"Sounds like you had a vacation compared to us. How'd you pull that off?" Sam asked indignantly as he trudged over to the back of the jet, letting the autopilot take over for a while.
Keira simply shrugged. "Oh, you know. Old habits die hard. Multiple offshore accounts and good contacts. Can't bet all my money on one horse." If there was anything that HYDRA had taught her, it was exactly that.
You always needed to have backup plan upon backup plan in case something went wrong. That was exactly why, from the first second she had been freed and earned her first salary, had made sure to split it into multiple accounts.
"Huh, makes sense I guess." Sam agreed, raising an impressed eyebrow. "Any other exciting news?"
Keira couldn't help the wide smile that painted her lips at those words and glancing to the side, she saw that her expression was mirrored on Wanda's face. The emerald eyes she always found herself drowning in, were twinkling mischievously as the redhead untangled their fingers to hold out both hers and Keira's left hands.
Whereas the diamond on Wanda's ring glittered silver, the ruby on Keira's shone scarlet in the dim light.
Sam's mouth fell open in shock, forming a perfect 'o', while Natasha's eyes widened. Barely a second passed before she jumped out of her seat and threw her arms around the pair.
A small whine slipped past Keira's lips as she was suddenly crushed underneath Natasha, the spy's arms hugging her tightly. The half-healed wounds in her stomach were constantly making themselves known, but she couldn't help the wide smile that tugged on her lips despite the pain.
Steve, who had absentmindedly been gazing out of the front window, now walked to the back of the jet to see what all the commotion was about. But the frown that had been constant on his face for over a year now, broke out into a smile as he grabbed Keira's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "You got married?"
"Not yet, just engaged." Wanda beamed, leaning over Natasha's body that was wedged in between her and Keira to press a kiss to her fiancée's cheek. To see how overjoyed their friends were for their sake, despite having just rescued them from their own stupid mistake, meant the world to her.
"I'm so happy for you two." Natasha whispered, clearing her throat loudly before pushing herself off them to return to her seat opposite them beside Sam.
Sam was grinning so broadly that his cheeks were beginning to hurt, and he looked between the two women in front of him. "Who popped the question? Wait, no. Don't tell me. It was..." He put a finger up to his lips as he pretended to ponder his own question. In the end, he pointed at the blonde. "Keira."
Keira jutted her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Am I really that predictable?" She whined, adjusting her seat so she could lay down with her head in Wanda's lap. The latter's fingers immediately started to comb through her hair, gently scraping her scalp occasionally which sent shivers down her spine.
"Duh. You've been throwing heart eyes at Wanda for as long as I can remember."
Keira didn't bother to lift her head, but she lifted her hand and pointed a warning finger at the man. "Shut it, Wilson. I have not."
"Have too." Sam childishly stuck his tongue out, something Keira could see in the corner of her eye. He was glad to have Keira back. To have someone that he could playfully bicker with was something he had missed during the two years on the run. Sure, he could throw sarcastic comments at Natasha, but at a certain point, the spy turned too scary.
Instead of continuing to argue whether or not she had been enchanted by Wanda from the beginning, Keira merely arched an eyebrow and glanced up at the redhead, whose face was hovering about hers. "Well, can you blame me? She's the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on."
The way Wanda's eyes lit up at the comment only made the butterflies in Keira's stomach go crazy and she lifted her hand to the redhead's face, cupping it and tenderly brushing her thumb over her cheekbone.
Sam shook his head in amusement and turned around. "Of course, you had to make it weird." He chuckled, getting back to his feet and settling down in the pilot seat but not before giving Keira's knee a squeeze. "I've missed you, Key. Both of you."
Keira closed her eyes and smiled, just enjoying the feel of Wanda's fingers running through her hair. "Do we have any idea of who those aliens were?" She asked, humming contentedly as a slender finger traced her jawbone, over her lips and cheekbone to finally tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
The relaxed atmosphere that had settled itself over the jet at the mention of Keira and Wanda's engagement immediately tensed up.
