The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Thirty-Five: Invasion

(Claray's POV):

For the next two years, things settled into a regular pattern. I stayed mostly in Wakanda and the surrounding areas, working with Bucky and Ayo and diving into Wakanda's extensive archive. Natasha and Wanda would visit when they could – I knew they were busy trying to stay off the radar while still helping the world. They were heroes, it's what they did. Wanda spent a few months with me after Pietro died in a car accident.  Vision seemed to be helping her deal with her grief in ways that I couldn't reach, and I was grateful for his concern for her.  Occasionally, I would catch word of a vampire or a werewolf that needed my attention. Sometimes the team would travel with me. Sometimes I would go alone. Sometimes Ayo, Bucky and I would hunt together. The three of us became a fearsome fixture of the African nation and were more than willing to help T'Challa with any threats that faced Wakanda. Even Okoye had begrudgingly started to like me, largely in part to Ayo's influence. Training with and around the Dora Milaje taught me a lesson in dedication and drive that I was unlikely to forget.

One morning, I was buried deep in the archive with Ayo, reading documents that Wakanda had compiled about vampires and about me. Some of these documents looked as though they dated back centuries, and although I couldn't read some of the words on the page in front of me, Ayo's skills included translation, and she was quickly becoming invaluable. While I wouldn't consider our friendship particularly close, Ayo had opened to me more and more throughout my stay. I even caught her smiling once or twice. Although reserved and very private, her fondness for me – and even for Bucky – was never something I would tease her about. It was nice, seeing her come out of her shell a bit more. I was skimming the pages of a particularly old book when alarms sounded. Ayo and I looked up at each other, immediately recognizing the threat, leaving the archives behind and heading up towards the main floor of the palace. When we entered the throne room, T'Challa, Nakia and Okoye were already there. We approached the trio slowly, looking between their faces to see if we could understand what was happening. T'Challa turned towards me slowly.

"Claray, there's been an attack in New York. Stark is missing." I felt my heart flip in my chest as I stared at the King.

"What kind of attack? What do you mean missing? What about..." my voice trailed off, unwilling to complete that sentence, unsure of whether I really wanted the answer. T'Challa held his hands up.

"We don't have a lot of information yet. But some sort of spaceship approached the city. Two creatures beamed out, and there was a brief skirmish. Tony, Steven Strange and Peter Parker are all listed as missing, as of now." I frowned, unconsciously playing with the hourglass necklace around my neck, thinking about Natasha and Wanda.

"What do they want?" I asked, finally collected enough to form coherent sentences.

"It appears they were looking for a gem that was in Strange's possession." My head snapped up instantly.

"Where's Vision?" The room looked at me, confused. "I've got to reach out to Wanda," I murmured to myself, excusing myself and heading towards my room.

(Wanda's POV)
"Where are you?" Claray's thoughts invaded my mind as I lounged in a hotel room in Edinburgh, watching the Android pace the room in front of me. I frowned at the sudden intrusion.

"We're in Scotland, why?" When there wasn't an immediate answer from the hybrid, I allowed my mind to wander again. Life on the run had been difficult, to say the least, and these stolen moments that Vision and I were lucky to have together wasn't something I was willing to waste. I lifted my head to see Vision staring out the window, the stone in his forehead glowing slightly. "Vision? What is it? Is it the stone again?" Claray's voice interrupted once more.