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The phone rang.
It was so unexpected that it took Steve a good ten seconds to realise that it was the phone ringing. When he did though, he jumped up from the couch he was laying on and extracted the ancient device from his pocket, ignoring the noises of surprise from around him and answering the only number that he had saved.
“Tony,” he breathed, hand almost shaking and the fear that had started clawing at his insides the longer it went without the Iron Man pilot appearing on the news finally dissipating.
“ Rogers ?” came the answer and the blond paused. He knew that voice, but it wasn’t Tony’s voice. It was-
“Fury?”
Natasha and Clint both sat up straighter, the red head motioning for him to put it on speakerphone.
Steve ignored her, the sense of dread returning with a vengeance. “How did you get this number?”
“ I was sent this phone and- I’m assuming this phone wasn’t meant for me then.”
“No,” agreed Steve, running a hand through his hair. “I sent it… I sent it to Tony. How… how did you get it? Is Tony okay?”
There was a pause, like the older spy was considering whether to tell him the truth and how much of the truth to share. “ Put me on speaker, ”
“You sent Stark a phone?” hissed Wanda, glaring at him when he pulled the phone off his ear.
Steve didn’t answer her either, instead following Fury’s instructions. “You’re on speaker.”
“ Good. Now: what the hell were you thinking?!” Fury didn’t normally shout, but his voice was raised and thick with disappointment. Even Natasha blinked, surprised by the tone. “ Seriously, because from what I can see it looks like you weren’t!”
Steve made eye contact with Sam, who was looking at him worried and stood straighter - even though Fury couldn’t see him. “The Accords were -”
“ I don’t give a fuck about the Accords, Rogers!” snapped the Director, and Steve’s mouth shut itself. “ Bucharest and then Leipzig; are you aware of how much damages you have caused in two days alone?!”
The blond frowned. “Damages?”
“ Yes, Rogers, damages! You see, when you attack a baseline human who was there to apprehend your little Winter Soldier with the same strength you use against aliens and robots, they tend to get hurt!”
“They were going to kill Bucky!”
Fury continued like he hadn’t spoken. “ And when you collapse a tunnel on a busy road filled with civilians, Rogers? People get hurt and people die . Seriously, what the hell were you and Wilson thinking? You threw a man out of his car and totalled it, and didn’t even check that he didn’t get ran over! Your buddy snatched a man off a motorcycle and threw him on the road! That son of a bitch is paralysed!”
That. That did make Steve pause for a moment.
Because back then, during the fight, he had been on an adrenaline high, trying his best to make sure T’Challa didn’t get to Bucky.
But now that he stopped and thought about it… fuck. Those people weren’t German soldiers or Chitauri or robots or Romanian police officers; those were just civilians going home or going to work, people who had no idea what was going on, people just going on with their lives.
Oh, god, he was going to be sick .
Sam seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion, if the expression on his face was anything to go by.
“ And let’s not get started in Leipzig, where, had Stark not cleared the place beforehand, you would have killed even more people! Do you have any idea of how much property you have destroyed? The Germans and Romanians want your head on a platter, and that’s if the Nigerians don’t manage to have you extradited first!”
The soldier made eye contact with Wanda, and tried to keep his expression calm. The poor girl had already started to look distressed, red seeping through her fingers. “We were there to help people. If we hadn’t been there, even more people would have died, we-”
“ That’s not flying anymore, Rogers. ” he said, voice deadly calm.
It brought everyone in the room to stillness too. “Sir?”
Fury sighed. “ What the hell do you think happens when an American soldier clad in the US flag goes gallivanting around the world and involves himself into fights that he wasn’t asked to join, fights that end with dead and injured civilians and way too much destroyed property? What do you think happens when 117 fucking countries full of said civilians ask you to be held accountable for your mistakes and you say a big fuck you before going off to Europe and causing even more destruction? What do you think happens when the Avengers that do agree with the need for oversight end up being the ones who cause the least damages and, when faced with you, end up being the most hurt?”
Steve didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to . “What happens is that people start wondering about these ‘superheroes’, start wondering if the world was a better place before you showed up.”
“What? The world needs the Avengers!”
“ Maybe. But right now, the world doesn’t want the Avengers. Or, at the very least, the world doesn’t want you .”
It hurt. It hurt more than Steve would have thought, and he couldn’t find the words to disprove Fury.
“They’ll need us again,” said Natasha, speaking up and coming closer to the phone to be heard. “Remember what Thor said? Earth is now on the radar; next time aliens show up, or next time something terrible happens again, the world will beg us to show up again.”
Steve wasn’t one to wish for a war or a disaster to strike, but he couldn’t lie… it was exactly what he thought too. Something would happen - perhaps even what Tony had said he saw behind the wormhole (but you didn't believe him back then, you ignored him)- something big enough that the world would need them again. After all, with Rhodey in a wheelchair and Tony MIA, only Vision and perhaps T’Challa remained. And the little spider boy -
“ Natasha?!” Fury’s voice was shocked enough that Steve tuned back into the conversation.
The red head blinked at the rest of the team and then smiled faintly. “Yeah?”
“ Oh god, we’re screwed.” said Fury, and… what? “ Holy shit, you guys have really fucked up. I can’t believe this. Years and years of trying to assemble a decent team just gone down the drain -”
“Aren’t you being a little negative-” started the spy, trying for some levity, but Fury did not seem to find anything funny about the situation.
“ No, I am not. Fuck, you shouldn’t be there with them! You should be with Stark right now!”
“She understood that the Accords were dangerous and chose to join us instead. That doesn’t mean she ruined anything,” defended the soldier. He knew he had fucked up a little (more than a little), but still.
Natasha gave him an odd look, like he had said something weird, but Fury was speaking again. “ I don’t care about her stance on the Accords! What I care about is that she’s not with Stark right now.”
“But why?” asked Clint, speaking up for the first time. He - and Scott - had been very quiet lately, ever since the letter and phone he had sent his wife had been returned to him, burnt to a crisp the first and smashed beyond reason the second.
“ Because,” said Fury, thinly veiled rage and something like… fear?, in his voice. “ If she isn’t there with Stark, that means Potts and Rhodes are.”
Natasha’s face twisted, eyes widening and nostrils flaring.
Everyone else looked as confused as Steve felt - except maybe Clint, but Steve couldn’t tell what the sniper could possibly be thinking. “I don’t… understand?”
“ Rogers I knew you were naive, but surely you must see?” said Fury. “ Why do you think I pushed you all to accept Stark’s offer to live at the Tower? Why do you think Agent Hill asked you guys to try and convince Stark to stay on the team and then had to leave Stark Industries when you couldn’t?”
When no one offered an answer, the spy continued. “ Stark might have liked and supported you all these years, but it was not just because of your oh so charming personalities. Hill and Romanova, ” Natasha flinched at the use of her surname, “ worked very hard to safeguard the Avengers Initiative’s relationship with Stark. It wasn’t as easy as you think it was and you know why it wasn’t?”
“Potts and Rhodes despise the Avengers Initiative.” answered Natasha, her face an empty mask.
Steve blinked. “What?”
The red head gave him and the room at large a look of surprise. “Don’t tell me you were unaware?”
The supersoldier tried to think back to his relationship with Tony’s friends, trying to find any hint of what Fury and Natasha were talking about.
To be honest, he didn’t really see them that often. He could count on one hand the number of times he had managed to see Pepper that wasn’t one of those galas Tony insisted, at the very beginning, that they attend. She kept a careful distance from them, but she always greeted them when she saw them, even if she didn’t stop and make conversation.
And Rhodes? He had replaced Tony in their group as the heavy hitter, but, mostly because of the Winter Soldier missions, he hadn’t joined them out in the field except for a handful of times. He never trained with them, either, because of his military career. But he followed rules well, even if the few times they were in missions together, he tended to stay with Vision.
