────── ✼✼✼ ──────

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

It had been twenty-three days since the Battle of Wakanda. twenty-three days since everyone witnessed the disappearance of friends and family. They were all going crazy trying to figure out what went wrong and what they needed to do next. But no one had any answers for them. The only thing they could think of was sending Carol out into space to find any of their surviving friends. They hoped that they would have more answers to their never-ending questions once the rest of their team was found. But that was twenty days ago and they hadn't heard a word since.

The only thing Charlie wanted to do at that moment was go to the farmhouse to see if her family survived. She needed to know if her father was still around along with Laura and her siblings. But Steve and Natasha thought it would be best for her and Pietro to stay at the Compound until they figured things out. The Barton girl didn't understand why but when she tried to question their decision they simply told her to be patient. Charlie was getting restless waiting around and she could tell that the speedster felt the same. Pietro wanted to go out and find a solution to their problems and a way to get Wanda back. But after twenty-two days, the Maximoff boy was starting to lose hope.

Primrose wasn't any better. Not knowing whether or not her brother was still around drove her crazy. She would be constantly pacing around the Compound, trying to find something to keep her mind preoccupied. But even if she found something to do, her thoughts would always revert back to Peter. The only thing that kept the Quill woman somewhat sane was her frequent conversations with Rocket. The raccoon was the last person Primrose ever thought would be the one to help her through his. But to her surprise, he did a great job talking her down during her many breakdowns. The two of them were rarely seen without the other since the Battle of Wakanda. Rocket was all Primrose had left of the life she knew and she wasn't ready to lose him.

Primrose and Rocket were currently sitting across from Charlie and Pietro on the couches in the living room. No one said a word as they let the time go by, which was something all four of them did very often. None of them knew what to do anymore. They felt defeated and had no clue about how to feel any different. All they wanted was a small piece of hope, but they all knew it was going to be hard to find. Or at least, that's what they thought.

What they didn't expect to happen was the couches shaking uncontrollably. Charlie and Primrose instantly shared a confused look while the former intertwined her fingers with Pietro. It wasn't long before Steve came out from the restroom after shaving his beard, looking just as confused as everyone else. Not even a second after that passed when Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey rushed into the room with concerned looks on their faces. No one said a word as they got to their feet before following the Man Out of Time outside. Charlie was surprised when she found Pepper standing in the middle of the field while looking up at the sky. But what surprised her even more was the sight of Carol flying toward them with a spaceship in her hands.

They soon came to a stop right behind the Potts woman as they watched Captain Marvel place the ship down on the grass. Hope coursed through Primrose's veins as she watched the Benatar's ramp lower, wanting nothing more than to see Peter walking out. However, her blood soon ran cold when the only people to exit their ship were Nebula and a man who she could only assume was Tony Stark. Primrose and Rocket watched as Steve helped Tony down the ramp before they walked over to greet Nebula. The Luphomoid woman just watched them as they approached until they stopped a few feet away. Her eyes instantly met Primrose's gaze before Nebula found the courage within herself to speak two simple words.

"I'm sorry."

And that was all it took for Primrose's world to come crashing down around her. Everything seemed to fall silent as she continued to stare at Nebula. Her thoughts were moving around her head a mile per minute, none of them stopping for a second. The Quill woman opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Even if she could find it within herself to speak, she didn't know what to say. After all these years of protecting each other and sticking by each other, Primrose had failed when it mattered most. Peter was gone...and she couldn't save him. Now she was stuck on a planet she never wanted to come back to with only a raccoon and their former enemy as familiar faces.

While the Guardians mourned those they lost, another reunion was occurring behind them. Steve was helping Tony walk across the grass toward the rest of their team. From what Charlie could tell, the Stark man was in a state of shock, much worse than any of them. It made the Barton girl wonder what he faced out in space. But she was more concerned about the absence of both Alex and Peter. From what she could tell from the news, they were with Tony when the aliens attacked, but now they were nowhere to be seen. Charlie just hoped they were still resting on the ship.

