"What the hell are these costumed freaks still doing here? And I thought you said there were four," Hayward hisses.
"There were four. Wilson and Barnes left in the jet about two hours ago. And I don't think I'm gonna push my luck trying to kick Mercury and Captain America off the premises, sir," Agent Monti answers.
"You know, we can still hear you even when you're trying to whisper," Freya calls out from down the hall where everyone else is waiting outside of Monica's medical room. The Director and Monti's heads whip up to look at her and Steve. Who just wave and smile. Jimmy clears his throat to stay serious while Darcy snickers quietly.
"We're not trying to eavesdrop. We just can't help it," Steve shrugs with a smirk. Hayward glares at them and stomps his way over.
"You two were not invited here. This is out of your jurisdiction and above your pay grade," he snaps.
"Excuse us? This is very much our jurisdiction since Wanda's involved," Freya retorts. "And an entire town has basically fallen off the map!"
"I want you two off my base, now," Hayward orders.
"Make us," Freya challenges. Hayward's glare falters for a moment and she smirks. "That's what I thought. Don't try to reach above your pay grade, Tyler. The Avengers are out of your jurisdiction. And no one here truly knows what's going on. I think we can all benefit from a little teamwork."
Hayward glares at her for a moment longer before the expression falls and he sighs. He pinches the bridge of his nose before nodding.
"Can you agree to try to work with me on this and be professional?" he asks.
"Can you?" Freya questions.
"Yes," he reluctantly nods.
"Good," she nods in return. "How's Monica?"
"She's a little disoriented. Confused. And a little sore. But, she'll be alright," Hayward nods. "We'll run some tests on her to be sure."
"That's good to hear," Steve replies while Freya lets out a large sigh of relief.
"Do you have any idea of what's going on here?" Hayward asks Freya.
"Not a clue," she responds. "I could feel the energy from Upstate New York though. And there was no mistaking Wanda."
"Is she the cause of this?" he asks.
"Again, not a clue. I don't know how this started," she shakes her head. Hayward sighs and nods in response, knowing she's telling the truth.
"Do you think you can get in there?" he asks hopefully.
"She won't be trying," Steve replies sternly.
"I can't," Freya answers while patting Steve's arm comfortingly. "I've already tried to breach the barrier. It won't even let my hand in."
"Selective admittance?" Hayward asks her, ignoring Steve, and she shrugs cluelessly in response. "Well, there's no use in standing around here. Either head back to the control room to help out or catch some sleep." He doesn't wait for a response and walks away with Agent Monti basically nipping at his heels.
"Sleep probably isn't a bad idea," Jimmy nods.
"I'm sure Monica needs rest. We can talk to her in the morning," Darcy shrugs.
"Cmon, Doll," Steve says. Freya nods tiredly as he throws an arm over her shoulders and leads her to one of the bunks for the rest of the night.
A few hours later after the sun has risen, Freya and Steve, now in civilian clothes, stand in front of the pictures of the townspeople that have appeared on the show. She studies them closely, reading everything over again and again. But she keeps coming back to Agnes' picture.
"Do we know anything about this woman? Agnes," Freya gestures to the picture. She grabs her tea off the counter next to her, takes a drink and spins the warm cup around in her hands in thought.
"Not that I'm aware of. I don't think they've located a driver's license for her yet," Steve replies after taking a drink of his coffee. Freya's phone dings and she pulls it from her pocket. A large grin falls on her face when she reads the text. "Who is it?" Steve asks.
"Just someone I've asked to come out here as a consultant. I changed the jet's course last night and had it fly her out here. She just landed," Freya grins.
She takes another drink of her tea before setting it down and jogging outside. Steve does the same with his coffee before trailing after her. Once they hit the open air, they watch the quinjet land in the open fields next to them. They walk out to it just as the ramp lowers and Hope Van Dyne walks down it.
"Hope," Freya smiles and pulls her in for a hug. "Thanks for coming out here on such short notice."
