Magda and Wanda monitor the situation in Sokovia on the news channels accessible through the internet and through the network of sources available through SHIELD. Natasha taps some of her contacts for additional information. The situation does not look good. It is also very clear from the news on the ground that this is a war Sokovia itself cannot win so long as the other nations backing each side continue to treat it like their own.

Magda comes home from the refugee centre exhausted every day. She is so tired of moderating fights. Sokovian refugees previously helping one another are taking sides in a conflict that has been so heavily manipulated that the nation itself is unlikely to survive after. Wanda starts going with her to help.

Shelly cannot understand what is happening and often expresses this when they are away from the centre's clients, "My god, what the actual fuck is going on? We've dealt with people on opposite sides of war before, but this is just getting ridiculous! Why are they even fighting? I don't get this."

They are sitting in Magda's office waiting for her to return from the cafeteria where a fistfight had required police intervention, "Do you really want to know more of what this is about?"

"I've been following the news, but I don't get it. Two different government systems? That's all? Have a damn election and figure it out."

"It is far worse. I have been using SHIELD resources for news from the ground. Sokovia had managed to piece together a democratic socialism and was surviving the best it had in years. But the incident with Ultron destabilized what was left of the nation. With our single biggest city destroyed, many felt that they should use it as an opportunity for a revolution. Those unhappy sought out supporters to become a more communist nation. They looked for help from Russia. Tensions built as the elections approached. And those in power saw this threat and dismissed it until the communists hijacked the supply trains bringing food across the mountains and held it hostage with the demands that the country turn to communism so all could be shared equally lest they all starve equally. There was a story told that this was to bring attention to the plight of all those left homeless and hungry after Ultron, a symbol, they said, of the overbearing West, destroyed a nation that never did any harm to anyone. The government took what little military they had and sought out the communists. The resulting fight left many dead and the communists won. They declared war against the government, but they did distribute food as they had promised. People took sides as the communists began to demand control of the government. The people elected the democratic socialists, but not by a large margin. And then the communists started a riot. Quelling it was impossible and when the few soldiers remaining could do nothing but flee the bullets of their neighbours in the crowds, the other side took up arms to defend them and to defend the Sokovia they had built from the ashes of the last war. And now, you see, it is a war for the soul of a nation. The United States is supplying the democratic socialists, hoping to sway them after they win. And Russia is backing the communists. It is a terrible situation and we will watch our home burn again for this."

"Wait. My tax dollars are going towards a war making your country implode?"

"It appears so, yes."

"Fucking hell."

"There is no way my country can win this and regain itself. We will owe too much to whichever powerful nation wins. And we will once again be a puppet, the same as we were when we were under the thumb of the Soviet Union and Mr Stark's bombs were raining down on our heads."

"I hate war."

"As do I, dear Shelly," Magda says as she enters and closes the door behind her, "I have told the officers to stay close today. Tensions are high. And while the first fight is over, there will, no doubt, be others."

"How are we going to survive this? We've never had cops at the centre before. It's one thing we've been good at. We're able to handle our shit without needing them."

"I understand this. But we usually serve the people who have fled war, who do not wish to keep fighting it. And Sokovia has called for those willing to fight to return."

Wanda sighs, "And there are those who are considering it in our midst. People who are looking to return to defend whichever version of Sokovia they most believe in. They are bringing the war through our doors."

"That shit's got to stop."

"I understand, but how do we go about this?" Magda asks, "I have done what I think I can, but this is a powder keg waiting to explode and we are sitting on it."

The phone on her desk rings and she picks it up, "Yes? I will come, yes." She hangs up, "We have another situation that is escalating. I need all hands."

Wanda and Shelly follow her out, "So do we get a briefing before we get there, boss?"

"There is a standoff in the teen program. The boys are getting out of hand. Yelling. Shoving. And many things being said in Sokovian that Miriam does not understand."

"Gotcha."

"Do you think this is going to be difficult to defuse?" Wanda asks.

"Very. If we are not already too late."

They can hear the commotion from down the hallway as the approach the teen lounge. Shouting. Cursing. Magda speeds up. She has a feeling she is going to walk into a war zone, the fight for Sokovia erupting in her own centre. She flings open the door and cannot fathom what she sees. Desks and chairs have been shoved aside in heaps. There are fights breaking out across the room. Blood smears the floor from minor injuries- broken noses, fractured teeth.

