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Part 1 of 5 + 1 Series
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Team Tony Stark Deserves Some Love, Best Team Iron Man, magnificent series
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2017-02-07
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2017-02-11
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5 times Team Cap could have prevented Civil War (if they weren’t such morons) and one time they didn’t

Summary:

The Avengers were divided, there was a Civil War. But what if Team Cap had done things differently? What if they had actually thought about what they were doing before everything went to shit? 5 times Team Cap could have prevented (or at least mitigated) the Civil War and one time they didn't.

Notes:

So, I’ve been obsessed with Post-Civil War fics lately, and I’ve read some truly amazing stories, which have inspired me to try my hand at a fic of my own again after years.

I knew little of the Civil War story before the movie (I stopped reading comics 20 years ago), but from that little I felt conflicted because it was my understanding that Tony (my favorite MCU character) was a bit of a douche in it. So I was pleasantly surprised that that wasn’t the case at all in the MCU. I left the theater firmly on Team Iron Man, and thinking about it since – and watching the movie again and reading fic – have only cemented my conviction that Tony was the hero of that film, and that Team Cap was absolutely full of shit. So many things could have been avoided if Steve hadn’t been an arrogant self-righteous ass, if Sam didn’t have his head so far up Cap’s ass, if Wanda didn’t have questionable reasoning skills, if Clint wasn’t… I don’t even know. Anyway, I started thinking about it and decided to write that: what if they hadn’t been such morons? So, despite this being a Team Iron Man fic, Team Iron Man is barely there. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Chapter 1: Bucky - Siberia

Notes:

There is another fic with this same premise - Empathy (It Helps), by KahunaBurger - (check it out, it's fantastic) so this is a bit similar. The other chapters are more original, I hope.

Chapter Text

James (or Bucky, according to Steve, but James didn’t really fell like Bucky any more) was still confused about what was going on, but that was nothing new. It seemed that confusion was all he knew these days. Ever since he’d began sort of remembering who he was – or, better yet, who he used to be.

They were in an old Hydra bunker in Siberia, after having fought the others in the airport and leaving their teammates behind. James had followed Steve’s lead, though now he was starting to have some doubts about it all. And, after all that, the guy who seemed to have orchestrated this whole thing had already killed the Winter Soldiers (James was glad for that, he really was – just him was more than enough). What the hell was going on then? What had this whole thing been for if not to release the Soldiers?

And there was Stark – who seemed really familiar but James couldn’t figure out how, damn spotty memory – who had shown up to help them even though Steve had said he was against them (and even though he’d fought against them at the airport). It didn’t really make much sense, that, though. Weren’t they friends? Or at least colleagues? Teammates? James didn’t understand why Steve had insisted on fighting the others instead of trying to convince them about the threat of the Winter Soldiers. Surely they would have helped? That was, Stark was here, wasn’t he? He’d come to help. James just didn’t understand.

Zemo was still talking, though, so James tried to pay attention. He’d lost people in Sokovia and now he wanted revenge. The wanted to… destroy an empire? What empire? There was something he wanted them to see, though, and it couldn’t be anything good.

The TV was switched on and they turned to it.

“I know that road,” Stark said, and James got a very bad feeling. He thought he knew that road too.

On the screen, a car crashed into a tree and they all watched as James – the Asset – got off his bike and walked to the man who had crawled out of it. The man seemed to recognize him and after a moment James remembered him. Stark. Howard Stark. Ah, shit.

James watched, horrified, as the him on the screen killed first Stark – Howard, oh shit – and then his wife. James wanted to throw up, to make it stop, to undo it, but all he could do was watch Stark – the young one, Howard’s son, Tony? – and the anguish on his face as his parents were murdered right in front of his eyes. Jesus Christ.

Stark make a move towards James, but Steve held him back.

“Did you know?” Stark – Tony – asked Steve, voice full of pain and James didn’t know what to do, what to think beyond the horror of it all. Steve gave some half-assed answer and James felt lost. Stark wasn’t happy and continued to press. “Don’t bullshit me, Roger. Did you know?”

There was a second of hesitation before Steve said the damning word: “Yes.”

What the fuck? was all James could think. Steve knew? He knew and he didn’t say anything? To either of them? Goddamn it, he remembered it now; Howard had been sort of a friend. An ally, at the very least, and James had killed him? Jesus fucking Christ.

Stark took a step back from Steve, looking utterly betrayed. Then he punched Steve hard enough to make him fly backwards and James couldn’t fault him for it.

Stark turned to him and James froze. He didn’t know what to do. There was nothing he could do or say to erase what he’d done. He couldn’t apologize. Well, he could, but what good would it possibly do? There was nothing, not a goddamned thing, that could make any of that any less horrible.

