"GOOD MORNING, LEENA."
As soon as the automatic voice resounded around her, she glanced up at the ceiling with a small quirk of her eyebrow.
"Hi, F.R.I.D.A.Y."
Leena glanced around the spacious training room that Peter had informed her about but she had yet to use it for she had been hiding away over the past few days, avoiding the Terrains, more specifically, avoiding the God of Thunder. She had taken to staying in the confines of her four-walled room, mulling over ideas to bring back the dead and await for the transporter to reveal Thanos' position.
She had no ideas. Nor did she know where Thanos was.
She was driving herself insane thinking about it. So, in an attempt to quell her rising insanity, she had finally plucked up the courage to visit the training room. Not only was it for her sanity but she was also itching to stab something that she imagined to be Thor's godly body.
But as she looked around the room, Leena was wondering where she should start. It was the second time that the Terrain's had managed to impress the Daughter of Thanos. Leena couldn't help her widened eyes as she glanced around the training room.
There were different sections, each section divided by clear panelling. There must have been at least twelve sections, six on either side. Leena cast her eyes towards the first section on her left. She stepped towards the panels to glance inside where she noticed swords hanging on a metal bar.
She stepped back. Leena went to walk towards the next section only to pause when she heard a soft click of a door behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed Steve as he entered the training room. His eyes widened slightly, almost apologetically. He was adorning a shirt that clung to him like a second skin and dark grey sweatpants.
"Sorry, I didn't know that anyone was in here," Steve called out, his voice bouncing around the training room. His lips had pulled up into their usual soft smile.
Leena shook her head, "don't worry. I was just — I'll leave."
She felt her cheeks burn slightly. Leena felt lost. She didn't want to be here while he was here.
"It's pretty big, right?" Steve said with a small laugh, running a hand through his long dark blonde hair. He placed his hands on his hips and looked around the training room. "It's kind of intimidating, not knowing where to start."
For a brief moment, Leena halted her footing. She stood still while Steve walked towards her, his eyes wandering around the room. She, too, glanced around once again. The room was too big for her. She felt small. She didn't like feeling small. Nor did she like training with others in the room. She trained alone once Gamora had left her.
Her heart clenched.
Gamora.
Leena ignored the burning feeling in the back of her eyes, blinking quickly, and locking her gaze on a wall that had hooks attached to it. A jacket or two hung from the hooks.
"All I ever really wanted was just a punching bag, and that's about it," Steve continued on, not questioning Leena's sudden flushed cheeks. "Tony —" Steve breathed out, casting his eyes down, "— Tony liked everything big. And flashy. He actually added a couple new sections while I was away."
"Away?" Leena queried, shifting to face the Soldier. But once she noticed a glazed over look in his light blue eyes, she immediately retracted her question, "I didn't mean to intrude."
Steve shook his head, his smile still present, almost acting as a calming mechanism on the young woman. "No, it's fine. We — the Avengers — we had a disagreement, and I made a mistake and betrayed Tony. It separated us until Thanos happened." Steve paused for a moment. He breathed in deeply, "until Thanos, we hadn't seen each other for two years."
Leena said nothing for a couple of seconds. She was slightly surprised at his words. The way that they interacted with one another didn't appear as if there were any disagreements. She supposed losing half of your team would override any previous problems.
"That must have been hard for you," Leena said quietly. She felt her throat tighten when Steve looked at her. There appeared to be a flicker of curiosity on his face.
"It was," he admitted. His voice was full of emotion, deepening as the memories flooded back. Steve cleared his throat, changing the subject. "So your go-to is swords?"
Leena felt her lips twitch. There was an air of amusement dancing around his words. "How would you guess that?"
"Well I have been up close and personal with one," Steve teased.
She bit down on the inside of her cheek to avoid letting out a laugh. "About that—"
Steve was already shaking his head and cutting her off, "I understand. We don't need to mention it again. It's forgotten about."
Leena was curious as to why Steve was so quick to forgive her. If she had tried that on any of her siblings, or if she dared even think about doing that to Thanos, then she would be thrown in the torture chamber for days on end. She wouldn't leave until her skin was stained in her blood and her throat was torn from screaming.
