This is part of my series of rewriting Avengers scripts/transcripts to include Peggy Carter's Captain Britain from What If ep 1.
If you like it, I've also done Avengers Assemble, Captain Britain and the Winter Soldier, and Age of Ultron.
[1991, a HYDRA base in a snowy landscape. A man enters a bunker and removes a red book marked with a black star.]
[A technician raises a cylindrical chamber, revealing Steve Rogers, aka the Winter Soldier.]
[Steve Rogers is secured in a chair, a mechanical device either side of his head causing him to scream in pain.]
Vasily Karpov: [speaking Russian] Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой вагон.[1] ([subtitled] Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak. Furnace. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight car.) Доброе утро, Солдат. ([subtitled] Good morning, Soldier.)
[Steve Hesitates]
Steve Rogers: Я готов отвечать. ([subtitled] Ready to comply.)
Vasily Karpov: У меня есть для тебя миссия. Санкционируй и Извлекай. Без свидетелей.([subtitled] I have a mission for you. Sanction and extract. No witnesses.)
[Night. A car is driving down a dirt road alone. The Winter Soldier is waiting at the side of the road with his motorcycle. As the car passes, the Winter Soldier follows. He comes alongside the car and disables it. It slams into a tree. The Winter Soldier brings the motorcycle back around and climbs off. He walks to the car trunk and rips it open, revealing a silver case containing several blue packets]
[Back at the HYDRA base]
Vasily Karpov: Отлично, Солдат. ([subtitled] Well done, Soldier.)
[Marvel Opening Credits]
[Lagos, present day]
[Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, adds sugar to a cup and stirs it. She looks around.]
Peggy Carter: [on radio] So, what do you see?
Wanda Maximoff: Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target.
Peggy Carter: ATM, south corner. Which presumably means-
Wanda Maximoff: Cameras.
Peggy Carter: Both cross streets are one way.
Wanda Maximoff: So, compromised escape routes.
Peggy Carter: That means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. See that Range Rover, halfway up the block?
Wanda Maximoff: Yeah, the red one? It's cute.
[Camera pans to show Natasha sitting two tables from Wanda]
Natasha Romanoff: [on radio] It's also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.
Wanda Maximoff: You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?
Natasha Romanoff: Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature.
Sam Wilson: Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?
Natasha Romanoff: Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?
Peggy Carter: Let's stay focussed. I don't want to lose Rumlow after six months of chasing.
Sam Wilson: If he sees us coming that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us.
[A garbage truck is pushing its way through traffic, with no regard to pedestrians or other vehicles]
Peggy Carter: Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it, will you?
[From the back of Sam's Falcon jet pack, a small drone, launches and flies down to scan the garbage truck.]
Sam Wilson: Give me X-ray.
[weight analysis: Cargo Weight: 13825 kgs. Max capacity.]
Sam Wilson: That truck's loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed.
Natasha Romanoff: It's a battering ram.
Peggy Carter: Now! Go!
Wanda Maximoff: What?
Peggy Carter: He's not hitting the police.
[INSTITUTE FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES]
[A man is sitting in the guard station. He looks over as the garbage truck is coming towards the gate. The driver jumps out, and the truck slams into the gateway. Two trucks rush into the compound through the newly-made entrance.]
[Soldiers in black armor emerge from the trucks, firing their rifles around the courtyard. Four soldiers fire gas canisters into the building. Soldiers wearing gas masks enter.]
[Peggy arrives and takes out several of the soldiers.]
Peggy Carter: Body armor, AR-15's. Seven hostiles.
[Sam flies in and up to a rooftop, spinning and using his wings to block gunfire. He takes out two soldiers.]
Sam Wilson: I make 5.
[Wanda arrives and flies over the rooftop and into the courtyard, blocking fire with her powers. She takes control of one soldier and lifts him upward.]
Wanda Maximoff: Sam.
[Sam glides down from the rooftop, catching the soldier on one of his wings.]
Sam Wilson: Four.
[Sam's drone flies by, scanning the inside of the building.]
Sam Wilson: Rumlow's on the third floor.
Peggy Carter: Wanda, just like we practiced.
Wanda Maximoff: What about the gas?
Peggy Carter: Get it out.
[Wanda uses her powers to lift Peggy up and through the window. She grabs a soldier and pulls off their gas mask]
[Rumlow is inside. He punches down the door. He knocks aside a technician and enters a room with a container labeled "bio-hazard."]