Even though she wanted nothing more than to walk over and ask Tony where they were, Charlie stayed back with Pietro. The speedster's arm was tightly wrapped around her shoulders as they watched Tony and Pepper's reunion. The Barton girl couldn't help but let a small smile appear on her lips as she watched them wrap their arms around each other, neither wanting to let go. However, her smile left as quickly as it came when her eyes met Tony's gaze. The billionaire just stared at her for a long moment before he whispered something into Pepper's ear. It wasn't long after that when the Potts woman began helping Tony walk toward Charlie, making her blood run cold. She kept her eyes locked with his until he was standing directly in front of her.

Silence surrounded them for what felt like an eternity as Tony's eyes studied Charlie. The Barton girl knew he was trying to gather the courage to tell her the news she didn't want to hear. And it took all of her own courage not to run away. Another silent moment passed between them before the Stark man finally opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do."

Charlie's mouth ran dry as she continued to stare at the man in front of her. She wanted to scream or cry. She wanted to show some kind of emotion. But all she could do was blankly stare at him as if her brain wouldn't allow her to comprehend what he said. The only thing keeping the Barton girl from fully crashing down was Pietro's arm around her. It was as if his presence was enough to keep her anchored to the world, even though she wanted to crumble. It was at that moment that Charlie felt like she was twelve years old again. She felt like she was taken back in time to the moment she found out she lost her mother and brother. The Barton girl felt helpless and even Pietro's presence couldn't fix that.

Before anyone else could say another word, a loud crash sounded in the distance. Everyone instantly turned toward the source of the sound, only for shock to flow through all their veins. Standing in the middle of the grass and staring straight at them was a woman with glowing eyes and hands. Charlie couldn't help but stare at the stranger in awe, unable to believe what she was seeing. She thought the only person capable of such things was Carol, but now she knew she was wrong.

"You see the walking flashlight too, right?" Natasha asked, snapping the Barton girl out of her trance.

"I see her," Charlie whispered just loud enough for the Romanoff woman to hear as her eyes continued to scan over the woman in front of them, "but I still don't believe it."

"Where is my son?!" the stranger shouted while her eyes and hands shined brighter than before, causing everyone to look away.

Once the light faded, their attention returned to the woman. That was when Charlie finally noticed the sadness and fear in her eyes. The person standing in front of them was simply another person who lost a loved one to Thanos. Another person that they failed. The Barton girl had to mask her shock as she watched Steve walk toward the woman until he was standing a few feet away. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before the Man Out of Time broke the silence surrounding them.

"Come inside and we'll explain everything."

Charlie didn't remember walking back inside the Compound. All she knew was that she was now sitting next to Pietro on the couch. She wasn't able to get a word out of her mouth since Tony confirmed her worst thoughts. A million thoughts bounced around in her head and she wasn't able to stop them. The Barton girl was getting pushed past her breaking point and she knew one more thing could set her over the edge. The Maximoff boy interlaced his fingers with hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He knew he needed to calm her down before something else happened. But he also knew there was very little he could due to comfort Charlie. He could barely keep his own emotions under control.

"It's been twenty-three days since Thanos came to Earth," Rhodey announced as pictures of the fallen were projected in front of them.

Pietro tensed when his eyes landed on the image of Wanda. He couldn't remember the last time the two of them spent a moment alone together. They were either hiding from the government or fighting the next threat to the planet. It was as if fate didn't want to give the Maximoff siblings a moment of peace. The same thing happened to Charlie when she saw Alex and Peter's faces appear in front of her.

On the other side of the room, Primrose sat beside Rocket with her eyes glued to the holographic images. Her face lacked all emotion as unfamiliar faces flashed in front of her. But it wasn't long before Peter's face appeared. A lump formed in the Quill woman's throat as she stared into her brother's eyes. She couldn't help but wish she had the Time Stone to go back and change everything. That might not be the smartest idea, but Primrose didn't care. All she wanted was her brother back and she would do whatever it takes to get him back.

