Abigail awoke as if from a deep sleep and found herself lying on her back in a puddle. As she tried to sit up, she could see the clouds reflected in the water. She looked down at her hand. In it lay the soul stone. She slammed her fist into the water. They had gained so much, yet lost so much more. And she didn't want to think about the fact that she was lying there now because she had failed and had not managed to save her. This sacrifice had to make a difference, she would make it. What she had done for everyone ... could not be in vain. It had to change the universe. Her guilt would be atoned for, even if she couldn't live to see it. It was worth it, wasn't it? But at that moment, it seemed far from enough. Nothing would ever make up for the loss she suffered.
The hangar at Avengers headquarters was bustling with activity. The quantum tunnel spun wildly as the Avengers returned one by one from their missions. In the next instant, they were standing on the quantum tunnel platform at normal size, and the opening below them closed again. Bruce. Rhodey. Nebula. Scott. Steve. Tony. Pietro. Rocket. Thor. Abigail. But their soul was missing. The platform was lowered and the metal plates above it retracted. The Avengers tapped their time travel bracelets and their helmets and suits disappeared. Silence reigned for a moment, finally broken by Bruce. "Do we have everyone?" he inquired tentatively. The
Answer could change everything. And it would change everything.
While the others rejoiced that all the stones were now complete, Abigail fell to her knees behind them. Steve, Clint and Bruce noticed it immediately. There was a gap in their circle. "Abigail, where's Nat?" asked Bruce, fearful of what he was about to hear. But addressed, she didn't break out a word, so taken away was she by her loss. At first she just sat quietly and cried until the tears turned into sobs. She didn't have to say it, it was clear to everyone what had happened. Clint hung his head, still too overwhelmed to even react, and Bruce got down on his knees and pounded frantically on the platform. Steve, on the other hand, slowly walked up to Abigail and took her in his arms. Together they cried for all they could have. The sobs became less and now she began to yell, "Why her?! Why not me?" It broke Steve's heart and the hearts of all the others present to see the smallest of the bunch so devastated. Even if they all were, too.
When she gradually calmed down, or rather, when she just didn't want to cry anymore, she jumped up, threw the damn stone on the floor and ran out of the room. For a moment they were afraid the stone would break, but an Infinity stone could not be destroyed so easily. Steve picked it up and looked at it. Whatever Natasha had done to bring this into his possession had not been worth it. Of course he didn't say it, but he could have lived with the failure of her mission better than her loss. But he was not allowed to think like that and he knew that he was selfish in this point. He was Captain America and always had to think of the good of humanity, but even a captain could not do anything against the power of love. He had waited too long again.
Steve Rogers passed the stone to Tony before running after the distraught Abigail. His guess immediately fell on her room, but this looked exactly as it had before her mission. There was only one place she would go now. To Natasha's.
YOU ARE READING
The closest thing to a daughter
Adventure❝ she is the closest thing I ever had to a daughter ❝ - english version Abigail a thief on the run from her past, with extraordinary uncontrolled powers and an unhealthy amount of self-confidence, meets the famous Russian spy Black Widow. Not a g...
