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In the wake of Pepper Stark’s pregnancy announcement and Natasha Romanoff’s reinstatement as an active Avenger, the rest of the world seem to be moving at a record pace too fast for any one person to follow if they’re not a certified genius or trained and enhanced by the Red Room.The world pooled their resources like never before, predominantly with Wakanda’s limited and trickling contribution to the world. Even if the knowledge Wakanda allowed to publicly share to the world were limited to one specific information at a time, it still progressed the productivity of many groundbreaking discoveries and technology across the globe. But apart from being momentarily impressed by each new release of information, Tony was mostly interested with Wakanda’s shielding capabilities and the Black Panther armor.T’Challa’s sister, Princess Shuri, may not have been very forthcoming regarding the armor’s technology and armaments but after Tony shared his fears of another alien invasion, she was more than willing to help him with the shields so long as he provided her with information about BARF.Why the princess needed BARF was never discussed in their conference calls. (But between geniuses such as themselves, it never needed to be.)Beyond this, the greatest minds and experts worked tirelessly together to share their collective visions to innovate the world to a whole new era of technological, scientific, and magical wonder under the watchful eye and direction of Tony, Stephen, and T’Challa.Because no one wanted another Ultron and no one wanted another Kaecilius.After Hope persuaded and cajoled many other companies and organizations along with them, Stark Industries and Pym Technologies initiated self-sustaining foundations for scientific groups with revolutionary ideas and potential, ensuring that they were put to good use in more ways than just saving the planet from global warming and mass extinction.A great deal of Tony’s focus was dedicated to NASA and every other space station willing to collaborate with him, looking outward to the stars. This caused another stir with the press, the UN, and the scientific community as a whole. They commented on his loose hinges and overactive paranoia, unsuccessfully discrediting him as he ventured into the field of space travel and energy-sustaining global shielding technology.But Tony expected nothing less. After all, he never made it a secret that they needed to prepare for a higher form of war, that Earth needed to prepare. Deep down he knew that the threat is imminent, if not already coming. Many scoffed or laughed at him for his fear, that another invasion is impossible. That New York had been a fluke.While he wasn’t going to let them get in the way of protecting the things he can’t live without, Tony wished they’d prove him wrong.But he knew it wasn’t going to be enough. He knew they needed something more.One evening, Tony waited until he could feel Pepper’s breath even out in sleep before he got out of bed, took his phone, and dialed. He lounged on the sofa as he waited for the call to connect.“Stark,” Coulson answered without preamble.“I think that time is coming soon. Are the people on your end ready?”“As well as they can be.” Coulson answered without hesitation. “Are yours?”“No,” Tony answered truthfully. “But they will be. I trust that they will.”Coulson hummed. Tony smirked to himself at the thought of how baffled the former agent would’ve been to hear that Tony Stark trusted others to do their part. Tony has been trying to do some major character development as of late. Trusting his family and his team was the best and most obvious place to start.It took a moment for Coulson to answer. “I’ll inform Nick. Keep me posted.”“Will do.” Tony hung up.Now, all he had to do was wait. Stark Industries and Pym Technologies (along with many government backing) provided high-tech gears and equipment to the Anti-Terrorist Units all over the world to give them a good fighting chance against magical and enhanced individuals that caused trouble inside their assigned jurisdictions.The Anti-Terrorist Units were born out of the idea that a country needed to be (at least, somewhat) independent from the Avengers when it came to dealing with advanced terrorism. Arguments of multiple attacks happening all at once across the globe or refusing to accept Avenger aid have been raised at some point during the revisions and continued well after the Accords were finalized and signed for the hundredth time.Since these arguments were concerned more of each country’s interests and not the world in general, the Avengers kept their distance from the debates but monitored the situation closely.In the end, the countries signed under the Accords decided that having the Avengers were not enough. They needed a response team with the ability to hold their ground against more powerful adversaries if the Avengers were unavailable for deployment or elsewhere.Hence, the Anti-Terrorist Units or ATU were formed.One ATU was meant to be the equivalent of the power and skill of one Avenger. It each consists of an eight-manned team. Each member was highly trained and were chosen from the best of the best.With