Chapter 43: Reunion
Adora never said a word on the flight to Paris, she was far too focused on what she can going to say. Unlike her first fights with Catra, she was genuinely doubting if she could ever properly apologize this time. The events of the Civil War still burned in the back of her mind. Then there was the topic of trying to explain what she's learned from Tony about the final falling out between him and Steve...the truth of Bucky's crime.
Kira on the other hand couldn't stop talking. She and Kyle had been having a conversation for the last hour about Kyle's work, and where he'd gone since the downfall of SHIELD. "I've been meaning to ask about that." Adora chimed in. "What's Nick doing with SHIELD gone?"
Kyle just smirked somewhat. "Yes, SHIELD is officially gone." He replied, putting emphasis on the word 'officially.' Adora's look of shock prompted him to nod. "Technically, Fury's still operating SHIELD, but at the moment it's out of the public eye. And only a small number in government positions are aware of it."
"So where were they during the Germany incident?" Kira asked, genuinely interested.
"It's really only a skeleton crew right now." Kyle admitted. "Maria Hill for example." He leaned back some more in his seat. "Myself and Agent Hunter joined up of course, but we do have more official government positions Still, it's helped me be in a position to help Adora out." He flashed a grin at her. "Plausible Deniability. Anything happens, my place in Ross's little club means I can easily spin it as official."
"Kyle, have I ever told you how much I appreciate you?" Adora asked after a moment of stunned silence.
Kyle chuckled a little. "Remember what I told you when we met. I'm everyone's friend."
"So, are you guys expecting trouble?" Kira asked.
Adora simply sighed. "Kira, I'm an Avenger. I don't have to expect trouble….it just follows me."
Upon disembarking from the plan, Adora and her allies made their way through the airport. She took note of many people looking at her with a mix of worry and fear. She understood. The Avengers had lost much of the Public's faith in recent years, and even signing the Accords wouldn't get rid of all the distrust. She subtly handed the crystal over to Kira and nodded. Kira nodded back and clutched it tightly, filling it with the magic in her body and causing it to weakly glow.
"Okay so if what my dad told me is right, it'll glow brighter when we're headed in the right direction." She explained, before looking over at the calm faced Kyle. "You're taking the existence of magic very well all things considered."
"I'm a SHIELD agent, Kira." He replied. "I've got a literal God on my speed-dial." He then shrugged. "Not like Thor knows how to work a phone, but still."
Adora smiled fondly as they walked. "I wonder what Thor's even up to right now. Or Bruce for that matter." She said. "We haven't seen him since Sokovia. And given what Ultron put us through, I'm worried."
"You know for a fact neither of them would have agreed with the Accords." Kira pointedly told her.
"I know, it was a mistake." Adora snapped back, before taking a deep breath. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped."
"It's alright, you're upset." Kira told her. She then held up the crystal and turned her body until the glow brightened. "I think she's actually in the city?"
"Weird for someone in hiding to be in such a heavily populated location." Kyle mentioned, hands in his pockets.
"We've got experience hiding in major population centers." Adora replied. "Considering our escape from the Triskelion with Mom and Dad. Hiding from the HYDRA controlled SHIELD." She sighed, remembering that nightmarish time. "That was the beginning of the end, in retrospect."
"How do you figure, Adora?" Kyle asked.
"We needed to bring SHIELD down." Adora replied. "When SHIELD fell, the Avengers became a private force under Stark Industries."
Kira nodded in understanding. "So whenever you operated outside of America, you technically didn't have the United Nations backing you used to."
"Exactly." Adora nodded. "We were still doing good, but people were a hell of a lot less willing to overlook collateral when their governments didn't sanction us." She ran a hand through her hair. "It's why I jumped on the Accords the moment they were pitched. I really didn't think it through. I wanted us to have accountability." She shook her head. "No more excuses, I made a mistake and it broke the Avengers."
"You didn't break the band up alone." Kira pointed out. "Everything that could have gone wrong, did."
"And it wasn't helped by Zemo making things worse." Kyle added.
"Hey guys not to interrupt but the crystal is glowing as LOT stronger." Kira suddenly said, holding it out as they neared a run down apartment, in a bad part of the city. "She's probably gonna be here."
Kyle looked around. "So how do we handle this?" He asked Adora.
