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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
viii. LITTLE BEAR

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   IF RILEY STARK WAS being entirely honest, she had absolutely no idea what to expect when Thanos teleported her off of Titan. She had been so shaken up that she basically had no time to think. Wasn't that such a strange thought; to think that you have no time to think?

   Hearts pounding, hands sweating, and tears threatening to drip from her eyes no thanks to the distress Thanos had instilled, Riley really only knew two things that were certain:

   Firstly, Thanos was far more powerful than she had realized.

   Secondly, Riley was definitely falling from the sky.

   The wind shot through her, stealing her screams as she plummeting down from the atmosphere onto foreign land. She continued to shout bloody murder, her throat shredding itself apart until her body smacked into a clear forcefield of some sort. It was then when she realized that all of her energy had been sapped entirely and her distress was permanent. That seemed to be when she fell unconscious, but not before sliding off of the forcefield and onto the ground in an exhausted state.

   When Riley finally regained consciousness, she was laying on a hospital bed. The air conditioner blasted throughout the snow-white room. The ceiling, the walls, even the metal bed had some form of white on them. Directly ahead of the teenager was a large window that allowed light to silently seep into the room filled with various machines that were beyond the average person.

   Stretching out her limbs, she had been expecting to wince at the sensation of contusions and pulled muscles. But there was nothing of the sort. No bruises, no injuries. It was like nothing had happened... like the entire past day was wiped from existence. All she had was a mild headache and a dry throat. How was it possible?

   Riley slowly sat up, cautious of any surprise injuries. She looked around and observed every detail of her surroundings. She shifted her position, allowing her feet to skim the floor. Her confusion grew when she realized that she was wearing her normal clothes — the ones that she had been wearing underneath her Valor suit. When she reached for her silver cuffs, her heart dropped. They were gone.

   Worry blossomed within her, but she remained calm. She was trained for anything, even if "anything" made absolutely no sense. She could use her powers perfectly fine without her suit, sure, but she had been hoping to use it to contact JOCASTA and figure out where she was.

   She stealthily began to make her way through the room she was in. She looked out the window, finding numerous people outside wearing matching, traditional-looking clothing. Because she was unable to make out their faces or recognize the outside world, she decided to move on.

   As Riley tentatively progressed towards the open door that would lead her out of the peculiar room she was in, she was about to turn herself invisible as per usual. However, she was taken aback when a teenaged girl just a few inches taller than her happened to be entering at the same time.

   Riley threw her arms up in defense, prepared to fight this girl; however, she fell back on her plan when the girl screamed with a very distinct African accent, "Jesus! Could you at least give a girl a warning before you try to scare her?"

   Riley's eyes widened, taking a step backward as the teenager strolled past her. The girl had dark skin and wore her hair in braids. If it weren't for her unusual clothing, Riley could easily decipher the fact that she wasn't even close to being in America based off of her accent alone.

   "W...What...?" Was Riley supposed to fight this random girl? She couldn't have been any older than herself, and from the looks of it, she had no intentions of harming Riley. "Who are you?"

   "I should be asking you the same thing," the girl declared. She proceeded to press various buttons on a monitor of some sort. Riley walked closer to the teenager, attempting to see what she was doing. The language on the screen looked like gibberish to Riley, probably because it was in a different language. "Let me check your vitals. You are very spry for someone who just fell from the sky like God herself."

   "Where are we, exactly?" Riley demanded.

   "Hell," the dark-skinned teenager replied almost too quickly.

   It was then when a new voice chimed in. This time, it was one that Riley recognized. "Shuri," warningly called a man, "I thought I told you to be kind to our guest."

   "I patched up another one of your broken Americans, did I not?" the girl whose name was Shuri retorted. Shuri kept her gaze on the monitor while Riley turned to face the man.

   A dark-skinned man wearing traditional garbs and a tired, but youthful face stood before her. "King T'Challa!" she gasped.

   Riley couldn't help but pause. She doubted T'Challa would be in America after the whole ordeal with the Sokovia Accords, which only fed into her theory that she wasn't in America. But if the two other people in the room with her had distinct African accents and wore traditional clothing, then that meant...

   "Wait, are we in Wakanda?" added Riley.

   "Brilliant, this one is," Shuri called over her shoulder.

   Rolling his eyes, T'Challa shook his head. "Shuri, this is Riley, better known as her Avenger counterpart, Valor," T'Challa introduced. "Little Bear, this is my infuriating sister." Shuri snickered to herself.

   She hesitated. How could she be in Wakanda? It made no sense to her. Thanos had said that he was going to send her to a place where she couldn't distract him. Why Wakanda? What was Thanos planning? Was it really as simple as sending Riley to Wakanda, or was there something else he was planning?

   Looking up at the King, Riley wondered, "What is going on?"

   "You tell me," T'Challa insisted, taking a seat. "One minute, I'm revising the country's border protection, and the next, I find out that someone has just fallen from the sky and landed on our barriers. Not beside them, but quite literally on top of our barriers."

   With a sheepish chuckle, Riley proceeded to tell her story. She told T'Challa and Shuri about the wizard and the Infinity Stones. She told them about Thanos and how she ended up in outer space, just to be kicked out of outer space. She told them about the Guardians of the Galaxy and how Thor and Bruce were alive after all this time, not to mention how Tony, Peter, and Doctor Strange were still in space.

   "And now I'm here," Riley finished. "Speaking of, do you know where my suit? Because I'd like to have that back."

   "That old thing?" Shuri questioned, almost humorously. "You'll get it back eventually. You crushes it in your landed, and if you're all that my brother has talked you up to be, you'll need some upgrades. Think of it as charity work!"

   Before she could reply, someone urgently entering the room grasped their attention. A woman stood, a nervous expression on her face. "Okoye," greeted T'Challa. He rose to his feet. "What's wrong?"

   Hardly acknowledging Riley's existence, the one called Okoye remained entirely serious. "Something's happened," she said. "There's someone on the phone."

   "Well, who is it?" urgently asked T'Challa.

   Okoye paused. "Steve Rogers."

○ ○ ○

   Observing King T'Challa Udaku in action as King of Wakanda rather than the ferocious Black Panther was an interesting experience. Riley admired how he could hurriedly order his guards around to do things like make preparations to lower Wakanda's barriers in order for the Avengers to safely land within the country — all while appearing utterly graceful and composed.

   Yes, the Avengers — or rather, what was left of them — were coming to Wakanda.

   Riley's nerves flared up at the thought of seeing everyone. She was anxious just thinking about seeing Steve Rogers and whoever he planned on bringing along with him. She didn't know all of the details. She just knew that Vision needed to be separated from the Mind Stone in his head, but she wasn't even sure if it was plausible.

   Two entire years had gone by since Riley last saw Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and so many of the people she considered a family. It truly did feel like it had been longer, but that might be because Riley grew up seeing Natasha basically every day. Because of all of this, Riley was nervous for their inevitable reunion. She wondered if they hated her for choosing Tony's side in the great Civil War. The thought made Riley even antsier than before.

   Since she awakened, Riley was glued to T'Challa's side. The two had gotten to know one another a few years back, albeit briefly. However, now, Riley was stuck with the second heir to the throne, otherwise known as Princess Shuri Udaku. They seemed to be intrigued by one another. They both knew that T'Challa saw similarities between them, but they definitely didn't see it.

   "Are you done, yet?" queried Riley for the third time that hour. She was sitting on an office chair that spun around, rolling to and from wherever she pleased.

   Shuri, who had been working on fixing and making adjustments to Riley's suit for her own entertainment, just shook her head. "Does it look like I'm done?"

   "How should I know?" retorted Riley.

   "Exactly!" exclaimed Shuri. "You won't know until I say so!"

   Riley released an audible sigh in order to display her impatience. Hours had gone by since she had awakened and since T'Challa and Okoye left to retrieve someone by the nickname of the "White Wolf". Whoever it was, they had better be important if they were going to help the Avengers fight Thanos and his overpowered gauntlet.

   Rising from her chair, she strolled to Shuri's side and peered down at her work. She propped her elbows up on the table to observe from a closer angle, only for Shuri to smack her arms off the countertop. "Ow!" Riley whined.

   Shuri stared at the teenager, bewildered. "That hurt? Aren't you supposed to be some legendary superhero?"

   "Yeah," confirmed Riley. When Shuri didn't laugh, Riley sighed again. "It didn't actually hurt. I only said that for comedic purposes."

   Shuri paused to consider this. Then, she chuckled. "Your suit really needed an upgrade. It's a remarkable start, but the way the microfibers were poly-synthetically merged together would have given your suit maybe a few more blows before it completely fell apart. But I used the same material from the suit I made for T'Challa—"

   "Wait," interjected Riley in awe. "You made T'Challa's suit?" She was hurriedly realizing how intelligent Shuri actually was. "Let me guess, it's made out of Polyester?"

   Shuri mockingly gasped. "Of course not! We Wakandans prefer cotton," she joked, earning a genuine laugh from Riley. "As I was saying, I used the same materials from my brother's suit and the upgraded Nanotechnology Tony Stark provided with hints of Vibranium to ensure durability and enhanced strength. After doing some research and hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database again, I was able to morph your suit into something that can absorb your powers should you release exceeding amounts of Ultraviolet Rays... which you definitely will." Shuri smiled and looked back at Riley, clearly proud of her work. "You're welcome!"

   "That's badass," Riley commented as the suit materialized back into her traditional cuffs.

   Before Shuri could respond, the teenagers were interrupted by one of the guards entering the room unexpectedly. They turned to face her as she began to speak. "My apologies, your Royal Highness," apologized the guard, "but the King is requesting the Little Bear's presence." She cleared her throat. "They are here."

   Riley felt her heart stop beating. The guard didn't have to specify who she was talking about; Riley knew. Nodding furiously, Riley was about to speed off when Shuri exclaimed, "Wait!" Riley turned back to face the Princess, only to have the dark-skinned teenager slip on a pair of silver cuffs onto her wrists. "We wouldn't want you running around with more Caucasians without good protection."

   Riley snorted at this before briefly thanking her. She was about to bow, but Shuri stopped her again. "We don't do that around here." Then, Shuri did a traditional motion of making an X with her arms over her chest.

   Copying the motion, Shuri gave the Latina two thumbs up before sending her off. Riley wasted no time exiting Shuri's lab, only to discover that waiting outside the room was the same guard from before alongside a very familiar man. Riley's eyes widened significantly.

   "Barnes," breathed Riley. Every muscle in her body tensed, as well as Bucky Barnes's. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She gestured to the white man and added, "Ohh, I get it! White Wolf."

   Clearly, Riley has spent way too much of her free time with MJ.

   Bucky glanced down at the much shorter teenager and smugly deadpanned, "Little Bear."

   Riley would have laughed if she actually knew where she stood with the Winter Soldier. Riley and Bucky weren't necessarily the biggest fans of each other, what with Bucky being the murderer of Tony's parents and Riley being apart of the group of people that had attempted to imprison him indefinitely. Still, they had each heard good things about the other from their mutual friend, Steve Rogers. It made Riley wonder if they could set aside their dissents.

   The greatest similarity between Riley and Bucky was that they blamed themselves more than anyone else. Riley beat herself up for 13 years for killing her mother, but she'd never actually hate someone without reason. Perhaps that was why she was such a fantastic agent. Riley never allowed her personal views to affect her until recently.

   "I... I feel like I should be apologizing," she admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "I don't resent you for your past. I just... I'm too young to become a fugitive and—"

   "Don't worry about it," Bucky interrupted. "I know. Steve told me everything. I'm 100-years-old. I think I'm old enough to forgive a kid for something she can't control." He paused. "We should start over. I'm trying to do the same." He extended a hand. "I'm Bucky."

   Riley stared at his hand for a moment. Were cryotherapy and Wakandan technology really powerful enough to fix Bucky? She knew Tony despised Bucky to an extent for what he did, but Riley didn't hate him. Riley couldn't hate him. She hardly knew him!

   Then, Riley looked up and offered him a bright smile. She shook his hand with a firm grip, not flinching even a bit at the cool sensation of his Vibranium arm. "Riley," she returned. "It's nice to meet you."

   Bucky cracked a small smile at this as they proceeded to follow the patiently waiting guard. They soundlessly made their way to the Administrative building. This time, the two of them felt a bit more comfortable than before.

   From a distance, Riley and Bucky could hear Bruce Banner's voice. "Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault."

   "How we looking?" another wondered. It belonged to Natasha. Riley could recognize her voice from miles away.

   The enhanced individuals continued to march forward. Some of the Avengers were gathered. Riley held her breath at the sight of them.

   "You will have my King's guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." listed off T'Challa, coming to a stop before the Winter Soldier and Valor.

   "A semi-stable, 100-year-old man and a little kid that's barely tall enough for the ride we're about to embark on," Bucky finished for the King with a friendly smile on his face. Riley would've made a sarcastic remark had she not been struck with nervousness. She simply watched as he immediately moved toward Steve Rogers to hug his old friend.

   "How you been, Buck?"

   "Uh, not bad for the end of the world."

   Meanwhile, Riley stared up at her family with wide eyes. She wasn't sure what to do with herself. She was frozen with excitement, yet she was nervously bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was looking at Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, Vision, and Pietro in awe. All she wanted to do was scream and hug everyone.

   Noticing this behavior, T'Challa chuckled lightly. "Go on, Little Bear."

   Riley, holding her breath, just turned to the King and said, "I am so sorry for what you're about to see, your Royal Highness." Then, she looked back at Natasha and yelled, "YOU'RE BLONDE!?" She turned her attention to Steve. "And since WHEN did you grow a full beard!?"

   A chorus of laughter erupted from the crowd as Steve approached the girl. Riley hesitated to look up at him. How long had it been? How many days had passed since they last saw each other? She didn't care. They were together again.