Brock Rumlow: Pack it up.
[In another area, Peggy is behind a pillar. She throws her shield, and it bounces off the soldier and back to Peggy. Meanwhile, Wanda is now using her powers to remove the gas from the building. Sam is exchanging fire with several soldiers.]
[Rumlow walks outside onto a balcony and sees that Peggy's team is here.]
Brock Rumlow: She's here.
[Inside the building, Peggy sees the vial missing.]
Peggy Carter: Rumlow has a biological weapon.
[Natasha is riding in on a motorcycle.]
Natasha Romanoff: (on radio) I'm on it.
[She jumps off the motorcycle and it skids toward a soldier. She takes out soldiers through hand-to-hand combat. Rumlow comes up behind her and grabs her collar, dragging her onto an armored vehicle. She electrocutes him.]
Brock Rumlow: I don't work like that no more.
[He throws her through the roof hatch into an armored vehicle, drops in a grenade, and shuts the hatch.]
Brock Rumlow: Fire in the hole.
Mercenary: No!
[Natasha takes out the soldiers inside, then grabs one to shield herself from the grenade. The doors blow open and she is thrown out.]
[Peggy runs out onto the balcony and spots Rumlow.]
Peggy Carter: Sam, Rumlow's in that AFV, heading north.
[Inside the AFV, Rumlow secures the biological weapon and hands it to a soldier.]
Brock Rumlow: Take this to the airstrip. We're not gonna outrun them. Lose the truck.
[The truck crashes into a nearby structure and Rumlow and the soldiers emerge.]
Mercenary #1: Where are you going to meet us?
Brock Rumlow: I'm not.
[Sam lands on the roof of a structure. He scans the area with his goggles.]
Sam Wilson: I got four, they're splitting up.
[Natasha rides through the crowd, back on her motorcycle. She abandons it again and runs across the hoods of cars, in pursuit.]
Natasha Romanoff: I got the two on the left.
[Peggy is also running across cars. She spots a vest in the middle of a crowd.]
Peggy Carter: They've ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload.
[Someone throws a bomb at Peggy. It sticks on her shield. Peggy throws it in the air and the bomb detonates safely away from citizens. Rumlow comes up behind Peggy and punches her in the back.]
Brock Rumlow: There you are, you son of a bitch. I've been waiting for this!
[Meanwhile, Sam is still chasing the other mercenaries. Sam flies up and takes out his two, then searches their bags for the payload.]
Sam Wilson: He doesn't have it. I'm empty.
[Natasha is chasing the soldiers through the crowd.]
Natasha Romanoff: Out of the way!
[She tackles one soldier and engages him in combat. When the other soldier arrives, she hurls a basket at him to distract him. She uses her skills to fight them and ends up face-to-face with one soldier. They point their guns at each other. A moment passes. Then, the other soldier produces the vial.]
Mercenary #1: Drop it. Or I'll drop this. Drop it!
Mercenary #2: He'll do it!
[Redwing descends and fires at the soldier with the vial. He drops, and in the moment of distraction, Natasha fires at the other soldier, then catches the falling vial.]
Natasha Romanoff: Payload secure. Thanks, Sam.
Sam Wilson: Don't thank me.
Natasha Romanoff: I'm… not thanking that thing.
Sam Wilson: His name is Redwing.
Natasha Romanoff: I'm still not thanking it.
Sam Wilson: He's cute. Go ahead, pet him.
[Peggy and Rumlow are still fighting, neither one seeming to have the upper hand.]
Brock Rumlow: Come on!
[Rumlow pins Peggy to a building and extends a blade from one of his gauntlets.]
Brock Rumlow: This is for dropping a building on my face.
[Peggy grabs Rumlow's arm and pulls the gauntlet off, only for Rumlow to reveal another knife. But Peggy bests him. Defeated, on his knees, Rumlow removes his mask, revealing a scarred face.]
Brock Rumlow: I think I look pretty good, all things considered.
Peggy Carter: Who's your buyer?
Brock Rumlow: You know, he knew you. You pal, your buddy, your Steve.
Peggy Carter: What did you say?
Brock Rumlow: He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, "Please tell Carter. When you gotta go, you gotta go." And you're coming with me.
[He activates his bomb vest and Peggy flinches as Rumlow's armor ignites, but Wanda keeps the blast contained around Rumlow who grimaces in agony. She lifts him into the air before she loses control, and the explosion finally blossoms, devastating entire floors of a nearby office building. Wanda sees what happened and is scarred by it.]