She took a deep breath. "I'm gonna ask for her. I know the name she's going under." She told him plainly, and slowly opened the door to the lobby. She looked around at her surroundings and tried to see if she could find anyone to direct her. She ended up coming across the Landlord and cleared her throat, putting her SHIELD language lessons to work. "Excuse me sir, I'm looking for a Ms. DeRillith?" She stated in near perfect french, silently thanking Nat for the aid.
"Who's asking?" He replied, looking up from his reading. "An Avenger? Didn't expect any of my tenants to warrant a visit from you."
"I'm an old friend of hers. May I ask what room?" She replied, keeping a neutral face as best as she could. He looked her over a moment, before eventually giving the room number. Adora quickly thanked him, and motioned for Kyle and Kira to follow. As they approached the door, Adora began to feel nervous, her face clearly showing distress.
It's alright Adora, you can handle this…" Kyle told her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"R-right…" Adora replied, gulping and knocking on the door. The three waited quietly as they ehard someone inside approaching.
"Just a moment." The familiar voice of Catra came from the other side, and the door creaked open. Catra froze, eyes wide at the sight before her.
Adora looked over her girlfriend, taking note of the changes she's made to her face and hair, and gave a small smile. "Hey Catra…"
"So, let me get this straight…" Catra began, getting some coffee brewed for everyone present. "This teenager, who we keep running into constantly, is the daughter of a sorcerer." She handed Kyle his cup. "Agent Smith here is still technically a SHIELD agent, you tracked me down with a magic crystal of all things…" She passed another cup to Kira, and set one down in front of Adora, before going to get her own. "And you took a private jet all the way to France just to see me again." She turned around, noticing that Adora had not stopped looking at her the whole time. "...What?"
"You cut your hair." Adora replied, motioning to Catra's Pixie cut.
Catra reached up and felt at her shortened hair, blushing. "It wasn't going to be easy to hide my mane, or the fur on my face." She explained, quietly. "What about you Adora, not putting your hair up anymore?"
"Thought I'd try letting my hair down once in a while." Adora lied, unconvincingly. "But.. your hair looks kinda cute."
"I am not cute!" Catra pouted, putting her cup down. "Though I admit I kinda prefer it when you let your hair down."
"Aaanyway!" Kyle suddenly said, setting his cup down and grabbing Kira's wrist. "Kira and I will get a hotel figured out for the three of us. Why don't you two catch up?" He quickly shuffled Kira out the door, leaving Adora and Catra in the room alone.
Adora fidgeted in her seat, trying to figure out the best thing to say. She slowly stood up and approached her. "Look, Catra I-"
"Oh just shut up and kiss me you beautiful dumbass!" Catra suddenly said, setting her cup down and rushing over, throwing herself into Adora's arms and kissing her. Despite the suddenness of it all, Adora tightened her Embrace on Catra, and the kiss became passionate. When their lips parted, the two looked into each other's eyes happily. "You know, Ross is gonna be pissed about this personal trip."
"Fuck Ross. Officially I'm on vacation." Adora told her, stroking the side of her face. "I just...I needed you back, Catra. It's been too long."
The two made their way over to Catra's couch and sat down, still holding hands. Catra's gaze passed over to Adora's stuff in the corner, noting what she'd been carrying. "Is that your father's shield?"
"Yeah...better I use it than let it gather dust." Adora admitted.
"How's it with you, if Steve's on the run?" Catra nervoudly asked. Adora braced herself and began to tell the whole story, as she understood it. Catra listened intently to the tale, her ears dropping at the news of what her father did, but she silently nodded. "I...guess I can't really blame Stark." She admitted.
"When the dust settled, apparently Steve left the shield behind with Tony." Adora finished explaining. "So like I said, I'd rather use it myself than let it gather up dust."
"How does it fell?" Catra asked her, tightening her grip on Adora's hand.
"Honestly Catra? It feels wrong." Adora admitted, hanging her head. "It's not my Shield. I'm not Captain America, and frankly I doubt I ever could be. I'm barely a hero."
"Adora, don't sell yourself short. You're awesome."
"Catra, what have I done since joining SHIELD? Becoming an Avenger?" Adora asked her, looking back at her. "Yeah, I helped stop Loki, we took down Santos. But then…" She sighed deeply. "I found out most of my supposed free life was just working for HYDRA under a different name… we unleash a crazy AI on the world, I mean fuck...everyone who died in Sokovia's on us."
"That was Ultron, not us."
