Attention audio monkeys! I'm so sorry for the late update! I had trouble in the beginning, but I finally found my writing mojo! This chapter is playful and funny and I thought everybody need it. The next chapter will be serious as they start talking about Bucky Barnes and the situation about the Infinity Stone and so does the flashbacks as Annabeth starts telling her journey about her time on Xandar and with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
I also imagined Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier as Sebastian Stan, Vision as Paul Bettany and Annabeth Knight Barton as Kristen Stewart. Let's face it, Sebastian is hot and sexy!
I do not own Marvel's the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy! I own Annabeth Knight Barton!
I'll see you soon you audio monkeys! Haha ya nice!
Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home
Annabeth felt like she was floating on clouds. Everything around her felt like she was floating on air. She felt something soft against her body like a blanket. Her eyes started to flutter open, her vision was a little blur, but she blinked a few times and then her vision was clear. Her eyebrows slightly knitted together in confusion. She noticed she wasn't in the medical ward anymore. The wall are light gray, there was a large window that overlooked the city, the bed is a king size since she's laying right in the middle of the bed, she looked down at the bedding and saw it was dark red bedding. It felt very soft against her skin. She pulled the sheet up to her chin and craned her neck. A knock at the door snapped her out of her dream land. She sighed, sat up and covered herself with the dark red sheet.
"Come in." She whispered. Hopefully, they heard her. The door opened and revealed a woman with red short hair, peach skin and baby blue eyes. Annabeth's eyes slightly widens, it's the woman from the interrogation. However, she's different. She's wearing a baggy gray sweater, black jeans and black and white converse. Annabeth held the sheet up with her hand to her chest as the woman walked across the room. The woman gave her a small smile and sat at the edge of her bed.
"I brought you some clothes." The woman passed a set of clothes to her and she took them with her other hand. Annabeth gave the woman a small smile and gave a small nod.
"Thank you." The woman smiled showing her pearl white teeth.
"How are you feeling?" Annabeth lightly shrugged her shoulders and glanced at her hands.
"Okay, I guess." The woman nodded.
"Do you remember anything from last night?" Annabeth thought about it for a moment and then nodded.
"Agent Barton is my father I know that. I also know that you are the one who interrogated me." She nodded a yes.
"Guess you caught that huh?" Annabeth nodded and the woman nodded. "My name is Natasha Romanoff."
"Nice to meet you. I guess you already know who I am." She nodded and gave her a warm smile.
"He never stopped looking." Annabeth stared at Natasha about what she just said. "Clint found out about your mother and confronted her about it. Since then he never stopped looking for you. I thought you should know." Annabeth blinked a few times to rid of the tears. She's tired of crying. She's never been this emotional. Ever since what Quill did she promised herself she'll never cry. It made her feel weak. Made her feel vulnerable. She felt Natasha's soft hands rest on top of hers; she glanced at Natasha who gave her a small smile.
"What about my mom?" She saw Natasha's smile started to fade. "Did she stop looking?" She saw Natasha's eyes glance away and softly cleared her throat.
"She gave up two years after you were kidnapped. When Clint went to go confront her, he found out that she's been doing drugs and she became an alcoholic." Annabeth blinked a few times and let out a shaky breath. "Clint tried to get her into rehab, but she wouldn't have it. She blamed Clint for your disappearance." Annabeth shook her head.
"It wasn't his fault though. He didn't even know I existed." Natasha nodded and lightly squeezed her hand.
"But he still blames himself for your disappearance. If he would have known about you before you were born maybe it would have turned out different." Annabeth blink away the tears that are forming in her eyes. "The reason why he blames himself because he wasn't there for you like a father should be. He didn't give you the love of a father should. He wants to make up all the mistakes he made." She nodded understanding what Natasha is saying about her father. She wipes the tears away with the back of her hand and lets out a shaky breath.
"I don't want him to blame himself for what happened to me." Natasha nodded and sighed. "I want to tell him that I don't blame him for what happened to me." Annabeth glanced at Natasha. "I need to tell him that I've been taken good care of when I disappeared. God, there's so much stuff I need to explain."
"I know, we'll figure it out together." Annabeth nodded and gave her a small smile. "But right now, we need your help." Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.
"Why?" She whispered to Natasha.
"Last night when we made a plan to break you out of the medical ward if things went south with Director Fury." Annabeth nodded.
"That's understandable I guess."
"Trust me, it was necessary." She nodded and sighed. "Do you remember anything what happened last night?" Annabeth thought about it for a moment and lightly shrugged her shoulders.
"I remember hearing the alarms go off and meeting someone named Wanda." Natasha nodded and gave her a small smile.
"Wanda Maximoff, she was able to break off the cuffs on your wrist."
