When Time Collides ★ [2] ✔

Safe House

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is."

Night had fallen. We flew high in the clouds. Silence cut through the atmosphere, and it was all that spoke.

I sat next to Clint in the cockpit, hugging my knees close to my chest, as Hill read out the damage report.

The team was broken. We were in tatters. We were an emotional mess. The stunt in Johannesburg left a rather large stain on the Avengers' record. We were hated now. We were fugitives.

The Maximoff witch had gotten to us. Only Clint, Tony and I got off unscathed. But it hurt to look at the rest of the team.

They looked so...lost, staring off into their own little worlds. Poor Bruce looked the worst, huddled on the floor, cowering into his coat. He'd taken the brunt of the witch's mind control magic, destroying most of Johannesburg with the help of Stark's Hulkbuster armour. Thor paced, wringing his hands uneasily. Nat was gone, lost in her thoughts, staring at the wall and trembling. 

Steve closed his eyes and gnawed his lip. He hadn't looked at me once since I found him and helped him and Thor back to the quinjet. I had no idea what the witch had shown him, but it had really gotten to him. And it was eating him from the inside. It worried me.

"There's been no official call for Banner's arrest," Hill continued, "but it's in the air."

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony mentioned.

"Already on the scene." And then Hill asked the big question. "How's the team?"

Tony swallowed. "Everyone's..." He sighed. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well, for now I'd stay in stealth mode," Hill advised. "And stay away from here."

"So, run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I..." She sighed with a shake of her head. "...I don't have a lot else to offer."

Tony breathed, disappointed. "Neither do we."

And then he switched Hill off.

I rested my chin on my knees. What were we going to do now? We couldn't go home. We were on the run. And we were in no shape for another fight. For the first time in a long time, I...I didn't know what our next step was.