He blinked back at Natasha. “I haven’t spoken much to either of them, but they don’t seem to despise me.”
The woman sneered at them, but it was Fury who spoke. “ You have no idea how many times Potts and Rhodes tried to get Tony to stop supporting the Avengers and making you gear? You are aware that the Avengers are one of the main reasons behind Potts’ split with Stark?”
No, he wasn’t. Steve found himself frowning: Pepper should be proud that her boyfriend was part of a team that routinely tried to save the world, she shouldn’t leave Tony because of it.
“Rhodes didn’t even want to join the Avengers to begin with,” added Natasha, shrugging. “He only did it because he knew that it was the only way Tony would step down. Did you not notice how considerably colder toward us Tony was during the Accord meeting?”
Steve had noticed that, but he had assumed it was because of Lagos and Wanda. Tony was, after all, a civilian - and you smashed a shield against his chest - and human losses affected him a lot more than they did the rest of them. Steve was a soldier, and he knew that in war you save as many as you can because you can’t save everyone. Tony… Tony struggled with that concept.
Natasha continued. “That was because of how little I could get to him when he was in full ‘SI’s Head of R&D’ mode. When he was too far for me to work my manipulation skills against him.”
Steve - and Scott and Sam - frowned at her, disliking her choice of words.
“ After Afghanistan and after the whole palladium poisoning, there is one thing Rhodes and Potts hate and that’s someone or something standing between them and Stark. And the Avengers? Not only did they stand between him and them, they caused a lot of fights and arguments between them and continuously risked Stark’s life. They hate you as much as they hate SHIELD.”
Steve, Scott and Sam stayed quiet, trying to wrap their heads around the words. They had genuinely never noticed this ‘animosity’ from Tony’s friends before - well, Scott didn’t even know Tony, so there’s that - and it was… frightening. Wanda was glaring at the phone, but her hands weren’t seeping red anymore, which meant she was calm enough, and Clint was looking up at the ceiling and frowning.
“ And now? Now you’ve all betrayed,” Steve flinched at the choice of words, “ Stark, and Potts and Rhodes are not going to sit and take it. ”
Natasha frowned at the phone. “What does this mean for us?”
Fury laughed - an ugly laugh with no myrth in it. “ It means that Potts or Rhodes are the ones who sent me this phone because they wanted me to contact you. They wanted me - and you - to know that they are with Stark, that they are the line of defence between him and us.”
“It means that they just declared war. God have mercy on your souls.”
3 days later - 19 days since Siberia, 17 days since Steve freed his friends from the RAFT - Steve and his team were sat around the TV, watching with slight apprehension as Pepper and a dark haired woman walked across the stage.
Scott, who had been particularly quiet since the call, perked up, a frown settling on his face. “Hope?”
“You know her?” asked Sam, glancing between the TV and the man.
The other nodded. “Yeah, that’s my girlfriend. You know, Hope Van Dyne. Of Pym Technologies.”
“I thought Pym Technologies and Stark Industries were enemies,” asked the other. “What is she doing with Pepper?”
“I don’t know -”
“Shh! It’s starting!” hissed Natasha, glaring at them with irritation.
Ever since the call, Natasha had grown positively frosty towards them. Steve had tried to reassure her that Fury was exaggerating and that everything would be all right again, but she had simply glared at him and walked out of the room.
Clint too refused to interact with him at all, the righteous anger at Stark and the Accords that had fuelled him at the beginning evaporated. Nowadays he only interacted with Natasha. He had even stopped staying with Wanda, snapping at her more often than not.
The poor girl was having such a hard time that sometimes Steve wondered if she would have been better if he had left her at the Compound with Vision. He didn’t really understand the relationship between the two, but the girl missed him dearly.
“ Tony Stark is well, ” he heard and his attention was back on the woman on stage. Clad in a golden suit and red louboutins, Pepper Potts looked like she was wearing her very own Iron Man armour. “ Currently he is resting after the medically induced coma he was under, but he is no longer critical.”
“Critical?” asked Sam, aloud, head turned to look at Steve. “What?”
Steve didn’t answer, just keeping his attention on the screen even as his hands clenched into fists.
“ He would like to thank you all for the get well wishes in this difficult time, and will return and hold his own press conference once he is feeling better.” She stood up straighter, looking poised like a queen. “ In regards to the events of Bucharest; despite Dr Stark not being involved in the actions of Steven Grant Rogers, Samuel Thomas Wilson, James Buchanan Barnes and Prince T’Challa of Wakanda, the Maria Stark Foundation is ready to offer any help it can for the victims of the tunnel and the police officers injured when they were apprehending then alleged terrorist James Buchanan Barnes.”
Steve had to bite his lip from reflexively declaring Bucky’s innocence. At least Pepper had said alleged.
“ We also offer the same effort to the victims of the chase between deceased HYDRA Agent Brock Rumlow, and Wanda Maximoff, Steven Grant Rogers, Natalia Alianovna Romanova and Samuel Thomas Wilson. Stark Industries and Dr Stark himself have offered to pay for the damages created by the now fugitives; however we were denied by the governments who want the fugitives to pay for their actions and be tried for them in a Court of Law.”
In a court of Law?
“Shit,” muttered Scott, putting a hand through his hair. “I’m going to go to prison again, aren’t I?”
“It’s going to be okay,” reassured Steve, sparing him a glance and putting a hand on his shoulder. Scott rudely shrugged it off.
“ In the events of Leipzig, Stark Industries has already cleared and payed for the damages created by Iron Man and those sponsored by him: War Machine, the Vision and the individual by the name of Spider-Man. A comprehensive video of the fight, filmed by the Iron Man and War Machine suits - that will be made available for you at the end of this press conference - and an account from the Black Panther, show the Black Widow going against the Accords she signed, attacking the Black Panther and allowing fugitives Steven Grant Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes to escape, and therefore she will not be covered by Stark Industries regarding her - albeit negligible - damages. ”
Natasha was standing perfectly still, eyes on the television.
“ Lastly, we would like to take this moment to offer our deepest condolences to the 9 dead and 15 injured victims of the Bucharest bridge; the 3 dead, and 8 injured members of the Romanian Police force; and the 11 dead and 42 injured civilians in Lagos.”
9 dead and 15 injured during their escape and collapsed bridge.
3 dead and 8 injured police - who even if they were trying to kill Bucky, they had orders, and were simply following them.
11 dead and 42 injured in Lagos.
Even Wanda was pale.
“ Good afternoon,” came another voice, and the girl, Scott’s girlfriend, took the floor. “ It is the first time in many years that Pym Technologies and Stark Industries come to stand together on a stage, and I wish that we were doing so under different circumstances.
“I speak on behalf of both my father and I when I stand here and denounce the actions of Scott Lang, the pilot behind the Ant-Man suit.” Scott flinched, and even Steve was shaken by the thinly disguised rage in the woman’s voice. “ My father built the Ant-Man suit and allowed Scott Lang to use it because he believed in him; because he thought Scott would use it for good.
“Instead, Scott Lang stole my father’s suit and illegally entered Germany on a misguided crusade for Captain America, then entering a fight he had no knowledge of. I know this because Scott Lang, after a conversation that lasted less than a minute, a conversation in which he asked no questions , left me and his family behind to become a terrorist in the name of Captain America.”
“Are you sure she’s your girlfriend? She seems to-”
“Shut the fuck up, Wilson,” said Scott, teeth gritted.
“ We have officially listed the Ant-Man suit as stolen, and Pym Technology - as Scott’s Lang financial backers - is paying the millions of dollars in damages from the destruction he caused with the suit. On behalf of both my father and I, I’d like to once more, formally apologies to Germany and the people affected by Scott Lang’s behaviour.
