HELLO! I know it has been a very long time! My Spring Show is over, so I now have free time! Here is a long chapter to make up for my absence. Don't worry, next chapter the BATTLE BEGINS! I'm very excited! Please send me your ideas! XOXO

"E-excuse me, Your Majesty?" a Skrull addressed the leader atop shaking knees. He kept his face down, but could sense the turn of Thanos' throne to face him.

"What is it?!" Thanos barked at the frightened alien. It flinched, and the warlord smiled a bit to himself.

"It...it is with utmost shame and regret...that I inform you of-of the capture-"

"CAPTURED?!" Thanos bellowed and pounded his meaty fist on his throne, shaking some rocks at the Skrull's feet.

The small alien flattened himself on the ground in front of his tyrant, and he scrunched his eyes shut.

"Congratulations." Thanos said in an eerily calm voice. "Stand up."

No sooner had the words left Thanos' mouth and the Skrull was standing, albeit trembling a bit.

"You have just been promoted. Your superior was unable to complete his task, so you now are commander of the Skrull Army. Effective immediately."

We were sitting in a SHIELD lounge. Drax was on my left, and the rest of the group was scattered throughout the room. We weren't really sure of what to do next. "So, are we just going to wait until Thanos and the Skrulls come raining down on Earth? That doesn't sound like a good plan..." I half-joked, half-was being completely serious.

Tony spoke up. "I can create a detection system with the satellites orbiting Earth. We can know of any alien presence planets before ours..." he suggested.

"We have tracking algorithms already programmed for the Infinity Stones on the Milano. You can use those too if you want." Peter offered.

"Good idea." Bruce replied. "We will need all the help we can get."

We all sat in silence for a moment, and the white noise of the SHIELD headquarters filled the room. The underlying fact that we didn't really have a true plan was bubbling up to the surface. I shifted in my seat. "What are we going to do with the Skrull?"

Suddenly, Fury burst through the door, his trench coat flapping. "Come with me. Now." he commanded, and we jumped up and followed without a word.

"One of the agents found him like that. Saves me some time, I suppose. Thought you all should know." Fury explained, and turned on his heel and left. My mouth hung open in shock. Joseph's too.

The Skrull was hanging from the ceiling by what it appeared to be its arteries. It was as if they shot out of the back of its body and attached to the tiles above. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a little sick. The only thing that moved were the drops of dark green ooze that dripped down onto the table.

Thor coughed. "Suicide must have been better than Thanos' punishment..."

"Let's go home." Steve said. "There's nothing left for us here anymore."

The group shuffled out of the interrogation chamber. In the hallway, I reached for Joseph's hand, and he squeezed it in reassurance. As we boarded the quinjet, I wiped away a tear before anyone saw.

...Your fault...your fault...all your fault...

...Beth...all your fault...Beth...

...Dead...because of you...all your fault...Beth...

"No! NOOOOOO!" I screamed, and sat upright in bed. I angrily rubbed my face. "Not again..." I mumbled. "I thought the nightmares were over..."

I snapped my head up at a tentative knock on my door. "C-come in." I coughed, and ran my fingers through my hair.

It was my moppy-headed uncle. "Hey." he breathed. "May I sit?" he asked and gestured at my bed.

I smiled. "Only because you asked nicely." I replied. "Did I wake you?" I asked, concern furrowing my brows.

Bruce shook his head and smiled. "Nope. I was heading to bed after finalizing some of the programming with Tony for the satellites. Is the nightmare back?" he inquired, and squeezed my shoulders in a quick hug.

I shook my head. "Not the colorful one, no. The thing with the Skrull today really freaked me out, I guess..." I explained.

Bruce nodded with a frown. "Yeah. It was gruesome. I have seen my fair share of destruction, but that was really something else...It's okay to be disturbed by something like that Beth - we all were."

I sighed, and stared at my wall. I couldn't look at Bruce with what I was about to say. "I wasn't so much disturbed by the Skrull...but by me..."

Bruce cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean?" he prompted.

I took a shaky breath and felt a tear glide down my cheek. "I felt guilty about the Skrull committing suicide. How sick is that? This thing tried to choke me to death so it could help destroy the universe, and I felt bad because it killed itself...I'm so disgusted..."

Bruce grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly, so I looked at him. His kind brown eyes met my red-rimmed ones. "You are full of so much compassion, it astounds me. The whole team wonders how you've managed to remain idealistic after all you have been through. What you are feeling is important because it means you still care. We need that going into this fight. We wouldn't survive if you lost your humanity, Beth."

I smiled at his words. "Thanks. I just feel so conflicted, you know? This whole experience is quite emotionally draining..." I joked.

Bruce chuckled. "No kidding." He stood up and headed for my door. "Get some sleep, Beth. Goodnight."

I smiled and laid down. "'Night." I replied as I nestled under the covers.

"It's safe to assume that Thanos will be unleashing the entirety of the Skrull army upon Earth, so we need to focus on getting civilians to safety. Luckily, we have learned from the Battle of New York and have a better course of action..." Fury said. "We have three Helicarriers that have 12 fully mobile lifeboats on them, as well as 40 others. It may not seem like much, but it is a start."

Everybody nodded. Seated around the Tower's conference room table, everybody had a tablet and was listening to Fury's battle instructions. "Thor, Stark, Rogers, Groot, Drax, and Banner will defend Romanoff, Barton, Gamora, Rocket, Quill, Beth and Joseph as they fill the lifeboats. Once evacuation is complete, we will focus on actively destroying the Skrulls."

My eyes widened momentarily at the mention of Joseph's name. I didn't realize he would be a part of the battle...

"This plan is most excellent..." Drax commented at the mention of destroying something. My lips quirked into a smile and Gamora chuckled.

"Thanos may or may not drop down immediately to begin his plan, so we will need to be ready for anything. For Thanos, it is shoot first, and then shoot again until you know he is dead and the Stones are in our hands. Clear?" he confirmed.

"Clear." everyone replied. The Director turned to me, and I gulped. Our relationship seemed okay since I talked back to him and kept the locket, but you never knew with Fury. "Beth. I want you to wear the Stone. Keep in mind that it will make you more of a target, but it enhances your lightning powers, and we will need all the help we can get."

I nodded, fear and excitement filling my belly at the prospect of finally using my locket. "Yes sir." I replied. Fury put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Now, all we do is wait. You are dismissed."

I rearranged a few things on the tablet in front of me, and then got up from the table. Everybody was heading down to the kitchen for lunch. A thought popped into my head, and my stomach dropped. Oh no...

I closed my eyes and sighed. "What's wrong?" Joseph asked, and I jumped at his voice. I tried to plaster a convincing smile on my face. "Oh, nothing." I said, and then changed the subject. "I'm starving, I wonder what we're having for lunch?" I asked.

I guess my expression fooled Joseph. "I think I heard Clint say something about sandwiches..." he answered, and a twinge of guilt filled my stomach as we followed everyone down to the elevator.

...

"Hey! Save me some ham!" Quill called. Everybody was surrounding the sandwich fixings like a pack of hyenas. I was shoved in between Thor and Drax, which gave new meaning to the term "between a rock and a hard place".

"Only if you save me the spicy mustard!" I replied, and grabbed some ham for my friend. After clawing my way out of the mob, we traded and I went and sat down at the table. Thor was across from me, and Groot was on my left. Thor smiled at me around his mouthful of sandwich. I squeezed Groot's wooden shoulder as I sat down, and he patted the top of my head, albeit a little clumsily. Thor chuckled at my slightly disheveled hair. I carefully spread the mustard on my bread so that it reached the edges of the slice.

"Why so thorough with the mustard, Blondie?" Rocket asked as he jumped on the seat next to me, holding a sandwich in his paws.

I shrugged. "It tastes better when you have mustard in every bite, I guess."

"Pfft. That takes too long. Like I always say, better out than in!" the raccoon exclaimed, and shoved almost his whole sandwich in his mouth.

"I am Groot..." the flora colossus said, and gestured with one barky hand. The other was in another bucket of water.

"Whaddya mean I've never said that?!" Rocket said indignantly. "What do you know, you can only say I, am, and Groot!" he insulted, and shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth as he leaped off his chair and scampered away.

Groot smiled and Thor and I laughed.

Joseph walked over and took Rocket's place. "This seat taken?" he joked.

I smiled. "By you, my friend." I replied.

After a while the rest of the group joined us at the table. It was nice to talk and laugh with everyone, since it distracted us from the impending task ahead. At some point, Peter and Tony started flicking chips at everyone until both Gamora and Natasha caught one in their mouths and shot the boys a look. Everybody gradually left until it was just me and Joseph.

We ate in companionable silence for a while. With all the craziness of late, we hadn't been able to spend time alone together. It was refreshing.

"Can I ask you something?" Joseph suddenly asked. "It's kinda weird..."

"Shoot." I replied, confusion filling my face. Why doesn't he just ask?

He cleared his throat. "Uh...I was wondering..." he averted his eyes. I couldn't help but smile at him. "I was wondering if you could show me your lightning powers? I haven't seen them yet, and they sound pretty awesome..."

I laughed. Joseph glared at me, which made me laugh even harder. "Haha! Oh course, knucklehead! Why were you so concerned about asking me?"

He sighed exaggeratedly. "Because that's not a normal question to ask your girlfriend!" he exclaimed as he gesticulated wildly. His voice went a little higher at the end, and I laughed harder still, a tear streaming down my face.

"I don't have to deal with this!" he declared, and made a dramatic show of getting up from the table and throwing away his trash. He smiled and cheekily waved at me before dashing out of the room.

I reached for him. "Noooo! Come back! I'm sooorrryyyyyy!" I called after my boyfriend as I followed him out of the kitchen. I expected him to be waiting for me, but he was nowhere to be found.

I crossed my arms. "Where the heck did he go?" I asked the empty hallway. Silently padding down into the living room, I spotted a tuft of brown hair poking out from behind the armchair. I smiled. Well, well, well...

