The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Twenty-Four: Lightning

(Claray's POV):

I watched cautiously as Natasha and Wanda left the room together after Natasha's question. The two of them were up to something, and I couldn't quite figure out what it was. I heard giggling and saw them round the corner together, Wanda carrying a basket of chips. I raised my eyebrow at the witch who just shrugged innocently before sitting on the sofa next to Sam, immediately jumping into a conversation about flying. Natasha sat down next to me.

"What was that about?" I leaned forward, whispering in her ear. She shivered slightly.

"Just girl talk," she smiled at me, reaching for her beer on the table. Wanda kept glancing between me and Natasha, watching.

"Right," I stood up, stretching. I'm going to head out. Lovely party, Tony." The playboy grinned at me sloppily.

"Welcome home, Pup," he said. I waved to the room and headed back towards my room for some rest. Maybe someone would tell me what the hell was going on tomorrow.

After two hours of staring at the ceiling unable to sleep, I swung my legs out of bed, wincing as I stubbed my toe on the nightstand. I threw on a sports bra, tank top and shorts and headed down to the training room. Maybe punching something would help me feel better. Except I wasn't the only one with a similar idea.

When I arrived in the room, Natasha was already there, beating a punching bag senseless. She was so focused that she didn't hear the creak of the door or my footsteps behind her. I grabbed her hips lightly as she swung into a punch, ducking almost instantly as she immediately spun around and threw a punch into the air where my face had been a second before.

"Whoa," I laughed, stepping back a few paces, out of swinging range.

"Do you have a death wish?!" She shrieked, still jittery. I couldn't stop laughing. Natasha looked at me incredulously before angrily swiping away a strand of sweaty, red, hair from her forehead. "What the hell are you doing here?" I calmed myself down at least enough to answer her.

"Training, same as you," I pointed to the punching bag and she nodded, pausing to catch her breath while I wrapped my hands.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked casually, wiping at her face with a towel.

"Not so much, you?" I glanced over and saw she was blushing, so I did my best to hide my smile.

"I think better while I'm punching things," she mumbled. I walked over to her, holding the bag steady and nodding for her to continue. Her punches were precise and deadly and I had to plant my feet a little more firmly into the ground, leaning into the bag while she hammered it.

"Are you okay?" I asked when she paused to adjust her footing.

"I'm fine," she grunted, hitting the bag again, harder than before.

"If you need to talk..." She cut me off, delivering a side kick to the bag and nearly knocking it out of my hands.

"I can't, Claray," she sighed, stepping back from the bag. "I can't talk to you." I frowned, stepping towards her slightly. She backed away from me.

"Natasha?" I stopped myself, my voice catching in my throat unexpectantly. "Did I do something?" She looked up at me, eyes wide.

"No, Claray, look – I just need to go," she pushed past me, shoulder bumping into mine. She left so quickly that she didn't even wait to unwrap her hands. I was tempted to jog past her to the elevator to at least push the button for her – that would be hard to do in boxing gloves – but stopped myself. I turned my attention to the bag instead, my first punch throwing it across the room, where it split, spilling its contents onto the shiny training room floor.

...

The next night was a full moon, and I desperately needed to let off some steam. One of the benefits of moving the Avengers compound to Upstate New York was the vast number of wooded areas that surrounded the property for miles on either side. I had made a point to trace the boundaries of the Avenger's territory when I first arrived, and had set up scent markers that I would notice as a wolf so I didn't stray away from a safe zone. After checking in on Wanda and promising her to let her see me as a wolf sometime soon, I left the compound, reached the tree line and shifted.

(Natasha's POV):

I was walking through the main living area of the compound and ran into Wanda coming back in from outside. She was shivering, and I could hear thunder in the distance. She smiled as she approached, gingerly shaking the water from her hair.

"Hi Nat!" She smiled brightly.

"What were you doing out there?" I laughed, gesturing at her damp clothes, and the goose bumps rising on her arms.

"Claray just shifted, and I wanted to see her off," she smiled. I looked over Wanda's shoulder out of the window into the darkness.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I couldn't help but worry. Wanda smiled reassuringly.

"She's going to be fine, she's not leaving the boundary," she explained. I sighed in relief. "Are you okay?" Wanda's sea green eyes stared into mine, concerned. I nodded, pushing down the lump in my throat.

"I'm fine, thanks Wanda." I smiled. "Go get dried off, you look like you're freezing!" She nodded and moved past me gratefully, heading towards the stairs and her room. I sank down onto the sofa, watching the rain hit the window, thinking. I heard a howl coming from outside, and couldn't stop myself from smiling. She sounded like she was having fun.

A few hours later, the howls started getting closer and closer to the compound. She was on her way back. The rain, rather than letting up, was more persistent than ever and was now sharing the spotlight with thunder and lightning as well. "Thor, if this is you," I muttered under my breath, staring up at the ceiling. When the Asgardian had vivid dreams, there was no telling what kind of storm was going to brew. Fuck it. I threw a sweatshirt over my tank top, slid open the glass door and headed out into the rain.

(Wanda's POV):

I smiled as I moved past Natasha. Claray and Nat were both so stubborn, if they weren't they'd be together already, most likely keeping the rest of us up at night until Tony soundproofed our rooms. I glanced over my shoulder to see the redhead leaning against the window frame, staring out into the rain. I shook my head to myself and headed down the hallway towards the stairs. After showering, changing clothes and putting some of my stuff away, I headed towards the kitchen to grab a snack, but something caught my eye. The door to the security room was open, and there were voices coming from inside. I approached, eyes opening wide as Steve, Tony, Sam and Rhodey all crowded into the small room, staring intently at the monitors. They were so transfixed that they didn't notice as I approached. "What are you doing?" I asked. They didn't even acknowledge my existence. Suddenly, Vision came through the wall to my right, startling me. "Vis," I gasped, catching my breath.

"I'm sorry for startling you, Wanda," he smiled at me. I gestured to the men huddled around the monitors inside.

"What are they doing in there?" Vision's forehead crinkled into a frown.

"They were placing bets on something to do with Claray and Natasha," he said. His voice sounded confused. I rolled my eyes, pushing past Rhodey into the middle of the huddle, peering over Tony's shoulder to see what they were staring at. I got there just in time to see Claray emerging from the woods, wearing a soaking wet t-shirt and shorts, walking towards the compound. Movement on the other side of the screen caught my eye, and I saw Natasha, also soaking wet, walking towards the hybrid. They met in the middle, pausing for a moment. Then Natasha launched herself into the hybrid's arms, wrapped her hands around her neck and kissed her, a bolt of lightning striking the sky behind them, silhouetting them in radiant, white light.

"YES!"