a/n: Oh, look – a side-quest! Woohoo! :) Hope y'all like the developments here, and we will return to the main events in the next chapter.

Chapter 13: A Ghost walks into the Soul World. . .

Wanda opened her eyes and sprang up to a sitting position on her bed. A hand reached out for her, resting on her forearm. Then she heard a familiar, gentle voice shushing her.

"You're okay," he said.

But Wanda was very much not okay. She scooted back on the bed until she slammed against the headboard. Holding her hand out with a pointed finger, she tried to catch her breath and gulped a few times, hoping to make her voice sound stronger than she felt.

"You," she whispered through gritted teeth. She shook her head, sure she was hallucinating. Tears were stinging her eyes and she blinked fiercely to keep them at bay. That only made things worse, though, because every time she re-opened her eyes, the image in front of her didn't change. "This is impossible," Wanda managed to say, with a growl.

"I assure you, it's not—"

"How dare you be so calm!" Wanda hissed. She narrowed her eyes at this imposter. "You're not here. You're not real. This—this cannot be."

She'd stopped letting herself hope long ago, precisely to avoid this feeling. Because if she ever let herself imagine, she knew it would only be exponentially worse when she finally woke up from the dream or snapped free of the illusion. Pretending someone was back just to lose them all over again was much worse than just admitting you lost them in the first place.

But despite how she tried to logic herself through whatever the hell was happening, she couldn't stop seeing the image in front of her and she couldn't deny the emotions that came as a result.

So, the next thing Wanda knew, she was sobbing. Her body shook, wracked with renewed grief. Then, arms—strong and warm and familiar and feeling so very alive—were wrapped around her, squeezing her until her body was still. And then hands were stroking her back, with fingers carding through her hair. That calm voice, the one that she had missed so dearly and only ever heard in her dreams or old recordings of JARVIS, was whispering in her ear: "It's all right. I'm here now."

And those words pulled Wanda from her stupor. She sniffled as she leaned away, forcing the water from her eyes so she could see clearly.

"How?" she asked, because that was the only logical thing she could force out at the moment – and because she needed to know.

He smiled, and glanced down as he chuckled fondly. When he looked back up at her, his eyes were just as bright as they'd always been. "Morgan and Shuri," he told her.

Wanda looked him up and down with suspicion, focusing her powers in the hopes that if this was anything other than reality—a lie, trick, illusion, hallucination, mental breakdown, etc.—then maybe she'd be able to tell. But when she looked at Vision, everything felt perfectly normal and real. Wanda let out a small gasp. Then she inhaled sharply. "Viz, it's really you?"

With a nod, he confirmed, "It's really me."

Vision let out an "Oof!" as Wanda threw her arms around him and curled herself against him in a hug. She squeezed as hard as humanly possible, and then some. Hugging her back, Vision laughed in her ear and a smile spread across the woman's face. She released him, bursting into a relieved, sort of crazed sounding laughter.

"I missed you," Wanda croaked. Her lip trembled, and she bit it to keep from crying again. "You were gone."

"I'm back," was all Vision had to say to that.

Wanda surged forward and kissed him before nuzzling into his neck and just holding him close again. The weight of all the years Wanda had been alone fell away and it was like no time had passed at all.

"I sort of disappeared, from Morgan and Shuri," Vision said after a few minutes, sounding guilty.

With a sigh, Wanda leaned back against the headboard of her bed. "I suppose the others deserve to know you're alive," she admitted. But then she grabbed Vision's arm, tugging him closer and directing him to wrap his arm around her shoulder. He abided, settling in alongside her. Wanda tilted her head down, leaning against Vision's chest. "But the others can wait."

Vision didn't answer, but he must have agreed because he didn't move, either. They stayed silent, curled up on the bed and, at least for now, just content to be together again.

*!MCU!*!MCU!*!MCU!*

Ava recognized the Quantum Realm immediately. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest at the thought that maybe she was trapped there. But then things started to shift around her. She felt something tugging at her and momentarily panicked.

