The Legacy of the Avengers

Chapter 42

Third Person POV
Brooklyn woke up to a slightly grey sky, not what she had remembered when they were fighting Thanos. Not what she remembered when she saw Thea either.

"Brooklyn?" Someone was calling her name from a distance.

She sat up, aching from head to toe. She looked around before she stood up. She was in a ditch or creek. Whether it was already there or she made it when she fell, she didn't know.

She used the edges to lift her to her feet. From atop a nearby hill, she could see a man. He was calling for her name. Brooklyn put on a smirk, "Hey!"

The man whipped his head around. With a smile, Steve ran down the hill to his daughter. He hugged her tight. He nearly thought he lost her.

"Are you alright? Any broken bones? Still breathing?"

"Dad, I'm alright. Just a little achy," she calmed the old man down.

"Alright, well, let's get you back to the others," he and his daughter began to ascend up the hill. Before they got very far, Steve sighed, "We...uh...We still haven't found Thea. It took us longer to find you two than the other four."

Brooklyn took her father's hand once he reached the top before her. She looked to her father, "How long did it take you to find me?"

He thought for a moment, "Five hours, I think."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah, we found you guys in the most remote places too."

"Brooklyn!"

She looked across the field. Most of her friends were there, smiling and very happy to see her. Most of them thought she was dead. And they weren't wrong completely.

She ran down to greet them. Leanne hugged her first. She was almost crying. Echo was next. She was crying. Artemis was also crying. Then she started to laugh. Alek hugged her too. Which was a surprise since he wasn't very emotional. Toni hugged her, crying too.

Tau and Nicole gave her hugs too. Castor hugged her as well, even though he wasn't necessarily comfortable with it. Castiel came up to her. He wasn't crying. He wasn't laughing. Brooklyn was almost concerned.

Then he hugged her. That really scared her. He didn't let go for a hot minute. Before he let her go, he gave a little sniffle that only Brooklyn could hear. She wasn't going to say anything about it though.

"We still haven't found-"

"Thea. Yeah I know."

"I'm...I'm really sorry kid," Bucky wrapped his mechanical arm around her shoulders.

"Well," Brooklyn took a deep breath, "I might know where she is. Everyone listened in as Brooklyn told them about the place she saw Thea at. All the adults became really sad. Luckily, Tony and Pepper weren't there. They were still out looking for her.

"Brook," Sam took a deep breath. "She probably didn't make it."

"But if I can come out of death, she can."

"No, she can't, Brooklyn. You're different. She's not like you."

"But she's strong. She can pull through this-"

"Brooklyn," Castiel interrupted. He shook his head trying to get her to stop.

Brooklyn was so furious that she could feel her eyes start to water, "I refuse to think that you've given up. All of you. I won't believe it until I see her dead body in front of me. We're the Avengers, goddamnit! We just defeated Thanos! If we can't find a missing girl, then what are we worth?"

The group split up and began to search. Meanwhile, across the field, was the girl that they were looking for.

Within Thea's own head, she was partially there and partially not. The reddish-orange terrain began to disappear around her. She was almost in a panic. But she was in a panic when Brooklyn disappeared too.

Thea closed her eyes, just wishing that it would all stop. When she reopened them, there was a slightly grey sky. As she lay on her back, she turned her head. She was laying in a grassy plane. She assumed it was from the stones.

She sat up. The air around her smelt of smoke and blood. It was a little disturbing. Especially not being able to see or hear anybody.

With care, she began to stand up. She fell whenever she put weight on her broken foot. She huffed, "Shit, I forgot about that."

She crawled over to a rock nearby. She used her good foot to push up. She was now standing with a little help from the rock. She examined herself.

Her suit was ruined to say the least. A lot of work to fix it. Her leg had dried blood on it, as to be expected. She was still able to move everything, but with pain. What'd you expect, Thea? She told herself. You just flew who knows how far into hard earth. You shouldn't be able to walk. You shouldn't be alive!

A pain shot through her hands. She gasped. She looked at them for herself. There were marks on her palms, despite that she had her suit on. They were almost like someone took a piece of glass and just cut across both of them.

"IANH?"

"I'm still here, Ms. Stark."

She gave a sigh of relief, "Good. Do an area search please? Look for my father or friends or...someone."

"Got it." After a few beeps, the AI spoke again, "The group have gathered together just beyond the hill ahead of you. However, your vitals are low. You might not make it there without pain. Would you like me to call one of them?"

"No," she glanced up to the hill before back down at her hands. "I can get there."

She began to limp to the hill. Her walkie talkie was still working. She nearly jumped as her friends began to call in.

"Thea?"

"Sis!"

"Where are you, Thea?"

"We're worried."

She got to the top of the hill. She smiled as she noticed her. Clumps of friends were crowded together talking to one another. "Hey guys. Why so worried?"

They all turned to the hill. With smiled and tears in their eyes, they cheered.

"I told you! I fucking told you!"

"Language."