Chapter 19
August 15th, 2014
Dial/Mahmoud Schahed
The footage had been poured over for days. Phil Grayfield, standing in a field of the dead, then falling to his knees in horror. A single SWAT woman was next to him, just sitting there, unable to comprehend what had happened.
There were some survivors. As days passed, some men and women came out of the rubble, some even intact. Tony provided the rescuers with advanced technology, with his personal company Damage Control moving in to help.
The death toll was still over 50000.
All the blame fell on Phil Grayfield. And by proxy, on superpowered beings as a whole.
There were arguments otherwise. The internet was already at the level of toxicity that would embody it for the next decade, so the war had begun there.
Some people saw him as a hero who had been trying his best and had failed because of something he couldn't have planned for. Others called him a moron who had walked into something he shouldn't have had anything to do with. Mallen got some blame. So did the NFL, for interfering with calls that should have brought in an Avenger.
But the NFL wiped their hands of him, and their spin doctors blamed him for everything, even suing him. Phil Grayfield, a man who just wanted to help people, had to answer for the deaths of those people.
It was so much worse than I could imagine. So many people. It was the worst terrorist attack on American soil by a massive margin. The last time I'd seen such horror had been the Rio incident. But where that one had no one to blame, this one did.
The media called it what it was. The SRA. The Superhuman Registration Act. Political pundits called for it with intense fervor, claiming it would prevent an incident like the Metlife Bombing from ever happening again.
I'd told my friends about the SRA. They'd never been prepared for how we got it in this universe. And soon, on August 18th, the UN would meet to ratify it, to turn it into law. Maybe.
We still had a chance to fight it. To prevent it from being implemented worldwide. We just needed to try.
And if we failed? We had a plan for that too.
----------------------------------------
Ares/God of War
A katana clashed against a xiphos, the two blades only briefly meeting before they drew back to clash again and again, dozens of times in mere seconds. They dueled on an open field in view of a military base, but were alone, allowed to battle in peace.
"Again, boy," Ares said with just a bit of softness behind his gruff demeanor. The massive man was wearing a simple shirt and jeans, though he went barefoot in the hot sun of Greece. The xiphos in his hand looked like a chef's knife compared to his size, but he wielded it with supernatural grace and strength.
"Yes sir!" Dwarfed by the God of War, yet undeterred, a small boy grinned up at Ares. He was dressed like his father, though he wore a pair of very expensive-looking sneakers instead of being barefoot. Swinging the katana in his hand with youthful speed, he aimed for his father's upper arm, collarbone, windpipe, temple, diaphragm, ribs, testicles, and thighs, moving so fast that a mortal eye would have thought he had attacked all of them simultaneously.
With smooth control, Ares diverted each of the deadly blows, smiling and nodding with each one he parried. After the final time, he kicked his son in the chest, sending him flying back thirty feet into a boulder that shattered apart. His son, rather than shattering into a bloody mess, only snapped to his feet with a grin.
"Hm?" Ares and his son glanced out over the base. Ares smirked. "Ah. Alex, looks like we have a visitor. Take a run, son."
"Yes sir!" The young man proudly saluted, then sprinted off, katana still in hand.
Seconds later, the visitor arrived in a burst of speed, stopping to hover just before the God of War. His biological jetpack let him hover on emerald star power. Eyes of the same color glowed ominously. Astrodactyl met eyes with the god of war.
"Dial," Ares smirked. "So. What's the play?"
----------------------------------------
August 16th, 2014
Seol Hee/Luna Snow
Luna Snow, White Fox, and Crescent, South Korea's first superhero team, fought together in a warehouse in Seoul.
"Duck!" Luna shouted in Korean towards Fox while creating a wall of darkforce-empowered ice to block the set of laser blasts that attacked them.
Fox ducked under a katana slicing for her neck and kicked behind her, sending the ninja that had attacked her flying back to crash into a set of crates. "Ninja, in Korea!?" She asked, exasperated.
"Hell yeah!" Crescent went past her in her spectral bear form, the massive white glowing fur monster roaring before slamming into three of the ninja carrying lasers. "We're like the Ninja Turtles!"
"I wish these guys were as easy to fight as the Foot," Luna grumbled, using a burst of lightforce ice to heal some of her wounds.
"Clearly you never read the comics," Fox parried another katana, swept out the legs of the ninja, then smashed his head into the ground.
"You have!?"
Even as they joked, they continued to fight, surrounded within the crate-filled warehouse.
Despite all jokes to the contrary, not every city on Earth had an abandoned warehouse district for superheroes to fight it out in. But this one was being used by criminals. When the Korean idols/superhero team started investigating the smuggling of illegal weaponry from Canada, through China and Korea, all the way to Japan, they had expected normal criminals.