While they stared at each other in stalemate, James noticed Steve get up and come closer, as if ready to attack and that… no, that was the last thing they needed right now. So James dropped the gun he was holding, fell to his knees and put his hands behind his back. Not taking his eyes off Stark, he spoke as gently as he could. “I surrender.” And then, because it might mean nothing but it was true, he continued, “I’m sorry.”

“Bucky –” Steve said, starting forward.

“Stay away, Steve. This isn’t about you.” It came out more harshly than intended, but James just couldn’t deal with Steve right now. Jesus, this could have been avoided if Steve had fucking told them (Stark. Shit. Tony.)

Tony continued to stare at him like a little kid who’d lost his parents and didn’t know what to do – and, fuck, that was pretty much true, wasn’t it?

A dark figure detached itself from the shadows and came towards them. It was the black guy from before – James didn’t know his name. “Your surrender is accepted,” he told them, looking at James, who had remained in the same position on the ground.

Shaken out of his paralysis, Tony took a step back from James, and the glow of the weapon in his hand disappeared. “Right,” he said, turning around in a daze. He blinked a few times, seemingly unsure of what to do next. After taking a deep breath, he regained a bit of his composure. “And that guy is under arrest for the bombing of the UN building.” He pointed at Zemo inside the bunker, who didn’t seem quite so happy anymore. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t this. “Are you going to come quietly?” He addressed James.

“Yes.”

“Tony, it’s not –” There was Steve again and James just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Shut up, Steve. Stand down. It’s over. The threat is taken care of, now we deal with… things.” He turned back to Tony and the other guy. “We will come quietly.”

It wasn’t going to be easy, James thought. A lot of things had happened that shouldn’t have happened, but James was tired of running away. And most of all, right now, Tony deserved better.

Chapter 2: Scott – airport

Notes:

I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but here it is anyway. (There are only so many times I can watch the airport scene without wanting to throw something at the TV.) I hope you like it.

Constructive criticism is great, just don't tell me how Team!Cap is wonderful and Tony is a horrible person. (There are fics out that like that if that's what you like, but this author is Team!IronMan.)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When Scott had gotten the call he could hardly believe it. Captain America was calling him! (Well, Sam Wilson was calling him on behalf of Captain America, it was practically the same thing.) So of course Scott said he’d help. He’d be an Avenger! How cool was that? Cassie was going to be so proud of him. Her dad, an Avenger! Fighting the good fight with Captain America himself! It was the coolest thing to ever have happened to Scott Lang. So he said yes, obviously, even though he didn’t really know what was going on. The guy who came to get him – Hawkeye, an honest to god Avenger! – said there were some bad people about to be let loose on the world and Cap needed help making sure they wouldn’t hurt anyone. It’d sounded pretty straight-forward. (He did wonder why the regular Avengers couldn’t handle it themselves, but hey, if Cap said Scott was needed that was good enough for him.) The bit about being outside the law was slightly worrying, but it was Captain America. Surely it couldn’t be that bad. Just a misunderstanding or something. How could Captain America be an outlaw?

So here he was in an airport in Germany (way cool, Scott had never been out of the US before. Maybe when he was done saving the world he’d get a nice souvenir for Cassie), waiting for… something. There was a plan, Scott figured, though he hadn’t been given the details.

Meeting Cap had been pretty awesome (and Scott may have acted a bit like a fanboy, but who wouldn’t? It was Captain freaking America!) There was also Sam Wilson, who Scott had met before (and totally kicked the guy’s ass, go him!), Hawkeye (original Avenger!) and two new people: the girl, Wanda, who Scott didn’t know much about beyond being new to the Avenging business, and a guy with a metal arm that Wilson explained was Cap’s best friend from way back. To be honest, he gave Scott the creeps a little bit, but if he was Cap’s friend he was probably all right, even though he’d apparently been brainwashed by Hydra or something.

Then the other Avengers got involved and Scott started to get a bit confused. Cap said that they would have to steal the others’ jet to get wherever they had to go and that… that didn’t make any sense. Cap told him to shrink up and hide in the shield and Scott did, but he didn’t understand.

When Stark and War Machine arrived (and some other guy dressed all in black Scott knew nothing about), Cap said something about some doctor who was behind something, but Stark wasn’t buying it. They were there to bring the Avengers in. He said Cap’s judgment wasn’t right. Scott started to get a bad feeling about all of this. Brought in? By the Avengers? That didn’t sound like a misunderstanding. Was it about the bombing in the UN? The fight in… what was it? Bucharest? Had people been really hurt? Scott hadn’t paid attention to the details. Cap’s buddy with the metal arm seemed to be involved.

