𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐢𝐢𝐢

𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 Wanda finally came out of her room. Captain America's team stayed in different places, sometimes in hotels with disguises, sometimes they lived disbanded in several different rented apartments. Steve was surprised that rainy afternoon as she moped into the kitchen, clothes not being changed for days.

She opened the fridge, Steve still gaping and he nudged Natasha who lay beside him on the sofa. She scowled at him, before noticing what he was looking at, and then she too opened her mouth in surprise.

'Good afternoon.' Steve said to Wanda, in the softest voice he could manage. Before she could respond, Pietro sped to her side and laid a hand on her shoulder, comforting her with the tears still staining her eyes.

When she looked over at Steve, her eyes were foggy, cloudy - as if a mist had past over her and not left. 'Good afternoon.' She responded, voice strained and husky. Pietro rubbed her shoulder, and she held on tight to the small salad pot she'd grabbed from the cold of the fridge. He offered her a look, and she returned it with an expression that likely meant she was talking to him silently as she used to with Adelaide. Steve saw that face when she did the same with him, with all the team.

They walked slowly, as if remembering how to, back to her room. Pietro would sit with her for hours on end, joking and playing board games. Even through the night, when Wanda would scream and thrash in her dreams, and Pietro would often have so many sleepless nights that he'd sleep anywhere and everywhere around the small apartment when he could.

Sometimes Natasha would offer to switch with him, but the desperation in Wanda's face stopped Pietro from accepting the offer. Wanda didn't want Natasha to hear her, to hear the name she'd cry and weep over.

Adelaide.

Guns blazed and swords clashed and green blood splattered upon faces and armour. Adelaide liked the brutality of it, the simple act of just killing and not having to think about anything else. This monster was large, very large, but she'd seen bigger. Like the leviathans she'd been forced to fight when she lived with Thanos, as training. Gamora yelled things at her, telling her to veer right or to hit it in particular places, or to give her a boost when she jumped.

The fact Adelaide knew in her mind if she'd unleash herself fully the monster would be dead in seconds, not only scared her, but made her afraid to even let a fraction of her power slip again. She'd gotten comfortable on Earth, too comfortable, she'd let herself become something she wished she wouldn't. Vulnerable.

So she went back to her normal tactics, assisting the team, but not attacking herself. She'd sometimes blast small shadows upon the monster, but as soon as she did, she felt that inky black power rise and run through her veins, and that scared her very much. So as the team blasted through flesh and bone, she and Groot cheered from the sidelines, as they did then. Adelaide sat on a small rock with Groot, him talking to her in his language and her finally getting the grips of it.

'I am Groot.' Groot spoke, flicking a small insect looking thing off his finger. Adelaide laughed and changed the song to a more upbeat 80s tune.

'I prefer this one, you cannot seriously have enjoyed that blasting music.' She seethed, and Groot rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in embarrassment and frustration. 'Okay I'm sorry, it's not that bad.' She admitted and he smiled gently, looking at his lap. Adelaide gazed at her sister, slashing the monster up and then Drax brutally attacking it, giving it the last killing blow.

'Wooo!!!' Adelaide and Groot clapped and cheered, and Mantis bowed, giddy from the exhilaration of battle. Adelaide ran over to Gamora first, jumping into her arms and being spun around. She laughed hysterically and Gamora threw her off and pushed her softly.

'You fight with us next time.' She said, eyes glinting still.

'Yeah no. And I was fighting. From a distance.' Adelaide swished her hand slowly through the air, and Peter laughed. Rocket grabbed the large stereo and held it on his shoulders.

'Alright let's get going, I've got a beer on the ship I've been waiting all day to drink.' He walked ahead and the rest of the team jeered and walked behind him, Gamora's arm over Adelaide. Drax boasted about his incredible kill and how he slew the beast all on his own, and Adelaide, along with Quill shouted their objections and forced the real story upon him.

'Hey now! I did tons.' Adelaide joked and earned a punch on the arm from Quill and they all roared with laughter. They finally reached the ship, and they all got on board, most of them including Adelaide still soaked with the green blood. They decided prior to get to somewhere like an inn or tavern to wash up, so that's where they headed first; to the nearest village, the one that had been terrorised by the monster, and were now about to pay them a hefty fee for killing it.

They landed swiftly, and as they walked out many villagers waited in anticipation. Rocket spoke up, practically yelled the news.

'And yes we accept units, jewels, necklaces all types of things.' He announced, already holding a handful full of riches. Adelaide rolled her eyes, and the Guardians walked into the inn, Quill taking a few of the gold pieces from Rocket's arms and placing it upon the desk of the lady at the front of the bar.

'Just one room, biggest you've got.' He said, and the woman led them upstairs into a room, cozy and warm. The door slammed closed and Quill was the first to notice that connected to the room was another room, another three beds and bathroom. So the boys split off into one of the rooms, and the girls in the other.

Adelaide surveyed Mantis for a while, watching as she cleaned her face and washed her arms, still covered in green. Gamora nudged Adelaide, smiling with relief, relief that Adelaide wasn't as annoyed with her as she thought she'd be. Adelaide gave her a brief look, then turned back to Mantis. Deeming the woman alright, Adelaide slipped off her top and bra, revealing the back she was hiding from the rest of the team. The stars still swirled, but the blackness had turned slightly navy blue. When Mantis turned, she was instantly taken aback by the strange scene in place of Adelaide's flesh and bone.

Mantis rushed over to her, and Adelaide let her, standing still and simply peering over her shoulder to see Mantis' face of surprise. 'What has happened?' Her voice soft and tender as always, and her deep ebony eyes met the contrasting clear blue of Adelaide's.

'The stones talk to me and do this to me.' She put simply. It was more like the stones revealed what she truly was, which would sound ridiculous to voice, so Adelaide thought about it. Mantis gawped and Gamora too stared, though she tried to play it off. 'It's not a big deal, it doesn't hurt at all.' Mantis reached out her hand and touched the swirls of stars. Adelaide hadn't let anyone do that, not anyone, not even Gamora or herself. But she simply watched as Mantis' hand was enveloped by never ending darkness, the stars closing around her hand. Even Adelaide herself stared in wonder. And as Mantis retreated her hand, the girls stayed silent. And as they washed their faces and got into fresh clean clothes, they spoke small jokes and shared giggles.