| chapter one |
Avengers' Tower - 2011
"Still no answer." Tony explained as he failed to reach the line of Nick Fury.
"What if he isn't here? What if he didn't come back?" Wanda asks. "Is it possible that it's only us this happened to?"
"In the three days we've been here, Bruce and Tony have figured out that everyone that was directly involved in the war have been brought back. Nick was one of the most involved people, he has to be back."
"But what about Pietro? How is he back?" Clint questions.
"Maybe it's everyone who had something to do with us, in a good way. I looked up Aldrich Killian's file, he's still dead, it just doesn't say when he died." Tony theorises.
"So, what, we defeated Thanos, which none of us can actually remember how, and then we were all transported back to before most of it even happened?"
"It would seem that way, Barton." Came a deep voice from the elevator.
The Avengers turned round to see none other than Nick Fury leaving the shaft.
"Where the hell have you been?" Steve interrogates.
"Busy, Cap. A lot has happened, in case you hadn't noticed. But we've got the answers that everyone needs. Where are the rest of them?"
"Everyone apart from us went home. We decided to stay together because we don't know what's different out there." Natasha explained.
Fury looked round and observed each of the 13 individuals in the room. Wanda clung to Pietro, grateful to have her twin brother back with her, while Vision floated near the large window, observing the city from afar.
"It would seem we were brought back in time." He drawls. "But nobody can figure out how, or why."
"Nobody knows how. I doubt we ever will. But we're pretty certain on why."
"Please, tell us." Steve says hotly.
"It's the year 2011. We were in 2019 less than four days ago. It's strongly believed, and we have found evidence for the fact that none of it should have happened in the first place." Fury paused and looked at everyone's confused facial expressions. "We believe that originally, something else was supposed to happen, that would have left to a whole different turn of events. But one small mistake was made, and thus we were lead down a different path. One that ended in a lot of grief and loss."
"What was supposed to happen?" Bucky speaks up from his place on the couch.
"Funny you should ask, Barnes. But it's more like what was not supposed to happen. Someone got lost."
"Lost?"
"In transit. We've had the best people searching for a girl for many years now, even before S.H.I.E.L.D was founded. We've now found her."
"It was founded in 1965. You've been looking for a girl for that long? She'd be at least 45 by now."
"On the contrary, Romanoff. She's 17."
"17? You've been looking for a girl, born in '94, since before '65?"
"No. We've been looking for a girl born in 1928, since 1950."
The team sit in silence as they absorb what Fury just said.
"That isn't possible. She can't be 17 years old and be born in the 20's."
"Says the 26 year old born in 1918." Fury fires.
"Wait, you're saying the girl was frozen?"
"Quite so. Allow me to tell you the story of Clara Belle Davies." He gestured for Tony to turn on the large monitor, handing him full control of what was displayed.
"Born on July 1st, 1928 in South Shields, Northern England. Her mother, Ruth Davies, had lived there for five years before moving the two of them to a farm in Houston, Texas, living with George Willis, who she married a year later. When Davies turned 16, she was brought to the attention of Alexander Nelson - a man who would later join Hydra in its New Mexico base and reveal her to them. It was no secret to anyone that Clara Belle Davies was one of the most beautiful girls in Texas, and some even thought of her as one of America's prettiest females. In the end, Hydra planned on using Davies' beauty in their plans. They came up with the strategy to capture her when she turned 17, and keep her away for a while until they could find the best use for her. They didn't want to risk losing her while they waited. But they didn't expect Davies to be ill when they took her. In 1945, she became weak. She was often sick, and almost always freezing to the touch. She deteriorated quickly, and within weeks she was left unable to speak or stand without a lot of assistance. It says on the files they had many doctors see to her, none could find a cause, but one concluded that it was similar to when one's soulmate dies. She suffered the mental and physical setbacks that occur, though there were many differences, so they weren't 100% certain."
"So, her soulmate died, and she reacted differently?"
"It would seem so. But most importantly, was the amount of soulmarks she bares." The team watched as the screen switched to two drawings. "This is a sketch of Davies' torso, drawn when she was born by an astounded doctor. We found it in her file."
"There's 12."
"Yes. The most soulmarks ever recorded in history. She never found any of them, but it still isn't completely ruled out that they may still be alive, as we obviously don't know how old they are."
"So, where is she?"
