AN: Well, I wasn't intending to add more to this until later on, but then the plot bunnies started biting. This ties in with my other one-shot, 'Fairytales Can Come True', but that doesn't come up until towards the end, and can be read as a stand-alone. Enjoy!
When Carol Danvers chose her career as a pilot, it was a man's world, almost impossible to break into. The Kree, enlightened though they claimed to be, had not actually been much different.
Things had changed a little by the time Fury summoned her back to Earth. This was clear in the way Natasha Romanoff had taken leadership over the remaining Avengers, and nobody batted an eye. However, Carol didn't fully realize just how much had changed until she had taken possession of the Gauntlet during the battle against Thanos, and an entire squad of bad-ass women stepped up to help her. The fact that Carol could have handled the situation by herself was beside the point.
It was.. pretty damn awesome.
Carol had not met most of these women before. She didn't really know them. But she was going to. Carol was going to find everyone of those women, and get to know them. She was going to thank them, and see if there was anything she could do for them in return.
Hope Van Dyne. The Wasp.
Carol looked at the first name on the list Fury had gathered for her. Well, not exactly the first, but the easiest to track down.. or at least, the easiest one to track down who wasn't grieving the recent loss of her husband (Carol planned to leave Pepper Potts until later). She double-checked the address where Hope was supposedly most often found, and looked up at the house she currently stood in front of. It was a little run down, as many homes left vacant after the Decimation were, but efforts had been made towards restoring it.
Carol knocked on the door. After a few moments, a teenage girl answered it, her jaw dropping.
"You.. You're Captain Marvel."
"Carol works too" Carol grinned. "Hi. Is Hope home?"
"Uh.." The teen seemed slightly in shock.
"Cassie, who is it?" Hope poked her head around another door, her own eyes widening. "Oh.. hi."
"Hi" Carol's grin widened. "Would you like to go grab coffee?"
"Uh.. sure" Hope shrugged and disappeared briefly, returning with her handbag. "Cassie, tell your Dad where I've gone when he wakes up, okay?"
"So.." Hope began, as she and Carol sat outside a Cafe a short while later, both clutching steaming lattes, "Not that this isn't a nice surprise, because you're Captain Marvel, and you're awesome" Hope shook her head at that.. Scott was rubbing off on her. "But.. We really don't know each other, so what's this about?"
"Just an itch to get to know my fellow super women" Carol shrugged. "So, tell me about yourself, Hope. Is Cassie your daughter?"
"No. Scott's from his first marriage. I adore her though, and I get along great with her Mom."
"And how long have you been the Wasp?"
"Uh.." Hope paused, thinking a moment. For the victims of the decimation, working out time had become a little more complicated. "For about three years before I was snapped. But I've been an expert in self defense much longer than that."
"Career bad-ass then" Carol grinned. "My kind of girl."
"I guess so" Hope chuckled, sipping her Latte.
"One more thing.."
"Mmmhm?"
"Is there anything you need help with?" Carol asked. "I'd just like to, well, return the favor."
"Hmm.." Hope thought for a moment. "You seem like someone who has friends in high places."
"More like.. A friend with friends in high places" replied Carol, thinking of Fury.
"Before the decimation, my Dad and I might have been in a teensy little bit of legal trouble. I'm not sure how that stands now. No-one's come at us yet, but.."
"I'll look into it for you" Carol thrust out a hand towards Hope. "It was nice to meet you, Hope."
"You too" Hope smiled, firmly shaking Carol's hand.
Brunhilde. Usually goes by The Valkyrie. Newly crowned Queen of New Asgard.
There was a large commotion among the people of New Asgard as a glowing golden figure soared above the deceptively small 'fishing village'. The Valkyrie, her attention caught by the noise, looked up from her ever growing 'To Do' list in time to see Carol Danvers landing in front of her.
"Hi" Carol grinned.
"You're that.. glowing girl who destroyed Thanos's ship" Valkyrie blinked. "Thor likes you."
"Carol Danvers" Carol curtsied. "At your service, Queen Valkyrie."
"Please don't do that.." Valkyrie frowned. "It's weird."