It was like before, when her matter used to rip apart and then sew itself back together again. But she was wearing the bracelets made by the Avengers; she should be fine.

Then again, she was in the Quantum Realm, so maybe rules didn't really apply.

Ava's breath caught in her throat and she felt like she was choking. Something tugged at her again, pulling her apart at the seams. Things suddenly became too bright. Everything disappeared into a blur of blinding white light.

For a moment, Ava Starr was nothing – and she was everything, all at once.

Then, the brightness faded to something more subdued, like the world was dull and muted. She tried to breathe but found her lungs filling with water – which was a surprise.

Flailing, she did everything she could to propel herself in a general upward direction. Finally, with a roaring headache and spots in front of her eyes from a lack of oxygen, Ava surfaced from underwater. She gasped, pulling in air and beginning to tread water as she took in the sights around her.

Gone was the Quantum Realm and instead, Ava found herself in the middle of a never-ending ocean, with waters like a reflecting pool. The sky above was a muted, gray with splashes of orange. In fact, when she looked around, everything had kind of an orangey hue to it. As Ava glanced around, she was filled with a new sense of fear. Because she not only had no idea where she was, but she also couldn't see anything for what appeared to be miles: No landmarks, no people, nothing at all.

Without any other options, and to avoid panicking, Ava started to swim. She had no idea where she was going, except forward and that seemed like as good an option as anything else she had to choose from (which was precisely nothing).

Hours seemed to pass. Ava was panting and her limbs were ready to give out. She was exhausted, her eyes blurring and trying to close, causing her head to slip underwater now and then. Spluttering, she forced herself back to the surface, trying to gain some kind of bearings or come up with a plan. Turning herself slightly in the water, Ava all but squealed at the sight of an outcropping of rocks.

With renewed energy, the girl forced herself to swim the remaining distance – it was impossible to say whether it was miles or a few hundred yards or mere feet – and when she was close enough, she grabbed onto the rocks. She pulled herself up, to sit on an overhanging rock with her legs dangling in the water. Resting her head on the rocks beside her, Ava closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Tried to collect her thoughts. Tried to figure out what the hell she was going to do.

"Hey!" someone shouted. And Ava didn't even respond at first, because she was certain she'd started hallucinating. Then, the voice called out to her again and Ava managed to lift her head. Squinting, because her eyes still hadn't adjusted to the odd color and lighting of wherever she was, she could just barely make out the figure of a woman standing on another group of rocks some distance away.

Somewhat lazily, Ava waved an arm in acknowledgement. She dropped her head to rest on her arm along the rocks again, because it was just too much effort to hold her head up. And then she heard a splash. Some amount of time ticked by – it had all become irrelevant by that point – and then someone was patting Ava's leg.

"Hey, you." The woman prodded Ava gently, rousing her from what she was certain was about to be an exhaustion-induced coma. When Ava looked up, the woman was in the water at her feet and looking at her with curiosity. "Where'd you come from?"

Ava swallowed, her tongue thick and dry. "I dunno," she murmured. She jerked her head in a random direction, not even sure if it was where she had stated. "I've been swimming for. . ." but her voice trailed off, because she had no idea how long she'd been there and on the move and what even was life right now? Finally, she just shook her head dejectedly.

The woman seemed to understand, though, giving a singular nod. "That happens," she said. "This is a place where people tend to get," she paused before saying, "stuck."

Ava groaned and forced herself to sit up. Because even if this was a mirage or something, then maybe at least the hallucination could be helpful. "D'you know how I can get outta here?"

The woman watched her for a moment, green eyes shining even in the orangey light. Finally, she smirked. "The only way out, is through," she stated, her raspy, jazz singer-eqsue voice calm and soft.

". . . the fuck?" Ava didn't even care to hide her incredulity. She was too tired and confused to try figuring out riddles.

But the woman only laughed. "Follow me," she said, paddling in the water to back up.

