Chapter Text
Tony looked down to a buzz in his pocket and took out his phone.
Turn on the news – Pepper
He read the text and then looked up at the TV. “FRIDAY, Can you turn on the news?” FRIDAY switched it on, “I think you’ll find this interesting boss.”
Up on the screen was none other than Christine Everhart herself, being interviewed by some unknown reporter. They were obviously in a very heated discussion, about none other than the Avenger’s civil war as the title under their screen shots noted.
Christine was speaking, “The Avengers have created lots of collateral damage over the years. I know for a fact that people have already been shown the data points and I won’t repeat them again, but if you think about it logistically, the deaths in Lagos could have been avoided. Scarlett Witch, otherwise known as Wanda Maximoff did not have to send the explosion into that building. She could have instead directed it into free airspace, therefore avoiding all of those deaths. With United Nations oversight of groups such as the Avengers, accidents like that would be able to be stopped; those put in the groups would have to be fully trained and emotionally ready for action. If we go by what Steve Rogers has said about Maximoff, she’s still just a kid. If she’s just a kid, why is she operating on the battlefield?”
The reporter nodded and gestured at Christine with his pen. “Collateral damage aside, this is about their freedom, Captain Rogers made it clear that he mistrusted the accords because they would make the Avengers be controlled by people with agendas. What do you say to that?”
Christine smiled, “Captain Rogers, even though he has done a commendable job of adjusting to the current times, is still used to the times of the League of Nations and other groups like them, the people who, using the Treaty of Versailles, are accused in certain history classes of setting up the environment for fascism in Germany. The United Nations is a lot different than that. It involves all sorts of countries, not exclusive to the ‘victors’ of World War 1. 117 countries supported the Sokovia Accords before the civil war, even more support it now. Captain Rogers claimed that he didn’t want the Avengers controlled by agendas; I’m not going to deny that everyone has agendas, especially in government, but with a UN board, those agendas tend to get cancelled out. Secretary Ross may have been the person to increase his mistrust, but with the recent allegations against him, his agendas aren’t going to go very far. In regards to freedom, at the time when Rogers had read the accords, those sections had not been flushed out to their entirety. This is where I get the impression that he didn’t actually read the accords. It states at the beginning that amendments can be argued for in front of a UN board. If Rogers had a problem with it, he could have argued his side verbally instead of fighting his way out, as stated in the accords.”
Christine leaned back in her chair and looked at the reporter. The reporter glanced down at his notes, “Could you speak on the topic of James Barnes, otherwise known as the Winter Soldier, and his relation into the events of the civil war?”
Christine nodded, “Of course, Barnes was one of the main reasons that Rogers ran off, having been framed for the attack on the UN meeting and named as a wanted man throughout the world, Rogers believed that it was better to hide him from the officials than to bring him in and go to court. Had they done so, Barnes most likely would have been cleared of charges, especially after the evidence from Zemo’s hotel came in. If Rogers had gone with the law instead of with his old friend, things may have turned out differently, I can’t being to theorize what would have happened, but it certainly would not be the same.”
The reporter tapped his pen on the table, “What do you have to say to the footage of the Siberian HYDRA base. WikiLeaks released them shortly after the announcement of the rogue Avengers escape from maximum level security, we have not been told the location of where they were kept, only that they escaped. The footage showed the fight between Rogers, Barnes, and Tony Stark. Do you believe that it could have been avoided and if so, are any of them to fault?”
Christine smirked, “As many people know, I have followed Tony Stark since before the events in Afghanistan. I like to think of myself as an expert in his behavior, though I doubt that anyone aside from Pepper Potts really is, but I can confidently say that I would place the blame with Rogers. Stark has shown that he has had problems dealing with his parent’s death, especially his mother if the tapes are to show anything. His invention of the Binarily Augmented Retro Framing lenses as shown off at his MIT presentation was a key way of how he coped. If he was still dealing with it very close before having to watch his parents death, that would almost reverse his logical thinking process. Just that alone would be enough to set the average person off. Add in the fact that the murderer was standing close to him and someone whom he had trusted had known and lied about it for years. Stark is not one to put much trust in people, to have another person betray him was the end of the line. I think his actions were perfectly justified. In response to the actual fight, the Iron Man armor is the most complex weaponized technology that we know of. If Stark had wanted to take down Rogers and Barnes, he could have. I would also like to point out that the decision to leave Dr. Stark in a Siberian bunker while his suit was down was the opposite of what the mantle of Captain America stood for. Rogers should not be commended for any of his actions in the civil war, especially those pertaining to Dr. Stark.”
Christine finished and nodded at the camera, the reporter thanked her and the screen narrowed back down to just him. “In other news, Spider-man has been reported to have ‘done a flip’, in response to a fans request, does that mean that he is, as they say, ‘hip’?”
The TV turned off and Tony leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping his chin, “FRIDAY, move Christine Everhart up to the top of my favorite journalists list.”
FRIDAY chimed in, “I was going to recommend that action boss. She certainly tells it like it is.”
Tony smiled, “she certainly does.”