//------------------------------// // Chapter 107 – Welcome Home // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 107 Earth Upstate New York New Avengers Facility 8:47 p.m. Natasha Romanoff knew much about loss in her life. For the young girl who didn’t even know who her parents were, taken to the Red Room Academy to be utterly changed both mentally and physically, and faced nearly every storm imaginable through a long, painful, and troublesome life. One would not find much joy or comfort within that darkness, nor find a reason to look to the next tomorrow. It was only until she became part of a team did she find that belonging, after Clint Barton was ordered to kill her and instead chose to ignore those orders, bring her to another home she never thought existed. She found that team with S.H.I.E.L.D., lost it like most of the world had when HYDRA infected it, and found another team—a permanent team—with the Avengers. They had faced greater storms, far greater challenges than the world could ever handle on their own, but they always came out on top. Natasha could always rest easy knowing they always won in the end. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days. She could hardly sleep at all, spending most of her nights trailing the New Avengers Facility alone. Utterly alone. She sat that way, near the various windows lining the facility and the garden specifically. A lone tree sat within the small garden, meant to bring a small snippet of life within the massive complex. Despite that life, it only reminded Natasha of what they failed to preserve, the Black Widow gazing sadly to the raindrops falling from the tree branches. Several lights warmed the facility and brought light to the garden under the blackness of night, cascading an even greater shadow passed Natasha. The facility was so quiet. Natasha even quieter. Steve Rogers hardly fared any better. After weeks of straining and stressing, Steve found seldom comfort to just take a moment to freshen up. He stood alone in the bathroom, tapping the razor on the edge of the sink and plucking the lone towel off its stand to dry his face. When he brought the towel down, his beardless face gazed solemnly to his own reflection. The scars and bruises from past battles had healed remarkably fast, yet they left their mark in other ways. Steve sighed, leaning forward and pressing his palms on the edges of the sink. Even moments of rest could not truly be filled without concern infecting it. There was no other way to go about it but confront the issue head-on, and that was all they had been doing for weeks on end. They hadn’t come any closer since they first begun, Steve’s heart only further falling when the death toll continued to rise. The world called upon them but there was nothing more they could do. The deed had already been done. Thanos won. All they could really do—all they tried to do—was pick up the pieces. And Steve never felt more utterly small while doing so as the leader of the Avengers. Turning back to his reflection, Steve pursed his lips and sighed through his nostrils. The day had ended, and all he could do was look towards another tomorrow. But even that was halted when James Rhodes called out, “Hey, the pager just turned off!” Time seemed to freeze, much like Hell had for Steve right at that moment. For more than three weeks, nothing had changed or diverged from every other waking moment in the facility. They would count the dead worldwide, maintain contact with Equus and their status, search the stars for their lost Avengers, and stare at the pager that never seemed to acquire contact with anyone. That was the routine and it never changed for three weeks straight. Until then. Grabbing his black shirt and quickly stuffing it over him, Steve ran out of the bathroom and congregated into the living room, where Rhodes was waiting with an already large gathering. They consisted of Melinda May, Bruce Banner, Frank Castle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pepper Potts, Matthew Murdock, and Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow turned to Steve the same moment Rhodes had, both of them confronting the First Avenger and James offering him the blank pager. “Did the battery die?” Steve asked, thumbing over the ancient device. James shook his head. “The battery’s fine. It just shut off out of nowhere.” “Well, reboot it, get it back on or something,” Steve retorted, handing the pager back to him. “Whatever Fury wanted it for, it was still sending a message. We still need to find out who was on the other end of that line—” “Guys.” Steve’s voice failed him, both he and Rhodes turning accordingly with Natasha shortly following. They weren’t alone. May turned away from Steve’s conversation to focus back to the settlement of chairs scattered about throughout the living room. Frank, Banner, Pepper, and the two mares all followed, too, all eyes in the dark living room centering on the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Murdock sat on a lone chair, a plain white shirt and jeans joining him while his tinted glasses remained on the nearest coffee table. He sat with his back faced to them, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees. Staring forward and nowhere else. His eyes were so wide that he simply refused to blink, seeing only that burning world but hearing so much more than that. He felt the vibrations that no one else could, listened to those strange, alien sounds descending further and further from the soft rain clouds above. And it only grew. It got loud enough for Matthew to assume it was coming their way. And it was. And he said, “We got incoming.” The next thing they knew, they were all following Murdock outside of the New Avengers Facility to step foot on the wet, summer grass. The rain had nearly depleted, a mere sprinkle hitting every single one of them once they stepped out from the shadow of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. And once