the strongest avenger

ten

The ride back to the Tower was agonizing. Talia had several missed messages from Peter.

Peter: Hey, you didn't miss much today. What happened?

Peter: Is everything okay?

Peter: I can send you the notes I took from class.

Peter: Just let me know if you're okay.

The girl was too distracted to send a thoughtful respond back.

Talia: Family stuff, sorry can't talk right now.

She spent the ride on the Quinjet staring blankly at the wall, not noticing when Steve had tried to talk to her. Not noticing when Nat came and held her hand.

Dirt was caked under her finger tips, dust and grime was coating her skin. Her dark hair was frizzy and sticky with sweat. Her lips were chapped, her nose was red from crying, her eyes were swollen and puffy.

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As soon as they landed, Talia got up and went straight to her floor. She barely made it to the bathroom in time to spill her guts in the toilet. The girl heaved and heaved until their was nothing left. Until her throat was scratchy, her stomach was sore and her body shook all over.

Numbly, she made her way to her bedroom, ignoring Steve as he called her name. She showered, not fully going through the motions. She sat on her bed once she was clean, although still not feeling fully cleaned.

Tal glanced at her phone quickly when it buzzed.

Peter: Hope everything's okay. I emailed you a copy of my notes.

The ghost of a smile made it's way onto Tal's face.

Talia: Thanks Pete.

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Talia sat silently next to Wanda as they watched the news the next day. Tal stayed home from school, barely speaking to anyone except Wanda. And even then, their words were scarce.

"What legal authority do the enhanced individuals like Wanda Maximoff and the unnamed, mystery Avenger have to operate in Nigeria—"

The TV cuts off as Steve makes his way into the room.

"It's my fault." Both Wanda and Tal say at the same time. They glance at each other before looking back down.

"That's not true."

"Not true?" Talia asks. "That's not what the whole world is saying. And maybe they're right. I should have been able to send the bomb further away, I should have known how big the explosion would have been."

"Turn the TV back on," Wanda says. "The people are being very specific."

"I should've clocked that bomb vest long before you guys had to deal with it. Rumlow said 'Bucky' and all of a sudden I was a 16 year old kid again in Brooklyn." Steve sits down on the bed besides the duo.

"Well I'm a sixteen year old kid who just injured a bunch of people."

"You weren't the only one Tal." Wanda whispers.

"People died. It's on me." Steve says.

"It's on all of us." Tal says in a small voice.

"This job...we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can find a way to live with that..."