Chapter 32: Recovery
The trip in the Quinjet was quiet. Nobody wanted to say a word. Looking around Catra could see the same looks in several Avengers' eyes that Adora had after he horrorshow. Bruce was especially taking things rough, curled up in a blanket and barely managing to keep his composure. Not that she could blame him, his battle with Tony's Hulkbuster had torn up several city blocks, and she didn't even want to think of how many died in the process.
As everyone tried to keep calm, they heard Maria Hill over the radio giving them updates on the situation at large. "The news is really laying you guys." she said, her voice calm, but clearly uncomfortable. "Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air." Catra looked over worryingly at Bruce. She couldn't imagine how he had to feeling by now. It wasn't his fault of course, and she wanted nothing more than to tear out the Witch's throat for everything she did. Even on her worst days, Catra hadn't caused anywhere near the same amount of destruction as Wanda, despite their histories being almost equally bleak.
Tony spoke up next, looking over at the radio. "The Stark Relief Foundation?"
"Already on the scene." Maria replied. "How's the team?"
"Everyone's…" Tony began, before stopping and looking around the Quinjet. Steve looked back at him, Adora was still curled up next to Catra, and Natasha wasn't doing so well herself. Taking a moment to find the words, Tony continued. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."
"Well for now I'd stay in Stealth mode, and stay away from here." Maria recommended.
Tony leaned forward and sighed. "So run and hide?"
"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer." Maria explained to the group.
"Neither do we." Tony admitted. He switched off the communications with Maria and walked to the pilot's seat, where Clint was flying. "Hey, you wanna switch out?"
"No, I'm good." Clint replied. Catra smiled a little bit as she thought back to the previous fight. Apparently, Clint was the one who finally stopped Wanda's rampage by tazing her with one of his stun arrows as she was sneaking up behind him. 'My mind's been messed with enough' he'd told Catra when she eventually asked. "If you wanna get some Kip, now's a good time, because we're still a few hours out."
"A few hours from where?" Tony asked.
"A Safe house." Barton replied, his tone neutral but focused.
Tony patted the back of Clint's seat and walked over to Catra and Adora. "How's she holding up, Catra." He asked, motioning to the now asleep Adora.
"She's doing pretty bad Stark." Catra admitted, stroking her friend's hair. "I don't know what she made Adora see, but it can't have been good." She then looked right at Tony. "Shouldn't you be more worried about the others?"
"I'm worried about everyone Catra." Tony said, pointedly not using his nickname for her. "I've already done what I can for Bruce, Thor is being unnervingly quiet, Nat doesn't seem willing to talk… But Adora? I've never seen her like this." He admitted. Steve then walked over to them as well.
"I have to agree with him." he said. "I can work through what I was shown, but Adora has never been good with handling her emotions." He knelt down beside the two. "Even when we were discussing you, she was never so...broken."
"She told me what she saw." Catra finally admitted. "The Maximoff girl made her see me dead. Then she saw herself being used by my mother as a weapon to kill you all." Catra hung her head. "I don't think she's ever gotten over what mother tried to do with her...no….rather what that thing puppeting mother wanted."
"Adora's always viewed herself as a weapon." Steve noted sadly. "She's had...difficulty getting past that belief."
"We'll have to schedule another session with Doctor Plume when this is over." Catra said quietly. "Thank goodness she's still employed without SHIELD."
"You should sleep too Catra." Clint called over. "All of you should. I can keep us on the right path until we arrive."
"Yeah that...that might be a good idea." Catra said in agreement, laying her head against Adora's shoulder and slowly drifting off to sleep.
A moderately sized country house was the last place Adora or Catra expected to be Clint's 'Safehouse' but that's exactly where they wound up after their long flight. As they walked onto the porch, a confused Thor asked exactly where they were. Tony simply explained it was a Safe house. Adora couldn't be anymore shocked when she walked in, and the first thing she saw was Clint walking up to a woman and kissing her.
"This is an Agent of some kind…" Tony said quietly, disbelievingly.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, this is Laura." Clint said proudly, his arm around the woman. Adora's eyes widened as she finally realized where they were. Clint's home, and this was Clint's wife.
Laura Barton nervously waved and chuckled. "I know all of your names." She quickly said, stopping the need for further introductions. She didn't have time to speak up before more footsteps were heard and Clint's children ran into the room and hugged their father. It was a genuinely heartwarming sight for the young Supersoldier. Even Catra had to admit she was touched seeing a happy family/
Tony on the other hand, still had difficulty believing it. "Those are...smaller agents?"
