Chapter 29: High Noon

Did they know what they were getting themselves into? It seemed like a fair question. Thera might have been evasive, but it was pretty obvious what they were up to. Vi's appraisal of Ronin had been forensic in its scope; she'd copied his costume, his signature weapon, even his style, and then demonstrated her skills by brutally dispatching a dozen Blacknest operatives in Marshfield. The message was clear; the vigilante was back, and out for blood.

Was it going to end there? Of course not. Ronin, or at least the original Ronin, was a manifestation of Clint's bottomless grief, twisted by raw, impotent rage. He didn't show mercy, couldn't be bargained with, and would never, ever stop until he'd slaughtered everyone who fell short of his twisted sense of justice. Vi knew what that was like; in fact, she was probably one of the few who truly did, and no matter what happened today I was sure she was going to play the role to the hilt. I was sure it'd be 'spectacular', to use her favourite word, but at the same time...

"This is wrong," I said, "Clint, this is wrong!"

"I know, hon," he said.

"Then what're we going to do about it? We have to stop them!"

Clint stared silently up the path, clearly lost in thought, and then said, "We can't."

"What? Why?" I said, "'Cause it lets us off the hook?"

"No, 'cause we're too late," he said, with a sigh, "I reckon we were probably too late from the moment we reached St. Louis. They ain't careless enough to give us that kind of opportunity."

"That's just fatalism!"

"It's true, though," he said, "They've been settin' the beat the whole time they've been here, even when we thought they weren't. Unless you've got somethin' up your sleeve…"

I thought frantically for a moment, but nothing was forthcoming, "Damnit, this isn't fair! We can't let them pay the price for our mistakes!"

Clint's eyebrows twitched slightly at 'our mistakes', but then he said, "I know. I hate it too! Hell, I hate it so much I invited them to lay low at ours-"

"-yeah, I didn't expect that-"

"-but you heard what he said; it ain't a matter of us 'letting' them do anything! How're we meant to stop those two when even Strange brought backup?"

"It's not about raw power! If I could just talk to Vi-"

"Laura," Clint said, kindly but firmly, "There're some things you jus' can't stop, an' there's a whole load of other things that you can make much, much worse by chargin' in headlong 'cause you're scared or desperate. If you really want to help her, the best thing we can do right now is not screw it up for 'em."

"And then what? Ride off into the sunset, like Thera suggested? Go home to the kids and live happily ever after while they take the fall for us? How can we do that?"

"'Cause that's what they want us to do!" Clint said, "Thera was pretty clear about that! In fact, it's one of the few times he's been clear on anything!"

"But...but…" I sputtered to a halt, and then looked plaintively at Clint, "But Vi's my friend. I don't want her to..."

"I know it's hard, hon, but she's willin' to make this sacrifice because she's your friend. We gotta honour that."

"Did she, though? Did she really make that choice? Or were they walked into it?"

He frowned, "I don't get it."

"Well, is this…" I paused, not entirely sure if I wanted to know the answer, "Do you think this is what Nat wanted all along?"

"I think Nat would've wanted to keep us safe."

"How? By using them?" I said, with a sudden pulse of anger, "You said it yourself; Thera and Vi aren't your typical bodyguards! Do you think she picked them because she knew they'd get emotionally attached?"

"Nat does whatever she has to do to win, Laura," Clint said, "Whether it's paintballing, defeatin' Thanos, protectin' our family..."

"Even if it means other people get hurt?"

"Sometimes you can't stop people from gettin' hurt, hon. 'Sides, you don't know that they don't have somethin' up their sleeves!" he said, and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, "If they can get in an' out of Helix International without anyone even knowin' they were there, I reckon they'll be okay."

"I hope so," I said, and added sadly, "I suppose this is why Vi was saying 'goodbye', isn't it. She knew that if they pulled this off, she'd never be able to see me again."

"One thing I've learned these past couple of months is to 'never say never', hon. After the Snap I thought I'd never see you or the kids again, but…" he spread his hands, "She's crafty, hon. She'll find a way."

"I hope so," I said, and exhaled heavily, "So what now?"

"Now? I guess I go and make sure I'm 'seen'," Clint said, "Ain't quite sure how I'm gonna do that, yet, but I'll find a way. Better limber up, too."

"You think there'll be trouble?"

"With those two involved?" he snorted, "Never."

"You'll be careful, right?" I said, anxiously, "Don't go and do anything stupid."

"That was meant to be my line, hon," Clint laughed, "Whatever happens, jus' try an' not get caught in the middle of it this time, please?"

"I'll try," I said, "But no promises."

"I'll take it," he said, and then his expression turned serious, "We're so close now, hon. In an hour, all of this'll be over."

"Yeah," I smiled wanly, "But then the real work begins."

"It never ended," he said, and leaned in for a kiss, "I love you, hon."

"Love you too, Hawkeye," I said, and shoved him lightly on the shoulder, "Now go! Show 'em all how awesome you are!"

Clint flashed me one of his trademark roguish smiles, and then turned and jogged off towards the entrance. I watched him go, and then meandered after him while my mind bubbled and frothed unhappily. Fine; #273 was destroyed, and fine, I'd promised Thera that we'd do whatever he wanted, but...that didn't mean I had to like it! For heaven's sake, I thought that I'd made Vi promise not to throw herself under another bus for me, so obviously her response was to go and dive under a goddamn eighteen wheeler instead! What the hell was I meant to do about...all this?

