"I'm right here if you need anything Captain." Sam Wilson says, as Steve Rogers pulls herself out of her wheelchair and sits in the ship's harnessed seat next to him.
Steve turns to her friend, smiles, and has a silent chuckle. "You sure you're not just trying to show off your new found strength?" she asks Sam.
"I suppose it doesn't help that I'm sitting on your left." Sam smiles back at their inside joke. He turns to look at the others and spots Bucky giving him a judgmental look. "Oh, sorry." Sam pretends to be concerned. "Did you want help also? I can be a gentleman, you know." Bucky frowns and turns away.
Steve playfully punches Sam in the arm. "Don't tease him, Sam. He's just concerned."
"It's okay, big guy. I won't bite her." Sam says toward Bucky. Bucky turns back and glares at Sam.
"Would you three ladies stop flirting and get strapped in already?" Nick Fury says from two seats down, as she tightens her straps. "I want to get back down to the planet without any more instances."
"Aww.. Come on, Commander Fury." Clint calls out, from across the way. "I think they're cute."
"You want cute?" Nick Fury responds. "I'll show you cute with my boot, the moment we're safely on land."
"Glad to have you back, Commander." Natasha says with a smile. She is strapped in next to Fury.
Nick Fury looks at her and studies her face for a long moment. "Are you wearing makeup?" She asks. "Where did you get makeup?"
Natasha blushes and tries to avoid turning away. "I had some on me."
"You most certainly did not!" Nick Fury counters. "I would know! I helped all of your asses pack."
"She got it on Xandar, Sir." Clint interjects.
'She?' Nick Fury wonders. She looks at Natasha and it suddenly dawns on her that Natasha is trying to look feminine again. It hadn't occurred to Fury, since she'd been so busy offworld and had grown accustomed to various alien looks. She is tempted to question Natasha about her sexual identity, but realizes it may be a sensitive issue for the time being. Nick Fury does however feel an unexpected flush of compassion and tries to push it to the back of her head. "It looks good on you." She tells Nat. "Just be sure to watch out for allergic reactions... It's alien afterall." She tries to hide her emotions.
Natasha is still blushing, but she looks toward Nick gratefully. "Thank you, Sir."
"Aww... I didn't know you cared." Clint says teasingly.
"You! Shut up." Nick Fury retorts. "Or I'm going to make sure you need makeup when we get off this oversized bucket. Nick looks away, and despite being snappy can't help but shake her head and smile at the friendly banter.
"So, what are you two going to do once we get back home?" Natasha asks Steve. They lock eyes and Nat gestures toward Bucky also. "After everything that happened, I get the feeling you won't have to stay in hiding much longer."
"Yeah, that's right." Sam says. "Colonel Rhodes said that they might repeal the Sokovia Accords. That'll make you basically free men... er.. and women?"
"We'll see." Captain America responds. "We did still blow up half an airport after all."
"Technically that was Little-Man." Sam interjects. "And Wanda. As I recall, she's the one that started throwing cars first." He begins to look around. "And Vision... He blew up a couple things as well. Where are they? Did they go home early? I haven't seen or heard from either of them in a while.."
"Scott and his family are already home. Wanda and Vision are still off-world." Nick Fury responds. "Indefinitely." She looks away with a grumble to imply she didn't agree with the decision.
"Are they going to be alright?" Natasha asks.
"They'd better be!" Nick snaps back. "The Nova Corp doesn't want to know what I'd do if something happens to them." He sees Clint giving him a curious look. "What?"
Clint smirks. "You're getting soft in your old age." He tells Nick Fury.
"Don't make me turn this thing around!" She tells Clint.
Natasha chuckles. "I've missed days like this." She says. "Back before Hydra, despite all the battles and the turmoil, it never felt like work. Things haven't been the same since we all split up. I hope we can go back to the way things were."
"I miss the paychecks." Clint answers and smiles toward Nick Fury.
Nick Fury gives Clint a confused look. "Wait, Tony Stark wasn't paying you?" She asks.
"No." Clint responds.
"Not as much." Natasha says at roughly the same time.
Clint has a shocked look on his face. "You were getting paid?"
"Well, yeah." Natasha responds. "That was the first thing we asked for when we came over to the compound."
"We?" Clint asks. "Who's we? Was anyone else here getting paid?" He turns toward the others.
"I was getting paid." Sam says, raising a hand. "Before the airport, that is."
Clint looks at Steve, who just shakes her head. He then turns toward Bucky, who responds with a confused "Why?" look.
"Of course you weren't getting paid." Clint scoffs.
"Yeah, it was just me, Natasha, and Bruce." Sam says with a mischievous smile before adding, "And Thor."
"WHAT?!" Clint asks loudly. "Thor was getting paid?!"
"Well, yeah." Natasha adds. "He didn't really know how to use it. It was kind of a joke..." Clint can't help but glare at Natasha angrily. "I think he was spending it on his girlfriend." She exclaims. "They had a place and everything."
"He had a girlfriend?" Sam asks loudly. "Since when did he have a girlfriend?"
"Yeah, that's news to me." Steve chimes in.
"Dr. Jane Foster." Nick Fury interjects. "She's an astrophysicist, who has offered SHIELD valuable assistance and feedback from time to time. You've probably met her father Erik Selvig."
"Erik's kid?" Sam says with a hint of surprise. He looks toward Natasha, then toward Clint. "Is she cute, at least?"
"Oh yes. The apple fell very far from that tree." Clint responds with a chuckle.
"The point is," Nick Fury interrupts. "If Tony is going to continue using my Avengers, he needs to make sure you guys are getting paid!"
"How much was he paying you?" Clint asks Natasha. "Not 83.7% was it?"
"I wish." Natasha responds. "It was nearly half."
"What!" Nick looks at Natasha with concern. "That motha..."
"There's not really a minimum wage for superhero vigilante work." Natasha defends.
"Hey, he's not paying that Spider-Kid is he?" Sam calls out.
"No," Natasha shakes her head. "He considers her an intern."
"Hmf.." Sam grumbles and turns away. "Her suit's probably worth more than what we make."
"I don't even want to guess how much that thing costs." Natasha responds.
"He seems to have a soft spot for the kid." Steve chimes in. "I feel kind of bad for hitting her so hard... at the airport."
"I feel bad for not." Sam responds. "She is feisty. You should have seen her toying with giggles over here." Sam points at Bucky.
"Hey, I'm not the one who got pinned to the banister." Bucky says challengingly.
"Yeah, well at least I got her off us." Sam replies.
"After she covered you in her goo." Bucky chuckles.
"Yeah yeah, she had you covered too." Sam replies.
"Just my arm." Bucky counters. "And I just took that off." He turns to Steve and notices a surprised look on the Captain's face. "What?"
"Sorry Bucky." Steve responds. "It's just... I'm glad to see you two are getting along."
"See, he can be friendly." Sam responds.
"We just had a common goal." Bucky retorts before looking away. He is finding it hard to hide his embarrassment from letting his guard down.
"I mean it you guys." Captain Rogers says. "You guys mean a lot to me. I want you to be friends."
Bucky crosses his arms and continues to look away silently.
"Awe. Look." Sam says. "He's blushing."
"Attention, drop ship crew, this is your captain speaking." Talos suddenly interrupts over the intercom. "While we're thoroughly enjoying your bonding time, we'd like to let you know, we are now approaching Wakanda. Please put all electronic devices away, return your trays to their upright positions, and prepare for landing."
"Talos! What'd I tell you about listening in on my conversations?" Nick Fury scolds.
Talos does not answer Nick Fury. "Prepare for drop in 5... 4..."
Talos does not finish his count either as he releases the dropship early. All gravity seems to vanish for a brief moment as a few faces pale from the unexpected rush.
"Talos! If I could fire you, I would!" Nick Fury grumbles.
"Remind me," Clint calls out, looking for a distraction from the sudden zero-g drop, "Why are you letting this guy take the ship?"
"It's a long story!" Nick Fury answers. "Let's just say, we owe him."
"Right." Clint answers, feeling nauseous. "He's not an alien is he?"
"Talos, dammit!" Nick Fury shouts. "Turn on the landing thrusters already. We're gonna hit something."
"Landing thrusters on." Talos says in a sweet feminine voice.
Nearly everyone on the dropship grunts as the thrusters dramatically slow their descent.
"I hate roller coasters." Clint says. "This is why I fight from a distance."
"What is this guy's deal?" Natasha asks. "He's a little too chummy with you for someone you barely know, Commander Fury."
"I've known Talos for close to 25 years." Nick Fury responds. "He's one of my oldest..." She has to think of what to say for a moment before deciding on, "colleagues."
"Awe. That's very sweet of you, Nick." Talos responds over the intercom. "I love you too."
"After this, we're through!" Nick Fury shouts at the intercom. "Take your ship and go mooch off Carol for a while."
Clint looks at Natasha who gives him an understanding look. Clint raises an eyebrow and they share a brief silent thought. "Definitely alien." Clint whispers. Natasha nods.
The drop ship's descent seems to slow down pretty quickly and the engines start to roar more loudly. "Sounds like we're on approach." Nick Fury announces.
The natural gravity from Earth begins to set in and all six passengers of the drop ship feel their guts drop as the ship slows even more dramatically. There are several loud thunks as landing gear is deployed and their descent takes one last major gravity shift.
"Are you guys okay?" Natasha asks, noticing Steve and Bucky both seem to look pale.
