A/N: Hello faithful readers. So, my computer battery sucks and kept dying on me, mainly because my son is enthralled with my power cord. sO a certain section of the final battle has been lost. Never fear! I hated it anyways, so I can start from scratch this time. I know I can do better. Blessing in disguise that my computer forgot to autosave the open document. so in this chapter, we catch up with an old foe and Sera is confronted with a ghost of her past... You know who I'm talking about, but keep reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, FOX, ABC, or the Avengers.

Song used in this chapter is Control by Halsey. (It's like I really love her music or something?)


There was a whole lot of activity on base, with the Asgardian's taking over the Cocoon. Dad bought more of the surrounding land, dedicating it to Asgard's remaining people, the InHumans and working with Thor to design a small city for them. I had already started working on a vertical hydroponic farm, to sustain the compound for vegetables and fruit. Our compound was now well over 500 acres and seemed to be too small. But for now, we had a small school/daycare started to keep the children busy while the adults worked. It was basically the Barton's and all the children from Asgard at the moment, except for when we were training.

Sometimes we had audiences to our flag-football style of training. The Asgardian kids watched in awe as we worked, cheering for their King when his team won. Thor did make a great King, because his people adored him. They respected him, and how hard he was working to ensure their safety on Earth. Sometimes one of the children would just tag along with him, hoping to learn how to fight.

It hadn't been long after we got back from Asgard, that the citizens told us of the Warriors three demise. Sif had been on Xandar, guarding the Power Stone, unaware of the destruction of her home world, or the fates of her comrades.

Val and Heimdall went to tell her, relaying that she cried out in anguish when they spoke in private. She was mourning the loss of her friends, and of her lover. She had told me in secret that Fandral and her had been together for a few years, keeping it from their friends. I kept her secret, knowing Thor would have made a grand gesture and she didn't want that. She wanted to remember him as he was, and not with all of Asgard treating her like a mourning widow.

I offered to have Callie see if he could be saved without altering the events of Hela and Asgard's destruction. She thanked me, but said that he was resting in Valhalla. She would see him again. I told her how in my father's heritage, we had a similar place to Valhalla. I regaled her with stories of Elysian Fields, and how Wakanda had the ancestral plane. In every culture there was a nirvana, a place where you had to look forward to when you died. We decided that this must be each cultures version of the same place, and we would all be together again when we died. It was comforting, especially since we may all perish trying to stop Thanos.

My month just kept getting better and better, I thought sarcastically. Gamora said that while it was quiet, we should check out the Soul Stone's location and it's accessibility. She joined us for our little quest, along with Steve and Callie. Callie was only our ride, staying behind in case things went south. Bucky was watching Oliver while we were gone, and entertaining some of the Asgardian kids that thought his metal arm was cool.

As Callie opened a portal to Vormir, we could clearly see it was barren. Steve went through first, shield up and ready. Gamora and I were next, followed by Callie, who closed the portal.

"It's up that mountain side a bit," Gamora whispered, as we weaved around shallow pools of water. I looked around as we walked, suddenly feeling a presence that seemed familiar. A whisper, like I had heard in Odin's treasure room.

"Oh boy," I said to myself, but the others thought I responded to Gamora.

"Do you want to fly ahead?" Steve teased.

"No, I'm fine," I smiled reassuringly at him. In the back of my head though, I was fighting my power to seek out the energy.

"Callie, stay here. We will be fine," I said, giving her a reassuring smile as we made it to the bottom of the mountain.

"Yes Mom," She sighed in defeat. Steve and I turned to start walking up the hill when I got an eerie feeling up my spine. I pushed it down, thinking it was in regards to being so close to the stone. The air seemed to get colder and I slowed slightly, taking in our surroundings, and waiting for something to jump out at us.

"Captain America," a voice said, making Steve straighten like a board and snap his head in the direction of the voice. A figure lurked in the shadows, before saying, "Gamora of Zehoberei."

"Seraphina Stark. Great Granddaughter, at last we meet," The voice said as I took in the wraiths appearance. A black shroud draped over its body, hood covering part of its head. I froze, seeing why Steve was on guard. Peeking out from the hood was his chin, of red skin.

"Impossible," I whispered.