"Just let it happen," my inner voice whispered, seductively, "Let's be honest; you kind of want to."

"That's not true!" I kicked out angrily at an innocent twig, and missed spectacularly.

"Of course it is."

"No, it's-"

"There's no need to be ashamed, you know. Nobody would blame you."

"I'd blame me."

"For choosing your family over Thera and Vi?" the voice snorted, "Stop clinging to the hope that you can somehow swoop in and save the day! You know you don't 'swoop'."

"Even if I don't, that doesn't mean I'm going to let them throw themselves to the wolves! Not this time!"

"What's the alternative? March over to the rally, walk straight up to Keame and tell him that Clint is the real Ronin?"

"I…" I had to admit, that was a good point, "There has to be another way! This is wrong!"

"And yet it's so very pragmatic. So very Nat," the voice said, "In the end, checkmate's the only thing that matters. Who cares if a few pawns get swept off the board?"

"Nat wasn't like that!" I said, "She wouldn't treat people like...things!"

"Weren't you listening to Clint? How many times did she exploit someone, only to cast them aside when they weren't useful anymore?"

"She wasn't that callous!"

"Of course she was! It was her job!"

"Well, that's not what I want to remember her for!" I said, surprising myself with my forcefulness, "I want to remember her for the fun times we had together, how much she loved the kids...you know, Auntie Nat! Not-"

"Black Widow?"

"...right," I sighed, "The Nat I knew couldn't have...wouldn't have done something like this. It just makes me wonder how well I really knew her."

"Probably better than you think," said the voice, "You're focusing so much on the idea of her manipulating Thera and Vi that you're not thinking about why she might have done it."

"Which is?"
"Love! Nat didn't stop loving her niece and nephews when she was being 'Black Widow' and she didn't stop loving you, either. Maybe keeping you safe this one last time was her way of expressing that."

"But Thera and Vi-"

"-seem pretty complicit in the whole thing. You heard them talking back home; you think they haven't figured it out? Or at least suspect something?"

"Then why haven't they walked away? Because they're emotionally invested?"

"Maybe they feel like they owe Clint, or they don't want your family to get hurt. It could even be more personal than that; you remember the feelings from that picture Vi drew, right?" the voice said, "Don't assume that they're victims, Laura. They were chosen for a reason, and nobody who throws themselves this wholeheartedly into anything is just 'being sacrificed'."

I didn't have a good response to that, but it did give me something to cling to. Clint was right; they had to have something else up their sleeve! They'd spent their entire time forcing everyone else to dance to their tune; surely that wasn't to just throw it all away now, right? I had to believe that, because if I didn't, well...what else did I have left?

As I approached the impressive, iron-wrought memorial gate, the sounds of the city began to filter through the leafy oaks. They carried with them the tell-tale hubbub of a large crowd and, somewhere in the distance, the rhythmic bass thud of Keame's apparently endless warm-up act. The atmosphere felt different too; more expectant, electric even, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end as I slipped through the entrance and headed towards Kiener Plaza. I wasn't the only one, either; the trickle of people we'd seen earlier had built now to a flood, and I found myself caught up in a throng that carried me almost helplessly towards the main stage. It was a veritable sea of people, more than I'd seen in one place in over twenty years, and I felt a sudden thrill of fear shoot through me. At that moment, it was all I could do not to turn tail and flee back to the quiet solitude of the Blip Memorial.

"Get a grip, Laura!" I muttered to myself, and forced the feeling down hard. It wouldn't have done me any good, anyway; the flow of the crowd was as inexorable as a glacier, and there was simply no escape to be had. Whatever happened now, I was stuck here until the bitter end.

By some miracle, the flow of the crowd dispensed me in a quiet spot near the Runner, and with some relief I flopped down onto the marble balustrade. The cool spray of the fountain kept the worst of the heat at bay, and I felt my hackles slowly begin to relax as I watched the band play themselves out on stage. Clint was out there, somewhere, probably making friends in his own inimitable fashion, but how in the world was he meant to be 'seen' in all of this? Who was meant to see hi-

A sudden cheer broke out amongst the crowd, followed by a rapturous round of applause as the band finished with a crash of instruments and a dazzling display of pyrotechnics. When the final flame guttered out, the lead guitarist picked up the mic.

"Hello, St. Louis!" he yelled, "Are you having a good time?"

The crowd went wild, and I winced and put my hands over my ears. There'd been a reason why I didn't like concerts very much, besides the crowds, and now I remembered what it was.

"I said," he said, predictably, "Are you having a good time?"

Once again the roars of the crowd split the air apart, and I sighed internally. At least they were having a good time.

"Well, put your hands together and give a warm Missouri welcome to the man of the hour, a visionary in these dark times, the Voice of the Lost-"

"Self appointed," I muttered.

"-Doctor Reginald Keame!"

I felt my blood run cold as a tall, slim figure emerged from stage left to a cacophony of whoops and whistles. Even though I'd seen him on the TV, and in pictures pinned up in the warehouse office, actually seeing him in the flesh somehow made everything seem that little bit more real. Immediately behind him followed the heavy-set thug who apparently headed up Blacknest, and a couple of men who were just slightly too well armed to be regular security guards. As Keame crossed the stage to shake the hand of the lead guitarist they took up surreptitious positions at the back, scanning the crowds for any signs of danger.