Then Cap mentioned the soldiers but he didn’t really explain much. But, wasn’t it a serious threat? Like, world in peril threat? Shouldn’t he be telling them everything instead of some vague mention? If the others understood surely they wouldn’t be wasting time arguing? Or trying to… what? Arrest Captain America? They would all be going to take care of it, right? The Black Widow pleaded with Cap to surrender too, to not punch his way out, and again it made no sense. Punch? The Avengers?

Stark lost patience and called some new guy Scott had never heard of (Spider-Man, apparently, how original) who snatched Cap’s shield with Scott in it and webbed Cap’s hands together. The new guy was obviously a nervous talker, though, and while he blabbed Scott was trying to figure out what was going on.

“You’ve been busy,” Cap said.

“And you’ve been a complete idiot,” was Stark’s reply. Stark sounded really pissed off now. He said he wanted to keep the Avengers together, and Cap said he’s torn them apart when he signed.

Signed? Signed what? The only thing that he could be talking about was the Sokovia Accords, which had been on the news the last few days. Scott was even more confused. Weren’t the Accords about giving the Avengers authority to act? At least that was what Hope had said. She seemed to think they were a good thing (and Hope was smart, he trusted her judgment), so why was Cap complaining about them? How would signing them break the Avengers? From what Scott could see it was Cap who was trying to pick a fight. Stark was practically pleading with him to let them be the ones to bring them in, implying that it would be a lot worse if it was someone else.

Then Wilson said they’d found the Quinjet, which was their cue to… fight? Cap raised his hands and Barton shot an arrow to free them from the new guy’s web. “All right, Lang,” Cap said, and Scott froze. What was he supposed to do? Fight the Avengers? But they were the Avengers, weren’t they? All of them? Nothing made any sense anymore, and Scott realized he was way out of his depth. Shit.

So Scott decided to throw caution to the wind and get some answers. Hank had told him never to trust a Stark, but Tony Stark was Iron Man and he was a hero, right? He’d saved New York from aliens. He was trying to talk things out here, to avoid a confrontation.

He got big again and walked up to Stark. It was worth a try to talk, right? Because otherwise there would be a fight and that was a terrible idea. “Hey Stark,” he said, trying to get the man’s attention.

“Who the hell are you?”

Scott ignored that in favor of trying to work out what was going on. “Look, Cap said there are some really bad soldiers about to be let loose and we need to stop them. So, maybe we should… I don’t know… not fight? I mean, why are we even fighting?” he sounded nervous and a bit idiotic (way to go Scott), but, well, no one else was saying anything so he might as well be the one to do it. Before the fighting started.

Stark frowned. “What are you talking about? What soldiers?”

So Scott quickly told him everything he’d been told, which wasn’t much, but it was something. He might have babbled a bit – like the Spider kid, way to make an impression, Scott – but Stark, War Machine, Black Widow and the guy in black listened to him.

“Fucking son of a bitch,” Stark sighed.

Scott didn’t know what else to do, he just looked around helplessly, willing Cap to say something else, to stand down, to stop this insanity.

“All right, listen up everyone!” Stark said, voice loud enough to carry. “Whatshisname here” he pointed at Scott “tells me we’ve got more pressing matters to take care of, so let’s all just take a breath and fucking talk like fucking adults, all right? It doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for the shit you pulled in Bucharest, though.” He looked at Cap expectantly. “Well? Got something to say, Cap? We’re listening.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Cap expanded on what he’d learned about this doctor who had framed his buddy in order to get access to him and get information about these Winter Soldiers and where they were. He didn’t have proof, he said, but it seemed to make sense to everyone.

“Okay,” Stark said. “Here’s what we are going to do. Cap, Barnes and Wilson will go with Natasha and Rhodey back to the Task Force Command Center and turn themselves in.”

“Tony –” Cap tried to interrupt, but Stark kept talking.

“You fucking killed people! Rhodey and Nat can help smooth things over, at least a bit. Wanda is going to go back to the compound before she paints and even bigger target on her back. Let’s not forget what happened in Lagos, yeah? People are still pissed.” Scott remembered the news about that one. It had not been pretty. “Clint can go back home, I guess, since he’s supposed to be retired.” He looked at Spider-Man “Kid, you too. Vision, T’Challa and I will take care of this doctor and the Winter Soldiers.”

Cap didn’t look happy at all about that, but to Scott it seemed pretty reasonable. That was, the threat would be dealt with, right? That was the important thing here. And there wouldn’t be a fight.

“Steve,” the Black Widow said, “don’t make this worse than it already is. If what you said is true Barnes will be cleared of the bombing. We'll make sure of it. We’ll find this doctor and bring him in. Stand down. We can work things out, it’s not too late. Please.” She didn’t seem like someone who said please very often. In Scott’s ear, Cap’s buddy said he agreed with all that and that he was coming over, Wilson with him. Cap eventually nodded, relaying that to Stark and the others. And just like that, it was over.