Peggy Carter: Oh my . . . [Peggy stares up.] Sam . . . We need . . . Fire and Rescue . . . on the south side of the building. We have to get up there.
[Soft piano is playing. Tony Stark's mother, Maria, sits at a piano. A young Tony is on the couch.]
Maria Stark: Try to remember the kind of September. When grass was green . . . [She stops singing as Howard Stark walks in, but continues playing.] Wake up, dear, and say goodbye to your father.
Howard Stark: Who's the homeless person on the couch?
[Tony, wearing a Santa hat, staggers to his feet and chuckles.]
Young Tony Stark: This is why I love coming home for Christmas . . . right before you leave town.
Maria Stark: Be nice, dear, he's been studying abroad.
Howard Stark: Really, which broad? What's her name?
Young Tony Stark: Candice.
[Howard pulls off Tony's hat.]
Howard Stark: Do me a favor? Try not to burn the house down before Monday.
Young Tony Stark: Okay, so it's Monday. That is good to know. I will plan my toga party accordingly. Where you going?
Maria Stark: Your father's flying us to the Bahamas for a little getaway.
Howard Stark: We might have to make a quick stop.
Young Tony Stark: At the Pentagon. Right? Don't worry, you're gonna love the holiday menu at the commissary.
[Maria stops playing the piano.]
Howard Stark: You know, they say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that's true, you'll be a great man some day. I'll get the bags.
[He walks out of the room, and Maria stands up.]
Maria Stark: He does miss you when you are not here. And frankly, you're going to miss us. Because this is the last time we're all going to be together. You know what's about to happen. Say something. If you don't, you'll regret it.
[Howard walks back in.]
Young Tony Stark: I love you, Dad. And I know you did the best you could.
[Maria leans in to kiss Tony on the cheek, and when she leans back, an older Tony Stark is standing in the background. Howard and Maria walk out, leaving the two Tonys.]
Tony Stark: That's how I wished it happened. Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or BARF. God, I gotta work on that acronym. An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus to . . . clear traumatic memories. Huh.
[He blows on a candle and everything around him shimmers, then starts to dissolve. It's a hologram.]
Tony Stark: It doesn't change the fact that they never made it to the airport . . . or all the things I did to avoid processing my grief, but . . . [He takes off his glasses.] Plus, 611 million dollars for my little therapeutic experiment? No one in the right mind would've ever funded it.
[He is standing on a stage in front of a large crowd. A sign reads MIT Alumni Honors: Tony Stark.]
Tony Stark: Help me out, what's the MIT mission statement? "To generate, disseminate . . . and preserve knowledge. And work with others . . . to bring it to bear on the world's great challenges." Well, you are the others. And, quiet as it's kept . . . the challenges facing you are the greatest mankind's ever known. Plus, most of you are broke.
[The crowd chuckles.]
Tony Stark: Oh, I'm sorry. Rather, you were. As of this moment . . . every student has been made an equal recipient of the Inaugural September Foundation Grant. As in . . . all of your projects have just been approved and funded.
[The crowd breaks out in applause and cheering.]
Tony Stark: No strings, no taxes… just re-frame the future! Starting now.
[The teleprompter above the audience reads. 'Now I would like to introduce the head of the foundation: Pepper Potts.' Tony stares at it sadly.]
Tony Stark: Go break some eggs.
[He exits the stage.]
MIT teacher: Wow. Wow. That uh . . . that took my breathe away. Oh, Tony! So generous. So much money! Wow! Out of curiosity . . . will any portion of that grant be made available to faculty? I know, "Ooh, gross," but hear me out. I have got this killer idea for a self-cooking hot dog. Basically, chemical detonator embedded . . .
[Tony is not listening.]
Tony Stark: Restroom's this way, yeah?
MIT teacher: Yeah. Embedded in the meat shaft.
Stark's Assistant: Mr. Stark, I am so sorry about the teleprompter. I didn't know Miss Potts had cancelled. They didn't have time to fix it.
Tony Stark: It's . . . fine. I'll be right back.
MIT teacher: We'll catch up later.
[Tony steps into a quiet corridor. He loiters by the men's room, then glances back at the stage door before walking towards the elevator. A woman in sober clothes is also waiting. Tony stops and turns his back to the wall.]
Mrs. Spencer: That was nice, what you did for those young people.