She briefly thought about how Steve's close friend, the hero with the metal arm, was constantly watching her with a brooding stare. Apparently he hadn't forgotten about it.
"What about you?" Leena found herself asking. She was ignoring the nagging feeling that told her she should turn on her heel and leave. Why was she wasting her time in getting to know the Soldier? What was she doing?
Steve headed towards a section on the right, it was the third one down. Leena blindly followed behind him. She glanced inside the panelling and noticed a punching bag towards the far left of the room while the other side was padded with mats. It was a sparring room. When Steve pointed at the punching bag, she released a small snort.
"You enjoy punching people?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't like bullies. That's all."
Leena thought about his reply for a moment. It was an odd statement. She tilted her head as she stared at the blonde haired man, and it was in that moment that Leena realised why he forgave her.
He was good.
She had felt an odd air around him, it was something she had never encountered before she met him, and even the young boy, Peter, was akin to having a similar presence. Steve was pure. They both were. Leena had never met someone like that. Throughout the Cosmos, Leena had only encountered the foul beings that sought to rule by chaos, they abided by her fathers cruel reign. There had never been a pure soul in reaching distance of the young woman, not until she met the odd group of Terrain's, where he stood out like a blinding light.
"And that's why you fight?" Leena continued to press, she was curious about the man before her.
He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes misting with a fog of memories. "There's too much hatred in the world, too many bullies that have power they abuse. I don't like innocent people getting hurt, and the bullies are always the ones hurting innocent people."
Leena pursed her lips. She was completely and utterly enthralled by his motives. It wasn't for power or greed or even revenge.
Steve Rogers was a good man.
Leena glanced down at her gloved hands. Her hands were stained with innocent lives. Leena supposed she was the bully that Steve fought against.
"You can't save everyone," the cynic in her mumbled.
Steve shrugged his shoulders, not letting it affect him as he glanced down at her. "We can try."
She looked up, meeting his light blue eyes. Two different worlds colliding in their stares. One who lived around hatred and evil, and burning fires for power and greed. The other was brought up seeing the purity and kindness of innocents, innocents that need defending.
She was their attacker. He was their defender.
Leena had never felt so different to someone. How could she stand next to him, when they were so starkly different from one another? How can she fight beside him?
"Do you want to train?" Steve asked, unaware of her inner turmoil. Or perhaps he was aware, as he offered her a soft smile.
He lifted his hand up and pressed it against the screen on the outside. It scanned over his hand before beeping and flashing green, and a panel sliced between another one, opening up the room. "Although, there is no shame in backing out."
Leena narrowed her eyes at the teasing glint that twinkled in his. She was good at fighting. She was trained by Gamora, and Gamora was one of the best in the Galaxy. Thanos made sure of that.
"Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow. Steve nodded his head, a bemused smile on his face. She stepped inside of the room, pushing Steve out of the way without a thought. "Well off you go then, Soldier. I don't particularly want to see you cry. I don't like it when people cry."
Steve breathed out a chuckle as he stepped inside the room after her. The panel sliced closed behind him and they darkened to black while the lights brightened. He walked towards another screen attached to the wall and tapped it.
"Good morning, Captain."
"Hi, F.R.I.D.A.Y." Steve replied as a cool breeze was released over them from the vents up above. He turned towards Leena, and threw his water bottle down onto the floor, and kicked off his shoes. "Do you need to practice or anything?"
"Don't patronise me, Captain," Leena mocked as she unzipped her black jacket and threw it onto the floor beside her own shoes. Her arms were bare besides from the gloves that covered her hands. She noticed Steve briefly glance at her brown tattoo but he said nothing of it as he rolled his shoulders and stepped onto the padded mat.
Leena couldn't help her rising excitement. She was excited to spar him. It had been a week since her last fight with the metal armed hero, Bucky, on Droag. Regardless, Leena was itching to fight. It was exciting to train alongside another person. She was curious to see how Steve fought.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Steve shot back. His eyes carefully glided over her body, his face blanking as he resumed a defensive stance.
Leena wandered her gaze over his own body, noticing that he had taken to defence almost immediately. He wasn't going to attack her first. Leena pondered her moves for a split second before reaching her left fist out. Steve blocked it with ease.
