Two years I spent in hiding. Two years in hiding. I've gotten used to it, complacent, lazy. I spend my days on the beach swimming, exercising as much as I feel like that day. Occasionally I'll go to the nearby town and get groceries. I've started my own garden now I don't have to leave as often.
My knees are stained with dirt as I dead head the flowers on my porch. The dead leaves crumble in my hands as I place them in the bucket. As all of them are picked I crush them and combine them with coffee grounds and fertilizer. I sigh as I kneel by the garden and begin sprinkling the mixture over the plants.
Car brakes squeal in the driveway. My muscles tense as I reach for the pistol in my waistband. I quietly cock it and steak around the house. My nerves vibrate with anticipation before I peek around the corner and see Nat, Steve, Sam, Vision and Wanda at my door. I look at each one of them closely. Nat looks the same as when I last saw her. Steve has grown a bushy beard. Wanda's hair's gotten lighter and she has cuts on her cheek. Vision looks as alien as ever.
I find myself smiling as a warm feeling fills my chest which is quickly replaced with dread. If they're all here it means something bad is going down.
I lower my gun and step out from the corner of the house. Nat raises her hand to knock but Wanda taps her shoulder. They turn to me and their expressions are clouded.
"What the hell did you get yourselves into this time?"
———
The base is just how I remember it, all lights concrete and glass. Nat and Steve lead us through the base to an office where Rhodes speaks with a hologram of The Secretary of State.
"Mr. Secretary." Steve greets.
"You've got some nerve, I'll give you that." The Secretary says walking towards us.
"You could use some of that right now." Nat says.
"The world's on fire." The Secretary begins. "And you think all is forgiven?"
"I'm not looking for forgiveness." Steve says. "And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way, we'll fight you too."
"Arrest them." The Secretary orders Rhodes.
"All over it." Rhodes says and my stomach drops as he hangs up on the Secretary. "That's a court martial. It's great to see you Cap."
"You too Rhodey." Steve says.
The knot in my chest releases and Rhodes and Steve shake hands and he turns to Nat and I. Nat and him quickly embrace and I simply give him a curt not and a smirk. We were never close, I won't bother with formalities.
"Well you guys really look like crap." Rhodes says. "Must've been a rough couple years."
"Yeah well the hotels weren't exactly five star." Sam says.
"Uh, I think you look great." Banners voice echoes through the room and I smile.
"Bruce Banner," I say striding towards him and throwing my arms around his shoulders. "What hole did you crawl out of?"
"Hi Bruce." Nat says.
"Nat." He says simply, wringing his hands.
We move to a more comfortable office and I sigh as I slump in an arm chair. I missed these awful meetings, slinging my legs over the chairs. I missed these chairs. God these chars are so comfortable.
"So we have to assume they're coming back." Rhoses says, referring to the aliens everyone fought before rescuing me from my pit and some dude named thanos that gave Bruce a tough time during his tour of space.
"And they can clearly find us." Wanda says and I notice how much she has aged, emotionally and physically.
"We need all hands on deck." Bruce says. "Where's Clint?"
"After the whole Accords situation he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families. They're on house arrest." Nat explains.
"Who's Scott?" Bruce asks.
"Ant Man." Steve says.
"He's got this shit that makes him super small or fucking ginormous." I say, tossing a crystal desk ornament in the air.
"So there's an ant man and a spider man?" Bruce asks and I nod. "Okay look, Thanos has the biggest army in the universe and he is not going to stop untill he gets. . . Gets Visions stone."
"Well then we have to protect it." Nat says.
"No we have to destroy it." Vision says, cradling his ribs. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature, but also its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source something very similar to its own perhaps." Vision walks closer to Wanda, implying she destroy it. "Its molecular integrity could fall."
"Yeah and you with it." Wanda says "were not having this conversation."
"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it." Vision says.
"Thats too high a price." Wanda says as Vision reaches up to cradle her face in his hands.
"Only you have the power to pay it." Vision says.
Wanda turns away from him and my mood finally sombers enough. I place the crystal on the coffee table and stand to join their circle.
"Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him." Vision says.
"But it should." Steve says. "We don't trade lives Vision."
"Captain 79 years ago you laid down your life to save how many millions of people?" Vision begs. "Tell me, how is this any different?"
"Because you might have a choice." Bruce says. "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Untron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."
"Youre saying vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asks.
"Hes saying we can take out the stone." I realize. "And it won't kill him and it won't change him, maybe a little but it'll still be Vision."
"Can we do that?" Nat asks.
"Not me, not here." Bruce says.
"Well you better find someone and somewhere fast." Rhodes says.
"What about Wakanda." I offer and Steve and Nat share a knowing look. "They have Bucky in Cryo they have to have some way to figure this out."
"Lets do it." Steve says.
YOU ARE READING
Winter Widow
Fanfiction'Dark nights lead to cold Winters' Valeria Isakov was raised in the Red Room. Killing is the only thing she knows. Working for Hydra for years left her with a deformed sense of reality. When Captain America becomes her next target she is faced with...