Tony Stark: Ah, they deserve it. Plus, it helps ease my conscience.
Mrs. Spencer: They say there's a correlation between generosity and guilt. But if you've got the money . . . break as many eggs as you like. Right?
[He narrows his eyes and half smiles, then turns to face the elevator. He looks surprised to find the button unlit and pushes it himself.]
Tony Stark: Are you going up?
Mrs. Spencer: I'm right where I want to be.
[She digs in her handbag, Tony grabs her wrist. He realizes what he's done.]
Tony Stark: Okay, okay. Hey! Sorry, it's an occupational hazard.
Mrs. Spencer: I work for the State Department. Human Resources. I know it's boring . . . but it enabled me to raise a son. I'm very proud of what he grew up to be.
[She shoves a photo at him.]
Mrs Spencer: His name was Charlie Spencer. You murdered him. In Sokovia. Not that it matters in the least to you. You think you fight for us. You just fight for yourself.
[Tony shakes his head.]
Mrs Spencer: Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead . . . and I blame you.
[She turns and walks away, leaving Tony standing by the elevator with a grim frown.]
[At the Avengers Compound. Peggy catches Wanda watching a news report on the Lagos attack and how they blame her for it.]
News Anchor #1: 11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred.
King T'Chaka: 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. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all.
News Anchor #1: The Wakanda king went on to . . .
[Peggy, who was watching the news, turns her computer off, but sound drifts toward her from another room.]
News anchor #2: They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these.
[Wanda is sitting on her bed, watching the news on her TV.]
News Anchor #2 What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri -
[The TV turns off. Peggy sets the remote down and leans on the door frame.]
Wanda Maximoff: It's my fault.
Peggy Carter: That's not true.
Wanda Maximoff: Turn the TV back on. They're being very specific.
Peggy Carter: I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it.
[He walks over.]
Peggy Carter: Rumlow said "Steve" and . . . all of a sudden I was back with him. [He sits beside Wanda.]
Peggy Carter: And people died. It's on me.
Wanda Maximoff: It's on both of us.
Peggy Carter: Look, we do the best we can. Sometimes we can't save everyone. But we need to be okay with that, because otherwise, next time . . . maybe nobody gets saved.
[Vision materializes through the wall. Wanda starts.]
[Vision interrupts Wanda and Peggy by walking through the wall into Wanda's room]
Wanda Maximoff: Vis! We talked about this.
Vision: Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that . . .
[He gestures at the door and stops.]
Vision: Captain Carter wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.
Peggy Carter: Thank you. We'll be right down.
Vision: I'll . . . use the door. Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest.
Peggy Carter: Do we know who it is?
Vision: The Secretary of State.
[The Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, is standing at the head of a table. Rhodey, Natasha, Peggy, Tony, Sam, Vision, and Wanda are gathered around.]
[The Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross has summoned the Avengers to a meeting]
Secretary Ross: Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass . . . I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an un-payable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives . . . but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some . . . who would prefer the word "vigilantes".
Natasha Romanoff: And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?
Secretary Ross: How about "dangerous"? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?
[Ross activates a screen behind him. News footage from past Avengers and SHIELD matters flash on the screen as he speaks.]
Secretary Ross: New York.
[A Chitauri leviathan. Terrified citizens. A soldier firing a gun. The Hulk smashes into a building and sends a dust cloud to engulf the camera.]
[Rhodey looks regretful. He glances behind him at Natasha.]
Secretary Ross: Washington DC.
[The three Insight helicarriers, firing on each other. The destroyed Triskelion. A helicarrier crashing into the Potomac and throwing up a massive wave, engulfing citizens and the camera.]
[Sam looks down.]
Secretary Ross: Sokovia.
[Terrified citizens, running. The city rising. A building falling over.]
[Wanda stares at the screen, as does Tony.]
Secretary Ross: Lagos.
[The burning building. Paramedics moving a body. A dead girl.]
[Wanda is particularly affected by the footage from Lagos. Peggy sees this and intervenes.]
Peggy Carter: I think that's enough.
[Secretary Ross nods to an aide and the images disappear.]
Secretary Ross: For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.
[An aide hands him a thick book, which Ross slides across the table to Wanda. She picks it up, then slides it to Rhodey.]
Secretary Ross: The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries . . . it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.
Peggy Carter: Despite all of... that, I think we've done our job. The world is safer because of us.
Secretary Ross: Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?
