Loss Of The Heroes
"These are bullshit." Tony slammed a thick pad of papers in front of General Ross, throwing it back at his face as the Avengers watched. "We aren't some sort of dogs that need to be leashed, we are heroes that do their damn best to protect the world."
General Ross glared as Tony stared him right in the eyes, unwavering. "Not to be offensive Mr. Stark, but not everyone thinks that way. Some people believe that you are just a group of dangerous people, running around and enforcing your own laws on different countries that had no ill will towards America until you came along. That's what the accords are for. To keep you in line so that you will be allowed to operate anywhere in the world without starting a war."
Tony scoffed. "This isn't allowing us shit General. Do you even know what these papers contain? Not any sort of protection to do our job, but instead we would be some sort of slaves to a world security council that doesn't even represent one tenth of the world's countries." Tony glared at the general harder, causing the older man to shift slightly in discomfort. "We wouldn't even be able to take a piss in our own country without checking with a council that -last time I checked- was around eighty five percent Hydra last time." He snarled and flipped to a page that was dog eared, sliding it over to the General to show him a highlighted passage. "Look at this! According to your fucking accords, if someone came at any of us in the street with a gun, we would be unable to defend ourselves or else it would be considered an act of aggression. No bodyguards, no shields to protect ourselves with, not even pepper spray. What kind of shit are you trying to pull? I'm a genius, did you really think that I was dumb enough just to skim through something that could literally kill the Avengers?"
General Ross grunted. "I didn't assume anything Mr. Stark, I just expected you to sign the accords so that you would be able to return to your so called job."
Tony growled in a literal sense and the General stepped back in a moment of fear. "I'm not signing something that allows a corrupt politician to control one of my teammates by any means necessary and then order them to kill their best friend, no questions asked. There is no way I would let you do that. If you ever wanted me or my team to sign this piece of shit, then you would need a black marker, a few shredders, and a fuck ton of editing."
"Whoo! Go Stark!" Clint started clapping enthusiastically, quickly followed by Natasha, Thor and the rest of the Avengers present. Everyone was there. Except for Steve.
General Ross sneered at Tony with hatred. "Well if you want the accords to be under consideration for debate and editing, then I do believe you owe me the Winter Soldier." Then, he turned on his heel and left Tony in a state of shock.
Everyone froze, remembering what happened when Steve confronted the Winter Soldier and how it ended the last time with Steve in the hospital. They all watched as Tony stumbled away from the table, nearly missing the chair he was trying to fall into until Wanda used her powers to push it forward so he could collapse on something other than the ground. They all knew by now how hard Tony was trying to find Steve's old friend for the past five months because he was the only hope Steve had of surviving. Bruce threw a pitying look towards the brunette who had tears in his eyes, trying not to let them fall as he took a deep breath. "Well, now I have to decide between enslaving my friends or giving up the only chance to save Steve." He sobbed a bit, covering his face with his hands so that nobody would be able to see how much he was breaking. "How fucking ironic." Bruce was the first one to embrace Tony, quickly followed by Rhodey, both of them knowing how the genius felt about Steve. It was a horrible but moving experience as all of the Avengers moved one by one to hug Tony in silent acceptance, knowing that he would never give up on Steve no matter the circumstances. "No. God please no. No. No." Tony came apart in sobs, knowing what all of them meant by the simple gesture of a hug. "I can't. Please, don't make me choose. Please. Fuck, I can't lose all of you. I don't want to leave you behind."
An almost eighteen year old Peter knelt down in front of Tony, holding his hands gently. "It's going to be alright Tony. We would never ask you to give up the only chance you have to save Steve. It wouldn't be fair for us to ask you to do that."
Tony sniffed, trying to gather himself up a bit before talking again. "You know what happens if you refuse to sign the accords. They'll send the rest of the Avengers after you as if you were a Ultron sized threat. You'll die."
Peter shook his head sadly. "It's alright Tony. I'm ready to die. It doesn't scare me anymore. There are more important things in this life than just running around in a red and blue jumpsuit and I've been waiting to face them for months now."
Tony started sobbing again, squeezing Peter's hands. "You should be scared, you're just a kid. Someone your age shouldn't be ready to die just because some lunatic in a stupid council says you are a threat!" Peter had only been sixteen when he was made into an honorary Avenger to help in the battle with Ultron, but even then, he never lost his childlike excitement to be a hero, even after he was slapped off of a floating chunk of Sokovia by Ultron himself and nearly fell to his death. He had just become a little more wary, but he still kept all of his enthusiasm and awe, proof of how young he actually was. That all changed five months ago when Steve had gotten hurt with the foam. Peter blamed himself since he was the one that made the bomb go off in Tony's workshop, and suddenly he changed. He had gone from the innocence of a child to the maturity and self control of Vision or T'challa. It was a frightening change for Tony to see this kid become an adult even before he was of legal age, but what scared him the most was that this kid had the snap change just like he had after Afghanistan.
