There Are Some

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The party had been in swing for a number of hours already. Actually, the reason that it was being so drawn out was simply that the party-goers were all arriving at such disparate times. The ones hit with the stunner-paintballs had to wait until they'd woken up and then been given a once-over by Healer Greengrass before they were clear to join the revels.

And then there was the Hulk. In his confusion over what the game that they were playing actually was, he'd bounded off, deep into the forest of Paradis Noir, intent on avoiding his cousin so that he wouldn't get 'tagged'. It took Harry riding on his broom and asking the Peruvian Vipertooths a long time to finally locate the Big Guy. And then, Harry'd had to convince the Hulk that the game was over and that he'd won without getting tagged by an enormous green finger, constantly jabbing at him.

Finally, though, Hulk came down from his victorious bouncing around, his arms in the air, and calmed enough for Bruce to re-emerge. A simple apparition by Harry returned the two of them to the main building to find that the party had already started. Quickly, Bruce rushed off to have a shower and to find some clean, unruined clothes.

"What was that golden mist?" Pietro asked, drifting over to Harry as soon as he joined everyone.

Harry grinned as he picked up a bottle of butterbeer.

"That was a disorientating mist. In basic terms, it confused your senses so that up appeared down and down, up."

"So, I wasn't really standing on the ceiling?" Pietro asked.

"Nope. Your senses were just confused enough to think that," Harry replied. "Believe me, I know how it feels – I encountered it back when I was in a Tournament at school."

"Did it freeze you in place too?"

"For a minute, then I simply closed my eyes and walked out of it," Harry replied. "But I'd put that field in the entirety of the room, so the only way out of it for you was back through the door."

"Huh," Pietro grunted thoughtfully.

"You wouldn't really have needed much to confuse Pietro," Wanda laughed as she joined them.

"Tell me about it," Harry grinned. "You should have seen him when he ran into the illusion that I made. He thought that he was entering the hut; instead he found himself triggering a skidding jinx and an overpowered acceleration charm. How far'd you end up running, anyway?"

"Nearly three kilometres before I could stop," Pietro groused. And then, when Wanda broke out into peals of laughter. "You're supposed to be on my side, I'm your big brother, remember?"

"By twelve minutes," Wanda countered.

"Hey, you," Daisy said as she joined the group, bumping hips with Harry as she arrived beside him.

Automatically, Harry's hand snaked out around her waist and he gave her a kiss.

"How'd you go in the game?" he asked.

"Not bad," she shrugged. "Didn't get tagged. Oh, and learnt a new skill with my power."

Harry's raised eyebrow encouraged her to elaborate.

"I managed to 'catch' Ted when he was falling from his broom after Bucky shot him and knocked him out," she said.

"In that case, thank you," he smiled.

A loud chime echoed over the gathering and Harry, along with everyone else there, turned to find Maria Hill standing on a small platform above everyone.

"Sorry to break this up, guys, but you're all needed," she said.

"I'm guessing something important?" Steve asked.

"Secretary of State Ross has asked to address the Avengers," she replied. "I've told him that we'll meet him at the Compound. And before anyone asks, no, I don't know what this is about."

"You don't know," Nat repeated flatly.

"No," Maria replied and this time it was easy to hear the annoyance in her voice. "I know that there's been something in the wind for the past couple of months but all my contacts have clammed up about it. I would guess, with Ross involved, that we're finally going to find out what it is."

"Alright, everyone, you heard the lady. Gear up and head across to the Compound," Steve ordered.

ooo00ooo

All of the Avengers (minus Thor who was currently off-world and Melati who hadn't committed to the team yet, despite how often she'd been joining in with the Academy program) filed into the largest of the conference rooms and took a set at either one of the two long tables or in one of the extra chairs set around the perimeter. The last to enter was Maria and Lavender who accompanied Secretary Ross and his aide.

"You're all here, good," Ross stated as he took a position at the front of the room and surveyed them all.

Harry noticed that the man frowned at each of the ones that was currently masked, their identities still hidden – Peter, Doreen, Matt, Teddy and himself.

"I'm assuming that you have something for us," Steve half-stated, half-asked.

"Yes, but not in the way that you mean. I'm not here with a mission," Ross replied.

"Then why are you here?" Maria asked pointedly from where she leant against the back wall, her arms crossed.

For some reason, instead of answering, Ross started with an anecdote.

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack," he said. "I dropped right in the middle of my batting swing. Turned out that it was the best round of my life because after a thirteen-hour surgery and a triple bypass, I learnt something that forty years in the Army never taught me: perspective."

He glanced at Bruce then, a deep scowl flitting across his face so quickly that, unless you'd been looking, it would have been missed, as he paused in his stride across the front of the room before seeming to gather himself and starting again.

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You've fought for us. Protected us. Risked your lives. While a great many people see you as heroes, there are some ... who would prefer the word, 'vigilantes'."

Harry stiffened in his seat and he noticed that he wasn't the only one.

"And what word would you use, Mister Secretary?" Nat asked for all of them.

"How about 'dangerous'?" Ross replied quickly. "What would you call a group of US based, enhanced individuals, who routinely ignore sovereign borders and impose their will wherever and whenever they choose and, quite frankly, don't appear to care about the mess that they leave behind?"

"I think that you'll find that we do care. Every single one of us," Steve countered. "There are nights when we don't sleep because of what we've done, what we've seen. But we do our best. Tony there's even set up the Stark Relief Foundation, to go in after the danger has passed and to help the civilians still there."

Ross, though, apparently didn't agree with Steve's reply or perhaps, Harry thought, he simply disregarded it. Turning to the large screen behind him, Ross picked up the controller and tapped it, bringing up a large map of the world with various places on it pinpointed in yellow.

"New York," he said and the image that was displayed zeroed in on that point before beginning to show footage from the Avengers' battle against the Chitauri.

"London."

This time, after zooming out to the map of the world and then back in, the screen showed Greenwich with the great spaceship of the Dark Elves 'parked' there, people running from it, screaming.

"The Great Barrier Reef, Australia."

Harry's eyes widened at the sight of a group of penned in crocodiles each clearly having undergone some strange mutation – their legs were longer, thicker, more powerful-looking, there were spines running down their backs and the expression on their faces indicated that they were more intelligent than the 'regular' kind of croc.

"Washington DC."

Video began playing of the single helicarrier that had managed to lift off out of the three that HYDRA had tried to launch. Harry could see the red and orange molten lava that he himself was pouring into the helicarrier's engine in order to bring it down.

"Germany."

Smoking buildings could be seen in the background behind a fleet of ambulances, people on stretchers or bandaged and sitting on the ground all around.

"Brazil."

This time the image was still instead of video. It showed the ruins of a compound. Barracuda. Most of the Avengers in the room had participated in the battle there, a battle that culminated in two nuclear missiles having to be taken down after being launched.

"South Africa."

The video started out fuzzily before quickly gaining focus to show an angry, out-of-control Hulk picking up a car and tossing it carelessly away.

"Sokovia."

The flying city was shown as it gained height quickly, buildings and land falling away to crash to the ground below, killing untold numbers that they'd been unable to get to and save quickly enough.

"Lagos."

This one was the freshest in the minds of those who had been there. Twenty-six people had been killed in the explosion that Rumlow had set off, not including himself. The footage even showed s number of those people in the rubble.

"That's enough," Steve commanded and it was clear that it was a command – his voice was full of steel.

"For the past few years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision," Ross stated. "That's an arrangement that the governments of the world can no longer tolerate."

Harry noticed Maria stiffen at those words and stand straighter, her face incredibly intent on what the Secretary was saying.

