Chapter 346: Assemble
20th May 2013, Avengers Tower, New York City
(Tony Stark POV)
"We let them do what they want and deal with their decisions. When the mutants hiding in secret eventually come out to protest it with violence, we don't lift a finger. Either the government will handle it as promised and then our inactions would have done nothing, or the public outcry will be so high that they will need to amend it anyway. Let Richards be the face of the Accords, and we'll be the silent opposition. Us not signing is enough opposition for the public."
Steve stood up with a frown, "I can't agree with this, Tony. I can't just sit when someone gets hurt."
The war hero turned and left, with Wilson with him. Rhodey also stood up, "I still think we should sign, Tony, but I'm with you on just waiting as long as we don't break the law."
The billionaire just sighed, "Thanks Rhodey. It's always nice to see you have my back."
He just turned towards the balcony to get some air. The billionaire jumped when he heard the voice, "You wanted to talk with Jasmine Sayre. We're in charge while she's away. Why did you ask to see her?"
Tony let out a – definitely manly squeak – and jumped away from the voice, while hiding his face.
He turned around and saw two visibly amused women with red hair. One had green eyes which he recognized as Jean Grey, formerly one of Charles Xavier's students – before his untimely death, that is – and then member of the Crimson Roses. Next to her stood her teammate Wanda Maximoff, whose eyes were subtly glowing crimson.
These two women were two of the most powerful mutants in the world, and yet Tony exclaimed, "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you just knock or call like a normal person?"
Wanda grinned at him, "It's funnier this way."
Tony grumbled to himself and asked, "Why are you here, exactly?"
"You wanted to speak to Jasmine Sayre. She put us in charge while she's away," the telepath answered.
"Doing what exactly? She almost razed Greenwich to the ground with her last stunt, which is why we're dealing with the Accords crap," Tony complained.
"No, Earth was never meant to be involved in the conflict. Asgard was at war and Jasmine had made a deal with Odin. It just happened that the Convergence was happening at the same time, which is why portals randomly started appearing everywhere."
"What the hell is the Convergence?" Tony asked.
"It's a cosmic event that happens every five thousand years or so, where the nine realms are aligned. It was centered on Greenwich, which is why Jasmine asked us to stay there to contain anything that might get out of the portal. She was right, of course, but even then, we were not fast enough to stop everything."
"And now, the entire world is fucked because of these damn Accords," Tony growled.
"Not as much as you think," Maximoff answered with a smug smile on her face, "we made sure that the mutant population is safe. You can't tell me you didn't notice a lack of mutant related news in the past few years, can you?"
Tony simply shrugged, "I thought it was a natural phenomenon."
"No, we've been collecting and housing all willing mutants, saving them when they're in danger, and hiding them if they're discovered. We take down mutants that commit crimes. We solved the mutant issue, at least, until the next generation, that is." Grey explained.
"What are you talking about?"
Tony knew that he wouldn't like the answer to his question.
He was proven correct when the woman answered, "The mutant population will grow exponentially in every generation. These politicians who are so eager to enslave the Enhanced population, will most likely have mutant children or grandchildren. In a century, over three quarters of the population will have powers, until that includes all of the human race. In the end, the Accords will not hold more than one generation. They simply cannot, not with the way they are written. As long as we keep doing our jobs adequately and maintain the order, inevitably, the Accords will be either scrapped or neutered. The biggest issue will be about vigilante teams like the Avengers or the Fantastic Four."
Tony was flabbergasted by this, "How is this possible?"
The telepath just smiled at him, "Come on, how do you think it was possible?"
"Sayre, she did all of this. She's been playing the whole world like a fiddle all this time," Tony deducted.
"Yes, she did. She ensured that the X-gene would be propagated, and started activating it as to make people gain power. Oh, mutants were a thing for a long time, but not even close to as common as you see now," Wanda answered, "Don't worry, it was to avoid a war in the long run. As long as this doesn't end too badly, then it would have been worth it."
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The billionaire snarled, "We're in this mess because of some scheme of hers! How many people have died because of her ambition?"
The redhead scowled back at him, "Believe me, the casualties you see now are but a fraction of a fraction of what would have happened in the near future. She's making an it an issue or something now where it's manageable, so that it wouldn't be a bigger one later."
"I don't care!" Tony bellowed, "My team is at risk because of her schemes."
Wanda just shrugged, "You're as much to blame as she is. She warned you point blank about the Accords, but you dismissed it. If you had put yourself instead of Ross to deal with the Accords, they wouldn't have ended up as a glorified slavery contract."
Tony just took a deep breath to calm himself. Getting angry with people that can kill him with a thought just wasn't a good idea. He couldn't take back what was happening, nor could he undo it. He needed the two mutants' help, and that was more important than shifting blame, "What do we do now?"
