Valkyrie is, for once, sleeping somewhat peacefully. After three weeks of organizing the life of around a hundred Asgardians, peace and quiet have slowly settled in, even though everyone's still traumatized and grieving. It's difficult to adapt to the new world, but with her as their leader, they're able to move on. It's barely past five when a loud melody suddenly awakes the fierce warrior and she blinks in confusion through the weak darkness. The sun is already leaking out of the night sky, so she can actually see how the bed on the other side of the room is empty.
"Not again." Valkyrie mumbles with a sigh and gets up. Throwing a jacket over her shoulders and putting her feet into boots, Brunnhilde follows the music that comes from outside. The cold sea breeze softly meets her face and she finds Aurora working on the ship at the coast.
"And there's a girl in this harbor town
And she works layin' whiskey down
They say, 'Brandy, fetch another round'
She serves them– "
Aurora abruptly stops singing along the melody when she spots her friend standing on the dock. Without hesitation, she lowers the volume of the Looking Glass song and forces a nervous smile on her lips. "Oh, shit, sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"Aurora, what are you doing?" Valkyrie sighs tiredly and Aurora puts the screw wrench aside, climbing down the dredge to be closer to Valkyrie's height.
"Well, the dredge's mechanism was stuck, so I fixed it. And it's always funnier with music." She explains simply with a shrug and Brunnhilde releases another sigh.
"What I mean is, why aren't you asleep? You could've done this later today." In the last weeks, Aurora did nothing else but help to build up this town for the Asgardians. She worked on the electricity, showed them how to use the TV and WiFi and also how to figure out fishing. Aurora has been a great help to Valkyrie, but the warrior notices how something is wrong.
"Rocket and Nebula will be here sooner than expected, so I can finally go back to space. We want to look for some Ravagers. And I wanted to check on everything before I leave and I noticed how the mechanism was stuck." Aurora almost winces when Brunnhilde shoots her a knowing look, both know that this is not the entire truth.
"What's going on?" The Asgardian asks in a more demanding, yet still gentle tone and Aurora sighs, sitting on the edge of the ship. Valkyrie goes to sit next to her and Aurora turns off the music, staring at the song that is displayed on the screen.
"My brother loved this song." A sad smile graces her lips. "He got it from his mother. Coincidentally, I had this song, too, so it became our song. We used to dance and sing to it until everyone got annoyed. Groot even joined us this one time."
She pauses and her throat tightens when her eyes start burning. Val's eyes reflect deep sympathy for the auburn-haired girl. "I can't sleep anymore, Brunnhilde. Every time when I close my eyes, I'm on the Statesman again and everything's on fire. And although you said that it was just Loki's double on that ship, it doesn't change the fact that I saw how Thanos broke his neck and how blood ran down his nose, how I could hear this awful crack... When I held onto his dead body, all I could think of was that I couldn't leave him alone."
"You're suffering his lies. He put you through a lot of pain." Valkyrie mumbles, being at a loss for words. "Aren't you mad at him?"
"I am." She admits and glances down at the dark sea water. "He lied to me and broke my trust once again. And if he truly loved me, then he would trust me, right? But on the other hand, I understand why he hid the truth from me. I'm not a good liar and he had to hurt me on purpose, and this for several times, so we could both survive. In the end, it doesn't matter anymore because he died anyway."
"Is this why you love him?" It relieves Aurora that Valkyrie didn't use the past tense.
"I..." The auburn-haired pauses and thinks back to their time in their cells together when she began to fall for him. "Loki was never good at showing emotions, yet he showed it to me. He cared too much and that's why, he hid his feelings. Doing what he did to the person you love in order to protect you both... I don't think a lot of people have the strength to bear the hate for this action, but he did. And ironically, I love him for that."
A loud noise erupts from the sky and Valkyrie and Aurora look up, spotting the Benatar close to New Asgard. Standing up, Aurora quickly finishes her work and claps her hands clean, blowing a lose strand out of her face.