The young daughter ran over to hug her 'Auntie Nat,' and then looked over at Adora. "You must be miss Adora."
Adora smiled at the girl and nodded. "Nice to meet you."
"Sorry we barged in unannounced." Steve said.
"Yeah we would have called but we were kinda busy having no idea you existed." Tony added, things finally seeming to sink in for him.
"Yeah well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined." Clint explained, smiling as Natasha picked up his Daughter. "He kept it off SHIELD's files. I'd like to keep it that way. Figure this would be a good place to lay low." Natasha walked over to talk with Laura and seemed to be discussing Laura's pregnancy with her as Thor suddenly left the room quickly. Adora broke away from Catra and went after him with Steve.
"Thor? Everything alright?" She asked.
He turned to look at her and her father. "I saw something in that dream." He said, a tone of urgency in his voice. "I need answers, I won't find them here." And before Adora or Steve could respond, he flew off into the sky like a rocket, disappearing over the horizon.
Adora and Steve then ent to walk back into the house, only for Steve to stop in the doorway and think. Adora turned over to him and her face fell. "Not you too dad…"
"Don't worry I just...need to find something to keep myself occupied." Steve replied, walking off the porch.
Having settled down in the house, Adora was keeping to herself in a spare room. She was washing her face off in the bathroom sink by the time Catra walked in. "Feeling any better Adora?" She asked quietly.
"No, not really. I've got a lot on my mind." Adora said sternly.
"Why don't we go for a walk, talk it over a bit." Catra recommended.
"Right, yeah. Talking has worked real well for us hasn't it." Adora commented, more spitefully than she intended.
"You got me back." Catra pointed out.
"After we nearly killed each other." Adora pointed out in return.
"Adora, you bent over backwards to help me." Catra said, walking into the room and nuzzling against her. "At least let me try to help you for once."
Adora sighed and turned around, kissing Catra on the lips. "Alright alright. Just a walk around the property?"
"Yeah. That was, if you need to shout, we won't disturb the homeowners." Catra replied, nudging Adora on the arm. The two laughed a little and went out for their walk. As they walked around the property, Catra continued to pry. "Adora, no matter what you've been through, what I did to you, you never broke. What the hell did that woman do to you."
"I already told you what I saw." Adora said with a sigh. "The worst part is, if it wasn't for the Avengers...I know I'd end up like that."
"If it wasn't for the Avengers, you wouldn't be a damn hero." Catra told her. "I don't care what she wanted to turn you into. You're a hero Adora. Better than I can ever be."
"I'm a killer, Catra. Like Ultron said." Adora retorted. "I've saved so many people...but look at Hulk's rampage? That and the dream, they got me thinking." Catra tilted her head in confusion and Adora continued. "When I'm out there, saving the world...how many people die in the crossfire."
"Adora-"
"I'm serious Catra." She continued. "No matter what I do, the people I failed to save? Their blood's on my hands. I may as well have killed them myself."
"Adora that's on your enemy, not you." Catra reassured her.
"We should be better." Adora told her, sitting on a log. "The Avengers were made to protect life. But between the Chitauri, and now Ultron, too many innocent people get caught up in our Avenging."
"Then we'll avenge them. Fight for their memory." Catra told her, sitting down next to her. "That's not all that's bothering you is it."
Adora looked away from Catra for a moment, then asked, "Why do you keep calling Santos mother."
"Because no matter what she did, she's still my mother." Catra told her.
"She turned into a fucking monster." Adora retorted, standing up and beginning to pace. "Neither of us got off scott-free Catra!" Adora's voice began to raise and she began shouting her grievances. "She was brilliant and we trusted her. But she lied to us...She twisted and tortured us! She manipulated us against each other for her own purposes, and for what?! For a damn shadow? A fucking jewel!? Power?! So please, explain to me Catra. Why...why after everything we both went through. All the heartache and pain…." Adora sat down, taking a breath and putting her face in her hands. "Why do I miss her too…?"
"I think...I think Ms. Plume...Tara. She said it best." Catra quietly said as she leaned comfortingly into Adora. "We want to remember Mom, Lorraine Santos, as she was before Inperatio. Before that monster drove her mad."
"She did so much for us. HYDRA or not...she loved us both." Adora finally admitted, breaking down into tears. Catra embraced her, and let her cry into her shoulder.
"Don't worry. We'll make sure those Enhanced pay for this." Catra said, quietly.
