To say that the mood in the conference room is tense would be an understatement. To the casual observer, it would appear that Captain America has been doing his level best to maintain that tension since the moment he arrived. And the truth is, that casual observer would be right. Steve understands that The Avengers need this, that it's even bigger than his team; he's seen the statistics, the polling data, the cable news punditry all pointing to an all-time low in public opinion on superheroes. He still disagrees fundamentally with what S.H.I.E.L.D. and the D.E.O. have proposed as a solution. But Fury knows just how to work him, because his briefing packet contained irrefutable evidence of the correlation between superheroes' abysmal approval ratings and rising hate crimes against enhanced individuals.
Few of the incidents have been widely publicized, as is so often the case with crimes against a politically vulnerable population, but S.H.I.E.L.D. has collected enough data to convince Steve of the urgency of the situation. Hostility against the enhanced will continue to rise until the public mood on superheroes shifts, and the people who will be most affected don't have time to wait for Steve to come up with a better solution. It's his discomfort versus the safety of hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians. So he agrees. But he makes sure that every S.H.I.E.L.D. and D.E.O. agent in this conference room is well aware of his disapproval. He can only hope it motivates them to come up with something better the next time they face a public perception problem.
Fury knew better than to show his face today, so he's glaring daggers at Maria Hill when Supergirl is escorted into the room. His heart sinks when he realizes she has no idea why they've called her in. He had the benefit of a heads up from Natasha, but not everyone has a Black Widow in their circle. He doesn't know how he would have reacted without advance warning, he just knows he couldn't have maintained his composure half as well as Supergirl ultimately does.
When the agents leave, Steve remains in his seat at the opposite end of the conference table, staring down at the folder in his hands and listening to the soft rustling of pages as she flips through her own packet. Suddenly, it occurs to Steve that she might think that he was in on all of this from the start, and he needs her to know that he would never have approve this plan, nor is he a fan of the execution, but before he opens his mouth to speak, she's diffusing the tension with a joke. His shoulders sag in relief; he couldn't express how grateful he feels to her in that moment if he tried.
"It really wasn't," he promises. "Fury's always had a unique way of bringing people together. I can't even say for sure that this is a first for S.H.I.E.L.D." He tries to tone down the bitterness in his voice before adding, "I'm sorry you got dragged into this."
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Few of the incidents have been widely publicized, as is so often the case with crimes against a politically vulnerable population, but S.H.I.E.L.D. has collected enough data to convince Steve of the urgency of the situation. Hostility against the enhanced will continue to rise until the public mood on superheroes shifts, and the people who will be most affected don't have time to wait for Steve to come up with a better solution. It's his discomfort versus the safety of hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians. So he agrees. But he makes sure that every S.H.I.E.L.D. and D.E.O. agent in this conference room is well aware of his disapproval. He can only hope it motivates them to come up with something better the next time they face a public perception problem.
Fury knew better than to show his face today, so he's glaring daggers at Maria Hill when Supergirl is escorted into the room. His heart sinks when he realizes she has no idea why they've called her in. He had the benefit of a heads up from Natasha, but not everyone has a Black Widow in their circle. He doesn't know how he would have reacted without advance warning, he just knows he couldn't have maintained his composure half as well as Supergirl ultimately does.
When the agents leave, Steve remains in his seat at the opposite end of the conference table, staring down at the folder in his hands and listening to the soft rustling of pages as she flips through her own packet. Suddenly, it occurs to Steve that she might think that he was in on all of this from the start, and he needs her to know that he would never have approve this plan, nor is he a fan of the execution, but before he opens his mouth to speak, she's diffusing the tension with a joke. His shoulders sag in relief; he couldn't express how grateful he feels to her in that moment if he tried.
"It really wasn't," he promises. "Fury's always had a unique way of bringing people together. I can't even say for sure that this is a first for S.H.I.E.L.D." He tries to tone down the bitterness in his voice before adding, "I'm sorry you got dragged into this."