Retribution ★ Avengers

A Beautiful Catastrophe

"Who the hell happened you?" Marlena asked a little more firmly.

"Thanos," Steve breathed out. He didn't want to tell her, because he knew she'd do something stupid, and that was the last thing he wanted. From what he could see so far, Marlena was handling herself incredibly well, as well as remaining safe, considering the cosmic blue energy shield she had around her. But when Marlena lost control of her emotions, she essentially lost control of herself, or at least that was the way it used to be. Steve hoped he wasn't underestimating her.

"One can only hope he gets what's coming to him," Marlena muttered to herself as she very angrily finished off an approaching group of troops. She wasn't sure anyone apart from Steve could have heard her, but Rocket had, and the moment he opened his mouth she was ready to take off into the sky again.

"Why don't you find him and give it to him yourself, Four Eyes?" Rocket was over by Bucky shooting at the incoming, though he didn't miss a chance to turn and give Marlena that mocking smirk she'd grown to hate over the course of the years. "Or just let him find you. It can't be that hard. You look like a Christmas ornament...and not the pretty kind, Nutcracker."

Marlena rolled her eyes at the sound of his words, and in seconds a bright blue haze was lighting up the surrounding area. The creatures Rocket and Bucky were shooting at, as well as the ones Steve and Bruce were fighting, simply disintegrated beneath the strength of Marlena's abilities. The men stopped and looked at Marlena with surprised expressions on their faces, but she was too busy looking at Rocket to notice.

"Remember what I said about that jaw of yours?" Marlena threatened him, and although it was an empty threat at that, Rocket was still a bit surprised and only slightly afraid.

"I think I'm just gonna go over here," Rocket responded before running off.

"Can someone maybe tell me what the hell to do with the gauntlet?" Clint exclaimed breathlessly. He struggled to find a way out of the mess he'd gotten himself into. As long as he had the stones, he was the main target and he needed a break from it.

"Get the stones as far away as possible," Steve instructed him, though Bruce was quick to stop him.

"No, we have to get those stones back where they came from!"

"No way to get 'em back because Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel," Tony reminded the team.

"Hold on," Scott jumped into the conversation. "That wasn't our only time machine."

A god-awful car horn could be heard, and Marlena turned her head towards the noise. She and Steve took off through the rubble trying to find the van, but they couldn't spot it anywhere.

"Does anyone see an ugly brown van out there?"

"Yes," an accented voice answered. "But you're not gonna like where it's parked."

Marlena took a deep breath and took off into the sky again to see if she could assist Clint with the gauntlet situation. She was also looking for Thanos, as was Wanda, but she couldn't locate him. Not yet, at least.

"What happened to the gauntlet?" Marlena asked Clint after landing on the ground beside him.

"I gave it to the cat," he breathed out heavily. He was winded, but it was understandable. He'd been running around since the compound collapsed. There was no doubt he was exhausted.

"Good," Marlena said, placing a comforting hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

"Gotta be," he answered, though Marlena was quick to recognize the subtlety of his tone. He was referencing more than just the fight they currently fought, and she knew that. She just didn't want to think about the pain associated with it, though it was eventually what would drive her actions. Thanos hadn't killed Natasha with his bare hands, but he was still responsible, and Marlena was ready to make sure he paid for it.