FRIDAY and Maria Hill’s help, the Avengers themselves vetted each and every personnel, no matter which country they came from. It was Stephen, Rhodey, and Vision’s responsibility to ensure each vetting and screening were deep and thorough, leaving no stone unturned. Their history of Hydra infiltration still hung too heavily on their shoulders after all these years. Deep underground SHIELD, in particular, has not yet recovered from Project Insight. They didn’t want their weapons and resources falling into the wrong hands. Again.The first time an ATU deployed in Brazil to deal with an Enhanced individual wreaking havoc in Rio, the UN made it a point to demonstrate the effectiveness of the units’ capabilities. The Avengers were called in but had been ordered to remain on stand-by to prevent the situation from growing worse if ever things went side-ways.The mission went without a hitch.The Avengers themselves went to congratulate Brazil’s team. As the world grew more powerful, new dangers rose along with it. And as the dangers grew in power, heroes revealed themselves in men and women who never thought they had it in them.The Accords expanded from the Avengers to the ATUs, ensuring that each personnel signed and legally acted under the parameters of the Accords. Enhanced individuals who eventually revealed themselves and signed the Accords, more often than not, volunteered to be a member of the units while more and more groups emerged, fighting alongside the Avengers to protect the world.Tony, Rhodey, and Vision took charge of finding, helping, and training the younger ones to harness their power and exercise control over their abilities. In time, the Avengers compound filled to the brim with new recruits who had nowhere else to go. They housed them, clothed them, and fed them from the funding those charity galas Pepper and Hope had been throwing around like crazy. Stephen had busied himself with casting spell after spell, making sure the perimeters of the compound were secured from magical attacks until the compound could rival Kamar-Taj’s protective barriers.There were whispers of how the Avengers compound may have turned into an unofficial institute for heroes but no one really wanted to officially claim that the Avengers were starting a school for the Enhanced. Rhodey joked that one was more than enough already.Eventually, the list of the Avengers and ATU reserve rosters grew longer and longer with each new Enhanced individual volunteering to be of help and more and more Enhanced groups emerged from hiding to the point of nearly breaking the United Nations.The UN was not designed nor equipped to handle an initiative of this magnitude, no matter how much they tried to keep up with the growing need for appropriate supervision. They were designed to foster international relations and inter-state bureaucracy, not training and issuing combative missions to teams made up of Enhanced individuals.So, naturally, Tony decided to fully implement his new brainchild.Tony, Nick, and Phil worked tirelessly in order to have enough ground to reboot SHIELD under the Accords and introducing the concept of the Sentient World Observation and Response Division or SWORD along with it.The reinstatement alone was near impossible to do, not after Project Insight’s casualty count and the file dump. But initiating another organization that is meant to be just as powerful as its counterpart with unprecedented authorities was a whole new other beast.The acronym, SWORD, wasn’t at all reassuring, either, but Tony vehemently insisted on it, accepting the irony biting him in the ass because he wasn’t one to miss out on an opportunity to name it any other way.This is where Tony decided to call in Hope to help them.“Tony,” Hope said, looking at him in disbelief after hearing his plans and finding out how awful his naming skills are. She dreads to think what he’ll come up with when it came to baby names. Only having and knowing Pepper as a friend assured her that Tony’s children will not suffer being called something utterly eccentric for the rest of their lives. “You realize that this must be the craziest idea you’ve ever had since Ultron, right?”Tony snorted. Leave it to Hope to get right to the point using the bluntest metaphorical object she can find to beat his head with. He knew it was crazy. But barring Ultron, crazy had always worked for him so far. The arc reactor, the Iron Man suit, and Vision are testament to that.