they did, they were greeted to the sight of the Benatar itself hovering down to them. Only, its engines were dark. It was heavily damaged. And someone else was holding it. From Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Rhodes, Melinda, Castle, Matthew, Rainbow, and Rarity, every last one of them wore that look of complete disbelief. It infected every last one of their expressions. Neither one of them were coherent enough to take the lead, take that next step forward. But it was Pepper Potts who led that group further onto the grass, her heart aching to see the very ship Steve had told her Tony had flown off in. It descended and landed softly on the facility’s grass, the landing gear extending outwards and prompting the Benatar to remain standing. It was so silent to follow. The pitter-patter of the soft rainfall was all they could hear impacting the Benatar’s metal surface. They could not speak. They could not breathe. They could only stare to that lone individual standing beneath the massive ship, the one who literally carried it from the sky and let it down on the earth itself. So gently. So powerfully. They could only stare… Captain Marvel turned to them, her helmet materializing back into her suit and revealing that long, golden hair flowing down to her shoulders. Her expression fully showed that concern to them, a golden array of lights literally shimmering from her body as it slowly began to die down. The lights faded, leaving just her and that agape expression meeting theirs. She breathed. She breathed Earth’s air, the first time in twenty-three years. It felt good. Though, they could not stare at her forever. The ramp of the Benatar painfully opened, nearly crashing against the grass to showcase the amount of damage the ship had sustained. He stumbled down the steps, the team of Avengers, Defenders, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and ponies all gasping when they finally saw them. They witnessed Tony Stark stumble down bare foot and nearly breathless already, taking in a gasp of air with Twilight clutched in his bone-thin arms. Pepper cried out, rushing forward and catching Tony just as his feet touched the wet grass. “Oh, my God!” Pepper cried, hands gripping the sides of Tony’s face and pressing her lips firmly to his. Her face contorted, fresh tears slipping through the pain as she broke away and met his gaze. Tony’s expression shattered just as worse as hers, perhaps even more so to see a familiar and loving face. One he never thought he would see again. “Hey Pep…” he weakly stuttered. As the tears slipped down her cheeks, Pepper nearly crushed Tony in a hug, Stark breathing heavily as his free hand found its way on the back of her head, holding her close. Never letting go ever again. Twilight was caught in-between their hug, the Alicorn chuckling softly before falling into a fit of coughs. It was the first moment Pepper actually noticed the pony in Tony’s arms, Potts taking a step back to stare at her fully. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Ms. Potts,” Twilight greeted with a weak grin. She couldn’t offer anything more, another series of coughs leaving the Alicorn. Tony let her down to join her friends, Twilight almost instantly bombarded by both Rarity and Rainbow Dash, both ponies capturing Twilight in a powerful hug. They eased off shortly after noticing Twilight’s current condition, Rarity analyzing her as best as her medical eye could offer and assuring Twilight that they needed to give her plenty of soft foods and water. Only as they made their way back to the facility, the visible limp and wound on Twilight’s hind leg spelled that a far more serious treatment was necessary. Bruce joined them, followed closely by May offering her medical expertise to Twilight. Nebula sat down at the bottom of the steps, staring at their reunion. From Tony Stark and his beloved wife-to-be, the Avengers with their own, and the ponies with their princess and friend. It was comforting to see, to know their journey—though it had ended in failure—had finally come to a close. They were safe amongst allies. Her eyes slowly fell, that somber silence filling the lonesomeness that surrounded her. Then, she spotted that pair of shoes stand in front of her, Nebula lifting her eyes. Frank and Matt approached her, Castle holding out his hand for Nebula to grip. It took several seconds, the Luphomoid unsure of what they were doing, but in the end… accepting it nonetheless. Accepting them nonetheless. She gripped his palm, allowing Frank to pull her back to her feet. To her continued surprise, she watched as Murdock laid his hand softly on her shoulder, Nebula flinching back only momentarily. He did it again, and that time Nebula didn’t move. She allowed them to take her back to the facility, the promise of a warm meal and water giving her the strength to join them. To accept them and what they offered. Steve helped Pepper with Tony, Stark telling him, “I lost Thor. I lost them.” “It’s okay, Tony,” Steve whispered to him, assuring Stark that everything was under control, that he didn’t need to worry any longer. Seeing Tony stand as a near-skeleton was ominous enough. They didn’t need him—in his current state—to worry. He handed off Tony to Rhodes, the rest of the team following them into the facility with Stark constantly whispering that he “lost them”. Leaving just Steve and Natasha to fear exactly what he meant. It was just him, Twilight, and Nebula who stepped off that ship. Except… They both turned around almost simultaneously, both witnessing Captain Marvel approaching them. Her eyes no longer held that concern from earlier, but a fiery intensity that matched the shimmer of golden rays clutched to her body from earlier. While Natasha hardened her guard, Steve instantly noticed the symbol resting on her chest, right over her heart. The star. Matching the pager exactly. He lifted his eyes to meet her own, and Carol Danvers asked, “Where’s Fury?”