Luna had been speechless when the first shuriken got thrown.
And now, here they were, in a warehouse, surrounded by god damned ninjas.
She was feeling confident, however. Despite their skill, they were only dangerous on a human level. After hours of training, not just with their teammates and teachers, but with other heroes like Steve or the Black Panther she had befriended, Luna and her friends were powerful.
Which was why it was slightly disappointing when the first diamond blade came singing out of the night. It impaled the shoulder of a ninja who had tried to climb one of her ice barriers, attaching him to a wall.
Then another, and another flew. From the sky, a blue-green crystal figure dropped in to join them. Ice and diamonds flew. A fox's claws danced next to blades of crystal. A glowing bear was reflected roaring across Diamondhead's face.
In an instant, the ninja were done. Just like that. A problem that they were prepared to deal with, gone in a pile of silent bodies (Seriously, even the impaled and wriggling ones refused to scream. These ninjas were weird.)
Luna looked around to make sure they were done before looking towards the giant crystal man among them, who was listening to Crescent.
"-we had it handled, why did you come!?" The teenager whined, punching Dial in the arm playfully.
Luna looked at him. He looked at her. Something about him… His demeanor. Just one look explained why he had arrived.
"It's happening. Isn't it?"
Diamondhead's eyes flickered. Luna swallowed, while Ami and Crescent shared a look of confusion.
----------------------------------------
August 17th, 2014
La Vent
In Paris, France, outside the Louvre, three men spoke. They sat for tea and scones and had a fruitful discussion, speaking of the current events, their ideas on it, sometimes going for a stroll around the museum.
No one noticed. Not because they wouldn't stand out. All three made for striking figures, one a furred catlike man of blue and black, one a tall muscular silver-haired pretty boy, the last wearing an impressive helmet and purple spandex.
But all three moved at speed. In the moments between a heartbeat, they had full conversations, they sparred, they argued, and they contemplated the art of the world's most famous gallery.
Finally, two of them left. The last, La Vent, sat down, still trapped in a world of speed, now alone, and stared at a painting in the Louvre. A woman, proud and true, standing before a crowd of people, holding a flag up high.
Liberty Leading the People
What did it mean for him? What did it mean for the men who left him?
As he sat there before that painting, La Vent thought to himself in the moment of stillness, the heartbeats that lasted a lifetime for him. An instant later he was gone.
----------------------------------------
And so it went. Across the world, for days, heroes were called.
Black Panther and his family welcomed a godly guest into their home, and warm rain fell with his arrival.
The Winter Guard welcomed back a beloved witch and drank and sang to celebrate her.
A Savage Land welcomed back an hourglass king who fought alongside them to free a settlement.
An ancient dragon knight of the Round Table and a modern knight of the Second World War drank together in a pub they both remembered well.
A man of iron gathered his fellow minds for a discussion.
And the Incredible Hulk prevented a train crash in New Jersey.
Across the world, they spoke to each other. Only one of the meetings, however, was new.
Dial went to the moon.
----------------------------------------
August 17th, 2014
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
After meeting with the Savage Avengers and helping them with a quick revolution, I flew towards the moon.
I stood atop the moon and looked up at the Earth. That was… I cannot explain how fucking insane that was. Looking at that beautiful planet from the moon was something I'd dreamed of for my entire life.
Behind me, the Defiant rested on its landing gear. I was standing in Frankenstrike form in the open vacuum of the moon. I could have worn a space suit, the Defiant had plenty in case my crewmates or any civilians we had to take on needed them.
But come on, man. If you get the chance to go into the vacuum and enjoy the moon without a suit, you take it.
I turned from the sight of the moon and jumped. I went dozens of feet in the air. On Earth, Frankenstrike was strong enough to leap over houses. On the moon, I could clear small skyscrapers. I landed in an explosion of dust. I jumped again and again. I'd made sure to land about twenty miles from my destination. I had to make sure they had time to prepare.
Soon, I reached a crater on the moon. Just a normal, several-mile-wide, city-sized crater. I stared at it. After a moment of staring at it, I sat down and created a core of green electricity around me, simply glowing on the moon. Not much. On Earth, I wouldn't even be visible outside of the most powerful telescopes or eyes.
But within the crater, I had to imagine that alarm bells were ringing. I didn't do anything other than sit there. We'd tried to send messages. Drones. All simply asking to talk.
No response. And we were out of time. So. The hard sell.
Soon, he appeared. When Tony and Thor had given me advice on the whole thing, they figured this was the best approach.
Tony advised me as someone familiar with how people worked. Thor advised me based on how royalty worked.
