Always Mine (An MCU Fanfiction)

24. Patagonia Adventure

I met up with Sylvia in Santiago. It had been years since we had last seen each other in person. Like with Austin and Ellie, there was no way I was going to risk having my maternal aunt traced.

"I saw you on TV," Sylvia explained as we headed to the hotel she had booked for a couple of days, while we picked up some supplies for the Patagonia trek. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you at the time. I was with some colleagues in Borneo, in an area where the reception was choppy."

"That's okay," I nodded. "I'm glad you weren't in New York during that time. It was so scary."

'But you were so brave,' Sylvia remarked, her voice filled with admiration. 'You faced a terrifying situation head-on.'

"It's only when the situation calls for it."

Like before, I left out the ordeal with Loki. I wasn't going to rope my maternal aunt into my issues. I still had Thor's explanation of me resembling his late sister-in-law on my mind.

Sylvia and I went out after I dropped off my bag in the room. I was still jetlagged from the flight and needed to move around. Otherwise, if I stayed in one place for too long, I'd end up falling asleep. I had been able to purchase a couple of energy drinks to help keep me wide awake.

We found a small restaurant where we shared a plate of empanadas. I told Sylvia about Craig, the breakup, and his claim that we were still together, despite having ended the relationship.

"He sounds like he has a hard time letting go," my aunt nodded as we each took a bite of an empanada.

"Yeah. He's also the reason why I left," I stated. "If I stayed too long with him around, I'd end up killing him if he started insulting any of my friends."

"At least you left before that could happen."

"For sure. However, my ex somehow managed to track me back in Dallas. I was able to get away from him and make the flight. And I left my badge behind, which would signal to everyone that I quit working for SHIELD after finding out Phil never died, and the others were in the dark about it."

"In a way, I'm glad you quit."

I perked up as Sylvia gave me a concerned expression. "Another colleague of mine who's an experienced hacker, like one of your friends, found out there were some questionable methods within the agency. I think it was what your parents uncovered, which got them killed before they could inform your boss." My aunt clarified.

Sylvia held a solemn expression as she mentioned my parents. Mom was her older sister. Both of them shared similar traits: auburn hair and blue eyes. After the deaths of my parents, Sylvia left the States and started looking into finding out what caused it as a side project. I knew that if she found something important, she'd let me know.

Our time in Santiago was spent finding supplies for the hike. If we forgot something, we'd pick it up in Punta Arenas, which was our starting point. The plan was to end in Ushuaia, where we'd decide what to do next.

Sylvia and I made it to Punta Arenas. After purchasing a tent that fit up to two people and some last-minute things for the trek, we boarded a bus along with other hikers heading for Torres del Paine National Park. My aunt and I met a couple of hikers from Canada who were vlogging their trip. I tried to avoid being on camera, so I turned my head in another direction. There was no telling if Craig would catch my location. Thankfully, Sylvia explained to the vlogging couple that I was camera-shy. I was glad none of the hikers recognized me from the prior year's event.

After arriving at the park, we trekked our way to one of the campsites for the night. Setting up our tent was no problem at all. Sylvia and I had dinner, which consisted of a couple of packaged meals we had brought with us.