Ashley sat alone atop the Avengers' Facility. She looked out towards the sunset, admiring the colours that warmed into one. She thought of her life, what had come till now. She wished she could be beside Stephen Strange right now, as he was quite the interesting man. He used to stare at the sunset at some point with her. She remembered when she first met him. It was when Loki first attacked Earth, when the chitauri attacked them. When he was just finishing up a surgery before he basically helped Ashley get back out to fight (much against his desire).
She was running as fast as she could. Tony just dropped her down on the ground, and she did a front roll. She was only fourteen, and here she was; fighting several chitauri at once. She threw several out of her way, protecting herself and the people. When she spun around to look for any more possible victims, Captain America called out for her. "Tiny Romanoff, there's a man and woman in need of help."
"And you can't because...?"
A loud grunt was heard in the earpiece she wore as she heard him then let out a yell. Finally he was panting heavily, "Because I've got more than a few chitauri here."
"Noted."
Ashley ran towards the street Steve mentioned, where she found a hospital, where people were screaming. She was then flung into the hospital where the glass of a window shattered. She was breathing heavily as she groaned in pain. It wasn't until she realized she had fallen into a pediatric ward. The chitauri struggled against her, as it was physically larger than her, she thought of burning it, as its mind was uncontrollable, as there was nothing for her to control. They ran and wrestled each other in the corridor, where two more chitauri–which made it three now– fought the fourteen year-old at the same time, which made her struggle.
They crashed into another wall, which led to another room. Ashley skidded across the floor the second she elbowed one chitauri, kicking another one and the third jumping on top of her, clawing at her. She held her hands in front of her to push it away and keep her face clear. She looked up to see a surgeon staring at her, a man, tall and wide, piercing blue eyes. She smiled nervously at him. "Hi!"
The table of his tools was right on her left, so using her telekinesis, she used them to impale the chitauri, while the doctors and nurses cried out. The chitauri flew away thanks to her powers, and she spun around and furrowed her brows. "What the hell is everyone doing here? There is a literal rampage out there! Close up the body and hurry up!"
"We can't just close him!" A nurse exclaimed. "It takes time!"
"Well, then hurry up! I can't protect you all day! I got others to save!" Ashley hissed as she looked at her arm, where two parallel claw marks were on her forearm. Blood stained the torn sleeve as she tried to freeze it. One of the doctors let out some groans in annoyance of her actions. She then heard him mutter, "We're closing him up. Then I'm going to see if you need my help with that."
It was then the female doctor gasped at the child's wound. Then, it all clicked. "You're an Avenger."
"Well–spotted, Watson."
"And you're bleeding," the man said.
"No kidding, Sherlock."
"Are you always this snappy?" The woman sighed as she asked, helping the man close up the patient before them, only for the nurses to roll away the patient as Ashley was being helped by the doctors. "I don't need help!"
"We're not letting an Avenger bleed out," the woman argued. "I'm Christine Palmer and–"
"Aaaaaaaaand I have a world to save," Ashley grumbled. The doctor stared at her, glaring at her, "Do you really think you can help anyone in this state? Unfreeze that there so we can help!"
Hesitantly, Ashley did what she was asked, and just then, a chitauri bursted into the room, to which Ashley only glanced at it and it caught fire. The doctors stared at the dead alien and then at each other. "Could you just wrap a bandage around it? I've got to help the rest!"
A nurse then came in and asked for the woman, and then. It was at that moment Ashley learned her name: Christine Palmer. She ran out of the room and left Ashley alone with the male doctor. But what about the other doctor?
"Sooo...what's your name?" Ashley asked before wincing as he tightened the bandage around her arm as she used her free hand to fight the chitauri.
"I don't think now is the time for introductions," the doctor replied as more chitauri bursted in the room. Ashley bit her lip, "Maybe later. You done?" With her hands both free she caught the chitauri and threw them away. She grabbed the doctor and ran out of the room, where ahead was one glass window. The other side of the corridor was blocked, fallen and chitauri were trying to reach them.
"We have to jump! Hold on." Ashley said as she grabbed his hand and they both jumped out the window. The doctor screamed as they fell, but Ashley made it a lighter surface, just as she heard Tony's voice. "Ash, you okay there?"
"Yes, just getting a civilian underground, why?"
"I think Clint could use some assistance."
Ashley's eyes widened before spinning around to see the doctor. "Listen, the police are over there, I need you to go with them underground, okay? I have to go now, but don't stop running, I'll cover for you, now run!"
The girl created a force field and ran with the doctor, stopping to rid their path of chitauri and keeping citizens safe. Just as she reached the others with the police, the doctor turned to her. She smiled at him, "Thanks for the help doc. Hope we meet again one day. The Blue Phoenix gives you her gratitude." And she ran off, leaving him behind.
"It's...Stephen Strange," Stephen muttered just as the girl left, leaving him confused before finding Christine.
Ashley smiled at the memory. She bit her lip, slightly angry at herself. Since Infinity War, she and Stephen had gotten closer. Much closer. He had remembered her when they first met during the War, and he had asked about her powers. Turns out, when she was sixteen, she still remembered him. Explaining her powers to him made him more intrigued by her. When he was snapped in those five years, it felt near impossible to tell Christine Palmer, his 'girlfriend', that they lost, but she had to.
In those five years, Ashley realized she never really had a deep crush on anyone before Strange. Unlike the others, she felt a deep emotional bond between the two of them. She may have found others attractive, but Stephen was always different. It was then she realized she would get nervous by some of the smallest things he'd do, and when she saw his hands, she attempted to comfort him.
If there was one thing Ashley hated, it was her feelings for Strange.
She felt someone sit down beside her, causing her to raise her hands before she calmed down, watching Bobby from earlier sit down beside her, a knee bent while the other was dangling. He sighed at the sunset. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's beautiful," said Ashley. She looked at him and furrowed her eyebrows, narrowing her eyes as she looked at her lap. "You knew my parents, right?"
Bobby looked at her, "Yeah, I knew them, so did Marie. And Ororo. I was there when Jean was first killed."
"How did she die?" Ashley asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Bobby sighed, "The Dark Phoenix happened. It made her lose her mind, and she turned almost anyone near her to dust. Only Logan, or Wolverine, was genuinely able to defeat her, as he could heal quickly. And she was stabbed by him. He saved us, but he lost Jean.
"He loved her too, just like how Scott loved her. There was a whole love triangle between the two," Bobby chuckled. Ashley laughed with him, "Notice how both my moms had been kissed by more men than me. And I'm literally 22!"
"No way, really?"
"Yup!"
Both laughed and he hugged her in a brotherly manner, and oddly enough, she felt warmth. She felt the ability to relax, but she quickly pulled away. Bobby stared at her, "You don't have to do this on your own, y'know? We're here to help."
"I know," she said, "But I still can't risk it."
She got up on her feet. "Thank you for the stories, Bobby, I deeply thank you for willing to share."
Bobby stared at her, "Marie and I are willing to talk as much about them as you want. They helped shape who we are. All three of them."
Ashley nodded her head, "Then they really did a good job. I wonder how they would raise me if they were around."
Bobby froze, not saying another word. Ashley stared out into the sunset, smiling to herself. "I will get you back home, Bobby."
"Oh yeah?" He smirked. Ashley met his gaze and smirked right back.
"Yeah. I promise."