Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Alternative Ending: 1.5

Whoop, a lot of this is the same as the original storyline, but like I said, I want to make these full stories :)

Katya had no idea why walking into the Compound felt like a walk of shame. She had recently gotten to know what that was, since she hadn't ever slept around before. Now she had though, and she couldn't help but drop her head when she walked into the building that used to be the hangar. 

Now, it was empty. Because without Avengers, there was no need for a whole fleet. Some boxes lined the walls of the huge shed, white walls and floors and the huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the left wall letting a lot of light in. Everyone stopped what they were doing when Clint walked in, Katya not far behind.

With her long blonde hair in a tight ponytail, she couldn't hide behind it. And she had forgotten to change too, so in her murderous outfit, she faced her friends. Nice entrance.

To her surprise - or no, not really - Tony abandoned his work, dropped his tablet and stepped closer to her, as if he couldn't believe she was here. Katya had no idea what he would do, his face hard to read. But then he opened his arms and pulled her against him. 

The hug surprised her so much that it took a while until Katya hugged him back, relaxing into the first real hug in five years from someone who actually knew her. ''Stark,'' she whispered in greeting, forcing her tears down.

''Petrova.'' He pulled back, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he looked her up and down, Katya nervously waiting for whatever he would see next. ''Looking as badass as ever.'' 

She couldn't help but chuckle. Of course he would say something completely out of context, ignoring how she wore she clothes of a killer. 

''Congratulations on the kid. I hope she's funnier than you,'' she said in the same dry tone, challenging him to retaliate. But he didn't, he just narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips while she stared at him.

''Ah, I see you haven't lost your humor, that's a good sign.'' He moved so they faced the same direction, placing his arm around her shoulders. And surprisingly, Katya let it lay there. It felt good to be hugged again. ''Come on, I'll introduce you to the new team.''

The ''new team'' consisted of the old team, plus some people Katya never officially met. That meant the walking and talking raccoon that introduced himself as Rocket. She had seen him in Wakanda, but only for a split second. Thor was too drunk to have a normal conversation with. Katya eyed his large belly with a frown. He had taken their failure as bad as she.

And there was Bruce, who was now some weird mixture of himself and the Hulk. His skin green, reaching up as high as the Hulk, but with the brains of Bruce. Honestly, he weirded Katya out. 

Only one person she hadn't met yet. A blue woman with the name of Nebula. Apparently, she was with Rocket, and their entire team had disappeared in space with Tony. Nebula stared at Katya, the blonde staring back, an immediate hostility growing. Both assassins, they silently vowed to stay out of each other's hair. Not trusting the other.

Katya expected a whole explanation from Tony how the time travel worked exactly, expecting a catch somewhere. But it was as simple as Clint had told her. Use the Quantum tunnel to travel back in time, get the Stones from specific places, bring them back to 2023, snap. Oh right, one catch, they only had enough rounds to go once. So every single mission had to succeed, no time for failure.

It felt familiar, standing between the heroes. Five years wasn't that long of a time if you were among family. They accepted her within a heartbeat, as if she had never left. Katya felt uneasy and guilty though, like she had let them all down. So she stayed on the sidelines, not mingling too much.