"Explain why my wrist still hurts." She removed her hand from under Natasha's and started rubbing her sore wrist.
"Your father Clint carried you out, but we ran into some complications." Annabeth's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"What kind of complications?" She noticed Natasha hesitated before answering her question. Her mind started to wonder off. 'Please God let it not be Nebula.' She thought to herself. 'There was no way in hell Nebula found me already. There's just no way.' She mentally shook her thoughts out of her head and continued to listen to Natasha.
"What do you know about HYDRA?"
"So any of you know how to open this orb that holds an infinity stone?" Everyone is sitting in chairs or metal tables or couches. Tony is standing right in front of the orb with his arms crossed across his chest; Bruce is standing next to Tony as he took of his glasses to rub his tired eyes, and Peter is sitting on a stool next to the table, rolled his head back and sighed. Steve was leaning against one of the tables with his arm crossed across his chest; Clint was lying on the couch across the lab, Thor was pacing back and forth, Sam is leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets of his jeans, Pietro leaned against the back of his chair with his hands in his lap and Wanda sitting on the table across from her twin brother and lightly swinging her legs back and forth. "So I'm taking that as a no right?" Everyone glanced at him, nodded and muttered a no. Tony sighed, closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Maybe we should take a break." He glanced at Bruce and Peter who nodded in agreement. He looked around at everyone and they agreed as well. "Let's head back up and order pizza. I'm starving." Peter nodded and rubbed his tired eyes with the palm of his hand.
"You guys head up, I'm gonna go see how Vision is doing." Steve glanced at Peter and sighed.
"I'll go with him." Tony nodded at the both of them and they headed out to the basement. He glanced over at Clint who is sound asleep on the couch.
"Somebody wake up bird-boy over there?" He jerked his thumb towards Clint; Wanda sighed and got off the table.
"I'll wake him up." She whispered and held out her hand. Her hand was engulfed with her red chaos magic and pointed towards Clint. Clint's body was engulfed with red chaos magic and slowly started to levitate from the couch. Tony looked towards Wanda and raised his eyebrows at her.
"Are we practicing our powers on our teammates?" Wanda nodded and shrugged her shoulders.
"He said I can use him as a practice dummy whenever I want." Pietro let out a snort of a laugh and Wanda rolled her eyes at her brother's laugh. Tony shrugged and gave in a light smirk.
"Well, practice away my dear." Wanda nodded and smiled. She then proceeded to levitate Clint towards the door, but slowly. Tony, Bruce, Thor, Sam and Pietro watch in amusement while Wanda levitates Clint out of the lab. Sam pressed the button for the door and it slid open.
"Thank you." She whispered to Sam and he nodded.
"My pleasure." Sam watches Wanda levitate Clint out of the lab and towards the elevator. Sam smiled and shook his head and walked towards her as did everyone else. Tony leaned towards Pietro and whispered in his ear.
"What's the record for levitating Clint?" Pietro glanced at Tony and shrugged his shoulders.
"Five minutes and ten seconds." Tony then smirked towards Wanda and Pietro raised his eyebrow at Tony. "What are you thinking?" Tony shrugged his shoulders, but still had the smirk on face.
"She does know she's taking the elevator right?" Pietro nodded.
"Yeah why?"
"She knows we all are going to be in there right?" Pietro thought about it for a moment and then his eyes started widen. He glanced up at Tony and cleared his throat.
"Um, I think I'm going to take the stairs." With that he took off running towards the stairs. Tony gave out a soft chuckle and shook his head.
"This should be good."
Pietro Maximoff is grateful for his super speed. He did not want to be in the elevator with his sister while she's practicing her powers on Clint. Sometimes it went great, but other times it would end in a disaster. He was there when it went great, but he bolted out there when disaster strikes. As he sped up to the ninety third floor, he skidded to a stop and sighed in relief. His shoulder sagged and walked towards the living room.
"Is the rest of the team coming up?" Pietro jumped and spun towards the kitchen. He saw Natasha Romanoff at the stove making pancakes. He raised his eyebrows at Natasha and has a baffled look. He's never seen Natasha Romanoff, master assassin making pancakes. He took out his Stark phone and snapped a couple of pictures of Natasha. "Are you going show them to Clint and Wanda?" Pietro nodded.
"Yup." Natasha glanced behind her and caught a glimpse of Pietro's blue eyes.
"You won't show Stark or anyone else?" Pietro snorted a laugh and shook his head.
"I don't have a death wish if that's what you're asking." Natasha gave in to a small smile and nodded. Pietro walked over to the kitchen and took a seat on the stool. He put his arms on the table and continued to watch Natasha making pancakes. She then went to another pan and started to stir the eggs. "So there's a question I want to ask, but if I ask I don't know whether you might kill me for asking," Natasha glanced at Pietro and raised her eyebrows at him.
