You Could Make a Case for That

So many time-travel Civil War "fix its" are focused on making Team Cap sign the Accords. No matter if it's Tony, Peter, Natasha, or some other random character, THAT is their solution to the loss in Infinity War. I wonder if it's because they can't admit that Tony was wrong to sign the Sokovia Accords and very wrong to sign them and then break them. But the prop-Tony authors usually have characters yell at or guilt Team Cap into signing. Either they ignore the problems with the Accords or wave their hands and make it easy for Tony to amend them. The fact is Tony didn't have the power to amend them, and there's no reason for anyone on Team Cap to change their stance just on one character's say-so. If the goal is keeping the Avengers together, then it's Team Iron Man the time traveler should work on.

Natasha thought it was over when she fell on Vormir. She didn't remember landing or dying.

She woke up in her bedroom at the compound. Immediately she sat up and assessed the room. It was exactly as she remembered it, all those years ago. Before the Avengers and then the world fell apart.

Natasha reached for the remote and turned on the TV. She knew what the headline would be before the news appeared on the screen. She knew what date it would be.

With a glance at the time, she knew she had about two hours before Tony would arrive at the compound with Thaddeus Ross--and the Sokovia Accords.

Her first instinct was to fly to Budapest and bring Barnes in. But she didn't think that was the right course of action. She'd ended up in a specific time and place. When she was about to make a very specific choice about the Sokovia Accords. THAT was where her path would branch.

Part of Natasha wondered if this was just a dream, some near-death experience that offered her the illusion of a second chance.

But she decided it didn't matter. Whether this was real or not, she was going to change the outcome.

Natasha spent the time before Tony's arrival just enjoying her team...her Avengers family. Watching Steve ask Wanda to quiz him so he could improve his Sokovian. Seeing the gentle smiles as Vision, Rhodey, and Sam watched.

She wanted to hug them all. She didn't want to lose any of them, or herself.

Unity--THAT was the key.

But which side should they gather on? Natasha tried to picture manipulating Steve into signing the Accords. Asking him to trust her that all of the horrible things they read in them didn't matter. But that caused a sharp pain inside at the lie. She remembered Steve giving Natasha his trust in the midst of Shield's fall. How he never pressured her to reject the Accords, but let everyone make their own choices. She remembered the fight at the airport and seeing Rhodey fall. How haunted Wanda and the others looked after the Raft. And how Steve welcomed her back without a single "I told you so" after they realized just how awful--and set in stone--the Accords were.

She'd been wrong to think how they stayed together didn't matter. Now she knew better.

Natasha nodded to herself. When she focused on the room again, she saw the others watching her.

Steve asked, "Everything okay?"

Natasha gave a small smile, then walked over to join the group. She said, "Just thinking about how glad I am we're here together."

Sam said, "This feels like the perfect opportunity for a group hug."

So they did.

Natasha didn't let Thaddeus Ross get the upper hand. When he started showing the body counts, Natasha mentioned how the Avengers were the ones that kept them so low. AND how the World Security Council thought nuking New York City was a good idea. With the Triskelion, she pointed out that Hydra was embedded in the U.S. government, not just in Shield. And that there was no reason to think other governments were safe from Hydra. When he mentioned Sokovia, Natasha stared at Tony for a long moment, then pointed out how Ultron wanted to destroy the world, and the Avengers barely had enough time to stop that plan.

By the time Ross got to his pitch for the Accords, the others had already started questioning why they hadn't heard a word about the drafting of the SOKOVIA Accords in the years since Ultron. Ross's failure to answer why they weren't consulted and why they only found out about them three days before ratification definitely turned the tables, and he stormed out in huff.

Natasha could feel the difference as the debate was immediately about what was wrong with the Sokovia Accords and how to get the world to recognize the fatal flaws in them before the ratification. Neither Rhodey nor Vision tried to suggest signing.

She turned to look at Tony. Instead of drawing the others' attention, she walked over to where he was laying down. She said, "Looks like the active Avengers are going to retire rather than sign. Is the vote going to be unanimous?"

Tony lowered his hand and glared at her. He said, "None of you understand that we need to be put in check!"

Natasha replied, "Not like this, with no safeguards and no say in what happens. You're already retired, so you'll have to come out of retirement if you sign. Is that what you actually want?"

Tony's eyes shifted as he said, "Pepper...we're on a break. She said she loved Tony Stark, but wasn't so sure about Iron Man. I figured with the Accords, I'd get to keep them both."

Natasha wished she could say she was surprised. Instead, she squeezed Tony's shoulder and said, "I don't think she'll be happy with you being the only Avenger left standing. Maybe retiring with the rest of us will persuade her you're ready to put her first."

It worked. The Avengers stayed united against the Sokovia Accords. Natasha contacted Nick Fury in Europe, and he took out Zemo before the Sokovian could put his revenge plot into motion.

She asked Clint to join her on a secret mission. They flew to the bunker and made sure that the Winter Soldiers would never be awakened, and that a certain video tape was destroyed. Then they found Karpov and stole the book of Winter Soldier triggers.

The Obsidian Order never attacked. When the Asgardians arrived on Earth, Thor, Loki, and Bruce told the others about how the mad Titan Thanos was searching the universe for the Infinity Stones, but had been killed by his daughter Gamora before he ever got possession of one.

Natasha knew Gamora had also been to Vormir. She wondered if Gamora had also been given a second chance.

Each day, Natasha woke and thanked whoever had given her the opportunity to choose a better path. For herself, and the universe.