Clint's House:
Thora, Una and the whole team were struggling to get. Their heads were spinning too much from those terrible dreams that they had that Clint had to give them all a hand back to the Quinjet. Thora and Una manged to recover quicker than the others and managed to make Clint's job easier.
Just as they pulled Steve on board, the three heard the whooshing of rocket boots. They looked up and saw a giant Iron Man suit carrying the green unconscious Hulk. He was beaten up and bruised all over.
Tony inside that suit landed them both just beside the shuttle. As he exited his giant suit, the Hulk slowly started to morph back into Bruce. He coughed and he stood up on his tingly legs.
As he looked at Tony, he noticed his friend held a grim expression?
Immediately a guilty look morphed on Banner's face. "What have I done?"
Bruce was wrapped up in a blanket, looking so distraught with all the damage and destruction he had done. Although he knew it wasn't his fault as it was that mind-controlling girl who had manipulated his mind, he still couldn't untie that awful knot that had tied itself in his stomach.
Everyone was exhausted. Today they had failed to captured Ultron, and now he had stolen tons and tons of vibranium to use for his awful plans.
Maria Hill's face appeared on the screen on the control pad. "The news is loving you guys. No one else does. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest but it's in the air,"
Una cast a sympathetic look at Bruce. How was it fair that whilst that mutant girl had used her mind-controlling powers on him, he has to be likely arrested? Hawkeye, Erik Selvig and some other soldiers were mind-controlled by Loki and the sceptre and they weren't arrested; why should this be any different?
"How's the team?" Maria asked.
"Everyone's…." Stark took a moment to think. "We took a hit. We'll come around,"
"For now, I suggest you stay in stealth mode," Maria advised. "And stay away from here,"
"So, running high?" Tony questioned.
"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer,"
"Neither do we," Tony confessed.
Una could see a glimpse of guilt in his eyes, one he hadn't previously shown before. She did not have the thought of lashing out at him for not feeling guilty earlier; it was just too much for them.
Maria turned the com off and everyone was silent. Clint was piloting the ship and adjusting some knobs.
"Hey, wanna switch off?" Tony offered.
"No. I'm good," Clint answered. "If you wanna get some Kip, now's a good time. We'll only a few hours away,"
"A few hours from where?"
"A safe house."
A few hours passed and it was now daytime. Clint landed the Quinjet in a beautiful green group of meadows where there were grass plains and ponds and fields.
The Avengers exited the ship and they followed Clint and Nat through the fields towards a large house and a small barn.
"What is this place?" Thora asked.
"A safe house," Tony answered, though it didn't look anything like a safehouse.
They entered through the open door and into a large kitchen. "Honey, I'm home!" Clint called.
A pregnant woman came into the hall and instantly Clint came to greet her. "Sorry I didn't call,"
The lady kissed him.
"This is an agent of some kind," an observant Tony
"Everyone, this is Laura," Clint introduced his wife.
"I know all your names," she answered, gesturing to everyone.
There was a parade of stampeding feet behind the Avengers and they turned and saw two children: a boy and a girl dash down. Clint instantly went to greet them. "Hey there buddies," he giggled as he embraced them.
"Oh, look at that. Smaller agents," Tony observed.
"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the little girl asked eagerly.
"Why don't you hug her and find out?!" Nat goaded playfully and the little girl came running into her arms.
"Sorry for barging in like this," Steve apologised.
"Yeah we were busy having no idea who you were," Tony explained.
"Yeah. Fury helped me set this up. When I joined, he kept this off-SHIELD'S files. This is a good palace to lay low until we recover," Clint offered.
"How's little Natasha?" Nat asked Laura as she gently stroked her swollen belly.
"She's um…Nathaniel," Laura answered awkwardly, telling her it was actually a boy.
Nat frowned her eyebrows. "Traitor," she whispered to Laura's stomach.
Thora noticed Clint's little girl approaching. She looked up at her with a curious glance.
"Hello," she greeted.
The girl didn't greet her back but continue gazing her with admiration.
Clint and Laura led the Avengers to some spare rooms where they could take off their suits and weapons and try and relax.
Thora and Una were given a room together with two sofas and two blankets. Una remained quiet and was trying to get some sleep. Thora otherwise did not feel like sleeping. She was afraid that she would recall that dream she had about her brother, her friend and her boyfriend. She hated to see them all again in such ecstatic violet states. The sight seemed to scar her. However, trying not to fall asleep didn't do any good.
