War

Chapter 11

"So, care to tell us where the three of you have been while our team was going down the drain?" Steve stared mainly between Bruce and Raptor as he let the question slip into the summary he'd been giving them for what had happened with the Avengers.

Raptor glanced towards the floor of the plane, unsure what to say, while Banner started his awkward explanation about what he could remember from being on Sakaar. It was unusually detailed considering he'd been the Hulk most of the time but then again it was also odd he hadn't been able to turn into the green monster since returning to Earth.

Then it was her turn. Raptor hesitated before looking up and stared at him, hoping he wouldn't dare question her loyalty like she expected him to. "I needed to get away from the hero job. Everything got complicated after the whole thing with Red Skull, Mordo, and Loki... It was easier to clear my head alone without Stark or anyone else questioning me."

"You helped Loki escape."

"I owed him one." Raptor huffed in annoyance. "Besides, it's lucky I did... I'm sure Pietro and Bruce can agree we all would be dead on Asgard- or Bruce would've been at least- if Loki hadn't shown up with that ship."

"You never even tried to explain yourself. That didn't help your situation."

"I didn't want to contact you even if I had anything to do so."

Steve leaned back and seemed to think for a moment before speaking again. "What you did wasn't the right path of action to take. It was dangerous and could've gotten you into worse trouble. Before the Avengers split Tony was working on a project just to take you out. He shut it down after we presumed you dead-"

"He did it after I threatened to destroy it and get the team involved." Pietro corrected. "You presumed her dead after I said I was going to find her."

"And you were right. But you shouldn't have just ran off like that with everything going on."

"Hold on, go back." Raptor gave Pietro a look before he could make another retort at Steve. "Did you say Tony was building something just to kill me? Huh... almost flattered by that."

"That isn't the point."

"Then spit it out Cap."

"I trust you to help take out Thanos with the rest of the team but one misstep or sign you're about to abandon the team again or go against orders and you'll lose any trust we have left for you."

"Harsh." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously though. I expect nothing less."

Steve nodded and stood up to go help Rhodes and Sam with piloting the ship. Raptor stared at him as the two talked quietly before looking over at Wanda and Vision. The pair had watched the conversation quietly and she suspected it was because they'd received similar disapproval over meeting up after the team split and didn't want to hear it again.

"So..." Bruce broke the silence. "Does anyone have a plan for when Thanos shows up?"

"We'll protect the stone and Vision as long as we can so Thanos doesn't get to them." Wanda responded instantly.

Vision looked less than happy with the response. "Not if it means risking the whole world. Remember, if it comes down to it then you know what you'll have to do-"

"No! It won't come to that!"

"I am sure we will have a plan to ensure it won't." Pietro offered, trying to calm his sister.

Raptor nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure Steve and his friends know what to do. They sounded pretty advanced with their technology."

Pietro shot her a grateful look for helping calm his sister- not that it seemed to be working too well. Still, they landed without further arguments over Vision's potential fate or threats on if she showed any signs of betrayal. Steve walked over to the pilot seats and gave Rhodes and Sam coordinates before sitting back down. A moment later there was light turbulence; a glance at the windshield showed the glowing form of a force field warping around the jet as they flew through it. Raptor's heartrate picked up with anticipation at the thought of the upcoming fight as they began to land. Would she be of use against Thanos' army of aliens?

"That's a dumb concern... I've fought humans, robots, demigods, mutations, and super powered beings. This won't be much different right? Just aliens... I helped deal with two of them already..." She looked at Pietro as he continued speaking quietly with Wanda. "But... Infinity Gems? Thanos had destroyed Thor's ship- his people- without even half of them... So what chance do we have? I can't let him hurt Pietro..."