"Hey, anything for my favorite Avenger," Hope teases before cringing. "Don't tell Scott I said that. He thinks he's my favorite."
"Of course he does," Steve chuckles and greets her with a hug as well.
"Hey, don't forget that you're one too, Wasp," Freya grins. Hope grins back in return, excited for her new title.
"So, this is it," Hope sighs when she looks out at the anomaly.
"Yep," Freya nods. "Don't get close. It might pull you in. We finally got the first agent that went in back last night."
"How's Monica doing?" Hope asks with a frown.
"How does she know about Monica?" Steve asks Freya.
"FRIDAY filled her in," Freya looks up at him. Steve just nods while mouthing a silent "oh, right". Freya playfully rolls her eyes and turns back to Hope. "She's okay. They're running more tests on her right now." Hope nods and studies the anomaly again. "Have you seen anything like this before?" Freya asks.
"No, never," Hope shakes her head. "But it almost looks like a fuzzy TV screen?" she says in question form.
"Can you guess what type of signal we picked up?" Steve asks.
"A broadcast signal?" Hope guesses after a moment.
"Bingo," Freya nods.
"What did you guys see?" Hope asks excitedly.
"Cmon, we'll show you," Steve nods toward the control room.
Once they get inside, they quickly fill Hope in on the situation in hopes that she might have a theory.
"I mean..." Hope hums out in thought while she watches the recording of the first episode. "It might be time travel. If it is, does Wanda have that type of power?"
"I'm not sure," Freya shakes her head. "It's definitely possible. Both Wanda and I encountered the Mind Stone. We still don't know all of what each of us can do. That's why I wanted your opinion. Quantum mechanics is your specialty."
"Do you know if you can do something like that?" Hope asks.
"No idea," Freya shrugs. "And I'm definitely not gonna try right now. I just keep coming back to the other presence I feel. The one that's not Vision. I'm still not sure if we're getting third partied or if it's just another person stuck in the anomaly."
"Hey, Monica's ready for visitors," Darcy informs them as she approaches.
"Mind if I look over the data you've collected while you go see her?" Hope asks Freya.
"What ours is yours," Freya smiles.
Freya's smile falters for a second when she flashes back to the same words she said to the Maximoff twins the first time they were at Avengers Tower before they fought Ultron. She regains her composure and smiles at Hope before departing with Darcy and Steve. Along the way, they meet up with Jimmy and the four of them head over to medical building. Jimmy leads the way inside just as Monica is sitting up after taking x-rays.
"Mighty glad to have you back, Captain," Jimmy smiles. "How you feelin'?"
"Like myself," Monica responds with a smile.
"Well, thank heavens for that," Jimmy nods.
"Uh," Monica begins as she looks around at everyone. Her smile slightly falls when her eyes land on Freya. Who's face scrunches up in obvious confusion at the reaction. "What's the latest?" Monica asks Darcy hesitantly. Not knowing who she is yet.
"Um," Darcy clears her throat. "There's a briefing in ten. Pants are encouraged." Darcy smiles and hands clothes to Monica.
"Thank you," Monica nods.
"This is Dr. Darcy Lewis," Jimmy introduces her. "She's the one who discovered the broadcast."
"I'm-" Monica starts to reach her hand out before she's interrupt by Darcy.
"-Monica. I know." Darcy eagerly returns the handshake. "Um, big fan.
"And I believe you already know Freya and Steve," Jimmy gestures to them.
"It's good to see you, Monica," Freya smiles while Steve nods.
"Right," Monica responds. This time, Freya's eyebrows furrow in annoyance.
"What's up with her?" Steve asks.
"No idea," Freya answers. "But I'm gonna find out."
"We're gonna need to take these again," the medical tech announces. "There's something wrong with the machine."
"Those are blank," Darcy assesses when she sees the x-rays.
