The Price for Life
Without warning, they were spit out back to the current year.
Evie steadied herself from the overwhelming befuddlement that took over upon reentry. Everyone’s helmets retracted as did their suits. Allowing her a chance to glance around. But the second her eyes landed on Clint, her cheery demeanor died.
Both Bruce and Rhodey said something, but they fell on deaf ears as she watched Barton fall to his knees. “Clint?” She braved. At the sound of him dropping, they all turned and Bruce asked what Evie was too scared to voice.
“Clint, where’s Nat?”
Hawkeye met her already watery gaze, swallowing thickly and letting his head fall in defeat. Bruce went to one knee and punched the floor as Tony heard a soft gasp leave his daughter.
Evie felt as if another piece of her soul broke off, floating away into the void.
The founding Avengers all somehow ended up at the dock, overlooking the lake.
As Tony asked if anyone knew if Nat had relatives, Evie quietly sat by watching Thor try to wrap his head around the fact that Romanoff truly was gone. It wasn’t to be said lightly, but both Evie and Clint were experiencing a severe case of survivor’s guilt. He felt like he had failed Natasha, while Evie kept telling herself that I was meant to have been her. She was supposed to be the one who was meant to go with Clint, not her closest friend.
It came as no surprise when Clint snapped at Thor, shouting that, “it can’t be undone! Or that’s at least what the red, floating guy had to say. So maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay?! Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him!” Steve placed a firm, but comforting hand over Evie’s as they both had tears rolling down. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I was supposed to be me…” Clint cried out, “She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it.”
Bruce felt the need to release some of the pent of emotions threatening to suffocate him and with a growl, he threw a bench clear across the water before turning to say, “she’s not coming back.” He then released a frustrated sigh adding, “We have to make it worth it… We have to.”
Steve released Evie’s hands and stood to say, “we will.” With absolute resolution. A feeling that steeped into her as she muttered, “my pochtim tebya, sestra. Vasha zhertva ne budet naprasnoy.”
A phrase only Clint understood, and deeply appreciated in that moment.
So, with the stones gathered, they went to work.
In the lab, Evie was wholeheartedly focused on one thing. Emitting a deeply calm and tranquil sensation, she kept producing an unceasing supply of black fog that lingered around the lab's floor. It was infecting Rocket, Bruce, and her dad. However, Tony was the main recipient as she stood behind her father with her fingers pressed gently to his temples.
He had taken it upon himself to insert the stones into the Iron Gauntlet, and therefore, needed to keep steady hands. Hence why his daughter was so in tune with her efforts. All three of them were watching Tony closely. Very gracefully, the eldest Stark placed the stones which were smoothly accepted by the sliding and sifting nanotech. Effectively housing them without much fuss.
Just as they were about to release a sigh of relief, Rocket couldn’t help but let loose an ear-piercing, “BOOM!” It nearly scared the others out of their skin, something that would’ve had the mammal chuckling mischievously had it not been for Evie’s sudden sucker punch. A reflex someone should have warned him about early on.
She gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth before darting to pick him up off the floor. “Dude, shit... I'm so sorry, are you okay?!” He shrugged her off as he recovered. “Nah I’m fine. I earned it, I should know better than to try and spook the dark and mysterious one of the crew.” Meanwhile, both Tony and Bruce couldn’t contain their snickering.
Sometime later, Evie stepped out of the compound seeking a much needed breath of air. And that's when she decided to call her mother, hoping she would be able to provide solace. But instead of Pepper answering the call it was Laura.
“Mama?”
“Hey, sweetheart! Whatcha doing with Nana’s phone?” In the background her mother’s voice was heard asking who it was, which Laura quickly responded saying it was her Mama, something that warmed Evie from her head to her toes with pride and love.
“Nana is helping us make cookies, her hands are covered in flour so she asked me to answer her phone.” Evie relished the sound of her daughter's voice. Not knowing that this was exactly the boost of motivation she needed.
“That-that’s great, babygirl! Make sure you and Morgan don’t go crazy with them, okay? I can’t have you two on a sugar high now can I?” Laura giggled before saying, “Mama , when are you coming home? Te extraño…”
Evie sniffled, blinking away the water blurring her vision. “Soon, mi niña hermosa. I just gotta help grandpa and my friends finish this super important job, you remember right?” The girl heaved a sigh, “si , I remember. You sure you don’t need my help?”
“Very sure, sweetheart. Plus you gotta an important job too, it’s why you gotta stay there.”
“I do?”
Evie chuckled, “yeah! It’s up to you and uncle Happy to protect the house when me and grandpa aren’t there.”
With an air of excitement the girl replied with, “okay, mama! I can do that! Logan has been teaching me new skills and uncle Happy likes it when I help him patrol the area. He says I'm the coolest kid he knows.”
“And he’s right, babygirl. Listen, I gotta go, but we’ll try and be home soon. Me and grandpa…”
“Okay, mama. Go finish the top secret mission. Te amo mucho!” Evie smiled sadly, closing her eyes.
“Te amo más! Bye, baby.”
If there was one thing she was grateful for, it was that Natahsa had tagged along a few days prior.
Evie had tried to excuse herself to go on a ‘personal errand.’ But the Black Widow insisted they needed some girl time, and stuck to her like glue.
After quickly admitting that she wouldn’t be able to shake her, Natasha was riding shotgun asking why they were heading to Westchester County and not the city. It was then that Stark took the hour car ride to bring her best friend up to date with what she had been up to for the past five years.
Being careful not to spoil the ending till they were pulling up to a massive estate.
“Evie why are we at… Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters?” Widow said suspiciously. They followed the driveway till they came to a stop at the entrance of the rather impressive mansion. There were kids of every age scattered about the grounds enjoying the pleasant autumn weather.