Natasha started to explain that Bruce, who apparently had resurfaced after almost three years, had called them to warn them about a titan named Thanos. From what they had gathered, the titan was after the Infinity Stones and Keira got a flashback to the conversation they had back when Ultron still was active and Vision had just been created.
Thor had brought up the topic that was the Infinity Stones, and that they could be the universe's downfall. Without him, they wouldn't have the Mind Stone on their side, now residing safely in Vision's forehead.
But regarding Thanos and his goals, they didn't have much information to go on. Dread settled in the pit of Keira's stomach and she glanced around at her team. This would undoubtedly turn into another war, but they could only protect the Stone they had within their grasp, the Mind Stone.
But the ones out in space?
"We can't cross out the Stones that are out of our reach yet." When seeing the confused looks from Natasha and Wanda, Keira sighed. "We got Tony on one of their ships, along with that strange wizard or doctor or whatever he is. And poor Peter as well..." She trailed off, shaking her head faintly.
"Just need to hope that Vision hasn't been taken as well or we'll be in big trouble." Sam piped up.
"Let's just get back to the compound first. From there, we'll devise a plan." Steve sighed, his arms crossed over his chest. Keira hadn't missed how the star had been ripped off his uniform and couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign that he no longer was the Captain America of old.
Keira allowed herself to relax the rest of the trip home, just reveling in the feeling of Wanda's slender fingers brushing through her hair, occasionally gripping her wrist to press a kiss to the redhead's palm in silent thanks. The pain from the two wounds was slowly ebbing away, although if one of Wanda's muttered jokes caused her to chuckle or laugh, pain would shoot through her body, abruptly stopping her.
Sam gently lowered the jet to the ground and opened the ramp from the cockpit. As he tapped Keira's knee, the blonde squinted up at him. "Hey, lovebird. You still need a shoulder to lean on?"
Pushing herself off Wanda's lap, she groaned as her muscles protested. "I'd very much like a shoulder to lean on. Care to volunteer, Sam? I don't wanna crush my fiancée." She winked in Wanda's direction, causing the redhead to blush before she was pulled off her feet, one arm around Sam's neck. "Auch, you need to learn how to warn people." Keira whined, her free hand clutching her stomach.
The way her body wasn't healing was annoying.
Even if it had been years, she couldn't remember that the cut from Loki's scepter had been this difficult to mend. Although, her memory could be failing her and she hadn't been speared like a kebab two times back then.
Sam only shook his head in amusement as he carried most of Keira's weight and as a chuckle was heard to her right, Keira threw a glare at the redhead. "Wow, even my own girlfriend thinks I'm a wimp. Great." She groaned dramatically, throwing her head back.
"Fiancée." Wanda corrected, pecking a kiss on the mutant's cheek before snaking an arm around her waist to help and take some weight off Sam.
And as Steve pressed in the security code, nobody was surprised that the doors slid open. Despite the fallout, none of them held a grudge. And the secret hope that they one day would reunite was still there.
Walking through the familiar corridors of the compound, Keira was relieved that she didn't feel like a stranger. This was still her home. How long she would be allowed to stay, she didn't know but she would enjoy every moment of it. Unfortunately, that joy got punctured by a voice she hoped she would never have to hear again.
"You have second thoughts?" The hologram of Ross asked Rhodey, who was standing with his arms crossed.
"Not anymore." Both of the men turned as the group of five approached them. Rhodey didn't even seem surprised at their arrival, merely smiling at them before looking at Ross again.
Steve and Natasha were leading the group, both of them confidently walking right up to the stairs before stopping. Sam, Keira, and Wanda were hanging in the background, seeing as Keira still couldn't stand on her own, the pain surging through her every time she tried to stand up straight.
"Mr. Secretary." Steve's face held no trace of a smile as he greeted the man, still too politely in Keira's opinion.
The hologram of Ross took a few steps towards Natasha. "You got some nerve. I'll give you that."
It was clearly meant as an intimidation tactic but Natasha wasn't rattled in the slightest. She calmly met his gaze, looking down at him. "You could use some of that right now."
Realizing that his tactic was a no-go on the spy, Ross kept his poker face and instead moved on to Steve, clicking his tongue. "The world's on fire. And you think all is forgiven?"
The world was always on fire, one way or another. Whether it be an alien attack or a war going on in a distant country, chaos always surrounded humans. Peace simply wasn't an option.
"I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking permission." Steve didn't look away once but stared the Secretary dead in the eye the whole time. "Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way, we'll fight you too."
Ross didn't say anything, probably because he couldn't come up with a good answer but instead turned to Rhodey. "Arrest them."
Rhodey gave a curt nod. "All over it." But then proceeded to swipe the hologram away, ending the call. "That's a court-martial. It's great to see you, Cap." He noted before his face broke into a smile. The men shook hands as Steve mirrored Rhodey's expression.
"You too, Rhodey."
Natasha stepped down the stairs and hugged the man. They had known each other for a long time, and even if they weren't the closest, their friendship was still something she valued deeply.
Breaking the hug, Rhodey now focused his attention on the rest of the group that was standing in the background. His eyes darted to the two bloody gashes in Keira's shirt and his eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "Wow. You guys... really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years." He teased, earning smiles from all of them. It was a much-needed joke, lifting the tension that lingered after Ross and for what was to come.
"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five-star." Sam nodded, keeping the light atmosphere.
Keira chuckled, but cut herself off with a groan. "Talk for yourself. We had an amazing time until some alien decided to stab me."
"Uh, I think you look great." Bruce uncertainly called out as he entered the room. He was wringing his hands per usual. "Uh. Yeah, I'm back." He announced awkwardly, his gaze firmly stuck on Natasha. His crush hadn't simmered down since the first time he laid eyes on the beautiful spy.
Keira smiled gently, not having seen the man since before the battle of Sokovia broke out. All she knew was that he had turned into the Hulk and helped to fight the robots, then he had thrown Ultron out of a Quinjet, making it possible for Wanda to rip out the AI's heart.
And when Natasha tried to call the Hulk back, to turn him back into Banner, the green bean had turned off the broadcast and turned on the cloaking of his jet, disappearing off the map.
"Hi, Bruce." Natasha greeted the man, breaking the awkward silence.
"Nat."
"This is awkward." Sam mumbled from beside Keira, causing her to snort.
Biting down on her lip and shaking her head slightly, she lifted her hand to lightly slap his shoulder. "Don't make me laugh." She reprimanded him quietly, making sure that the group in front wouldn't hear her.
Sam gave a light shrug. "What? You could practically cut the tension with a sword." He whispered back.
Trying to cover the awkward tension that still lingered in the room, Keira looked up at Bruce. "You and Cho still know how to turn people into plastic? Because I think I might need some inner healing." She grimaced as Bruce lumbered over to them.
❆
After some discussions with Bruce and Dr. Cho, they decided that the best way to see what damage had been done was to cut open the wounds again. Thankfully, she got some anesthetics this time so she didn't feel it but merely watched with fascinated eyes as the scalpel cut her skin open again.
But since the scientists couldn't examine the weapon that had done the damage, and didn't know if it held any special properties, they decided that it was best that Wanda got to try her magic again. And this time, she wouldn't be interrupted by some ugly alien.
Just lying on the hospital bed made Keira feel like a child, but as Wanda straddled her hips in order to get a good angle of the wounds, she couldn't help but smirk. "I might not like the open holes in my stomach, but this... this I could get used to."
Wanda shook her head in amusement and leaned down so her hair created a shield from the outside world, not that they had any spectators since Bruce and Dr. Cho had already left the room. With one hand on either side of Keira's head, she brushed their lips together, not enough to call it a kiss but just enough to tease. "And I need you to stop getting hurt." She whispered, her eyes shining when Keira's hands landed on her hips. "Now, hush, and let me concentrate." Wanda straightened up, earning a whine from Keira, which she ignored as she let her powers flow through her fingers and focused on healing the wounds completely.