“Do you trust me?” he asked her, brown eyes earnest and determined.Hope looked at him for a long time, her face devoid of expression, contemplating.Once upon a time, they’ve been rivals. Hope and Tony have been running in the same elite circle for all of their lives. They’ve seen each other in charities and parties and they’ve been doing business with almost the exact same people. They knew how to play the game of corporate power as well as they knew the function controls of their own suits. The media pitted them against each other for their business and familial affiliations. Two heirs of two rival empires, competing to be the best in the business. Hank Pym and Howard Stark have never met eye to eye and everyone just knew for certain that their children wouldn’t be any different. Or so they thought.Tony couldn’t count how many times he tried to flirt with Hope when he’d been younger and drunk off his ass, trying to piss his father off. Tony knew that Hank’s dislike of him didn’t solely rest on the fact that Howard was his father. He had been reckless with a smartass mouth and pounced on every woman he deemed worthy of his time. Tony couldn’t begrudge the old man for his aversion of all things Stark. Every time he would embarrassingly make a fool of himself, Hope would only look at him with barely concealed exasperation and gracefully but efficiently side-step him every time. Tony had always respected her for that even if he was shit at showing it back then.But now, she was his ally, his teammate, and his friend. Hope had been a godsend to the Avengers Initiative. He never had to deal with the press and the government alone ever again, not with her on his side. She had his back the way only Pepper and Rhodey have ever had, helping him mitigate the tension of the politics and the PR side of the job. What the rogue Avengers never seemed to have realized when they teamed up for the New York invasion was that winning it meant there’d be an aftermath. Which meant clean-ups, public condemnation, and weird fan bases.When they disassembled, it was to Tony every abled body went to for answers. He couldn’t exactly run away to hide and live off a normal life or go off-planet as the others have; not when his face had been plastered in a mural in Queens. He wouldn’t get very far in hiding anyway.There was no way he’d subject Bruce to the brutality of the media, either. The man was skittish on a good day and a green-rage monster on a bad day. Not that Tony ever saw Bruce any less whether it’d been a good or a bad day, but keeping him safe from the prying vultures had been the least he could do for his friend. So, Tony had been riding the condemnation and the weird fan bases on his lonesome because he was the only one who could do it. Because there hadn’t been a way he could up and leave.Now, with his new team, Hope can’t hide away, either. She couldn’t up and leave like him and she couldn’t afford to be skittish like Bruce. Hope and Tony grew up annually featured in multiple magazines with a Fortune 500 company strapped to their name. Running had never been made an option for either of them.They were both built to improvise and withstand. They learned to adapt and revolutionize.They were raised to be wolves. They were raised to have roots.That’s why Tony knew Hope’s answer even before she made it.“I do.” She answered and in the same breath, she said, “Let’s do it.” Hope van Dyne and Tony Stark, with the combined strength of their army of lawyers behind their backs, were a formidable team.It took a while for Tony to convince Pepper that as much as he would love to accept her help, he couldn’t drag her down with him. She was too far along in the pregnancy to be buried deep in another shitstorm even if he was selfish enough to let her. Pepper and, in extension, Stark Industries needed to be as safe as they can be the moment they begin the uphill battle of reinstating SHIELD and proposing the concept of SWORD. He had the lawyers draw up the paperwork of transferring all of his share and most of his assets to Pepper’s name, out of reach—and, in some cases, out of sight—from grabby-hands when shit goes down.He can’t live with himself if anything ever happened to Pepper and his future kids.“Tony, I don’t like this.” Pepper told him while they were packing her bags, brows knitted together in worry. Tony had insisted that Pepper needed to lay low, away from the media and to work on Stark Industries remotely from a safe house. This was going to be more brutal than getting Tony acquitted of all charges of everything that happened in Sokovia and they both knew it.Tony held her close and kissed her forehead. They stayed that way for a long time before Tony broke the silence. “I don’t like it either, Pep, but it has to be done.”Pepper sighed and her smile was fond and tinged with a sadness they both knew too well for comfort. It was one of the things she loved most about Tony. His heart may not always in the right place but it will always be pure. He will always be the man who willingly carried the world on his shoulders. “When will you stop trying to fix the world, Mr. Stark?”“I don’t know, Mrs. Stark.” Tony answered truthfully with a small smile. He’s been trying to be as honest with Pepper as he can be, sharing every part of him with her, knowing that nothing of him will be shunned. “I just know I have to do everything I can to protect what I can’t live without. There’ll be more of them soon.”Pepper chuckled, her laugh lighting her beautiful face, rubbing her baby bump. “Damn right.”“I still can’t believe they’re twins.” Tony digressed with a budding beaming smile on his face. “I mean, I used to think I’m having a kid, wow, but now I’m having two at the same time. It’s insane.”“Well, you never did do anything half-way.” Pepper teased, sliding away from his arms to continue packing. Tony picked up Pepper’s maternity clothes and folded them neatly on the bed.