“I would also like to offer my support for the Accords.”
The journalists, who had mostly been quiet save a couple of outbursts, started shouting questions at this sudden admission.
Scott was pale in the room with them. “Why? Why would she do that? You said that-” He turned to Steve. “You said that the Accords were red tape and blame shifting? Hope is smart, smarter than me, why would she do this?”
Maybe she isn’t as smart as you think, wanted to ask Steve, but he knew better. “They are. Maybe she hasn’t read -”
“ I haven’t read them either, now that I think about it.” Scott was looking at the room at large in suspicion. “I took you at face value -”
“Shut up, she’s talking again.”
“ I have read them, and bar a couple of points that Colonel Rhodes and Vision have assured me they also would be fighting against, the document seems sound. As the owner of technology very similar to the one used by Ant-Man, technology that I am very willing to use to help protect our world, it was important that I understood all and any law that surrounded the topic.
“The Sokovia Accords are not only right but also necessary, and both I, my father and Pym Technologies are 100% behind them.”
She then went on to offer the same condolences that Pepper had, but Steve wasn’t listening anymore.
The Accords were wrong, he knew that. And yet the people who had supported them were moving very freely around the world, and their support seemed to grow more. And while Steve wasn’t stupid, Tony was smart. Especially when it came to politics and the public, he knew what he was doing.
But then again, Thaddeus Ross was supporting the Accords. Sam had told him nightmare tales about the General, and while under SHIELD, he had read the things he had done to Bruce. And Tony, as Bruce’s friend, should have known about them, so why would he support them?
He had to be compromised in some way.
“They’re recruiting,” suddenly said Natasha, breaking the silence. Her face was as blank as ever, but it was paler than usual.
Sam frowned. “What?”
“Remember what Fury said? This is war. Potts just came on stage and basically said that Tony and Stark Industries have washed their hands of us.” At their confused expressions, she sighed, annoyed. “ Tony is paying for the destruction caused by War Machine, Spider Man, Vision and him. Usually, he dresses it up for the media and says that ‘the Avengers Initiative is paying’, even though everyone knows it’s him. But Pepper said Stark Industries and Maria Stark Foundation. The Romanian and Nigerian governments are looking at it as a ‘us’ vs ‘them’ situation, and that’s Potts' play. They are throwing us to the wolves, and refusing to use the name ‘Avengers’ while doing so.”
Steve wasn’t sure he understood what the red head was saying, but Clint and Sam did, if their worried expressions were anything to go by.
“And they are making sure there is no reason for us to be called back in case of an emergency by recruiting.”
“Recruiting?” asked Wanda, frowning slightly.
“Van Dyne might just as well just said that she was joining the Avengers on Tony’s side on that stage,” told her the spy, standing up and shaking her head. “And she just told every enhanced and superpowered person how she did it: by signing the Accords and approaching Vision and Rhodes.” She turned to Steve and she almost looked like she blamed him for everything. “You gotta start praying that we are needed soon , because Rhodes didn’t even wait a month to get started on a new Avengers’ team. And we’re on the wrong side of it.”
6 days later - 9 days after Fury, 26 days since Siberia, 24 days since Steve freed his friends from the RAFT - the computer Natasha had managed to borrow from King T’Challa pinged.
If Natasha’s behaviour towards them had been frosty, the King had been a glacier.
Steve had thought that when he had offered Bucky sanctuary, to atone from his mistakes, it meant that the man had realised how dangerous the Accords were.
That had not been the case.
The man had looked particularly frustrated when Steve returned to Wakanda with a jet full of the rest of his teammates, sequestering them to one part of the Royal Palace and fully ignoring their presence ever since, while his team continued to work and amass signatures for the Accords.
He had refused them most of the things they asked, only allowing two laptops between the whole team, and refusing to allow them to purchase anything for themselves. They couldn’t even use the training grounds his guards used and their access to the rest of the city was very limited.
In other words, it was another prison.
A prison they couldn’t escape because Steve couldn’t - wouldn’t - risk Bucky’s safety, even if the King had promised that he would do as much as he could to help the frozen supersoldier.
(and hadn’t that been a punch in the gut, when, after everything he had done to help his best friend, Bucky had flat out told him that he had already caused too much problems by following him and asked to be put in cryo until his trigger words were successfully removed)
So, he had stayed put and done his best to ruffle his teammate’s feathers. Natasha had then had the idea of putting an alert on any of Tony’s personal social media to be able to immediately know if the man said something.
Natasha claimed to have done it so that they could see what direction the wind was blowing in, but Steve was genuinely worried. Pepper’s words had done nothing to calm him down. She said he was okay and was regaining his strength, but how hurt had he been? He had looked fine when Steve had left - when he had left him behind - but apparently he was hurt enough to be put in a coma?
So, when the laptop pinged, Natasha stood up straighter, reaching out for the device as Clint, Sam and Steve assembled around her. Wanda scoffed at them and Scott hadn’t really spoken to them ever since the press conference.
“What is it?” was that worry in Clint’s voice? Steve hoped it was; Clint and Tony had been close friends before the whole ‘Civil War’ as the media called it.
“Instagram live,” explained Natasha, opening a tab.
She clicked on Tony’s icon - a picture of him winking at the camera with a huge grin on his face - and the image of the white walls of Tony’s workshop appeared. Not that they had ever been to the Tower’s workshop, but they had seen it from the outside often enough.
“ Have you turned it on ?” asked a voice that Steve didn’t recognise.
“ Of course I have,” answered -
“Vision!” immediately said Wanda, rushing towards them with wide eyes.
“ Are you sure this is a good idea? ”, that was indeed Vision talking.
“ He gave me access to his Instagram account and the letter. He doesn’t care what I do. And I want to do this,” came the first voice again. It sounded distorted, to avoid it being recognised. “ You ready?”
Vision sighed. “ I suppose. ”
Then Vision appeared on the screen settling down on one of the chairs, looking slightly awkward. “ Hello, this is Vision,”
“ And this is Spider-Man,” came the second voice as the spandexed enhanced from the airport showed, sitting down next to Vision with a piece of paper, his voice altered. “ Nice to see you!”
“Why are you on Tony Stark’s phone, you must be wondering.” He continued, sitting down more comfortably. “Well, neither me or Vision have our own accounts and when we asked him, he said it was all right.”
“ You asked him,” pointed out Vision, but his smile was soft. “ I was dragged against my will.” He blinked at the screen a few times, and his smile got even softer. “ I see a lot of questions about Tony’s well being. He is… ” he hesitated for a couple of moments, an hesitation that Steve was able to see only because they had spent a lot of time together. “ recovering. His injuries were numerous, but after the very experimental treatment he has gone through, he seems to be improving. Dr Cho, Dr Wu and Dr Strange have all been consulting and they agree that he will be back on his feet very soon. Your get well wishes are noted and treasured.”
The team - except for Wanda, who was staring at Vision with a lovesick expression - were staring at him, their eyes burning holes in his face, the question apparent even if Steve wasn’t looking at them: ‘ how hurt had Tony been after Siberia?’
Spider-Man picked up the paper he was holding and shook it at the screen. “ Back to Vision and me; after seeing this letter, we had considered for a long time what to do with it. Colonel Rhodes proposed that he burn it; Ms Potts wanted to eat it before Mr Stark could even see it. In the end I asked if I could do a dramatic reading of it and try to analyze it like I do- like we used to do in English class. ”
Steve was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
“This is the letter that Steve Rogers sent to Mr Stark following their fight,” said Spider-Man, and Steve squeezed his eyes shut.
He had sent the letter just days after the whole ordeal at the RAFT, and back then it hadn’t seemed so wrong of him to send it. He had felt better after writing it, certain that Tony would be at the Compound reading it and would immediately call him and fix things with them. But now, after Fury and Potts and Van Dyne? After Natasha and T’Challa?