"World governments are in pieces," Natasha announced, drawing everyone's attention back to the situation at hand, "the parts that are still working are trying to take a census and it looks like he did...he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out 50% of all living creatures."

"Where is he now?" the newcomer, who they learned was named Trinity, asked as her eyes scanned over everyone standing in the room with her.

A long sigh passed over Steve's lips as he looked over at the Stark man. "We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through."

Just like the Man Out of Time, Tony let out a long sigh in an attempt to settle his emotions. It wasn't long after that when his attention moved to Thor, who was sitting in another room watching his allies. "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed," Rocket responded in a tone that made it seem as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "which, of course, he did. But, you know, there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?"

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear."

"Maybe I am."

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep space scans and satellites, and we got nothing," Steve explained while trying his best to hide the exhaustion in his voice, but Charlie saw right through his walls, "Tony, you fought him."

"Who told you that? I didn't fight him," the Stark man retaliated while looking away from the raccoon to meet Steve's gaze, "no, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight because he's not beatable."

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" the Rogers man questioned, wanting nothing more than to find Thanos and reverse everything he had done.

An irritated look instantly appeared on Tony's face as he stared at the Man Out of Time. That continued for another moment before the Stark man began speaking. "I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming."

Tony's words instantly caused Charlie and Pietro to exchange a look, knowing that his so-called "vision" was caused by Wanda back in Sokovia. But their attention was soon drawn back to the situation at hand by the sound of the Rogers man's voice. "Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus."

"And I needed you. As in, past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late, buddy. Sorry," the Stark man declared, causing an unreadable expression to appear on Steve's face. It wasn't long after that when Tony leaned forward to sniff the food in front of him, only for him to knock the bowl off the table. Everyone jumped at the sound of the bowl crashing against the ground before Tony continued speaking. "You know what I need? I need a shave. And I believe I remember telling all you, alive and otherwise, that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that?"

Charlie couldn't help but cringe at his words before watching the brunette man pull the IVs out of his arm despite Rhodey's protests. As soon as he was free from the wires, Tony turned back to his allies and looked at those who were with him during their fight with Ultron. "Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not. That's what we needed."

"Well, that didn't work out, did it?" Steve retaliated while keeping his eyes glued to the man struggling to stand on his own two feet.

Tony just stared at the Man Out of Time with anger in his eyes before he opened his mouth to speak. "I said we'd lose. You said, 'we'll do that together, too.' And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the 'Avengers.' We're the 'Avengers" not the "Pre-vengers.' Right?"

Rhodey didn't hesitate to grab Tony's arms and attempt to guide him back to his wheelchair. "Okay. You made your point. Just sit down, okay? Tony, you're sick. Sit down."

"No, no, here's my point. You know what?" the Stark man continued despite the Rhodes man trying to get him to sit back down in his wheelchair. It wasn't long before the billionaire's attention fell on Carol. "She's great by the way. We need you. You're new blood. You can help Katniss and Speedy fix our mistakes. We're a bunch of tired old mules."

Charlie couldn't help but tense as she looked over at Pietro, who looked just as uncomfortable as she was. That was enough for her to take his hand into her own before they turned their attention back to the situation at hand. The Barton girl was shocked after watching Tony push Rhodey away and approach Steve. The Stark man was standing a few feet away from the Man Out of Time. Tony was just glaring up at Steve while the latter stared down at him with an unreadable look on his face. That moment lasted for what felt like an eternity before the billionaire broke the awkward silence surrounding them.

"I got nothing for you, Cap. I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust, liar," Tony declared without even attempting to hide the hatred in his voice. It wasn't long after that when the Stark man ripped off his chest piece and placed it in Steve's hand. "Here, take this. You find him, you put that on...you hide."

Not even a second after he finished speaking passed when the Stark man collapsed on the floor. Everyone surrounding him moved to help him, only for Tony to brush them off. It wasn't long after that when he fell unconscious.

────── ✼✼✼ ──────

────── ✼✼✼ ──────