“Damn right.” Tony agreed, kissing Pepper on the cheek. Rhodey, Stephen, and Vision have officially taken charge of most of the Avengers’ project and missions. They weren’t happy that Tony and Hope were doing this on their own instead of as a team but they saw the importance of both organizations in spite of their reservations and they saw the point of keeping the Avengers out of it. If they failed, the Avengers needed to go on.“Tony, you sure you and Hope know what you’re doing? Cutting us off from it all like this?” Rhodey asked him for hundredth time.“I’m sure, platypus,” Tony answered, clapping Rhodey’s shoulder. Tony knew Rhodey carried the responsibility of being the liaison of the militaries of most governments under the Accords. They trusted his judgment and valued his tactical inputs. The Avengers were safest in Rhodey’s hands. “Wouldn’t want to drag my kids’ godfather to jail with me, anyway. They’ll hate me for it.”Rhodey scoffed, feeling giddy at the mention of his impending godchildren. “Just don’t do anything as stupid as those stunts you pulled in 2010.”“Oh, please,” Tony teased, feeling a little perplexed of the daunting tasks ahead of them. “Dying from palladium poisoning was much more fun than this.”They both chuckled emptily, knowing that it was partly true. Tony and Rhodey have been friends for decades, withstanding everything that came in their path. But this would be different. Again, Tony is willingly walking into the woods filled with hungry wolves but, this time, Rhodey will be forced to do nothing but watch. Once again, Tony will be too far from Rhodey’s reach to save.“Did you tell Harley and Peter yet?” Rhodey asked after the silence was too heavy to endure.“I was going to after this,” Tony sighed. “Do me a favor and make sure they stay out of trouble? I don’t want to be seen too much with them after the news breaks out. To keep them safe and all that. And if shit goes down, they might come running to play heroes…”“Sure, whatever you need, Tones,” Rhodey agreed easily. This much he can do for his brother. Tony told Harley and Peter in a secured joint conference call and they weren’t at all happy with it.“Tony, this is insane.” Harley said, his eyes were wide in worry. “Is it even possible? How are you going to achieve all that without getting assassinated?”“Jeez, thanks for the support there,” Tony bit back sarcastically.“I’m just trying to be realistic,” Harley defended, hands going up. “I can’t see this ending without something blowing up on someone’s face.”“Hopefully, it wouldn’t be on yours or Hope’s face.” Peter added helpfully, staying oddly positive. Tony sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He mentally counted to ten before answering them.“Look, guys, I need you to stay low for a while, all right?” Tony gave them a serious look which both teens took as a promise. “Pepper’s going to a safe house but I can’t pull you both out of your lives to keep you safe. It’s not my call. I want you both to be on guard. This is going to be a shitstorm of epic proportions and I don’t know what will happen to me or to Hope or to all the others that’s going to fight this with me. Just keep an eye on each other, okay? I can’t do it for you for a while.”“You’ll try your best anyway,” Peter muttered from his end with a fond smile. Harley and Tony chuckled, glad for the reprieve in the ominousness of Tony’s words.“But who knows what will happen,” Tony continued, needing for them to understand. “There’s a huge chance I’ll go to jail as some sort of political power play or something. And you’re right. A lot of people will try to put me out of my misery because I’m doing something that’s outside of their understanding. It’ll be a long, ugly, horrifying ride. Beginning to end. Even after the end.”Tony sighed when he saw both teens tense. He wished there was a way to keep them safe, sheltered from life’s unforgiving storms. But he knew that this is the right thing to do. He just wished he could spare them even if he knew he can’t.On the other end of their screens, Peter gulped, his brown eyes shining with worry but acceptance, while Harley gritted his teeth, his blue-green eyes full of determination and resignation. Tony recognized the need to protect on both boys’ expression. He knew it all too well, saw it all too often. It was the expression of heroes. Tony’s heart felt like lead in his chest to see it in them so young. But he knew that from the beginning, saw it every day in the men they were slowly becoming. There’s no stopping them now after this.“Make sure Pepper doesn’t take it too hard, okay?” Tony said, pulling the words out of his dry throat. “The twins won’t let me ever live it down if I upset their mom too much.”“We will,” Harley promised.“Just be careful.” Peter told him.Later when they said their goodbyes and Tony sat alone in his workshop, he heard the quiet taps on the glass door. Tony sighed in exasperation and turned to face Nat on the other side of the glass.“FRIDAY, let her in.” Tony commanded. The door opened wordlessly.“I swear, if you messed up her code, I will—”“Relax,” she reassured, parking her spider-ass on Tony’s desk. “I just muted her for a few seconds. I may be good but I’m not that good.”