Adora wiped the tears from her eyes. "Catra, I still think we can help them." She admitted.
"You're kidding me."
"They're like us Catra. They were misguided." Adora told her. "HYDRA took them at their most vulnerable and twisted their minds. Regardless of what Tony may or may not have caused, their hatreds have only become so disturbed and dangerous because of Strucker."
"I can't promise I'll play nice Adora." Catra told her directly. "Nor can I promise that the other Avengers will either."
"All I ask is that you try." Adora told her. As they finally started making their way back to the house, they were surprised to see none other than Nick Fury waiting for them. "Director Fury?!"
"I'm not director of anyone anymore." Fury replied. "You can just call me Fury, or even Nick. But right now, I'm glad you two made it back. We've got some talking to do."
Everyone gathered in the dining room later that day, as Fury began his briefing. "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself some time." He began, Nat being shown a drawing by Clint's daughter, and Adora slowly drinking from a coffee. "My sources all say he's building something. The Amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."
"What about Ultron himself." Steve asked.
"Oh he's easy to track. He's everywhere." Fury dryly noted. "The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get a handle on his plans though."
"Is he still going after those launch codes?" Tony asked, having taken up throwing darts during the conversation.
"Yes he is." Fury replied, making himself something in the kitchen. "But he's not making any headway."
"I cracked the pentagon's firewall on a dare in high school." Tony commented in disbelief that an AI was having such difficulty.
"Well I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury replied.
Steve looked confused as usual. "Nexus?"
"It's the new World Internet Hub in Oslo." Bruce replied. "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on the planet."
"So what'd they say?" Clint asked, grabbing another dart.
"He's fixated on the missiles, but the Codes are constantly being changed.
"By whom" Tony asked, before being startled when Clint threw a bullseye just past his face. Adora chuckled a bit and Catra smirked as Toiny glared at Clint unamused.
"Parties Unknown." Fury admitted with a subtle shrug.
"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked.
"More like Ultron's got an enemy." Fury noted.
Catra scoffed, "That's not exactly saying much."
"Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury finished.
Tony walked away from the Dart board and leaned on the wall. "Well I might need to visit Oslo, find out who it is."
"Well, this is good times boss, but I was kinda hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." Natasha deadpanned.
"Yep, sounds like square one." Adora dded, sighing and chugging back the rest of her coffee before going to make another.
"I do. I have you." Fury replied, causing Catra to groan loudly. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up." Fury walked among the group, holding his drink and sandwich. "Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is Global Destruction. All this, laid in a grave." He paused a moment to let the stakes sink in. "So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."
"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Nat said, smirking at Steve to bring up the mood a bit.
Steve clearly caught the humor and gave her a look."You know what, Romanoff?" he replied in a joking manner.
"So, what does he want?" Fury reiterated.
"To become better." Adora pointed out.
"Better than us." Steve added. "He keeps building bodies."
"Person bodies." Tony noted, going into his serious analytical mode. "The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."
"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." Natasha commented dryly.
"They don't need to be protected…" Bruce began to theorize. "They need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve."
"How?" Fury asked.
Bruce looked around the room. Adora's eyes widened once she realized something everyone had missed. He nodded as he saw her dawning realization. "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"
Everyone was quickly suiting up and preparing for battle. Steve slung his shield over his shoulder. "I'll take Natasha, Clint, Adora and Catra."
"Alright. Strictly Recon. I'll hit the Nexus, join you as soon as I can."
"If Ultron's really building a body…" Steve began.
Tony finished Steve's sentence. "He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot."
"You know I miss the days when the weirdest thing Science created was me." Steve commented, frustrated with everything.
"That's not even getting into me and Catra." Adora added, sheathing her sword behind her back.
"I'll drop Banner off at the Tower." Fury said, walking over and putting his coat back on. "Mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?"
"She's all yours. Apparently." Tony replied. "What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. Something dramatic I hope." Fury admitted. "Adora, Catra, take care of yourselves alright?"
"Same to you Nick." Adora replied, shaking his hand.
"Don't go getting yourself shot again." Catra added.
Within moments, the Avengers were loaded up, and setting off to save the world once again.
To Be Continued….
Not too much to add here honestly. This was an important chapter simply to look more into Adora's mentality, and of course her reacting to the horrors of last chapter. I'm curious if anyone will catch the reference I made with her rant to Catra. It's a near perfect quote of something.
I do not own She-Ra or the MCU.
NEXT TIME: A Vision of Humanity's Future.