"Just ask your question already." Pietro stopped rambling and sighed.
"Where and when did you learn how to cook?"
"That's two questions formed into one." Pietro shrugged his shoulders.
"Same thing." Natasha rolled her eyes and continued to stir the eggs and then went back to the pancakes.
"You really want to know?" Pietro nodded eagerly and she chuckled at his inner childish. "Believe it or not, I took cooking classes when I started dating Clint." She glanced behind her and saw Pietro's eyes widened in surprise and his jaw slack. She let out a fit of giggles and shook her head. "Surprised?" Pietro nodded.
"More like shocked." Natasha shrugged her shoulders.
"Well I usually don't cook. That's Steve's job."
"True, but it's a nice change for once." Natasha nodded.
"It is, but don't expect me to cook every day," She pointed the spatula at Pietro and raised his hands in a playful surrender. "This is just a special occasion." She smiled and went back to flipping the pancakes. Pietro continue to watch Natasha with awe while she cooks breakfast. She started humming a tune and lightly swaying. Pietro rested his arms on the table, rested his chin on top of his arm and continued to watch and listen. He then saw her lips moving and realized she was singing. "Like a dream, the tree of life covers me and dulls my eyes I fall asleep. A thousand nights before I wake." Natasha then put the bacon on the third pan on the stove. "Rising towards the sun, a voice whispers I'm the only one who will teach us how to keep the vows we make." Pietro continue to listen to Natasha's singing and he felt himself relax. He's never heard a voice like that before. Sure, he heard Wanda sing before, but he's never heard Natasha sing. He sighed and felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. "When the stars start to shine the gods above are smiling in the night, like a spark to a flame, feel it as my fear begins to fade." He heard Natasha sigh and saw a small smile play on her lips. "Free to rise again, hand in hand against all odds. We'll overcome, together we are one. For the first time in this life, don't have to fight to feel alive. Don't have to fight to feel alive." Natasha was almost finished with breakfast, all she had to do was put in the biscuits and then she'll be done.
"I've heard the song before." Pietro jumped at another soft voice and spun around only to see Annabeth Knight Barton. He watched as she walks barefoot towards the kitchen and took a seat next to him. Pietro took in her whole new appearance. She was wearing a white t-shirt with short sleeves and jean shorts. He noticed her hair was a little damp like she just got out of the shower. Pietro couldn't stop thinking how beautiful she is without all the dried blood and dirt grim. Her peach skin looks flawless and her dark forest green eyes are bright like the sun. He realized he was staring at her for a long period of time and decided to look away. He buried his face in his arms on the table to hide his blushed cheeks.
"You've heard the song before?" Pietro glanced up at Natasha who raised her eyebrows at him and he merely shook his head. He saw a small smirk play on her lips and buried his face again. He's doomed.
"Yeah, Rocket made sure I was caught up on music and stuff." Natasha grabbed the pan of eggs and poured them on a big plate; she flipped the bacon strips and placed them on a spare plate. The oven dinged telling Natasha the biscuits are done. She went to open the oven, grabbed the oven mitt and grabbed the hot tray of freshly baked biscuits. Pietro got up from his seat, walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. He pulled out a carton of orange juice, milk, cranberry juice and apple juice and placed them on the counter. He then went to the cabinets and grabbed some glasses for everyone. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around only to see Annabeth. "Is there anything I can help with?" Pietro nodded.
"Can you get the plates?" She nodded, opened one of the cabinets and grabbed two plates at time. She placed them on the counter top next to the glasses. Pietro glanced at Annabeth who was looking through the drawers looking for silverware. He couldn't help, but smile at her. She glanced at him and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "You wouldn't happen to know where the silverware are do you?" Pietro nodded and chuckled.
"Next drawer to the left." She nodded opened drawer, they both heard the elevator ding and they both turned towards the elevator. The doors opened and the first one to come out was Clint who was being levitated out of the elevator with Wanda behind him. Pietro saw Annabeth's eyes widened at the sight and then put his hand on her shoulder. "Wanda is practicing her powers. Your father said it was alright for her to use him as a practicing dummy." He felt Annabeth's eyes on him. He glanced at her and grinned at her. They both looked back at the scene of Wanda and Clint until she turned towards the kitchen and saw him and Annabeth. A smile broke on her face.