"But I think we have a solution," here Ross turned to his aide and took a large book-like document that was easily as thick as anything that Hermione would consider 'light reading'. "We call it the Sokovia Accords. Already approved by one hundred and seventeen countries. It states that the Avengers will no longer be a private organisation. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that Panel deems them necessary."

"I'd like to think that we've done a good job of keeping the people safe, of making the world a better place," Steve stated.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor is right now? Because I can tell you that if I lost a three-tonne nuclear weapon, then I'd better have a damn good explanation," Ross challenged.

"Actually, yes," Steve replied. "Thor's off-world. We know that there's a threat coming and he's finding out all that he can about it for us before it arrives."

"A threat?" Ross repeated, scepticism clear in his voice. "And what evidence do you have of this 'threat'?"

"A lot of small pieces, including some that you wouldn't listen to because it's not scientific or corroborated," Steve replied.

"Well, when you've got something concrete, that isn't some fairy tale imaginings, bring it to the Panel and it'll be analysed and the Panel'll determine if you need to do something about this 'threat'," Ross said.

"And if what's coming doesn't give this government committee the time to make up its mind?" Harry asked contemptuously. "What if it's still debating when the threat has arrived and is destroying the planet? Are we expected to simply sit back and do nothing?"

"I'm sure that the Panel will make any decisions in a timely manner," Ross stated and Harry wasn't the only one to scoff.

"This," Matt stated, tapping the thick document that had made its way to him, "this seems an awfully big document to say that we're now a privately-run organisation. What else does it say?"

Ross stared around the room at the Avengers, every one, Harry could see, was staring right back, incredibly interested in that answer.

"You're right, the Sokovia Accords is not just aimed at the Avengers," Ross stated. "It's aimed at a whole host of people, every one of them enhanced."

"Enhanced. What does that mean?" Matt asked.

"For the purposes of the Accords, an 'enhanced individual' is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities," Ross replied. "This includes individuals whose powers are a part of their biology – whether natural or given to them – as well as individuals who utilize highly advanced technology to grant themselves superhuman capabilities. Every single one of you are subject to the same conditions as enhanced individuals, even if you're not enhanced yourselves."

"So, by that definition, people with magic are 'enhanced', because that's the way Marauder and I were born?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Ross replied.

"Inhumans, too," Daisy said, catching Harry's eye.

"Anyone. Anyone who isn't born and stays a normal human," Ross emphasised. "Every one of you and others like you will be subjected to these Accords. You'll be registered and monitored."

"When this document was created, who represented the 'enhanced'?" Matt asked.

Ross stared at him. "No one. This document was created by and for the United Nations. And whether you're enhanced or not, you're still a part of this planet, so you're subject to its laws."

"Except not all nations are a part of the United Nations," Matt pointed out. "And every government has their own laws that its own citizens need to follow."

"Last time I checked, there wasn't a country of enhanced people," Ross spat.

"Maybe there should be," Bucky shot back. "I know what it's like to be 'regulated' and monitored' and only allowed out of my 'box' when I was needed. It's no way to live."

"And what happens if we don't agree with these Accords? If we don't sign?" Nat asked.

"Then you retire. You wouldn't like the consequences otherwise," Ross stared at her challengingly. "Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies?" Rhodey asked.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords," Ross said. "You sign them or you suffer the consequences."

Steve glanced around at everyone before facing Ross again.

"We'll talk it over," he said.

Ross nodded once to them, a second time to his aide and marched from the room, Lavender falling in with them to see them from the Compound.

ooo00ooo

The door had barely closed behind Ross when chaos erupted.

"They can't be serious!" Sam declared. "With all the good that the Avengers have done?"

"You've got to admit, just seeing that footage ... it does look damning," Bruce said.

"Taken out of context," Nat said. "Two of those were direct attacks against the planet from extra-terrestrials that we had to thwart. What would have been the consequences if we hadn't been there? There would be no planet!"