And the man stepping out of thin air was royalty.
He was taller than me by a full head, with just as much muscle. Unlike my bare-chested and scarred body, he was wearing a fully black uniform with a pair of white lightning bolts across the chest and a helmet on his head that had a simple metal pair of prongs on the forehead.
Blackagar Boltagon, aka Black Bolt, in all his royal finery.
And like everyone else on the superhero side of my life, he looked like a movie star, all chiseled jaw and muscle. Unlike before, I didn't recognize the actor he must have mirrored. But I had long accepted that this world's convention for making my old world's actors and actresses into superheroes would eventually lead to them being unrecognizable to me.
Behind him, a woman stepped out. A beautiful redhead who was more redhead than anyone I'd ever seen. Her hair was insanely long, stretching around her like a series of ominous tentacles than anything.
Medusalith Amaquelin, aka Medusa.
The King and Queen arrived. And no one else. I had to believe that was a good sign.
On the one hand, it could have been a sign that they were here with good intentions. On the other… Black Bolt was a weapon. One of the strongest beings in the universe. He was a threat. So him showing up with just his wife could have been good, or I might be moments from being sent flying by a whisper.
Black Bolt and Medusa, standing in vacuum without a hint of worry, strode over to me. I wondered, for a moment, how they were doing that, but decided it wasn't important what power or tech let them do it.
Instead, I stood, facing the pair and letting go of the corona of energy I'd built up. Then I waved, smiling as friendly as a Frankenstrike could. "Hi!"
Black Bolt faced me, sternly. His hands raised and began to flash a series of hand signs. Medusa watched his fingers move, ignoring how my own eyes widened in surprise, and spoke to translate.
"Very well," she said, while her husband's fingers moved nimbly in a form of sign language no one on Earth had ever used. "You've traveled a long distance, frightened my people, and stand before us in challenge. What do you want?
But I didn't need a translation. My hands moved without thinking, rather than my mouth, but the words were the same.
'I'm not here in challenge. I've come to talk, that's all.'
I might as well have smacked both of them with a gamma-irradiated fish.
"You understand him!?" Medusa asked, losing a bit of her regal attitude.
Without thinking about it, I kept throwing hand signs. It was kind of cool, speaking sign language. She reminded me of my Naruto fanboy days.
'The Omnitrix understands him and helps me speak the same language.
Black Bolt hesitated. Then he sighed silently (A real one probably would have sent me flying) and continued to speak.
'Very well. That does make this easier. We know who you are, Dial of Earth. We received your messages. You say you want peace, to build bridges between us. But on Earth, we've followed your news. The governments you follow are about to turn people like us into criminals for simply existing. What benefit does it do to build a bridge to a land that does not want us?'
'None,' I said, twisting my big grey fingers with more agility than I was used to. 'But I'm not here about the land. I'm here about the people—you, me, and the millions of Inhumans on Earth and those in your city. I want to protect them. From those who would harm them, who would exploit them. I don't give a shit what the governments decide. I just wanted you and me to know each other. To know that we can trust each other.'
'...That is a lot to ask. We left Earth centuries ago. The idea of trusting anyone from it, no matter who they are, is not something my people are ready for.'
'Then we start small,' I offered a smile as I signed. 'You, me, and our friends and family. Just get to know each other. No battles or anything. Just learning from each other. A cultural exchange.'
'...What do you have in mind?'
'We talk, like I said. Establish communication between individuals, get to know each other, that kind of thing. And hey, maybe we can even train together. The Pet Avengers could use more members.'
I was joking, mostly, but Black Bolt and Medusa still looked very serious. I got the sense they were usually like that around unfamiliar folks.
'Pet Avengers?'
I was going to sign more when something 'vworped' into place next to Black Bolt and Medusa. I looked at it. And my heart melted.
"PUPPY!"
"Arf!" A gigantic adorable fucking dog barked happily, rushing over to lick at my face. I hugged him tight and laughed, rubbing his fur.
"Oh man, look at you! You're so big, and fluffy, and cute, and-"
I scratched Lockjaw behind the ears as Black Bolt and his wife exchanged exasperated looks. It was a good day.
----------------------------------------
August 18th, 2014
The United Nations meeting was going badly. We all could tell.
In New York, we had all gathered for the meeting of a lifetime.
I don't know how the UN meetings usually go. Hell, for all I knew they were entirely different from the ones in my world, molded by different nutso political bullshit. Every country was just a bit different from the ones I once knew
Hell, in this world, Russia wasn't crappy… not entirely at least.
If things had been perfect, I would never have had to meet them or learn how these things went down. But now I had to.