"We don't know. Hydra couldn't find any cure, no matter how many things they injected her with. She became too ill for them to cure, but they didn't want to give it up completely. So, they decided to save her for the future, when a cure would've been easier to discover. They froze her in a cryo chamber. The base soon became known to others, and they had to move everything to another one, which was discovered in New York just three years later and soon infiltrated by S.H.I.E.L.D agents. They discovered that the transition from New Mexico to New York wasn't thoroughly thought out, and Davies never made it to the new base. Nobody knew where her cryo chamber had ended up, and eventually they gave up looking. But we didn't. Since 1950, we have searched far and wide for any sign of Davies. Yesterday, we received a call about a strange box that nobody could open, but was extremely cold. When it arrived, it was a cryo chamber, containing the preserved body of Clara Belle Davies."
"This is all very intriguing, sir, but may I ask where this is going? You found her, isn't that a good thing?"
"Precisely Parker. We believe that we were meant to find her the first time round, but things came up and we didn't take the phone call, and she was left abandoned once again."
"So you're saying, if she had been found the first time round, everything would have been different?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Banner."
"And I'm guessing she has something to do with us, considering it altered our timeline."
"She has a lot to do with you. When Hydra captured her, it was discovered that one of her soulmarks were different than the rest. It was outlined. When questioned, she said that it used to be like the rest, but it changed when she looked at the eyes on a poster. More specifically, a Captain America tour poster."
The team watch in astonishment as the screen flickers to another screen, now a picture, of the left side of a torso. At the top, the outline of Captain America's shield lay peacefully.
"We believe we have the answer as to what's under the others."
S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters
"Miss Davies, please lay down. You're safe here, but you're not well." The nurse pleaded as the young girl sat up once again.
"Just take me to mama, please. I won't tell anyone I was here, I promise. Just take me home." The nurse's heart broke as she heard the raspy begs of her patient.
"Let's get you better first, okay? Wouldn't want to pass anything on to anybody else now, would we? One step at a time, sweetie."
Clara eyed the woman sceptically before leaning back into the bed at the nurse's guidance. The strange wires on her arm tugged at her skin and caused her to wince, to which the nurse rearranged the bandage holding it in place as she helped the weak girl get into a more comfortable position. The sliding door behind is heard moving, and both occupants of the room look to see a brunette woman walking through the now open doorway.
"Miss Davies, my name is Maria Hill. It's a pleasure to meet you." She introduced.
"Uhm, you too ma'am. Please call me Clara, my mama is called Miss Davies"
"Very well. In that case, please call me Maria. Clara, do you know where you are?"
"No, I'm not allowed to."
"Do you know what year it is?"
"1945. They say the war is over, ma'am, is that true?"
"Couldn't be more of the truth. Clara, you're in New York City. The year is no longer 1945, we're a bit later than that now."
"I don't understand -"
"No worries, we don't expect you to." Hill sat on the edge of the medical bed, causing Clara to shift away slightly. "You were brought to New York when we found you in your chamber. We've been looking for you for a very long time, Clara."
"How long is very long?"
"61 years."
The young girl shot up from her position, once again tugging the wires on her arms, this time causing them to fall out and a sharp pain to shoot through her arm.
"Ma'am, please, just let me go home."
"Where is home, Clara?"
"Houston. We have a farm in the countryside, I'm meant to take care of the horses."
"How many horses?" Maria was trying to distract the girl and calm her distress.
"4, but one's expecting a foal anytime soon." Before Maria could correct Clara's tenses, a voice came from her radio.
"Agent Hill, you're needed in the meeting room."
"You'll have to excuse me, Clara. Try and get some sleep."
"Yes, ma'am."
Maria exited the room and the nurse began to put the wires back into Clara's arm, securing them with new pieces of tape.
"Ma'am, do you know where my poster is? I'm feeling nervous."
"What poster, sweetie?"
"My Captain America one. You guys let me have it when I'm nervous."
"Oh, I think that was in the box that was in the chamber, give me one moment." The nurse disappeared for a moment and Clara took the chance to look around the room. White walls and weird machinery were pretty much the only thing surrounding them, apart from an old radio that resided on a counter top, which had been turned off per her request. She didn't have one at home, and she didn't wish to start listening to the negativity that was going on around her. A strange black glass thing was hung onto the top corner of the room, seemingly looking at her, a light blinking red slowly. Apparently, she was now 61 years later than she was before, and as much as she didn't fully believe it, there was a fair amount of evidence to back it up. But who know the lengths these people would go to in order to trick somebody.