  "Good to see you, Manhattan," Steve greeted. His smile set off alarms in her head, endorphins working to make her happier than she'd felt in the past 24 hours.

   She beamed, latching onto him with a tight hug. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to see you again," she mumbled.

   Next was Natasha. The blonde woman eyed Riley carefully. "You know I don't do hugs," she stated matter-of-factly.

   "Does it look like I care?" sassed Riley. Without warning, Riley tackled her in a hug.

   Natasha froze for a moment. She wasn't used to hugs, especially not from the once stone-cold Riley. She laughed and sighed before returning the hug. "Oh, I missed you, shortie," insisted Natasha.

   Riley almost didn't want to let go of her, but when she realized that Sam was standing next to her, she just had to greet them. Despite the fact that she had just seen Bruce not too long ago and Rhodey at dinner last week, Riley still felt the need to embrace them with the biggest hugs she could muster up.

   Was it because Riley had just nearly died in space? Was that why she was feeling more emotional than she would have normally shown everyone?

   These questions received answers by the time Riley got to Pietro, seeing as his twin sister and Vision were already being swept away. Riley didn't even realize she was crying until Pietro smugly said, "You know, I am not surprised you're crying over me."

   Riley punched his arm. "I'd never cry over you, idiot," she told him between sniffles.

  "Hm, because if you asked me—"

   "Well, I didn't!" 

   The others laughed as Riley and Pietro bickered. Natasha and Steve looked back at T'Challa, who had been politely observing. "She's more emotional than I remember," confessed Steve.

   T'Challa shook his head. "No, that's not it," he admitted. "After I found her on Wakanda's borders, she told me her story. She faced our enemy and some of his army before he sent her away. She almost died many times already from this journey." He paused. "I think she's just relieved to be alive."

   Natasha and Steve exchanged worried glances. "She was never like that when she was younger," commented Natasha. "I remember it clearly because I was the one who trained her. It's a wonder she's opened up the way she has now."

   Steve hummed. It wasn't often when they saw Riley cry. Usually, it only happened under rare circumstances. The sight of it all caused a memory to play in his mind.

They had done it. The Avengers had defeated Loki and his army of Chitauri aliens. They had shed blood and lives had been lost, but they had done it. However, was the ultimate cost truly worth it?

The Avengers gathered around as the Hulk laid down Tony Stark after he had flown a missile into space. Each individual had been stressed over whether or not Tony would live to see another day. The mission itself was supposed to be fatal, and the Avengers were quickly realizing that Tony might actually die because of his heroic sacrifice.

Steve Rogers kneeled beside Tony's unconscious body with Thor and Riley standing beside him. The Hulk was standing over him, too, and there was a silence that blanketed them.

"Come on, Stark," muttered Steve. Dirt and blood cake his and everyone else's faces, but all they cared about beyond their injuries was if Tony Stark was going to survive.

Steve glanced back at Riley. He was still under the impression that she was just a kid who hadn't seen much, never mind death. She was just a kid—much like Steve once was a long time ago, only younger.

Steve didn't know much about Riley other than the fact that she killed her parents and had been an agent ever since, as well as the fact that she had grown particularly attached to Natasha and Tony. She got along with them better than anyone else and was almost always attached at their hip, so seeing that Tony was about to die, he was concerned for Riley.

Riley, the superhero without a name for now, was hardly 11-years-old and she was having to deal with the possibility of her first real death, as far as Steve was aware of. It wasn't like other deaths. This was Tony, her dear friend, and he was about to die.

Yet oddly enough, she was stone-faced. This child who had just fought intergalactic aliens was completely calm. Blood was gushing from various wounds on her body, ashes clung to her figure, and Tony Stark was on the brink of death, yet Riley remained composed.

Even when the Hulk released a roar to successfully awaken Tony, she just barely flinched. Tony inhaled sharply, revealing that he was alive. And still, when Steve glanced back at Riley, all he could notice was a very quiet sigh of relief.

Other than that, Riley looked completely neutral, possibly because of how she was trained from such a young ago. Riley was trained to never show emotions, which seemed to be a habit that would be incredibly difficult to break.

Steve was surprised.

   Comparing the two events, Riley had nearly seen death from someone she cared about and even nearly died herself. When she was an impressionable 11-year-old and dealt with this, she hardly showed any emotion and remained composed. However, now that Riley was 16-years-old and had just faced the planet's greatest fear yet, she was crying. She cried because she was convinced she was going to die, because she was convinced everyone she loved was going to die, because of how horrifying their opponent was, because Riley feared she'd never see the people she cared about again.

   It made Steve Rogers wonder...

   What exactly were they up against?