Rescue

Heartache

An emotional one everyoneWarning: some spoilers from Lorien Legacies, probably

Hope you enjoy

11 was furious. How dare he? How DARE he insult my parents? He didn't even know them. "FRIDAY, how do I get to the testing field from here?"

"I can direct you to it."

"Thank you."

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"Steve, seriously, what is wrong with you?" Clint nearly shouted.

Steve looked horrified, "I feel so bad. I- I didn't-"

"Next time, think before you speak," Natasha's tone was dark.

"FRI, where is the kid going?" Tony asked.

"He's at the testing grounds, Boss."

Sam looked concerned: "There are experimental weapons there."

"FRI, pull up footage," Tony ordered.

The present Avengers all turned toward the hologram as it displayed the testing grounds. On it they saw 11 in the center of the field, just standing there. They watched as he lifted his hand and blue flames exploded from his palm, quickly engulfing his arm, then his body. He stretched his arms forward and the tree directly in front of him exploded into shrapnel, the shrapnel flying towards him in a blur. It swirled violently around 11, quickly turning into a flaming cyclone terrible to behold.

They didn't know when he started floating, but now, 11 was fifteen feet off the ground. 11 flung his arms out, hands clenched in fists, and threw the flames surrounding him into a continuous stream in front of him, spinning rapidly as he did.* Everything surrounding him caught fire and burned rapidly; nothing went untouched.

Then, 11 curled up into a tight ball, drawing the fire to his center; with a scream, he released the energy in a devastating wave of fury. The fire disappeared as quickly as it appeared, but the devastation remained. 11 floated for a moment, shoulders sagging, and looked broken as he then sank to his knees and fell limp, silent tears falling down his face. Tony shut down the video. None of the Avengers noticed Natasha had disappeared.

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They're gone. They're gone. They're gone. 11 couldn't think anything else, couldn't feel anything else. They're gone. They're gone. They're gone. Why did they have to be gone? He was alone. His only family was on another planet. Alone. Alone. Alone. Why did he have to be alone?

He didn't know how long he stayed there, crying; but when he felt warm arms embrace him, he didn't hesitate to hug back. He gripped them tightly and sobbed until his throat hurt. The arms felt like his mother's: slender yet strong—caring. Gone. Gone. Gone. She's gone. He's gone. They're both gone. Why? Why? Why? Why did they have to be gone?

"Shhh, shhh, I know. I know it's hard." A warm voice. "I know it hurts; but they aren't gone. They're with you now, watching, comforting you. They still love you. It's ok to mourn." He couldn't cry anymore; there were no more tears. "I can't promise it will stop hurting one day. Some days, it will hurt more than now. But you will survive; there is hope." Hope. The last thing 11 felt before he fell into an exhausted sleep was a soft kiss pressed into his hair.

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