"Here you go. It's in perfect condition, it seemed pretty well kept in that box of yours." Clara grasped her safety blanket in her hand gently.
"It means a lot to me."
"Is that what caused one of your marks to change?"
"Yes ma'am. I looked at it when it arrived in the paper and it set in. Does it mean anything?"
"It does indeed. But I don't think it's my place to tell you."
"People said the soulmarks revealed themselves when you look into the eyes of your soulmate. I looked into Captain America's eyes on the poster. Was he my soulmate?"
The nurse stayed quiet and looked towards the thing in the corner of the room, looking slightly disheveled by the question. The young girl sighed.
"Even if he was, he'd reject me."
"Why would you say that? You're a wonderful young girl."
"Mama and George always said that the amount of soulmarks I had would make anyone want to stay away from me, including my soulmates. They wouldn't want me because of the amount I have."
"That's not true, sweetie. I'm sure they love you all the same when you meet them."
"But, I was told that he died. He crashed a plane to avoid others dying. So why isn't my soulmark gone? It should have disappeared, but it never did."
"Because Captain America didn't actually die." Came Maria Hill's voice once again. Clara's eye scoured the room and she was left in confusion when she didn't see the woman anywhere, but her eyes were drawn to a bright light on the opposite wall, which quickly showed the woman herself.
"Where are you? How can I see you if you're not here?" The confused girl questions.
"I'm in a meeting room. I heard what you were saying and knew it was out of nurse Redford's depth to explain, no offence."
"None taken."
"How can you hear me?"
"Look up at the left corner of the room." Clara looks at the weird black thing once again. "That's a camera. It's showing what's happening in the room and allows me to hear it too, and you're seeing and hearing me through the same thing." Clara just nods her head, ignoring the confusion that runs through it.
"Ma'am, Captain America went into the ocean and was pronounced dead. I know because my mama was speaking to George about it when I was making breakfast."
"He never actually died. He was frozen at the bottom of the ocean for many years, and he was found a while ago. That's why your soulmark didn't disappear."
"So, he is my soulmate?"
"Yes, Clara, he is. On top of that, we think we know who you other soulmates are, as well."
"Who?"
"Another time. You need rest and relaxation before anything major like that happens. You've been in that cryo chamber for a while, and you need to recover from your illness too."
"They said they couldn't do anything about it, I would either die or have to wait."
"I think you've waited long enough, Clara. We have the facilities to heal you now." Maria's head nods towards the machines attached to the wires in her arm. "The IV's are putting medicines into your system to recover anything that needs help. You should be fine within a few days, and we'll get you up and walking about. In the meantime, nurse Redford will help you bathe and we'll supply you with plenty of food."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"I told you, it's Maria. You don't have to use many formalities around here anymore. Now, before I go, is there anything else you would like?"
"My hair."
"Your hair?"
"It used to be blonde; a bit lighter than nurse Redford's. They changed the color before they put me in the box."
"Would you like to have it changed back to blonde?"
"Could you? I like the color, but my mama said I need to look like me to be the best me. Plus, I do miss my hair."
"Of course, we'll have someone come in and help you in the next few days. I'll see you soon."
"Bye!" The girl says, now more upbeat. Knowing she'd look more like herself soon, she felt much happier with everything going on.
"Get some sleep, Miss Davies. We'll wake you when it's time for dinner. Press this button if you need anything, other than that I will leave you alone."
"Yes, ma'am, thank you."
"Have a good rest. I'll see you soon."
Clara allowed herself to relax into the comfortable bed. She'd never seen the world so differently. Her eyes rested on the still-flashing red light on the camera, which she guessed meant people could still see and hear her, despite the dimmed lighting in the room.
"Miss Maria? How do I know my soulmates won't turn me away? Mama said I'd have to settle with a person who isn't my mate, like her, but you said they'll still love me. I really want that. Do you promise that'll happen?"
There was silence for a while, and Clara thought she was wrong - maybe nobody could hear her. Or worse, Maria was lying, but she didn't want to think of that. She hoped she was told the truth. Luckily, a voice stopped any negative thoughts from filling her mind as it flowed through the room. It wasn't Maria's, it was deeper; like a man's.
"I promise; you'll be loved. So much."