It had been broken down simply. Countries pushing for the SRA would explain why it needed to happen, and countries against it would explain why not. They would try their best to make the nations, as a majority, agree with their side through a combination of evidence, passionate speeches, and behind-the-scenes bullying.
Tony and Steve had spoken already. Our two big guns in that sort of thing.
Politicians, as a rule, hated Tony. Why wouldn't they? He was rich enough that he didn't need to impress them or their 'sponsors', charismatic enough that their constituents loved him, had more personal power than most armies… and was, to put it simply, a ridiculously snarky asshole.
On the other hand, their feelings for Steve were complicated. They should have disliked him. Except he was goddamn Captain America, and everyone loved Captain America. Well, not everyone, but most people did, and if not, they respected him. Steve, since coming back, had somehow risen to his legacy rather than tarnish it. By being himself, he'd drawn more people to him.
As Tony once said. A living legend that kinda lives up to the legend.
Now though, I had been chosen to step in. For a confrontation of sorts. Right then, I had two big opponents. Ross and Nadeer. As in the former General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross and Senator Ellen Nadeer. There were more folks of course, from all sorts of places, who favored the bane of my existence, aka the SRA.
The main was, the way things were set up, I'd be 'conversing' directly with them. AKA, arguing politely, with a moderator to keep things from getting heated.
"You all right, mate?"
"Hm?" I looked at the speaker, not recognizing him for a second before I realized who it was. "Oh. Pete, right?"
"Pete Wisdom," he confirmed, the British man smirking. Just like Steve described him. A tall and athletic man, with swopping black hair, five o'clock shadow, and an attitude that could have been described as cocky without being mean about it.
"Nice suit, mate," Pete chuckled.
"Ah, thanks. Tony got it for me." A tailored suit. Tony was a true legend.
Putting that aside, Pete walked over to join me, his stance casual and relaxed. "So, you're the last stand between the Avengers and all this shite, huh?"
"More like 'a' stand. It won't end here no matter how things go." I noted with a sigh. "Britain's going to support it, aren't they?"
"Fraid so," Pete took out a vape pen and took a deep puff on it, before letting out a cinnamon-scented breath. "All the idiots will have their day, and I'm going to be told to help arrest some mighty blokes. Too bad I can't find them."
"What a shame," we shared a secretive chuckle. Yeah, that was one of the consensus things the super community had decided on. No hunting each other. Those of us who knew each other.
Thank god this universe had sanity behind its heroes. The idea of having to do the shit from the comics. Fighting Iron Man and Reed Richards while they locked good men and women in the fucking Negative Zone.
That still left the rest of the mess.
"I'm supposed to spy on ye, by the by," Pete said confidently, taking another puff on his Roxxon-made vape pen. "Telling the shites in charge if you're planning to lie down and listen."
"They think there is a chance of that?" I asked with more heat than I expected.
"A bit. The shrinky-dinks in charge think you're one of the most likely to follow any laws they make than Stark or Rogers."
"..." I was baffled at that idea. Pete, seeing that, laughed. "Sorry boyo. You're too friendly. Everyone thinks you're too nice to go all renegade on us. Perfect, ain't it? If there is anyone who can help round up all the freaks, it's the freak with all their powers."
"...That's ironic."
"Too right, mate," Pete said with a small smile.
The thought of that… It made me seethe. They weren't the only government that would be thinking that way. For all they hated me, they were convinced I was way too fucking nice to fight them on this. That I wasn't willing to push back in any way, would follow the rules.
They thought… that because I was nice, I was also weak.
Fuck you.
"Eeeeey, there he is," Pete said grinning devilishly. "That's a bloody rough look on your face. You look ready to brawl."
"...Tell your superiors that they'll get all the information they need on me," I stood, my hands hurting. When I looked down, my knuckles were white, tight fists shaking. I released them but still had to breathe. "After this speech, the whole world will."
"I think I said something like that about me dad, once. I'd show the world I weren't like 'em." Pete took another puff on his vape pen.
"...What about your mom?"
"Me mum? Oh, me mum," Pete sighed, smiling. "She's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."
I couldn't figure out if I hated or liked Pete. But at least he was nominally on our side.
I walked away. Some guy in a suit came up to me and gave the rules as though I hadn't heard them. I took a deep breath. Then I entered the General Assembly.
The room was quiet. Tony and Steve were sitting next to each other near the front, Steve smiling at me, Tony smirking.
They were the only heroes in the room other than me… in tailored suits.
All across the room, from all across the world, men and women in full costume sat next to men and women in suits. All of them with their eyes on me.
Not every country. Notably, many of the ones I knew would support the SRA didn't have heroes next to them. But enough.