Now he wasn’t so sure anymore.
Spider-Man opened the scrunched up paper. “‘ Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself’ . ” He read, making his voice gruffer through the modulation device probably installed in his suit. He turned at Vision. “ Now, how exactly would Captain America even know that Mr Stark would be back at the Compound? Had it not been for you and Colonel Rhodes coming to check on the hole in the kitchen, ” Wanda flinched, “ no one would have even seen the package.”
Vision nodded. “ It is particularly curious. Before the events of earlier this month, Tony did not frequent this place all that often. The few people who wanted to see him were more than willing to make the trip from the Compound to the Tower where he resided.” That was a jab if Steve had ever heard one. Only Rhodes and Vision had, after all, gone to see him when he had stepped back from the team. “ And the mansion? Tony rarely ever visits the one in New York. I don’t understand why the Captain would even say that. Then again, he had never seemed to understand Tony that well.”
That was simply unfair. Steve and Tony understood each other well, they simply disagreed often ( right?) . He had mentioned the mansion because… well, he knew about Tony and Pepper’s break up, and Tony had always said that the Tower was Pepper’s more than it was his. And he had moved them in the Compound to give more space for SI lab and offices. He had simply assumed that Tony had moved out of it too ( he didn’t ask. He never asked ).
“‘We all need family.’” Spider-Man snorted. “ Mr Stark has a family. A family he would do anything for: Ms Potts, Colonel Rhodes and Happy Hogan. I wasn’t even a superhero a year ago and even I know that those are Mr Stark’s people . Not even his enemies are willing to go after them, because of how fiercely protective of them he is.”
“And that’s not counting his bots and his AIs. They are like children to him,” added Vision.
Spider-Man’s face was covered but it looked like he was smirking. “ And you?”
“ Something like his nephew or his grandkid, I’m assuming, ” answered Vision with a straight face. He shrugged. “ I do, as I’ve learnt from the internet, refer to him as father when I want something in particular, and he folds easy .”
Vision had never been quite so friendly with them. Steve had tried to pretend, but he had never been particularly comfortable with the android, because of his origin. Wanda had been the one who had opened her arms to him since the beginning, but if this was truly how he felt about Tony, then their relationship was doomed to fail from the start.
Spider-Man snorted at his words, then continued reading. “'The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine.’ See, this is utter bullshit. ” he then said, and Steve frowned. Tony had always been the heart of the Avengers; without him, the Avengers fell apart.
“You said that?” asked Sam, staring at him in confusion. Even Wanda had stopped gawking at the screen to frown at him.
“ ‘The Avengers are yours’? How can he even sit down and write this when, of the original team, two are missing and he got the other two while Mr Stark is alone? If they are ‘more yours than mine’, well, where are they? If this was a divorce, Mr Stark got the house but the good Captain got all the children.”
That wasn’t what Steve meant!
“ It is quite obvious that the Avengers are more the Captain’s than they are Mr Stark’s,” agreed Vision. “ Let’s do a recap.”
“ Sam Wilson.”
“ Always follows the Captain’s lead, no matter what. Joined the Avengers by stealing the Falcon wings - property of Stark Industries - and following him and the Black Widow in a fight during project Insight. The footage I’ve reviewed showcases him as some sort of ‘yes man’.”
Sam clenched his jaw at the description, and Steve felt a pang of anger on behalf of his friend.
“ Natasha Romanoff.”
“Her support of the Accords made me wonder if I had misjudged her. But at the end of the day, she was never fond of Tony as much as she was of Steve Rogers. She let them go because it would have been easier for her to fight against Tony than it would have been to fight against Rogers. So she’s his too.”
Natasha’s face remained blank.
“Wanda Maximoff. ”
The android’s expression changed into one of almost distaste. “ She never liked Tony. He did everything he could to protect her after what happened in Lagos - since her visa was in danger of being revoked - by keeping her inside the Compound, but she thought herself too good for that. At one point I believed our attachment to each other meant that she could learn to at least tolerate him. But apparently she hates him enough to send me crashing down 15 floors.”
“No, Vis,” whispered Wanda, tears in her eyes.
“ She hates him, so if the Captain stood against him, so would she.” summarised Spider-Man, and Steve really hated how their words made him and his team sound. He wanted to turn the video off since Tony clearly wasn’t showing up, but he knew Natasha would hit him if he dared.
“ Colonel Rhodes.”
“ While he has never had a problem telling Tony ‘no’, Colonel Rhodes is firmly Tony’s.” Said the android, and Steve felt even more uncomfortable than before. He had hoped that Vision would have lied, but the thing was… everything he said, no matter how rudely he had said it? It was true. “ He spent three months searching for him while he was in Afghanistan. That’s true dedication and friendship.”
“Clint Barton.”
Clint stiffened slightly next to them when Vision didn’t immediately answer, seemingly thinking about it deeply. “ See, Mr Barton is a complex case. From the memories of my predecessor that I can access, Mr Barton and Tony were friends. When they all lived in the Tower, if he wasn’t with Dr Banner, Tony was with Barton, usually. Sure, his first priority was Natasha, but I - and my predecessor - believed him a friend of Tony. He spent the most time on his gear, after all, molding it perfectly for him.”
“ And yet, when the Captain called, he didn’t think twice about it and followed him, readily fighting with Tony’s weapons against him,” pointed out Spider-Man, and Clint pressed a hand on his face.
“Which is most curious, considering the man was retired,” agreed the droid. “ I cannot help but ponder if perhaps he was simply itching for a fight after a year at home, and would have just as easily joined Tony’s side. But then again, he clearly saw Romanoff on Tony’s side and that didn’t stop him. ” He shook his head. “ Fact remains that he is not here, now, is he? He joined Rogers in the fight, and from what the footage from the RAFT showed, still is with the Captain.”
Clint soundlessly stood up, ignoring Steve and Sam calling him as he retreated to his room.
“ Vision.”
“ I’d like to say that, as someone who is part coding, I am driven by logic and thus follow logic and facts instead of personal feelings.” The android gave him a sardonic look. “ However, we saw what happened when I found Tony after his fight with Rogers and Barnes. I am very clearly on Tony’s team.”
“So,” concluded Spider-Man, sounding very unimpressed. “ Of the 6 current Avengers, 4 were clearly on Steve Roger’s side. So that whole ‘they have always been more yours than mine’ is utter bullshit.”
And, as much as he loathed to admit it, when presented with the facts, Steve couldn’t argue against them. The ‘team’ was there with him in hiding instead of by Tony’s side as he - he internally winced - healed. The Avengers were Steve’s.
“I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army,” continued Spider-Man, before making a baffled noise. “ Now, what about James Barnes? You know, the guy Rogers caused an international and political disaster for? What of his good pal Wilson? What the hell is he talking about?”
Vision shook his head. “ It is most baffling. Does he not care for his supposed team? And even I, barely 1 years of age, am aware of the Howling Commandos and the friendship that they had. This is a whole rewriting of history.”
“You’re not alone, Steve,” added Wanda, giving him a compassionate smile.
Steve tried to smile back, but Sam was frowning at the screen and side eyeing him vaguely. Natasha wasn’t even moving.
“My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either.” If the mask hadn’t been there, Steve was sure Spider-Man would have been sporting his own version of Tony’s razor sharp condescending smirk. “ You heard it here first, folks. Captain Roger’s faith is in the people.”
Vision nodded, a very uncomfortable looking smile to look at on his face. “Ah, of course. Which is exactly why Captain Rogers decided to go against 117 countries full of said people in his crusade to protect Barnes. And also the reason why when those same people asked him to be held accountable for his actions he boldly proclaimed that ‘the safest hands’ were his own, bulldozed through them and when presented with the victims decided that ‘sometimes we can’t save everyone’.”
