The Sokovia Accords
Tony sighed as he walked down the deserted MIT hallway hoping to make a quick getaway before having to speak with anyone. It had been a long few months for him since Pepper had broken up with him, and it was taking a significant toll on his mental health.
Just as he had finally gotten rid of his escort, however, he saw a woman waiting for him by the elevators. Unsure of what she wanted, he eyed her warily as she spoke.
“That was nice, what you did for those young people.” She told him.
He shook his head. “Ah, they deserve it. Plus, it helps ease my conscience.”
“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 turned to face her head-on and frowned as he pressed the elevator button. “Going up?”
“I’m right where I want to be.” The woman said, and Tony watched as she reached into her bag.
Grabbing her hand roughly, he paused, and the look on her face told him she wasn’t a physical threat. “Sorry, it’s an occupational hazard.”
She blinked at him. “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.” Then she shoved a picture against his chest. “His name was Charlie Spencer. You murdered him…in Sokovia.”
Staring at the woman in horror, Tony stayed silent.
“Not that it matters in the least to you. You think you fight for us? You just fight for yourself. Who’s going to avenge my son, Stark? He’s dead…and I blame you.”
Then she turned and walked away, leaving the picture with him.
“Eleven 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.”
Kara stared at the words on the screen that read “Avengers Indictment?” and felt sick to her stomach. Then the Wakandan king got onscreen and spoke about wanting accountability from them, and she knew this wouldn’t be going away as easily as their past battles had.
“Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all.”
The blonde looked out at everyone gathered around the table before letting her gaze land on the Secretary of State. She hated him just as much now as she ever did, but her feelings towards him weren’t going to solve their current problems.
“Five years ago, I had a heart attack….” He told them. “and dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life…because, after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something forty years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective.
“The world owes the Avengers an unpayable 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 prefer the word ‘vigilantes.’”
“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Natasha asked him.
“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?”
Kara watched as Secretary Ross put up different clips of their battles. New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia, Lagos…all a mess of destruction and ruin that they’d left in their wake.
Seeing Wanda turn away from the bodies onscreen, Steve finally spoke up. “That’s enough.”
“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.”
Turning, Ross grabbed a bound stack of papers from his associate and handed it to Wanda, who passed it around the table.
“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.”
Steve stared at the document for a moment before speaking. “The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we’ve done that.”
“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Ross asked him. “If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes…you can bet there’d be consequences.
“Compromise. Reassurance. That’s how the world works. Believe me; this is the middle ground.”
Rhodey sighed. “So, there are contingencies.”
“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over.”
As he turned to leave, Natasha spoke again. “And if we come to a decision you don’t like?”
“Then you retire.”
Kara sighed as she watched her friends argue. She had sped read the document as soon as it was passed her way and knew they had a tough choice to make. Now Steve was reading it as everyone yelled around them.
“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have,” Rhodey told Sam as they argued about the situation.
“So let’s say we agree to this thing,” Sam argued back. “How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?”
“117 countries want to sign this.” Rhodey reminded him. “117, Sam, and you’re just like, ‘No, it’s cool. We got it.’”
“How long are you going to play both sides?”
“I have an equation.” Vision interrupted them, helping to ease the tension Kara was feeling in her shoulders.
“Oh, well, this will clear it up.” Sam retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. During that period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.”
“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve asked him.
Vision sighed. “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.”
“Boom,” Rhodey said as Natasha turned to look at the man next to them.
“Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.”
Beside them, Tony was reclined in a chair, his hand over his face in exasperation.
“It’s because he’s already made up his mind,” Steve told her.
It was Tony’s turn to sign as he sat up and went to grab some coffee. “Boy, you know me so well. Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache. That’s what’s going on, Cap. It’s just pain. It’s discomfort.
“Who’s putting coffee grounds in the disposal?” he asked suddenly. “Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?”
Then he propped up his phone, and an image of a young man popped up for them to see. “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. 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.
“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.”
“Tony, if someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up,” Steve told him.
“Who said we’re giving up?”
“We are if we’re not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame.”
“I’m sorry, Steve. That is dangerously arrogant.” Rhodey told him. “This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council; it’s not SHIELD, it’s not HYDRA.”
“No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change.”
“That’s good,” Tony said. “That’s why I’m here. When I realized what our weapons were capable of in the wrong hands…we shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”
“Tony, you chose to do that. We sign this, we surrender our right to choose.” Steve shook his head. “What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there’s somewhere we need to go, and they don’t let us?
“We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”
Tony quieted his voice. “If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s the fact; that won’t be pretty.”
“You’re saying they’ll come for me?” Wanda asked him.
“We would protect you,” Vision told her.
“Maybe Tony’s right,” Natasha said suddenly. “If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off….”
Sam was in shock. “Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?”
“I’m just reading the terrain.” She told him. “We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.”
“Focus up. I’m sorry. Did I just mishear you…” Tony leaned closer to her. “or did you agree with me?”
“I want to take it back now.”
“Kara, what about you?” Rhodey addressed his friend. “You haven’t spoken since Ross was here. Have you also made up your mind?”
As everyone turned to look at her, Kara sat forward in her chair. “I’ve been thinking about Krypton, actually.”
“Oh, here we go again,” Sam complained. “You can’t keep using that as a scapegoat.”
“I can use whatever I want; it’s my history!” She told him. “My parents were left unchecked and brought ruin upon our whole planet because they thought they were doing what was right, and they weren’t. When my aunt tried to call them out, they banished her to our maximum-security prison. And then my whole world died.”
“So clearly, you’re in favor of signing,” Wanda said, but Kara shook her head.
“I’ve also been thinking about Layna. I want her to grow up in a world where there are heroes around to protect her. Where the government doesn’t control every aspect of her life and her actions. I don’t particularly appreciate that they gave this to us now, three days before it will go into effect.
“So, no, I don’t know what I’m going to do. This whole thing has me confused and angry, and hurt. Please don’t make it worse than it already is.”
Steve’s phone chimed next to her, and she watched as he looked at it before growing pale. “I have to go.” Then he stood and walked out.