Chapter 349: Stubborn

Chapter 349: Stubborn

If you want to support me check out my patron at /athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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Chapter 349: Stubborn

8th June 2013, Baxter Building

(Thaddeus Ross POV)

The voice on the other end of the phone stayed silent for a few seconds before answering, "Are you sure about that, sir? The death count will be very high, especially since the causalities will be mostly civilians."

"They will be sacrificed for the greater good of humanity. Thousands will die, so that billions will live in peace. I don't want to do this anymore than you do. But the hardest sacrifices require the strongest wills." Ross answered patiently.

"It will be done, sir," the man answered.

"Thank you, son, you would have helped shape the world with your courage."

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh, and tell Trask that I want to see him. Tell him I want to know when the prototypes will be ready." The secretary of state continued.

"Yes, sir. I will contact you with your answer, sir."

"For the greatness and prosperity of humanity" Ross continued.

"For the greatness and prosperity of humanity," the man repeated before hanging up.

Yes, everything was going according to plan.

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13th June 2013, Avengers Tower

Rogers wouldn't have it, "And what if we're sent into political fights? What if the UN refuses to send us somewhere and people get hurt?"

"It's better than doing nothing and waiting for the public to change their minds," Romanoff responded with a condescending tone.

"Look, we could just take King T'Chaka's offer. Wakanda offered to harbour us if we only intervene in countries that haven't signed the Accords. It's how we can help people the most," Wilson shot back.

Rhodey shook his head, "Look, I'm a Colonel in the US air force. I'm not going to fight for another country, that's practically treason. And Steve here has America in his name and his shield has an American flag. I don't see us abandoning our country out of spite."

"It's not spite. I don't care about being disrespected. I lived half my life as a skinny boy with more health issues than most retired people. I'm used to being mocked and put down. I stopped caring about that years ago. But, they're stopping us from doing our jobs," the World War Two veteran interjected, "and honestly, I would leave this country if that meant that I could do the most good away from here. I won't like it. New York is in my blood, but if that's what's needed"

Bruce just stood up, "Enough! I have had enough of these endless debates with no answer. The UN fucked us, and there's nothing we can do about it. We can't fight it without being labelled criminals, and we can't join without becoming anything more than attack dogs and publicity stunts. Going to another country still wouldn't make a difference in the matter. Ross and his people will hunt us down, just like he hunted me down all those years, and I'm done running. Let's face it, the best thing to do is to just let go. If they don't want us, then they don't deserve us. I'm with Stark on this, but I'm not protesting. Clint has already left, and maybe it's time. Maybe the invasion was just a one-time thing, and we all go our separate ways."

"But Bruce" Natasha protested.

"But nothing, Nat," the genius answered, "All of you have the luxury of returning to your old lives. The Act doesn't really affect you because you're not really Enhanced. You're normal people who have either trained for a long time or are smart enough to build wonders. Steve is a war hero and practically untouchable. Me, I'm the man who turns into a monster," Bruce shook his head bitterly.

The entire room stayed silent, and Tony could swear that he could hear a pin drop. Banner then continued his little rant, "I need to keep a lid on my temper for every single moment of my life or I will transform and turn into the Hulk. And it's frustrating to see you whine about the Accords when I'm the only one seriously affected. All you have to do is stop fighting and you'll be fine. Me, I'll have to walk to Ross' hands with my free will or risk being hunted down again. Let's face it, the Avengers are over. This Act is the last straw. Nat can go back to being an agent, probably at the CIA, Tony can continue being a billionaire, Steve, Sam, and Rhodey, can go back to the military, and that leaves just me. You also realize that this act also considers Thor to be a foreign invader. If he ever returned to visit, the government could arrest him just for being there."

Everyone was gaping at Bruce who had finally started to calm down after his rant. He then sighed in disappointment, "Look, guys, I like you and everything and it's been fun. But it's time we move on."

Tony looked down and asked Jarvis to stop recording. He subtly anonymously uploaded the footage on the internet. The truth was that the Avengers couldn't just appear on a show to make interviews or anything, because of some stipulation in the Accords restricting individuals labelled as Enhanced to be restricted from intended media coverage without authorization from the government. This is why Tony needed for their testimony to appear 'leaked' and not just go on TV and complain about the injustice of it all. It also prevented anyone with powers to get any kind of political position since they required media coverage to rise in the ranks. These Accords really were bullshit.

The entire room stayed silent for a few minutes, processing what Bruce had revealed. The Accords were really making things tense. Because the man had a point. Wakanda was a last resort if mankind was being attacked or the world was in danger, and even then, they'd lose Rhodey and with Clint gone, they didn't need to lose more people in case something happened. To be perfectly honest, Tony hadn't really thought about how Bruce was feeling about all of this, especially with Ross spearheading the whole thing, a man that hunted him to the end of the world and back.

Suddenly, the alarms went off, and JARVIS announced that there was a massive energy surge in the area. Tony rushed to the control room and yelled out, "What's going on Jarvis?"

"It appears that Emil Blonsky, also known as the Abomination, is on a rampage in the middle of Manhattan."

Tony looked at his teammates and he definitely didn't like the resolute look on Steve Roger's face. This wouldn't bode well for anyone.

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.