“What do you want?” Tony demanded softly, wanting to get it over with. He still didn’t know where he stood with her and he avoided dealing with it like the plague. He was still working on the trust thing when it came with the rogue Avengers. In his defense, for good reason.“Fury told me what you’re planning to do,” she said with an unfathomable look in her eyes. Like she always did with everything. Tony sighed, bracing himself for the onslaught. “I think it’s a good idea.”He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “No comment about my ego?”Nat exhaled slowly in annoyance but knowing all too well she deserved the jab. Instead of answering, she shrugged. “The UN is floundering, barely keeping up with what’s happening to the world. Soon, they’ll break and we’re all going to suffer the political backlash. They need SHIELD. We’ve all always needed SHIELD.”“And SWORD?” Tony prompted. Nat shrugged again, this time a little hint of uncertainty leaking through her mask. And Tony realized how badly Nat wanted to earn his trust back that she was willing to expose her doubts to him for a second time.“I don’t know about SWORD,” Nat told him honestly, which was a bonus. She was rarely, truly honest with him. Factual, yes, all the time. But rarely honest. “You’ve always believed the Chitauri will come back and you were the only one who saw them beyond the portal. SHIELD has proof that aliens have been here on Earth for years even before the invasion in New York. SHIELD might have been able to handle it before but what we’re facing now is a whole new terrain. SWORD can be what SHIELD can’t be. SWORD can protect us where SHIELD can’t defend us. But it’s a weapon with a double-edged blade. It can just as easily kill you, too.”“I know. More than anyone, in fact.” Tony agreed quietly. “I mean, Ultron had just as easily, nearly killed me.”“But this isn’t Ultron.” Nat countered. “This is still us. This is still people.”“In my experience, people had just as easily, nearly killed me, too.” Tony bit back with a hollow smile. “Multiple times.”“Me too.” Nat confessed, sharing his hollow smile.Tony’s brown, soulful eyes bore on her cold blue ones. Nat met his formidable focus with the strength of her own; all his intelligence, his power, his heart, bear for her to see. It was once her mission to study this man, to unearth all of his secrets and to assess his compatibility for an impossible team and she had found him lacking.But, now, she knew that what she’d seen hadn’t been real. It hadn’t even come close to who Tony Stark truly was. And this is where Natalia Alianovna Romanova realized that, of all the original Avengers—pass his masks, his biting words, and his ridiculous wealth—she’s the only one to have ever seen the true Tony Stark. And she found him more than enough.“So, what do we do now?” Tony asked her, uncertain but with quiet resolve. Always the paradox.She smiled softly, genuine and sincere. “What we have to.” In Hope’s end, Hank has subtly taken over the reins of Pym Technologies. Hank had very nearly set the worst of his ants up Tony’s ass when they told him, but Hope had calmed him down enough to explain their plan. It was a terrible plan but Hank knew there was no stopping both of them.Hope had too much of Janet in her and Howard’s boy was so very obviously Maria’s son. Hank knew that they were the only ones who can do this. He pities all the idiots who gets in their way.They transferred their rights of Stark Industries and Pym Technologies temporarily to their most entrusted people, ensuring that nothing major of their respective companies will be seized from the legal actions that may crop up against them. Every precaution was built and implemented quietly, making sure their hands aren’t tipped too soon.Their lawyers, along with SHIELD representatives, have prepared countless legal contingencies and countermeasures before going forward, ensuring that the organizations wouldn’t be ruled by one person’s agenda and that the Avengers are still a separate entity from both SHIELD and SWORD but could be called upon when deemed necessary or when it is arranged through a series of protocols. Both SHIELD and SWORD will function within the parameters of the Accords and under the direction of the collective power of the United Nations. SHIELD will have homeland jurisdiction of Earth while SWORD will monitor outward and deal with extraterrestrial threats from outer space.The legal parameters took weeks to write and only the best and brightest, under heavy, legally binding wavers, were allowed to write and rewrite both initiatives.When they were ready and their intention was made public, it caused a violent global upheaval.Many had condemned them outright and questioned if they were actually sane enough to reinstate an organization that was so easily infiltrated by Hydra and another one that sounded even crazier than its counterpart. Hope and Tony were both stripped of their Avenger status and taken off of active duty from missions and whatever remained to their name were seized and withheld indefinitely. Stark Industries and Pym Technologies’ stocks dropped exponentially and they were both ostracized by the same people who had once hailed them as heroes, going as far as rallying in front of the Stark Tower in New York and the Pym Technologies