The same images kept flying in her mind over and over again. Her dream tried to show new images but Thora's contant flinching made it impossible for it to be clear.
"Wake up!" Heimdall's voice echoed in her head again.
She jolted up breathing hardly. Quickly she threw off the blanket, grabbed her hammer and went out the door. Una heard her quick but loud steps and followed after her. "Thora wait!" she called.
But Thora ignored her. She exited the front door and onto the driveway.
"Thora wait!" Una managed to get her attention. "Where are you going?"
"Back in that dream I saw something. Something so powerful. I need answers and I won't find them here,"
"So where are you going?"
"To visit a friend. He'll help me. I'll be back soon," Thora promised. With a swing of her hammer, she rocketed into the sky.
"So Thora's meeting a friend," Tony repeated what Una had told him and Steve. Since he and Steve were chopping logs outside, Una decided to sit with them and make sure they didn't get on each other's nerves like the last time they had a discussion about Thora. She sat on her log sharpening her sword with a stone.
"Must be Erik Selvig," Una implied correctly. "He's in England so she won't be too long away," she scrapped and scrapped her sword, but it made Tony's ears tingled.
"Would you cut that out? Please?" he requested.
Una stopped. She looked up at him. "That's all you had to say," she said.
"But how long will she be gone?" Steve asked.
"Give her time. We don't what the Maximoff kid showed her," Tony reasoned.
Una seemed to like what he was seeing considering that last time he had insulted Thora but was now holding sympathy for her.
"What did you see in your dream?" Tony asked Una, a bit nosily.
"I don't really want to discuss it," Una refused. "If I did, you boys would be terrified,"
"Us? Terrified?" Tony questioned. "What could be in that dream you had that we're terrified off?"
"'Earth's mightiest heroes' torn apart, like cotton candy," Steve lamented over their failure.
"It's not all lost," Una consoled. "Even the mightiest people fail sometimes,"
"Seems like you walked away all right," Tony added in, he was quite intrigued with how Steve managed to shake out that horrible dream that the Maximoff girl had put in his head.
"Is that a problem?" he questioned.
"I don't trust a guy with a dark side," Tony chopped another log. "Call me 'old-fashioned'"
"Well, let's just say you've haven't seen it yet," Steve answered.
"You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart right?" Tony reminded.
"Well I'd guess you know. Whether you tell us is a bit of a question,"
"Banner and I were doing research,"
"Yeah. That would affect the team," Una still hadn't quite gotten over her grudge on Stark for starting this whole Ultron fiasco in the first place. She tried to ignore Stark as she kept cutting more blocks, but he kept going at her.
"That would end the team! Isn't that they 'Why we Fight'? So we can end the fight? So we can go home?"
"Shut up!" Una sneered in his face.
Tony backed away when he saw she had nearly reached her limits with him.
"Every time someone tries to win a war before it even starts, innocent people die," Steve stated. "Every time,"
Tony didn't say another word.
Steve and Una went back to chopping blocks leaving a deadpanned Stark to remorse over his actions. That was when Laura approached.
"I'm sorry. Mr. Stark, Clint said you wouldn't mind, but our tractor doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you might…"
"Of course. I'll give her a kick," Tony kindly answered. He walked over towards the barn. "Don't take from pile, either of you!" he called to Steve and Una.
Una went back to cutting logs, but Steve noticed how troubled she was.
"At least tell me," Steve implored. "Maybe it might help you,"
Una stopped. Then she sighed. "I was in a field. We were in an army. And we fighting against a massive alien army from outerspace,"
"Like the Chittari?"
"No. They were more savage. They had four leaders who magnificent fighters, seemingly unstoppable. But their leader…" Una cringed at the memory of that massive alien giant. "He was huge, he was invincible, he bore a gauntlet on his hand with six gems encased on it. Then when I tried to stop him, he crushed me, and then everyone else. Then…I woke up and it was all gone,"
Steve could tell again how she was feeling. He didn't bother asking her anymore questions. Since she shared his dream, it was time he told his. "I dreamed about the aftermath of World 2. And about Peggy Carter,"
"Who's Peggy Carter.?"
"A girl I loved, during World War 2. She was an instructor of the army," Steve sounded very sad as he answered.
"Did you have a life with her?"
"I never got the chance. I was too busy frozen in ice for over 70 years,"
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is she still alive?"
"Yes,"
"Do you still see her?"
"Yes. But I would give anything to have a life with her. But it's just not possible,"
Una decided to stop asking more questions. They had already had enough discussion about their dreams. Now they needed time to relax.