With a brief, cordial smile, he took the mic from the guitarist and turned to face the crowd, waiting patiently for the adoring shrieks and screams to die away. They did so, slowly, and in the silence that followed the the air crackled with suspense as the assembled masses waited for him to speak.

"Hello, my friends and fellow Lost!"he said, and his voice rang out through the enormous speakers, "Thank you for coming to my rally today; hopefully the first of many-"

For just a moment, his voice was drowned out by another surge of enthusiastic applause.

"Yes; thank you, thank you!" Keame said, motioning the crowd to calm down, "As I said, I hope that this will be one of the first of many rallies where we show the country that we are not second class citizens! That we have a voice, and that we are not afraid to use that voice to make sure that we receive what we rightfully deserve!"

The crowd fell silent, but now it was a dangerous, contemplative silence. They were hanging on his every word, and I knew enough history to know where this could lead…

"Five years ago, Thanos took everything from us with a snap of his fingers!" Keame said, and paused to theatrically inspect his hand, "Isn't it strange? That such a small motion-" he snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed across the plaza, "-could cause us all to lose so much? Let's think about that for a second! Who here's applied for a credit card?"

Some hands went up, slowly.

"A new car? A loan? Even a mortgage?"

This time a whole forest of hands went up, and when I craned my neck I could see Keame smiling wildly on stage.

"Now, how many of you have succeeded?"

The hands dropped almost as one, leaving only a couple of extended arms scattered across the crowd.

"Right!" Keame said, "Was any of that because of Thanos? No! He didn't take your credit card! He didn't steal your house, and he definitely didn't run off with his secretary before you'd even faded from view! Was he a criminal? Of course he was; the worst the universe has ever known, but he paid the price for murdering us when Thor cut off his head!"

The crowd screamed its approval, and chants of 'Thor! Thor! Thor!' broke out across the plaza.

"So if it's not Thanos, then who is it? Who's the real enemy?" Keame cried, "Who stole your jobs, your homes, and even your families? Who's cast you adrift in a world that no longer cares to know you or even recognises your right to exist? I think we all know the answer to that!

The crowd rumbled angrily, and once again I felt the hackles on the back of my neck begin to rise. This was just like it'd been back at the school gates, only much, much worse. There was an undercurrent of real anger here, red, raw, and unpredictable, and I wondered if I had been just as bad in those weeks immediately after the Blip.

"You had Clint to support you, and Thera, and Vi…" murmured my little voice, "Some of these people had nobody to turn to, except Keame."

"But it's worse than that!" Keame continued, "As the Lost, we can't depend on anyone! The banks will tell you that you don't have the 'necessary identification!'! The estate agents? That your papers are 'out of date'! You can't even get a job because the government has raised concerns about 'identity theft'! Identity theft? How can they say that when they stole our entire world!"

"This is crazy," I muttered.

"Crazy, but effective. These people are lapping it up!"

"Do you want to know the real reason why they aren't helping? They don't care about us! Oh, they'll tell you that they're doing everything they can for the 'Vanished'," Keame continued, with a heavy sneer, "They'll tell you that they're doing their best to manage an 'unprecedented' situation, but-" He clapped his hands together for emphasis, "They. Don't. Care! They only care about the people who survived the Snap! They only care about the people who voted for them! Who pay taxes! Who're more than happy to sit idly by and let patriotic Americans like you and I suffer while they try to pretend that we never came back! Do you know what I say to that? No more!"

"No more!" roared the crowd, and I looked around anxiously. How could Keame be so damn careless? He was playing with a powder keg here; one wrong word, and things would get ugly fast.

"Some of you will have seen the video of Ms Laura Barton calling me an 'asshole'? Yeah?" he chuckled, and a rumble of laughter and angry muttering rippled through the crowd, "What you might not have known is that she drove to that school in abrand newS-type, and her accomplice was wearing nothing less than a Jean Claude le Chevalier! I'm not saying that these women didn't Blip, but with that kind of money how can we be sure? How can we trust what they have to say if we don't even know if they're one of the Lost?"

I drew back fearfully against the fountain, suddenly feeling very exposed. Some of these people must have seen that video! Did they know who I was? Some of them seemed to be looking suspiciously in my direction; it'd only take one of them to point me out and...then who knew what'd happen? Being mobbed to death was a very real possibility, especially with a crowd as febrile as this one, and who'd be able to stop them? Clint? Thera? Vi?

As I fought to keep my breathing under control, I realised Keame was speaking again, "-was being honest about one thing. The government has been corralling Lost citizens into so-called 'Blip Centres'! Do you know another name for those? Internment camps! How can we stand idly by while our fellow Lost are being locked away? Out of sight, out of mind, and with no voice! They want to silence us, and once again I say 'No more!'"

"No more!" the crowd shouted back.

"The Simon Keame Foundation is committed to ensuring that those being held against their will shall get the justice they deserve!" Keame said fervently, "We will care for them! We will give them a voice! We will ensure that they are compensated for this flagrant breach of their human rights, and when we win their jobs and lives will be waiting for them just as they were before the Sna-"

A voice rang out from somewhere much closer to the stage. Although I didn't catch exactly what they'd said, there was no mistaking the tone, and those nearby gasped and stepped back in surprise. At that moment everyone's attention was on the widening circle in the crowd, and my heart lurched as I spotted a slight figure wearing a very distinctive black beanie cap, crammed down over his ears.