I walked down the steps, passing the group representing the Philippines, with Pearl Pangan giving me a soft smile, her golden crown shining in the light. Spain, with Esteban Corazón de Ablo giving me something between a smirk and a glower (Wasn't he a supervillain in the comics? I needed to ask Steve about that, he'd recruited him). Russia, with Mikhail Ursus giving me a proud toothy grin. I gave the old bear a small smile, then continued.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Luna, T'Challa, Ares, La Vent, people I'd met and fought beside. And more people I'd never met, like Silver Sablinova of Symkaria, Shiro Yoshida of Japan, Sir Benedict of Britain (And Camelot), and more.
In front of a crowd of politicians and costumed heroes, I walked, ending up at a podium near the front. I met eyes with the woman of the hour.
Senator Ellen Nadeer looked like the chick from Bend It Like Beckham. Just much meaner. We eyed each other for a moment until a mediator began speaking. Breaking down the rules. I planned to follow them. So did she, I think.
It felt like… like the room shrank. All the fluff, the shining room around us, the wood panels behind her, the variety of heroes and politicians just faded away. Until it was just me and her, facing one another from across the small distance, ready to fight.
And then, we started.
"I do not disagree with the idea of laws and regulations being put in place to prevent the misuse and abuse of those superhuman abilities and technologies," I started immediately. "I need to make that clear, as Tony and Steve did. We aren't arguing against the world evolving in response to the needs of our new era."
"But what you have placed before us is nothing short of a travesty. Even if I ignore how horrifically these regulations go against most countries' laws in the first place, they're going to turn innocent people into prisoners of their governments. How can anyone abide by that?"
"How can you say that, knowing what you know?" Nadeer said sternly back. "In the past six months, the number of enhanced individuals, criminals, has exploded. They have outnumbered you and the Avengers on nearly every occasion!"
"Before they were eradicated, Hydra turned the super-soldier serum from a lost secret to a black market staple. People with powers are coming out of the woodwork. People who can destroy buildings, kill hundreds, and even steal our minds from us. You want to complain because we aren't being nice to them?"
"Yes, I do," I said firmly. "It isn't being nice, it's doing what's right. I know people are scared. You seem to think I've always had my Omnitrix. I got it less than a year ago. I spent every year before that as a normal person. I've had to face things, see and fight horrors, that no one could ever imagine. Believe me, I understand why people are scared."
"But decisions made purely on fear lead to this!" I tapped the copy of the Superhuman Registration Act that had been provided. Someone else spoke, but Nadeer and I ignored them, and focused on each other. Flipping open the stack of papers, I continued.
"One of these regulations say, and I quote, 'Any enhanced individuals who use their powers to break the law (including those who take part in extralegal vigilante activities), or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, may be detained indefinitely without trial.' Without trial?"
I slammed the stack closed. "That is insanity! People are going to get sent to jail for their entire lives merely on suspicion of using their powers for crime? And even if they did do that, what about rehabilitation? Many current heroes are former criminals."
Nadeer scoffed, flipping her hair. "And you think any of them aren't still detained? Just because we put them to work doesn't mean they aren't still prisoners. If anything, that makes me feel more assured by the Act. We can pull in these criminals, and force them to work for society rather than against it."
"We don't force these people to do anything," I scowled. "The Grapplers came to us looking for something more. We gave them a chance and they've risen to the occasion. This Act, as it is now, wouldn't give anyone a chance for that. So many things in here need to be pulled back on! It's not just strict, it demonizes anyone who is the slightest bit exceptional."
"And we can. When things are less volatile," Nadeer leaned over to glare at me. "You may think the recency of your powers means you understand us, but you people have so much power that many have begun to worship you. Of course, the Superhuman Registration Act seems demonic if we consider you all people. But you aren't. You're weapons."
"Chernobog can steal souls. Thor can bring hurricanes down at will. Even people like Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov can kill the greatest soldiers we have in droves. Normal people need these restrictions to be so severe because we are dealing with a severe threat! A man with a machine gun can kill dozens, you can kill thousands."
Someone spoke again. Tony, I think? The crowd laughed. I ignored them. "But we aren't weapons. We live in a world of people who can do incredible and terrible things, but we're still people. A huge majority of enhanced people just want to live normal lives, fall in love, work, and travel. Anyone has the potential to be a monster. The worst people we've ever fought were normal human beings. But we haven't accused every baby born of being innocent until proven guilty."
Nadeer and I glared at each other again before she spoke. "That's a very cute bit of hyperbole, Dial. But facts do not care about your feelings. Human beings are not born with weapons. Except for many of you. Then there are those like you and Stark. Humans who've given themselves godlike abilities through technology. You people aren't like the rest of us. A normal person can become a killer. You all are monsters."