“Well remember how I told you about Laura…”
Romanoff’s eyes went wide, “wait-what are you telling me here?”
With a sly grin Evie said, “come on.” And stepped out of the car, and went up to the massive oak doors, knocking twice.
Natasha was practically bouncing in place, anticipation and excitement bubbling out of her every pore. There was some slight shuffling before the doors opened and they were greeted by a friendly face.
“Stark. On time as always…”
“Logan, hi.” She gave the man a bright smile before turning to her left. “This is my friend Natahsa.” He subtly took her in with his eyes as he held out his hand.
"Friend huh? Logan… James Logan, at your service ma’am.” Nat quirked a brow and shook his hand giving him a teasing smirk.
“I understand you have someone we’re here to pick up.” He chuckled, glancing at Evie before motioning them to follow him in.
“I like your friend, she single?”
“Down boy… now where’s my-”
“Mama!?”
The three of them turn to face the top of the stairs where Laura was already hitting top speed racing down the steps. When she got to the last three, she practically threw herself into Evie’s arms. Burying her face into her neck, a cute giggle emanating from her.
“Hey there, honey! Oh, I missed you!” When Laura’s feet were back on solid ground she turned to see three smiling faces. But the Widow’s was new, therefore, her’s quickly fell into something more akin to suspicion. She leaned into her mother, whispering, “quien es?”
Evie chuckled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Laura, this is my friend. Natasha,” she bent down to whisper, “this is mama’s teacher, she taught me how to kick ass and be a super cool spy.”
With that, Laura’s eyes lit up in amazement. “De veras?”
Nat then took a step forward. “It’s true I met your mom when she was still a kid herself. And we’ve been besties ever since. But you can call me auntie Nat.” She threw the kid a wink as Laura gave her a timid smile.
Back inside she found the common spaces eerily quiet and devoid of people. For some reason it caused a mild anxiety to stir.
“Where the fuck is everyone?” She muttered to herself, checking all the main halls, and peeking in each room. Eventually she was sprinting down the corridors, nearly yelling. Calling out, “Dad?! Uncle Roe! Where is everybody?!”
Panic was just about to settle till she went to recheck the kitchen. At the sound of hurried steps, Steve perked up from where he was doodling and having what smelled like strong coffee and a BLT sandwich.
“Steve!” Evie rushed out, taking in a steady breath to center herself.
“Hey, is that you I heard just now?” She plastered on a fake smile, hoping to hide her plight.
“Um, yeah… where the fu-” Steve cocked a brow, making her rephrase her question. So she cleared her throat and served herself a mug of hot joe. “Where’s everyone?”
“Probably still out… Your dad went to get food and apparently everyone wanted to tag along. It seems like they wanted a bit of a break from, well… you know.” Steve leaned back onto the counter and watched her carefully. “You good?” She nodded, taking a seat across from him.
“Out…” Evie repeated in a whispered voice, the realization of the situation calming her. Just because she didn’t see them leave didn’t mean they were snapped out of existence. Evie’s eyes landed on the clock on the wall and it was, in fact, well past noon. So of course her father, being the constant grazer that he was, went out to seek nourishment. No one had dematerialized into dust at all. No one had abandoned the mission.
Everyone was just out, getting food and some much needed air after all the heavy shit that had rocked the crew.
Well, all except for Steve Rogers of course. The ever steady foundation of the Avengers. She took a deep breath and relaxed, turning her full attention back to him. Who seemed to have been freshly showered and in gym shorts of all things. The sight made her giggle before taking a sip.
“What’s so funny?” He asked, curious as to what could possibly be making her laugh from behind her mug.
“I never knew you had legs.” She half smiled, stealing a bite out of the other half of his sandwich. Steve was swallowing his last mouthful of coffee before he choked, and then laughed.
“Well…” He said, tilting his head. “I never knew you had four.”
“Touché.” She chuckled. “Are you wearing those in for the big moment?” She gestured towards his pale bare knees. “Cause if that’s how you’re going, I’ll change into my pajamas if we're not making a huge fuss of things.”
His shoulders shook as they erupted in another bout of laughter. Something they both needed after the hardship recently endured. Eventually they came down from their fit, and as they exhaled deeply, Steve caught her hand. Giving her a very sweet, very genuine smile. Something she reciprocated.
He gave her a squeeze, “It’s so great to see you like this, relaxed and even laughing.” With a lazy grin, her eyes fell to the floor.
"Yeah I wasn’t exactly the picture of complete mental sanity five years ago, was I?”
He got up and gave her a hug. His embrace warm and full of affection. He rested his cheek on her head, and she tucked in under his chin. “Yeah but no one here faults you, or holds it against you. You needed space and someone capable of reaching out in a way we couldn’t. I'm just grateful Tony was able to do that for you.”
She pulled back and took his face in her hands. And for a second he felt as if she were looking into his very soul, admiring whatever she had found there while uncovering his deepest, most hidden secrets.
“I love you, Steve Rogers. Always know that no matter how far we stray from each other, you will always be my brother. My Stevie. And I, your kitten. Your kid sister.” He brought her close and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms around her once more.
He felt lighter, as if in some strange sense she knew something he wasn’t yet aware of and was okay with whatever she’d found. Lifting some of the world’s weight off his shoulders. By the time she left to meet her dad and the others who were carting in yet another truck load of take out, Steve had finally settled his mind on something that had been echoing soft and faint from his heart to his mind.
It made him take another deep breath at the realization. And as he went off in search of his uniform, he gained a new sense of profound determination.
Not just for the world, but finally for himself too.