Ava slowly slid down from the rock, immersing herself again in the lukewarm depths. She looked down briefly, able to see herself as clearly as if she were looking in a mirror. She looked like shit – exhausted and worn.

"Word of warning?" The woman's voice drew Ava's attention again, making her look into those shimmering green eyes. "Don't stop till you breach the surface." Then, without further explanation, the woman was diving underwater.

Ava hesitated for all of a second, immediately aware of the fact that she has no alternatives. So, she followed, diving under and using great force to move the water with her arms, kicking with her legs, as she swam down.

The woman was no longer in view, and Ava was just remembering her words of "don't stop." So, deeper and deeper she swam, until Ava was certain her lungs were going to burst, sure that she'd just followed a literal siren to her own watery grave, or that maybe there had never been anyone in the first place. Finally, with her chest tight and her head throbbing and everything burning, Ava breeched the surface and sucked in a gasping, heaving breath of air.

She quickly discovered that she was, impossibly, in a shallow part of the water. She tried to stand, but her legs were too weak from so much swimming and she felt kind of sick from the lack of oxygen. So instead, she just threw herself down in an attempt to reach the shore, which was now miraculously just a few feet away.

"Up we go," a voice said softly, pulling Ava up and out of the water with a grunt.

Ava continued breathing heavily, sitting on her ass on the shoreline, like a day at the fucking beach. Unlike the beach, though, this water was perfectly, eerily still. It doesn't lap at Ava's legs. There are no waves and the water doesn't make a sound.

Ava looked up at the woman standing beside her, soaking wet in a black jumpsuit. Her skin was pale and her hair, which was almost a burgundy color, was pulled back into a braid, flat against her head from the water. "What is this place?" Ava asked.

The woman moved in front of Ava, squatted down, resting her elbows on her knees, and looked directly into Ava's eyes. "This might be hard for you to understand, but—"

"Is this the Quantum Realm?" Ava asked, interrupting whatever the woman was about to say.

"No," was the woman's quick response. Her green eyes flashed with an odd expression and she shook her head before standing up straight again. She offered her hand, which Ava took, finally standing up. "Why did you ask if this was the Quantum Realm?"

Ava bit her lip. "Well, I was muckin' about with some things I really ought not have been messing with – shit I don't fully understand, ya know? And I may have accidentally gotten myself sucked through some sort of space-time vacuum, I think?" Ava shrugged. "At least, that's the best I could probably come up with to understand or explain it. And I mean, I was in the Quantum realm, for, like, a hot minute. Then suddenly I wasn't, and I found myself in those waters where I spent, like, a fucking eternity."

"And then I found you," the stranger supplied. Ava nodded. The woman chewed on the inside of her cheek, looking at Ava thoughtfully. Finally, she sighed. "This isn't a realm at all, exactly. It's more like. . ." she paused, tapping her chin with her index finger. "It's like an off-shoot of the Quantum realm. And all other realms, probably."

Ava raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

Throwing her arms out to her sides, the woman said, "This is an in-between place. It exists between – or beyond? – space and time." She chuckled darkly. "Trust me. I'm pretty sure I've been here for years, although I don't know how many. Sometimes it feels like I just got here yesterday, and other times it feels like it's been centuries." She swiped at a strand of hair that had fallen out of the braid. Now that it was drying, Ava could see that the hair wasn't as dark as she'd thought, looking more rust-colored.

"This place is a total cluster-fuck," the woman continued. She exhaled and shrugged. "They call it the Soul World."

"'They?'" Ava repeated.

The female nodded. Then, she frowned and furrowed her brows, shaking her head, before nodding again. "You know, the ominous, omnipotent, omniscient 'they.' Or if you want it could be us, you, them, others – whatever." She waved a hand dismissively.

"Well," Ava began, "can you help me get out of here?"

The woman let out a sharp, throaty laugh. In response to Ava's frosty glare, she folded her arms over her chest. "This isn't the kind of place you get out of, kid. Once you're here, you're stuck."