“Thanks,” Stark told Scott, clapping him on the arm, “you should go home too.” Scott still didn’t fully understand what the problem with the divided Avengers had been, but he was glad it had ended before anyone had gotten hurt. He wouldn’t get to save the world, but, well, there was always tomorrow.

Notes:

When I first wrote this chapter, I didn't have access to the movie and I thought Cap had never mentioned the Winter Soldiers at the airport at all. Then I actually watched the movie and realized that he had, but just a vague mention. How was Team Tony supposed to know about the threat with just that? Cap never actually explains anything (and don't tell me he didn't have time, he could have started with that the second the others got there (he says the doctor is behind it all but doesn't really elaborate) - or, even better, picked up a phone at any point in the 24hs that passed and called). It's very frustrating, so this was my attempt to fix it.

Chapter 3: Wanda – the Compound

Notes:

I kinda hate Wanda, I have to admit. Aside from her moronic blaming of Tony for her parent’s death, her line that she can’t control people’s fears royally pissed me off. What kind of idiocy is that? If people are afraid of her because she’s a killer with little control of her powers then if she stops killing people (and actually shows some remorse), that might make people less afraid. Not completely, of course, but ignoring people’s fears and simply doing whatever she wants (and attacking people left, right and center) is only going to make it worse. But, since the point of this is to fix things, I’ve tried to present a better Wanda. I hope you like it.

Chapter Text

Wanda was not happy about not being able to leave the compound, but Vision had explained that it was only temporary, that people were upset about Lagos and it would be better if she kept a low profile for a while. She did feel bad about that, but her talk with Steve had made things better. She’d done her best, and it was simply impossible to save everyone, so she was concentrating on the positive. People got hurt, yes, but, like Steve said, it would have been worse if they hadn’t been there, if they hadn’t done anything.

Later that night, she heard a noise like an explosion. There was fire and smoke out on the grounds. Were they being attacked? Had someone come for her?

“Stay here, please,” Vision told her, appearing out of the floor.

Wanda didn’t like it, but she stayed. Vision wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, she was safe here.

After Vision was gone, she noticed that there was someone else in the room with her. Using her powers, she picked up a knife and moved it against the intruder.

It was Clint Barton in full Hawkeye suit. “I guess I should have knocked.” What was going on?

“Oh my god. What are you doing here?”

“Disappointing my kids. I’m supposed to go waterskiing,” he said, which didn’t make any sense to her. He loosed two arrows around and then came closer to take her by the arm. “Cap needs our help, let’s go.”

Confused, Wanda shook herself free and took a step back. Go? Go where? Vision had just told her she should stay here.

Clint  didn't get very far before Vision returned. “Clint,” he said, “you should not be here.”

“Really? I retire for, like, five minutes and it all goes to shit.”

“Please consider the consequences of your actions.”

“Okay, they’re considered.” Clint sounded dismissive, as if the conversation was beneath him. Wanda still didn’t understand what was going on. What consequences? Of what? What were they doing?

Vision took another step towards him and got caught in some kind of energy field in Clint’s arrows. “Okay, we gotta go.” And Clint started running to the door.

Wanda didn’t follow, still unsure.

“It’s this way.”

“I have caused enough problems.” She had. People were afraid.

“Look, you gotta help me, Wanda. You wanna mope, you can go to high school. You wanna make amends, you get off your ass.”

Before Wanda had a chance to respond, or even think about it, Vision pulled free and engaged Clint. Though Clint tried, it was obvious that he couldn’t win a fight against Vision, who told him so.

“I know I can’t. But she can.” Clint looked at her expectantly, trapped in Vision’s headlock.

Wanda frowned. Did Clint want her to attack Vision? Why would she do that? Vision was her friend, he was trying to protect her.

“Wanda,” Vision said, “leaving now would be a terrible idea. Show the world that you don’t need to be feared.”

She thought about it. Regardless of her intentions, she’d hurt people and she didn’t want people to think that she didn’t care about that. She wanted to be one of the good guys, to make up for her mistake with Ultron, to honor Pietro and his sacrifice. She wanted to make amends, certainly, but she wouldn’t be able to do that if people didn’t trust her, if all they saw when they looked at her was a potential threat. She didn’t want to be feared, she wanted to help people. Maybe she could do as Vision had said, and change people’s perception of her by considering her action and their consequences. She nodded, and addressed Clint.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Cap needs you, Wanda.”

That made her hesitate. Steve had trusted her, had accepted her and given her a second chance. It would be poor payment to abandon him now.

“What does he need her for?” Vision asked. He let go of Clint and stood beside her.

“There’s a threat to the world.”

“I’ve heard nothing of any threat. Surely if there was something, Mr Stark would have alerted me. After all, I have signed the Sokovia Accords and am therefore authorized to act if it becomes necessary.”

