syn·the·sis /ˈsinTHəsəs/ noun noun: synthesis plural noun: syntheses 1. the combination of two elements into one, to form a whole.
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The Quinjet's engines hummed low as they soared through the night sky, a tense silence filling the cabin. No one spoke; the only sounds were the rhythmic tapping of Clint's fingers against his bow and the occasional creak of Steve's shield as he adjusted his grip. Nora sat stiffly in her seat, her hands trembling faintly in her lap, though she did her best to still them.
The air was suffocating.
Natasha cast occasional glances at Nora, but even she said nothing. Tony hadn't moved from the cockpit since they departed. His eyes were fixed ahead, his fingers tight on the controls, but every now and then, his gaze flickered to the reflection of the team in the glass panel, lingering on her for a heartbeat too long.
Nora's head leaned back against the seat, her silver hair limp and matted. Her mind was stuck in an endless loop of what had happened. The vines. His taunts. The blood. The crack of his neck. She felt the phantom sensation of the vines moving under her skin, her power acting on instinct alone.
When the Quinjet finally touched down on the Tower's landing pad, the group filed out, their movements methodical. The usual chatter, jokes, or plans for post-mission meals were absent. Instead, a heavy silence followed them like a storm cloud.
For some moments silence prevailed, a heart wrenching confrontation hanging in air between them, that no one wanted to see.
Steve turned around as soon as he reached the common room, his broad shoulders stiff – with anger or repressed emotions, no one knew. His jaw was tightly clenched, a rarity from a man normally so composed and his voice came out like venom, "What were you thinking back there, Nora?"
Nora visibly finched at the coldness in his voice, her numb state finally beginning to crack as she wrapped her arms around herself, "I am sorry," she whispered, not meeting his gaze.
"Sorry?" His voice contained a hint of incredulity, his heart and mind at a constant war. She was someone he had started caring about, someone he considered as his family, his sister and he knew how much she was suffering– is suffering because of the rift that had been formed between her and Tony, a part of him knew that maybe that man was just a monster of her past engraved in her veins to such an extent, that she killed him. But the other part of him, the captain part of him– the one which had suffered in the hands of the same HYDRA was betrayed, Fury needed that man alive, he needed him alive because potentially that man was the person who had the information that would be needed to destroy even the remnants of HYDRA.
And she had compromised that information.
The lives that would be at stake had risen.
"Nora, sorry is not enough in this situation! Fury needed that man alive due to a reason, he was critical to dismantling the last remnants of HYDRA! Do you have any idea possibly how many lives you had put on stake because due to you we wouldn't be able to get the vital information we desperately seeked,"
