Clara closed the portal. She was only ten seconds behind where she was before she arrived in 1943 Brooklyn. Everything was the same, only now, her eyes seemed less bright, and they were filled with tears.
Everybody stared at the girl in heartbreak. Bucky's dog tags were sitting on the chain around her neck next to her key. Raven was the first to speak.
"What happened?" She asked softly. Clara slowly looked up, and they could tell she wasn't the same. Her eyes were trained on Fury.
"Why did you make me do that?" She asked, her voice cracking as she clenched her fist.
"Clara.." Steve trailed off. His memories of her were different, but he felt he knew her so much better.
"I couldn't do it, Steve. I couldn't save him. Everyday of my life, I had time in my hands. I could wield it like a weapon, or like a shield. I thought that time was on my side," Clara told the group. Looking down at her hands, she wished she was never born with those terrible powers.
"Wasn't it?" Natasha asked, feeling pain for the small girl who lost what innocence she had left. It was only 10 seconds for them, but it was two years for Clara.
"No, no. It was all a lie. Time was never on my side," Clara announced, looking up at the group. For once, she knew, there was no going back.
As Clara laid in her bed that night, she saw the sad faces of Peggy, Steve, and Howard when she informed them she had to leave.
Peggy's face held tears knowing that her best friend was so heartbroken and just needed a break. Occasionally, Clara would go back in time to visit Peggy. She told the woman about her powers how she wouldn't age when she went to visit Her. She watched Peggy get married, grow old, have a good, long life. Clara was even there for the founding of SHIELD. Peggy made it a must to have Clara's portrait hung up on the wall with Peggy, Howard, and Colonel.
Howard, well he was more complicated. Clara was his best friend, but he was also absolutely in love with her. It broke his heart when he found out Peggy had to go back to her time. He wanted to spend every aching moment with her, just like he spent every aching moment thinking about her. To Howard, Clara was always the one that got away. Even as he grew old and met Maria, he thought about the small, brilliant time traveler who deserved the world, and who the world didn't deserve. Clara visited him occasionally too. It even came to the point where Anthony, Howard's son, even called her Aunt Clara. It's a little awkward now if you think about it.
And Steve, oh Steve. He was in so much pain when he was informed Clara was leaving. He had just lost Bucky, and his other best friend, his only anchor left in the world, was leaving him. A wave of sadness raked over him. He gave the girl Bucky's dog tags that a search team looking for Bucky's body found. He knew she would want them. He really didn't want her to leave. But When Clara hugged him and whispered in his ear, he knew it was okay, though he was a it confused. Only a few days later, he crashed a plane into the Ocean, with him on board. But Clara knew she would see him again, because she held time in her hands.
"I'll see you in the future, Steven."
Clara missed her friends, Howard, and Peggy.
"Ridgewell! We need you, now!" Clara's thoughts were interrupted as Maria Hill yelled through the hall. Clara jumped up from her laying position. She only noticed it was almost mid day when she saw the outside where she had followed Hill.