Clint scoffed. “Cap said the Accords are bullshit, just a bunch of red tape.” He turned to Wanda. “It’s gotta be now, Wanda.”

“The Sokovia Accords are most certainly not “bullshit”. I have read them and I signed them because I am comfortable with their contents. The Avengers cannot act on their own anymore, ignoring the people we wish to protect.”

Wanda remembered Secretary Ross’s presentation, the images from Sokovia, the boy Stark said had died because they’d dropped a building on him. Those things should not be brushed aside. Vision had said that oversight was important, and although it was a new concept for her, who had always managed her own life (not very well, as it turned out), it should not be unreasonable. She had been given a second chance, did she not owe it to the people to respect their wishes? Was that not a way to make amends?

“I will contact Mr Stark and find out about this threat and what we are to do about it,” Vision continued. “If we are needed, Mr Stark might get Wanda permission to accompany us.”

“Stark, Stark. What, you can’t make decisions on your own?”

“I do not have enough facts to make any decision, Mr Barton.” Wanda noticed how he dropped the use of the first name and she could not fault him. Clint had attacked him unnecessarily. “I believe it is always best to be as apprised of the situation as possible before deciding on a course of action. Surely taking a few minutes to ascertain what is happening will not make much difference.”

With a smile Vision gently took Wanda’s hand to lead her away. He was right, she thought. If they were needed, it would be better to make it official. It would be a mistake to simply leave.

Chapter 4: Clint – the farm

Notes:

There is no indication in the movie that Clint ever gave a thought to what the Accords were about – which is honestly baffling – but since the whole point of this fic is to show them acting like people with brains, here is a smarter Clint.

Chapter Text

Even though Clint was retired, he was still keeping abreast of things with the Avengers. The situation in Lagos had been a disaster, no question about it, and now people all over the world were pissed. With SHIELD it had been easier to manage that sort of thing, as they operated mostly in the shadows, but the Avengers were far too public to be able to sweep messes like that under the rug, especially in the wake of Ultron. In all honesty, Clint’s first reaction to the Sokovia Accords had been distrust and skepticism, but after a long discussion with Laura he realized that, despite his misgivings, they seemed to be necessary. And the Avengers were used to some oversight, after all, even if SHIELD had turned out to be compromised. Clearly things had only gone downhill for the Avengers after SHIELD fell, so getting oversight back – from an at least supposedly more trustworthy source, the UN – might not be a bad thing. Clint didn’t exactly trust governments, but, as Laura had pointed out, the UN were a lot more transparent in their running than SHIELD had ever been, which would, hopefully, make it harder for it to be completely taken over by pseudonazi organizations. Not impossible, but less likely.

When he’d first heard of the Accords, Clint had sent a message to Stark to get a copy of it. It had been nothing to do with him anymore – retired, right? – but it was always good to know what was going on. It had been terrible reading, and Clint was sure he hadn’t understood all the details – he was a sniper, not a fucking lawyer – but the gist of it seemed to be all right. He’d thought perhaps Nat would call to talk to him about it, but then some nutjob (possibly Cap’s brainwashed friend, oh boy) had blown up the UN building in Vienna so Clint figured she probably had other things to worry about. It never rained but it poured, huh? It was always one fucking disaster after another…

As it was, he was surprised to get a call from Steve.

“Clint, I need your help.”

“Ok. What’s going on? I’ve been watching the news, it’s a fucking mess out there, Cap.”

Steve sighed. “I know. It’s these Accords, it’s a nightmare.”

Clint, who had been mentally checking his gear and figuring out what to tell Laura and the kids, paused at that. “What do you mean? What do the Accords have to do with the Vienna bombing?” Beyond the obvious, of course.

“Look, there’s no time to explain. You need to get Wanda from the compound and meet us here. And there’s another guy too."

“Wanda? Why?”

“Tony’s got her locked up, we need to get her out before the Accords people get a hold of her.”

“What?” Though Steve couldn’t see him, Clint was shaking his head in confusion. “What do you mean the Accords people? Why would they do anything to her? The investigation hasn’t begun yet, has it?” It didn’t make sense.

“Investigation? I don’t know… Look, Clint, there’s a guy about to release 5 dangerous Winter Soldiers and I need your help.”

“Winter Soldiers?” Laura had come up and was giving him an inquiring look. He shrugged.

“Yeah. I need more people to take them out.”

“What, the team isn’t enough? Come on, we took on Ultron with less people.”

On the other side of the line, Steve sighed. “It’s not everyone, ok? Right now it’s just me, Sam and Bucky.”

“What?” Clint was starting to feel like a broken record, but what the hell? “What about Tony, Nat, Rhodes and Vision?”

“They’ve all signed the Accords.”

“So? What does that have to do with anything? That’s what the Accords are for, right? To make sure the Avengers deal with threats with proper authorization?”

