𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐑 | 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀

eight : avengers

eight : avengers

IN THE FEW SECONDS ELAINE AND WANDA WEREN'T PROTECTING THE CORE, EVERYTHING HAD GONE WRONG. Steve stayed on the edge in front of a lifeboat, waiting to see Elaine and Wanda. But he never did. When he felt Sokovia drop, he jumped onto a lifeboat, peering off the edge as he never saw the two remaining triplets.

Elaine and Wanda felt Sokovia drop, and they held each other's hands as they sunk to their death. They floated from the speed of the drop, yet their faces remained emotionless. They gripped each other's hands harder until Elaine saw Vision speeding towards them.

She pushed her sister into his arms, but even then, Vision wasn't going to leave. So had to make him leave. She used her powers to blast him away, her sister still in his arms and shaking her head. She watched them get blasted back before Vision flew off.

She heard Tony's voice in her ear. "Now!"

She felt a wave of Thor's and hers combined electricity and energy flow through her as Sokovia exploded into pieces, sending her flying to the ground even faster. Her back harshly made impact with the ice water, a heavy rock on top of her, making her sink faster.

But Tony wasn't about to let the young adult die.

▔▔▔▔▔▔

Elaine woke up in a coughing fit with water spewing from her mouth, and choking on whatever bits were left in her throat. She was turned on her side as flashes ran through her already blurred vision.

      But the image and reminder of her brother's death was clear as day.

      Her brother was dead.

      She slowly rolled onto her back and looked up at the relieved faces of Clint, Tony, Steve, and Thor, who was wiping his lips. She pieced it together. Thor had resuscitated her, while the others had to hope that she would actually come back.

      But there was a problem. Something they didn't think of.

      Elaine didn't want to live.

▔▔▔▔▔▔

It had been two months since Sokovia, and Elaine, along with everyone else had recovered. Well, at least physically.

Tony drove his orange sports car into the underground parking with Elaine in the passenger seat. Ever since she learned he was the one to pull her out, she was a lot more thankful of him and didn't hate him anymore although the fact he killed her parents with one of his missiles will still be in the back of her mind. Tony had also taken a liking to the Enhanced girl, and whenever they weren't bickering, they civilly talked.

She made her way inside the Avengers tower, finding Natasha before both their phones went off. They glanced at each other before pulling them out and looking at the video they received.

"Look! Say hi to Auntie Nat and Elaine!" Laura Barton's voice said to her son on the video. Elaine and Natasha smiled at the video of the giggling boy.

But Elaine's favorite part was the onesie with his full name on it.

Nathaniel Pietro Barton

"Fat." Natasha simply stated from next to her, causing Elaine to playfully scoff as they put their phones away.

"One of our tech boys flagged this in." Fury's voice sounded from next to the women. They turned to see him walking towards them. "Splashed down in the Banda Sea." Elaine remembered that Natasha had been trying to find Bruce, who had run away after Sokovia. Fury showed them a tracker satellite image on his iPad. "But with Stark's stealth tech, we still can't track the damn thing."

"Right." Natasha nodded.

"Probably jumped out and swam to Fiji." Elaine offered.

Fury nodded to Elaine. "He'll send a postcard."

Elaine left Nat, turning the corner and seeing Thor, Steve, and Tony talking. She leaned against the doorway and listened to their conversation.

"The rules have changed." Steve stated.

Tony agreed as they continued walking towards Elaine. "We're dealing with something new."

"Oh, the Vision is artificial intelligence." Steve recalled.

"A machine." Tony added.

"So it doesn't count?" Steve asked, really confused.

"No, it's not like a person lifting the hammer." Tony answered, causing Elaine to snicker in the distance.

"Right, different rules for us." Steve said.

"Nice guy. Artificial."

"Thank you."

Thor finally interjected. "He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply."

There was a long pause before Steve spoke his thoughts. "But if you put the hammer in an elevator..."

"It would still go up." Tony replied.

"Elevator's not worthy." Steve said in a sing song tone.

Thor set a hand on Tony's shoulder, patting it. "I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours."

"Not if you don't leave." Tony offered.

"I have no choice." Thor continued walking. "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence."

The men waved to her and she waved back before the superheroes exited the new Avengers Compound.

Elaine began walking back to Natasha, and they silently stared, deep in thought.

"You wanna keep staring at the wall or do you two wanna go to work?" Steve asked. Elaine had formed quite the friendship with him over the two months she's been learning about using her powers. "I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall."

"I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes." Elaine teased as she and Nat walked over to him.

Nat took the iPad as the trio made their way around. "How do we look?"

"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees." Steve replied.

"We got some hitters." Nat shrugged.

Steve had an unsure look on his face. "They're good. They're not a team."

"Let's beat them into shape." Nat said before they pushed the doors open, revealing the rest of the Avengers. Elaine used her powers to propel herself next to her sister, both of them now having red hair.

"Avengers..." Steve began.