Avengers Generations

Chapter 24

Peggy walked through the now familiar maze of the helicarrier toward the mess hall looking for Charity. Her steps echoed through the halls, which added to the emptiness of the base. Every so often she would pass an agent headed for any number of tasks, but they had no reason to speak to her. They were only a second set of echoes for a minute, then they were gone.

William glanced up from a book as Peggy passed through the Nerd Corner. "Hello." He said quietly.

"Hey." Peggy responded. The corner was the same as it had been for weeks - piles of technology and machines linked together by technicolor wires lined the walls in a dangerous mess of science. It was painful to see Anthony's gadgets strewn everywhere when he would never tinker with them again. S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't cleaned them up, so it looked as if the redhead boy would roll out from under something any second - his hands covered in grease and his hair sticking out in weird ways like it always had.

"Have they figured out what this stuff does yet?" Peggy asked as she looked at the metal structures.

William shook his head. "No." He answered "Well, they say some of them make cookies, and another looks like some sort of flashlight... But mostly they have no idea."

Peggy smiled softly and shook her head. She said a casual goodbye to William, who had already returned to his book, and continued toward the mess hall.

She took a deep breath when she entered the tall room - the sky outside the window wall was a striking shade of baby blue. White clouds billowed by above and below the helicarrier, all of them traveling together. It was like airship and the clouds were equal; both heading to the same place, or to nowhere at all.

"Today is a beautiful." Fenrir said, seeing Peggy's thoughtful expression. He was sitting across a table from Charity, holding a mug tightly in his hands. Charity was sitting in her seat, hunched slightly with her arms under the table. She glanced up when Fenrir started speaking, and smiled softly at Peggy, but she seemed depressed. Unfortunately, depressed was the new normal for Charity.

"Hi-dee-ho," Peggy said, sitting a next to Fenrir and looking across at Charity "How are you doing?"

"Been better." The girl responded "My dad said he'd try to get in touch with Peter - at least just to find out if he's alive - but he won't tell me anything about it now..."

"Such is the way of S.H.I.E.L.D.." Fenrir sighed gravely, tightening his grip on the mug "The less of which you are aware, the better for them."

Peggy nodded and Charity pursed her lips as the three looked out the windows. Peggy noticed Einmyria sitting quietly in the corner of the room, also staring at the clouds - she seemed lonely...

"What do you hold against her?" Fenrir asked innocently, yet suddenly as he caught Peggy's eyes.

"Einmyria?" Peggy responded quietly, so as not to be overheard by the princess in question "I don't know what you mean."

"No, he's right." Charity put in softly "You definitely don't like her."

Peggy felt trapped - how did she tell her friends that the only reason she didn't like Einmyria was because the princess reminded her too much of herself? It sounded so petty...

"I... Um..." She searched for words, but came up blank. The only thing she could tell them was the truth, but she hated it. "I guess I think she-"

"They're back!" Sharon interrupted as she stepped excitedly into the room. Her eyes danced with the good news "Tori and Jake are back!"

"They're here?" Peggy gasped as the kids jumped out of her seats "Where?"

"Jake's gone to his quarters, but Tori's still in entrance bay with" -she looked mischievously at Charity- "a boy named Peter."

Charity wanted to hug Peter with every molecule of her body when she caught her first glimpse of him in the entrance bay through the large doorway. She wanted to touch him and know he was real, but seeing him standing there, she knew she couldn't. No one had told him about her arms - she could see that clearly in his face, and she didn't want to frighten him.

"Is that him?" Peggy whispered as they slowed their pace to watch a moment before going in.

"Yes!" Charity laughed softly, smiling more sincerely than she had in over a week.

"He's very handsome..." Peggy observed as the young man spoke with Director Fury and Tori.

"Yes he is..." Charity responded, placing her arms behind her back and walking into the room. She didn't run - she stepped slowly toward her love, anticipating and dreading the reunion with equal passion.

Peggy ran and gave Tori a hug, breaking up the trio's conversation. Peter glanced up casually and caught sight of Charity. In an instant he forgot Fury and Tori and everything else and ran to her, crossing the space in a moment. He laughed with joy, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her off her feet. "Charity!" He said with child-like enthusiasm.

Charity laughed as he spun her around, but she kept her arms behind her back. "Peter," she said breathlessly "I missed you... I missed you so much!"

"That's all you have to say?" Peter teased as he placed her lightly back on the floor.

"What about this?" Charity smile faded and she stood on her toes to kiss him. She wanted to pull him in, to grab his shirt like she always did, but she knew she couldn't. Peter kissed her, and kissed some more, but eventually he realized something was wrong.

"What are you hiding back there?" He asked, peering around her back.

"Something..." Charity hesitated "I need to talk to you about..."

Peter pawed her playfully, trying to turn her around. "Tell me-" he laughed, but Charity wasn't smiling.

"Peter," Fury intervened, his voice strong with caution "Please don't-"

But it was too late. Peter pulled Charity's arms out from behind, and held her two and a half fingers in one hand, and the stub of her left hand in his right. His brow furrowed before he fully understood the truth - but in a suddenly movement of realization he gasped and dropped her arms, pulling his hands back quickly.

"Charity... What..?!" He breathed horrified, shaking his head and taking a step back.

"Peter," Charity had never seen him like this before "I had an accident - it was my fault, but that doesn't matter. It's still me!"

"But..." Peter blinked and scratched his forehead "But what about your art? What about your music?"

Charity held back tears. "I... I can't do any of that, Peter..." she explained simply "But it'll be ok... right?"

Peter stared at her uncomprehendingly as he breathed heavily from shock. He didn't respond.

"Right...?" Charity repeated, taking a step closer.

Peter swallowed unsteadily, but nodded at his love. He held the side of her face, and took her hand gently in his own, stroking the remaining fingers. "Right." He agreed.

Charity cried and put her arms around him, just glad to have him back. "Common," she said, pushing him affectionately "You have to meet everyone."

Peter smiled his usual, charming, crooked grin, put an arm around her shoulders, and followed her out of the entrance bay. When they were out of sight of the agents, he stopped to steal a kiss.

"You have no idea how much I missed you..." Charity whispered in the hall.

"Yes I do..." He responded. He kissed her passionately - so passionately, that she didn't notice him slip a hand casually into his pocket to press a button.

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