I bent down, and then jumped onto the chair. "GOTCHA!" I yelled.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Joseph screamed, and fell backwards onto the floor.

I laughed so hard I fell off of the chair and landed next to him, clutching my stomach.

He sat up. "That wasn't very nice...how did you find me?"

"I live with Clint and Thor...it only took me a couple times of them scaring me before I knew what was coming." I explained.

"You're crazy." he said, and held out a hand and pulled me off the ground. I giggled and squeezed him around the middle.

"You don't seem to mind..." I teased. "C'mon, let's go to the training room." I said, and tugged Joseph in the right direction.

We stepped inside the huge facility. The cool air conditioning hit me, and I breathed in the familiar scent of dust and sweat.

"This is amazing!" Joseph exclaimed as he looked at all our equipment. "You actually train here?" he asked.

I chuckled. "Yep. I practice sparring, as well as use Clint's bow and Steve's shield. And, my fancy lightning powers...Stand over there so you'll be out of range." I instructed, and pointed to the wall a safe distance from the targets. I stepped in front of them.

Taking a centering inhale, I planted my feet. Joseph waited expectantly. I thrust my hands forward and sent a stream of electricity at the center target. It hit the bulls eye and I quickly fired at the three others before turning to turning to an astonished Joseph.

I bowed, and made Joseph break from his stupor by making him laugh. "That was pretty cool." he complimented.

"Thanks." I replied.

Joseph's shoulders sank and he frowned. I walked over to him. "What's wrong?" I asked, and put my hands on his shoulders.

He sighed. "I wish I was useful. We're going to be battling it out any day now, and I won't be able to help."

"Oh, c'mon. You'll be helping with evacuating citizens! That's extremely important, Joseph." I told him. We walked over and sat on a bench.

I squeezed his hand. "Hey." I said quietly. "I thought the same thing a while ago. Remember when that crane fell into that office building last year? The Avengers were called to action, and I was in charge of civilian evac and first aid. At first, I thought what you're thinking, that I wasn't useful. But then I saved a boy named Liam. He was trapped under some rocks. I heard his screams from the rubble, and I had Steve pull the rocks away until I could help Liam climb out. I checked him for major injuries and then sent him to the medic tent." I recanted. I chuckled. "Hehe. I remember he was so amazed that I was "Captain America's sister"... I wasn't useless to Liam. Understand?" I asked, and looked into Joseph's eyes.

He nodded after a few moments with the tiniest of smiles. "Yeah. Thanks, Beth." he said, and put his arm around me and kissed my hair.

I smiled softly. "You know, it's probably for the best..." I began.

He pulled his head back to look at me. "What's for the best?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"That you won't be in the middle of the firefight. I wouldn't want you to get hurt..." I said, and squeezed his hand again.

Joseph stood and stepped away from the bench. His back was toward me, and I noticed his hunched shoulders and clenched fists. Joseph mumbled something unintelligible.

I sat up. "What?" I asked, nervous about why he got up.

Joseph turned to me slowly. His eyes were angry. I shrunk. He's never been mad like that at me before... "I said, I can take care of myself." he spoke, his words clipped.

I stuttered. "I...I never - I never said you couldn't...I just meant-"

"Meant what?" he interrupted. "That I shouldn't be more involved because I'm not strong enough? Sorry I don't have super powers, Beth!" he spat my name, and I flinched. I slowly stood up and put my hands in my pockets.

"That's nothing to be sorry for..." I retaliated. "What's your problem? Why are you so upset?"

"My problem is YOU!" he shouted, and angrily pointed at me. "You apparently don't think I can handle myself when the battle comes! That I will be shot or stabbed or God knows what else the second I try and do more that herd people on a lifeboat! Fury thinks I can do it, why can't you?!" he continued, getting angrier by the second. He had walked up until he was towering over me.

I glared at him. "Don't point at me like that." I said coldly. "I never said you couldn't handle anything. I just want you to be safe, and oh - I don't know - freaking survive this mess! I wouldn't want anybody fighting out there in unnecessary danger, okay?! Grow up!" I began to yell, getting more sarcastic.

"Why don't you think I'm good enough?!" he exploded, and I had to step back.

I put my hands up, trying to surrender. This isn't where I meant this conversation to go at all... "Joseph, please..." Tears filled my eyes.

He waved his hand at me and paced around. "Please what? Gain superpowers so you won't think I'm worthless? Or unimportant? Well guess what? You're not special either, Beth! Just because you're the Avenger's tag-along doesn't make you better than me!"

I shook my head slowly, and felt tears fall down my face at the movement. "You know that's not what I meant - you know that Joseph." I pleaded, my voice breaking.

He hung his head for a moment before looking up at me. I could see tears in his eyes as well. "Look, I get it, Beth. I'm not as impressive as a god, a spy, or aliens..." he said, and his voice was filled with so much hurt. He walked back up to me from where he had been angrily pacing moments before. The air was thick with sadness.

"When did you become so superficial?" he whispered with trembling lips.

I recoiled as if slapped, and Joseph walked away and slammed the gym door without another word.

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