She was holding back. She barely knew the man before her, nor did she want to accidentally harm him and risk angering the Asgardian God who despised her. So, she held her punches, she was sure that he was doing the same.
She threw a punch with her right fist. He blocked it again. The twinkle in his eyes never burned out.
Leena tilted her head before lifting her left leg up, only to suddenly pull it back and throw a punch towards his side, landing it nicely on his ribs. Steve's jaw ticked but the twinkle burned brighter.
He responded with his own punch, narrowly missing Leena as she dodged out the way. Fortunately for her, she was smaller than him, and had less body to move. He was a second behind her in response time.
He blocked punch after punch until Leena faltered slightly and he was able to wrap his leg around hers and pull, causing her to falter and buckle to her knees in front of him. Leena felt her heartbeat rise when Steve looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. She went to punch him, just below the waist only for his eyes to widen and block her. She grabbed his wrists, twisted, and he buckled to his knees, his face contorting in pain.
She hastily got to her feet, only to fall back on one knee as she wrapped her arm around his neck, her chest pressing against his back. She held him tightly, but with just the right amount of space for him to breathe.
"I think you'll find that I—"
Before Leena could declare herself the winner, Steve had grabbed ahold of her arms and bent forward, he pulled her over his shoulder. Her body slammed against the padded floor with an oomf leaving her lips while he pinned her wrists down.
"Actually, I think you'll find that I—"
Steve barely finished his sentence before Leena had lifted her knees up, in between his legs, and used his fleeting moment of pain to roll them over.
"I win!" Leena shouted, holding his large wrists in her hands. A burst of excitement appeared on her face as she allowed a relieved grin to form on her face. "I win."
Admittedly, Steve was an impressive fighter, not that she would let him know that.
Steve looked at her in disbelief. "I disagree."
"I disagree with your disagreement."
"What?"
"What?"
"Are you copying me?"
"Are you—"
"If you're both finished."
Both Leena and Steve, who had to awkwardly turn his head to the side, looked at the metal armed hero that was standing in the entranceway with a blank expression on his face.
"Nebula's on the line."
Bucky glanced over the two of them while Leena pushed herself up and held a hand out for Steve to grab a hold of. He held onto it and pulled himself into a standing position, a trickle of sweat dripping down the side of his face.
"She wasn't suppose to call for another week to check in?" Steve asked, confusion layering his words. "Is everything alright? Are they okay?"
Bucky shrugged his shoulders, his brows still furrowed and eyes narrowed, as he watched Leena grab her jacket and pull her shoes back on. "I don't know, Steve. All I know is that she wants you two there."
"It's still early out," Steve mumbled as he looked at the clock on the screen while he grabbed his water bottle and shoes. "I hope nothing bad has happened."
Leena wrapped her jacket around her waist, keeping her eyes stoically on the floor. Nothing bad would have happened. Right? She had only been gone for a week now. At the two week mark she was supposed to call to check in, to see if she had quenched the rising revolution in the galaxies, and if she had heard word on how to bring back the dead.
Once Steve and Leena were ready, the three of them made their way out of the training room, and walked down a long, empty hallway. The only sounds echoing around them were their boots, padding softly against the tiled floor. Leena was walking ahead of the two Soldiers, her brain occupied with questions about Nebula's sudden communication. Questions she would only have answers for once she had spoken to her sister.
It was at least ten minutes of walking before they reached the usual meeting room in the Compound. Leena recognised the hologram of her sister immediately, however she cast her eyes over a new hologram of a dark-skinned woman with tattoos, beside Nebula's picture.
Natasha had been speaking with the other woman while Thor was sat on the sofa at the back, his chin resting on his folded hands. He glanced over Leena. She ignored his stare.
Leena realised that Peter was missing from the meeting, once again. Her brows furrowed. The meetings they had, every now and then, always resulted in them drawing up at a blank on what to do. It left them more defeated than when they had first started talking. But Leena always wondered why Peter was never invited. He deserved to be there.
"There you two are," Natasha said softly. She had a large hoodie pulled over her body and her white hair had been quickly tied into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. "Okoye, this is Leena. Leena, this is Okoye. She's assisting with running Wakanda in T'Challa's absence."