main facility in San Francisco. But they both stood they’re ground. They both didn’t stop.Tony was once told that if he couldn’t see a compromise, it was his duty to plant himself like a tree and wait for the world to move itself from his path. When everyone told him he was wrong, he only needed to sit still long enough to talk for everyone to see he was right.So, he parked his ass and got comfortable. This was going to be one hell of a fight.First, they addressed the issue of SHIELD. Both Philip Coulson and Melinda May attended the hearing under the presence of all 167 representatives under the Sokovia Accords with Maria Hill inconspicuously in the background, watching with bated breath and sharp eyes like a hawk. Tony and Hope answered questions, debated points, and negotiated terms in those long, heated debates along with Phil and May. They pushed and pulled favors, sought allies, rehashed speech after speech to anyone who would listen, and made countless new enemies.But they never wavered and they never surrendered. Weeks of sweat and blood pouring from their faces and, on Tony’s case one time, literally from his mouth after being punched on the way out of whichever UN building they came out of and had been greeted by numerous angry mobs.Pepper would worriedly video call him every night and every night he tried his best to make her laugh. She always told him to talk more when they called because she wanted their babies to hear his voice often enough to know he’s their dad. They would talk about baby names or about that weird senator during this hearing and that meeting, never anything too serious lest he upset her. He knew she knew more than she let on. She was Pepper. There was no way of hiding from her. But they pretended anyway.Scott Lang had also given Tony a rude call one evening. Tony only rolled his eyes and sic Hope up her boyfriend’s ass until Scott had been a metaphorical puddle of rebuke. Tony freely admitted it was hilarious to see Jiminy Cricket put in his place and his head dragged out of his ass. Scott was more civil after that, asking questions instead of hurtling accusations. Hope, with plenty of input from Tony, explained to him their plan. He thought they were crazy but he’ll support Hope because it was Hope.Before he hung up, Tony had one last thing to say to Scott, “Jiminy, do me a solid and tell the others not to screw up what we’re trying to do, will you? It’s hard enough as it is, going against the entire world without them poking their noses where it doesn’t belong.”“We’re not—I mean—I don’t see them a lot—I mean, I saw them but—”Tony and Hope both identically rolled their eyes.“Scott, just tell them to lie low until this is over.” Hope provided helpfully and mercifully.“Wakanda was nice but you went sightseeing somewhere else, we know. We keep tabs.” Tony jabbed. Scott’s slack jaw was worth it. “So, just stay put and behave, wherever the hell you are.”Hope ended the call and turned to Tony. “Ready for round a hundredth and whatever?”Tony let out an exaggerated sigh, picking up his jacket where he discarded it before the call. A jet was set to leave in an hour waiting for them to take them to the other side of the world for a show. “I hate talk shows. They’re worse than the senate hearings. Let’s go.”They never stopped. They did what they had to do. Eventually, the day came when they came for Tony.“Anthony Edward Stark, you are placed under arrest for treason against the United States of America,” the arresting officer announced as he clipped the cuffs on his wrists. The USA-ATU on stand-by to escort him to whichever maximum prison they deemed worthy enough to hold him. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?”“I do,” he said loud enough for all the people to hear.He knew they’d come for him today, so, he told Hope to retreat and regroup. They both didn’t need to go to jail just yet. When they came for him, they came for him hard and their methods were brutal. His supporters were ostracized and beaten bloody on the streets, left on the pavement as a warning, no matter how much he and Hope tried for peaceful resolutions. His allies are scattered and hidden, their voices strangled in the wake of lies and well-placed segments of the truth. The people he cared about are mocked and belittled. Tony thanked whatever entity listened that he had managed to convince Pepper to go into hiding and for Peter and Harley to keep their distance.They made sure nothing was left of him, and they hit him hard and fast where it counted. This was just the icing on top of the cake. A show to discredit him and write him off as a criminal, a lunatic, and a villain. But Tony had been introduced to this game since he’d been a child, learned to play along since he’d been Peter’s age, and played them all like orchestra before he was even old enough to drink.Let them think he’s cowed. Let them think he’s subdued. Let them think he had lost. But Tony had once built one of the most powerful energy source on the planet in a cave while being sporadically waterboarded to build weapons for terrorists. He subsequently built a suit of armor unlike anything the world has ever seen and burned his captors’ hideout to the ground. Whatever they’ll do