My Silver Lining (Marvel/Star Wars Crossover)

Chapter 27: Leave It To Ayla

A/N: I don't own the picture on top. I believe it's originally from tumblr by enstatia. All credit of the picture goes to enstatia.

"You're quite shocked to see me." I pointed out.

Hayward grimaced. "Well, I hadn't heard from you in years."

"Well, as you can see I'm here, and quite well." I retorted, crossing my arms, glaring at Hayward.

"Okay, that's enough." Monica intervened, giving me a warning look. "I asked her to meet me here."

"So what are we discussing?" I questioned, sitting down in a chair next to Monica and across from Hayward.

Hayward let out a long sigh before continuing on. "Well before you barged in, the F.B.I. is in a tizzy over a missing persons case up in Jersey."

"Missing persons?" Monica repeated, baffled.

"I know. But they have requested use of one of our imaging drones, and I need a chaperone." Hayward explained.

"Tyler, drones usually chaperone me." Monica quipped, cracking a smile.

I snorted. "You got that right."

"I get it." Tyler chimed in.

"Look if this is because of..." Monica trailed off, not daring to finish her sentence. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm good."

Hayward grimaced. "There's no easy way to say this, but you're grounded."

Yikes...I understood why he was doing it. It was mom's policy. After the snap happened and half the people of the universe disappeared, mom created guidelines to ease those who vanished back into our work force. It was smart. Who knows what they'd be feeling, but I had no doubt they'd be confused, like Monica was when she first returned. They lost five years all in the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry, what?" Monica inquired.

"Terrestrial missions only." He clarified.

Monica chuckled. "You're kidding. For how long? Whose protocol is this?"

"Your mother's." He informed my sister, surprising her.

"I hate to admit it but he's right. Mom implemented guidelines in the event vanished personnel ever returned." I clarified.

"Look, I know it's a raw deal, but there is one positive takeaway." Hayward chimed in.

"What's that?" Monica asked.

"She believed you'd come back." Hayward pointed out.

Once again, he was right. Mom always believed she'd return and I used to...until mom died. Monica nodded. "I know. Mandy told me. And I know she also believed I'd return."

My heart clenched. Her words felt like a punch to the gut. If only she knew that I stopped believing a while ago...that is until recently when a second chance was given to bring them all back. So I merely gave Monica a smile, remaining silent.

"You'd be doing me a big favor with this F.B.I. thing, but if you need more time--" Hayward mentioned, returning to the subject at hand.

Monica immediately cut him off. "No, I'm good to go."

"Excellent." Hayward said, handing Monica a file. He then glanced over at me. "Mandy, since you're here, you can join your sister on this mission. Keep my updated, Captain, Commander."

Monica and I exchanged a smile. This would be our first mission together, and I was more than happy she was back and that we were spending time together. With that, we made our way to Jersey, meeting an F.B.I. agent on the outskirts of a town named Westview. We stood right by the sign that said: