Morgan still didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation- she didn't understand why when the projected message had ended, Daddy had disappeared- and Pepper spent the majority of the next half hour clinging the girl to her chest, silent tears falling down her cheeks that would break into the occasional sob. Everyone seemed to have gotten the message to give the woman her space, as they began, after long moments of solemn silence, to wander away from where they'd all gathered and break off into their own little groups.

Katya wiped at her eyes- she'd gone so long in her life without crying, and now she felt like she was crying constantly, it was so weird- and scanned the groups for Natasha. She had to be here. Whatever rift had caused the Avengers to break up in the first place had clearly mended with the tragedy that had struck but still, Katya couldn't see her anywhere. Always a master of espionage- maybe she had found herself a corner where she was trying to keep herself together. Katya was certainly tempted to do the same.

She stamped a kiss on Peter's cheek. "I'm going to go find Natasha," She told him, slipping her hand out of his as she began to wade through the crowd. Maybe she was around the corner, or behind the house, or something. It'd make no sense for her not to come.

Katya made her way through the throng towards the back, where that kid she'd seen from earlier was standing, entirely alone. His eyes were puffy, but otherwise stood with the stance of a soldier. He had no family or friends around him- he hadn't broken off into any of the little groups like the others had- he just stood by himself, gaze slightly vacant, pointed towards the water.

"How'd you know him?" Katya stopped to ask. Her voice was soft- she didn't want to upset the boy further, but curiosity got the best of her. He didn't look at her when he spoke.

"He crashed into my garage once and I threatened him with a potato gun."

Katya nodded as if this was a normal answer. But then again, knowing Tony, it didn't sound too far off. "Did you shoot him?"

This time the boy smiled a little bit. "Nah. But I coulda." HIs voice had a bit of a twang to it, an accent that Katy knew was American, but she couldn't identify the region. All she knew was it wasn't from New York.

"I'm Katya, by the way-" she stuck her hand out to shake. It seemed only fair. The boy offered another small smile and shook her hand.

"Harley."

She wanted to ask if he'd seen Natasha, but he barely seemed to know anyone there- he seemed almost grateful that she was talking to him. "I"m looking for someone right now, but I want to hear more about the potato gun."

The boy smiled again. "Sure thing."

Katya rounded the corner of the house, where the Wakandans had collected, speaking with Nebula and Mantis. She didn't want to interrupt their conversation, and wasn't sure if they even knew who Natasha was. She was still piecing together everyone's relations.

Once she'd made a lap around the house- Peter must have gone inside, because he wasn't where she'd left him- she spotted Clint and Wanda talking by the edge of the lake. Perfect- if anyone would know where she was, it'd be Clint.

"Hey," she muttered in greeting- she'd managed to catch a lull in the conversation they'd been having, so she didn't feel as bad about interrupting it. "Have either of you seen Natasha? I can't find her anywhere."

Clint froze, keeping his gaze out on the water for a long moment before glancing in her direction. "Did no one tell you?"

Katya didn't like the tone of his voice, though it was soft, but clearly strained. "Tell me what?" She asked warily.

Clint sighed, and it was another long moment before he spoke again. He turned to her, and put his arms around her- it took Katya a second to figure out how to react. She and Clint weren't that close- she'd only ever met him on the battlefield after all, and it wasn't until afterwards that they'd even spoken to one another for the first time- and she'd certainly never hugged him.

"She's gone." He said. "It's how we got the soul stone."

"Gone?" Kata rasped, and pushed away as if he'd electrocuted her. "What do you mean, gone?"

Clint sighed again and turned to Wanda, as if she could help him explain. She shook her head, no words to help him out.

"Gone as in gone. The soul stone requires a sacrifice and she….she made it." his voice cracked.

DId he mean gone as in dead? She'd been looking for her since the battle ended, and no one thought to tell Katya that Natasha had died? Was he serious?"

"No." Katya shook her head fervently, taking another wary step away. "No, she's not. Someone would've told me."

"I"m telling you now, Katya. She's gone."

Katya took another staggering step back, her feet slipping a bit in the fallen leaves from the tree above. And then she took another, and another, until the next thing she knew she was running away from Clint and Wanda, around the house- around the side that had the fewest people, her feet slapping in the high tide of the lake- until she reached the forest that bordered the property, and she kept going, she didn't know where, or why, she just knew she had to get as far away as possible.

She'd been dodging the trees well enough, but one just seemed to appear before her and she skidded to a stop before she could hit it. She stuck an arm out to balance against it, leaning her forehead to touch the craggy bark of the tree. She was panting, from the run, but her breath still came in ragged gasps long after she should've recovered- she just couldn't seem to catch her breath, her lungs wouldn't take in the air, and she felt nauseous- yet her eyes were surprisingly dry. Tony had been bad enough, but now Natasha, too-

She had to find a way to contact Yelena, make sure she was okay, but she didn't know how- she'd promised they'd keep in better touch, but that was before the Blip, and Katya still wasn't sure how it all worked, if she'd blipped, did she come back? It seems like everyone had, but what if she hadn't? What if she'd died, too, for some reason? What about the rest of the Widows? Aneszka? She hadn't spoken to them since Spring-

She hadn't spoken to them in five years.

Did Yelena know? Had there been a body to bury? Why had no one told her before?

The logical part of Katya's mind was trying to tell her that with everything going on and apparently Natasha's demise being common knowledge to everyone else, it would've been easy to overlook making sure she got that piece of information. But it wasn't fair- a pang ran through Katya's chest to know there had been time on Earth where she'd been around, but Natasha hadn't, and she hadn't even known.

"I shouldn't even be here-"

"Your life is yours now, to do what you want."

That was the worst part of it all.

She never got to say goodbye.