"Truth be told, your initial plan of doing nothing and not sign to show your protest is the best you could do. Wait until some crisis happens, do nothing, and then blame the Accords for not acting. It wouldn't take long for the public to protest the Accords for you. However, you will need to make sure that no one breaks the Accords for some 'noble reason' and I don't think anything short of putting Steve Rogers in a coma will change that. And the moment he gets involved, the entire team gets involved…" Jean Grey proposed.
"Can you not like, stop the Accords from being signed, or something?" Tony asked.
"It's too big for me to stop. I'd have to mind control most of the worlds' governments just to stop it, and I don't think even Jasmine could do that." Jean denied.
"Yeah, and Reed Richards' support of the Accords is already legitimizing enough."
The Scarlet Witch stiffened, "Did you just say that Reed Richards is supporting the Accords?"
Tony nodded, and Jean cursed in response.
To say that the Billionaire was confused by their reaction would be an understatement. Choosing to voice his confusion, he asked, "What's the big deal with Richards getting involved?"
"Jasmine told us about him, and to be wary of him. She said that he was a brilliant man with a prodigal mind and little common sense. In a lab, he would be perfect, but in politics, he would most likely mess things up with some righteous speech or another, especially when he thinks that he's right about something. We do not need him to get involved with the Accords of all things. We'll need to deal with him as quickly as possible. He'll probably try to escalate things if you don't sign the Accords like he would like you to." Jean growled back.
Tony groaned. Thing were just getting better and better, "So, what do we do?"
"Stick with your plan, and do not get involved. Don't wear your suits, and don't go fight crime unless Earth is really threatened. But ignore anything else. I mean, don't go fighting mercenaries, don't go fight supervillains, and whatnot. Jean and I will start by putting pressure on the Wakandan King to support making a few amends on the Accords. If they don't go through, we'll just have to make the case for you through trial by fire," the Scarlet Witch responded.
"Trial by fire?" Tony questioned. He didn't like the sound of that.
"As a back-up plan, we will fake an alien invasion while the Fantastic Four are indisposed. We will leave enough casualties and destruction for people to blame the Accords and they will have to be rectified, and you will have to be asked about why you didn't sign. That's the worst-case scenario, in case any peaceful way to rectify the Accords do not pan out." The red eyed woman explained.
This was absurd, this was monstruous. Why would that be a plan in the first place. Even Grey looked uncomfortable with that plan, "I won't be a part of something like this."
"Relax Stark, this is only the worst-case scenario. If we're out of options." Wanda answered.
"No, it is cruel. You would kill thousands of people…"
"To save millions," Wanda interrupted him. "It's not a good choice, nor a good plan. But you can't deny its effectiveness. Is it really that horrible to sacrifice the few to save the many? It is a last resort, nothing more."
Her companion chose to change the subject, "Pessimistic plans aside, we need to get Richards to stop publicly supporting the Accords."
"And how are we going to do that?" Tony snarked.
"Through Susan Storm. He listens to her, if he's in the mood that is. If there's a speck of doubt in his mind, she will be able to bring it out."
"Hitting below the belt by getting to his girlfriend first," Tony commented, "Vicious. I like it. But what if that doesn't work?"
"The Accords are going to get signed anyway, but if they do, you move the Avengers' base into another country, one that hasn't signed the Accords. Wakanda would be ideal if they don't sign, but they tend to be very stingy with outsiders. You can announce then, that the Avengers will only involve themselves outside of countries that have signed the Accords as long as basic human rights are implemented. Remember, there is nothing wrong with registering to the government if they can satisfy their security and prevent any leaks. The tracking chips are just a violation of human rights, and the indefinite arrest without cause of anyone with powers, at any age, is just barbaric. Reiterate your points and make a speech around the world. Say you're disappointed with the politicians and cite your demands. Use the public's support and gratitude for the New York invasion to make your point," Jean answered.
"And if it's still not enough?" Tony asked.
"You wait for a bit until you see how the Accords will be enforced and implemented. Leak any misuse of power, any unjustified arrest while showing them that they could be next. If that doesn't work, we bring the big guns and we execute the last resort plan. We fake an invasion and have you say that you wouldn't want to risk being arrested for saving people. You blame it on the Accords, and the rest of the world will take you seriously. Although, by that time Jasmine would probably have already returned, and she would probably have better plans."
"I still don't like this…" Tony complained.
"Do you have any other plan that might work?" Wanda glared at him.
The billionaire gulped and thankfully Jean chose to change the subject, "Speaking of implementation of the accords. How is it going to be enforced?"
Tony shrugged, "I don't know for sure. But the UN committee in charge of the Accords have been communicating a lot with a certain company. Trask Industries, I believe it was called."
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