The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Aftermath

(Claray's POV):

The next three weeks went by in just as much of a blur as did the trip to space. There was no doubt whatsoever that the Titan deserved to die for what he did, but his death solved nothing. Everyone was still gone, including Wanda. The stones, if he were to be believed – Nebula insisted he was not a liar – were destroyed, and no amount of power or determination could reform them. The Avengers spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering around the compound, trying to keep themselves occupied, but all of us took the loss personally. Thor was withdrawn and appeared to be eating his feelings. Bruce barely left the lab. Tony had left the compound with Pepper after his last blowout with Steve, and it didn't sound like he was planning on coming back. Natasha barely spoke. I spent some time with Carol and Nebula. Our unlikely friendship trio began over a shared giggling fit. Carol, Nebula and I had been sitting at the kitchen counter, and Carol was telling us about her time on earth and meeting Nick Fury. I looked over at her, an evil smirk framing my mouth.

"What?" Carol asked, stopping mid-bite, staring up at me.

"So, you're a captain in the Air Force, right?" I asked, doing my best to suppress a chuckle. She nodded.

"What about it?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"And you got your powers from a Kree named Mar-Vel?" She nodded again, beginning to grow impatient. Her patience was short-lived, and I loved winding her up. A brief bout of laughter hit, and I had to put my head down on the table and gather myself together before continuing. Carol was staring at me with a scowl, and Nebula's head was tilted to one side, confused. It reminded me of Wanda in a way, but the witch's head tilts were usually far scarier.

"Spit it out, Ridel," Carol snarked. I wiped the smile off of my face with a hand, taking a deep breath.

"You're like Captain Marvelous?" I couldn't contain myself. I burst out laughing so hard that it made my stomach hurt. Carol's eyes opened wide and she started to argue, but I cut her off. "NO, wait! Captain Marvel!" I screeched. Carol's mouth flopped open in surprise, and I swear on my life that even Nebula cracked a smile. Suddenly a photon blast strong enough only to launch me off of my chair onto the floor hit me, and I went tumbling. Steve entered the kitchen, glancing between the three of us, eyebrows raised, offering a hand to me to help me up.

"What's so funny?" He asked, his eyes sweeping the room.

"Guess you're not the only Captain anymore, Capsicle," I wheeze between giggles. Natasha rounds the corner, rolling her eyes instantly.

"Not you three again," She groaned, looking at me intently.

The next day, Carol and I taught Nebula to play foosball, occasionally having to deal with an unexpected tackle attack if we happened to score. She was adjusting to life on earth and having people around her that didn't want to kill her or show her up all the time, and I wanted to show her what friendship felt like, rather than an add-on rivalry. I had been in contact with Bridgit, and half of the coven was gone.

I sighed, laying on by bed trying to take my mind off the turn of events but failed. Natasha entered the room gleaming with sweat. She had been training almost constantly since our return, determined to be in better shape to fight off whatever was going to happen next, and no amount of coaxing or soothing seemed to phase her. She headed directly to the shower, and I could hear her sobs coming from the bathroom over the sound of the running water. She was struggling. Truthfully, all of us were. We needed to get out of here.

My eyes opened wide as I had an idea. Natasha emerged from the shower twenty minutes later, wrapped in a towel and drying her hair with another. She found me moving around the room like a tornado, throwing things into two bags that were propped open on the bed.

"Claray, what are you doing?" She asked, confused. Her eyes opened wide. "Are you leaving me?" Her voice was soft, seemingly on the verge of breaking, which stopped me dead in my tracks. I hurried to her side, folding her into my arms and kissing her forehead.

"Never, leannan," I whispered, reassuring her.

"Then what are you doing?" She asked. Her head nuzzled into my shoulder and her breath gave me involuntary shivers. She was radiating heat from the shower and it felt comforting. I disentangled myself from the redhead slowly, resuming my packing activity.

"We're going on a trip," I announced, not looking up from the suitcases.

"We are? But..." I cut her off.

"No excuses, Tasha. We've all been wandering around this place like zombies, and you could use a break." She nodded – there was no sense attempting to argue with what I'd said – we both knew it was true.

"Where are we going?" She gave in, perching on the edge of the bed, peering into the suitcases at the clothes I was packing for us both. In one hand, she pulled out a heavy, knit sweater. In the other was a pair of bicycle shorts. "Are we packing for schizophrenic weather?" She teased. I looked at both articles of clothing she held up, smirking.

"Kind of," I answered, not willing to give any more information away. She raised her eyebrows, but dropped the clothing back into the bag, not bothering to refold it. Once finished, I easily swung both bags over my shoulder, exiting the room with a curious and slightly excited Natasha hot on my heels. We ran into Steve in the kitchen. "Rogers, I'm taking one of the jets for a while," I announced. He looked up at me, aware that I was most certainly not asking for permission.

"Where are you off to?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. Carol watched silently from the doorway. I looked back at Natasha, knowing that I couldn't exactly keep the secret if I expected her to fly the jet.

"Home," I answered simply. Natasha frowned, but I cut her off before she could speak. "I'm taking Natasha to where I'm from." Her eyes opened wide, so did her mouth as she realized what I was saying. As quickly as it sunk in, I saw a blush crossing her cheeks. She said nothing, I don't think she trusted herself to speak. She just grabbed me tightly, causing me to drop the bags with a loud THUMP on the floor. She jumped into my arms like a ginger koala and kissed me softly. I heard Steve clearing his throat beside me, and set Natasha back on the ground. Carol and Nebula now stood in the corner smirking.

"Check in," he requested, suddenly finding the kitchen floor very interesting. I nodded, raising a hand in farewell to the girls before grabbing the bags and leading Natasha out to the waiting quinjet.

(Natasha's POV)

Once the coordinates for a landing spot slightly outside of Edinburgh were laid in, there wasn't a lot to do but let the jet fly itself. I reached over, squeezing Claray's hand as she occupied the co-pilot seat. She smiled at me, returning the gentle squeeze. "Is this okay?" She asked softly. I nodded, swallowing before allowing myself to speak.

"This means so much to me," I murmured softly. Claray nodded her understanding. "I want to see your home, where you came from." She smiled, raising my hand to her lips, kissing it softly.

"I can't wait to introduce you to meet my mother and father," she smiled. I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

"Wh...what?" I felt my eyes going wide again. "Your parents?!" I felt my voice raising in pitch uncontrollably. Claray raised her eyebrow at me.

"My mother and father still live there. They watch over the coven," she explained softly. I don't know why, but I'd never considered the possibility.

"But I'm not ready...I'm not the type people take home to their parents!" I exclaimed. Her initial concerned expression was slowly morphing into a wide grin.

"Tasha, you're my type. Period." She smiled widely, pulling me into a hug. I squeezed back, my brain going a mile a minute. I pulled away, leaning back in my seat, feet resting on the console in front of me.

"You don't really talk about them." I looked up at her. Her smile was not as big now, but still present.

"My parents and I have different lives, mostly. They're always there, of course, but with technology what it is, I see them as often as I'd like." I nodded, encouraging her to continue. "They raised me to be who I am, and trust me to do it." Her grin was back. "They're going to love you." I blushed without meaning to.

"I guess we'll see," I teased.