Unfortunately, the situation spiraled out of control beyond anyone’s ability to stop it.

Those targeting the biochemical weapon were none other than Hydra.

They attempted to steal the weapon and flee, but when stopped by Captain America and his team, they were cornered and ended up destroying the biochemical weapon right in the middle of Nigeria’s city center.

In the crisis of imminent contamination spread, Pietro used his super-speed ability to dash around the site and push all the contaminated air up into the sky.

Thanks to him, a large-scale spread was prevented, but the aftermath was by no means small.

Nearby shops were severely damaged, and some civilians in nearby high-rise buildings were exposed to the biochemical weapon, reported to be in critical condition fighting for their lives.

With the situation having reached that point, Captain America had no choice left.

He notified headquarters that he was using the Avengers fund and requested immediate support.

In response, the staff waiting at headquarters, the doctor team, and even Banner were dispatched urgently to Nigeria aboard the Odyssey.

Upon arriving at the scene, they immediately moved to the contaminated area and devoted all their efforts to treating those exposed to the biochemical weapon and managing the situation.

In the end, it seemed the world’s deterrence could not be stopped.

Perhaps it would have been better if Wanda had gone, as in the original.

Wanda now had perfect control and had even learned magic from Thor’s mother, Frigga.

The incident became the center of news for a while, with media around the world covering it intensively day after day, creating a tumultuous atmosphere.

Then T’Chaka, the King of Wakanda, came forward and gave a speech condemning the Avengers.

It seemed there were Wakandan citizens among those affected by the biochemical weapon.

—"They act without any restraint, wielding their immense power indiscriminately. With great power must come responsibility and oversight."

As such coverage continued, public opinion toward the Avengers began to worsen.

Meanwhile, the personnel dispatched to Nigeria returned, but none of them looked happy.

Captain, in particular, deeply blamed himself for the incident, believing it was all his fault, and apologized to us.

What was interesting, however, was that unlike Captain, Pietro did not blame himself.

He simply went to sleep as soon as he returned, citing exhaustion.

Pietro seemed to think he had done everything he could.

And honestly, that was fair—because although there were injuries, there wasn’t a single fatality.

Thanks to the swift action of Banner and the doctors, everyone exposed to the biochemical weapon was able to be treated.

The doctors at the Avengers facility truly were geniuses.

Unfortunately, unlike the original, with the situation unfolding that way, Hydra had only two operatives subdued, and in the chaos of cleaning up, the rest escaped.

Aside from stopping the biochemical weapon, it was practically a complete failure.

"What exactly happened to make things turn out like that? Honestly, I don’t quite understand—everyone here is highly capable."

I asked Natasha for more details.

Natasha sighed and explained.

"There were Super Soldiers at the scene, and even the Winter Soldier. Plus, the masked guy who seemed to be the leader was using some strange device. No matter how I look at it, that was the best we could do. If we’d known, we should have brought more members... Maybe we were too complacent."

From Natasha’s account, it seemed Rumlow and Bucky had both been there.

That’s probably why things went the way they did.

’This butterfly effect is hitting hard...’

Just then, Secretary of State Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross contacted me.

—"We’ve met once before, right? Back then I was a general. Now I’ve retired and serve as Secretary of State."

I had seen Ross once before at the medal ceremony.

"Yeah, I have seen you before."

—"I’m not contacting you just to say hello—this is about UN business. I’d like you to gather the Avengers members. There’s something important they all need to hear."

"Really? When will you come?"

—"Tomorrow morning."

We made the appointment and I informed all the members.

They sighed deeply, expecting to be scolded by the UN.

It felt like watching students who had caused trouble and were about to be reprimanded.

The next day, everyone gathered at the base as before.

Penny didn’t come—I deliberately hadn’t told her, since she was still a student and had to go to school.

I also left Cosmo with the staff.

[Master, Secretary Ross has arrived.]

"Really? Then tell everyone to gather in the conference room."

[Understood, Master.]

With that, I also moved to the conference room.

The members gathered one by one and began taking their seats.

Once we were all assembled, Ross entered last and gave a brief introduction.

"Well, those who know me probably already know, but I’m Secretary of State Thunderbolt Ross. Nice to meet you all."

Tony, Rhodey, Falcon, and others who knew Ross gave a slight nod in greeting.

Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross was a figure deeply entangled with superheroes.

He had once served as a military commander, prioritizing national security above all else, and was particularly obsessive about tracking the Hulk.

Through this process, he formed complex relationships with various heroes like Iron Man and Captain America, sometimes cooperating and sometimes clashing.

His appearance was that of a typical elderly American officer—neat but imposing, with a notably well-groomed mustache.

His hair had grayed with age, and it was clear at a glance that he was an authoritative figure.

"I had a heart attack five years ago. Collapsed during a backswing. Turned out to be the best round of my life."

Ross made a swinging gesture, trying to lighten the mood with a golf story.

"After 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I realized something. A perspective I never gained in 40 years of military service..."

Seeming to get to the point, Ross paused briefly before continuing.

"The world owes the Avengers a debt that can never be repaid. You fought for us, protected us, risked your lives. Many people call you heroes—but some want to call you vigilantes."

Natasha asked Ross.

"And what do you think, Mr. Secretary?"

"What about dangerous individuals? They ignore borders and act as they please. Honestly, what would you call unregulated superhumans?"

With that, Ross turned on the monitor in the conference room.

"New York."