"Catra, Pietro died for me." Adora told her, wiping away tears. "He threw himself in front of the Quinjet's bullets for me and a child. I...haven't talked much to Wanda about it honestly." She sniffled. "The guilt of that hurt so much...and then I saw what our Avenging was doing...I wasn't thinking clearly."
"I don't think any of us were." Catra admitted. "The whole Accords thing was a really screwed up situation."
"I don't suppose I can convince you to come back?" Adora asked, desperately.
Catra sadly, shook her head. "I'm technically a fugitive now. Besides…" She wandered over to the end of the room and motioned to a map she had set up. "I'm trying to figure out where Dad could be hiding. Him, Steve and the rest of the Anti-Accords team. Y'know...find a nice safe haven to collect myself."
"I could help you!" Adora quickly spoke up. "I could leave the Avengers, we can track them down togeth-"
"Adora, don't be stupid." Catra shot back. "Tony's gonna need you to keep his head on straight. And we need someone as optimistic as you on the Avengers right now." She leaned against her desk. "Besides, it doesn't seem like they can afford to lose anyone else right now."
Adora sighed and shook her head. "Goddammit I hate when you're right." She said, a small chuckle in her voice.
"Look, I'm sure your friends there can find a nice hotel buit…" Catra motioned over to her bedroom. "Spend the night?"
"Catra, do you even need to ask." Adora said with a smile, standing up and joining her in the bedroom.
Later, at an unknown facility…
The figure stalked through the hallways of the former SHIELD base, keeping to themselves as they followed behind one of the guards. As the guard stepped into a secluded room, the figure quickly followed afterward, shutting the door behind them. He didn't even have time to call out, before he was knocked unconscious….
The Guard quickly exited the room, adjusting his hat, and heading deeper into the facility. He calmly greeted the others as he passed, his eyes hidden under the brim of his hat. Nearing the center of the facility, he calmly gained access with his card, and slipped into the shadows. The form of the guard melted away in a dark glow, shifting to the true form of DT, who gleefully grinned as they snuck by the security cameras. They reached for their comm unit and chuckled. "DT to Velvet Glove, I have infiltrated the facility with the ease expected of me." As they neared the window overlooking the facility's hidden treasure, a grin crept across their reptilian face. "I have eyes on the fragment. These idiots don't seem to know what SHIELD was guarding. Security's quite light…"
They reached into their belt and pulled out a small tool, cutting through the window, and slinking around the security grid as they drew nearer to the target...a small, maroon red gem fragment. "I mean, I would expect even humans would have better security….around a fragment of the Black Garnet~"
Adora woke up to her phone ringing the next morning, laying next to her love. As she groaned and checked the caller ID, she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Catra rolled over as well. "Business, Adora?"
"It's Kyle…" Adora said, answering it and groggily speaking into the phone. "Kyle, It's so early…"
"I know Adora, and I wouldn't interrupt you if it wasn't important." Kyle replied, the sounds of sirens behind him.
"Did something happen? Where's Kira?" Adora asked, standing up and heading for her uniform.
"There was a break in. At a former SHIELD facility outside the city." Kyle explained. "Kira's with me, but I'd like your aid to investigate. Off the books for now, until I can talk Stark into getting this made official."
"What was stolen." Adora asked, getting dressed as Catra sat up as well.
"Adora, is Catra awake?"
"Why?" Adora asked, glancing over at Catra.
"Put me on speakerphone." Kyle replied. Adora set the phone down and did as he asked. "Catra, you'll want to hear this too. The Facility that was hit was one of 5 set up shortly after the fall of the Followers." Catra gulped nervously, and shared a glance with Adora, they both knew exactly where this was going. "One of Five storing the fragments of the Black Garnet."
"I'm on my way Kyle." Adora stated immediately, grabbing her sword and shield.
"I'm coming too." Catra announced, starting to dress.
"Catra, you're in hiding, we shouldn't-"
"That gem cost me my mother Adora!" Catra shouted back. "If someone's after it, we can't let them get it. I'm coming." She firmly stood her ground and Adora sighed.
"Alright Kyle, give me the address...we'll see you soon."
To be continued…
Not much to state this time. Apart from the fact that Baldur's Gate 3 and Mortal Kombat 1 are addicting as hell lol.
I do not own She-Ra or the MCU.
Feedback is appreciated. And also, don't be afraid to update the fanfic's TvTropes page, the fact I got one at all amazes me.
NEXT TIME: Entrapped