Chapter 709: Trial

Ultimately, considering that she couldn’t cause trouble for Mike, Scarlet Witch chose to go with the special forces team.

That night, all the Avengers members, including Captain America and Tony, as well as the four street tiers, were detained in a temporary shelter.

It was the kind with armed guards all around.

They were vaguely treated as prisoners.

The next morning, the Avengers, the street tiers, and Winter Soldier were all escorted to a small courthouse.

Responsible for this “trial,” in addition to a host of councilmen and official personnel like Nick Fury, were several business magnates with significant social influence.

“Sister, why does this situation feel off? They’re not coming for us, are they?” Feeling the solemn atmosphere in the temporary courthouse, Quicksilver, unsure, quietly went to Wanda’s side.

“I’m not sure either; let’s wait and see.” Scarlet Witch shook her head slightly after surveying the grim expressions of the councilmen.

At this moment, she hadn’t realized the seriousness of the problem, thinking that this “trial” was aimed at the Avengers.

And that she, Quicksilver, and the other street tiers were just caught in the crossfire.

Therefore, she wasn’t too concerned.

As for the Avengers, looking at the setup for trying criminals in the room, their faces were all grim.

They seemed to have a premonition of something.

However, considering that this was not a real court, and Baron Zemo, the mastermind who should most certainly be on trial, was not brought here.

Therefore, despite feeling uncomfortable about this temporary “trial,” none of the Avengers members thought the matter was very serious.

“Silence—”

Once everyone had arrived, the state councilman presiding, responsible for the announcements, tapped the small gavel on the table to get everyone’s attention, then said, “The theme of this council meeting is to discuss the justice and legality of the Avengers organization…”

After establishing the topic of this “trial,” the state councilman at the podium, amidst the grim faces of the Avengers members, pulled out a stack of documents and began to read:

“On January 18th, Avengers member Bruce Banner, while rescuing hostages, damaged two residential buildings and several cars, causing economic losses to the public amounting to millions of dollars…”

“On February 23rd, Avengers member Clint Barton, while intercepting bank robbers, fired an explosive arrow that destroyed Bridge Number Fifteen, causing a very adverse impact on public transportation…”

“In the same month, on February 29th, Avengers member Tony Stark, while on a mission, used high-tech means to temporarily block the New York City network, causing incalculable losses to the Wall Street stock market…”

“…”

As each Avengers member was named, the Avengers, realizing that this “trial” was indeed aimed at them, grew increasingly grim-faced.

Some were thinking about how to refute, while others were self-reflecting.

At the same time, some were watching the show.

Yes, the ones watching the show were Quicksilver and his sister.

“I knew joining an official organization wouldn’t be that simple. Now it seems being a street Hero is more freeing…” Quicksilver’s tone carried a hint of relief.

He was relieved that he first came into contact with the street tiers, and not the Avengers.

“These accusations are clearly problematic; they only mention losses, not contributions…” Scarlet Witch remained relatively calm.

Although she didn’t have such deep feelings for the Avengers, it didn’t mean she was willing to see them slandered.

It was a bit like “pitying one’s own kind.”

Of course, no matter what thoughts the siblings had, or how grim the faces of the Avengers were, the state councilman’s reading continued.

“On June 15th, during the operation to eliminate Hydra, the Avengers members Tony Stark and Banner developed the super intelligent robot Ultron, which exhibited strong anti-human behavior.”

“It caused hundreds of casualties among ordinary civilians, countless economic losses, and its impact was extremely severe…”

After the lengthy reading of documents concluded, the state councilman looked up at the Avengers members and asked, “Do you have anything to say regarding these accusations?”

Without counting, one wouldn’t know, but once counted, the Avengers organization indeed seemed somewhat “egregiously criminal.”

The Avengers members were initially a bit indignant, but by the end, they all fell silent.

Although it was for justice, the stark data was laid bare, and they indeed had little to refute.

“All of our actions were uniformly commanded and managed by Director Fury. Although some civilians’ lives and property were lost during the execution, I believe it was all worth it to combat criminals.” Surprisingly, as all the Avengers fell silent, Captain America resolutely stepped forward.

He was defending the justice of the Avengers.

It was at this moment that the Avengers, who had previously felt some dissatisfaction with Captain America’s “softening,” suddenly felt their captain’s image grow tall once again.

Subsequently, except for Tony, who was still self-reflecting, the other Avengers members all spoke out in support of Captain America.

At the same time, they were also speaking for themselves.

And simultaneously stated that all their actions were directed by Director Fury and possessed legal authority.

This point was very important.

Then, the pressure came upon Nick Fury.

“First, I must state that I communicated and discussed all actions of the Avengers with relevant departments in advance. Secondly, I am also very sorry for the civilian losses caused during the operations.” Facing everyone’s gaze, Nick Fury’s dark face showed little expression.

His statement was quite conventional.

However, upon careful consideration, one could still discern a hint of shifting blame.

After all, as the direct head of the Avengers, he did not immediately take the responsibility he should have.

But this was also normal.

Ever since Tony and others left S.H.I.E.L.D. to form the Avengers, they had shown a trend of gradually breaking free from Nick Fury’s control.

Yet, Nick Fury was a very controlling person; his philosophy of maintaining world peace was not wrong, but he only trusted himself.

The growing strength of the Avengers had made him no longer trust Tony and Captain America as much as before.

It was precisely because of this rift that he did not immediately stand by the Avengers.

Captain America and others clearly sensed this, and couldn’t help but feel disappointed in Director Fury.

“Thank you, Director Fury, for your statement. It is precisely because we considered that the Avengers’ actions could have adverse effects on the public that, after discussion, we decided to formulate the Sokovia Accords to regulate the Avengers’ future actions and ensure that their actions will no longer cause significant losses to the public…” After Nick Fury finished speaking, the state councilman timely brought out the Sokovia Accords submitted by Councilor Ross.

Of course, compared to the first version of the accords, the current Sokovia Accords were even more strictly controlled for the Avengers.

It had almost escalated to the level of monitoring prisoners.

After all, Councilor Ross had indeed almost died in the joint operation of the Avengers and the street tiers.

Having suffered such a great loss and escaped death, his somewhat overreactive response was understandable.

“I object to these Sokovia Accords; this is undoubtedly monitoring our actions with a magnifying glass.” After quickly reading the contents of the accords handed over by the councilman, Captain America once again stated his stance.

Captain America was a man who had experienced World War II, having walked through blood and fire.

Although he wasn’t interested in politics, it didn’t mean he was truly “foolish.”

These accords were clearly aimed at the Avengers, striking at their sense of justice.

It might even eventually become someone’s political tool.

This kind of tendency greatly displeased Captain America.

“I, however, think these accords are very necessary. Think of those ordinary civilians… Didn’t you also say, Captain, that the public shouldn’t pay for our recklessness…” Tony, who had been reflecting for a long time, suddenly spoke.

His opinion seemed to be exactly opposite to Captain America’s.

This was very surprising, yet not so surprising.