"Oh, no! What are you doing?" I whispered. It was Thera, only this time I saw a Thera that was about to go to war. He stared angrily at the stage, his jaw set in an expression of righteous fury, and as he took a step forward I saw the Blacknest operatives stir ever-so-slightly on stage. This was bad; this was very, very bad! If he wasn't bluffing-

"I beg your pardon, sir?"Keame said, in a tone that suggested that he couldn't quite believe what he had heard, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you said-"

"Bollocks!" Thera snapped, and the crowd gasped again, "As in 'you're talking complete and utter bollocks'!"

"Oh, a Brit? Welcome to Missouri, sir," Keame smiled, and the crowd chuckled awkwardly, "You've come a long way just to heckle me at my rally."

"'Probably come further than you think, mate," Thera retorted, as he continued his slow advance. The crowd ahead of him parted smoothly, and then flowed back into the empty space as he passed.

"I'm honoured," Keame said, "And what is your name, sir?"

"Thera," Thera said, "Thera Doe, I guess."

"That's a...Greek name, isn't it?"

"So I hear."

Towards the back of the stage I saw the commander staring keenly into the crowd, and his eyes widened briefly in surprised recognition. It was subtle, definitely, and the expression was gone almost as soon as it arrived, but from his body language it was pretty clear that he'd just had a very unpleasant surprise. In a blink he was standing beside Keame, hand over the microphone and talking in low tones.

"Even more interesting," observed the little voice, "Does he think Thera's a security risk?"

While that was definitely a possibility, maybe it was more than that. After all, Kostas had said he'd told his bosse about Thera's...unusual abilities. At the time we'd assumed he'd meant Keame, but now I thought about it he'd actually been pretty evasive on the subject. What if he'd been working for this guy instead?

Regardless, whatever his objection was it was clear Keame wasn't having it. With a brief shake of his head he waved off the commander and his bodyguards, and when he returned to the mic his expression was one of someone who was thinking very quickly indeed.

"So, Thera...what do you do?"

"What do I do? I'm the medic attached to Blip Centre 43," Thera said, and added pointedly, "The volunteer medic, y'know, in the absence of an actual medical team."

"A volunteer doctor, taking care of the Lost?" Keame smiled, "Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for our selfless friend here! How about you come and join me on stage?"

Thera gave Keame a long, suspicious look, and then shrugged and stepped forwards as the crowd brayed with approval and people nearby reached out to clap him on the back. When he reached the steps, Keame came over to help him up onto the platform and greeted him with a bright smile and a firm handshake. As they turned back towards the mic, however, something passed between them. It couldn't have been more than a couple of words, but from Thera's clear surprise it had to have been significant and unexpected.

"So, Thera," Keame said cheerfully, "Could you perhaps tell us a bit more about yourself? I don't bite."

"I'd rather not," Thera said, coldly, and an awkward titter skittered through the crowd. If Keame seemed surprised, though, it didn't show.

"Of course! We have to respect your privacy," he said, with a gracious nod, "I've always prided myself on making myself available to listen to people's concerns. Granted, most people don't normally start by shouting 'bollocks'-" he flashed a brief smile, and even Thera looked faintly amused, "-but you clearly have worries. Let's hear them."

"You want to hear 'em?" Thera's voice crackled through the stage speakers, "The truth is, you're no better than anyone else!"

"Really?"

"Really! Oh, you stand up here and tell us all about how you're going to care for the people in the Blip Centres but let's be honest; you haven't lifted a damn finger to do so! I know you've known about the 'Centres since they were built, so what've you been doing for this past month? Where's our damn support?"

"I-" Keame began, but Thera had hit his stride.

"Where're the counsellors? The psychiatrists? The people who're meant to be helping track down friends and family on the outside so we can start reuniting people? That's all meant to be being handled by the Simon Keame Foundation, right? We've had nothing, so what's going on?"

"I'm very sorry to hear about your Centre's difficulties," Keame said, in a placating tone, "If there's anything I can do to help-"

"Oh, there is," Thera said, "I know the people who're sitting in 43, and you have a list of people who were Snapped in central Missouri. If you just hand that over, then-"

"-I would be in breach of any number of privacy laws," Keame said, "As a medic, you must understand the importance of keeping patient data private."

"Of course, but-"

"So how about this; if you can give me your list of residents, I assure you I'll look into it personally as soon as I can-"

"As 'soon as you can'?" Thera said incredulously, "We don't have 'as soon as you can'! Do you know how many medical emergencies we had last week? Four! I had to treat, basically back-to-back, two children with paracetamol poisoning, a suicidal woman, and oh! A man who got tortured half to death by a hitman! Incidentally...you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

I had to admit, I was impressed. Anyone else would've been stunned into silence or stammered out a furious denial in the face of Thera's inquisition, but Keame's expression barely changed. The only hint that anything was wrong was in the cool, flinty stare he gave the Blacknest commander while he marshaled his thoughts. The suspense was almost palpable, and as I waited I could feel little prickles running up and down my arms.

"A hitman?" he said eventually, in careful, even tones, "That's terrible, but why would I know anything about that?"

"Why?" Thera inclined his head, "Because when I questioned him, he mentioned you. By name-"

The crowd exploded. Suddenly, the air was filled with booing and shouting, directed with hateful venom towards the platform.

