More Than An Echo

8 : Bad Session, Good Questions

"Echo's missing!"

No one is surprised. Strange simply stands up from his place at the kitchen table and begins to walk down to her room.

"I'm serious- this is serious!" Peter yells seeing them all unfazed. He runs after Strange, following him down the stairs and into the hallway.

"Peter every time Echo "goes missing" she just needs some space, then she comes back just when-"

"This is different, I feel it."

"Well I feel like you're overreacting." Strange shoots back getting a certain piss-off-old-man look. Part of Strange is as worried as Peter, what if it was another PTSD attack? Or worse, Momentum? As he thinks his pace quickens and so does Peters until they're both racing down the hall. They come to Echo's door seeing it's wide open and almost crash into Echo herself. She grips the door frame as they both stumble back trying not to hit her. They both breathe a sigh of relief as Echo steps out closing the door behind her. She raises her eyebrows in curiosity waiting patiently for their explanation of why they almost steam rolled her.

"We uh I thought you... hi." Peter says nervously feeling stupid for worrying so much but realizing he has perfectly good reasons to worry, he continues.

"Wait but the blood and the curtains and-"

"I fell and tried to grab it for support, ended up opening up the wound but uh I fixed it. And I put all the towels back..." Echo finishes and Strange nods knowing it was only that, nothing more, as he knew. But Peter isn't convinced, there was too much blood, too much damage and besides even with a hurt leg she's more careful than that. He steps towards the door but she leans back against it placing her hand securely on the door knob.

"I fixed it." She repeats a little louder, looking at Peter silently asking him to let it go. His instincts are screaming at him to burst through the door and demand an explanation but looking at Echo he knows she's hurt, she's tried, she's obviously on the run. He puts his hands up in defense stepping back, not breaking eye contact. She let's go of the door nodding for him to go ahead of her, she smiles politely but he can see the seriousness in her eyes. How her eyebrows bend down and the wrinkles around her eyes fade making her everything but her smile, vacant and emotionless.

"You changed clothes." He states trying to break the tension as she follows him down the hall. Echo nods flattening down the oversized, grey I LOVE NEW YORK sweatshirt. Peter of course notices her lack of words but she is different and he has to start accepting some parts of that.

"Echo..." He starts thinking of Scott's advice and feeling crazy for taking it. "Am I-"

"Echo!" Tony calls from up the stairs covering Peter's attempt to ask anything. She turns away from Peter swearing she heard something but deciding to ignore it in fear she might not want to hear what he has to say. Echo walks up to the kitchen taking slow steps up the creaky wooden stairs while Peter follows behind. First to make sure she doesn't fall and second to make sure she doesn't make a surprise disappearance again. Echo appears in the doorway looking in on an odd sight that she isn't sure how to respond to. Wong is leaning against the counter explaining to Quill how he made his egg without scrambling it. Scott is sitting on the little kitchen table swinging his legs back and forth earning the death glare from Strange. And Stark is drinking coffee from one of the mugs watching her with curious eyes. She takes a deep breath, stepping into the room and instantly feeling out of place. She was used to that, but it was always her power that put her out of place and usually above everyone but this was not that. She felt left out from their casual conversations like she missed the last seven years of their lives which, of course, she did . She blinked a few times seeing as now all eyes were on her. She wasn't powerful or their general but she will have to make due.