Chapter 151 Meeting Again

The next morning.

"Bee... bee... bee... Hello? Natasha? Is there something you need?" Arthur's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Arthur! You've been gone for over a year and you're asking me if I need something? Are you trying to quit the Avengers?" Natasha never expected the call to actually go through. Hearing Arthur's voice instantly ignited an inexplicable fury in her chest, and she shouted loudly.

"Calm down, calm down... This time I successfully protected the Earth in Hong Kong, which counts as a contribution to the Avengers. I wasn't just out there enjoying myself." Arthur explained to Natasha.

"Hong Kong? What happened in Hong Kong? How come we didn't know about it? Can you give me a detailed explanation?" Natasha was somewhat skeptical of Arthur's excuse.

"It's hard to explain over the phone. I'll drop by shortly. Gather everyone who's around, and let's grab a drink together at noon." Arthur said.

"Fine. If you don't give me a reasonable explanation later, just wait for me to assign you an infinite number of missions." Natasha threatened Arthur before hanging up the phone.

"Bee... bee..." Arthur stared at his phone, feeling baffled. Natasha wasn't usually someone with such a short temper. What was wrong with her? Was he being too unreasonable? Not at all.

"What's wrong? Did you get chewed out?" Wanda asked, standing behind Arthur wearing a white shirt with bare legs. She had heard Natasha's booming voice through the phone.

Seeing what Wanda was wearing, Arthur turned around, pulled her into his arms, and said, "Why didn't you sleep a little longer? I don't know what got into Natasha today, she's got such a fiery temper."

"Serves you right. Who told you never to actively contact the Avengers base? Just go and explain things in a bit." Wanda said.

"Should we go back to sleep for a bit?" Arthur hugged Wanda and asked with a mischievous smile.

"Get up, I'm going to take a shower. We're heading to the Avengers Compound together later." Wanda pushed Arthur away and said.

"A shower? Let's go together!" Arthur chased after Wanda, ready to enter the bathroom with her.

"Get lost!!" Wanda slammed the bathroom door shut, locking Arthur outside.

Arthur shrugged. There was nothing he could do about Wanda being thin-skinned, so he went to prepare breakfast for her instead.

...

Piloting the Quinjet he had conjured, Arthur brought Wanda to the Avengers Compound in Washington.

After leaving the landing pad, the two of them walked toward the main building of the Avengers Compound.

"Hi, good morning!"

"Hi, long time no see!"

Arthur greeted acquaintances as he saw them. Everyone who saw him was extremely surprised. What wind had blown him here today? The last time they had seen Arthur was at the victory banquet after the Battle of Wakanda.

In the conference room, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha, Sam, Bucky, Barton, and Rhodey were all casting unfriendly glares at Arthur.

"Don't look at me like that. It's making me quite embarrassed. Where's everyone else?" Arthur asked, breaking the silence.

"Ever since Ross became Secretary of State, Dr. Banner hasn't been coming to this base anymore. Scott Lang went back to handle matters concerning Dr. Pym, Thor said he had business off-Earth, and Peter Parker is busy studying at school." Steve Rogers explained to Arthur.

"Don't you plan to explain what you've been doing for the past year?" Tony Stark asked, staring at Arthur.

"Alright, this past year I..." Arthur recounted his experiences of the past year to them.

"What? Dormammu invaded Earth?"

"Kamar-Taj has a society of sorcerers?"

"You went to Earth in another dimension? And our counterparts exist there too?" Hearing Arthur's experiences, everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected Arthur's year to be so eventful, filled with classified secrets that couldn't easily be shared with outsiders.

"Are you saying the Avengers in that world completely disbanded? Because the King of Wakanda joined hands with 115 countries to propose some kind of accord?" Tony Stark asked.

"Yes, that's how it happened. We have it better in this world; King T'Challa of Wakanda is quite supportive of us!" Arthur replied.

"Actually, our situation isn't looking too optimistic either. Right now, quite a few countries have been lodging protests against us, accusing us of violating their national sovereignty and causing economic losses and casualties," Steve Rogers said.

"According to rumors, over a hundred countries have been holding private discussions. It's expected that a proposal to regulate the Avengers will be brought up on our end as well," Natasha added from the side.

"When did this happen? How come I didn't know?" Tony Stark looked at Natasha and asked.

"I only found out about it recently. You and Banner were constantly working on weapons research, so I didn't tell you," Natasha replied.

"Then what should we do? Once the United Nations proposes the accord and it's officially signed, if we refuse to agree, our actions will become illegal, and we might end up being hunted down by the entire world!" Rhodey asked with concern.

"We must absolutely not agree to such an accord. Once we agree, all our actions as the Avengers will be controlled by others! Wherever there are people, there are entanglements of interests, and the Avengers will simply become a weapon in someone else's hands!" Steve Rogers looked at everyone and said firmly.

"If we don't agree, then will we be making an enemy of the entire world? Every move we make will become unimaginably difficult!" Tony Stark said.

Everyone understood Tony's predicament. All his assets, and even the person he loved, were in the United States. He was different from the others; he couldn't just pack up and leave whenever he pleased.

"What should we do then? Are we just supposed to docilely sign and wait to be regulated?" Sam asked, looking around at the group.

"I have an idea!" Arthur suddenly spoke up.

"What idea? Let's hear it!" Tony Stark said.

"There's no way we're signing this accord. Our biggest problem right now is that we've always operated out in the open. Everyone in the world knows about the Avengers, and everyone knows the Avengers are based in the United States, which is why certain nations and organizations have been eyeing us like tigers eyeing their prey," Arthur told the group.

"Then what should we do?" Sam asked Arthur.

"We just need to step out of the public eye, move away from the United States, and go somewhere no one can find us. Then we shift our operations from the open to the shadows, making it impossible for others to track our movements. We need to become a mysterious organization in everyone's hearts, where no one will ever know our next move," Arthur continued.

"That method is feasible, but where are we going to move?" Steve Rogers asked.

"Wakanda, Atlantis, and outer space—any of those three places would work," Arthur said.

"Wakanda sounds good, Atlantis is alright too, but outer space is a bit too far-fetched, isn't it?" Natasha looked at Arthur and remarked sarcastically.

"I can construct a teleportation gateway. Returning to Earth from outer space is just a matter of an instant," Arthur replied.

"Good! Let's do it this way. Natasha, go contact King T'Challa and ask if we can build a base in Wakanda. As for the King of Atlantis, he's right here; I'm sure we don't even need his permission," Steve Rogers said.

"What about me then? Am I supposed to move Stark Industries to Wakanda too?" Tony Stark asked Steve Rogers with a bewildered look.

"By then, we'll announce the disbandment of the Avengers, and all the assets of the Avengers will be transferred under your name. You can continue living in New York, and I'll build a portal for you so you can visit the Wakanda base whenever you want," Arthur explained to Tony Stark.

"Fine, I suppose that's the only way," Tony Stark replied helplessly.