Even if Keira had anesthetics in her body, she could still feel the muscle fibers connect and she gasped at the weird sensation, subconsciously digging her fingers deeper into Wanda's hips.
This caused Wanda to press her lips together and the red wisps vanished into thin air. "I can't concentrate with you grabbing me like that." She complained, playfully glaring at the blonde below her who was smirking up at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I distracting you, miss Maximoff?"
"Yes, you are." Wanda reprimanded her lightly, grabbing her wrist and pinning the mutant's hands on either side of her head. "So unless you want two gaping holes in your stomach for all eternity, I'd suggest you keep them up." She added in a whisper, brushing her lips over the shell of Keira's ear before leaning back and focusing on closing the wounds again.
A shiver ran down Keira's spine, goosebumps erupting all over her arms and it took every ounce of strength she possessed to not let her hands wander across Wanda's curves.
After a good few minutes, no wounds remained and they were healed from both sides, inside and out. "Good girl. See? You can take instructions well." Wanda whispered, bending back down and placing a light kiss on Keira's lips.
Keira wasn't satisfied with the light peck though so she slung her arms around Wanda's neck and crashed their lips together. A surprised but satisfied sound vibrated in the back of Wanda's throat and Keira smiled into the kiss, almost breaking it.
"Lovebirds! Stop with your fraternization and get out of there! We got things to do." Sam banged on the door, clearly not wanting to enter.
Keira let her head fall back to the pillow with a groan. "Ugh, I hate it, but he's right. Gotta find out what we can do about the Stones and if we know where Vision is."
With a new shirt on that wasn't covered in blood, Keira and Wanda joined the group in the library. To their surprise, Vision had been there to greet them. It turned out that he had arrived while the pair of them had been busy in the medbay. He had apparently sensed what had been going on in Scotland and decided to rush back home from his little scenic route.
Sitting on the wooden table with her hands clasped around Wanda's waist and her chin resting on the redhead's shoulder, Keira listened intently as Bruce explained in detail what had happened on Asgard. It was a tragedy that the realm had been reduced to atoms, and they had no idea where Thor was, or if he was even still alive.
And as if that wasn't enough, they had the problem named Thanos on their hands.
"So, we gotta assume they're coming back right?" Rhodey pondered as he observed a hologram of the two aliens that had attacked two of his teammates.
"And they can clearly find us." Wanda added, a worried tone to her voice as she anxiously played with the rings on her fiancée's hands. Even if their location had been a bit off, the aliens had managed to find them in Edinburgh a bit too easily by just following the Stone's signature.
But considering that both she and Keira had gotten their powers from the Mind Stone, it wasn't too surprising that the signatures got mixed up. And Vision had been there the day before.
Keira could feel the worry emanating from Wanda and hugged her tighter, trying to silently reassure her that everything would be okay.
"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?" Bruce questioned, turning to Natasha since she was the closest to the archer.
"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families. They're on house arrest." Natasha explained plainly.
Bruce's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Who's Scott?"
Oh, that's right. Bruce had been absent during the Avengers' divorce so he wouldn't know who Scott was. Now that Keira came to think of it, Bruce was walking around as if he was all seeing everything for the first time, and he probably was. Before Sokovia, they had still lived in the tower.
"Ant-Man." Steve answered, a hand resting on his hip while leaning on a chair with the other.
Bruce's eyes widened in shock. "There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" He spun around once, taking in everybody's nods, acknowledging his question. "Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he is not gonna stop until he... he gets... Vision's Stone." He trailed off, trying not to be insensitive about the subject.
"Well, then we have to protect it." Natasha stated, taking a step forwards.
"No, we have to destroy it."
All eyes turned to Vision, who said it so casually that one could've thought he had just announced what socks he would be wearing for the day.
