The Other Symbiote

The Evening Tide

Raiva had lost track of how long it had been since the battle at Leipzig-Halle Airport, with her stunted right arm finally scabbing over after having fought many infections throughout her time in the Raft. 

She shocked herself into focus to hear the shouts of her crewmates. She edged slowly to the iron bars, seeing the guards drag away a crewmate called Scully. 

"Hey! Leave him alone! Scully, you fight hard, you hear me?!" Jack croaked out a harsh yell, with Raiva banging her fist against the door. 

She felt another familiar sharp ring of pain in her lower back and abdomen but didn't care for she had grown used to it. The guard turned to her and his eyes were full of fury.

"You know what, you insolent child? Your old team escaped, so now your new team has to pay the price for their mistakes!" The guard turned and pulled out a gun, looking Raiva dead in the eyes before putting a bullet in Scully's forehead. 

She wrenched her eyes away from the dead man's body and wiped her tears away, the halls falling silent as the gunshot rang out. The only sound that could be heard was the shuffling of Scully's body down to the hull. 

Raiva looked up and saw the moon shining through the glass window. The guards had been sure to put her in that cell, just so she could feel how close yet how far she was from freedom. She rested her head on the metal wall as she admired the moon. 

(A/N - Farewell Shanty, Johnny Collins and Friends)

"It's time to go now... haul away your anchor... haul away your anchor... 'tis our sailing time."

Her voice was croaky to start off, for she had not spoken for over half a year, but her angelic tone returned as she continued. 

"Get some sail upon her... haul away your halyards... haul away your halyards... 'tis our sailing time." 

Jack and the crew joined in but sang softly, for they knew Raiva was mourning more than the loss of Scully. 

"Get her on her course now... haul away your foresheets... haul away your foresheets... 'tis our sailing time." 

A soft whistle came from the end of the corridor, with Cutter being the owner of such a fine-tuned instrument. Raiva placed her hand on the metal and felt the waves lap against the Raft, coincidentally matching her lyrics. 

"Waves are surging under... haul away down-channel... haul away down-channel... on the evening tide."

She looked up to the moon again and prayed that Wanda was safe. Hoped that Kara was keeping her safe, hoped that everyone she loved was okay without her. 

"When my days are over... haul away for Heaven... haul away for Heaven... God be at my side."

For she didn't have long to go before they were going to be without her, permanently.

----

Wanda sat in the Quinjet and was fuming. They had left Raiva in that rotten hell, knowing that she didn't have much longer without her symbiote, all because they couldn't find her. Steve and Clint were arguing about it as she thought to herself. 

Wand looked at the cylinder in her hand, watching carefully at the indigo liquid slushing around inside. 

"It's not right! We left her there and took her symbiote, the one thing she needs in this world. Steve we have to go back." 

Steve was silent, but it couldn't be any more louder. It meant he agreed with her, but it also meant he was fighting every fibre in his body to stick to the plan. 

"We can't, Wanda. We have to regroup, then we can go back for her." His voice was monotone and it made Wanda sigh in defeat. She trained her vision back onto the cylinder in her hand before making a decision. 

She unclasped the lid with a soft hiss, sticking her hand into the cylinder and feeling a rush of power as Nemesis absorbed into her body. Yells and shouts came from around her but she didn't care. She needed Nemesis.

She needed to feel something even remotely close to her girlfriend. 

"Wanda! Put her back!" 

"Wanda, I swear to God, put my niece's symbiote back in the cylinder right now!" 

"Wanda, put her back." The calm words of Clint made her look up in tears, her red eyes flickering with power. 

"Why should I? Nemesis needs a new host, because if we don't go back soon, Raiva's gonna die!" 

The whole group fell silent, knowing the weight of their wrong decision and the consequences that are bound to follow. 

"Who knows? Maybe she's already gone." Steve's voice was harsh, but true. They had all seen how brutally Wanda was treated with the guards, especially with the homophobic ones. 

They screamed that their love wasn't the truth, that their love was fake. They battered and bruised Wanda to a pulp, only to do it all again once she healed. 

All of the Avengers had seen on the airport tarmac that Vision had severed her arm, the limb stored somewhere in a facility that only Fury knew of. 

"We will not get her out." Steve muttered, reaching for the watch that wrapped around Nat's wrist. He flicked it open and pressed the symbol underneath whilst the others watched proudly of their captain. 

"But another will." 

----

Kara sat up straight in her bed, Lena shifting her weight from the sudden loss of her warm pillow. 

"What is it, Kar?" 

"The watch." She scrambled out of the bed, speeding to put her glasses on. 

"What watch?" 

"The one I gave to Nat. It's beeping." Lena understood and reached for her suit pin that sat on her bedside table. Both women double tapped on their accessories, their suits unfolding and launching into the sky.

"What is it, Kara?" Alex's voice echoed in her earpiece. 

"Nat needs us. I gave her a watch that was only to be used for emergencies... Raiva-related."

"Kara, the signal is coming from the middle of the ocean. I'll get everyone I can." Kara nodded to Lena and they followed the sound of the beeping, listening intently for Raiva's heartbeat. 

----

The Waverider hovered over the Raft in camouflage mode, the three groups of her family listening carefully to Sara and Ollie's plan. 

"Alright - Diggle, Thea and Laurel, you're with me." Ollie ordered, pointing to the levels Gideon projected. "Dreamer, you will stand above the Waverider with Nate and Amaya and wait to receive the package."

"Ollie's team will scan the upper levels whilst Kara, Barry use their speed to scout the rest of the levels. J'onn and M'gann, you will stay here until you find a lock on Raiva's mind and then you find her." Sara continued with the orders, her protective instincts kicking in. 

"Sara." Kara called the Canary over, Laurel following subconsciously whilst Alex moved to their conversation. 

"We are going to need someone in med bay with her. Based on what Nat has told me... Raiva may not be alive for much longer." Sara nodded, turning to Maggie who was already on her way over. 

"Maggie, you and Lena will stay in med bay and help Nemesis transfer back into Raiva. No matter what happens, she's getting out of here." Kara walked to the open hull ramp, staring down at the Raft. 

"If anyone gets in our way..." She spoke as Alex stood by her side, her suit summoning from her Martian bracelet. 

"They forfeit their lives."

A/N - So, I'm slightly procrastinating doing my Biology depth study by doing this, but 1260 words in twenty minutes is much better than 200 in an hour. 

So, yay.