“No, no,” Steve said, sounding exasperated. “The Accords will just tie our hands. They won’t let us act.”

“Why not?” Clint asked, genuinely curious. Steve said nothing, so Clint continued. “Look, why don’t you talk to Tony? I’m sure he’ll get the okay from the Accords people if we’re really dealing with Winter Soldiers. You know how good Tony is at talking people into things. Besides, it will probably be faster than waiting for me to get all the way to Europe. Talk to Nat, I’m sure you can sort this out.”

There was no answer, and Clint couldn’t help but wonder why Steve was so concerned about the Accords. Had he even read them? He decided to ask. “Steve, have you read the Accords?”

“Yes. Well, sorta. I know what they’re about, it’s about governments with agendas trying to control us.”

Huh? Clint wasn’t sure what to think of that. “No, that’s not it at all. Okay. First of all, the United Nations isn’t a government. Second, the Accords aren’t about controlling the Avengers, they’re about organizing info and cooperation, sorting things out internationally. You know, like SHIELD used to do. Talk to Nat, talk to Tony, I’m sure they can explain it better.” They’d probably understood it better too.

“The Accords tried to kill Bucky,” Steve said and Clint blinked. Huh?

“You mean the guy that bombed Vienna?”

“He didn’t do it!”

Clint was a bit taken aback by the vehemence of the statement, but he forged on. “How do you know? I know he’s your friend, but didn’t Hydra mess him up? Maybe he didn’t do it willingly.”

“He didn’t do it at all! He told me so, he was framed. Someone wanted to get to him!”

“Okay, well, what's… good, I guess. You need to get proof then, clear his name.”

“The Accords don’t care about that, Clint, they were going to kill him.”

"You mean the task forced that was sent to bring him in? That has nothing to do with the Accords, Steve. Even if there were no Accords, someone would have sent a team after a guy suspected of bombing a UN building. That’s how these things go.” He sighed. It felt like talking to a wall – a wall obsessed with the Accords. Had Steve always been this pig-headed? “You need to call Tony or Nat and talk things out before things get even more out of hand, ok? And I suggest leaving Wanda at the compound for now. People are still out for her blood for Lagos –”

“It wasn’t her fault!” Steve interrupted. “And Tony locked her up!”

“Maybe it wasn’t, but people still died, and people are upset. And I doubt she’s locked up, Steve. But even so, it’s best if she sits this one out. You can sort out her situation later. Besides, if she’s at the compound then she’s safe for now.”

Again there was silence. “Call Nat, Steve.” Cap was obviously pissed at Tony, but he’d listen to Nat, right? Nat had signed the Accords too. “Call her and tell her what’s going on. I’m sure you guys can figure this out together.”

“I doubt it will help, but fine, I’ll call her.” He sounded like a sulky child and Clint rolled his eyes.

“Good. Let me know how it goes.”

“Can you check on Wanda anyway?”

“Yeah, sure, I can do that.”

“Okay. Thanks, Clint.”

“Good luck, Steve.”

Clint hung up feeling exhausted. Christ, that guy was stubborn. He smiled at Laura and gestured for her to wait while he called the compound.

It was Vision who answered the phone so Clint asked to talk to Wanda. They had a short conversation and, as he expected, Wanda was just fine. Vision had asked her to remain at the compound for now and she seemed to understand why, so Clint said his goodbyes. “I’m sure everything will work out,” he told her, and he certainly hoped so. He hoped Steve would really call Nat and get the others’ support to deal with the Winter Soldiers. After all, they were the Avengers. They could do anything as long as they were together.

Chapter 5: Sam – Vienna

Chapter Text

The day just kept getting worse, Sam thought. First the funeral, then the bombing of the UN building and now this: Cap’s friend Bucky implicated. Hell, he probably did it. Poor bastard still had his brain all messed up, after all, there was no telling what his mental state was. And despite all the time Sam, Cap and Natasha had put into finding the guy, to help him, they’d been unsuccessful. And now he’d gone and blown up the UN. This was really bad.

Cap was a mess, poor guy. First losing Peggy, and now Bucky had resurfaced but it was not happy news. Natasha had told Cap to let the authorities deal with it, which was kinda laughable, but made some sense. Cap was too close, he could never think straight when his friend was involved. Not that Sam was happy about letting ordinary people handle a clearly not-in-his-right-mind Bucky, but... Well, he wasn’t sure Steve was in his right mind either. Maybe Tony and the others could handle it.

After talking to Sharon, though, and finding out that the squad sent to deal with Bucky had orders to shot to kill, Cap was ready to ride to the rescue and that... That was a bad idea. After what happened in Lagos, they really needed to be careful about collateral damage, and this had the potential for a heck of a lot of collateral damage.

