So here I am with a Marvel fic! I think I did attempt a Marvel fic back in the day but it didn't go anywhere. Here's to second tries, eh?
Anyway, this will be updated whenever there's a new chapter, still very much of a WIP. So, enjoy what I've got so far!
With a loud, electric hiss of the Quinjet's engine, metallic footsteps echoed down the platform to the tarmac below.
16 years… 16 whole years since Sierra Reed stepped foot in her home state of Wisconsin. In the months following the battle against Thanos at the now-destroyed Avengers compound in New York, Sierra was overwhelmed by the healing and rebuilding.
She needed a fresh start. Have full autonomy over her life. She was 26 now, though many of her peers and the other Avengers had aged five during the Blip. She had seen what the Blip had done to them, and her best friends from SHIELD were also irreparably changed.
Chris, the first friend she'd made through SHIELD, who was already a few years older than her, had found love and got married during the Blip, and now had a newborn son to care for.
Desarae, a young woman of Sierra's age, who'd been a wanderer along with her late mother, had also not been Blipped. But she found herself unable to live a life without her closest friends. She'd tried to help the surviving Avengers around the compound, but her depression had really done a number on her.
And then there was Lucas, somewhere between Sierra and Chris's age, and been Blipped. His father used to be a SHIELD agent in the early 2000s but had gone rogue when Lucas was a child. Poor Lucas had witnessed the murder of his mother at his father's hands and as a result, had become a ward of SHIELD.
Life had not made it easy for Sierra and her friends. And now they were left to pick up the pieces with SHIELD having fallen apart.
With a million thoughts swirling through her head, Sierra crossed the tarmac with her luggage, an agent waiting for her by a slightly banged-up gray 2006 Jeep Patriot that belonged to her father. She remembered this car so well. The cracked leather seats and the smell of the old air conditioning confirmed that it definitely needed new coolant. There was also an old unidentifiable stain in the back seat that had been there as long as Sierra could remember.
"Here are your keys, ma'am," the agent said with a stiff expression. With an awkward nod, Sierra took the keys and unlocked the car, tossing her stuff in the back.
After readjusting the mirrors and her seat accordingly, she paused for a moment to take in the moment. This was her car now. SHIELD had taken the initiative to fix up all the old problems the car had when it was confiscated back in 2007 after the attack.
A desperately needed oil change, new coolant, a filter replacement for the AC, and new headlight bulbs. Among a million other things.
She turned on her phone and set her navigation up to her new destination. She was scared, but she had to take the first step, figuratively.
Taking a deep breath, she inserted the key and turned the ignition, the engine roaring to life. She swallowed thickly and silently thanked her father. Pressing the gas, she was off.
Her drive lasted a couple of hours. She'd forgotten how long the drive was from the airport. But that was fine, it gave her time to think. As the city slowly dissipated into the countryside, she swiveled her head to see the multitude of dairy farms that Wisconsin was famous for. The expansive forests that bordered farmland and gravel side roads that disappeared into private property.
Typical.
The country roads were decorated with the occasional shabby mailbox, too many American flags to count, and various political signs, many of them worn and ripped.
Then the road started becoming familiar. There was a pile of rusted steel beams that had been there for as long as she could remember. No one knew what they were going to use them for or where their initial designation was. One day sometime in the 70's, she had been told they were apparently just dumped there and forgotten about.
The sight of them was oddly comforting and very familiar, and she couldn't help but crack a small smile.
"Your destination is on your left in 500 feet." The robotic voice announced.
Taking in a deep breath, Sierra hit her turn signal and turned down the road, being met with a severely overgrown driveway.
She wasn't shocked, frankly. It'd been 16 years, after all.
The asphalt driveway had cracked and fallen apart, with grass and various weeds growing within and rapidly overtaking it. Moss had also covered a considerable portion as well, causing the driveway to practically become part of the ground itself.
The front yard was as much of a mess as the driveway. The ground was patchy, and in the sections where plants thrived, they were overgrown and dying.
And, of course, the reason she drove all the way out here.
The house.
Her childhood home.
The very place where her whole life was torn apart and taken from her in an instant by HYDRA. Where her mother and little brothers were horrifically and tragically murdered. Where she was attacked and given the powers that changed her life.
The two-story farmhouse was old and decrepit, with the roof covered in moss and overgrown plants stuck in the gutters. The walls were falling apart, with old paint peeling and chipping away. The front deck was rotting and beginning to collapse in on itself; the lattice under the deck was broken and gnawed at by god knows what.
Christ above.
"Welcome home Sierra," she mumbled to herself, stopping the car in front of the outdoor garage that was complete rust.
She had a lot of work to do, and she was exhausted.
Cautiously, she went up to the front door, holding her keys, though she probably didn't even need them. The door was as falling off its hinges, and the lock didn't even work. So with a light shove on her shoulder, she pushed her way inside.
The inside of the house didn't need much description. Everything and anything was rotten, falling apart, peeling, chipping, or rusted over.
A complete shithole, frankly.
There were cobwebs filling almost every corner, and it looked like a family of something built a nest in the old fireplace, though it was difficult to tell what.
The ceiling fan that had been in the living room had fallen to the floor. And the windows were shattered.
The whole house looked haunted.
She snickered at her own silly thought, trying to figure out where she was going to start. She glanced at the ceiling fan, and using her telekinetic ability, she moved it to the side and out of the way.
Chewing on her lip, she then went to retrieve her luggage and other belongings, bringing them inside to the living room.
Slowly but surely, she started cleaning up a little bit, but she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself for right now. She had the money needed to renovate the house thanks to her parents' life insurance policies. Plus, since she was a ward of SHIELD, or what SHIELD used to be, she had legal protection and assets if she needed them. But right now, it wasn't the right time.
The world was still healing from the Blip and violence that had followed. The world was dreary and depressing, and people didn't trust each other. She had seen the cold stares of civilians while driving, even though she had the face-concealing technology given to her to hide her facial marking.
She did not hide her eyes, though. She knew that even though she stood out like a sore thumb, there was no point given that people were used to superheroes with strange appearances.
Did she consider herself a superhero? She wasn't sure. She certainly had the powers that would lead someone to consider her "super," but she didn't feel like much of a hero. They lost the first battle against Thanos, and even though they triumphed in the final war, it felt like the furthest thing from a win.
Losing Tony was the first major blow, and then following the final battle, Clint broke the news to her about what happened to Natasha on the planet of Vormir.
Natasha was gone. Forever a part of the Soul Stone.
And now the Soul Stone was back on Vormir, thanks to Steve returning all of the Infinity Stones.
In the span of just a few days, half the team was gone. Seeing Steve come back over half a century older than when he left and Tony having sacrificed himself to kill Thanos.
After Tony's funeral, Sierra grieved Natasha's loss privately, not even with Clint or his family. Not even with Chris, Des, or Lucas did she share her feelings.
It was then that she decided to make the change and go back to Wisconsin, as she had expressed to Natasha once about wanting to go back home. And Natasha lovingly encouraged it.
And now here she was. Home.