By the time Pietro and I make it to the conference table in the main room, everybody is already seated. Ex-General Thunderbolt Ross is preparing what I can only assume is going to be his speech. Pietro and I take the two chairs at the end of the table, sitting across from each other. On the left of the table are Wanda, Vision, Sam, and Pietro. On the right side of the table is James, Natasha, Steve, and then me. Tony sits to the side on his own chair, being the rebel he usually is. Then at the head of the table stands General Ross, who watches as both Pietro and I seat ourselves. Seeing that we're all here now, Ross begins his speech.

"Oh, five years ago I had a heart attack." He begins while taking a step back and stands like he's about to play golf. I look across the table at Pietro, who just shrugs. I have absolutely no idea how this even relates to what I'm sure he's here for. "I dropped right in the middle of my 9th swing." Ross then drops his hands and moves back to the table, resting them there. "Turns out it was the best round of my life because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple by-pass..." He pauses and nods to himself. "I found something forty years in the army never taught me." Again, he pauses and then gives a smile before proceeding. "Perspective." When he gets no response from any of us, he moves on again. "The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have...fought for us, protected us, risked your lives. But while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some," General Ross pauses again. "who would prefer the word vigilantes." He concludes, looking over all of us. I simply roll my eyes when his attention shifts away from me and give Pietro an 'are you serious look?' to which he returns.

I wonder if he'd notice if I just got up and left right now.

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asks. I can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not. But if I know her at all, I think she's being just the slightest bit sarcastic. Just a little bit.

"How 'bout dangerous?" He sharply shoots back, looking at her.

Well, it sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.

"What would you call a group of U.S. based enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will, wherever they choose, and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" Quietly, I tap my fingers against the table as I listen. General Ross does have a point there, unfortunately. It's not like we have permission to invade a country and do the work of their country's military or police. But yet, here we are, doing just that. And look how well that's gone? Then again, it's not like the government could really have handled Sokovia. However, they probably could have dealt with Nigeria if given the proper time and information we had had. As for D.C. and the Helicarriers...I'm not sure. The Avengers and the military could have worked together on that. But the problem of who would you trust because anybody could be HYDRA would be a problem. Soooo...yeah, no, the government couldn't have handled that either.

I snap back to attention when I see the Secretary move to the side so we're able to view the clear glass screen. Clips begin to pop up, followed by the monologue of General Ross. "New York." He states, looking down at his shoes as a clip of a giant space worm, a Leviathan, comes around the corner of a building, chasing Tony in his suit. It then cuts to screaming people running in the street. Then there's Hulk who jumps from one building to another, sending showers of bricks down on a person who was just trying to film what was happening. I can only imagine he didn't make it out alive.

"Washington D.C." Ross says next, looking at all of us as the clip begins. In the sky are three smoking Helicarriers that are firing at each other with people on sidewalks running away from the fight. Then it shows the Triskelion with a Helicarrier crashing into the side of it, sending black smoke into the air. Next is a clip of a Helicarrier on fire crashing into the Potomac River, sending a large wave into the sidewalks and washing people away. Again, the feeling of 'those people didn't survive' overcomes me.

"Sokovia." The Secretary says solemnly. At first, there's a clip of screaming and running people and then a shot of the city lifting into the air from someone who was far enough away to film it. Next is a clip of buildings falling on top of each other, sending up puffs of dirt and dust.

"Lagos." He continues. The very first clip is one of the building the bomb vest went off by, on fire with smoke puffing out of the building. Then it shifts to policemen and emergency services taking people out in body bags and stretchers as the wail of sirens plays in the background. But when the clip of a dead woman appears on the screen, I'm forced to look away just to avoid the swell of raw emotions that overcomes me. I want to vomit. I can see in the corner of my eye Wanda looks away as well. Steve shoots me a pitying look before directing the same one to Wanda.

"Ok. That's enough." Cap says firmly. Ross gives a nod to his assistant and the screen goes blank once again. No matter what, it seems Cap's got our backs.