"I assure you Great Granddaughter, it is I. There were many things I wished to accomplish in my life and the greatest one that came to pass was your grandfathers gifts being passed onto the Schmidt bloodline," He said as he moved his hood further back to reveal the rest of his horrifying face.

"You know?" I asked, horrified.

"I know all. I know why you seek the Soul Stone, and who else does. But be warned, the Stone comes with a price. Follow me," He said, turning and seemingly floating up the mountainside to a plateau. I don't remember telling my feet to move, but they did. The wraith that was the Red Skull, moved towards an edifice of stone. Steve stood protectively in front of Gamora and I, ready in case the wraith of the Red Skull turned to attack. He stopped at the edge of a cliff and said, "The stone will only be granted to you once you give up the thing you love the most. A soul for a soul."

Looking over the edge, I saw how far the fall was, and knew I wouldn't be making that decision. I wouldn't be able to make the sacrifice, because I knew that I loved Steve and Bucky equally. Neither was higher than the other in my mind. The only person I may have loved more was dead, and I would never trade a single day I had with her for all the power in the universe.

"Okay, so all we do is keep Thanos away from you," I said to Gamora, "It looks safe to me, so let's go."

"Great granddaughter," Schmidt called out as I turned to lead Steve and Gamora back.

"I know what you did to HYDRA. You destroyed it!" He said, making me whirl around, flames in hand.

"It needed to be destroyed. No one should have that kind of power over people!" I yelled at him, "I have spent years, trying to get out from under veil of evil surrounding our family. I won't sit here and take a lecture from the darkest of souls."

"Yet, you have power. Your persuasion over minds? You perfected Faustus's Method to interrogate and torture. And now, your InHuman powers?" He smiled, and I knew he was talking about my newest discovery.

"You could bring the universe to its knees without any of these Stones. And yet, you continue to do good. I don't know whether its weakness your Grandfather passed on to you, or from breeding in your blasphemous marriage to the soldiers."

"That's hilarious that you consider my marriage blasphemous, considering you wanted to be a God yourself. So you disagree with all of my life choices? That means I'm must being doing something right to not have ended up like you. I have a family that loves me and I love them, and you will never know the true shame you brought on our family," I snarled at him, "I hate, with every fiber of my being, that I am related to such a psychotic, mass-murdering, power hungry person."

Steve laid a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back slightly, "He's not worth it."

"You will never be rid of me," He sneered.

"You are the darkest part of my past, but I'm leaving you behind," I said, letting go of my anger, "Let's go home."

As Gamora and Steve led the way back, I turned to follow, before Schmidt's voice said, "You hear it don't you?"

"Sera?" Steve asked, turning around. I looked back at Schmidt, not answering verbally that I knew what he was talking about.

"Only the worthy hear. I was worthy only to guard the Stones. You… you were meant for something more than Hydra could have ever dreamed," He said, as I curled my lip at him.

"Even now, you can hear their call," He said quietly as I heard a whisper in my head, beckoning me towards the epitaph.

"Yes. But I ignore it. It's not time yet," I said, before Steve got in hearing range.

"Don't listen to a word he says Sera. Every word is poison," Steve sneered at Schmidt.

"Captain, I cannot say that I enjoyed seeing you again," Schmidt replied to Steve's anger, "But you have protected my last family."

"And I will protect them from you, even if I have to die to accomplish it. This will be the last time you see us, or anyone else for that matter."

Schmidt didn't respond, but Steve pulled me away quickly, walking us away from him. I looked back, as if in slow motion, to see him smirking at me. Steve jolts me out of my stare, making me realize Gamora was already with Callie at the bottom of the mountainside.

Wordlessly, we walked through the portal home, as I felt my world spinning out of control.

"I need a bit," I said softly to Steve as we walked back towards the stairs. He turned, looking at me scrutiningly and said, "Okay. Do you mind company?"

"I just want a minute or two alone," I tried to smile reassuringly.

"Just let me know if you need me," He said, before I kissed his cheek and walked back outside. I jogged over to the stable, quickly entering and gearing up Sunchaser. He pranced in place, happy for the opportunity to run. I pulled my headphones in, and saying ,"A, my playlist. You know which one."

"Playing," She responded, knowing I wasn't in a mood to hear any sarcasm. As Sun and I walked out to the fence, I realized it was a clear sunny day, except in my mind.