Miriam runs over to her, "It happened so fast! There are so many Sokovian children in our program and they all had sides before they walked in the door. One fight became many so very quickly. And I do not understand what they say. I am from Ghana, this is not a language I speak."

"I understand. Wanda. Shelly. Come close. There are four of us and there are supposed to be twenty students here-"

"Others came when their friends texted."

"Yes, more. I do not want to call the police in to arrest these children."

Someone screams. Fights around the room slow and stop as the screaming continues and the teens crowd toward the source of the distress.

"Shelly. Lock the door. Let no one who is not a paramedic or police officer enter."

Magda shoves her way through the crowd, Wanda, and Miriam following. The kids move when she commands them to move in Sokovian. When she reaches the centre, there is a girl standing over one of the young men. She is sobbing and screaming. He has a broken bottle sticking from his stomach.

Magda drops to her knees, "Miriam, call for an ambulance."

Wanda joins her and checks for a pulse, "He is alive, but barely."

"Can you stabilize him?"

"No. Stomach wounds are difficult, and especially with such a ragged edge. I dare not even move him."

"Take the girl aside." Wanda does as asked. Magda strokes the boy's cheek and speaks to him in his native language, "Hold on, child. You are not going to die for this." She looks at the group around her, "Do you like what you see? Is this what you wish upon one another? Because this war, this bloody, brutal war...it is this. And it is so much worse. You fight as if you want this. As if denying what the majority in your country elected is worth death. You are so young. You have not seen what life was like when bombs rained on our nation. You never had to unearth your loved ones from rubble with your own hands. You never had to lift a building, brick by brick, from your family. You never had to crawl from under one yourself. And you have never buried so many of your kin in a single year. I have. I have dug their graves. You are children, for god's sake! And yet you wish to kill one another! We have all failed you if you believe this is what Sokovia needs."

The paramedics are allowed in the room, followed by a dozen police officers. Shelly stands guard. Magda rises as the paramedics take over.

"Every one of you. Sit. Along the edge of the room. And do not speak to one another. Do not speak to me unless I demand an answer from you. Do not try to excuse yourselves. You all ought to be ashamed of this. You have destroyed this place, this refuge. You have brought your war into a sanctuary. I will call your parents and you will cooperate with the police- this is not something I ask. This is a demand, an order. I will not have bloodshed in this place."

She goes to Miriam, Wanda following, "We will divide this task. Make a list of who is here. Call parents. They will check themselves in at the door. They will not leave until the police have taken statements. And we will sit here and make sure this happens as it should."

"What are we going to do to make sure we do not see it happen again tomorrow?" Wanda asks.

Magda sighs, "There is only one thing to do. We will close the centre until further notice."

There are tears in Miriam's eyes, "I hate to admit this, but I think you are wise to consider this our only option. We cannot have children killing each other."

Wanda retrieves clipboards from the cabinet, "We will announce this to their parents as they enter. But we will also allow them back when we reopen. If anything, they will need more of our support when they return. But now, we have work to do."

They make their lists, they call parents, and they translate when needed; Magda returns to her office after the paramedics and police have left and turns on the intercom, "Good afternoon. I have bad news to share. There has been a large fight in our teenage lounge that has resulted in the hospitalization of on of our youth. Another young person stabbed him in the stomach with a broken bottle. I do not know if he will survive and it is certain that he has extensive surgeries ahead of him if he does. I am incredibly saddened by this. And as the war in Sokovia has breached our walls, I deeply regret to tell you that we must close this centre until further notice. We cannot serve you while policing fights and calling the authorities because you cannot leave this at the door. So after we close this evening, you will not see us here for a while. A few days, perhaps, or a few weeks. I do not know. But I cannot have children trying to kill another on my watch. And if there are those of you who think their fight is justified, I am ashamed of you and I hope you rethink this as a boy struggles not to bleed to death in an ambulance with a broken bottle sticking from his stomach."

She clicks the intercom off and drops her head into her hands. A few hours later, she meets with the rest of the staff. No one argues with her decision. They are all sad, but they promise to come back to work. Magda assures them they will still be paid, even if it cannot be at their full rate. And then she asks for help cleaning up the teen lounge and they all walk with her to the room she is starting to call a crime scene. They stare at the mess, the blood, the chairs lined up haphazardly where the kids had dragged them while the police interviewed them, the desks still overturned. No one can think of what to say, so they instead go to the cupboard of cleaning supplies and get to work in silence.