"Please Tony. I'm going to be fine. Nobody except the Avengers know who I am, so I can just continue with my normal life. Besides, if they do find me, I have some very amazing people protecting me." Peter smiled softly at his crying mentor, trying to calm and reassure him.
Tony just grimaced. "I hate Wade!" He wiped away his tears as Peter's cheeks blushed when he figured out that Tony knew exactly what he meant by amazing people. "But tell him that I want him to murder anyone who so much as looks at you weird. I'll cover everything up as long as you stay safe."
Peter sighed. "Not a chance." He squeezed Tony's arm. "I don't want you to worry about us. We will be fine as long as you are still here to lead the Avengers when all of this gets fixed, but right now, you need to save Captain Rogers."
Tony nodded slowly. "I'll save Steve. Then we'll fix everything as soon as we can."
Natasha glanced down at Tony and they shared a look that shared the same determination. "We can't lose the Captain Tony. No matter what, he takes priority to all of us. You can't run the risk of losing him, not now."
Clint slapped the back of Tony's head gently, trying to keep the tears from his eyes. "We can put up with being glorified slaves for a while as long as you come back to save us in the end. Make sure to be towing Cap along with you." Client's voice shook in fear. "You might also want to bring the Calvary. If you even have one."
T'challa nodded. "You can take the captain to Wakanda for the time being so he has a place to heal, but I can not involve my people in this war. You must find a way to sort this out yourselves."
Rhodey looks over to T'challa. "You're the king of Wakanda and I respect that, but you are an Avenger too. You have a duty to your team to fight by them when all of this goes to shit."
T'challa grinned a bit through his mask. "Whoever said that I wasn't going to fight. I am dropping from the Avengers to take care of my country, but who says I will not rejoin as part of the Calvary?" Rhodey grinned sternly, having his "that will do" face on.
Natasha sighed, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder. "How about we join the Calvary as well. I don't want you to get hunted down, so why don't we hang up the suits for a while until things settle."
Tony stood up, grabbing Peter by the shoulders. "Please Peter. Hang up the suit. Put it away for a while so you don't get hurt. This is too important to risk you getting hurt."
"Alright." Peter nodded, seeing reason. "It's the best course of action anyways. Time to figure out a plan and all of that."
Clint turned to Thor, the nervousness in his voice clear as day. "What about you Thor? Are you joining the Calvary?"
Thor shook his head. "I shall stay on the Avengers. I shall be very busy on Asgard though so I will not have much time on Earth." Thor winked and Tony smiled. Sly bastard was just going to skip out on Avengers duty. "How about you Clint? Are you going to be part of the Calvary?"
Clint swallowed thickly, nervous to be put on the spot. "I want to. I really just want to put away the bow and never touch it again to protect my family." He sighed, trying to relax. "I want to keep them safe, but I know that once I put that bow down I will never be coming back. I don't want my kids to grow up knowing that their father was too scared to rejoin the Avengers. Too scared and small to save the world."
Tony reached out a hand and put it onto Client's shoulder. "You know, none of us would blame you for stepping away for good. You were a deaf circus archer that stole things when you joined SHIELD, but you quickly became an amazing agent and an even better Avenger. You've done so much for everyone and you have even started a family. I think you deserve to live the rest of your life without worrying if your kids are going to grow up without a father. You are one of the very best of us Clint Barton and you made the best Hawkeye or teammate any of us could have ever asked for."
"Thank you." Clint let tears fall freely as he hugged Tony tightly. "Thank you so much Tony. I'll never forget what you've done for me." Wiping away his tears and releasing the genius, Clint changed his words to have a more joking tone. "The next kid is going to be named after you Stark. Be proud."
Tony laughed, feeling as if giant weights were lifted off of his chest. He would always be the leader of the Avengers and without Cap's signature on a very official document, that was never going to change unless he died. Right now, the Avengers were safe, but soon half of them would be gone and the rest would be on a mission to hunt down and kill the newest wanted fugitive, Tony Stark. It was a bittersweet farewell to all of the friends and soon to be foes in the room, but as long as the Earth was safe, Tony was fine with being the only original Avenger left besides a comatose soldier from world war two.