"That does not…"
"Oh, didn't you also waste hundreds and hundreds of tax payers' money on trying to catch him?" Harry asked, cutting Ross off. "You wasted more money in a year trying to catch him then most armies spend in a two. And I know why, it's obvious to anyone with a brain and five seconds to think. You wanted an army of hulks, yet you are coming here and preaching to us about not caring? How much money, destruction, broken bones and lives have you ruined in your quest for power? Because I seem to remember that Bruce turned into the Hulk when he gets angry so you chose to chase after him while knowing that and therefore Bruce ends up transforming and wrecking a lot of shit which leads to you chasing him even more. But of course I'm sure that there is probably some brilliant logic you have beyond 'I want one'. Bruce over here acted in self-defence, you made him a criminal so he runs, you attack him so the Hulk fights back. But no matter what, you didn't stop chasing him until Fury made you."
"He's not wrong." Bruce said in a quiet voice. "All those vehicles, tanks, helicopters, how much did you waste trying to catch me? Oh and let's not forget the mess with Abomination. You're at least partially responsible for that. A mess that I had to fix."
Ross took several deep breaths as he looked around, he could see that whatever respect he had when he entered the room had greatly decreased. At this point he wanted nothing more than to quickly get out of here."
"I am not here to argue with you." Ross said, as he looked around the room. "For the past few years you have all operated with unlimited powers and no supervision. That's an arrangement that the governments of the world can no longer tolerate."
"We report to Fury, I wouldn't count that as 'no supervision'." Gwen replied.
"Not good enough, not anymore." Ross said as the man he was with handed him a small book. "You may tell Fury what you do but it's clear that he's not in charge of you all. The Sokovia accords." Ross said as he placed the book on the table. "Approved by 117 countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organisation. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United States panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."
"The Avengers were formed to make the world a better place," Steve said. "I feel we've done that."
"Tell me, do you guys know where Thor is?" Ross asked.
"He has returned to Asgard." Sif answered.
"Off world." Natasha added.
"Off world?" Ross repeated. "That doesn't sound very specific, do you know exactly where he is in Asgard? I don't know how big Asgard is, heck I don't even know where Asgard is."
"Neither do more than half the people in this room, you're not special." Harry responded.
"If I misplaced a 30 megaton nuke, then you can bet there'd be consequences."
"Oh yeah?" Bruce snorted. "What would you know about consequences? You've cost the government and public Lord knows how much money and damage while also failing in creating super soldiers at least twice, and both of your failures are easily capable of destroying anything they want yet you're not in a prison cell, but actually in a high up government position. If those are what consequences look like then perhaps we should create more damage, we might actually get a spare jet and another building."
"And Thor is our friend, do not talk about him like he is some sort of weapon we just aim and let lose." Harry said, glaring at Ross with narrowed eyes. "We are not weapons, and we're most definitely not yours."
Ross looked like he was about to say something but instead closed his eyes and held his breath in a visible attempt to reign in his temper.
"Compromise, reassurance, that's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground." Ross said in a firm voice.
"So there are contingencies?" Rhodey asked.
"Three days from now the U.N meets in Vienna to ratify the accords. Talk it over." Ross said as he and the agent with him moved towards the exit.
"And if we come up with a decision that you don't like?" Natasha asked, stopping the two before they reached the exit. Ross turned back and looked at her as he answered.
"Then you retire." He said with finality in his voice.
"I've survived the end of one government that ruined the world through pure stupidity, I'm sure I'll survive another." Harry called out just as Ross turned his back. "What about you? Can you say the same?" For a moment it looked like Ross was going to turn around and respond, instead he simply walked out along with the other agent.
"Okay,what the hell was that?!" Rhodey demanded once Ross was gone.
"A fucking prick." Harry growled at the door that Ross had left through.
"And I thought it would be an angry Bruce that we had to worry about." Gwen commented.
.....
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