the strongest avenger

twelve

"Holding as in, a prisoner?"

"I think so. You were terrified, like absolutely terrified when any of us came near you. You would flinch at loud sounds and anytime someone reached out to touch you. It got a little better over time."

"Was I tortured or some shit?"

"Probably. You never told us. Wanda refuses to tell us what she saw in your mind."

Talia nods her head. "I guess it makes some sense, like whenever I try to think about my "mother"," she uses air quotes. "it's all blurry and I get a headache. Or whenever I think about Sokovia. It just gets fuzzy."

Steve's quiet as he lets Talia think.

"Who's idea was it?"

"Tony. I remember him telling us to act cool that morning. And then later you had came out and you were talking to all of us like—like you had known us your whole life." Sam explains.

"I'm mad that he didn't ask me. He could've asked me to get my opinion. If I was as bad as you're saying then I probably would have agreed to it."

"Maybe." Steve says.

"You were scary in the conference room."

"What?" She asks Sam.

"When you were listening to Tony. Your eyes went blue, your lightening was everywhere. And then when you stormed off you shocked everyone and there were flames and shit. Scary man."

She furrows her brows. "Oh."

"I don't think you realized you were doing it. You had your gloves on, but...they weren't doing anything. The room got hotter and everything."

Talia flips her hair over my shoulder. "You could just say I'm a badass Sam."

He chuckles. "You are a badass my friend."

For the first time that day, Talia finds herself laughing and smiling.

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️

Peggy's funeral was very fancy. Talia had sat next to Sam, while Steve was on the other side. She was intrigued when Sam had told her that Sharon was Steve's neighbor, but was posing as someone else.

Talia found it all confusing.

The funeral was over and they were about to leave when one Natasha Romanoff entered the Church. It was empty, besides Steve and Tal as Sam had left for the wake afterwards.

"When I came out of the ice," Steve starts as Nat reaches them. "I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out she was alive. I was just lucky to have her."

"She had you back too."

"Who else signed?"

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision." Nat says.

"Clint?"

"Says he's retired."

"Wanda?"

"TBD."

"I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet."

Steve sighs.

"Just because it's the path of lease resistance, doesn't mean it's the wrong path." The redhead says.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's the wrong path." Tal says while crossing her arms.

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it. We'll have to be registered and all that shit, meaning they'll know i'm an alien or whatever, meaning that I shall become a lab rat."