No-One But You (The Zephyr Endeavor)
Chapter 89: Sunshine (Part 9)
Apparently there was never a dull moment when someone chooses to serve on someone's Surveillant Council.
Steve Rogers called for a mandatory meeting, and that gave him an unexpected opportunity to see the "other" Bucky Barnes there in the flesh.
He arrived just behind Miss Donna Strange, and best believe Steve's eyes honed in on his best friend's left hand. He saw the ring, and he almost died. Seriously.
Steve also saw that Donna was still wearing hers, so yeahhhhhh… the blonde's irritated mood picked up a little bit. He could only give Bucky a small greeting when he saw him tho, because they had business to take care of before they could communicate.
…
"I hate to rush you all into yet another meeting, but things have taken an unexpected turn and we need to bring something up to a vote…"
…
Good ol' Steve Rogers took his usual seat next to Tony Stark, and then he started looking toward the left side of their deliberation room.
Everyone was there. Donna Strange, Charles Xavier, Nick Fury, and the rest. Bucky was simply there for support, because he didn't consider himself to be an official member of S.H.A.D.O.W. or their fancy council.
He was a free agent, if you recall, so his presence there wasn't an issue. The "ISSUE" being brought up for debate was the presence of a man named Victor Von Doom.
Charles Xavier intentionally blocked memories of him from Ezekiel's mind, and now the "White Jackal" was being reminded of him at an accelerated rate.
All of that was, manageable… but that meant "Doctor" Doom was back in the fold. His power, influence, and ability to manipulate was something Xavier intended to keep away from Ezekiel as much as he could, but trying to "contain" someone such as Doctor Doom was no simple task…
That's what Xavier briefly explained to the Surveillant Council before they allowed Doom to enter their deliberation space.
The man asked to be present at the next Surveillant Council meeting. That would only happen IF the votes allowed it, but he also said he had plans to "advocate" for Ezekiel Stane, and invoke a provision on his behalf.
The part about "advocating" for him and "invoking" a provision is why Steve Rogers called everyone in for a meeting. He was the person keeping Ezekiel on the shortest leash, so naturally he wanted to be the one going toe-to-toe with Doctor Doom.
The man of the hour entered the room silently. He sat down in their comfortable chairs, then he got right down to business.
…
"I appreciate your Council taking the time to speak with me, but nothing I have to say is necessarily up for debate. I will be present at all of your meetings going forward, or those meetings will cease to exist."
…
Doctor Doom saw the entire "Surveillant Council" as a joke, and whatever vote they all came up with was irrelevant.
His eyes followed the demeanor of Steve Rogers, because it was quite clear that he was indirectly the leader of their little pack.
Well, fearless leader, Doom intended to challenge the necessity of that "Council" until he took his last dying breath, because in his opinion, the entire thing was an abuse of power.
…
"What you have to say is definitely up for debate, Doom, and we're more than prepared to stop you from interfering…"
…
"You're welcome to try, Captain Rogers. This Council at its core is an unnecessary breach of Ezekiel Stane's free will. He's had no trial, but he's certainly a prisoner of all your opinions, rules, and expectations."
…
Doctor Doom was definitely a talker, but his words were precise, and he made sure to look at all of the lovely faces that were sitting around him in the room.
…
"Not only will I be present going forward, I will also invoke a timeframe. You all have lives of your own outside this Council, correct? So a total of two years of this nonsense seems more than fair, for you, after that… Ezekiel Stane should be set free and never bothered again…"
…
They already had him in their captivity for, how long? Doctor Doom did the math. Ezekiel told him he had a "mental collapse" when he was taken into their custody. That incident occurred when he was nineteen.
He's 21 years old now, so those were Doom's terms, and again… they weren't up for debate. He sat back in his chair and let the Council process what he said and take it all in.
A pretty thick silence washed over the room, because there was a lot going on beneath the surface. Everyone heard what was said, but the moving forward part was developing into a tricky thing.
Bucky Barnes wasn't sure what the eff was going on. Hoo hooooo, man. Gee golly. The not-so-winter soldier was beyond glad that he wasn't in any of their shoes, cuz this shit was getting way out of control.
Chapter: END
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