32. C.A. Civil War (2)

        The whole team started talking about it, and I added some points but still wasn't sure what I wanted. My elbows were perched up on the coffee table, and my hands were laced in front of the bottom half of my face as I sat criss-cross in silence. Uncle Sam and Uncle Rhodey were arguing behind Dad's seat.

"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have," Uncle Rhodey said, and Uncle Sam responded,

"So, let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it going to be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?"

"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, 'No, that's cool. We got it.'"

"How long are you going to play both sides?"

"I have an equation," Vision interrupted.

"Oh, this will clear it up," Uncle Sam sarcastically stated before Vision continued,

"In the eight years since Mr Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And, during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

"Are you saying it's our fault?" I asked, partially insulted and placing my arms on the table.

"I'm saying there may be a causality," Vision defended, "Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom," Uncle Rhodey said, and Aunt Nat turned to Uncle Tony, who was lying on the couch with a hand over his face.

"Tony. You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal," Aunt Nat stated, and Uncle Tony removed his hand to look at her. Then Dad spoke,

"It's because he's already made up his mind."

"Boy, you know me so well," Uncle Tony answered and stood up, walking to the kitchen while rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

I sat up and placed my hands on my cheeks in frustration when I saw Uncle Tony project an image of a smiling young man. Uncle Tony pretended to notice the picture for the first time when he spoke again, "Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where: Sokovia."

I looked down at my hands laid in my crossed legs, knowing what point Uncle Tony was trying to make. "He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass." Uncle Tony took his medication and faced the team again, "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, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, if someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Dad said.

"Who said we're giving up?'

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames."

"I'm sorry. Steve. That... that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not S.H.I.E.L.D, it's not HYDRA," Uncle Rhodey stated, and Dad continued voicing his point,

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change."

"That's good," Uncle Tony said, "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

"Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

"If we don't do this now, it's going to be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

"You're saying they'll come for me," Wanda added.

"We would protect you," Vision assured when Aunt Nat voiced her opinion,

"Maybe Tony's right."

I looked at her as she continued, "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-"

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Uncle Sam asked.

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

"Focus up," Uncle Tony butt-in, "I'm sorry, did I just mishear you, or did you agree with me?"

"Oh, I want to take it back now."

"No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed--I win."

Dad's phone then buzzed, and I ignored it until Dad spoke up,

"I have to go."

I watched him stand and drop the Accords on the coffee table beside my hands and leave. Standing up to follow him, I informed the others,

"We'll be back." I followed Dad down the stairwell, and when he stopped, he had his head in his hands. I slowly put my hand on his shoulder in a comforting way and softly spoke, "Dad?"

He held up his phone to show me the text he got, and I took in a deep breath. Peggy was gone. I prevented myself from crying and wrapped Dad in a hug. He hugged me back, placing his head on top of mine and silently letting tears fall from his eyes as I soothingly rubbed his back. I was sad Peggy was gone, but I knew Dad needed comfort the most and didn't leave his side until the funeral.

Three days later, Uncle Sam, Dad, and I went to London for Peggy's funeral. I sat in the front row with Uncle Sam as Dad walked down the centre aisle carrying Peggy's casket. When Dad took his seat beside me, I took his hand. Dad continuously looked down while the priest then spoke,

"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words."

The woman that came up to the podium was Agent 13, our old neighbour. I looked over to Uncle Sam, who sat on Dad's right, and then he nudged Dad to look up. Sharon glanced at us and then took a breath before speaking,

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D... but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy."

Uncle Sam and I watched Dad's reaction as we listened to what Sharon said, "She had a photograph in her office: Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said: compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move... it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say 'No, you move.'"

I didn't pay attention to Dad or Uncle Sam anymore, only the words that Sharon spoke. Peggy's words suited the situation we were in with the Accords, and I wanted to follow them. Peggy was my idol, and I always felt a connection to her, probably because she took care of me as a newborn.

After the funeral, Dad wanted to stay behind for a little bit. I protested and said I would stay with him, but he wouldn't budge,

"Katie, I'll be fine. You can have some quality time with Uncle Sam."

"Dad, I-"

"Katie, please."

I nodded, then took Uncle Sam's offered hand, and we walked away. The two of us walked to an ice cream parlour in our funeral attire and ate a cup of ice cream each. I didn't say much, I was worried about Dad and sad about Peggy. It wasn't until I noticed the news on the TV that I spoke,

"Uncle Sam." I pointed toward the TV that showed the building in Vienna and an explosion going off. I looked at my uncle with a terrified expression on my face, and we both stood up. Uncle Sam grabbed my hand, and we ran to find Dad. We found him with Sharon in a hotel not far from the cathedral.

"Dad," I called from the door and ran over to him, with Uncle Sam following behind. Sharon and Dad both turned to us, and Uncle Sam informed them,

"There's something you gotta see."

We all headed up to Sharon's hotel room and turned on the news. The news anchor explained what happened while Sharon was on the phone,

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than seventy people have been injured. At least twelve are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations."

Sharon came between Dad and Uncle Sam and then said,

"I have to go to work."

Dad had sent me to stay with Uncle Tony at the CIA building in Berlin. I met up with Aunt Nat there and stayed with her until Dad came back from doing whatever he and Uncle Sam had planned. It wasn't until a few hours later that I heard Uncle Tony speaking to Uncle Rhodey about Dad, Uncle Sam, and the new Wakanda king, T'Challa, having a fight and helping Bucky. I paced the room while Uncle Tony was on the phone with Secretary Ross. Eventually, Aunt Nat walked in with Dad and Uncle Sam.

"No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup," Uncle Tony spoke into the phone, and Aunt Nat said to Dad,

"Try not to break anything while we fix this."

"Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously, you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir," Uncle Tony finished, looking Dad straight in the eye.

"'Consequences'?" Dad asked.

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something."

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?"

"Technically, it's the government's property. Wings, too," Aunt Nat told them while she and Uncle Tony walked away.

"That's cold," Uncle Sam stated, but Uncle Tony retorted,

"Warmer than jail."

Once Uncle Tony and Aunt Nat left, I ran to hug Dad. After I was sure they were both ok, I started smacking Dad's chest.

"What the hell were you thinking?! I'm sorry for my language!" I was frustrated and worried. Dad grabbed my wrists to stop me from hitting him, and when I stopped struggling, he put his hand on my cheek.

"I'm sorry we worried you, Baby. We just wanted to help him," Dad explained softly. I sighed and looked down before answering,

"I know, I'm sorry. Is he ok?"

"They have him to be questioned," Uncle Sam responded, and I nodded. Dad and I then sat in the glass-walled board room, waiting to hear about Bucky, when Uncle Tony walked in, asking me to excuse myself for a few minutes. I left without question and helped Aunt Nat with some paperwork. I also watched all of the security footage all across one of the walls.