"And most of the others were us countering HYDRA," Steve added. "Those helicarriers were designed to hold the world at gunpoint. HYDRA had to go, we all know that and, now that they're dealt with, that threat won't be hanging over the ordinary person's head anymore."

"Let's just hope something else doesn't jump into its place," Tony said.

"You know, Ross could have left us more than just the one copy," Jennifer groused, picking up the thick tome.

"And one that was written in Braille," Matt added.

"Here, I can help with that," Harry said, stopping the book as it was slid across the table to him.

Multiple taps of his wand had the Sokovia Accords replicated so that there were twenty copies. The last one, though, took a fair bit of extra effort.

"No guarantees, Matt, I can't read Braille," Harry said.

Matt took the offered copy, flipped it open and ran his fingers over the bumps on the paper before grimacing.

"A good approximation, but no dice," Matt said. "Jennifer, give me the highlights, if you can. Maria, is it possible to get a copy for me."

"I'll make sure of it," she replied.

"And you had no idea that this is coming?" Nat asked.

"None. As I said, I was being stonewalled," Maria replied. "From what I was able to piece together, the UN put this together behind closed doors; no one not in the know was even allowed in."

"Did everyone else get the fact that this is aimed at and against everyone who isn't either one of us or isn't considered 'normal'?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, that was made abundantly clear," Doreen scowled.

"So, Inhumans, Mutants, Mutates and Magicals," Bobbi said. "Every one of them."

"Anyone think that the UN might not know what sort of can of worms they're opening here?" Sam asked.

"Jennifer?" Matt prompted.

"Here's something," she replied, gaining everyone's attention. "And it's pretty big, too. Any enhanced individual who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples. Those with secret identities must reveal their legal names and true identities to the United Nations. Those with innate powers must submit to a power analysis, which will categorize their threat level and determine potential health risks. Those with innate powers must also wear tracking bracelets at all times."

"They want to treat us as criminals!" Pietro exclaimed. "That is exactly what the most hardened criminals are forced to comply with."

"Harry?" Daisy asked.

Harry spun from the window that he was leaning against, trying to rein in his temper.

"I can tell you this now, without even hearing anything else. There's no way that I'll ever agree to that," he said, spitting the last. "You all know that I don't like talking about my past all that much, and especially my 'titles' in the magical world. But the biggest of them, 'The-Man-Who-Conquered', I got that after winning a magical war. That was a war where magicals who considered themselves of 'pureblood' looked down on everyone else. Laws were passed. People were rounded up, put in camps, killed or simply disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again."

"Sounds like World War Two and the Nazi's treatment of the Jews," Steve said grimly.

"I've read those account, and it was exactly like that!" Harry replied angrily. "This ... these Sokovia Accords, it's the first step to rounding us all up and putting us somewhere 'safe'."

"Harry's right," Teddy said. "My dad, he was a werewolf. From what my Gran's told me, he struggled everyday of his life to find work, to earn a living, just because he was different one night a year. He was hunted as well; died fighting for what was right, not giving in to the prejudices of those in government."

Harry placed his hand on Teddy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Remus was a good man and a great friend. He'd be so proud of the man you're growing into."

"Anything else in there, Jenn?" Matt asked.

"Lots but most of it's legal terminology that'll take us more than the three days that we have to go through it all and understand it. Here's something," she said, looking up at Tony. "The creation of self-aware artificial intelligences is completely prohibited."

"I'd say that they put that in because of Ultron," Steve frowned.

"Well, I did say that I wasn't going to dabble in AI's any more," Tony pointed out. "So, it's a moot point anyway."

"Three days isn't a lot of time to wrap our heads around this," Clint stated.

"What's the likelihood that it'll be passed?" Peter asked as Lavender rejoined the group.

"I'd say very high," Maria replied. "Ross said that there were one hundred and seventeen countries ready to ratify it. That's way more than half; it'll pass."

"What about the public? Will they support it if we're

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