ETHEREAL

ONE

~Obsessed with a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door or a lost kingdom~

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It had been a little over four months since the 'Mystery Woman' had appeared and killed Thanos before leaving without even introducing herself to anyone. The Infinity stones had also vanished with her and the Avengers were not happy about it. The stones were supposed to be placed back at the exact time that they had been taken, and since they didn't know where the stones were, it was turning into quite a problem. It took about two weeks for the whole team to heal from the battle, physically. 

Tony Stark had been running checks every day, after he had been discharged from the hospital, trying to locate the woman. However, even four months later he had not been able to find her. It was like she just hadn't existed till that day and had left to not exist all over again.

The Avengers had decided to meet up at Tony's cabin every Monday, since the Facility was still under construction after the battle, so that everyone was updated on the after-effects that the world was experiencing. It wasn't a mandatory thing since many people didn't have the time to visit every week. Today, however, everyone was coming and meeting for the second time after the battle.

Bruce was pacing in the room as F.R.I.D.A.Y. ran another set of checks and tests trying to locate the woman. Tony sighed as he watched his friend, already knowing that like that last thousand times, they weren't going to find anything. The rest of the members were yet to arrive.

Finally having enough, Tony stood up and gripped Bruce's arms. "Please stop doing that, it's freaking me out."

"Yeah well I'm freaking out Tony, how can this woman, who apparently does not have any proof of existence, just leave with the stones."

Bruce had promised the Ancient One that he would return the stone to her so that there weren't any repercussions. Not only that, but the stones literally controlled the existence of everything, so not knowing if they were in safe hands was stressing him out.

"I know Bruce, I know, but there's nothing we can do right now. Everyone is scared, okay. If those stones get in the wrong hands, things could really get fucked up. But there's nothing we can do right now. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is running tests twenty-four-seven. As soon as she finds something, we'll be the first ones to know."

As the day went by, cars starting pulling up as the Avengers arrived. Dinner was held outdoors since it was inconvenient for Bruce to have it indoors with his new 'best of both worlds' form. Everything was going by peacefully, the conversations were lighthearted and casual, for the first time in a long time, they all felt like things were going to be okay.

Although, they probably shouldn't have expected things to be okay, because things were never okay in their lives. F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice rang loud above the table "Mr stark, the woman has been spotted." Her voice caused a deafening silence before Bruce finally spoke up "Where?"

"In the town of Bolton Massachusetts Mr. Banner, but she is still unnamed", she responded robotically. They all sat there frozen as they realized what they heard.

Natasha took a deep breath "Let's go meet her." She owed her life to the woman, and even though everyone kept saying that she might be dangerous, deep down Natasha knew she wasn't. No one would ever save someone and then just leave without expecting anything in return or having any benefit from it.

"Tomorrow then, anyone who's free should come," said Steve while glancing at his best mate who had stiffened up since the news.

Bucky didn't know how to take the news. When he saw the woman, he was overcome with this emotion that he had never felt in his life. He felt overwhelmed, and yet ready to face the world. It was something he thought was unimaginable, until he felt it himself.