Leena wondered who T'Challa was but faintly recalled seeing his name on the hologram of the missing when she had first came across this room. She nodded in acknowledgement towards Okoye who stared at her, unblinking for a few seconds, until Okoye turned to face Steve, acknowledging him and ignoring Leena.
"What's happened? Why have I been called?" Okoye asked, a distinct accent intertwining around her concerned words.
Leena folded her arms and glanced at Nebula's wavering image. Her sister was staring at her. Leena felt her heart pound.
"Nebula?" Steve asked, glancing warily at Nebula's hologram, "what was it that you found?"
Nebula turned away from Leena and looked towards Steve, "Quill, Rocket and I have managed the situation over here but there was a word spreading of people seeking out the Stones to use for themselves."
"So?"
All eyes turned towards Leena. She held her sister's gaze and shrugged her shoulders, unbothered by the stares. "The Stones have always been sought after. What makes this any different to when our father was seeking the Stones? Or other Gods?"
Leena glanced towards Thor. His back straightened and eyes narrowed.
"The difference being, sister," Nebula bit back, "is that Thanos no longer has the Stones."
"What?" Natasha breathed out, her eyes widening.
"What did you just say?" Okoye echoed in disbelief.
Steve stepped forwards, folding his arms over his chest. "How do you know he doesn't have the Stones?" His voice thickened.
Nebula's image flickered. "Quill heard whispers of maps leading to individual Stones."
Leena had forgotten how to breathe. Her hands were clammy under her gloves and her heart was pounding loudly in her chest.
He no longer had the Stones.
"He wouldn't do that," she found herself mumbling quietly, unaware of one mans curious stare, "he wouldn't do that."
"Why would he do that?" Steve asked, breathing out, whether from relief of Thanos not having the Stones or worry at the thought of someone else getting ahold of them. "Why would he snap away half the Universe and then throw away the very things that helped him?"
"Someone could snap their own fingers," Natasha said quietly.
"Or worse," Bucky mumbled as he leaned back against the table, folding his arms. "They could use them to cause more problems, more than likely, problems for us to deal with."
"I don't have any answers for you," Nebula said slowly. She glanced behind her and a mans voice was heard through her communicator. "The Stones could still be in his possession and this could all be a distraction but if he has given them away, then who knows what he has planned."
"You think he has something else planned?" Natasha asked, her brows pulling together as she reached across the table to grab a notebook that she was usually writing in. She flipped through the pages and began scribbling.
"I have known Thanos my entire life," Nebula whispered as the haunting of past memories burned in her black eyes, "I struggle to believe he gave away the Stones. But if he did, it would be for a reason."
"What reason?" Okoye asked in perplexity.
"You said, uh, you said he wanted to rest?" Natasha asked, flipping back a couple pages, "after he did this? After he wiped out half of the Universe?"
"At least someone has a retirement plan," Bucky murmured under his breath.
"Perhaps this is his way of saying that he's done what he needed to do? He can rest now?" Natasha queried, glancing up at Nebula.
"He still wants me."
Leena's words were an empty worry. She had barely recognised them leaving her lips. Her words had caught everyone's attention. More particularly, the three men in the room couldn't turn their gazes away from her frozen body.
"He can't rest until he has her," Nebula confirmed reluctantly.
A silence filled the room. There was a hazardous air around them as they realised that Thanos had one thing left to do before he could rest.
"That won't happen," Steve said defiantly. He held Leena's gaze, a reassuring look washed over his face as he pleaded with her to trust him. "He won't get you, Leena."
She struggled to believe him. Thanos never failed in getting what he wanted.
But after seeing the reassuring look on his face, the persistent good nature of the man before her, she forced a small smile back to him. She had to make him believe that he was right.
"We have to search for the Stones, if it's true that he no longer has them, we need to find them before someone else does." Steve glanced around the room, holding each and every person's gaze with a determined wave washing off him. One that filled them with a newfound hope. Hope they had lost. "We need those Stones."
Thor pushed himself up from the sofa, catching Leena's gaze as his Godly voice boomed around them.
"Where do we start?"
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hii guys! sorry for a late chapter, i've been extremely busy! i hope you enjoyed this one! also, i can't get over the last episode of tfaws!! it was amazing!!! i'm so excited to see where they take it into the future! let me know what you thought of this chapter and tfaws too!