“Cap, come on, think about it. This has disaster written all over it,” Sam pleaded, following Steve as he left the bar they’d met Sharon.

“I can’t let them kill him, Sam, I can’t.”

“I know, I know, but… this is not going to help. What are you going to do? Fight the task force?”

“Yes, if that’s what it takes.” Sam faltered for a few steps, but regained his footing. He took Cap’s arm and drew him to a secluded corner to talk. “That’s crazy, Steve. These aren’t Hydra, these are ordinary law enforcement people doing their jobs. You can’t just knock them around.”

“But they’re going to kill Bucky!” There was a sort of quiet desperation in his eyes that made Sam very uneasy, scared even. He’d seen that look before in soldiers who figured they had nothing else to lose so didn’t care if they went up in flames – and didn’t care about anyone they’d take with them. Sam needed to do something fast or things would get out of hand spectacularly.

“Okay, look. We’re going to call Tony, maybe he can get them to agree to send us to bring Bucky in instead of the task force.” Of course, now Sam was absolutely sure Steve should be nowhere near Bucky, but he wasn’t going to tell him that right now. He could stall Steve while Tony, Rhodes and the others took care of things.

He didn’t wait for Steve to answer, just took out his phone and called Tony. They’d rarely talked much, and Sam would admit he didn’t really like Tony all that much – all that flashy confidence and bravado rubbed him the wrong way –, but the man had proven himself reliable anyway. And if it was a case of convincing someone to do something, Tony was probably their best bet.

Fortunately, Tony answered right away, because Steve was already walking away. Sam kept Cap in his sight while he explained, as fast and as thoroughly as he could, what the situation was.

“Okay, I’m on it,” Tony said. “Make sure he stays put. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks,” Sam answered, but Tony had already hung up. Well, that meant he was getting on it right away, at least. Sam jogged to catch up with Steve and to, hopefully, keep him from going off half-cocked. A confrontation between an unbalanced super soldier, another potentially brainwashed super soldier and law enforcement agents was the last thing they needed right now.

Chapter 6: +1. Steve - the Compound

Notes:

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for the kudos and comments, it's much appreciated. It's got me actually wanting to write more.

Now, this is the +1 chapter. Initially I was only going to do the 5 times, but then I realized that the trope is 5+1, so I started thinking about what I could do for that one. Well, if the story is how they could have prevented things, the +1 has to be the time they didn't, that is, the actual movie as we saw it. And when I thought that I knew what I wanted to do.

Warnings for arrogance and hypocrisy.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The news were all talking about Lagos, saying horrible things about Wanda. Steve didn’t understand it. Didn’t they realize she was trying to help? That she did help? If not for her even more people would have died. It was terrible that people had died at all, of course, but that was inevitable. There were always casualties. The goal was to keep them to a minimum, and Steve felt they’d done that. God only knew what Rumlow would have done if they hadn’t stopped him.

He tried to comfort Wanda. She was trying, doing the best she could. He didn’t understand everyone’s need to keep harping on about mistakes. News outlets were always especially vicious, so Steve had stopped watching them. It was like all they wanted was to point fingers and make people feel bad.

Vision came in and told them Tony had arrived, along with a guest. When Steve saw who it was he knew there would be trouble, and he was right. He’d heard of General Ross (now Secretary Ross); the man was dangerous and seemed to harbor an irrational hatred of Bruce. Plus, he’d apparently deliberately created another Hulk. Why would anyone even do that? When he spoke, he made the Avengers sound like villains, which wasn’t true at all.

As Ross showed them footage of Avengers’ battles, Steve started to get angry. They all knew what had happened, there was no need to tell for this guilt-tripping. And Ross seemed to be forgetting the most important thing about those battles: they’d won. They’d saved people. They’d done the right thing. They’d defeated an alien army, they’d defeated Hydra’s plans to murder millions of people, they’d defeated Ultron and kept him from destroying the world, they’d stopped Rumlow from releasing a biological weapon. Those were good things, and Ross completely ignored that.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Steve said when he noticed the lost look on Wanda’s face. Why couldn’t people just leave her alone?

“For the past four years you’ve operated with unlimited powers and no supervision. That’s an arrangement the governments of the worlds can no longer tolerate.”

It made Steve even angrier, as it made them sound like a threat. They’d saved people, what was so hard to understand about that? They’d had this so-called supervision before, with SHIELD, and look how that had turned out?

Then Ross told them about these Sokovia Accords, which were meant to be a compromise but clearly weren’t. “The Sokovia Accords states that the Avenger shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they’ll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary.”

So they were meant to be government lapdogs. How was that a compromise? How would that help anything? What did this panel even know about anything? Who said they would even have people’s best interest in mind? People like Ross obviously didn’t care, they had their own agendas. Just like SHIELD. Just like Hydra.