"Yeah!" the Captain says, but is interrupted by one last loud thump as the drop ship finally makes contact with the ground. She shuts her eyes tightly with a look that clearly says she hopes it's over. The Drop ship hisses as it seems to adjust to the planet pressure.
"You gonna be okay?" Natasha asks once more.
"Sorry." The Captain responds. "Bucky and I have a history of crash landing."
"Oh right." Natasha responds. "I forgot about that."
"What did you crash?" Sam asks Bucky.
"Nothing." Bucky responds. "I was just thrown from a train..."
"Off a cliff..." Steve responds. "It's still burned into my memory."
"I'd say, try living it, but..." Bucky looks up trying to control his breath.
"Yeah." Steve Rogers replies. "1945 was not a good year for either of us." They both chuckle awkwardly.
"I bet you didn't think space travel would factor into your supposed last moments." Sam says.
"I'm still recovering from the moon landing." Steve responds. "Sometimes it feels like we're a thousand years in the future."
"No kidding." Bucky responds. "I still can't wrap my head around headphones."
"Right!" Steve says. "Sometimes I see people dancing in the street and I wonder if they're crazy."
"Haha! No kidding!" Buck laughs.
"Sometimes I forget how old you guys are." Sam interjects.
"They put Fury to shame." Natasha adds from across the way. Steve smiles.
"I know how to respect my elders." Nick Fury responds. "Now can we get off this damn bucket, please. I think I've had enough outer space for my lifetime."
"Are we done?" Clint asks.
"We'd better be!" Fury responds. "Otherwise I'm parachuting off this thing."
They begin to chuckle as everyone unbuckles from their seats. Bucky, Sam, and the others do their best to help Steve get back in her wheelchair and they slowly make their way off the drop ship. Despite her eagerness to get off, Nick Fury is the last in line to leave. The others cheerfully chat as they finally make their way back to land. Nick Fury does one last check for forgotten materials. Before she can leave the ship, she is interrupted by a last communication.
"Commander Fury?" Talos calls.
"What is it, Talos?" She asks.
"I just wanted to say..." Talos starts, but suddenly pauses, "I wanted to say..."
Nick Fury stands and waits patiently for Talos to finish. After waiting nearly half a minute, the second half to what he wants to say does not come through.
"You're welcome, Talos." Nick Fury responds.
"You didn't have to do this for us." Talos replies. "We never deserved it."
"Talos!" Nick Fury snaps. "Everyone deserves a chance to live."
"But we're not from your planet." Talos argues. "We're not even the same race."
"Talos," Nick fury interrupts, "From the day I met you, and your sassy little attitude, I have thought nothing less of you." She lets the words sit for a moment before continuing. "I remember thinking about all the movies I'd seen and all the books I had read. I remember thinking about all the stories I had heard and every rendition of space aliens I had ever experienced. I had a very clear image of what someone from another planet would be like, and you know what I got?" She waits for an answer.
Talos still chooses to stay silent.
Nick Fury chuckles. "I got you." She tells Talos. "The most sassy, sarcastic, but very much..." she pauses again to smile, "human alien life form I could ever imagine. You didn't want to eat my brain, or change me into one of you. You definitely didn't want to take over the world."
Nick Fury pauses again to see if Talos wanted to speak. There is still no response, so she continues. "You just wanted to stand there, sip your damn soda pop, and be an asshole." She chuckles. "The first alien I had ever met, and I understood you, right then and there."
Nick Fury takes a moment to smile and shake her head. "I remember thinking about how human you were, and you know what..." she looks up, wondering if Talos could really hear her, "It's true. You're more human than half the people I know."
She takes a huge breath before continuing. "I want you to take this ship, Talos, and find a new home..." she pauses again to think, "But I want you to promise me something else... Do you hear me Talos?"
After a brief pause, "I'm still her Nick." Talos responds.
"I want you to promise me," Nick Fury continues, "if you can't find a place, if you can't find a planet that suits you..." She thinks about her words for a moment longer. "If you don't find a planet to call your own, then you'd better come back here, because Earth will always be your home too."
Nick Fury stops talking and lowers her head. She waits a very long time, wondering how Talos might respond.
"On behalf of our race, Nick Fury" Talos' wife, Soren, answers, "we thank you... for everything you've done..."
Nick Fury has to fight the tears forming in her eyes, despite the fact that they probably can't see her.
"I know I'm always joking about it," Talos finally speaks up, "but I really mean it, Nick..." Nick Fury suspects she knows what he is going to say. "We love you..." Talos says, "Thank you."
Nick Fury successfully fights off the strong emotions she is feeling, but she still can't resist smiling. "You're welcome, my friend." She responds. "Now go find yourself a goddamn planet." She turns toward the exit and walks off the drop ship. She suspects The Skrull had a few more parting words, but she can hardly hear them as she finally steps foot back on Earth and walks away from a huge part of her life.