2023 ― Upstate New York
"I won't let Nikita lose her sister."

All of the Avengers came back and landed on the platform in the Avengers facility as they all looked around in awe that they had just time traveled. Amaya was thinking to herself that when they get Christian back he was going to be so jealous that she's traveled through time and he hasn't. Everyone's quantum suits disappeared leaving them in their regular suits, except for Steve, Katherine, and Tony who were still in the clothes that they wore in the 70s.

"Did we get 'em all?" Bruce asked. The question made the soul stone in Clint's hand feel like a sudden hot and heavyweight. His chest got tight thinking about how Natasha wasn't here anymore, and there's no way to get her back. And how he was going to have to look his other best friend in her eyes and tell her that her twin sister, her best friend is dead.

"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey asked. Clint remained silent and he was heard as he fell to the ground on his knees, and everyone looked at him and noticed that Natasha wasn't with him.

"Clint... where's Nat?" Bruce asked. Clint said nothing. He couldn't find the words to say.

Katherine felt the weight of Clint's silence hit her like a ton of bricks. Her heart broke for herself, for Nikita, for Christian, and for Amaya. Natasha was their godmother, and Amaya looked at Clint's broken expression and even her mother's clouded expression and it was real. Natasha Romanoff was gone.

And she wasn't coming back.

Katherine stormed off the platform and out of the room because she was pissed. Steve watched his wife go with a sigh, feeling the weight of Natasha's death as well. Natasha was the first person Steve let himself call a good friend after he thought he lost Bucky and now he lost her, and she's come through for him and Katherine in so many ways.

This was going to be a tough loss.

―

"Do we know if she had family, besides Nikita?" Katherine heard Tony ask when she walked outside to see her husband, Tony, Banner, Clint, and some of the other Avengers all standing outside. Katherine rolled her eyes at Tony's comment.

"Us. We were her family. We are their family." Katherine snapped. Of course, she and Clint knew about Yelena, but neither of them was going to bring her up because the other Avengers had no idea about her.

"What?" Thor asked, stepping up to Tony, feeling like that was unnecessary for him to ask. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Just asked him a question," Tony said.

"Yeah, no, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones... Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right? So, stop this shit. We're the Avengers. Get it together. I won't let Nikita lose her sister." Thor said.

"We can't get her back," Clint said without turning to face everyone else.

"What is he...? What?" Thor asked.

"It can't be undone," Clint said, turning to look at Thor while he shook his head. "It can't."

"Look, I'm sorry, no offense, but you're a very earthly being, okay? And we're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive. Don't you think?" Thor asked him.

"Yeah, look, I know, that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, is she?" Clint said.

"That's my point," Thor said.

"It can't be undone," Clint said, and the break-in his voice made Katherine's tears come back in her eyes. She took a few moments in her room to get herself together and cry for what seemed like a long time behind a locked door. "Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him." Clint snapped raising his voice.

"Clint..." Katherine said, wiping her own eyes as she saw the tears in his. Even Steve had a few rolling down his cheeks.

"It was supposed to be me. It wasn't supposed to be her, it was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that stupid stone. She bet her life on it, said that getting the stone and getting everyone back was what she's been working towards for the last five years. We need to make it worth it." Clint said. Bruce out of anger picked up the bench on the pier and threw it out into the water, and then Steve stood up and looked at Clint.

"We will."

―

Sorry that was short, but yes, there's the aftermath of losing Nat. Now there's going to be a beautiful yet heart-breaking conversation between Nikita and Clint when she gets back.

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xoxo.