"Noted. Have you got time to talk?"
"Not really.." Valkyrie looked back to her very long list. "But I guess you can walk with me while I do my morning sweep of the place.."
Carol tailed Valkyrie as she strolled around New Asgard, checking the progress of a few ongoing projects, listening to new problems people brought to her. Many new houses were in the process of being built, to combat a slight overcrowding problem caused by the restoration of the previously decimated Asgardians. However, it was slow going given that many of New Asgard's existing buildings were in disrepair, splitting the attention of the builders.
"You're a little swamped here, huh?" Carol asked.
"Gee, you noticed.."
"How about I look into sending a bit of extra help?"
"You'd do that?" Valkyrie looked at her, slightly surprised.
"Sure" said Carol. "I was looking to find a way to help all the women who stood with me in that battle, and between you and me, I've got a bit of a soft spot for refugees from other worlds."
"A few extra hands would be great" Valkyrie managed a smile. "Thank you."
Princess Shuri, head of Science and Technology development in Wakanda, and General Okoye, leader of the Dora Milaje.
"Not that it is not nice to see you, Ms. Danvers" said Okoye, with a raised eyebrow, "But why, exactly, are you here?" Okoye was aware of Carol from their conference calls with Natasha, but they had never really gotten to know each other, so Captain Marvel's sudden arrival in Wakanda had come as a surprise.
They were currently standing in the middle of Shuri's lab. The Wakandan Princess had greeted Carol rather enthusiastically upon her arrival, but had since had her attention reclaimed by her latest project.
"Simple answer" said Carol, throwing her arms wide, "I'm here to help! What do you ladies need? Anything at all."
"I do not need anything but to serve my Country" Okoye replied instinctively.
"Pfft, that's boring" Shuri looked up from her work, laughing. "She said anything, Okoye! Surely you can think of something a little more creative."
"Well.." Okoye relaxed the tiniest bit, thinking. "I am somewhat disappointed that we still do not have a Starbucks."
"I don't really have much control over that, but I guess I can look into it" Carol shrugged. "What about you, Princess?"
"I would like to re-establish Wakanda's outreach program in the U.S. Obviously I could not run it efficiently as a pile of dust" Shuri replied. "It would be helpful to know of which areas are most in need."
"Easy done" Carol grinned.
She left almost as quickly as she had come.
"She is.. strange" said Okoye.
"I like her" Shuri smiled.
Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, Head of Stark Foundation, Operator of the 'Rescue' suit. Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch.
When Wanda Maximoff had unexpectedly revived her long-dead love, Vision, after Tony Stark's funeral, Pepper Potts had asked her to move in to the Lake House she'd shared with her late husband. It was an arrangement that had come as a surprise to many. Pepper and Wanda hardly knew each other, and by all accounts, Wanda Maximoff and Tony Stark had never really gotten along.
But then again, Pepper had never really judged people based on whether her Husband got along with them. Tony had disliked plenty of people that Pepper thought perfectly pleasant, and Wanda was definitely one of those. And in this particular case, she knew that Tony did not actually dislike Wanda. Events in the past had complicated the relationship, though Pepper had chosen not to pry.
Really, the decision to let Wanda stay had relatively little to do with Wanda herself, pleasant though she was. Keeping Wanda meant keeping Vision, and Pepper had a couple of good reasons to keep Vision around. Vision had clearly meant a lot to Tony, with how long he had spent trying to fix him. While on the surface Vision seemed back to normal since Wanda had woken him, he still had quite a bit of recovering to do. If Pepper could give him a safe place to recuperate, then she would.
The other reason for keeping Vision close was for her daughter's benefit. Morgan had immediately embraced him as her 'big brother', and Vision had found himself with an adorable little shadow throughout his recovery. Morgan had grown quite attached to Wanda, as well. Anyone or anything that made Morgan happy was a precious commodity to Pepper right now.
So, both Vision and Wanda stayed.
Carol Danvers, of course, didn't know all of the backstory that made the current situation at the Lake House unusual to some. All Carol saw was a slightly unconventional family unit that seemed to be working out alright, and, having been part of an unconventional family herself, thought all power to them.
