The Rise of the Blue Phoenix

Chapter 12: A Bittersweet Ending/Little Talks

Ashley sat up quickly in her bed, realizing she was all alone in her room. She heard the door knock before Bucky entered her room. She tried to bring her hair away from her eyes until she just saw her stump covered in her shrinker, her eyes wandering to Bucky. "Hey, Ash."

    "Hey Buck."

    "You okay?" He asked gently, making sure she was first okay before anything else. Ashley nodded her head as she rubbed her eye, "Yeah, just... confused."

     "Do you remember what happened?"

     Then it hit her like a train. The fight, her wounds, the portal, Jean's dead body. The tears glossed over her eyes, her breath becoming uneven, and Bucky quickly hugged her, caressing her cheek, "Hey, hey it's okay. I'm here, you can talk to me. It's okay."

  Ashley couldn't breathe. She felt alone again, even in Bucky's arms.

  Bruce left her, Thor is with the guardians, Tony and Clint were both respectively with their families, Steve left her, the Avengers have almost completely fallen apart, and Natasha.

    Her own mother.

    Gone.

    And Jean? And Scott? It wasn't long, but their genuine reactions made her think that she might even have a chance at starting anew with them.

   The tears that streamed down her cheeks were hot and left blotchy spots on his shirt.  Her whimpers made his own heart shatter, and she couldn't  calm herself, but  the feeling of being less alone in Bucky's arms was enough to slowly relax her as he soothed her, whispering sweet calming words into her ear as her breathing became regular.

   "Ash," Bucky whispered, "You have to send the others home. Only you have the power."

   Ashley stared at him and nodded her head, wiping away her tears, "You're right. I-I promised."

   "First you must get some rest, Ashley. Get some sleep."

   It was the easiest thing she could genuinely do at this state.

Ashley walked towards the backyard. Her prosthetic hand was left on her nightstand, letting the stump breathe a little bit. She had a long sleeve over it. With her working hand, she pushed open the door and was met by the X–Men, Bucky and Wong. Bobby and Marie were closest to her and Marie smiled at Ashley, "You did good."

"I hope I did," Ashley chuckled, "because I'm not doing that again. I don't think I'd be able to fight the Dark Phoenix once more."

Marie laughed, Bobby walking to her from behind, "Marie's right, kid."

Ashley smiled at both of them, nodding her head. "Thank you, both of you. And every other mutant who was able to help me learn more about our kind. Thank you."

Ashley closed her eyes, thinking of a portal to take them home. It came to her almost immediately. Not as quick as they hoped, but still it came to her. Her eyes glowed as she held up both arms, a portal of flames appearing. Ashley turned to the mutants, "This will be your way back to the school."

The mutants, one by one, slowly made their way through the fiery portal. Ororo stayed behind, smiling at the young girl who could've possibly been her goddaughter. The older mutant brushed a strand of Ashley's hair out of her face and grabbed her into a hug. "You're really Jean and Scott's daughter – you have his leadership and determination, and you have her strength and beauty."

Ashley smiled, her eyes glossing over with tears again. She felt that all she had been doing for these past few days was just cry and cry and cry, but with all these emotions gaining up on her, it was bound to have happened. She hugged Storm for one last time, squeezing her and smiling. "Thank you for your help, Ororo."

"You're welcome, Ashley. Come and visit."

And soon, Ororo followed her fellow mutants into the small portal and reached the school, finally leaving the young girl, Bucky and Wong on the other side as the portal closed. Ashley felt Bucky wrap an arm around her shoulders, and she smiled. Wong appeared on her other side and hugged her.

A new day had begun in New York, and that day had begun calmly and fight–free. A peaceful morning, one that Ashley could happily get used to.

Ashley stood before Natasha's grave, talking calmly to her mother's tombstone. She had just finished explaining what had happened, all till now.

"It's weird," Ashley continued, "I thought I was the only one with this power until I heard it talking to me – until I met Jean. Is it weird to feel relieved?"

She was met with silence, but she smiled nonetheless, rubbing her stump reassuringly. Ash was clearly missing her mother, but she was free of the blame she held, for the grudge, for the guilt and anger, for the sadness, and while she was still grieving, she would forever love and cherish their memories. She would miss their little talks, so this was now how they were made up for. Deep inside, Ashley knew Natasha would live on in her heart.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to see Clint Barton, a man she hadn't seen in a while. He sat beside her, admiring the things people had left for their Black Widow.

"You're quite famous," he muttered. Ashley let out a chuckle, "So I've heard. How're the kids?"

Clint nodded his head, "They're all good. Growing up, you know. I just thought it would be a good idea to visit an old friend, and I'm glad you're here too."

Ashley smiled, resting her head on her godfather's shoulder. "I miss her."

"I miss her too."

Both former and current Avengers sat there. "I don't think I'll be able to carry on. It was hard, and it still is getting progressively harder."

Clint hugged her tightly, "I know, kid. I know."

The sun was setting, it was perfectly quiet, with only the occasional chirp of the birds. It was calm.

Alas, it's always calm before the storm, so all Ashley could truly do was take in this bittersweet ending, and have a small moment of peace.

END