Agent Hill led the Avengers through the bowels of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, her heels clacking expertly against the tiled floors. Clint "Hawkeye" Barton had joined them moments before in the conference room, and after little debate, the group was being led through the windowless, fluorescent-lit hallways to a top-secret location.
"This isn't just about us and protecting our planet this time," Agent Hill said. "The fate of the entire universe is at stake. We're working in conjunction with NovaCorps, an intergalactic military organization dedicated to maintaining universal peace and justice."
"Those fools were protecting an infinity gem and lost it," Thor said. "Why should we trust them?"
"We don't have much of a choice." A booming voice came from behind them, and Wanda turned to see Nick Fury, shrouded in his usual heavy black coat and eye patch, following them. When had he joined them? "Some kind of intergalactic law is in effect that in the face of imminent universal danger, all planets and civilizations must cooperate in the defense effort when called upon."
"Besides," Hill added, "they're letting us borrow this."
They had arrived in an open warehouse area that now served as a makeshift garage for a ginormous aircraft. It was bright blue and flat with horizontal extensions coming from its sides. The machine was triple the size of Wanda's childhood home back in Russia, and she could tell this wasn't an average plane. One side of the room had a wall missing, leaving the facility open to the street outside and letting in a fresh breeze.
"The plan is to head off Thanos before he reaches Earth," Natasha said, eyeing the spacecraft suspiciously.
"Think you can fly this, Barton?" Steve said, clapping Clint on the back.
"I'm not an astronaut," Clint retorted. He paused thoughtfully. "But maybe."
"We are going into space?" Wanda couldn't hide the doubt and hesitation she felt. Maybe these soldiers were used to following any order given, but not her. "We are not trained for anything like that!"
Beside her, Rhodes opened his mouth, but Wanda never found out whether he was going to agree with her or not because just then, a shiny black convertible screeched to a halt across the street from the open wall. Tony Stark, dressed to the nines in a tuxedo with designer sunglasses covering his eyes, switched off the ignition to his fancy car and ran a hand through his windblown hair.
"About time you joined us, Stark," Steve said.
Tony didn't flinch but stepped out of his car. "Cute, coming from the man who was cryogenically frozen for 70 years."
"I'm sorry, did we catch you in the middle of something?" Rhodes said, taking in Tony's outfit.
"I'm not just a superhero, Rhodey," Tony said joining the group by the spaceship. "I do have a major corporation to run. And as a matter of fact, you caught me after the middle of something, something I wish I had a little more time to recover from."
Tony took off his sunglasses to reveal a major case of red eye and bags. Of course, the entire universe was in danger and Iron Man was nursing a hangover. Wanda sucked her teeth disapprovingly. They may be fighting on the same side now, but it was going to take a long time before Wanda could accept the selfish, egotistical Tony Stark as a real, trustworthy teammate. She jumped when she felt the Vision's eyes on her. She thought her sound was inaudible over the other Avengers' banter, but the Vision was staring at her and frowning.
And then, as clear as day, his voice echoed in her mind: "Stark is the least of our problems."
Wanda's mouth dropped open, but she clamped it shut again. She hadn't even realized she'd been present in the Vision's mind, but the fact that he noticed… And then responded? She hadn't reached this level of communication with anyone besides Pietro, and she wasn't totally sure he was even completely aware it was happening. Instead, she continued to glare at Tony. But the Vision's voice popped into her head again.
"I trust him."
Wanda sneered and moved her gaze to the ground. Perhaps the Vision had some kind of attachment issue with Tony, since the man essentially created him. Tony Stark nearly destroyed the world with his arrogance twice, and it gave Wanda an incredibly sour taste in her mouth that the fate of the universe would once again lie in this maniac's hands. She wanted nothing to do with him, despite the confidence of her smirking comrades. Eventually, she felt the Vision's eyes leave her and she did not hear his voice again. She figured it was for the best, because not only did she seem alone in her dislike of Tony, but no one seemed to share her concern that a group of terrestrial warriors were going to engage in some sort of space battle that none of them were trained for.
Finally the Vision spoke up, and Wanda wondered if he wasn't the telepathic member of the group after all.
"So are we actually prepared for space travel? I do not recall any extra training sessions, and I do not expect there will be time for any now."
The other Avengers were laughing at one of Tony's snide remarks but stopped when the Vision spoke.
Natasha responded, managing to hold her smile in place. "You'd be surprised what you've been trained for."