Ava scoffed. "Well, that's unacceptable. I-I can't be stuck here!"

The other simply shrugged. Ava realized the woman looked tired. Maybe this place sucked the life out of you until there was nothing left. That did not bode well for anyone.

They were silent for a minute. Then, the stranger started walking away.

"Hey!" Ava called, stopping the woman in her retreat. Ava took a few slow steps, her legs still feeling like they'd been dipped in cement, sidling up next to the woman. "Where are you going?"

The woman pointed straight in front of her before she started walking again. Ava walked alongside her, following her away from the water's edge, over a small dune that took them off the weird-ass beach, and onto a dirt path. They walked for a while without a word, but then Ava felt the woman's eyes on her from the side.

"Why are you following me?" she asked, coming to a stop.

Ava snorted. "Where else would I go?"

The woman shrugged, as if that was a perfectly valid argument, and then just kept walking. Ava hurried forward to catch up again. "I'm Ava," she introduced herself. "What are you called?"

The woman came to a halt again, making Ava stutter-step not to overshoot her. With a grin, the woman said, "I've been 'called' many names."

Ava frowned. "Is this the bit where you tell me this is actually hell and you're the devil?"

With a laugh, the woman shook her head. Then she stretched out her hand, "Here, people call me Ali."

They shook hands and Ava smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Ali. Although, I wish it were under better circumstances." She grimaced as she glanced around.

Ali chuckled quietly. "You kind of get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it," Ava snapped, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at Ali. "I want to get back to the real world."

There was something harsh in Ali's gaze, but it quickly shifted to a softer expression. "Yeah, I understand. But that's not exactly an option. Once your soul is relegated to this World, you don't leave."

"No!" Ava growled, stomping her foot for emphasis. She knew it was petulant, but she didn't care. Ali's eyes were wide and pitying, but Ava merely groaned in exasperation. "See, the thing is, I wasn't 'relegated' to this world. I don't belong here—"

"Nobody ever thinks they do," Ali interrupted.

Ava rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. I'm really not supposed to be here! It was an accident." Getting an idea, she reached into her pocket and pulled the particle accelerator out, holding it in her palm to show Ali. "See? This device malfunctioned and mixed with Quantum particles and this other element, called Pym Particles, and somehow it sent me here, and—"

Ali held up a hand. "Did you say Pym?"

When Ava nodded, Ali narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "As in, the stuff Ant-Man uses to do his weird ant shit?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Ava exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Ali bit her lip. "Do you actually know Scott?"

"Scott Lang? Of course." Ava shrugged. "Why? Do you know 'im? Or the Avengers?"

Ali snorted and tilted her head back to look up at the expanse of orange above them. "Um, let's see. Do I know the Avengers?" She drawled the words out. Finally, with a click of her tongue, she said, "Yeah, you could say that."

Ava furrowed her brow. "What does that mean?"

"Like I said, I've been here for a while. So I can't guarantee I know the current Avengers. But," Ali paused her explanation to let out a sigh. "I know the founding members," she finished.

"You do? How?" Ava cocked her head to the side questioningly.

Placing her hands on her hips, Ali gave a lopsided grin. "Because I was one of them."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Ava stepped back, looking the woman up and down more carefully. Admittedly, there was something familiar about her. She just couldn't quite get her brain to work enough to place it – Ava wasn't dumb by any means but, unlike many of the others she worked with, she wasn't exactly a genius and she didn't have an eidetic memory.

"Are you a current Avenger?" Ali asked, an amused tone in her voice.

Ava nodded. Then, she introduced herself again, this time using her code-name. "They call me Ghost."

Surprisingly, Ali snickered. "So, Ghost walks into the Soul World. . ." she said dramatically. Ava allowed a quiet laugh to escape. Shaking her head, Ali chuckled. "Seriously, there has to be a joke somewhere about that." Then, Ali placed a hand on her chest and leaned forward, still seeming very theatric. "Well, maybe you've heard of me. Back in the day, they called me Black Widow."

