Avengers: Legacies

To Love Is To Die A Million Times

Azura prowled back and forth, having little faith in the device on the other side of the glass wall. The scientists, geniuses, and magic experts of their team milled around the lump of metal, the device looking like a squatting block-headed man, it whirring and blinking with soft yellow light beneath its armored surface. The flat top had a screen, displaying something Azura could not see from where she paced, but she assumed it was busy locating the whereabouts of their parents, of her Baba.

"Princess, you're making Bobby nervous."

Azura snapped her attention back to Rosalie, and when their eyes met, Azura released some of the tension stiffening her muscles. She returned to where the remaining team sat along the wall and joined them on the floor, sitting cross-legged beside Tait, who watched his sister intently, his back rigid and straight against the wall behind him. Azura leaned forward to look at the twins and Bobby.

"I can't help but worry. This will be it. In a matter of moments, we will know where our parents are, and we can go to them. We will be relieved of a great burden," Azura said.

"Indeed," Tait said, looking towards her for once. "But you honestly should not fuss in front of Bobby because then the both of you fuss together, and it worsens everyone else's resolve."

"Hey," Bobby said sharply. "You let the princess do what she wants. No one's stopping you from having a nervous breakdown like the rest of us."

"Some of us can handle things in a calm manner," Tait retorted back.

"Oh, really. Then tell me again who flipped the Monopoly board the other night." Bobby looked pointedly at Tait, and then at Rosalie. "Not to mention who cursed everyone else out in Russian and French when some of us bought up the more expensive properties. You guys are not as cool-headed as you think. And you," Bobby smiled over at James. James smiled back, tearing his own eyes away from the lab room beyond. "You're doing great, Mr. Leader, allowing some of the team to process their feelings while these two dumb-dumbs think it uncool to have them."

"Shut up, Bobby." Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest and bent her head to hide her smile. Azura settled back against the wall, their bickering at an end, a smile of her own on her lips. She had them to ease her anxiety, to direct her nervous energy somewhere else, and their companionship to make this all easier, less frightening and lonely. She leaned into Tait, resting her head on his shoulder, and the boy eased, however hesitantly, into her presence, a soft sigh leaving his nose. She hadn't told Tait how sometimes he reminded her of her eldest brother when it was just them.

They all watched in silence as Pym, dressed in a lab coat over his super suit, made his rounds about the lab, instructing everyone on his calculations, Banner and Tony happily abiding by Pym's instructions as they input their data into the locator device. Sigyn, looking better than she had in days, stood with her head high and her hands outstretched before her, Wanda at her side monitoring her progress of the magic she was imbuing into the machine, soft yellow tendrils of light spreading out from her fingers. Sigyn then nodded to Pym, and they shared a smile. Things were going well it seemed, and it must have been so as Pym stepped away from his role as head of the project to come to the door. Azura sat up, her suit's claws accidentally sinking into Tait's arm.

"Azura," Tait hissed.

"Sorry," Azura said in a daze. She stood as Pym stepped out of the lab and towards them.

"Well," Bobby said, on his feet now too. "What's the verdict, Science Guy?"

"Fully functional." Pym beamed, and Azura felt herself smile despite the nerves eating away at her insides. He was brilliant, a genius, her hope. Their eyes met, and the others, who had been praising Pym, entered the lab together without looking back, leaving just them in the hall. Pym came closer, and she watched as the lights caught the gold undertones in his hair at his approach, the way he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his slender nose, and the slight smile quirking up the corner of his lips. A fluttery feeling blossomed in the center of her chest, and she struggled to force it down when he was only a few inches away from her. Close enough to see the faint freckles on his cheeks.