"The past four years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate." He's quiet for a moment before turning to his assistant. He holds out his hand and is given a large white book with a blue binding. "But I think we have a solution." He says as he takes the book before and he slides it across the table to Wanda. "The Sokovia Accords." Ross says while straightening back up to regard the rest of us. "Approved by one hundred and seventeen countries, it states," Ross begins to walk around the side of the table as James motions for Wanda to slide the Accords over to him, to which she complies. "that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of the United Nations Panel, only when, and if, that panel deems it necessary."

Okay but also, how about no?

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve begins after Ross has stopped talking. He continues to look at the surface of the table.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" The Secretary asks, turning to address Steve, who looks up at him. "Because if I misplaced a couple of megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences." And then he moves away again, towards the head of the table while Nat gives Steve a look. "Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." He states while pointing to the Accords that James has. I feel like a bristling cat. I quickly find that I'm no longer able to hold my tongue and slam my fist on the table. This gains the attention of everybody in the room.

"Forgive me, sir, but Thor and Banner have the complete right to be left out of this." I snarl at Ross. I can feel the temperature of my body rising sharply as the anger builds.

"Oh really?" He snaps back, stopping in his tracks as he sharply regards me.

"Oh really." The room falls into a shocked silence. I don't think anybody was expecting my outburst, but considering everything I've gone through today, I think it was only a matter of time before I snapped at someone. And, frankly, I'd rather it be General Ross than one of my friends.

"How so?" The Secretary asks, his eyes narrowed at me. I can't tell if he's surprised or shocked, that I, a lowly Avenger, would be talking to him, the Secretary of State, in such a manner.

"Thor is Asgardian if you hadn't noticed," I state. "and Banner had been quite removed from the world before S.H.I.E.L.D., your government agency, pulled him back into these messes, beginning with New York, and then proceeded to keep him here." My tone is harsh and determined as I speak. "So if anyone is to blame for any part of the Hulk's destruction, it would be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, not the Avengers."

"I am well aware Thor is Asgardian." The ex-military general states, but doesn't seem to comment on the Banner part or whether S.H.I.E.L.D. is to blame.

"Well, then you'll also remember he is not of Earth, General, but yet of Asgard. You know? The place he lives and where his home is? He is not required to remain here. He was here only to help fix the damage his deranged brother caused. In no way is he under the control of this world's government." I fire at Ross.

"He still had a part to play in the destruction of New York and Sokovia, girl." The 'girl' comment riles me up even further. I stand to my feet, the backs of my knees pushing the chair away from me.

Had he not just heard what I said about him being here because of his brother?

"New York is on S.H.I.E.L.D. and your World Security Council, General, seeing as they failed to take action. Thus causing the Avengers to step up. Or have you forgotten?" I say, my eyes a fiery gold. While I'm on the topic, I bring up D.C. "D.C. is also on S.H.I.E.L.D., not the Avengers, or even the government for not detecting them. So really, both are the ones who failed to detect HYDRA infiltrating their systems. And if it were not for Steve, Natasha, and Sam, there would be billions of people dead today, including you, I would assume, sir. I suggest that before you come in here throwing accusations and insulting us, you get your damn facts straight about who is to blame for all these catastrophes, sir." My voice sharply rises and I'm sure my tone is near yelling, but somehow it remains scarily calm. The room drops to a tense silence before I hear someone pipe up, Stark, I believe.

"Actually, the government sent a nuke to destroy New York during the invasion. So, they did do something. But of course, I took care of that." My jaw drops as I turn to look at Stark, who shrugs his shoulders at me. I then shift my eyes to the General.

"What the hell kind of stupid plan was that!" I shout, furious. "That nuke would have done nothing but kill hundreds of thousands of people, and just the creatures that were on Earth! That portal would have remained open and those creatures would have still been free to enter this world. And you know what? The Avengers wouldn't have been there to stop them from spreading, because you would have nuked them too! Your only superheroes! Gone!" Oh no, I was beyond furious now. I don't know how I had not slapped this man yet.