"It's time for me to go. Look out for Thor, will you?" Aurora offers Valkyrie a gentle smile. The God of Thunder has ignored everyone around him, including the Half-Celestial. She can't reach him anymore.
"I will." Brunnhilde promises and they share an endearing embrace, glad to have each other despite the loss they've been through. "See you in a couple months, my dearest friend. Take care."
***
"And? How are you?" Eve asks Natasha through the phone while she's on the quinjet, on her way to Ukraine. Agent Ross is in the cockpit with the pilot and another agent to offer the soldier privacy and quiet for her conversation.
"Fine enough to not be in need for a babysitter." Natasha says almost jokingly and Eve rolls her eyes at the spy's denial. She's horribly familiar with that and she knows she's a hypocrite for doing the same, but for her, it's enough if one of them is in denial already.
"Nat, it takes time to move on. It won't happen overnight, just let it happen. Hey, if you want, I can come over after I'm done here and we can do something." She suggests, even though she can't imagine what they could possible do, the grief and pain are too fresh.
"Just us girls or is Steve invited, too?" The spy asks slyly and Eve holds her breath. She and Steve haven't seen each other very often lately as the man out of time has decided to go through his depression alone. She's not too mad at him about this since she shut him out in the first days as well.
Eve pauses, "I don't think that Steve wants to see me."
"Why not? You two have been together since... forever." Natasha tries to bring the two soldiers back together, her attempt is clearly audible and Eve sighs.
"Then why does he ignore my calls? He wants to be alone and not even I am welcome in his presence."
Natasha gives in, seeing that she can't solve this conflict through the phone. "Alright, then it's just us girls."
Eve suddenly has to think of Peggy and Wanda and she presses her lips together, waiting out a beat. "Just a fair warning, I'm not good at this whole female friendship thing. My first female friend forgot me and died and my second turned into dust. You sure you want this ridiculously dangerous position, Nat?"
"Don't worry, Barnes. I'm not good at it either." Her voice reveals a smirk. "By the way, I heard you visited Scott's family when you were occupied in SanFran. It was nice of you."
"Yeah, I thought Scott would've wanted someone to check on Cassie and her parents. It's a pain in the ass with all the time zones though."
"What? Are you already on another mission? Where are you??" Natasha frowns on the other end of the line and before Eve can answer, Everett Ross knocks against the wall when he enters the part of the quinjet she's in. He signals her that they're arriving and Eve nods.
"Sorry, gotta go. See you later, 'Tasha." She hangs up and ties her black hair into a tight ponytail, preparing herself for the mission.
"You should've got some sleep." Ross advises and Eve shrugs. She doesn't like sleep, the nightmares are the worst and the only person who kept them at bay is gone now.
"Super-soldier serum." The second they stop and open the gate, still hovering in the air, the drizzle meets Eve's face and she looks out at the night sky. The fresh smell of rain lingers in the air and for a short moment, she pauses to inhale it for a second. For some reasons, it's calming, even after all these years. The drizzle clears her mind although it only lasts for a fleeting moment.
"According to my source, there's a deal going on down there." Everett Ross points at the empty factory beneath them as the quinjet is on stealth mode. From up here, Eve can spot a weak light down there and hear distant chatter. The next thing she sees are two Caucasian faces on the screen in the aircraft, Dale Haynes and Greg Porter. "These Americans have stolen Terrigen Crystals and plan to sell it to the Ukraine mafia. You get down there and get the case with the crystals. Be careful with it."
"Got it." Eve nods and places the earpiece in the right place to stay in touch with Agent Ross. Then she jumps off the gate and lands on the roof of the building, not minding the impact and pain in her ribs after unfurling. The cold invades her ears and the drizzle lashes her face, but she's only focused on what's going on down there, so much that she barely notices another one being in on it.
Eve walks to one of the roof windows and opens it just enough for her to sneak in. The dealers don't hear or see her and she can catch some American and Russian accents. Hanging on the window frame at the ceiling, Eve can feel how her muscles are being torn and she has to suppress a groan. Quickly, she swings with gritted teeth in one momentum towards the ladder railing on the side and can hold onto it to climb on it.
