When Time Collides ★ [2] ✔

Extra #3

The base was deserted as midnight struck.

I stayed behind, beating a punching bag in the training room. It helped me think. It helped me feel release, because God knew I needed it.

A lot had happened in the last and a half month. Training of the new Avengers hadn't slowed down. There was no news from Thor on his hunt for the Infinity Stones, and there was no sign of Banner, as hard as Nat tried to hunt him down. And Bucky was still missing. I sighed. Still missing.

But a lot had been going on between Andi and I. We were taking things slow. We didn't want to rush the relationship. Our bond was as strong as Vibranium, but everything that we'd been through had left us frail and tired. I'd noticed that Andi was definitely getting more exhausted than usual, as if her age was starting to catch up with her. It worried me. I didn't know what that meant. Either way, we both deserved a break, yet we never got one.

I left the training room soon after to explore the base alone, wandering down the corridors in silence, my boots echoing on the floors.

And then I felt the lightest of touches on my shoulder. I turned. No one was there. 

I frowned. Strange. My eyes drifted down absentmindedly to see a paper aeroplane on the floor. 

I raised an eyebrow. What?

I picked it up and unfurled it. There was writing on it. I couldn't help but grin at the cursive slanted words beautifully written on the paper:

My darling Steve,

I hope you like scavenger hunts. I have a surprise for you, but you must decipher the clues to gain it. I hope you're ready. Follow the signs to the next clue.

Good luck!

With love,
~ A

P.S. look up.

I looked up from the note. A glowing golden arrow made out of time dust floated in the air at the end of the corridor. I smirked. This was going to be interesting.

I followed the first arrow that led to another corridor, the next and the next leading me down it.

I found the next clue in the kitchen: an origami swan floating in golden dust. I reached for it and unfolded it, reading the next clue: