Chapter 4
One week later sat everybody from the first meeting again at the table and their faces were grim.
Clint hadn't seen anyone of the others in this week, other than Laura of course, but he had not asked her what she thought. He didn't want to influence anyone, one part of him wanted to be wrong about this.
"Okay, what is your opinion about this? I'm mad, paranoid or simply too angry with Tony?" he asked.
"You forgot the 4. Option, Clint", said Fury resigned. "Daisy did go with a fine comb through your research and the download from the helicarrier and is convinced the belief that nothing was manipulated. After that she started her own research and found even more connections and coincidences which connects Tony Stark in an unsavoury way with Hydra. I did bring her proof with me so that all of you can see for yourselves. She is disappointed to put it mildly, Tony Stark was always a role model for her in programming and artificial intelligence. She gave me the instruction to tell you that your research was very exhaustive and objective, she is very impressed by the way."
"I too found no evidence of tampering", said Natasha quietly. "I didn't found more evidence but to be honest I researched other things." She glared at Fury. "We two will have a long and for you very unpleasant conversation."
Fury did look a little terrified and Clint smirked, nobody wanted it when the Black Widow was pissed off and angry with you.
"What did you do to make Clint and Natasha so mad with you?" asked Steve astonished.
"Oh, you will be mad at me too, Cap", promised Fury. "But first let us finish this."
"Okay, but I won't forget it", assured Steve. "I looked through the data. Of course I can't say if something was manipulated but if you two can't find anything then I won't either. What I can say is that the proof is conclusive and consistent and I don't know what to think anymore. Tony was a colleague and now to know that all of this was probable an act to deceive and manipulate us, hurts."
"He was never my friend and I hated him many years for the death of my parents but even I'm stunned about this", said Wanda honestly.
"I'm too", said Wilson. He had never been a big fan from Stark, found him too shallow and indifferent but this was unthinkable for him.
"I didn't know him but the evidence is undisputed for me", said Scott Lang.
"Howard would be so disappointed in his son", whispered Bucky sad.
"What are you thinking, Laura?" asked Clint, for him her judgement was the most important.
"I think that Stark was never our friend, he betrayed the Avengers in every possible way. And to think that somebody like him gets to play the hero and gets idolized for it makes me ill. And if I think about Pepper or Rhodey or one of the others who are now with him I grow concerned. What is if they find out about this before we can make it public? What will Stark do to them?"
Nobody had an answer for this.
"What did you or your people find out, your highness?" asked Fury the only person in the room who till now hadn't spoken.
"The same as you, the proof is sound and nothing was tampered. So I tried to find out more about the way the Sokovia Accords were altered from the version my father initially wanted. My father wanted oversight not control!
I found out that over the half of the people who wrote the Sokovia Accords are descendants of the second branch of Hydra, a circumstance which don't make me very happy."
"What?" asked Steve incredulous.
"Yes. So I tried to find out from who came the new excerpts of the Sokovia Accords and who deleted the excerpts from my father. Guess what I found out, one of them was Tony Stark."
"So he did more than knew about the Sokovia Accords, he wrote them too?" asked Clint curios, he had always wondered about this.
"Yes, absolute. For example the passage about the obligation to tell the names from the relatives and where they live came from him. I guess he was not happy that there was a perfect method to control you and he didn't know about it."
"That can I believe, it sounds like the asshole", said Clint angry.
"At this point I find it necessary to apologize to all of you. It was not only me who let my hate blind me as I was going after Mr. Barnes but my country is guilty of the same wrongdoing.
After South Africa we were so blended by hate and grief and fear, we wanted to control everybody who had powers so we didn't react as more and more excerpts were changed. We only saw that they gave us more power over you and reduced yours. Through our indifference we allowed Hydra to have a major victory. I will not allow that something that Hydra has created will remain.
I vow now and here that I will do everything in my power to topple the Sokovia Accords as they are now and to fight Tony Stark and Hydra with you."
"Thank you, King T'Challa", said Steve. "And like I said as Stark and Ross surprised us with them three days before the ratification of the Accords I have nothing against oversight but there have to be rules that protect us too and this time we want a say in something that we sign", said Steve.
"A reasonable demand for me. Call me by my name. If we fight together you don't need to call me king", said T'Challa smiling.
"The question is what we do now?" asked Clint.
"Simple, we make a plan to reveal this conspiracy and to out Tony Stark as that what he is, a villain.
It is time that he finally pays for his crimes, those he committed against us and especially those he committed against all the people out there who thinks that he is a hero and don't suspect that he is a member of Hydra and wants to subjugate them", said Steve implacable.
"Sounds like the man with a plan has finally made an appearance", joked Bucky.
"Bucky", whined Steve embarrassed.
"We will need more than that", said Natasha. "We are fugitives at the moment and you don't have the influence to help us anymore, boss."
"What is with Sharon and her contacts to the community of superheroes and vigilantes?" suggested Sam Wilson.
"I can ask Hank and Hope to help us", said Scott Lang.
"A good idea so we know what happens overseas with the impacts of the accords and we get information about Stark", replied Clint soberly. "And we will have support if we go against Stark, Ross and Hydra."
"Yes, but we will need more", said Wanda contemplative.
"We have the director from SHIELD on our side and all his resources too", said Fury smiling.
"But what is when he is Hydra too?" asked Wanda anxious.
Clint laughed and Fury and Natasha smiled.
"Believe me that is very unlikely", said Clint amused.
"We thought that about Tony too", said Steve quietly.
"Believe me, Steve, the new director of SHIELD is absolute trustworthy, I can guarantee for him."
Steve looked bewildered. "Okay, that is good enough for me."
"T'Challa and I talked a few days ago about that, what we both found out and we compared our information. We found it both essential that all who could help us should be invited so that we can plan for the next phase.
T'Challa agreed to it and spoke out a few invitations", answered Fury and looked to the door, so everybody followed his example.
The door opened and Phil Coulson entered, after him Sharon Carter, Deadpool, Daredevil, Hank and Hope Pym and more people they didn't know.