verb.
To come or go back to a place or person.
noun.
The firing of a weapon to counter a shooter's shot.
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They recoiled from their pasts, and in doing so found each other.
But the universe isn't kind enough to let a moment of peace last.
It took se...
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Six stones, three teams, one shot.
Those words circulated Kat's mind on an endless loop as she shrugged on her jump suit over her old black tactical suit. She hadn't worn it since Wakanda – the battle damage had been mended, but this was the first time she had pulled it on since that day. The only difference now were the small SHIELD patches that Natasha had affixed to assist with her cover in the tower. No one would notice another agent wandering around in the aftermath of a battle.
It was quickly hidden, though, beneath the reinforced white panelling and red seams of the suits Tony had designed. Another logo sat on that item of clothing, one she had never worn before. A silver 'A', placed just over her heart. A visual confirmation that, whether she felt she deserved it or not, she was part of this team.
She was an Avenger.
Steadying her breath, she checked over herself once more; on the communicator nestled in her right ear, the bulk of the pistol concealed beneath the outer suit and the pressure of her knife pressing against her hip – they would all be accessible enough once Stark's nanotech dissolved her outer suit upon her arrival in 2012. Beneath it all, undetectable to anyone but herself, were the dog tags that lay reassuringly against her skin. Sweeping one hand over her ponytail, she glanced to Natasha, firing her an anxious smile as they turned to follow the others across the warehouse floor.
Outside the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, the sun was rising. The warm, orange glow was reflected off the mirrored plates that made up the structure of the Quantum Platform, casting shows over the control panel that had already been calibrated and programmed to see them through this. It wouldn't need a hand to guide it this time.
No one spoke as they ascended the ramp to the platform, taking their places around the edge of the surface in a circle. No one acknowledging how their hearts were thumping against their ribcages, how their blood was roaring in their ears. How it took such a conscious effort to keep their breathing steady as they grappled with the magnitude of what they were about to do.
They had each been briefed on the mission too many times. They knew it off by heart, but it wasn't much of a reassurance.
Six stones, three teams, one shot.
One shot.
Kat tried not to linger on that. The confirmation that there was only one opportunity to get this right. If they failed... Well, she couldn't linger on that thought either.
A gloved hand closed around hers in a tight squeeze. Natasha. Looking up at her friend, Kat caught the reassuring smile that she cast her, and the way her eyes were alight with something that she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Good luck." Natasha whispered softly as they others took their places, releasing her hand once Kat had returned her squeeze.
"You too." She replied, glancing to the others as they each cast their eyes around the circle. The heavy silence of anticipation was only broken by Steve clearing his throat softly.
