Intentions vs. Actions
Tony and Steve stood facing each other, shoulders back and bodies tense for what looked to be the upcoming fight.
“Why on earth should I help you in any way? In what world is it my job to fix your mistakes, Rogers,” Tony huffed at the fugitive that showed up with his group of fugitive tag-a-longs behind him.
“Tony, you know that Bucky didn’t do it. He never wanted to hurt anyone, and neither did I,” Steve said. “It’s the right thing to do to help us.”
Tony cocked his head curiously at Rogers while the others sneered at him.
“So, since you never intended to harm anyone, I should help you all return home . . . because you all know that I’m the only one in this group with the connections to accomplish that.”
“Intentions matter, Stark,” Sam said softly, with a faux sympathetic look on his face. He had sent Tony to Siberia alone. And maybe he hadn’t known that Tony would be ambushed by that horrible video and Steve’s lies when he had done so, but he had worked with Cap to bring in Barnes on Tony’s dime knowing they were looking for the man that killed his parents. Likewise, he knew that Steve had left Tony behind, beaten, when Tony had reacted in an entirely human way to seeing his parents violently murdered before his very eyes.
Tony had never had a good relationship with his father who was alternately negligent of his son and intensely judgmental when he could pay him any attention; but Tony had never HATED his father until he had thought him responsible for killing his mother. It had long been speculated by those that knew Howard Stark closely that the only reason he might have wrecked that night would have been due to drinking and driving, something he had been prone to do. Steve and his cronies, by protecting Barnes, were also ensuring that Tony would never truly heal from that wrong.
The silence stretched a bit longer before Tony spoke.
“Alright, you’ve convinced me. The Accords are about accepting consequences for our ACTIONS, but . . . you’re right. Intentions matter. I never intended to help create Ultron, even though that is what happened. My intentions to protect the world had disastrous effects that were much larger in scale than the ‘unintentional’ deaths that Sam, Cap, Wanda, and Natasha caused in Lagos and that Cap, Sam, and Barnes caused in Romania during that chase. I’ll work to bring Sam, Cap, Natasha, Clint, and the Antman in from the cold.”
Everyone began smiling until Clint spoke up.
“Wait, what about Wanda,” he asked, the beginnings of anger taking hold.
“What about her? Her intentions may have been good for these crimes, but the crimes she committed against me were never accounted for since you all protected her. I don’t see why I should do anything to help her, especially since she’s done little more than spit on my efforts to aid her in the past.”
“What crimes,” Wanda sneered.
“I never intended for your parents to be hurt. I only intended to protect the troops in the same way that my father had. Your intentions in pushing me to take the scepter in the way you did and then working with Ultron were always clear—murderous revenge. Sam said it, Wanda: intentions matter.”