OHMYGOSH TEN MORE ChAPTERS TO GO

CHAPTER 33

       The quinjet lands smoothly on the closest paddock to the house, as directed by Cleo. Her, Nile, Gale, Steve, Aaron, Becky and Castor file out. Angel, Becky and Clint stay in the plane, ready for a quick getaway, if needed be. Becky stands at the open ramp, Clint on top of the quinjet, he trusts his own eyes better.

      "So why are you still here?" Becky asks Clint a couple of moments after everyone's dispersed. "I thought you had kids to look after, retirement to enjoy."

      Clint takes a few moments to respond, scoffing. "Truth be told, I can't leave you guys for a couple of weeks without you all falling apart." He goes back to scanning the horizon.

       Becky scoffs. "Like Civil War? Ha! I wish I was alive to see that." Then she frowns. Clint catches it.

       "What's wrong?" He asks gently, mindlessly strumming his bow like a badly shaped guitar.

       "Nothing." Becky was quick to dismiss Clint, looking away, using the toe of her shoe to draw lines in the dirt.

       "C'mon Beck." Clint grinned lopsidedly. "You know you can tell me what's wrong."

      Becky sighed and shrugged, but kept her mouth firmly sewn shut.

      "Is this about Civil War?" Clint asks gently, sitting down on the roof of the quinjet, letting his legs swing back and forth. "How you were in those tanks that entire time?" Becky shrugged, still drawing lines in the dirt with her feet.

       "It's a bit messed up." Clint sighed, his legs stopped swinging. "How they have the power to do that to you."

       Becky shrugged, nodding sullenly, she stopped drawing in the red dirt. "Sometimes, I feel like I want to forget all that, you know? I wanna forget all that hurt and all the pain, but then again, I need to remember, cause, who am I going to know whose my enemy and whose my friend if I don't remember any of it?"

      Becky sighed again, looking down, she began drawing lines in the dirt again, her grey sneaker slowly turning brown. "Sometimes, I just wish that I was dead? That they'd just left me like that, because that would've made everything a lot easier."

       The best thing about Clint, Becky found with some surprise, was that he didn't offer an opinion or a solution, he just listened in silence.

...

       Cleo is withdrawn as she looks over her old home. She spends time dawdling in the house, the rooms, running her hands along the table and across chairs. It's mostly covered with drapes and she spends some time thinking in her room.

       Gale is quiet as he wanders through the halls and rooms. Lana walked these very halls, darted in and out of every room. He does his best to summon every inch of her past self.

       The rest of them search for the scales with the compass. They're aware of the time ticking away, some temporarily think back to the moment where frustrated Tony was denied to come on the trip. Some only think of the mission on hand.

       Castor is the first one to find the scales, they're a dull golden colour in the dim light. "Dying is so much more in than it was last season." Castor comments and there's a small chuckle as she tosses them from hand to hand.

       Excited, to finally find another missing piece, the group rushes outside to witness another quinjet land. This time, it fits in the narrow turn of the driveway and from the ramp floods soldiers. Villain soldiers.

       The men quickly multiply, training their guns on the ragtag band of superheroes on the front porch of an Australian farmhouse. Over them, Magneto and Dr. Doom float dramatically.

       Becky teleports in front of the group, grinning. "Finally, a fight!" She declares.

       "You have something we need." Dr. Doom speaks, his voice mechanical, he points a metallic finger at the group who shifts uncomfortably.

       "You aren't getting these scales, buddy." Gale growls.

       "Not exactly." Magneto's mouth quirks with a smile. He sends two, shining objects flying at Becky, they attach to her wrists and she falls to the floor. Castor fades with protest, the scales clattering to the floor. Gale swipes them up, and catching Becky in one, fluid movement.

       Magneto's hand raises and she drifts forwards. Gale is the first to figure it out. "They need Becky for the blood!" He cries and the others rush forwards.

       She drops to the gravel as the two sides begin fighting. Crossbones takes it upon himself to attack Steve and Nile at the same time. Gale goes for Becky whilst Cleo covers him. Becky groans as she staggers to stand with Gale's help, she doubles over in pain and Gale tries desperately to pry off the cuffs. "It's not working!" He cries angrily, sending a few men flying back with a wall of ice.

       He looks up desperately, fortunately, Magneto and Doom are distracted, Crossbones is almost defeated, most of the men are either subdued, unconscious or taken out.

       But fate seems to be against them because then a figure appears in the sky.

       Kalela has arrived.