"Lies!" someone nearby shouted, "You're lying!"

"Get him off the stage!" screamed another, "I didn't come here to listen to this rubbish!"

Caught off guard by the sudden outpouring of anger, Thera shrank away from the wall of noise, his eyes darting rapidly across the mob for any signs of support. Keame stood off to one side with a small, victorious smile on his face, and when Thera turned to look at him he gave him a patronising pat on the shoulder and a sly little wink.

"That son of a bitch! He played him!" I growled, and felt the anger crystallise deep within. Towards the back of the stage, I saw the commander gesture curtly at his subordinates. In response, they nodded once and unsheathed their batons, the ill intent obvious in their grim expressions.

"And quickly, too - although you could argue Thera played himself," said my little voice, "What kind of idiot stands up and slanders someone like Keame in front of his supporters?"

"An idiot who cares!" I said, "I can't let them do this to him!"

"Do what? Do you really think those idiots with the batons are a threat to him?"

"It's not about that! The whole reason Keame got him up there was so he could humiliate him! He wants to show everyone what happens to dissenters!"

"So what're you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to put a stop to it," I said, and added firmly, "Thera doesn't deserve this."

That was the truth, simple and clear, and the baying of the mob seemed to fade away as I grounded myself and took a long, deep breath. This was it, wasn't it? This was the moment that everything had built to; the moment when 'Patient Zero' was finally unleashed on the world, and if I was being honest with myself I wasn't entirely sure I was ready. Sure, I'd come through well enough at the school gates, but that crowd had been willing to listen to reason! Here, I was faced with a veritable ocean of Keame's most loyal supporters, who'd come from far and wide just to be told that they were right. Their leader, too, was a pro; if I put a foot wrong, Keame'd draw me out and cut me down at the knees, just like he'd done with Thera. How did I avoid giving him that opening?

"Let's face facts," said the inner voice, "The most likely outcome is that you're about to get trounced on national television. Clint's going to see it, your kids're going to see it, and if you're lucky then you'll just have to face it being played back over and over again to you for the rest of your life. Is this really worth it? Are you really ready?"

It didn't matter. Had Nat been ready to fight Clint to the death for the Soul Stone? Had Stark been ready to die to stop Thanos? Probably not, but thanks to them I'd been given a one-in-fourteen million chance to make my corner of the world a slightly better place. Backing down now would be an insult to their memories!

"You're going to make a fool of yourself."

"Then at least I tried!" I said grimly, as I waited for the best moment to make my move, "I'm not hiding away anymore."

"-this so-called 'hitman' mentioned me by name?" Keame was saying smoothly, "Maybe you haven't heard about me in Britain, Mr. Doe, but around these parts I am quite well known. I don't see how I can be held responsible for the actions of such a clearly unhinged individual."

Thera glowered at him in silence, even as the crowd rumbled in support. At least this time he'd had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.

"Now, of course," Keame continued, and I thought I detected a faint note of hope in his voice, "If there was proof-"

"There is proof!" I yelled, just loud enough to be heard over the crowd, "I was there!"

A deathly silence fell over the rally. The assembled masses turned, almost as one, to stare at me in shocked, angry silence, and for a moment I wondered if I'd just made a terminal mistake. Up on stage Thera had gone deathly pale, and I saw him staring into the crowds with a frantic look on his face.

"That's not a great look," said my inner voice, "That's the look of someone who thinks you're about to be torn limb from limb."

"That voice…" Keame, meanwhile, seemed to have a faint smile on his face, "Ma'am, you wouldn't happen to be Laura Barton, would you?"

"In the flesh!" I shouted back, "You invited me, didn't you?"

"I certainly did, ma'am!" The smile broadened, "If I'd known you were actually coming...well, that doesn't matter! How are you enjoying the rally?"

"You mean 'have you convinced me that you're not an 'asshole'' yet?" I replied bluntly, "Let's just say you've got some work to do."

There were sharp intakes of breath from all around me, but Keame just laughed.

"Excellent!" He said, "Well, madam, I distinctly recall that I said I would be happy to share the stage with you and I'm nothing if not a man of my word. Would you care to come up here?"

The tone was friendly enough, but there was a cold, predatory glimmer in his eyes. The last time I'd seen that look was when Vi had a gun to Summer's head, and the implication was the same. He thought he had me right where he wanted me, and maybe he did, but I was damned if I was going to play by his rules.

"Gladly!" I replied, and enjoyed the flicker of uncertainty in his expression. It was gone almost as soon as it arrived, though, leaving a bright, decidedly fake smile in its wake.

"Please, everyone!" He said, with a grand, sweeping gesture, "Clear a path and give a round of applause to my favourite detractor, Mrs. Laura Barton!"

The crowd parted ahead of me, and I stepped forwards with my chin held high as the air split open once again with the cheers and hollers of Keame's supporters. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to sprint for the stage, out of reach of the mercurial mob, but I kept my breathing under control and my pace slow and measured. I knew full well that Keame wanted me to feel intimidated and isolated amongst his baying fans, kept off balance enough for him to deliver the final blow with ease, but I wasn't having it. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face, and made an effort to nod and wave to random people as I walked the seemingly endless path between myself and the stage.

Thera was waiting at the top of the stairs. His expression was a mix of conflicting emotions, and as he held out a hand to help me up he whispered furiously,"What the hell're you doing?"