to him now will only be laughably petty next to that.And if they thought they’ve won, well, Tony wasn’t feeling kind enough to tell them they were wrong. They’ll just have to see it for themselves. So, he let them cuff him and draw out the whole thing like a parade full of sharks and he willingly went along with it while dozens of cameras flashed on his face, microphones jabbed to his mouth, waiting for him to speak. He met Maria and Nat’s eyes in the crowd and they both gave him a tight nod. Tony smiled to himself. They’ll hear soon enough.Meanwhile, in the background, his lawyers are screaming. Natasha Romanoff was the expert in persuasion.In the wake of the impending global catastrophe, she had been entrusted to bring the Hulk in and she had. She had been sent to be a floater in Stark Industries to study Tony Stark and had helped save his life. She was tasked to pull the truth out of the God of Lies and she had made him cooperate beautifully. She was made an Avenger for the sole reason of being the best in what she did because saving the world wasn’t just all about having big guns and testosteronal muscle mass.And so, she did what she did best, she persuaded.It took Tony’s arrest for her to set everything up. Methodically combing through the information presented before her before she went deep and got to work. A casual conversation here and the right incentive there, her webs slowly weaving into her desired tapestry, luring her unsuspecting preys where she wanted them to be. It was a delicate work only a spider like her can weave.She made sure to keep the other original Avengers away. But she kept in touch with them, made sure they had enough information not to come running blindly into situations that could put them in a disadvantage. It helped that Scott Lang seemed to have taken charge of ensuring the others behaved accordingly and kept their head down.So far, Tony’s arrest had been the only thing that nearly derailed their efforts of keeping out of sight. It took all of Fury, Phil, and Natasha to reassure them that it was all part of the plan. It didn’t help their anger or their worry, but it was enough to get them to back down.Trust seemed to have been rebuilding slowly between them all.Fury had been adamant about waiting until a week of Tony’s arrest before they unleashed their arsenal. And, despite Tony’s efforts to put the new Avengers at arm’s length from his and Hope’s efforts, Natasha knew they couldn’t win this without the entire team.Natasha made a mental note to tell Tony he still need a little more work with the self-sacrificing thing. When she mentioned it out loud, Natasha and Rhodes agreed on something for the first time in years.It was a fresh start.The next morning of the week marker, the new Avengers have finally broken their silence and have given their statements. No one was surprised, not after how their former armored comrade had been treated, that they supported the reinstatement of SHIELD and the initiative of SWORD.There were arguments among the divided parties going around that, of course, the new Avengers have remained neutral with this for so long that when they were pushed, it only seemed natural that they’ll come to shove right back.And the new Avengers were, well, the Avengers. They had more than a voice. They had influence.Stephen Strange and Vision, both guardians of two of the most powerful artefacts in the known universe, took center stage to get the plan in motion. Vision took his human visage to diminish his otherness when he addressed the press about his opinions on the matter, while, Strange dressed in his most formal robes and his ever present levitating cape, dragging an entourage of sorcerers behind him that supported their vision, cutting a formidable picture that painted their strength and solidarity regarding reinstating SHIELD and, by extension, approving SWORD.“This no longer only involve our world,” Strange said in one of the many press conferences that had been called for them. His back was ramrod straight, his eyes were piercing and intelligent. Even clad in his archaic robes, no one can easily forget that Dr. Stephen Strange had once been one of the best neurosurgeons in the world. His proclivity for magic only made him even more intimidating. “This also involves the countless other dimensions and worlds out there in the universe. I have once laughed in the face of one of the greatest sorceress who’s ever lived for claiming that magic exists. And here I stand, in her place, helping other sorcerers guard this realm from magical threats. Here I stand, helping the Avengers guard this realm from those who seek to terrorize us using means more powerful than what we’ve ever thought possible. Sooner or later, we will have to deal with other worlds attempting to make contact with us and SWORD can be our bridge. We have to be ready to accept that our world has changed.”In another press conference, Vision appealed to the world by saying, “Thor and I are not of this world. Thor is a prince of another realm and a myth long written in your history books yet you have easily accepted him. And I am a nothing of this world yet I was born in it which makes me a part of it.” He paused to give a soulful look on