Peggy Carter: They're individuals, they can go where they like.
Secretary Ross: They're not just individuals. If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes . . . you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.
James Rhodes: So, there are contingencies.
Secretary Ross: Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.
[Peggy glances at Tony.]
Secretary Ross: Talk it over.
Natasha Romanoff: And if we come to a decision you don't like?
Secretary Ross: Then you retire.
[Natasha stifles a smile.]
[Cleveland.]
[Vasily Karpov sits, eating at the table in a cluttered house. He hears the sound of something crashing outside and peers through drawn blinds. Outside, Helmut Zemo stands by his car, the front end crumpled against Karpov's car.]
Helmut Zemo: Hello? Is this your car out front?
[Zemo comes to the door.]
Helmut Zemo: I jumped the curb.
[Karpov eyes his gun nearby.]
Helmut Zemo: Maybe we could take care of it ourselves. If you wanna call the cops, tha-that's okay too, I guess.
Vasily Karpov: No. No cops.
Helmut Zemo: Thank you.
[Karpov slides a heavy duty lock and opens the door. Zemo punches him.]
[Zemo is using a sledgehammer to smash a hole in the wall. He retrieves a large box from inside the hole and tips the contents onto a table. Karpov is hanging upside down, tied to pipes in his basement. There are various documents and the red book with the star on the cover. He holds the red book for a moment then opens a file. Inside is a photo of Karpov in his military uniform and beret.]
Helmut Zemo: You have kept your looks, Colonel. Congratulations.
[Karpov's head is in a sink, which is filling with water.]
Helmut Zemo: "Mission report: December 16, 1991."
Vasily Karpov: Who are you?
Helmut Zemo: My name is Zemo. I will repeat my question. Mission report. December 16, 1991.
Vasily Karpov: How did you find me?
Helmut Zemo: When SHIELD fell, Black Widow released HYDRA files to the public. Millions of pages much of it encrypted, not easy to decipher. But . . . I have experience. And patience. A man can do anything if he has those.
Vasily Karpov: What do you want?
Helmut Zemo: Mission report. December 16. 1991.
Vasily Karpov: Go . . . to . . . hell.
[Zemo goes to lean on the sink as water continues to flow into it. He turns off the tap and studies Karpov's upside down face.]
Helmut Zemo: HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap. So your death would not bother me. But I'd have to use this book . . . and other bloodier methods to find what I need. I don't look forward to that. You'd only be dying for . . . your pride.
[Zemo stares at Karpov then nods resignedly. He turns the tap back on. The water is up to Karpov's eyes. Zemo watches the water level rise.]
Vasily Karpov: Hail HYDRA.
[Holding the red book Zemo walks away. Karpov twitches and struggles in his bindings.]
[The Avengers are gathered at HQ. Peggy is sitting, studying the Accords, while Rhodey and Sam argue behind her.]
James Rhodes: Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have.
Sam Wilson: So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?
James Rhodes: A 117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, "No, that's cool. We got it. "
Sam Wilson: How long are you going to play both sides?
Vision: I have an equation.
Sam Wilson: Oh, this will clear it up.
Vision: In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.
Peggy Carter: Are you saying it's our fault?
Vision: I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict . . . breeds catastrophe. Oversight . . . oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.
James Rhodes: Boom.
[Tony is lying on the couch. When Natasha speaks, he looks at her.]
Natasha Romanoff: Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal.
Peggy Carter: He's made up his mind already.
Tony Stark: Boy, you know me so well.
[He gets up and winces, rubbing the back of his head.]
Tony Stark: Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache.
[He walks to the kitchen and grabs a mug.]
Tony Stark: That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?
[He puts his phone in a basket and taps it. The phone projects an image of a smiling young man. He looks down, then back up, and pretends to notice the picture for the first time.]
Tony Stark: Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. 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. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia.
[The others look affected by this.]
Tony Stark: He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass. [He takes a pill with some coffee, then faces the others.]
Tony Stark: There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.
Peggy Carter: Tony, we can't give up because there were casualties.
Tony Stark: Who said we're giving up?
Peggy Carter: We have to take responsibility for our actions. The Accords will just shift the blame onto the UN.
James Rhodes: I'm sorry. Peggy. That - 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.
Peggy Carter: No, but it's run by people. We can rely on ourselves and each other, but governments change. Politics changes.
Tony Stark: That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.