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we’ve done that,” Steve pointed out. Really, was that so hard to understand? What had these panel people done for the world to make them think they knew anything?

Ross asked about Thor and Bruce, making them sound like weapons and not people. And this was the guy they were supposed to listen to? Who couldn’t even tell the difference between a person and a nuke?

He told them these Accords would be ratified in a few days. Steve looked at Tony, wanting to see what he thought of this stupidity, but Tony didn’t hold eye contact, saying nothing. Well, that answered that question. What was Tony thinking?

Before Ross left, Nat asked him what would happen if they didn’t agree. “They you retire.” As if Ross could just tell them what to do with their lives.

Once he was gone, they started talking about it. Steve leafed over the document, but it didn’t make much sense to him. It seemed all about control, though.

“How long is it gonna be before they lowjack us like a bunch of criminals?” Sam asked, and Steve thought it was a fair point. People like Ross would love to get a chance to get at them, and this seemed like an excellent opportunity.

Vision said something about an increase in enhanced people and world-ending events, which irritated Steve. “You’re saying it’s our fault?” he asked. That was ridiculous. They were the ones preventing the world from ending (except for Tony creating a murderous robot).

“I’m saying there’s a causality,” Visions continued. He ended up implying he thought this was a good idea. Sam clearly thought otherwise.

Natasha pointed out that Tony had been silent. “That’s because he’s already made up his mind,” Steve said. It was obvious which side Tony was on, and Steve didn’t get it. Couldn’t he see what a terrible idea this was? Why would he even listen to Ross in the first place, after what the guy had done to Bruce?

Tony got up and went to the kitchen area. He showed them a picture of a black boy and started talking about the kid and how he’d died in Sokovia. “There’s no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I’m game. If we can’t accept limitations, boundaries, we’re no better than the bad guys.”

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.” Tony could never understand that, that you couldn’t save everyone.

“Who says we’re giving up?”

“We are if we don’t take responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame.” It wouldn’t help anything, it wouldn’t prevent casualties because that was simply not possible. It would just put them under the control of people that couldn’t be trusted.

“I’m sorry, Steve, that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations. It’s not the government, it’s not SHIELD, it’s not Hydra,” Rhodes said, and Steve shook his head. Couldn’t he see that it made no difference?

“No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change.” Who could say what these people were really after? Who could say that these people were trustworthy? Just look at SHIELD.

“That’s good,” Tony said, reminding them that he stopped making weapons when he realized the harm they were doing.

“Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose.” All these Accords wanted was to control them. “What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there’s somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us? We may not be perfect but the safest hands are still our own.”

Steve would not surrender his right to choose. He would not put himself under the control of someone else. He’d done that and it had been a terrible mistake. He would not do it again. If there were decisions to be made, it would be made by them. They knew what they were doing, and they were doing it well. They’d saved the world without any governments telling them what to do and where to go, and they would continue to do so.

“If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s a fact. That won’t be pretty.” So they should allow themselves to be blackmailed? Steve thought. Do this or else? No, he would not accept that.

“You’re saying they’ll come for me,” Wanda said.

“We would protect you,” Vision replied. Yeah, they would. Steve wouldn’t let anyone hurt Wanda, she’d already been hurt enough.

“Maybe Tony is right.” Steve looked at Nat, who kept eye contact. “Maybe if we have one hand on the wheel we can still steer. If we take it off…”

It was surprising to hear her say so. Steve had thought they’d be on the same page. Sam apparently agreed with him. “Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a couple of years ago?”

“I’m just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.”

Yes, they had made mistakes (mostly Tony; Steve still didn’t know what he’d been thinking with Ultron), but how would giving up fix anything? Someone else would be making the mistakes and they would be powerless. How would that be better? How would they be able to protect people through all the red tape and all the competing agendas? Steve hated politics, always had. A bunch of people who wanted to get ahead by taking advantage of people’s faith and good will. No, he would not give in to politicians and power-hungry generals looking to gain something from them. The Avengers protected the average people, not governments. Those couldn’t be trusted. He stood by what he’d said. The safest hands were their own, and he would not surrender that, not without a fight.

His phone buzzed. He looked at it and felt cold. Peggy was dead.

Notes:

I considered making this whole chapter just one line ("The safest hands are our own"), because that line pissed me off so much in the movie - it's so incredibly arrogant and blatantly untrue (hello, Lagos? did those people feel safe?) - but I figured I should elaborate a bit more. It ended up being longer than expected because the Accords presentation scene is rather long. I see Steve as well-meaning but misguided and short-sighted, unable to see beyond his own experiences and biases. He thinks he's right, but in my opinion he is dead wrong about pretty much everything in this movie. It was hard to write because CW ruined Steve for me, but I gave it my best shot. I hope you liked it and once again thanks everyone for the support.

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