The monitor showed Avengers using their powers to destroy buildings in New York.

"Washington D.C."

This time, it showed the Helicarriers that had been taken over by Hydra during the Winter Soldier incident crashing, and civilians evacuating.

"Sokovia."

Sokovia also appeared on screen—the city rising into the air and people evacuating.

"Lagos (Nigeria)."

In Nigeria, footage showed the victims of the biochemical weapon being carried away.

Captain, unable to watch any longer, frowned and said.

"Enough! That’s plenty."

At Captain’s words, Ross turned off the monitor and continued.

"For the past four years, you’ve wielded unlimited power without any oversight. This is a situation that the world’s governments can no longer tolerate. However..."

Ross handed a thick booklet to the members and said.

"The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 nations. I believe this is the solution. According to these Accords, the Avengers will no longer be a private organization, but will operate under the supervision of a UN panel, and will only act when the panel deems it necessary."

Hearing that, I clapped and chuckled.

Ross looked at me incredulously and asked.

"What’s so funny?"

"I’m laughing because what you’re doing is so ridiculous. Let’s be honest here. First, New York."

I stepped forward and turned the monitor back on, just as Ross had done.

The screen showed the high-ranking officials on the Helicarrier arguing with "Motherfucker" Fury about whether to use a nuclear weapon.

Then, a fighter jet carrying a nuke launching toward New York, Fury’s desperate struggle to stop it, the Avengers’ communications, and Iron Man carrying the nuke into space—all of it was captured in the footage.

"Washington D.C."

The same was true this time—Hydra’s plan to eliminate all threats in one sweep, and Captain, Tony, Falcon, and even Eleanor (Deadpool) trying to stop it.

"Sokovia."

Sokovia showed us moving the victims of Hydra’s Super Soldier experiments from their base and reuniting them with their families, then Baron Zemo (now President of Sokovia) giving a speech about how Hydra had caused civil war and destroyed the nation, followed by the city rebuilding with the Avengers’ support.

"Lagos."

"Stop! That’s enough!"

As I was about to show the Lagos footage, this time Ross urgently snatched the remote from my hand and turned off the monitor.

"Well, I’ll just summarize Lagos briefly. This incident happened because there were so many Hydra Super Soldiers. But I have a question: who originally managed the Super Soldier Serum? Wasn’t it the military? And when Hydra was infiltrating American politics, the military, and SHIELD, what were the so-called higher-ups doing? What were they doing that they let things spiral this far?"

"..."

When I pressed him like that, Ross had no response.

"And you say we wielded unlimited power, but wasn’t it an abuse of power when those high-ranking officials tried to use a nuke on New York? I really don’t know who’s accusing whom of wielding power."

"No, that’s..."

Ross tried to say something, but I cut him off and continued.

"Isn’t the media play right now just those in power trying to keep us in check because our influence has grown too big? And they want our technology too, don’t they? That’s why they’re pulling this nonsense!"

As I raised my voice in frustration, Natasha grabbed my hand—probably to calm me down.

I sighed and spoke again more calmly.

"We know it too. We understand that being called heroes means we need to minimize casualties as much as possible. But let’s be fair here. When aliens invade, and terrorist groups nurtured by the military and government run rampant attacking cities, isn’t it too much to expect us to stop them without any damage at all? Or are you going to tell me that using a nuke to wipe everything out—like those high-ranking officials wanted—would have been the better decision?"

I was able to say this because there had been so many instances of government and military trolling.

"Besides, we never tried to monopolize the technology either. Tony handed over Iron Man suits to the military, and this time, you even took Gundam technology. Right? We were worried that technology would be used for terrorism or war. But with such powerful alien invasions continuing, we at least thought we should give people the power to protect themselves."

After I finished, Ross asked me.

"Then are you saying you don’t agree to the Accords?"

"Yes."

"Even if it means you can’t operate anymore?"

"I’ll retire. I have no problem just running my business. And the current staff and members can all be hired by me anyway. To be honest, I’m also curious how those high-ranking officials are going to handle things when problems arise."

"Do you think the UN will just stand by and watch!?"

"They will have to."

With that, I turned the monitor back on and started flipping through channels.

Every channel was broadcasting this conference room live.

The news channels were doing the same.

Plus, it was being streamed over the internet.

The reason I set this up was that broadcasting could be controlled by the state.

"Media play isn’t something only you can do."

Seeing that, Ross panicked greatly and hurriedly left the conference room.

This was possible because I had hacked both Ross’s and his aides’ phones, preventing them from receiving any calls.

I watched Ross leave and ended the live broadcast.

Then I switched the screen to the CCTV feed of the Avengers facility’s entrance.

The monitor showed a huge crowd of reporters gathered in front of the facility.

Ross tried to drive out urgently, but with the entrance packed with reporters, he couldn’t move an inch.

He was effectively trapped in his car by the crowd.

The reporters surrounded the vehicle, flashing cameras and taking photos nonstop, shoving microphones toward the windows, desperate to get a single word out of him.

"Is it true you tried to use a nuke on New York?!"

"Give us a statement on the government nurturing Hydra!"

"Is it true the Super Soldier Serum was leaked?!"

"Say something about the Gundam technology!"

"Mr. Secretary! Just one word, please!"

The vehicle remained completely stopped, and Ross could only sit inside, watching the situation unfold without being able to say a word.

As that scene appeared on the monitor, all the members burst into laughter.