When he said it like that it sounded way worse than how Steve had meant it. He simply meant that the governments -
“ But Vision, ‘governments have agendas’, don’t you know!” The Captain froze, feeling even more uncomfortable at having the words he had just been thinking spoken out loud. “ And 117 different countries will of course have the same agenda - making the Avengers their guard dogs. Nevermind that there are clauses specifically written up to avoid such a situation.”
“ It is quite amusing to watch a… someone as young as yourself be able to understand such a simple concept while our esteemed Captain failed to even entertain it as a prospect.” He let out a sigh. “ Meanwhile he himself refused to admit that he had his own agenda: save James Barnes, no matter who or what stands before you. ”
Steve wanted to shake the other, to say that he was wrong ( but was he? He shoved aside civilians, police officers, fellow Avengers and Tony himself for Bucky. Who was next? Who else would he sacrifice for Bucky? ).
“ So no, his faith is not in the people. Next, ‘ Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't.’ I don’t know what the hell is this supposed to be a metaphor for? Is he saying Tony and his friendship cannot be replaced? Isn’t this supposed to be an apology letter?” At Vision’s shrug, Spider-Man continued. “I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand.”
Sam frowned. “What?” he muttered, while Natasha turned to look at him.
Her expression, that had been calm and blank the whole time, turned almost shocked and angry. “You didn’t tell him?” When Steve avoided her eyes, anger won out. “Steve, you promised you’d tell him! You told me not to cause you were going to!”
“What’s going on?” asked Sam, eyeing them worried.
“ Now, what the fuck .” Steve nearly jumped as Spider-Man spoke again. “‘ I was really sparing myself?’ ‘Hopefully one day you can understand?’?! Who even says something like this? After what he did-”
“ I don’t believe Ms Potts has made the situation public knowledge yet,” stopped him Vision. “ We should skip that part.”
Spider-Man took a deep breath, and Steve was grateful for Vision’s words.
“ Fine. But saying ‘Hope one day you can understand’ is not a fucking apology. It’s victim blaming and gaslighting one on one, ” continued the young superhero, and Steve felt even more hurt when he saw Sam hesitantly nodding. Natasha’s face was almost as blank as before, but there was anger in her face. Wanda was looking at Steve with something like confusion in her face. “ It’s like saying ‘I’m sorry you were hurt’. You’re not apologising for the hurt you’ve caused, you’re blaming the other person for being hurt. But anyway,
“‘I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do.’”
“ He never actually finished reading the Accords,” pointed out Vision, idly. “ He read the abstract and like one page and decided that it was all red tape and blame shifting. Wilson and Maximoff didn’t even attempt to read it. And Lang and Barton? I doubt they even know what the Accords are all about.”
He didn’t need to read them in their entirety to understand them! He knew enough ( but did he really?)!
Spider-Man snorted. “ Interesting how the people who approved the Accords are the only ones with any form of actual education. Mr Stark, a certified genius and a businessman who took his multi million company and made it a multi billion company and managed not to destroy himself and his employees when he shut down his most lucrative sector, aka weapons manufacturing. Colonel Rhodes, who graduated summa cumme laude in astrophysics - a literal rocket scientist. You, who basically know every law that has ever been drafted. And Ms Romanoff, a spy who makes it her business to know everything about everyone.”
“ And on the other side we have Steve Rogers, who only barely finished high school, according to his records.” Steve clenched his teeth together. There was more in life than being book smart! “ Clint Barton, who spent his entire life in a circus before joining SHIELD. Wanda Maximoff who has never made an effort to understand the laws of the US and who didn’t even understand why leaving the sanctuary Tony had made for her here meant that she might lose her visa and any right to enter the US again.” Wanda blanched at his words, eyes wide and shocked. “ Sam Wilson is an interesting one though. He is educated and he has worked in the military under a similar set of rules as the Accords, so he shouldn’t have opposed them like that. But then again,” Vision shrugged, “he never actually read them. Steve Rogers said jump and Wilson immediately asked how high.”
Spider-Man snorted, while Sam looked down at his hand like he was ashamed of himself. Vision and Spider-Man were basically calling Steve dumb and everyone who followed him a stupid ‘yes man’. And they claimed to be heroes! They were acting like bullies.
“‘ I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do.’ Which means, from the tone of this apology letter ‘you’re wrong and your belief is wrong, but do what you're gonna do’. ”
“ Presumptuous as usual.”
That wasn’t what he meant! Steve just meant is as he said it. Not for the first time, he hated that he had been forced to go into hiding, unable to tell people his side of things. The media had been dragging his name through the mud ever since Potts’ press conference, and now Spider-Man and Vision were misunderstanding his words and adding fuel to the fire. He knew that the people would soon understand that they were wrong, but having to wait had never been Steve’s strong suit.
“‘That's all any of us should... So no matter what, I promise you, if you need us - if you need me - I'll be there.’” finished Spider-Man, shaking his head. “ Wow. I actually felt brain cells leaving my body after this… thing. This thing, because calling this an apology is absolute rubbish.”
“ He seems under the delusion that we will ever allow him within an inch of Tony after what happened,” said Vision. “‘ If you need me’, well that’s just not going to happen, is it? Not with the amount of Enhanced that have been slowly climbing out of their hiding posts following the formation of the Accords.”
‘ They are recruiting’ , had said Natasha. No, decided Steve, shaking his head. They were still needed, the Avengers were still needed.
“ The only place he’ll be needed is - hopefully - a federal prison paying for his actions,” agreed Spider-Man. “ I doubt even someone as forgiving as Mr Stark would be able to work with a woman who threw cars at him in a fight where he was clearly pulling his punches, or people who betrayed him.”
“Agreed.” said Vision, grabbing the letter and scrunching it up in a ball. “ DUM-E, catch!”
Steve tuned out now that the letter had been read, staring as Vision and Spider-Man continued with their back and forth, talking about various countries that were after them and the people they had to answer to.
The supersoldier was starting to grow nervous; there was still absolutely no trace of Tony, and the engineer had not once attempted to protect them or defend them from what his friends were saying.
Natasha had checked the numbers: in the US, 59% of the people were on Tony’s side, and while he hoped that the people would be on his after this livestream, he had the sinking feeling they wouldn’t. And internationally it was even worse, with the EU having a 93% of people on Tony’s side and Africa with a 74% in favour of the billionaire.
Simply put, right now, Steve and his team were no one’s favourites, and that was frightening. If Wakanda asked them to leave right now, they would struggle to find anywhere who would welcome them and offer them asylum of any kind.
Wanda spoke a few minutes later. Steve hadn’t even noticed that both Sam and Natasha were gone, leaving him alone with the Sokovian girl. Her eyes were wide and almost afraid as she looked up at him.
“Will we ever go home, Steve?”
For the first time since they had gotten to Wakanda, there were doubts in Steve’s mind.
6 days later - 12 days since the press conference, 15 days since Fury, 26 days since Siberia, 24 days since Steve freed his friends from the RAFT - the videos from Siberia were released.
When they had returned from Siberia, out of - self preservation - guilt and shame, Steve had refrained from telling exactly what happened to the rest of the team. Sam had pressed him for answers, wanting to know, if Tony had gone as a friend as he had promised, why Bucky had returned with only one arm and Steve didn’t have his shield.
Steve had told him a summary of the truth: Tony had gone as a friend but Zemo had managed to manipulate him, and it had come down to blows - because you know that if you told the full truth they’d hate you .
Natasha had looked at him in suspicion after that explanation, but Wanda, Clint, Scott and Sam had all started raving about how ‘Stark couldn’t be trusted’ and how ‘Stark had sold out’ and all. It had made Steve uncomfortable - because it wasn’t fair, you’re the one to blame, you - because if everything went well, they’d have to be a team again - Tony will never trust you again .
