However, reality is often disappointing. When the height passed twenty meters, Scarlet Witch either couldn't hold it anymore or lost control due to the distance. The explosion still went off.
The people working in the adjacent building were tragically unlucky. The blast tore through the nearby structures, and no one within the radius survived.
"Beautiful job."
Blaine shrugged helplessly as he watched, then clapped awkwardly. The opportunity had arrived. What was meant to happen would always happen—there was no escaping it.
He couldn't help feeling that the Marvel world truly seemed guided by invisible hands manipulating the plot from the shadows. He was certain that this satellite footage was no coincidence.
This was already an extraordinary period, and yet Captain America had been sent out on a mission. Wasn't this practically pouring gasoline on a fire? And now, the situation had become even worse.
There was no doubt that high-ranking U.S. politicians were behind this. They had been observing and monitoring every move made by the Avengers, including this operation by the U.S. Strike Team. The timing of this video release was clearly deliberate.
And while Captain America and Scarlet Witch were making a mess, things were also happening elsewhere.
In the Stark Industries building, Tony was in his office when someone knocked on the door.
The man introduced himself as a lawyer. He didn't say much—just criticized Tony and placed a legal agreement in front of him.
As mentioned earlier, the Avengers' actions during the Ultron incident in Sokovia had caused massive civilian casualties. Because of this, the Avengers were being summoned to a United Nations hearing.
Three days later, the meeting was held in a secret location.
Naturally, none of this was known to the public—including Blaine—because there were no news reports, so he had no idea when it happened.
The meeting proceeded as scheduled. The Avengers were all present: Iron Man Tony, Captain America Steve, Iron Patriot James Rhodes, Scarlet Witch Wanda, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha, Vision, Falcon, and the others. Hulk had left Earth in a spaceship after the Ultron war, and Thor was on another planet, but otherwise, the Avengers lineup was complete.
Because there were no journalists covering it, the meeting went straight to business. No small talk, no fluff—only the essentials. The session was presided over by General Ross.
As the highest authority present, Ross pushed a thick document toward Captain America.
"Sokovia Accords" was stamped across the cover in gold. Inside, as expected, were pages of regulations—a series of control measures dictating government oversight of the Avengers.
The Accords required the Avengers to act according to government orders. Every mission's start, process, and conclusion had to be led by official command.
Naturally, this immediately caused division within the team. The most extreme, irreconcilable clash was between Iron Man and Captain America.
Blaine couldn't help being confused by this.
Tony, the playboy of the Avengers, should be the last person willing to be controlled. Captain America was originally a soldier, a man who belonged to the government and followed orders by nature. So why was he the one refusing to sign? Blaine simply couldn't understand.
He made a bold guess: maybe Tony's stance had something to do with his future fiancée, Pepper Potts.
Pepper had always hated Tony risking his life in battles. The Accords appeared at just the right time, giving her a way to restrain him.
As for Captain America, it all circled back to the Winter Soldier, Bucky. He and Steve were old comrades-in-arms—practically brothers in all but name.
Then there was General Ross, who was truly something else. When Loki first invaded New York with the Chitauri, they considered dropping a bomb in the city center. Now, because the Avengers destroyed Sokovia while trying to stop global extinction, they wanted to cage them. "My turf, my rules," seemed to be Ross's attitude.
The signing of the Accords completely split the Avengers into two factions. Aside from Falcon, Steve's loyal friend, and Scarlet Witch, who refused to take sides, almost everyone aligned with Tony.
Just as the meeting ended and everyone left, Captain America suddenly received news: his first love, Peggy, had passed away. At the funeral, he unexpectedly met a government agent he had seen before—who turned out to be Peggy's niece.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the world, "Marvel's Strongest Villain," Helmut Zemo, appeared. Following the philosophy that books preserve health, he kidnapped a HYDRA colonel and obtained the Winter Soldier manual, which contained HYDRA's command codes to control Bucky.
When the Sokovia Accords were officially signed, the U.S. government held a press conference. After all, this was something that needed to be addressed to the entire world. Regardless of the Avengers' stance, the government had to state its position.
Two days later, the ceremony was held in a towering building. Members of the press were present, with cameras pointed at the podium. But aside from staff and reporters, the venue was almost empty.
It was clearly a performance staged by the government.
That day, Blaine also got up early to watch the news and enjoy the spectacle.
Around eight o'clock U.S. time, the event began.
Before the official signing, there were the usual pleasantries—statements about how the government valued the matter, how seriously they were handling it, and other meaningless rhetoric. Finally, close to noon, the climax arrived.
The politician who had been speaking stepped down, and another, more symbolic figure took the stage to announce the agreement.
It was the King of Wakanda, T'Chaka, father of the Black Panther. Blaine wouldn't have recognized him otherwise. If not for knowing the plot, he would never have imagined that such an ordinary-looking man was Wakanda's king.
After all, this generation of Wakanda was still deeply isolated and traditional.
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