Beyond The Stars (UNDER REVISION)

The Lady In The Blue Dress

I remove my helmet. "Did we get 'em all?"

"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodes smiles.

I look around at the group. I know something is wrong. My heart feels heavy. Clint falls to his knees and it clicks. "No..." I softly say. 

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asks. 

My breathing quickens. "No." I shake my head. "No." I walk back, needing to escape. I step too far and fall off the platform. "No." I scramble back. "No, no, no, no!" 

"Dri-" 

I scramble to my feet and run out of the room, tears streaming down my face. I keep running, as fast as I can. I don't stop until I almost fall off the edge of the dock. I close my eyes tightly. I take a deep breath to calm myself. Taking my shoes off, I start thinking of how to bring her back. I take a seat and hang my feet off the dock, letting them dangle in the water. I lay back and look up at the roof. I play with the gold ring on my finger. "If you were going to give me guidance, now would be the time to do it," I say. 

My eyes flutter open. There's a laugh above me. "You've fallen asleep again."  I look at the source of the voice. 

"Mom?" I look at my foster mother's face. She smiles at me. I look around again. I realize I'm in her old car. "Where are we going?" 

"You'll see." I sit up and look out of the window at the rolling trees.  My eyes trail to my reflection in the review mirror. I'm young again. I listen as my mom hums to the song on the car radio. "We're here," she says in a singsong voice as the car comes to a stop. 

I recognize the large building. "The library!" I yell. I unbuckle my seat belt and hop out of the car. 

"Now, you can pick 5 books, okay?" 

"Okay!" I run up to the door, leaving mom behind. I spent so long roaming the shelves by myself. Looking up at the top shelf, a book catches my eye. I set the books that are in my arms down on the ground. I begin to strain, trying to reach it. Suddenly, a hand comes above my own and grabs it for me.

"Need some help?" a soft woman's voice says as she pulls the book down. I turn around the see a very tall and skinny woman with soft brown hair, all tied into a braid on her shoulder. She's wearing a long blue dress. She hands me the book. I admire the gold ring on her finger. "The History of Don Quixote? That's quite a long book." 

I smile at the lady, adding the book to my pile. "They all are. I need these to last me the month." I carry the heavy stack of books in my arms. 

"Sometimes, the weight put on us by others is far less than the weight we put on ourselves, you know." 

I laugh softly. "Okay, miss. Thank you for grabbing the book." I begin walking off.

"Let me help you with that."

"No, I've got it. Thank you though." I turn the corner and leave the lady in the blue dress by herself. 

The sun shines in my eyes. I move my forearm to block the bright light. I hear footsteps approaching. I sit up and turn to see my friends all walking to the dock. I rub the sleep from my eyes, thinking back on my dream. They all take seats around me, staying silent. After a very long, but comforting few minutes, Tony speaks up. "Do we know if she had family?"

"Yeah... Us." 

Thor walks to Steve and Tony. "What?" 

"Huh?" Tony asks.