I waved to a few children in the far field, before I kicked Sunchaser's sides hard, sending him running. He knew where I wanted to go, carrying me over hills, allowing me to take in the wind on my face and the sun on my back, grounding me. As we wound around a bank, I saw what I was searching for.

The bluff where I would come to think. There was a small stream running off to the side, allowing Sun to have a drink, while I dangled my legs over the edge. I put my hands over my face and screamed. I felt the tears as I pulled them away, and the uncontrollable sobs following behind them.

Why did I have to be related to the devil?


As I had Sun walk back, I reflected on the conversation I just had with my great-grandfather. He knew about my new ability, or rather one I always had but never explored the depths of. He knew what I planned to do. The Soul Stone must be giving him information on us, because nothing else made sense. I knew the Mind Stone spoke to Vision frequently, but did the others? Selvig said the Tesseract revealed something to him back before New York. So I wasn't crazy, they were speaking to me. Did they all have a consciousness? Those whispers I heard back on Asgard, would I hear them again once they were all together? Was this Thanos's reason? Were the stones speaking to him and he started going crazy from it?

After feeding the horses, and giving our newest addition Drifter a good brushing, I walked back to the Avenger's building. I decided not to go back up to the apartment quite yet. I wasn't ready for talking to either of the guys, and I knew Oliver was still sleeping. Headphones still in, I asked ARSENAL to start playing my music in the studio. Walking in and changing into a fresh pair of dance shorts and sports bra in the corner, I started stretching.

"Lower it," I said softly.

They sent me away to find them a fortune

A chest filled with diamonds and gold

The house was awake

With shadows and monsters

The hallways they echoed and groaned

I sat alone, in bed 'til the morning

I'm crying, "They're coming for me"

And I tried to hold these secrets inside me

My mind's like a deadly disease

I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones

And all the kids cried out

"Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

I paced around for hours on empty

I jumped at the slightest of sounds

And I couldn't stand the person inside me

I turned all the mirrors around

I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones

And all the kids cried out

"Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

I'm well acquainted

With villains that live in my bed

They beg me to write them

So they'll never die when I'm dead

And I've grown familiar

With villains that live in my head

They beg me to write them

So I'll never die when I'm dead

I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones

And all the kids cried out

"Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

And all the kids cried out

"Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

As I dropped into a split in front of the pole, I realized how poetic it sounded. I was split between two worlds, between two families. Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde. One dark and twisted, with the redeeming grace being my mother. The other, light and crazy. My story was intertwined from the beginning with my husbands, but how I would turn out wasn't based on heritage. It was my choice to work for SHIELD. It was my choice to go to Russia for Fury. It was my choice to join the Avengers Initiative.

It was my choice to fight for our universe. No one else could make the decision for me, no one could force me.

The door opened, and I whipped my head over to see Bucky and Steve walking inside.

"So I was rocking Oliver to sleep, when suddenly, I felt it. Steve did something stupid again," Bucky said, eyeing our husband. I snorted, pulling myself up with the pole behind me and stretching again as I told ARSENAL to stop the playlist.

"Okay, so leaving you by yourself after what we just did, wasn't the best idea I've ever had," Steve said sheepishly, trying to maintain the light atmosphere.

"No, I asked you to. I did need a moment or two, mainly just to wonder if I did something in another life to deserve such a messed up family," I smiled softly.

"You never have to go back there," Bucky said, pulling me close as he looked me straight in the eyes, "Not if you don't want to."

"I know that. It's just one thing to know where you came from, and another to be confronted with it unexpectedly. Everything about him, caught me off guard."

"And that's okay. It caught me off guard too," Steve said softly, trapping me against Bucky's front. They both wrapped me up tightly, as if the pressure they used could squeeze every sin from my family's past. Reassuring me that I was safe, and that they were there for me.

"I love you both," I whispered against Bucky's shoulder.

"We love you too Angel," Steve said, as Bucky kissed my temple.

"By the way, Jemma is in labor," Bucky said, before my eyes widened in shock.

"Why didn't you lead with that?" I said running from the room, as they chuckled at my hasty exit.

"She's back," They said in unison as I tore down the hall in my dance shorts and sports bra.