"I could ask you the same question!" I whispered back, "Have you gone completely mad?"

"I'm doing what I need to do! What's your excuse?"

"The same! You think I'm just going to stand around on the sidelines while Keame takes you apart?"

"You think I care about that? In five minutes none of this is going to matter!"

"It matters to me!"I glared at him, "Look, when all this is over we're all going to be having a very, very long talk about what you two've done. Right now, though? You're going to stand back, shut up, and let me do my thing! I've got this."

"I-" Thera looked at me in some surprise, and then he smiled, "Yeah. Yeah, you do."

"Mrs Barton!" Keame strode across the stage to greet me with a vigorous handshake, "What a pleasure to finally meet you in person!"

"Likewise," I said, and disengaged as gently as I could. He motioned me closer, and when he spoke his voice was just above a murmur.

"Now, I believe that there was some talk of proof-"

"Oh, let's not worry about that right now!" I said airily, waving it aside, "But if it puts your mind at ease, I know that Thera's taking excellent care of Caleb's phone. Isn't that right, Thera?"

"What?" Thera looked up at his name, and then said, "Oh, yes. The very best care."

"Exactly," I smiled brightly at Keame, "After all, we wouldn't want all those call records, photographs, or voicemails to go astray, right?"

There was a sharp hiss from the commander, and when I looked over his face had suddenly turned a deathly pallor. Keame glanced briefly at him and then returned his attention to me.

"No. No, of course not," he said and I thought I detected just a hint of irritation in his carefully controlled tones, "We'll talk afterwards, then. In private."

"We'll see," I said, and quickly held up a hand, "But shouldn't I be saying something to the crowd? I'll admit, I'm kinda new to all of this, but that is how this works, isn't it?"

"Yes...yes, of course!" he said, and handed me the mic, "By all means!"

For the past two decades, I'd spent my life hiding away in my secluded farmstead in the middle of nowhere. I had few acquaintances, even fewer friends, and spent most of my time in glorious isolation with just my children and my books for company. The very idea of addressing a large crowd should've brought me out in a cold sweat, but as I stepped up before the crowd I felt a strange, almost serene calm steal over me. In that moment, I was willing to concede that maybe, just maybe, Nat had been right all along. Maybe this really was what I was meant to do with my life.

"Well, Nat, I just hope you're watching," I sent her a muttered prayer, "Because this is all your fault."

By now, the crowd was on tenterhooks, and I could feel the anticipation welling across the plaza as they waited for me to speak. Where to start? How could I win them over?

"Hello, Missouri!" I said brightly, and heard my voice echo out across a suddenly silent crowd, "And thank you to Dr. Keame for his, um, gracious introduction! You know who I am, but I'd like to find out a little about you. Can I get a cheer from everyone from St. Louis?"

There was a brief, heartstopping pause, and then there came a shout from someone near the front. He was quickly hushed, but his yell was picked up by another, and then another, slowly building to an almighty cheer that nearly rocked me back on my heels.

"Great to see so many of you turned out today!" I said, and tried my best to hide the wave of sudden relief, "Of course, you only had to roll of bed to get here, right? Are some of you...are some of you still in your pyjamas?"

There was a rumble of laughter.

"Alright, let's try somewhere a little further away! Who really made an effort to be here? Jefferson? Kansas City? Springfield? Let's hear it for them!"

This time the cheer was almost deafening, and as I turned away in a theatrical attempt to shield my ears I caught Thera staring at me with an admiring grin. When he saw me looking, he gave me a thumbs up and an encouraging nod, mouthing 'keep talking!' as he did so.

"I didn't grow up in Missouri, myself; I'm from Pennsylvania - and you can hold the jokes, I've heard them all," I added, to another brief round of laughter, "Does anyone live in central Missouri?"

Several hands went up in the crowd.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I smiled wistfully, "I moved here twenty years ago, and I love it just as much now as I did back then. My husband's been all over the world, and he'll tell you there's nowhere better than here! Is he right, or is he right?"

Yet again there was an ear-splitting roar of noise, and as I basked in their cheers I thought that maybe, just maybe, I was in with a chance. Of course, right now I was only telling them what they wanted to hear. These were still Keame's people, and if they heard something that they didn't like then they could turn on me in an instant. I had to be careful.

"Okay, I want to be serious for a bit," I said, and began walking slowly up and down the stage,

"There seem to be some rumours about me going around. The fact is... I Blipped, along with my three children. We were just about to sit down to lunch as a family and snap-" I snapped my fingers, much like Keame had done before me, "-we were gone. In the time it took my husband to turn around, he'd gone from being a father of three to a widower."

My voice wavered, and I stopped and covered my mouth for a second, not trusting myself to speak. The crowd looked on sympathetically.

"I don't need to tell any of you how terrifying it was just after we Blipped back. It was like...suddenly the house was falling apart, the garden was overgrown, and my husband? He'd simply vanished. If it hadn't been for my kids I think I would've fallen apart on the spot, but I had to be strong for them. If they saw me cracking up, then...well, I don't even want to think about what it would've been like for them."