"And there it is," I spat at her. "We can't have a conversation about this if we start from there. You simply can't conceive of us as people worthy of basic rights."
"And you can't seem to see that enhanced individuals just can't have basic rights without the rest of us sacrificing our safety," Nadeer sneered at me. "The rest of us have the benefit of a level playing field. We're all capable of the same things, the same violence, and so we made laws and morals to control that. But none of our laws, none of our values, are made for sharing a world with you."
"They are," I was beginning to feel frustrated. "Even ignoring that we are here, trying to find a compromise, someway for us to live together and fight together for a better world, most enhanced individuals are just that! Individuals. People who have wants and needs separate from having an ability others don't. And we can't forget those like the Graveyard Survivors, many of whom were tortured and experimented on for years. So many people get powers against their will, and oftentimes to their detriment. Do we punish them for being vulnerable to that?"
"We wouldn't be punishing them. We would make sure they, and anyone around them, are safe. Safety will always be our concern, even for you people." Nadeer said with more confidence than was warranted.
"Safety without freedom is just prison without the barbed wire. Except you want the prisoners to bring each other in."
Someone said something, another mediator speaking. Someone, Thunderbolt Ross maybe, spoke up in favor of Nadeer. Steve responded.
And yet, all I could focus on was the tiny unassuming woman in front of me. I clenched a fist, unclenched it, then pushed forth. "The problem, as I stated, is that the Superhuman Registration Act isn't a proper response to the world we now live in. The Avengers and I have been working on humanitarian efforts for months. We've fed starving people, helped home refugees, worked to protect those who need help."
I flipped open the SRA and pointed at the relevant section. "This section, here, shutting down the Avengers and forcing them to operate under the supervision of the United Nations."
"You have an issue with working with the UN to protect the world?" Nadeer asked innocently.
"I have an issue with the dismantling of a private organization. You are preventing us from joining together as a group, and from participating. Hell, because of the wording, I wouldn't be able to open a book club without the UN's permission. You focused not just on the idea of a superhero team, but on the Avengers themselves. Who the hell wrote this?"
"Language, Dial," Nadeer scowled.
"I use language appropriate to the situation, and this is appropriate. Let me continue on this track because even if I ignore the part specifically aimed at the Avengers, you want to force those with powers to join the military. So if someone who just wants to use their powers for art, to fly among the clouds, or just doesn't care enough to use their powers, is found to have them, they'll be forced to fight and die?"
"They'll be brought in to make sure they don't use their powers recklessly. Unlike Phil Grayfield."
A silence fell over the crowd. I glared at the smug Nadeer. "Phil Grayfield… didn't do anything wrong other than trusting the wrong people."
A murmur rose. Nadeer gave me a look of fake disapproval, but I could tell she was ecstatic. "How can you say something so horrific? Over 50000 people died because of him."
"They died because a maniac attacked them, and the NFL decided to send in an untrained hero instead of the Avengers. An entire stadium was taken hostage by trained mercenaries. He shouldn't have been forced into that position! He didn't have the training. And even if someone does get trained, not everyone should or wants to be a soldier. You want to take in people who don't want to be fighters, and force them to do it anyway?"
"There are always support roles," Nadeer said unfeelingly. "Beyond that, we can't forget the other side of the equation. Mallen. That man gained superhuman abilities, freely entered a stadium with an army of mercenaries, and committed the largest terrorist attack in human history. An enhanced person killed those people. An enhanced person botched the rescue. Even if you want to bring in the NFL, they were able to purchase the powers and equipment freely Grayfield had thanks to the lack of laws prohibiting it. Every part of the destruction of the MetLife stadium is because the Superhuman Registration Act didn't exist."
I scowled.
"And once again, the issue the Avengers have isn't with the idea of laws being written up or adjusted to prevent things like that from happening. Our issue is these laws." I tossed the stack of papers into the trash next to me. "Let us work together on something new. Something better, that can protect people's rights while also saving lives. This document, as it has been presented, will not work. It is made in fear, and all you will do is cause more problems than you solve."
"You're wrong," Nadeer leaned back in her seat, glaring at me. "You all need to know this will be the status quo. Enhanced individuals are here to stay? Fine. Then they'll have to follow the rules we set."
How could anyone be so… short-sighted? Cruel? Stupid?
How could so many people around us agree with her?
Magneto, Doom, the Leader… they were going to tear the world apart before following her rules.
I placed my hands down, swallowed, and kept going. Jen, Natasha, Steve, Fury, they'd walked me through this, what to say, how to say it, why I was saying it. So I pushed forward.