The longer it went without Tony appearing on the screen, however, the quieter their shouts and calls for his head became. Even Wanda who still despised Tony had grown rather quiet, unable to call him a manipulator when even the media he was supposed to be manipulating couldn’t find him anywhere.
And after Spider-Man and Vision’s live stream, Sam had started to look at him differently. He had yet to come outright and ask him anything, but he was clearly having his doubts about whether what Steve had told him, and the soldier had no idea what he could say.
So, when that afternoon, twelve days after the press conference from hell and six days after the livestream, a picture of Tony - an old picture - appeared on the television, Steve was immediately leaning forward, turning the volume up, Sam, Natasha and Wanda also sitting up straight.
“ ... anonymously last night at midnight, and the links were immediately sent to several news stations as well as posted on many different social media networks. Many tech analysts have confirmed the validity of both videos, and they shed a new light on the so called ‘Civil War’ conflict, as well as an explanation as to exactly what happened to Tony Stark.” Alarm bells were starting to ring in Steve’s mind. “ The following content is particularly gorey, so viewer’s discretion is advised.”
The anchor/host stopped talking, and two videos appeared on the screen; and Steve’s blood froze as he saw himself, Tony and Bucky standing on the left video, staring at a screen depicting the video on the right.
No, no, no . They were filmed? Zemo-
“Is that… Siberia?” questioned Sam, looking closer.
“ I know that road.”
How? Zemo was in custody, how had he had access -
“What is this?”
The camera had a perfect view of all three of their faces. The Steve in Siberia eyed Tony, but stayed very still as they watched a car crashing.
“Oh my god? Someone filmed his parent’s accident?” asked Sam, and Steve wanted to jump in and turn off the television, but just like in Siberia - he was frozen to the spot.
The motorbike stopping. Bucky in his Winter Soldier attire stepping out of it and approaching the car as Howard Stark climbed out of the driver’s side.
“ Help… my wife… help my wife. ”
Sam hissed. “No…”
Siberia Steve’s eyes kept flickering between Tony and the video, and Wakanda Steve hated watching himself, hated seeing more fear of Tony’s reaction than horror at watching the video. He was a soldier, but Howard? Howard had been his friend.
The recognition in Howard’s voice.
“ Sargent Barnes? ”
And the beating. The metal arm punching Howard’s face repeatedly. Tony flinching away from the screen, eyes closing in pain. Tears in Bucky’s eyes. Steve watching Tony.
“Why? Why is he… stop,” whispered Wanda, absolute horror in her eyes.
And what did it say about him that the girl who had hated Tony for more than half of her life could show more empathy than he was doing in film?
Maria Stark groaning on film, and Bucky realising she was alive. Approaching her and then choking her with his flesh hand.
“But why?” whispered Wanda, her hand going to where the collar had been resting less than a month ago. “Steve, why is your friend-”
“It wasn’t him,” he pleaded, voice coming out shaky and… afraid. Afraid like he was in Siberia again, like he was watching his friendship crumble again. “It wasn’t him.”
The Bucky of the assassination video shooting the camera, and then Tony making a move at the ex Winter Soldier who jumped back, fear and pain in his eyes.
“ Tony, Tony… ” from a too calm Steve, a too cold Steve.
Tony turning to look at him - because Siberia Steve and Now Wakanda Steve were the same, it was him - pain in his brown eyes and then… confusion.
Steve could see it now, the quick question of ‘why isn’t he hurt?’, ‘why is he so calm’. The realisation. The betrayal.
“Did you know ?” ask Tony and Sam at the same time. Tony’s tone is hurt and rage. Sam’s is fear.
“ I didn’t know it was him-”
“ Don’t bullshit me, Rogers. Did. You. Know .”
Why had he even tried to lie? Why hadn’t he stood in front of the screen the moment he figured out what was going on? Why hadn’t he just told Bucky to run and tried to keep Tony from going after him?
“ Yes,” and it’s too loud, the word is too much, and Tony is flinching away from Steve like he had just been slapped.
“Steve?” Sam’s voice was a whisper, and Steve refused to turn around to see the same disgust pain fear anger in his eyes.
But the video wasn’t over, of course the video wasn’t over, and then Tony was punching Steve in the face, and Bucky was training his gun on Tony, and then they were fighting -
“What are you doing!” shouted Sam, unable to look away from the Steve on the screen to the Steve next to him. “He just watched his parents die why the fuck are you fighting him?”
Natasha was looking at the screen, still like a picture, but her index finger was shaking slightly as the fight progressed.
“ It wasn’t him, Tony! HYDRA had control of his mind!”
Wanda was horrified. “He was the weapon, and he was in front of him.”
“ Move .”
“It wasn’t him!”
Sam turned to face the Steve in the room with him, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. “How can you expect him to understand that after you lied to him and he had to watch… that?”
Steve hated the look in Sam’s eyes. It was like Sam was watching someone he loved die in front of him. “He was going to kill Bucky. I couldn’t… I had to save Bucky.”
Natasha didn’t look at him, her finger still shaking even as she kept her tone of voice bored. “If he wanted him dead, all he had to do was activate the unibeam from his chest when he first had him pinned on the wall. Or use the lasers and cannons he has in his suit.” She eyed him with mistrust hidden behind a blank canvas. “You saw him when he was killing against Ultron and the Chitauri. He went toe to toe with Thor and the Hulk. He has Veronica.”
“Do you even remember them?”
Steve refused to listen to Natasha’s words - because she was right, because he used deadly force and Tony was pulling his punches, and it took two of them fighting back to back to actually stop him - shaking his head. “He was going to kill him. You didn’t see his face.”
“ I remember all of them. ”
He had to believe that, he had to hold onto that because if not… if not…
Natasha was implacable. “He wanted to hurt you as much as he was hurting. He wanted to make you bleed. But he was not trying to kill you.”
“ This isn’t gonna change what happened!”
“ I don’t care. He killed my mom .”
The soldier turned his eyes on the TV again, hating how every trained part of him was telling him all the openings Tony had, while his mind replayed the fights they had against villains and gods and robots alike. He was attacking them the same way he had attacked the baseline humans in HYDRA.
Maim not kill.
“ He’s my friend. ”
“ So was I,” Tony’s voice is hurt angry tired and Steve feels his heart break.
Back then, he hadn’t cared. Back then he was in a fight and Tony wasn’t a friend, Tony wasn’t an ally: Tony was an obstacle.
Vision’s words from that livestream - save James Barnes, no matter who or what stands before you . Tony had stood between him and Bucky, and Steve… had turned on him.
“ I can do this all day. ”
“Steve what the fuck is wrong with you?” there was agony in Sam’s voice, and it hurt hurt hurt that his own friend was disgusted by him, but what did he expect? Hadn’t he known? Wasn’t this exactly why he hadn’t told them the full truth had lied, lied lied.
And on the screen, the beatdown. Steve and Bucky against Tony, until Tony blasted his arm off and then.
Then Siberia Steve sees red.
And Steve can’t watch himself on the screen, attacking and hurting Tony, slamming his shield on his face, over and over and over again, and raising his arms again -
“No!” shouted Natasha, her composure failing her.
because Natasha might have liked Steve more, but Natasha considered the Avengers her family, and Tony was her family too and Steve -
Sam’s hand was on his neck and Steve wanted to scream that he didn’t, he didn’t slam the shield on Tony’s neck, he didn’t kill him, he stopped himself, he hit the reactor -
“ That shield doesn’t belong to you," Tony’s parting words as Steve started to leave. Steve stopping and turning around. “ You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield! ”
Erskine once said that good becomes great and bad becomes worse. In that moment, when his shield nearly decapitated the son of the man who made it, was Steve still good?