I took a deep breath and plunged onward, "But even if I didn't crack up on the outside, I think I cracked pretty badly on the inside. After my husband came rushing home, I tried to pretend that nothing'd happened. I removed all the evidence, cleaned up the mess, put everything back exactly how it was, and anytime the Blip came up I either ran away or lashed out. Pretty crazy, right?" I chuckled, and saw a couple of wry looks from the crowd, "Looks like a couple of you've been there yourself. It might've worked, too, except my husband was sporting this ridiculous haircut and all these tattoos, and everytime I looked at them they were...well, they were a reminder of just how much everything'd changed."

I paused for a moment, and looked over at Keame, "I couldn't handle it, and if I'd heard about your movement back then I probably would've jumped on the bandwagon without a second thought."

"Because you think we're only here because we can't handle it, Laura?" Keame snorted, and there were some ominous murmurings within the crowd.

"No, because I was desperate for someone to tell me this could be fixed!"

"What could be fixed? You were lucky! Nobody stole your house, your kids Blipped with you-"

"-but my husband didn't!" I pointed out, "That's what I couldn't handle; the idea that he lost us all in a flash and spent five years grieving! Even now, I'd give anything to spare him that pain, Reginald; literally anything! The fact that I couldn't...well, it almost drove me mad, and if you'd offered me a way out then even that delusion would've been easier than facing up to reality-"

"So now we're delusional?"

"Reginald!" I began, above the growing discontent of the crowd, "You want to be a friend to the 'Lost', right? I'll admit, I'm not used to having friends; I spent twenty years hiding from them, in fact. Since the Blip, though, I've been thinking a lot about mine, and why I care about them."
"And?"

"And it occurs to me that there's two kinds of friends," I said, and stepped slowly towards him, "You've got the 'good' friend. They'll talk to you when you're feeling down, console you, tell you that you're right no matter what you say! Sure, they're really easy to like, 'cause everyone likes people who agree with them, but can you really trust them! Are they saying all that because they want to be liked? Because they're a 'yes man'? Or is it because they have an agenda that they just want you to follow instead?"

Before Keame could say anything I spun around and walked slowly back towards Thera, who was looking at me quizzically, "A true friend, though? A true friend isn't afraid to tell you the truth! They might come across as arrogant, superior, chilly, and they're easy to 'boo' and 'hiss'-"

"-steady now," Thera said, warningly.

"-but that's because they care more about you then they do about being liked! They show their worth through their actions, like giving everything they have for someone they barely know, staying with someone for hours because she had nobody else to turn to, or...or taking the time to remember that same someone, when their pain became too much to them to bear," I stopped, and added softly, "I'm so, so sorry about Flora, Thera. I know you did your best."

"My best wasn't good enough," Thera stared angrily at Keame, "Maybe if we'd had the psych teams-"

"Not now, okay? Later." I said, and raised my voice once again, "I want to be a true friend to all of you, and that means I have to tell you the truth. The truth is...this can't be fixed."

"Did everyone hear that?" Keame said, clearly sensing an opportunity, "Did everyone hear Laura say this 'can't be fixed'? She wants us to roll over and submit! She-"

"-wants you to accept the world for what it is!"

"A world where we're second class citizens, ma'am?"

"Of course not!" I mentally kicked myself for giving him another opening. I could see the expressions on the crowd below, and knew that if I'd lose them if I didn't move fast, "The truth, Reginald, is that you can't bring back what really matters. Nobody can! I didn't just lose five years with my husband; I lost my best friend, too! A friend of mine lost her spouse to cancer! Is there anyone else here who's lost someone dear to them? Raise your hand - if you want to."

In an instant, almost the entire crowd had put up their hands, and after a brief, grudging moment Keame raised his too.

"That's what I mean, Reginald," I said, quietly, "We've all lost someone. You lost your son, didn't you?"

He nodded, and then said, "Murdered."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said, and turned back to the audience, "But the truth is the Blip happened! We can replace jobs, we can build new homes, but we can't bring back the people who're most precious to us or experience what we've missed! Some of you didn't get to see your baby's first steps or their first words. You might have missed your child's graduation, their wedding, or even the birth of your grandchildren! Why shouldn't you be allowed to grieve for those missed moments just like I'm grieving for my friend?"

There were a couple of nods in the audience, and from the contemplative silence it looked like at least some people were listening to what I had to say. Even Keame seemed to be listening, and while I was sure it was so he could pounce on my slip ups, his expression seemed slightly less resolute than it did earlier. What was going on beneath that mask?

"I read somewhere, once, that 'grief is love with nowhere to go'," I said, "And I think I finally understand what it really means. There're days when all I want to do is hold my husband and try to cram five years into a nanosecond, and then the next I want to scream and smash something because I know I can't! All that love is swirling around inside me with no way out and...it hurts, sometimes. I think most of you feel the same way; you're not here because you hate people who survived the Snap. You're here because you love them, so very, very much, and now you don't know what to do because you can't share that love with them."

I paused for a moment, and tried to marshal my thoughts, "We've all been given a second chance, and that's an amazing gift. What it doesn't mean is that you have to be happy all the time! If you feel sad, then feel sad, and if you're angry, then let yourself be angry! Just…" I braced myself; this was probably going to be unpopular, "...don't be angry at the people who survived. It's hard, I know, but what happened wasn't their fault. The only person to blame is Thanos, and he's dead."

My words rang out across the audience, and the air suddenly seemed very still. I didn't dare move or speak, lest I break the spell, and down below I could see long, thoughtful glances being exchanged. In that moment I was reminded of what Vi had said, just before we'd set out to put the school gates to rights:

"Just remember; none of those people out there are arseholes, not really. It's just very easy for humans to pick a side. They want to hear someone saying what you're going to say, believe me. They need to hear it - they just haven't yet."