Six men, four Ukrainians and the two Americans. The case with the Terrigen Crystals is held by Dale Haynes and they're all discussing the price. It's still peaceful, so that's Eve's chance to get it. She runs down the stairs until the height has safely decreased and jumps off, landing on her feet between the the Americans and Ukrainians.
Haynes stares at the soldier with widened eyes, mumbling, "Is this Voltricity?"
"What the– We knew you two would have backup!" One of the Ukrainians yells with a thick Russian accent and Eve stands up, meeting the puzzled look of Haynes. His partner though takes out a gun and points it at Eve, which angers the dealers. "We said no weapons!"
Eve ignites the electricity around her body. "I am a weapon."
She electrifies Porter and knocks him out, turning back to Dale Haynes to get the case. Although he pulls out his gun and aims it at her, Eve isn't scared. She's ready to fight but before she can take him out, a sharp arrow suddenly passes her and flies directly through Dale Hayne's head. Blood is spilling and he is instantly dead, dropping like a doll to the ground.
"What?" Eve's eyes widen and she turns, just like everyone else, to the direction of where the arrow was shot from. A dark silhouette is standing on the stairs of the opposite side of where she was coming from and they're staring at the new person who joined them.
"Barnes, what's going on there??" Agent Ross asks through the earpiece when one of the Ukrainians grabs the American's gun and fires, but the unknown person dodges skillfully and shoots another arrow through his throat. The scarlet color streams down his throat and he suffocates on his own blood, his dead body falling down.
"Someone joined us." Eve only reports distantly and stares at the bow and arrows that are hauntingly familiar to her. She's just standing there, paralyzed in shock. The soldier only knows one person who can aim that perfectly. "But... no, this doesn't make sense... Why...?"
"Shit!" One of the remaining Ukrainians swears and tries to run away with the case but an arrowhead pierces its way through his heart. The case drops, just like him, and the archer jumps down, landing on the ground without a scratch. Now that he's no longer standing in the shadow, Eve can see his black uniform and mask that resemble one of a samurai, though she's certain who's behind this.
Taking out a katana, a weapon Eve has never seen him use, he doesn't hesitate to slice it through the last Ukrainian's throat. In a matter of seconds, Eve is standing in a pool of blood and is surrounded by six dead bodies. Her eyes are attached to the corpses and she's holding her breath, the iron stench filling the air. It's certainly not the first time that she sees dead people but it's the first time she sees him killing people that brutally. Her glance shifts back to the assassin in front of her, blood dripping off his katana.
"Why would you need Terrigen Crystals?" She breaks the silence between them and her voice is steady.
"I don't." Clint answers, not surprised that she recognized him. As he wipes off the blood on his sleeve, he turns around and walks away to leave. Eve inhales sharply and follows him out of the factory. The drizzle has turned into a heavy rain, but she's only focused on him.
"Then why are you doing this? This is not you, and you know it." Eve wants to know and he keeps walking, not even looking at her. This is not the funny and caring Clint she used to know, the one who always called her kiddo. Her voice rises, becoming more vigorous. "You're not the only one who lost someone. I know Anya was important to you."
Clint pauses his walk and the two of them are standing in the rain, an oppressive weight hovering over them. Eve's heartbeat almost slows down and she hopes for Natasha's sake that he will return and explain everything.
"I can't come back without her." He finally says and his voice doesn't sound as cold as before. Now Eve realizes that Anya's death feels like his fault and that's why, he was gone. Clint is traumatized and feels ashamed.
"You can come home. We need you. Natasha needs you." Eve insists, but Clint still doesn't turn around. And that's when the realization hits her that he won't.
"The case is yours." These are his last words before he runs off, disappearing in the shadows.
Eve stays in the rain and just like the crying sky, she's now all alone.
A/N- Did I say two updates a week? Maybe I meant three...