Tony staring at their retreating figures, not moving from where he was.
And then Tony lets out a choking sound, a cry. A ragged breath. More choked and painful sounds that tear at Steve’s chest.
He faints.
The video cuts off.
He fainted. Why had he fainted? He was talking when -
Sam turned the volume down and spoke over the anchors. If it was possible, his face looked even more appalled than before. “Steve… you left him behind?”
The supersoldier squeezed his eyes shut. “He was okay when I left. He looked okay, he was talking, you heard-”
“You smashed. A vibranium shield. Close range. Against a baseline human’s chest. It left an indentation in his armour and disabled the arc reactor.” Sam’s words were like gunshots. “And you thought he’d be okay ?”
“He has an artificial sternum,” whispered Natasha, looking at Steve like he frightened her. “Because of the Arc Reactor. The Arc Reactor that Obadiah once snatched out of his chest. And you just… you.” She covered her mouth with her hand and stood up, quickly leaving the room.
Sam stood up too. “You lied to us just like you lied to Tony. You lied to everyone.” He laughed, but it was a shocked laugh. “Vision was right. You only care about Bucky Barnes.” His expression closed off and he was angry . “You’re a fucking traitor, Rogers .”
No, no, he wanted to say. He wanted to make them listen. To make them understand.
Wanda’s expression wasn’t angry. She almost looked… happy. He knew she was just a child, but it was sick . “Steve. You killed Tony Stark.”
Steve turned to the television willing it to show Tony, willing it to show the billionaire alive and well.
Instead a breaking news banner appeared.
Stark Industries confirms veracity of the Siberia Bunker Videos, and issues a warrant for the arrest of Steven Grant Rogers for obstruction of justice and the attempted murder of Anthony Edward Stark.
Clint punched him when he found out about the news, hard enough that he broke his fingers. Scott he hadn’t seen since the whole thing with his girlfriend. Sam and Natasha stayed close to each other and had taken to leaving the room every time he tried to apologise to them.
Only Wanda stayed loyally by his side, telling him she ‘understood’ what he did and ‘even though watching your parents die’ was something she wouldn’t wish anyone, ‘not even Tony Stark’, he did what he had to do.
Steve wished she had abandoned him too, hating her words.
Things had, somehow, gotten even worse after the Siberia videos. For a few days the media spewed vitriol against Steve mostly, demonising every single media appearance he had ever made, the hashtags #TeamCrap, #ExVengers, #JusticeForTheStarks and #NotMyCap trending all over twitter.
Then they started going after the rest of team, starting from Natasha.
They theorised - correctly - that Steve and her had learned about the Stark’s murders when they had dumped the SHIELD and HYDRA files online. So they went back to those files but, instead of focusing on HYDRA, many news agents and hackers decrypted anything about the Black Widow.
“ I doubt she even has a degree in psychology, ” said a Dr Mandes, a copy of her report on Tony plastered on the screen. “ Because if she did, then I’d have to question her teacher as to how she achieved such thing when she claims that Tony Stark displays ‘narcisistic’ tendencies. Cause, frankly, that is not true.”
“ She claimed in one of her first interviews that she had joined SHIELD to do good in the world,” sneered another newscaster. “ And yet, she went from murdering and torturing for the KBG and the Russians to… murdering and torturing for SHIELD. This is how she wanted to clear the red off her ledger? Of course SHIELD never noticed HYDRA was among them when their actions are exactly the same!”
Then they went on Clint.
“ Isn’t interesting how SHIELD covered up all the murders he committed while, allegedly, under ‘mind control’ and, instead of giving the man some help and a good shrink, they made him a goddamn Avenger?” asked a woman, shaking her head slightly, lips pursed. “ No psych eval, no nothing? Are this our heroes? How come he does’t get a report like Tony Stark did? Hawkeye yes, Clint Barton not recommended?”
Scott wasn’t known except for his brief stint in prison, so they mostly left him alone. Sam wasn’t known either, but he was military.
On the day his commander stepped into the limelight and announced that Sam had received a disonhorable discharge, the Falcon had nearly cried and then locked himself in his room for the whole night.
Wanda though…
“ This girl is a monster, ” said an anchor, several reports from HYDRA all around her. “Her powers are downright terrifying. It says here that she was a HYDRA volunteer? A neo nazi woman in the same team as Captain America?”
“ It’s insane. There are several videos of her using her powers to torture people. There are even ‘training’ videos in which she simply watches as the people she attacks scream and claw their eyes out and then she smiles . She is a degenerate. ”
“ She has claimed in several psych evals done by HYDRA that Tony Stark is personally responsible for killing her parents because a shell with the word STARK was staring at her for two days while she and her brother waited to be saved. ” The man speaking snorted. “ Which is crazy for two reasons: how are you going to blame to bomb manufacturer who did not sell the bomb to your government, you know, the government in the middle of a civil war? That’d be like blaming the CEO of BMW every time a BMW got in an accident with someone. That’s stupid.
“Secondly, all STARK bombs had the words ‘Stark Industries’ written on them. If it really said STARK only, as she claims? Then it was a counterfeit. SI bombs were the best because they never failed.”
Steve had to take Wanda out of the room after that so that she wouldn’t break the television. Sam and Natasha had taken to avoiding her too after the videos of her training were released.
When he walked back into the living room, a week after the Siberia videos’ release, Natasha and Sam didn’t immediately walk out, too absorbed by the television to notice him. Clint glared at him, but didn’t say anything.
Steve had never thought he would hate something as simple as a television so much, but as he realised James Rhodes was sitting there, he found himself wishing that damned thing didn’t exist. Because, now what ?
“ As General Ross has already proven, ” was saying Rhodes, expression serious, “ Sending baseline police officers to retrieve the Rogue Avengers would do no one any good. Steve Rogers has already proven he will go through anyone - friend or foe - to avoid capture.”
Steve winced at the Colonel’s words. It was the second time he had seen him since Germany - the first time being when Ross had been arrested and Rhodes had testified in Court against him - and it was clear from the way he spoke his name, the man loathed him.
“ So,” started T’Challa, and only then did Steve notice the King was there too. “ You wish to send the New Avengers to retrieve them? They haven’t exactly been out in the field yet.”
Rhodes looked at the King vaguely amused. “ I am confident in my team, your Highness.”
It must be one of those Accords meetings that Steve had mostly avoided checking up on.
A woman with a card with the Australian flag spoke. “ Be it as it may, we don’t know where the Rogue Avengers are at the moment. ”
Rhodes’ smile grew and Steve felt his insides freeze. “ As of yesterday afternoon, I do, actually.”
“What?!” said Steve, shocked.
On the television, T’Challa gave nothing away.
The woman who had spoken blinked at him in surprise. “ You… do?”
“He’s bluffing,” said Clint, looking at the screen uncertainly.
“ I have sort of known since Zemo was apprehended,” said Rhodes, colloquially. “ But I didn’t want to make accusations without having proof, and I didn’t want to check for proof without having a team ready to go apprehend them. But now, I have both.
“ You see, your Excellency, while I might not be the inventor Tony Stark is, I am proficient in engineering; after all, I do most of my own repairs on the War Machine suit, while Tony does my upgrades and explains to me how they work. ”
“ Mr Rhodes-”
“I’ll get to the point, yes. Do you recall what happened when Tony Stark shut down his weapon manufacturing?” he asked, politely.
Another man with the french flag on his ID. “ He recalled all of his weapons.”
“ Yes,” agreed Rhodes. “ And those he couldn’t recall, he tracked down and destroyed.”
Natasha stilled. “Oh fuck.”
Sam looked at her in confusion, while one of the chancellors gasped. “ Oh. ”
Rhodes seemed pleased. “ I see you are starting to get it, Chancellor. I’m no Tony, so it took me a little longer, but I managed it.”