"Let's go ahead and look at yet another part of the act that just doesn't hold up-"
----------------------------------------
We argued in circles further. Everyone pitched in. But my focus was still on her. We took a break. After two hours of deliberation and discussion (AKA arguing fiercely and coming to the point of blows), everyone needed it. I left the room to stare out at the horizon by myself.
This… we were going to fail. Maybe the Act would pass, maybe it wouldn't. But a lot of countries would follow it anyway.
I stared out at the horizon alone, just trying to breathe. I'd expected this. We all had. That was why we had a plan. I just hadn't expected to be so damn frustrated.
Nadeer was bad enough, but Ross was pissing me off, a smarmy asshole named Jim Jaspers from Britain kept opening his big fucking mouth.
There were smarter folks though. People on our side. We weren't outnumbered. But it wasn't enough. America, my country, the place I'd been born and raised, was going to outlaw-powered folks. I could see it. I couldn't stop it.
But I could fight it.
Finally, I went back inside. Went to the podium, again, taking center stage. Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, waited for everyone to be seated, then nodded for me to continue.
"I'm not going to mince words," I said immediately. "The Avengers, Winter Guard, all of those who call themselves 'heroes', we've discussed this. We know that if a nation wants to follow this Act, no matter how horrific, they'll do it no matter what happens here."
I clenched a fist tight. "America will likely be one of them. Which disappoints me. Because I thought we'd learned. Executive Order 9066. The Patriot Act. These are but a few times when a nation I believe in turned its eyes on its people out of fear. Where innocent people were punished for the horrors others had committed."
"And this will be worse. The people you are prosecuting. They'll be normal people who gain fantastic abilities. Smart men and women who can create insanely advanced technology. Folks like Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton, are skilled athletes and warriors. All prosecuted and punished out of fear."
I looked around. Some people were with me. Some not. It didn't matter.
"Well you won't have us doing that for you," I said firmly. "As of today, we are retiring."
"...Excuse me?" Nadeer asked surprise on her face.
"Mr. Schahed," Ross spoke, leaning forward. "What exactly are you saying?"
"We're retiring," Tony spoke, leaning back casually in his seat. "All of us. Every hero connected to the Avengers agrees. We will no longer be the Avengers. No longer superheroes. And a whole lot of us are leaving any country that agrees with it."
"Including the United States," Steve Rogers said that. He said it quietly, almost whispering, a solemn and sad look on his face. But he still said it.
"You can't do that!" Nadeer said, almost growling. "The Act-"
"Is not the law of the land. And, I hope, never will be," I said firmly. "But we can't abide by this. If this Act comes to pass, you will force the Avengers to become a task force hunting innocent people across the world. And we say no."
I slapped my hand on the podium when a murmur began to explode across the room. "So, as of today, I enact a protocol I wish we never had. Avengers Disassembled."
God help me, I'd named it that as a joke.
"What will you do!?" An Israeli politician shouted from across the room. "Leave us to die?"
"Nah, we'll find other work," Tony said cheerily. "I'm gonna start working on my business. Shut down the suits and become Tony Stark full-time. Should be nice, competing with all the other big boys around."
In the corner, a politician I knew had some ties to Roxxon paled significantly. On the surface, Tony's statement sounded playful. But truthfully… Tony's work as a superhero had consequences. His technology had exploded in advancement, much of it far-outstripping what anyone else was capable of, and he had a whole host of super-scientists under him as well.
If Tony put his mind to it, he could go from just the richest man on Earth (outside of Wakanda) to something far, far more.
Tony Stark had effectively declared war on the entire business world.
"The rest of us will work on humanitarian aid," Steve said, smiling just a bit. "Become nomads, helping those who need it. We've already made plans."
"You made plans, Rogers?" Ross said, disgusted. "What you are talking about is betraying your home nations in favor of protecting criminals."
"..." I don't know how Steve did it. He just leaned forward a bit, one hand stretching out. And the whole room, which had been mumbling the entire time, just… shut up. Captain America prepared to speak, and the representatives of the world shut up and listened.
"I have traveled the world for the past weeks, months. Meeting heroes, soldiers, and people of every nation. Men, women, and more, people who want to do the right thing. You ask me why I'm betraying my home country?"
Steve leaned back, and I heard someone take a shuddering breath in the crowd. "I believe in America. In the dream of her. In the people who call her home. I believe in the ideals that were written down not just when it was made, but as it grew and evolved. Recently, a good man asked me something."
Steve looked at Tony. Tony looked startled as Steve continued. "How does a man who is the country react when the country turns against you? When it goes a different way?"
He looked back. Looked at the audience. It felt like, somehow, Steve managed to meet every person's eye. To see them down to their soul. Even Nadeer looked humbled by the look.