Like all the women she had called on recently, Pepper had been surprised to see Carol, but immediately asked her inside. Carol was the reason Pepper had had five more precious years with Tony, so of course was always welcome.
Carol, a little quieter than she had been during her other visits, gently asked Pepper how she was doing(As well as could be expected), then sat patiently while Pepper poured Coffee.
"I heard Wanda Maximoff is staying here at the moment, and I was hoping I could talk to her too. Is she around?"
"She and Vision took Morgan out to play. They should be back soo.."
Before Pepper could finish, the back door burst open, a child's laughter echoing through the house. Wanda entered first, followed by Vision, with little Morgan clinging to his back.
"Oh.. Hello.. um.." Vision's eyes fell on Carol, seeming a little confused, his brow furrowed as though he was thinking very hard.
"It's okay, Vizh" Wanda laid a comforting hand on his arm. "You haven't met her yet. This is.. Carol, right?"
"Carol Danvers. Nice to meet you."
"Ah. Nice to meet you too, Carol" Vision smiled, relaxing now, then turned to Pepper. "Miss Potts, Morgan was wondering if she could have a juice pop."
"Call me Pepper, Vision" Pepper chuckled. "And yes. But just one, okay?"
"Yay!" Morgan cheered, and Vision carried her away into the Kitchen. Wanda made to follow them.
"Wait, Wanda" Carol called after her. "Can I have a quick word?"
"Uh.. okay" Wanda moved to sit beside Pepper, seeming nervous. "What's this about? Vision's fine. His memory's a little patchy still, but it's coming back. He doesn't need any tests or.."
"Of course not. He seems like a Sweetie" said Carol, who had too many unusual friends to worry much about anyone else's choices in that regard. "I was just wondering if you or Pepper.. needed anything. It's a thing I'm doing, helping all the women who helped me. So, what do you need? Any problems need solving? Legal trouble?"
"Now that you mention it" Wanda said after a moment. "My citizenship status is a little unclear. It's probably the last thing on anyone's mind right now, but.. I can't risk anything taking me away from Vizh."
"I know some people who know some people. I'll look into it. Pepper.. I know nothing can make up for what you've lost recently, but if there's anything at all I can do for you.."
Pepper looked towards the Kitchen. Morgan was laughing again.
"The most important thing to me right now is keeping my daughter happy" She replied eventually. "I'm sure she would think it was really cool if Captain Marvel came to visit now and then."
Carol grinned. Be cool Auntie Carol to another adorable kid? Too easy.
Nebula, daughter of Thanos. Mantis, Member of the Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Peter Quill almost had a heart attack when he woke from a nap to the sight of a glowing woman knocking on the front window of the ship.
"Hey, Carol!" Rocket waved, calling back into the depths of the ship. "Thor, Carol's here! Go 'round the back so I can let you in.."
After Rocket let her in, following the directions he had given her, Carol headed back further into the ship, finding Nebula teaching Mantis how to play paper football.
"Whoa. People play that all the way out here?"
"Stark taught me" Nebula looked up, managing to hide her surprise. "What brings you all the way out here?"
"I'm here to talk to you two, actually" Carol replied. "And I was hoping to find your sister."
"Your guess is as good as ours" Nebula frowned. "We've been looking, but.."
"If you could help us find Gamora" said Mantis, we "We would all be very, very grateful."
"Don't be stupid, Mantis. If we can't find Gamora, Danvers can't.." Nebula paused to look up at Carol, the tiniest bit of hope entering her eyes. "Could you?"
"I have connections" said Carol. "Might take a longer trip than I planned, though. Just give me a second to organize some stuff.."
"Hey, Fury!"
He could almost see her smile.
"Carol. I was just about to call you.."
"You're okay if I stay off-world a little longer, right?
"Actually, we may have a situation. Guy claiming he's from another universe..."
"Sounds cool. Beep me if things get serious. Bye!"
"Carol! Wait.." Fury sighed. She was already gone. "Okay. Spider-kid it is.."