each person present in the room. It had grown completely still as he spoke. “We are different yet you have both entrusted us to be your Avengers. You have entrusted us to keep your home safe. But, though we have the capabilities to protect you—though we are Avengers—we are only still two individuals. SWORD can be what this world can offer aside from its Avengers. After all, I do not wish to believe that all of the other realms in the universe who wish to contact this planet will need the Avengers’ intervention.”Strange and Vision’s soft-spoken tones and cultured natures appeased many of the more heated arguments. They gently pointed out the obvious need for SHIELD and the advantages of having SWORD. Hope, Phil, and the Cavalry followed this with their own battles. They dominated international hearing after the other, presenting countermeasure after countermeasure, knowing that the UN’s concerns and arguments were all addressed—if not, could be readily amended—in their prepared documents and responses.Rhodes had been left to deal with appeasing many of the world’s militaries and dignitaries, reassuring them that SWORD and SHIELD together would be to their advantage, that Earth is more than just the backwater planet the rest of the galaxy seemed to perceive it to be. He buttered-up the politicians and encouraged the military men and women that, if played right, this was the start of an entirely new era of advancement that can work for them. In short, nothing different from all the work he’d done before liaising between Stark Industries and the US military and, later, with the Avengers and the world’s governments.Natasha brought in the final blow by getting other Enhanced groups to speak their opinion. They believed in a world where they can be freely accepted, a world that will allow them to use their abilities for good. They believed in a world where they will no longer be feared. And they all agreed that if Stark can get the Accords to work for them, then, they were confident that SHIELD and SWORD can work for them and the world, too. It will work, if nothing else.Oh, and how well it will work. Natasha’s put her faith in the people behind it after all. More than that, Natasha will ensure it will thrive.And when the world began singing a new, tentative tune and began dancing around the issue instead of outright condemning it, she smiled.Thank you, she thought with satisfaction, for your cooperation. Nearly three weeks later, SHIELD has been officially declared to be reinstated under the leadership of the newly promoted Director Philip Coulson under the direct supervision of the United Nation and the Sokovia Accords. SWORD’s drafted protocols and purview has been submitted to be reviewed by a board of representatives from all 167 countries dedicated specifically for SWORD’s formation along with SHIELD’s new Deputy Directors Melinda May and Maria Hill with Lt. Col. James Rhodes and former agent Natasha Romanoff.The world held its breath, the tension raising to critical levels.But it was nothing compared to the hell Pepper has been raising for her husband’s release.Despite Fury’s reassurance and Phil’s calm efficiency, Pepper was not convinced that Tony was safe wherever he was. Tony hasn’t been heard from since the first week of his arrest. It’s been more than a month and Rhodey, if not Pepper, hadn’t still been allowed to see him. He was locked away in some far, Raft-like prison, confined in a solitary cell deep in the maximum-security facility. Or, at least, that’s what the world’s been told. Pepper extremely doubted it.Natasha, having a soft spot for babies, didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was right. “Tony’s in trouble,” Former Agent Romanoff muttered, lifting her latte to hide her lips. “And we can’t have the Avengers be involved. The politics around SHIELD and SWORD are too fragile to risk.”Peter and Harley sat opposite of her in the dainty, unassuming café. Former Agent Romanoff’s hair was dyed nearly white, the strands that framed her face failed to hide the fierce look in her cold eyes. The Black Widow’s wrath has been enticed. Both boys tensed, not in fear, but in equal rage. Peter’s jaw flexed, his hyperaware senses coming alive all at once. While Harley’s curled fingers paled against his own cup, his chest beginning to grow cold.“What can we do?” Peter demanded under his breath.“Find the others. Get them to help you.” Former Agent Romanoff commanded, feigning to be casual. She slipped a disposable phone across the table. “It’ll be deep shadow conditions. You’ll be debriefed on the way there. Your ride’s waiting for you in the compound. You’ll leave in three hours. Bring Tony home.”Both boys nodded and stood. Harley turned to Peter.“Let’s drop by the Tower,” Harley told him as he picked up the disposable phone and jammed it in his jacket pocket. “There’s something I need to pick up first.”Peter grinned wickedly, following the older boy to the front door. When they exited the café, an SUV came to pick them up. When they saw it was Happy driving it, they shared a grim look between them, Harley already reaching for the phone and typing in a text.As they drove away, Natasha severely hope Tony was right about his almost-kids.