Peggy Carter: That was your choice. You're saying we should give up our choice and rely on politicians. What if they tell us to do something we disagree with? What if we need to do something and they say no? We're here because we know we can rely on each other, that we'll make good decisions together. We don't know them.
Tony Stark: If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty.
Wanda Maximoff: You're saying they'll come for me.
Vision: We would protect you.
Natasha Romanoff: Maybe Tony's right.
[Tony looks at her, surprised.]
Natasha Romanoff: If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off -
Sam Wilson: Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?
Natasha Romanoff: I'm just . . . I'm reading the terrain. We have made . . . some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.
Tony Stark: Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?
Natasha Romanoff: Oh, I want to take it back now.
Tony Stark: No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed-I win.
[Peggy's phone buzzes, and she pulls it out to check it. A text message reads: 'He's gone. In his sleep.']
Peggy Carter: I have to go.
[Peggy gets up sharply, drops the Accords on the coffee table, and goes downstairs. She stops at the bottom of the stairs, leans against the banister, and bows her head.]
[London.]
[A cathedral, packed with mourners. A choir is singing. Peggy is one of six pallbearers carrying a coffin draped with the Stars and Stripes.]
[At the altar, a candle burns by a framed photograph of Bucky Barnes in his uniform. The label reads "James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes". The priest addresses the mourners.]
Priest: And now, I would like to invite Patrick Barnes to come up and say a few words.
[Agent 13, Peggy's "neighbor" from DC, steps up to the podium.]
[Peggy sits beside Sam in a pew at the front. Peggy is looking down and doesn't see Patrick walk up. Sam is watching, and nudges Peggy. She looks up to see Patrick, who glances at Peggy and takes a breath.]
Patrick Barnes: Bucky Barnes was known to most as a founder of SHIELD . . . but I just knew him as Uncle Bucky.
[Peggy realizes who exactly Patrick is, and takes a surprised breath.]
Patrick Barnes: He had a photograph in his office. Uncle Bucky standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related.
[He looks directly at Peggy.]
Patrick Barnes: I asked him once how he went from stopping wars after they started to stopping them before they started. Soldiers aren't known for their mastery of diplomacy or espionage, after all. He told me that he knew what war was like, and what it's like to lose people to it, but you can never let that get in the way of doing what's right. He said you compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move . . . it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in they eye and say "No, you move."
[Later, Peggy stands alone in the isle, still dressed in black. Natasha moves to her and she turns to her. She begins to speak without any introduction]
Peggy Carter: When I came out of that portal, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that Bucky was alive. I was just lucky to have him. The only remnant I had of my life.
Natasha Romanoff: He had you back, too.
Peggy Carter: Who else signed?
Natasha Romanoff: Tony. Rhodey. Vision.
Peggy Carter: Clint?
Natasha Romanoff: Says he's retired.
[She smiles slightly.]
Peggy Carter: Wanda?
Natasha Romanoff: TBD (To Be Determined). I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet.
[Peggy sighs and bows her head.]
Natasha Romanoff: Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together.
[Natasha almost seems to be convincing herself.]
Peggy Carter: What are we giving up to do it?
[Natasha sighs. Peggy shakes her head, unconvinced.]
Peggy Carter: I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it.
Natasha Romanoff: I know.
Peggy Carter: Then what are you doing here?
Natasha Romanoff: I didn't want you to be alone.
[She pulls her in for a hug.]
Natasha Romanoff: Come here.
[Vienna.]
[The United Nations, a modern complex of interestingly-shaped high rise buildings.]
News Anchor #3: At a special United Nations conference 117 countries have come together to ratify the Sokovia Accords.
[T'Challa wears a sharp suit and stands, looking through a glass wall.]
UN staffer: Excuse me, Miss Romanoff?
Natasha Romanoff: Yes?
UN staffer: These need your signature. [T'Challa looks over at Natasha.] Thank you.
Natasha Romanoff: Thanks.
T'Challa: I suppose neither of us is used to the spotlight.
Natasha Romanoff: Oh, well, it's not always so flattering.
T'Challa: You seem to be doing alright so far. Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill . . . I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company.
Natasha Romanoff: Well, I'm not.
T'Challa: That alone makes me glad you're here, Miss Romanoff.
Natasha Romanoff: Why? You don't approve of all this?
T'Challa: The Accords, yes. The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred.
King T'Chaka: Unless you need to move a piano.
T'Challa: Father.
King T'Chaka: Son. Miss Romanoff.