"I knew the answer immediately. That my job is to represent the best of the nation. Much as it is for many of you. It is a solemn and weighty responsibility. But it's something we have to do."
Steve stood. Tony stood. I stepped back from the podium. "And as a part of that, when the country you love, when the government, the media, and the mobs all come together to say that something wrong is something right, it is our job to stand up for what we believe in. To quote Mark Twain. 'When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth and tell the whole world-- "No, you move."' And that is what we will do."
"If you do this," Nadeer spat out, having to practically shout as the other heroes began to stand as well. "You become criminals too."
"Hard to feel bad about being a criminal when the law is wrong," Tony sneered. "Besides, we aren't breaking the law. We're retiring before our old broken bones shatter."
"Ha!" Someone, Ares I think, laughed in the background.
"We're stepping off the world stage, senator," I said firmly. "Letting you all follow this unholy thing you've decided on. And when it's done when you finally realize you've made a mistake? We'll be here."
We walked out. Camera flashes exploded behind us, and some people shouted. One guy, a black man I didn't recognize, grabbed my arm gently, questioningly. "What will you do?"
"...The world still needs defending from what's out there," I said. Later I'd find out about the cameraman who was filming us. "So I'm going out to confront it. I'm headed to space."
And with that, we left.
----------------------------------------
Later that day, the Act passed. It had just enough member nations agreeing to it. The US agreement helped massively with that. We thought it might go down that way.
It still broke my heart. I sat in my room with Jen, both of us watching the news.
"I can't believe it," Jen said, horror in her eyes. She was in human form, laid against me. "They just… agreed. To the worst goddamn document I've ever read."
I nodded my head in my hands.
"Whatever happens next is going to be a nightmare," Jen looked up at me. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Maria will take you in," I said with a sigh. "A lot of us are staying in America or as a part of BRIDGE."
"And when Maria tells me to hunt innocent people?" Jen scowled.
"Maria Hill would never follow the Superhuman Registration Act," god, what an ironic sentence. "But she has to look like she is. And BRIDGE needs to seem powerful. So she needs enhanced people that she sometimes sends on missions. And if she does-"
"It'll be against real criminals," Jen finished for me. "It still sucks. And you're going to be gone. Up in space with all those hot alien babes."
"You think that's something for you to be worried about?" I asked with a laugh.
"You did date me while I had green skin."
"I love you in both forms," I kissed the top of her head, getting some hair in my mouth. She giggled at my dramatically spitting it out, slapping my arm.
"I love you in… what, fourteen forms? Except for Frankenstrike. He smells weird."
After that bit of levity, we stared at the screen, watching as pundits spoke and argued. A whole lot of people were calling the Avengers traitors, cowards, and criminals. Not unexpected.
"This is going to go badly," Jen said. "A lot of villains are going to take advantage of this."
"We'll stop them," I said as firmly as I could. "No matter how many of them work from the shadows, we'll be there to shut them down. X and Jarvis will see it, they'll make sure we stay coordinated and shut down anything horrible."
Jen still looked worried. So was I.
Working from the shadows. Jeff the Shark was still in our custody, currently training alongside Battle-Cat and other animals, but he stood as a shining example of the problems we had. Someone had made a bootleg Omnitrix, someone we couldn't find.
And I'd be busy up in space while they would be on Earth.
I had to trust that my friends would be able to handle it, even while restricted by the SRA.
Worried and saddened by the day's events, Jen and I just watched the news together until we fell asleep.
----------------------------------------
αlpha
That night, while Dial and She-Hulk slept, across the world, heroic organizations made moves. Some enhanced people, heroes, or normal people, left their countries of origin using a fund set up by Stark Industries. Others took in those displaced. Greece, Korea, Wakanda, and France were among those who offered work and lodging for those who needed it.
Some countries hunted down powered individuals ahead of the SRA, taking them into custody. Some had voted for the SRA, but even some who voted against it secretly had programs dedicated to taking in and experimenting on or recruiting them.
And Alpha watched it all. All the humans killing each other, fighting and torturing one another.
What a strange world. He had seen a portion of two dimensions. Never had he thought to find a world full of so many unique specimens. Forget nanites and aliens, there are super-soldiers, Gamma-mutates, Creel-brands, and far, far more. He'd been amazed enough by the Omnitrix. But this world was beyond diverse.
And it was his for the taking. With AIM under his control and the US government now desperate to replace their powered humans, the production of EVO nanites had exploded massively.
All a matter of time. A year, maybe a bit more. And he would become a power beyond any of the paltry gods of this universe.
Then… Dial.
Deep within AIM's systems, a demon of fire laughed joyfully within a body of iron.