"I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About its nature. But also its composition. I think if it was exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature, perhaps..." He had taken a step closer to Wanda and Keira, his eyes firmly on the redhead, knowing that she was the only one powerful enough to do what had to be done. "Its molecular integrity could fail."
"Yeah, and you with it. We're not having this conversation." Wanda quickly dismissed him. The fight back in Germany had been bad enough. There was no way she was killing her closest friend.
"Eliminating the Stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it." Vision muttered, trying to get Wanda to see his point of view, and Keira couldn't blame him. She would be asking the same thing if she was in his shoes.
"That's too high a price." Wanda faintly shook her head, not wanting to hear more about this matter.
Vision placed a hand on her arm. "Only you have the power to pay it." He said severely, but Wanda was done with the conversation and turned around in Keira's grasp, hiding her face against the mutant's shirt. Saddened by the reaction, Vision let go of her arm and instead turned to the rest of the group. "Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."
"But it should." Steve spoke up, shaking his head. "We don't trade life, Vision."
"Captain, seventy years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people? Tell me, why is this any different?"
But to everybody's surprise, it wasn't Steve that answered him, it was Bruce. "Because you might have a choice." When everybody looked perplexed, the scientist continued to explain. "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another."
Keira's eyebrows unfurrowed as she caught on to what Bruce was saying. "You're saying Vision isn't just the Stone?"
Bruce turned to meet her eyes. "I'm saying that if we take out the Stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. P- Perhaps the best parts." He corrected her.
"Can we do that?" Natasha questioned, a tiny bit of hope flickering in her chest.
"Not me, not here." Bruce quickly denied. Maybe he could've done it with Tony's help, but the billionaire was stuck in space somewhere.
"Well, you better find someone and somewhere fast. Ross isn't just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back." Rhodey sighed.
"I know somewhere." Steve said and as everybody looked at him, he continued. "Wakanda. Wheels up in ten. Take what you need." He ordered before stalking out of the room, probably to check on his old room.
Keira gently cupped Wanda's face so that their eyes met. "I'll join you in a minute, my love, I just need to have a quick discussion with Vision, okay?"
Worry shone in the emerald eyes but Wanda nodded and placed a kiss on Keira's cheek before walking out of the room. The rest of the group had scattered as well and Keira hopped off the table and walked up to Vision.
The synthezoid met her eyes, a sad smile on his face. "I know what you are about to ask, Keira." He sighed, faintly shaking his head.
Keira placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Then let me hear it. How could you sense what was happening in Scotland?"
"We know you and Wanda both got your powers from the Mind Stone, that is no secret. But I fear that your exposure to the Stone was more severe. During your time with HYDRA, you disposed of nearly thousands of bodies. But what they did not anticipate was the radiation the Stone leaves on its victims. It is my hypothesis that your exposure to this radiation deepened your connection to the Stone, and that is why I could feel the attack happening while you got those sudden headaches at the same time I did."
Keira's eyes widened a fraction as she took a step back in shock. Whatever it was she had expected to hear, it wasn't that. She did not question how Vision knew about the time in HYDRA, he had access to everything on the internet after all, and HYDRA had kept records of their lab rats. "So... You're saying that I'm somehow connected to the Mind Stone?"
Vision now placed a hand on her arm, mirroring the movement from before. "If it is as I fear, then it might not only be my life force that'll end with when the Stone is destroyed."
As the realization of his words hit her, Keira shook her head in disbelief and closed her eyes. Her life was also at risk if they were forced to destroy the Stone? Snapping her eyes open again, she met Vision's gaze. "We do not tell Wanda." She said sternly.
To carry a secret this big from the love of her life was something she never wished that she would be forced to do. But if Wanda knew that she might be killing her closest friend and her fiancée, Keira was sure she would never go through with it. She had already lost too much.
"It is our secret."
~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Woho, bonus chapter because I felt like Thursday's chapter was lacking big time!