Ava felt her jaw drop. She tried to talk, but only managed to stutter out nonsense syllables: "But –you were—and the – now you're –"

"Don't hurt yourself," Ali—Black Widow, said with a smirk. She extended her hand, which Ava quickly grabbed to shake for a second time, but for real this time. "Natalia Alianova Romanov," Black Widow said. "Probably Natasha Romanoff, to most of the people you know. Or just Nat."

"This is insane," Ava whispered, mostly to herself. "You're dead."

Dryly, Nat said, "Joy of joys, I ended up here." Natasha swept her arms out to the side in a grand gesture. With a sympathetic look, she waved a hand toward Ava. "And now you're here, too. Ergo. . ." she let her voice trail off, and was instantly met with an offended gasp by Ava.

"Except I'm not dead!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Sure about that?"

There was only a miniscule pause before Ava nodded. "I am not dead," she repeated, more firmly. She sighed. "Look, when I was young, I had a sort of accident. I have quantum particles in my cells – that's why I'm called Ghost, really."

Nat folded her arms over her chest. "Like, you can walk through walls?"

With a nod, Ava held up Pym's device again. "This has both quantum and Pym particles in it, but it's somewhat broken. I think maybe because of my makeup, when this thing malfunctioned, it ended up dropping me here." The girl dropped her arms to her sides and shook her head dejectedly. "But I'm not supposed to be here. And I have to find a way to get back, because I don't know if I caused any problems when I left and I bloody well don't want anyone followin' after me." With pleading eyes, Ava implored the former Avenger, "Just, I need to get back. I'm begging you to help me find a way."

For a moment, Nat stared at her. There was an intensity there and Ava realized why Black Widow had been known for being so intimidating. Then, Natasha inhaled sharply and puckered her lips. "I don't know if it's possible, but I guess if you could get here, maybe there's a way to get you back."

Hearing her agree to help, even in the smallest way, Ava was overjoyed and flung herself forward to wrap Natasha in a hug.

"Whoa," Nat mumbled in surprise. She reached one arm up and patted Ava on the back, chuckling in her ear.

"Sorry," Ava muttered as she pulled away.

"'s fine," Natasha told her easily. Then, with a grin, she said, "Come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Lead on!" Ava grinned back, feeling renewed hope that maybe she actually would get out of this literal no-man's-land.

*!MCU!*!MCU!*!MCU!*

The pair made their way along the path in relative silence. Ava considered asking Natasha something, to try making conversation. But she'd heard enough about Black Widow to know that Nat probably wouldn't appreciate questions about her past. And talking about the Avengers, past or present, might be painful for the woman. So instead, Ava just kept her mouth shut.

They climbed up a sand dune and when they reached the top, Ava felt her breath catch in her throat.

Because so far, the place—planet? Realm? Whatever—had been completely deserted, with no sights or sounds beyond Ava, Nat, and the barren space around them as far as the eye could see. But once they reached the crest of the dune, Ava looked down and saw something akin to a village, full of people.

"Holy shit," she breathed.

Natasha started to descend the hill and Ava hurried to follow her, but with much less grace or stealth as she slipped in the sand. They found a paved walkway and Ava stayed close to Nat, all but clinging to the sleeve of the red-head's jumper, out of fear of losing her in the bustling crowd. It seemed like they were in some kind of marketplace, with shops set up and people were even eating and drinking.

"There are so many people here," Ava commented after they'd been walking for a bit.

Natasha shrugged. "This place is something of a catch-all."

Ava nodded absently, taking note of the many different kinds of beings and creatures that were there. She recognized some of them as other species – a few Skrulls, some that she figured were Centaurians (based on how Quill talked about Yondu), plus several others she couldn't name – and of course there were countless humans.

"Here we are," Natasha announced, stopping in front of a building. It was noticeably larger than the neighboring storefronts. Ava looked up and saw a sign hanging above the door with the word INN scrawled across it. Her companion cleared her throat and Ava saw that Nat was holding the door open for her.