Natasha Romanoff: King T'Chaka. Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria.
King T'Chaka: Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to all this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Carter will not be joining us today.
Natasha Romanoff: Yes, so am I.
Man on speakers: If everyone could please be seated. This assembly is now in session.
T'Challa: That is the future calling. Such a pleasure.
Natasha Romanoff: Thank you. [Natasha goes.]
King T'Chaka: For a man who disapproves of diplomacy, you're getting quite good at it.
T'Challa: I'm happy, Father.
King T'Chaka: Thank you.
T'Challa: Thank you.
King T'Chaka: When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria, were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative. [T'Challa spots something outside.] Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace.
T'Challa: EVERYBODY GET DOWN!
[An enormous explosion goes off between two buildings and destroys the conference hall. T'Challa finds his father lying on the floor with his eyes closed. He grabs his father's wrist and feels for a pulse, but his father lies still. Devastated T'Challa lies across his father. He lifts him up and rocks him in his arms.]
[A hotel.]
Patrick Barnes: My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting, but, um, not Uncle Bucky. He bought me my first thigh holster.
Peggy Carter: Very stylish.
Patrick Barnes: And practical. [Patrick and Peggy wait by an elevator. They stand facing each other.]
Peggy Carter: CIA has you stationed over here now?
Patrick Barnes: In Berlin, Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Peggy Carter: Right. Right. Sounds fun.
Patrick Barnes: I know, right?
Peggy Carter: [Peggy nods and smiles at Patrick.] I've been meaning to ask you. When you were spying on me from across the hall . . . .
Patrick Barnes: You mean when I was doing my job.
Peggy Carter: Did Bucky know?
Patrick Barnes: He kept so many secrets. I didn't want him to have one from you. [The elevator arrives.] Thanks for walking me back.
Peggy Carter: Sure. [Sam comes over.]
Sam Wilson: Peggy. There's something you gotta see.
News anchor #4: A bomb hidden in a news van . . .
Patrick Barnes: Who's coordinating?
News anchor #4: . . . ripped through the UN building in Vienna.
Patrick Barnes: Good. They're solid. Forensics?
News anchor #4: More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as Steve Rogers, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations.
Patrick Barnes: I have to go to work.
[Fire crews hose down the buildings. A red and white medical chopper flies overhead.]
Patrick Barnes: Call MI-6, see if we can get Micro Forensics to hurry this up. We need the whole team here in two hours or it's not worth it. [Patrick strides through with a man in a green jumpsuit. They pass T'Challa who sits on a bench looking stunned. There's a cut on his head. Natasha sits on the next bench along.]
Natasha Romanoff: I'm very sorry.
T'Challa: [He glances at her. He's holding an ornate silver ring which he toys with between his fingers.] In my culture death is not the end. It's more of a . . . stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where . . . you can run forever.
Natasha Romanoff: That sounds very peaceful.
T'Challa: My father thought so. [He puts the ring on his finger.] I am not my father.
Natasha Romanoff: T'Challa. Task force will decide who brings in Rogers.
T'Challa: [He clenches his fist.] Don't bother, Miss Romanoff. I'll kill him myself. [He walks away.]
[Peggy phones Natasha. She's standing on the street in a cap and dark glasses.]
Natasha Romanoff: Yeah?
Peggy Carter: You alright?
Natasha Romanoff: Ah, yeah, thanks. I got lucky. [Frowning she looks around, then stands up.] I know how much Rogers means to you. I really do. Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please.
Peggy Carter: Are you saying you'll arrest me?
Natasha Romanoff: No. Someone will. If you interfere. That's how it works now.
Peggy Carter: If he's this far gone, Nat, I should be the one to bring him in.
Natasha Romanoff: Why?
Peggy Carter: Because I'm the one least likely to die trying. [Not far away Peggy ends the call.]
Natasha Romanoff: Shit.
[Peggy approaches Sam sitting at the counter of a coffee shop.]
Sam Wilson: She tell you to stay out of it? [He's also in a cap and shades.] Might have a point.
Peggy Carter: He'd do it for me.
Sam Wilson: 1945, maybe. I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me. [Patrick arrives by Peggy.]
Patrick Barnes: Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter soldier goes to their gym. Most of it's noise. Except for this. [She slides Peggy a file.] My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now . . . so that's all the head start you're gonna get.
Peggy Carter: Thank you.
Patrick Barnes: And you're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight.