AMERICA'S POV

"It feels so weird to be here," I murmur. Being welcomed back to the pristine compound is something I used to dream about, before I realized that it could only be a dream. Because we're not welcome here. We're trespassing in what used to be our home.

"Tell me about it," Steve says. The two of us lead the way into a large room occupied by Rhodes and a blue hologram of some sort of council. My eyes narrow as I see Ross himself stride in front of us.

"Mr. Secretary," Steve says, but there's no respect in his tone.

"You've got some nerve, I'll give you that," Ross replies.

Natasha scowls at his words. "You could use some of that right now."

"The world's on fire. And you think all is forgiven?"

Steve's face is grim as he takes a menacing step towards Ross. Even in holographic form, the secretary moves away from my husband. "I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way..."

I meet the eyes of the man who gave me hell for being used by terrorists. "Then we'll fight you, too."

"Arrest them!" Ross commands, glancing back at Rhodes.

"All over it." He swipes the council away, rolling his eyes before giving Steve a hug. "That's a court-martial. It's great to see you, Cap."

"You too, Rhodey." Nat and I get hugs of our own before Rhodes steps back and surveys us with amusement on his face.

"Well. You guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years."

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star," Sam quips.

"Uh, I think you look great." We all turn and see Bruce, a man I haven't seen for years now, enter the room. He chuckles a bit and waves awkwardly. "Uh... yeah. I'm back.

"Hi Bruce," Nat says. There's a sparkle in her eyes I haven't seen there in a while.

"Nat," he replies. The two stare at each other for a second.

"This is awkward," Sam mutters to me.

I snort. "I'll say. Is this what it's like hanging out with Steve and me?"

"No, you guys are worse."

------

"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodes asks after we've finished explaining all we know, which isn't much.

I nod. "And he can clearly find us again."

"Hey, hey, sorry I'm late, but there's another Quinjet outside and-" Pietro's voice trails off as he takes in the mass of people assembled in the living room. His blue eyes land on Wanda and me. "Hey."

There's an awkward moment of silence between everyone as the three of us just stare at each other. Wanda looks to me to make the first move. I haven't seen my brother in years. All of that loneliness wells up inside of me and I quickly run across the room to give him a hug.

"Hi," I whisper. Wanda joins our embrace. For a moment, I forget the reason we've all been reunited, but that moment doesn't last long. We'll catch up later. Pietro shakes Steve's hand as we refocus on the situation.

"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?" Bruce asks.

I actually don't know the answer to this one, but Natasha does.

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest."

"Who's Scott?" Bruce asks interestedly.

"Ant-Man," Steve says.

"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" Bruce sighs, realizing it isn't important." Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the universe. And he is not gonna stop until he... he gets Vision's Stone."

"Well then, we'll have to protect it." Natasha seems uncomfortable with her statement. I am, too. I don't know how we're going to be able to protect Vision from someone who was able to take down Tony, Spiderman, and two sorcerers. If they made it, I hope they're okay. A twinge of guilt flutters through my stomach at the thought of Tony. I never forgave him, either.

"No, we have to destroy it," Vision says, speaking for the first time in a while. He taps at the stone on his forehead. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps... its molecular integrity could fail."

His eyes meet Wanda's, and she twists a lock of hair nervously. "And you with it. We're not having this conversation."

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it," he insists.

"That's too high a price."

Vision cups her face in his hands. "Only you have the power to pay it." She draws back immediately, fear in her expression. I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."

"But it should," Steve says. "We don't trade lives, Vision."

"Captain, seventy years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?"

A new thought occurs to me. "Because you might have a choice. Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, Bruce, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asks hopefully.

"She's saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts," Bruce finishes.

"Can we do that?" Nat asks, crossing her arms. We all look to Bruce, who shakes his head.

"Not me. Not here."

"You better find someone and somewhere fast," Pietro says. "Ross isn't just going to let you guys have your old rooms back."

I take Steve's hand, trying to come up with a plan. He and I look down at our entwined hands, his real and mine metal, and both of us suddenly look up at each other. I know the same thought has crossed our minds.

"We know a place."

Hi!!!! Hope you liked this one ;)