The french man was still confused. “ I am sorry, I don’t understand.”
“ Chancellor, Tony Stark outfitted the Avengers and made their gear.” Explained Rhodes, and all the air seemed to leave the room. “ So I tracked down the Stark weapons those morons used against my - against Tony, and,” he turned a projection on, a map appearing on it. “ I would like to know, King T’Challa. Do you and your people enjoy corporate espionage and theft of Stark Tech or are there some terrorist hiding in your Castle?”
T’Challa had no words.
Steve turned to his friends team. “We need to go, now.”
For the first time in more than a week, his team rose to his call again.
+++
Scott wasn’t with them. Steve had searched everywhere for the man until Natasha had told him that he had left the same day his girlfriend had spoken against him and turned himself in.
Bucky wasn’t with them either. There were too many guards around the laboratory, and if they tried to wait for him to defrost, they would be caught - because they were fleeing from the law now. They were criminals, fugitives . Steve had tried to protest, but one look at Sam and Clint’s faces - daring him to put Barnes in front of everyone again, daring him to value Barnes more - and he had to agree that for now, Bucky was safer in Wakanda; in fact, after T’Challa had come clean, no one had asked about Bucky. Everyone was interested in them, the criminals, the fugitives.
Stealing the jet was not too hard, with Wanda using her powers to distract the Doras and Natasha and Clint figuring how to use it easily even without knowing the language.
“Fuck!” hissed Sam as they rose up in the air, hands covering his face. “This is so fucked, everything is just-”
“Sam,” tried Steve, but the air force soldier immediately turned a glare on him.
“What, Steve? What could you possibly have to say now?” he demanded, face contorted in anger. “The military will never want me back. The world fucking hate us. We left all of our weapons behind which means, I’m useless. Everyone is out of our blood and there is nowhere in the world where we could hide. Hell, do you even have any money? All the money we used was Stark’s, how do you expect to survive?”
Clint put a hand through his hair. “I can’t go home to Laura without putting her in danger.”
“At this point,” added Sam after a few moments of silence, “the safest thing we can do is turn ourselves in and hope for mercy, because-”
“NO!” Shouted Wanda, red seeping through her fingers. Sam took a step back, and Natasha put a hand on her gun - where did she get that? Why did she have that? “I’m not going back to any prison cell! I refuse!”
“Guys…”
“Well, how do you expect to survive?” asked her the red head, face impassive. “Are you going to use your magic against civilians?”
“Guys.”
Wanda stuck her chin out. “What has the world done for me? I’ve tried to help, to fix my mistakes and all they do is bring them up and fear me. I cannot control other people’s fear only mi-”
“Guys!” shouted Clint, and all four turned to look at him. Clint’s expression was frazzled. “The jet is going down. I can’t fly it.”
“What?” asked Steve, coming closer to the man. “I thought you said you figured it out.” They had been in the air for about one hour, they were nowhere near safe!
The archer glared at him. “I have, but now someone - and I’m assuming it’s Wakanda’s tech people - have hacked it and are remotely controlling it.”
“Can you un-hack it?” questioned the blond, cringing at the twin looks of disbelief on the two agent’s face.
“You killed the only person crazy and capable enough to hack Wakanda’s tech, Captain,” told him Natasha, voice angry. “Remember?”
“I didn’t kill him!” He didn’t , he didn’t -
“How can you blame Steve! Stark put us in the RAFT!” She gave him a look full of adoration and Steve felt seriously sick. “He deserved it.”
Clint was on his feet in a second, eyes full of fury. “Listen here, you witch-”
And when was it that Clint went from hating and blaming Tony for the RAFT to him turning fully against Wanda? Was it before or after her HYDRA file was exposed? Before or after Siberia?
“We’re landing,” interrupted Sam, voice surprisingly calm all of a sudden. “I don’t what you’re planning to do next, and don’t tell me, so I have plausible deniability; but I’m turning myself in.”
“Sam,” tried Steve, and for once Sam wasn’t angry when he looked at him.
“I followed you, Steve, for three years. And it led me to this. I can blame you all I want, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am to blame too. I should have asked more question, took off my ‘Captain America is never wrong’ glasses.” He shrugged, like he wasn’t breaking Steve’s heart. “The glasses are coming off now.”
“I’m coming with you.” Said Clint, coming to stand next to him, making eye contact with Natasha. “If there is any way I can salvage anything, if there is any way I can make Laura forgive me and not file for divorce or full custody of the children, I’ll do it. Anything.” Anger as he turned to Steve. “You should have never called me.”
“Traitors!” hissed Wanda, as the jet came to still, the doors opening the moment it stopped.
“Come out with your hands in the air!” came a voice from outside, and how had they gotten there so fast?
Steve looked out from one of the window and felt like he was about to have a heart attack.
At the beginning, when T’Challa had offered sanctuary to Bucky - and Bucky alone, not them - he had said that if the world was going to come after them to ‘ let them come’ .
They had come.
Outside it was like watching an army.
There was a blonde woman in front, a spandex looking blue red suit with a huge star on it; a man levitating with complicated facial hair to rival Tony’s; a civilian looking woman with dark hair and a leather jacket that sent alarm bells ringing in Steve’s mind; a dark skinned man who sent the same bells the girl next to him was; and Sharon Carter.
Sharon had a gun in her hand and it was trained to the door, an expression of barely concealed fury in her face. Her hand wasn’t shaking.
Why was she there? Was she there to help them? Cause her face said something completely different.
Behind them there was a number of people in black suits, who looked familiar -
SHIELD agents. But there was a different insignia on their body suits, a sword instead of a SHIELD. And none of them looked particularly friendly.
The blonde woman took a step forward, hand glowing. “We have been authorised to use deadly force against you if you do not desist, so -”
Wanda shouted and rushed out of the door before anyone else could, hands glowing red and face contorted with rage.
He felt it happen before it happened, and he rushed after the woman, trying to hold her back, trying to -
“Wanda!” he shouted, unable to catch her in time as several bullets fired, the glow of her hands fading before she even hit the floor, dead. “Oh my god, Wan-”
He took a step towards her and a bullet grazed his shoulder, Sharon having stepped forward with her gun trained on him.
“Move and give me a reason to shoot you again, Rogers. I dare you.” she spat, hatred rolling off her.
Behind him he could feel the rest of team mates coming out, hands raised above their heads.
“Sharon, what-” he tried as two orange shackles materialised on his wrists.
The blonde kept her gun trained on him as the black guy came to stand behind him and pushed him up on his feet, hand tightening against the bullet wound with no care. Sharon sneered at him. “You tried to kill my cousin, you nearly killed him with the shield Uncle Howard made him. Aunt Peggy would be disgusted.”
Getting shot again would have hurt less.
+++
Steve’s trial was basically last, and with Wanda dead, there was no one else defending him. Clint and Natasha pushed everything they could on him, but Vision, Rhodes and T’Challa all testified against them too.
Clint managed to get house arrest but the last he had heard, Laura had filed for divorce anyway.
Scott got house arrest too, since he turned himself in first, before the world ever figured out where he was.
When Steve’s turn came, he plead guilty.
There was nothing else he could do. He failed everything; no one told him anything about Bucky, his team hated him, Wanda trusted him to help her become better and now she was dead, his last link to Peggy despised him and Tony -
“After much deliberation,” but they were gone for about 10 minutes only. “In the case of the defendant Steven Grant Rogers, the jury find the defendant guilty on all charges.”
He stood up when he was asked, and turned to look behind him at the people crying tears of joy and cheering in the courtroom and his gut clenched.
This was his legacy.
He saw Potts and Rhodes among the crowd, watching him from the back.
They were smiling as he was dragged away.
He never saw Tony again.
(Sometimes Steve thinks he killed him in Siberia.)