"Sokovia and Nigeria are still your fault!" Ross shouts at me and takes an authoritative step in my direction. He completely avoids my accusations, which, to me, meant they were true.

"Sokovia is not on all of us! It was an accident! The intentions were peace for the world. And some of us were only brought in after the accident, there to help." I snap back harsher than I had previously while I motion to Wanda, Pietro, Vision, and myself. "And, God forbid, there was a bug! An unforeseen circumstance!"

"An unforeseen circumstance that destroyed a city!" Ross shouts back at me. What pisses me off the most is the fact he seems unconcerned about the people and those whose lives were destroyed. No. All he cares about is a city being destroyed because it's one less place they can tax and one more place they have to help, to spend money on.

"Yeah! It did! And guess what? We saved your ungrateful self that time also! We stopped global annihilation! At what cost? Just one city! Yeah, some lives were lost, but a wise man once told me, 'We try to save as many people as we can. But sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. If we can't find a way to live with that...next time, maybe nobody gets saved.'

"We're all human here, General! Even you! You aren't perfect, you've made mistakes too. Nobody in this room is perfect, not even Tony Stark! There were bound to be bugs that needed to be worked out, but none of us, none of us, expected what happened to happen. And if you can't get that through your thick skull, well then sir, I do not believe you should be standing before us today." My voice is firm, unwavering, and my tone only rises to a shout to match the angry one of Thunderbolt Ross. I see the Secretary's mouth open and close like a fish out of water before he throws me a pissed look.

"Sparky..." I hear Cap say as he stands to his feet also. His hand held out to my arm without touching it. That's when I realize I'm so fired up that I'm radiating heat. Furthermore, instead of faint golden waves, there are bright, aggravated looking waves are rolling off of me. But what gets me is the nickname, that's what calms me down. I've never heard Steve address me by it and it's enough to snap me out of my rage. I give him a look, apologetic almost, before stepping back to the table and sit. I see Steve also sit back down as he casts me a concerned look before turning his attention back to Ross. The tension is still thick in the air, but thankfully nobody tries to address it. I feel like if it were to be addressed, it'd just become worse. And, frankly, I'm ready to roast the Secretary again since I never got to address the Lagos issue. However, my better conscious tells me not to.

"So," James begins, addressing the Secretary while breaking the tense silence in an attempt to get this meeting back on track. "there are contingencies..."

"Three days from now the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords." Ross states sharply, beginning to move again. I don't even look at him. Instead, I lift my gaze just enough to see the still shocked looks I'm getting from my friends. I guess I must have been hella scary to have them looking at me like that, even Pietro. "Talk it over." Ross says calmly before he and his assistant begin to leave. But before they can, Natasha speaks.

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" She questions.

"Then you retire." General Ross states matter-of-factly, casting me a hateful look as the room becomes quiet while he leaves. Once he's gone, I let out a deep exhale through my nose as I rub my face with my hands. This is just an absolute mess.

I wonder if there's a possibility of us being able to shove that entire book up his butt?

"Wow, they make standing up to stuck-up turkeys look easy in the movies and books." I grumble and notice everybody relaxes a bit now that I seem calmer and back to my sarcastic self. "Alright. Sounds like it's time for a lovely family discussion." I state tiredly and begin to stand to my feet again. I'm sorta surprised nobody makes a move to address my outburst, but glad for it.

"Impulse has the right idea." Tony smacks his knees before standing up and walking into the living area of the main room, giving me a grin as he passes.

"Impulse?" I question with a lifted brow as I follow him. Everybody else following suit as well.

"I figured it was time to get you an alias. And considering you speak and do most things on impulse...I figured Impulse would be a good one." I shake my head. I guess he's right. Besides, Impulse isn't that bad. It could be much worse.

Soon we're all migrating to the couches and chairs in the living area for a discussion I'm sure everybody is dreading.

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Everybody raise your hand if you want Iris to start her own Civil War with Ross ☝🏼👐🏼