SHE | Marvel's Avengers [10]

Chapter 30 - Reunion

We all sat down for dinner that night in the recreation room. After we were finished eating, Tony stood up.

"So, um...when me and Ahmi went into space, we, uh...found the Inhumans," Tony stuttered, obviously pretty nervous.

"Yeah, Tony. We know," Ms. Romanoff said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

"It's just...we didn't find Inhumans," he admitted.

"Where are you going with this, man of iron?" Thor asked, sitting up straighter.

"It's just...you know what? Guys, come in," Tony waved to the door, which slid open to reveal the Captain and the Serpent. The Captain, Steve, was dressed in a white shirt and some khakis, and the Serpent was wearing some jeans, a purple t-shirt, and a black and white flannel.

Ms. Romanoff paused halfway through standing up, Dr. Banner and Thor staring at the supposedly dead heroes. Ms. Romanoff was the first to speak.

"E--Ellie? Steve?" she looked incredibly shocked and thrilled at the same top, straightening up fully.

Snake, whose name was Ellie I presume, cracked a big grin, one that made her cheeks touch her glasses frames and spread her arms out.

"No hugs? Come on, guys, I thought we were friends," she made a beeline over to Ellie, wrapping her in a tight hug, which Ellie quickly returned.

"Captain Rogers, Lady Ellie, how are you both alive?" Thor asked, standing up.

"Monica put us in cryostasis and harvested our blood to treat Tarleton. If it weren't for Tony and...Ahmi, we wouldn't be here," Cap explained.

"Wh--Where's Clint? I thought he would be here," Ellie said, looking around.

"No one's heard from Clint in years. He disappeared after A-Day," a look of immense guilt passed over the young hero's face, before quickly being masked by a smile.

Well, he'll be back,"

---

Ellie sighed, putting her hands on her hips. She hadn't been back in her room in five years. God, the amount of dust that's gonna be in there...she thought. Hesitantly, she pressed her hand against the panel, letting it scan before sliding open.

"Wow, this is surprisingly clean," she said, looking around at the straightened bedsheets that she was sure were crumpled and askew when she left.

"Evidentally, Miss Barton, someone came in and straightened up for you while they were repairing the helicarrier," JARVIS said as she sat down at her familiar metal desk, propping her feet up.

"JARVIS! It's good to hear your voice. Though, not sure how I feel about someone rifling around in my room," she muttered.

"The sentiment is shared, Miss Barton. And, if it helps ease your conscience, it was Miss Romanoff that straightened up for you," he replied.

"That does help, significantly. God, it feels good to be back," she glanced over at the window, smiling as she watched the clouds pass, dyed magnificent colors by the sunset. It was magical to her, and she was gaping like it was the first time she was in the air on the Chimera.

"Enjoying the view?" she leaned her head back, looking at Cap as he entered.

"Well, it's not like we got a very impressive view in that spinning sphere of frostbite," she commented.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Me? I'm fine," she said, lying through her teeth.

"I meant about...all this," he said, and she sighed.

"What do you want me to say, Steve? Seriously, what do you want me to say? I feel like this is all my fault, because I'm the one who said we should smash the reactor, and look what happened. All these deaths--they're on me. And I can't change that,"