"Thanks," Ava muttered before crossing the threshold. It was significantly quieter inside and it had a homey feel to it, almost like something out of Middle-Earth. As Ava glanced around, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Got any Hobbits staying here?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow before snorting. "Oh good, they got another nerd to join the ranks."

"Natalia!" A stern voice shouted from behind them, making Ava jump. Natasha simply rolled her eyes and turned around. "Nice of you to finally show up."

Ava whirled around to face the woman who was approaching them. And it made the girl feel light-headed.

"Lay off, Gamora," Natasha retorted teasingly. She jammed her thumb toward Ava. "I went fishing." As the green-skinned being stopped a few feet from them, planting her hands on her hips, Natasha introduced her. "Gamora, this is Ava."

Gamora rolled her eyes. "Great," she grumbled. "Another body to house. And let me guess: This one can't pay, either?" The Zehoberei woman made her way across the lobby of the inn, shaking her head as she went behind the counter. "You have to stop this, Ali."

Muttering to herself in an alien language, Gamora started flipping through a book on the counter—what Ava assumed to be a register of some sort for guests of the hotel. With a sigh, Gamora looked up and sighed before saying, "We can probably find room for her for a day or two. But that's it."

With a chuckle, Natasha jerked her head, indicating for Ava to follow her. They stopped at the check-in desk, opposite Gamora. Nat leaned forward to rest her elbows on the counter. "She's not a guest, dumbass."

Gamora glared, obviously not amused by the playful insult. But Nat wasn't deterred. "And she doesn't need us to do her any favors."

With a click of her tongue, Gamora slammed the registration book closed. "Well, that would be a first." Then she rested her palms on the desk and leaned forward, focusing her dark eyes on Ava. "So, why did Ali bring you here?"

Ava gulped under the heated stare. A million thoughts were racing through her mind. But all she could manage to say (quite lamely) was, "You're her."

Gamora leaned back, looking confused. Her gaze flicked from Ava to Nat and back. Finally, she scoffed and looked at Natasha expectantly.

"Ava ended up here on accident—"

"You know that doesn't happen," Gamora interrupted with a growl.

But Natasha grinned like the cat that caught the canary. "Ava is an Avenger."

A pained expression swept across Gamora's face for a brief moment, but it was quickly replaced by a cool, neutral face. She leveled that blank look at Natasha. "You say that like it means something."

"It does," Natasha replied, her voice just as cool as the look on Gamora's face. Ava could feel the tension in the air. She remembered that both women had been assassins in their former lives and standing next to them felt a bit like standing in a powder keg.

"Why would it matter?" Gamora spat. "She's here, so who cares who she was associated with?"

Ava let out a loud sigh that implied way more confidence than she actually felt. "I am actually in the room." When the women looked at her, she rolled her eyes. "You don't hafta talk about me like I'm not here."

There was a momentary pause and then Natasha barked out a laugh and placed a hand on Ava's shoulder. Ava smiled, only slightly nervously, at Natasha before looking to Gamora. She was flooded with relief to see that Gamora was half-smiling back at her.

"So, Ghost," Natasha said, grinning as she emphasized Ava's heroic moniker, "wound up in the Soul World—"

Gamora cut the other off with a stifled laugh. "That sounds like a bad joke."

"I can see why you two are friends," Ava mused, glancing between them.

Nat chuckled and opened her mouth to continue but then nodded toward Ava in deference. "You explain it." At Ava's confused look, Natasha exhaled. "How you got here. Or how you think you did." She gestured toward Gamora. "Tell her what you told me."

Inhaling deeply, Ava met Gamora's expectant stare. "Quick and dirty version: I'm made up of Quantum cells, a device employing Quantum and Pym particles malfunctioned, I made a very wrong turn in the Quantum Realm, and somehow it dropped me here."

