Prologue
A young woman sat in the Avengers Compound biting her pink lip as her gray eyes slid up to everyone that was sitting around the table. “An Avengers exhibit in a London Museum?” She asked, running her hand through her blonde locks. She couldn’t believe that they wanted to do a section on the Avengers in the London Museum. After everything that they had done for the world, no one wanted to leave them alone. It was always something new that they wanted the Avengers to be involved in.
Tony swiveled in his chair to look at the blonde-haired young woman. “Look I know you don’t feel comfortable about the whole thing of museums wanting to open exhibits up.”
“I don’t have anything against it.” The younger woman protested not liking the idea that Tony was turning this around on her. “It’s just this.” She pushed the contract that Tony had given to each one of them. “They want an Avenger there to help put it together? Tony, have you ever thought that maybe some of us don’t even want to be part of that?”
Tony let out a breath shaking his head lightly. “I know that most of us are retired now.”
“Tony, that’s an understatement. All of us are retired. I don’t think that Secretary Ross would be happy to see any of us doing any hero work.”
“This won’t be hero work…” Tony said simply with a shrug.
Natasha leaned forward in her seat resting her hands on the table. “And which one of us should go? Most of us don’t have time in the day except for a few of us…”
Tony rubbed his mouth softly. “I’ve done a lot of thinking on who should go.” Tony said leaning back in his chair knowing that they were probably curious about who would be going to England to help with the exhibit. “Thor is off-world with the Guardians of The Galaxy so who knows when he’ll return. Bruce is busy with his cousin Jennifer who is trying to figure out a path she wants to take.” Tony closed his eyes deep in thought. “Clint is busy with his family. Wanda is off who knows where. Rhodey has military things to deal with. Scott is spending time with family. Nat, you’re busy with Fury. Bucky won’t go because that would be against his court-mandated therapy that he has to do to be pardoned. Sam is busy with family. Rogers is fully retired due to going back to be with Peggy.”
The young woman shifted in her seat not liking it as he continued to go through the last of the Avengers. Which was only down to her and him.
“And I’m busy with Pepper and Morgan. Which leads down to you Valeriya.”
“Oh, you can’t be serious.”
Tony eyed the blonde haired girl who was shifting around messing around with the hem of her red shirt that she wore. “Come on, it won’t be that bad, Valeriya.”
“Says you. You want me to go to London alone and curate this Avengers exhibit in a museum when I shouldn’t even be leaving the country.”
Tony held up his hand knowing that the poor girl didn’t like to be ordered around, but he had no choice in the matter. He was going to have to make her go. It wouldn’t look well on them if no one went to London to help with the exhibit. “It’d look bad on us if one of us doesn’t go.”
Valeriya ran her hand through her hair in nervousness. “You want me to go…”
“You’re not a flight risk, Red.”
Valeriya let out a breath rubbing her mouth softly wincing a little bit in thought. How was she even going to do this without causing some sort of trouble which always seemed to follow her no matter where she went? She felt the clammy sweat roll down the sides of her face as she was going into even more thought of what she should do. She let out a breath looking down at her hands that she put onto the table. “I don’t have much of a choice do I?”
Tony let out a breath and got up to his feet. “I know you can do this.”
Valeriya let out a breath and got up to her feet. She looked out the window with her arms crossed. “Alright, I’ll do it.”
Natasha got up to her feet and walked over to the blonde haired girl. She put her hand on her shoulder. “U tebya yest' eto, malysh.”
“YA? YA tak ne dumayu.” Valeriya said easily in Russian back to her fellow countrywoman. She felt like she was really going to mess things up and that was the last thing that she needed.
“We will always be here for you, a phone call away.” Natasha said, rubbing her shoulder softly. “If you need us, call and we’ll come.”
Valeriya swallowed the thick lump that formed in her throat knowing that was very true. Natasha was always going to be there for her and the rest of the Avengers would be as well. “Alright.” She knew that this choice wasn’t easy for her to be going, she could only hope that nothing bad would happen and thrust her back into the world of heroes and fighting.
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-U tebya yest' eto, malysh.: You have this, little one.
-YA? YA tak ne dumayu.: Do I? I don’t think I do.