dark skin, a big smile on his face, happiness radiating in the picture.
"Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way." Tony said, pointing to the picture. "He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall but first he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk." He explained. "See the world -- maybe be of service. Charlie didn't go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun." He said in one breath, sounding winded at the end of it. "He decided to spend his summer building sustainable house for the poor in, guess where?" He spat out. "Sokovia."
AJ closed her eyes, now understanding why Tony was so upset. The boy had clearly died, but how Tony even knew who he was, that was a mystery she hadn't learned yet.
"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We don't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass." He scoffed. AJ watched as Tony shook his head, bringing the mug of coffee to his lips and swallowing a large sum. "There's no decision making process here." Tony said, setting down the cup and walking over to where the rest of the group was all sitting. "We need to be put in check!" He told them. "Whatever form that takes, I'm game."
"Tony," AJ said his name in disbelief.
He ignored her. "If we can't accept limitation, we're boundary-less -- we're no better than the bad guys."
Steve shook his head. "Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up."
"Who says we're giving up?" Tony shot back.
"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions." Steve said calmly. "This document just shifts the blame."
"Sorry Steve," Rhodey said as he shook his head. "That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, It's not Hydra, it's-"
Steve cut him off. "No, but it's run by people with agendas and agendas change."
"That's good -- that's why I'm here." Tony walked over to Steve. "When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the words hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing them."
"Tony," Steve interrupted him. "You chose to do that. We sign this and we surrender our right to chose."
"Exactly." AJ spoke up.
Tony rolled his eyes. "And of course you'd side with Cap on this."
AJ glared in Tony's direction, Steve speaking up again before she could say something she might later regret. "What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go -- what if there is somewhere we need to go and they don't let us?"
"We may not be perfect, Tony." AJ said, eyes on the man. "But the safest hands are still our own."
Tony shook his head in annoyance. "If we don't do this now it's going to be done to us later, Adelyn." Tony told her. "That's the fact. That won't be pretty."
"You're saying they'll come for me?" Wanda, who had been silent the entire, spoke up.
"We would protect you." Vision told her.
"No one's getting to you, Wanda." AJ said, looking over at the young woman. "They'll have to go through us if they tried and that ," She looked at Tony. "Won't be pretty."
"Maybe Tony's right." Natasha said, causing AJ's head to whip in the red heads direction. "If we have one hand on the wheel...we can still steer,"
"-Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam reminded Natasha.
Natasha sighed. "I'm just reading the terrain." She tried to explain. "We have made some very public mistakes and we need to earn their trust back."
"Focus up," Tony said. "I'm sorry -- did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?" He asked.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Oh, I want to take it back now." She said playfully.
"No, no, no -- you can't retract it." Tony smiled.
It was the first time in a few months that AJ had seen Tony really smile. When he told her that he and Pepper were taking a break, it had broken her heart. Pepper was Tony's soul, the good in him. The one who made him see logic and reason. With her gone, a sadness had taken over Tony that even AJ couldn't break through no matter how hard she chipped away at it. Now , he was smiling.
"I have to go." Steve said suddenly, dropping the accords on the table. AJ watched as he got up and walked out of the room, not looking behind. She frowned, seeing that he was clearly upset. But not about the Accords. It was something else. The whole room looked after Steve as he left them, not understanding what had happened.
Natasha looked to AJ, motioning for her to follow after Steve.
She did. Leaving the room quickly in the direction that Steve had gone off to.
AJ found him in the stairwell, gripping onto his phone tightly as he looked down at the screen. She approached him slowly, watching as the hand holding the phone shook. "What happened?" AJ asked in a soft tone. But Steve didn't look up at her, he only stared at his phones screen. "Steve.." She whispered his name. "Talk to me."
He bit down on his lower lip hard before he held out the phone for AJ to grab.
AJ took the phone and looked down at the screen, seeing it was a text message that had upset Steve. And when she read it, she understood why. She's gone. In her sleep.
"Oh, God." She whispered, looking up from the screen to Steve, who was looking at her with tears spilling out of his eyes. "Come here." She whispered, stepping forward and opening up her arms for Steve to walk into. He did.
Peggy was dead.
Peggy Carter, the love of Steve's life. She had died.
AJ held onto Steve tightly as he hid his face in the crook of her neck, his tears damp against her skin. There was nothing she could say to make him feel better; all she could do was hold him for as long as he needed her to. AJ rubbed his back, letting Steve cry. "She's at peace now, Steve." She whispered when his grip on her torso finally loosened. "You know that, right?"
Steve pulled away from AJ, nodding his head as he used his hand to wipe under his nose while sniffling. He looked so small in that moment, like the boy she once knew. AJ's eyes filled with tears. Peggy had been her friend, someone whom had believed in her -- the reason she had become an SSR agent. Peggy was the whole reason AJ had even joined SHIELD. She was good, thoughtful, brilliant, and one of the best friends AJ could've ever had. And now she was gone. Steve moved forward again and pulled AJ into his arms, showing her comfort now.
"When's her funeral?" AJ asked as she sniffled, letting her snot and tears mess up Steves shirt as she rested her head against his chest.
"Three days." Steve told her. "Same day as the Accords signing."
AJ pulled away from Steve, looking up at him. "I hadn't planned on going to that anyway." She told him.
He nodded, pulling her back into his arms and letting his chin rest on the top of her head. "I'm with you, Steve." She said in a whisper. "We'll get through this." AJ held onto him tightly. "Together."
I'm with you till the end of the line, that's what Bucky would have told him. God, AJ really wished Bucky were with them right now.