Freya tilts her head and narrows her eyes when she sees them. The pictures are just a glowing figure. Monica's figure. She glances at Monica, who seems to be actively avoiding her gaze.
"Like I said," the medical tech responds.
"Well, what about her labs?" Freya asks.
"I need another blood draw," the medical tech frowns.
"No, no, no," Monica chuckles. "We're done here." She pushes herself off the table with a hiss of pain.
"She does that," Jimmy apologizes to the medical tech. He looks over at Monica and smiles. "See you at the briefing." Monica just responds by closing the privacy curtain so she can change.
"I'll meet you there with Monica. I'm gonna wait for her," Freya tells them.
"No you're not," Monica calls back from behind the curtain.
"Bite me, Monica," Freya replies. She looks at everyone else's surprised expressions before smiling. "Go ahead, we'll see you there." Steve nods and leads everyone out. The curtain is eventually yanked back to reveal Monica's clothed form. There's a scowl on her face and she's almost glaring at Freya. "You wanna tell me why you're being such a bitch to me and only me?" Freya inquires calmly.
"It doesn't matter, just go away," Monica responds.
"It matters to me," Freya frowns. "We're cousins."
"Oh, don't give me that family bullshit," Monica snaps, now fully glaring.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Freya questions. "What did I do to piss you off so badly?"
"You left her alone!" Monica shouts.
"Who?!" Freya shouts back.
"My mom!" Monica screams back. Freya's expression falls and her heart wrenches. "My mom died alone!"
"Monica," Freya says softly. "She wasn't alone."
"What?" Monica whispers.
"After I felt you go, I made sure to keep tabs on Maria. When I found out the cancer came back, I made sure to visit her as much as I could," Freya tells her.
"You... you were there?" Monica asks, now almost crying.
"I was with her when she passed, yes," Freya nods, now tearing up. "That's why I've been trying to get a hold of you. She wanted me to give you a message. Do you mind if I show you?" Monica instantly nods and waits in anticipation for Freya to make a connection with her mind.
Freya's sitting next to Maria's hospital bed with her feet propped up on it. Her and Maria are talking and laughing.
"You and my mom got into the craziest shit," Freya laughs.
"Oh, you don't know the half of it, sweetheart," Maria laughs. Her smile slowly falls and she looks at Freya seriously. "Freya, I know I don't have much time left. I want you to give a message to Monica when she returns. Because I know you'll find a way to get everyone back."
"Auntie, you'll tell her yourself," Freya responds.
"No, I won't. And I know you know that," Maria smiles. Freya lowers her head and starts to tear up. "Hey now. None of that."
"It's just not fair. For you. For Monica. She should be here," Freya sighs.
"I know. And you tried your best to stop him. I don't blame you. But I need you to tell her something for me."
"Anything," Freya nods.
"Monica," Maria smiles as she looks straight at Freya. "I know you're confused right now. And so, so angry. But don't be angry with Freya, okay? Your cousin loves you very much. I know she'll bring you back. And I'm sorry you weren't here. But don't blame yourself, Freya or anyone else. The only one to blame is Thanos. You're such a beautiful, strong, intelligent woman, Monica. And it will be okay. I love you."
Freya pulls away from Monica's mind and discontinues the connection. She doesn't want to show Monica the day her mother died. She won't do that to her. Tears are steadily rolling down Monica's face. She silently walks forward and pulls Freya into a hug. Freya instantly reciprocates as she hugs the taller woman back.
"I'm so sorry," Monica chokes out. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
"Hey, it's okay," Freya smiles up at her as she pulls away. "You've been through a lot. I understand, Mon."
"I just have to know," Monica asks hesitantly. "My mom, when she went... was it..."
"It was peaceful," Freya answers honestly. "She went peacefully."
"Thank you," Monica sighs.
"Why don't we head over to the briefing. There's someone I want you to meet," Freya smiles, causing Monica to smile in return.
"Lead the way, cuz."