Maybe she'd been more right than she'd realised. How many of these people, I wondered, were going through what I'd gone through? Not hateful, but angry, lost, and desperate for things to go back to how they'd used to be, when the world'd made sense! They needed someone to blame; I'd needed someone to blame, but in the end there wasn't anyone left who'd fit the bill. Maybe it would have been easier if Thor hadn't just decapitated Thanos. If they'd dragged him through the courts, put him on trial...then maybe we would've had something to cling to other than some second-hand accounts by the Avengers. Without that? Well, no wonder they'd fallen in so easily behind Keame.

As if on cue, Keame stepped forward to take the stage, "You heard it here, everyone! There's nobody left to blame, and I suppose that you-" he gave me a brief glance, "-also think that there's nobody to blame for our friends here being denied their credit, homes, and a right to vote?"

"You have got to start setting better traps, Reginald," I laughed, and a flash of irritation crossed his face, "You know, the first time I heard about your movement and how you wanted to give the Lost a voice, I thought you were wrong. Not because you were wrong, but because I thought you were an…"

"Asshole?" he said, with a sardonic smile.

"Right," I said, "But even an asshole is right sometimes."

"Really, madam?"

"Yes! We should have the right to vote, and we should have the right to get credit and rent houses and basic identification! I want to be able to phone up the water company and pay a bill using my card and without them saying 'Oh I'm sorry, you don't exist; can you put your husband on the line?'. My husband? I don't even know if I'm still married to my husband! It's a mess right now, Reginald, and I want it to be fixed just as much as you do! The difference is that I don't want it to be fixed because I was 'Lost'; I want it fixed because I'm an American citizen and I have rights!"

The crowd cheered loudly. Buoyed by their response, I stepped up alongside Keame and all but shouted in the microphone.

"I don't want special treatment! I want the same treatment as my friends and family who didn't Blip! I want to be able to look to the future with them, together, and say that we're not going to let Thanos destroy us! If we keep fighting after everything that's happened, all we're going to do is prove to him that he was right! Do you want to prove him right? Do you want to give him that satisfaction?"

"No!" screamed the crowd.

"Good! It's easy to split the world down the middle, separate us into 'Lost' and 'Survived', but there's more that unites us than divides us! I want you all to find a home for that love trapped inside you; your friends, your children, partners new and old, and cherish every day for the gift it is!" I took a deep breath, and smiled brightly at the crowd, "Thank you."

I handed the mic back to Keame, and as I stepped back to join Thera the plaza broke out in a round of thunderous applause.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, my favourite detractor, Mrs Laura Barton!" he said, and gestured grandly in my direction as the applause swelled further, "You know, it's often said that you can be judged by the quality of your nemesis, and if that's true then I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now!"

Thera leaned towards me and murmured, "That was very good. I almost couldn't see the look of pure terror on your face."

"One of these days you're going to give someone a genuine compliment and the sky's going to fall in," I said, but added smugly, "It was good, though, wasn't it."

"Poor Keame; he just invited you up on the stage to shut you down, and instead he got taken to pieces," Thera grinned, "You hit him where it hurt, stole his message out from under him, and gave the audience a way back to their estranged loved ones without losing face. Not bad for five minutes work."

"It won't win them all over."

"So what? It's a start," he said, sighed, "It's just too bad that people aren't going to remember it."

"Why not?"

"For the same reason you need to get off the stage. Like, now."

"Why?" I said sharply, "What's going to happen? What're you going to do-"

From somewhere across the plaza, in one of the buildings looming far overhead, there ame the faint, but unmistakable 'crack' of gunfire. Keame gave a start and fell silent, and within the crowd I could see heads turning towards the noise.

"Did you hear that?" I heard someone say, "Was that a rifle?"

There was another 'crack' and a ripple of gasps spread through the crowd. Behind us, I saw the commander look up briefly and then turn to one of his subordinates, who vanished quickly behind the curtain.

"It's the hotel!" someone said, "Is someone attacking the hotel-"

With a brilliant white flash and a thunderous retort, a window halfway up the nearby hotel blew open into a spray of glittering shard. The shockwave struck hard, rocking me back on my heels, and across the crowd I could see people struggling to keep their balance as it blasted outwards across the city. Suddenly, the air was filled with screams and panicked cries, while far above the once distant sounds of gunshots now echoed loudly across the city.

"What the hell have you done, Thera?" I said, "What's happening up there?"

There was another detonation, and a heavy-set figure wearing full body armour came hurtling through the window and arced through the sky, trailing a thick spray of arterial blood. We watched in sickened silence as he plummeted towards the rooftops, and as he fell he fell apart, his arms and legs severed with almost surgical precision. Mercifully, whatever was left vanished from view just before it hit the rooftops, but there was an almighty crash and then the piercing whistle of a car alarm rent the air.

"Christ!" I said, and watched as phones appeared across the crowd and were pointed at the window, presumably hoping to capture more macabre imagery, "But why?"

"Well, there's probably a rooftop carpark-" Thera began.

"Not the alarm, Thera! Why...this? What's happening?"

"I'd say that Ronin's happening," he said, with just the hint of a satisfied smile, "To an awful lot of people."