"You're awake!" She yelled and started to run towards us. The red chaos magic disappeared from her hand and from Clint. Pietro and Annabeth saw Clint fall to the floor and let out a surprised yelp. Pietro then laughed at Clint who quickly got up to his feet and spun around to see where he was. Wanda then threw her arms around Annabeth's shoulders and hugged her tightly. Annabeth was stunned by Wanda's hug, but quickly came to her senses and hugged Wanda back. Wanda pulled away to look at Annabeth's face and smiled at her. "Thank goodness you're alright." Annabeth gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Thank you for getting me out of the medical ward." Wanda shrugged her shoulders.
"It was me and Tony who made the plan. Everyone else went along because Clint deserves happiness." Annabeth heard Natasha clear her throat and Wanda said oops and giggled. "Besides Natasha." She glanced towards Natasha who smiled.
"Don't worry; she knows I'm in a relationship with her father." Wanda glanced at Annabeth who nodded.
"She told me when she was catching me up on the history of SHIELD, the Avengers, HYDRA and everything else." Wanda nodded and glanced at her feet. Annabeth put her hand on Wanda's shoulder and gave her a smile. "It's not your fault you know." Wanda glanced at Annabeth and shifted her feet. "She doesn't blame you for going into her head. From what I've been told, Ultron is a manipulative sociopath AI who needed to get his ass kicked." Wanda giggled and nodded.
"I just wished we would've figured it out sooner and maybe it would have turned out different." Annabeth nodded and pulled Wanda in a hug. She was shocked by Annabeth's action, her eyes had widened in surprised and stunned to even move. "You can't change the past; you can only change the future." Wanda nodded and sighed.
"What about the present?" Annabeth shrugged her shoulders.
"Same difference." Wanda giggled and she finally wrapped her arms around Annabeth's waist. They heard Natasha clear her throat and ruined the moment.
"Sorry to cut the moment short, but breakfast is ready." Wanda let go of Annabeth and patted Annabeth's shoulder. She then went to go grab herself a plate and scooped a spoonful of eggs. Annabeth made eye contact with her father's and she walked over to him. She stopped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Clint immediately wrapped his arms around Annabeth's shoulders and buried his face in her hair. He inhaled the scent from her hair and it smelled like cherry blossoms. His shoulders sagged in relief and closed his eyes.
"I'm glad you're okay." He felt Annabeth nod against his shoulder and let out a shaky breath.
"Me too." She whispered, Clint pulled his head back slightly and kissed her forehead. "Your home Annabeth." He felt Annabeth's arms tighten around his waist. "Your home." Annabeth sighed and nodded against her father's shoulder.
"I'm home." She whispered. "I'm finally home." Everyone watched the scene play out; the only members were Peter and Steve. They had gone down to the basement to see how Bucky was doing. Sam, Tony and Pietro all took out their Stark phones and snapped a couple of pictures of the father and daughter moment. Natasha was filling plates with food and smiled at the two, Thor was shoving food in his mouth and smiled at Clint and Annabeth and Wanda was the last one to take out her Stark phone and snapped a few pictures of them and sent them to Peter and Steve.
"Breakfast is ready!" Natasha yelled over the group. "Come and get it! Oh and JARVIS please inform Peter and Steve breakfast is ready and better get here before Thor inhales everything I just cooked." Pietro snorted while he was drinking his orange juice, Sam started stuffing his mouth trying not to laugh, and Tony grabbed his plate and drink and walked out of the kitchen to the living room. Wanda put the tip of her glass to her lips to hide the grin and Natasha swiftly grabbed her plate and cup of coffee and walked out of the kitchen as well. Annabeth was the one to pull away and smiled at her dad and he smiled back.
"Home sweet home." She said with a little sarcastic tone in her voice and Clint grinned.
"Yup," He wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulder and sighed. "Home sweet home." They both walked towards the kitchen to grab a plate for breakfast. Pietro glanced at Annabeth who gave him a smile. She smiled back at him as she scooped up a spoonful of eggs, grabbed two pancakes and four strips of bacon. She went to go sit on the stool until she forgot to get a drink. She looked at Pietro and gave him a sheepish smile.
" Can you pour me a glass of orange juice please?" . Pietro nodded, took another sip of his orange juice and put his glass down. He turned around to the counter with drinks, grabbed a glass and poured orange juice in the glass. He turned back around and handed the glass to Annabeth. "Thank you." She took a sip and set the glass down next to her plate. Pietro grinned a little and shrugged his shoulder.
"No problem." Wanda watched the exchange between her brother and Annabeth. She raised her eyebrows at Pietro who avoided eye contact with her. She glanced at Annabeth who simply shrugged her shoulders and dived into her food. A tiny smirk played on her lips, she glanced over at Clint who narrowed his eyes at her while he was pick up his three strips of bacon and put on his plate. Wanda simply shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat her pancakes. Clint shook his head and sighed. Yeah, defiantly home sweet home.