12 | POWER

Catalina was devastated from the results of the battle against Thanos. She had never once failed in her entire life. Yet, here she was... standing in a world with half of the population wiped from the surface of the earth as a failure. She had lost everything. Her husband, her family... Shuri. It was all unfair. The hero was supposed to be the one to win. But most of the heroes fighting were too broken and weak to defeat Thanos.

Catalina had high expectations going into the fight. She thought Amelia was supposed to be their savior. Mother Nature had led Catalina to dig Amelia up from the soil and revitalize her. She thought Amelia had to be important enough if the Earth was calling for her. But, now, Amelia had no time powers. She had been ciphering from the shard of the time stone she had, but now that it was ripped from her— she had nothing. Only her half alien blood left remnants of power for her, the power of compulsion. A useless power, nonetheless. Nevertheless, Amelia disappointed Catalina.

Catalina sat before Amelia at the funeral of her daughter, Liviana. Amelia was stricken by grief from losing even more after the battle with Thanos. She was beaten down; broken worse than all the other heroes combined. "We took two steps forward and one step back." Amelia spoke in between her sobs. She throat felt like it was twisting shut, as if the world were slowly choking the life out of her as she cried and mourned over her child. She had already moved past the wailing and screaming phase; yet, somehow, the nonstop sobbing seemed to feel worse.

"That's still one step forward." Catalina spoke, optimistically. She was never good at offering condolences to those that had lost loved ones. Hell, she had lost tons of loved ones and she really didn't know how to react. She was still processing the fact that T'Challa was truly gone. He was dust.

"Cata, I'm sorry you have to see me like this. You've also lost the love of your life." Amelia quickly wiped away her tears, smearing her mascara across her cheek as her hand swiped across.

"You know, Roman law states that air, flowing water and sea belong to all men?" Catalina spoke, randomly. She began to tap her feet nervously.

Amelia shook her head, unfamiliarized with this new information. "Well, when I first began sailing the seas, no one took me seriously. People pillaged and destroyed my ships. I lost everything. I had nothing. I had no crew. I had no cargo. I was broke and banned from nearly every nation in the world. But, when I finally realized the magnitude of my powers, the tides turned. I became the Serpent of the Sea. Feared by all, reckoned by none. I had to look at the big picture to find my answers and reclaim all that I lost. I learned that, I never lost anything. I owned the oceans. Flowing water belonged to me. The seas belonged to me. Not to all men, else all men would have my gifts. I had simply misplaced my things and had to go on a hunt to reclaim them from the ships of the pirates that hid them. Yes, T'Challa is gone, but he is mine and I am his. He isn't lost. He is in my soul," Catalina pointed to her chest, "I'll find him. Living, flesh and blood." She assured Amelia.

"I believed in you, Captain Chronos. I thought you were our Messiah. That you have come to save us. You came from the soil and were rebirthed like a living thing from the ground. You rose from the ashes. All that, to let others fall to ashes? I thought you were everything Fury made you out to be and more. I guess I was wrong." At that moment, both Catalina and Amelia knew the relationship they were blossoming had been killed. Though they felt destined to be the best of friends, Amelia's failure only proved to be a disappointment to Catalina right at the birth of their friendship.

Amelia grew furious, at herself, at the world. Everything was unfair. She didn't nothing and people were mad at her. But, that was also exactly why she was angry at herself. She had done nothing to save the universe when she had all of the powers, maybe that's why fate stole away her powers to make her do something finally. She needed to be Captain Chronos again, not only to get everyone back, but because it was who she was always destined to be.

* * *

"I don't feel like myself." Amelia told Steve the next morning.

"You just lost your powers, your friends and your daughter. It's okay." Steve consoled his wife, grabbing her hand to admire the wedding ring he had given to her so many years ago before she had died. He had kept it on him ever since she died, promising himself never to forget her.

"No, it's not that. I haven't felt like myself since I crawled out of my casket." Amelia sighed, pulling her hand away from Steve.

"How?" Steve inquired.

"I just... I don't feel like Captain Chronos." Amelia told Steve.

"You don't have to be the hero all the time. You don't have to be that hero now, you've lived your life. You've sacrificed enough." He told her.

"I know, but I feel like I came back for a reason. Maybe it was my second chance at life, but it has to come at some price. And I think that price is being Captain Chronos." Amelia explained to him.

"Maybe you're right, but it's too late now. You don't have your powers anymore." Steve sighed. Amelia bit her bottom lip, disappointedly.

* * *

Amelia went out for a run that night in the streets of New York. She knew New York could be a dangerous place for a mere woman, but, she was a Avenger and she had dealt with enough. A mere thief wouldn't be much to handle since she's been trained in hand to hand combat. What she didn't realize, was that a true danger was lingering in the shadows. A danger that could make her soul crumble at the snap of his fingers. With a quick word he could have her captivated in his words.

Stin, her long lost father, lingered nearby. He had been Thanos' accomplice for so long as they strived to obtain all of the infinity stones, yet, as soon as they accomplished their mission, Thanos tossed Stin to the side. Stin felt like an idiot. He had betrayed his own daughter for Thanos. He had been absent from his only child's, the most precious thing in his life, life for Thanos. And now Thanos kicked him to the curb once he has got what he wanted.

When Stin stepped out of the shadows, Amelia instantly screeched to a stop. Her whole body when cold and her stomach felt like it had fallen to the ground. "Amelia—" he began to speak in an almost soothing tone.

"What are you doing here?" She growled, her hands balling into fists.

"I came to apologize. For everything. I made a huge mistake." Stin's eyes screamed for forgiveness but his past actions deemed his unworthy.

"You abandoned me and left me with a horrible mother. You stole away my powers! You stole away half of all my family and friends!! All because of those damn stones. And now look at you," Amelia sneered, "all alone, begging your daughter for acceptance. After everything you did to me? I was lost in this world before I knew anything about aliens and superpowers. And that was because of you. Tony, T'Challa, Shuri, Wanda, Bucky," Amelia voice cracked as she was about to say the last name "Fury. They're all gone because of you. I'm helpless now. Because of you. I can't go back and try to save my fucking family because you dug out the gem you shoved into me at birth."

Amelia was furious. She wanted to snap Stin's neck right then and there, but something, perhaps the graces of a some god, made her listen for a few more moments before making her final decision. "You can have it all back." Stin told in a promising tone.

"I can't. I lost it all. I am nothing without those time powers." Amelia hissed.

"You are not nothing!" Stin rose his voice at his daughter, "You are the most powerful being in this universe. With out without powers. You've suffered and lost more than any other. You've always recovered from every failure. You, of all heroes, are the one that knows how to deal with failure. You are the only hero that knows how to get back up on your feet when you've been knocked down. Your powers only enhance you. Tell me, Amelia, how often did you use your powers in your lifetime?"

Amelia thought about it for a second. Though she did have instances where she used her powers, they were instances she could've gone without them. She rarely used them. Then again, she never fully explored the expansion of her powers. Only the tip of the iceberg. "Not enough."

"Ah, no. Just enough. But, if you feel you aren't yourself without the stone— despite never knowing a part of the stone was in you— I have it here with me. Though Thanos may have outwitted me, I didn't have the balls to hand him possibly the only token I would ever have of you. I kept the part of the stone that made you have the time powers. What he had is a faux replica I made long ago. It was merely a model of the half of the stone I had stowed with you." Stin explained.

"So, Thanos isn't at his fullest potential of destruction?" Amelia questioned him, suspicious of the holy grail.

"No, but he is still far more powerful, strength-wise, with the stones he does has." Stin explained.

"Do you have the stone with you?" Amelia asked.

Stin nodded, almost fearfully. He stretched out his arm and revealed the glowing piece of gem in his hand. He handed the stone over, apologetically, and bowed his head, ashamed to make eye contact with the daughter he had failed. Amelia pressed the stone to her chest and watch the stone magically reabsorb into her body. It was as if the stone was finally returning to its true home that it had always felt like it belonged to. Amelia felt the surge of energy reenter her body, with it a flux of confidence come with it.

She turned to her father with darkened eyes. "Thank you." She spoke, grabbing his arm and twisting it in a painful manner. Without hesitation, she reached for his head and twisted it in the same manner until she heard a dull snap erupt from the spine that reached up the back of his neck. Like a sack of potatoes, his body fell to the ground in a slump. He almost seemed human to Amelia before she recalled the horrid things he had done to the universe with Thanos. She stared down at his now lifeless body, allowing a few hot tears to slip past her cheeks and onto his still warm body.

Then, she turned around and ran back home. Back into the safe arms of her husband.