Gamora nodded along as Ava spoke, giving her a sympathetic look when she finished. Then Natasha straightened up with a glint in her eyes. "We're gonna find a way for Ava to get the hell out of here."

Gamora sighed, swiping her dark hair away from her face. "That's a nice dream, for both of you. But—"

Nat held up a hand. "No 'buts,' buzzkill. Ava's getting out of here." Ava felt a swell of appreciation at Natasha's insistence, her confidence seeming contagious. Then, before Gamora could argue, Nat slapped her hand on the counter in a kind of triumphant gesture. "And when she leaves, we're going with her."

"What?!" Ava and Gamora exclaimed at the same time. Nat looked back and forth between them, beaming in spite of Ava's confusion and Gamora's disbelieving scowl.

"There's no way out, Natalia," Gamora proclaimed, slowly as if she were talking to a child. "Even if Ava here does somehow, miraculously, find a way to leave, it would only be because of her unique makeup and situation." Shaking her head despondently, Gamora inhaled sharply as she looked at Ava. "I hope you can get out of here, and if you think of something I can do to help, let me know. But," she paused to look at Natasha, "this would be a one-off and I don't see how it involves us."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Because you lack vision," she deadpanned. "Look, Ava basically is a quantum machine. If she can get herself out of her, how hard would it be for us to just hitch a ride?"

"Impossibly hard, Ali!" Gamora hissed. "There's no way out and you should just forget it." With a scoff, the green-skinned woman added, "Besides, even if we tried, what if something goes wrong?"

Natasha groaned, stomping away from the desk. "If there's even a remote chance we could get out of here, we should try it!" Pausing for a moment to let the intensity roll away, Natasha swiped hair out of her face and leveled Gamora with a soft but stern look. "What are you so afraid of, Gamora?"

"I'm not afraid, Romanov," Gamora growled, her voice low and heated. "But I don't see the point in taking needles risks."

That was the moment Ava decided to butt in. She cleared her throat and raised a hand, tentatively stepping forward to position herself between the two women. "Um, I don't want to overstep, and it's not like I know what I'm talkin' about, like, at all. But. . ." she stopped for a moment, giving the others a chance to stop her. They both just looked at her in anticipation so she took a deep breath before saying, "It's not like you really have much of a life here. So, I mean, if there were some chance you could get out of here, isn't that worth whatever risks may come?" She gave them both a sad little smile as she shrugged. "What've you really got to lose?"

Natasha stepped forward and, quietly, she asked, "Gamora, you could see your sister again. And Quill. Is there any risk that's not worth taking for that?"

Outrage flashed across Gamora's face and she snarled. But it was quickly replaced by profound grief, with tears welling up in the rims of the alien's dark eyes.

She looked to Ava. "You really believe you can get out of here?" Gamora asked in a tight voice.

"I do." And as Ava said it, she found that she actually believed it. Because she had to. Not getting home was simply not an option.

After staring her down for a moment, Gamora finally gave a singular nod. "All right. If you want to try getting back to the Earth we knew, I won't stop you. I'll even help you, if possible." Pinching the bridge of her nose and chuckling darkly, Gamora sighed. "And if you do get out of here, I will even risk ripping my soul and body to shreds on the 0.1% chance that whatever you do actually works."

"Yes!" Natasha exclaimed, punching the air.

Gamora's eyes widened as she looked at her friend. "There's a very good chance this could kill or, at the very least, maim us, and you're excited?"

Nat shrugged. "At least it'll be a change of pace!"

At that, both women laughed. And Ava found herself laughing with them, feeling thrilled not only about getting out of this weird misadventure but also at this new prospect of what she might be able to bring back with her. She just hoped there really was a chance and that it would work.

*!MCU!*!MCU!*!MCU!*

a/n 2: Hoping to continue updating regularly, but might be a bit slower with Christmas & New Year's - plus, I have an evil Statistics class that is kicking my ass so everything depends if I survive that!

As always, thank you for reading & commenting. I adore you people!