Retribution ★ Avengers

Keep Calm, Carry On

★ ★ ★

The house was quiet, much quieter than it usually was. Bucky had left for Wakanda three nights prior, while Greyson and Mason had taken the twins back to Greyson's house. Marlena stared at the suitcase sitting in front of her on the floor and let out a sigh. She stood up, shoving the plane ticket she'd purchased the previous night into her bag. Her flight was leaving in about two hours, and although she was more than ecstatic to take what a normal person would call a "vacation," she was actually quite terrified of the information she would be leaving with.

There was no doubt in Marlena's mind that Wanda would be able to tell her what was going on with her, and she was okay with the thought of whatever it could be; she could deal with it. What she wasn't okay with, however, was what that knowledge would do to her daughter. The last thing she wanted for either of her kids was the life she and Bucky had been forced to live so many years ago. Since the two of them had been born, she'd been working so diligently on trying to protect them from the life of a superhuman, but as it turned out, that life for them was only inevitable. Marlena only wished she'd been able to realize it sooner.

Marlena grabbed her suitcase, her carry-on, and her purse. She made her way out of the large two-story house, unsure of when she would be able to return. She was going to do whatever she had to do to make sure that her daughter remained as safe as possible from the developing abilities that now plagued her three-year-old body. Charlie was much too young to deal with such a strong burden, and the last thing Marlena wanted was to witness her daughter going through the pain she'd gone through herself just several years prior.

About an hour later, Marlena was waiting patiently for her flight to be called. She figured they would've been called to board already, but that wasn't the case, and she was becoming very impatient because of it. She was the only one that seemed to be bothered as well, but she figured that was because she had a very specific and dire need to be on the plane and in the air. She could not, however, speak for the rest of the passengers, though. There was also the possibility they had much better patience than the brunette did.

With a sigh, Marlena pulled her phone from her bag, but stopped the moment she heard a voice over the intercom.

"This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 1917A to Edinburgh," the voice spoke. "We invite our blue-ticket passengers to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready."

Marlena got up from her seat without hesitation. She grabbed her luggage and hurried over to the desk to show the clerk her identification and boarding pass. The woman at the desk simply nodded and gestured Marlena through the doors. The young brunette scurried through the hallway and into the gangway, only stopping when she heard the door shut loudly behind her. She spun around, shocked to find that there was not a single passenger following behind her, and immediately she found herself in defense mode. She released the hold she had on her luggage and allowed her shoulder bag to fall to the floor. Marlena proceeded ahead carefully, unaware of exactly what she had just gotten herself into.

Numerous voices could be heard as she neared the plane, but she was still too far away to make them out. She could hear many voices inside her head as well, but there was a convenient mix between those on the plane, those inside the terminal, and those working on the tarmac. It only made the situation so much more complicated for the brunette, but she didn't back down.

With the glowing blue of her hands at her side, Marlena cautiously made her way onto the plane. The moment she stepped onto the aircraft she was met with more shock, but quite a bit of relief. The bearded man standing in front of her was not a threat, but a friend, a friend she was not expecting to see. He was dressed head-to-toe in his uniform, which only indicated to her that something was wrong, and looking past him only helped to confirm that. Natasha and Sam were also present, both of them in their uniforms as well.

"What the hell is going on?" Marlena questioned her teammates.

"We need you to come in," Steve said to her.

Marlena ran a hand through her hair and raised a brow. "You couldn't have called?"

Steve followed Marlena as she hurried back into the gangway to grab her bags. He grabbed her suitcase, while she grabbed her carry-on and shoulder bag, and together the two headed back onto the quinjet disguised as a civilian aircraft.

"Anyway," Marlena started. "I can't come in, I'm supposed to be going to Edinburgh to see Wanda. I have something important I need to discuss with her."

"It's a good thing that's where we're going," Sam chimed in.

Marlena looked over at him, worry etched onto her face. She knew something was wrong, and that had worried her to begin with, but to think there was something wrong with Wanda worried her a tremendous amount more. "Why? What happened?"

"It's what's about to happen, Mar," Natasha spoke.

"What are you talking about?"

"We're talking about the fate of the universe, Marlena," Steve answered her. "Bruce called."

"Bruce?" Marlena was surprised to hear the name. "Bruce Banner?"

Steve nodded his head. "The hunt for the infinity stones has begun, and right now the only one we know how to protect belongs with Vision."

"So what does this mean?" Marlena questioned. She could tell whatever was about to happen was going to be something she and the team had never faced before, but she wasn't sure to what extent it would reach, and her fear of the unknown bothered her terribly.

"It means an ugly fight," Sam answered.

"My initial plan was to leave you out of this, especially considering what's going on with Charlie, but the fear in Banner's voice gave me everything I needed to know we couldn't do this without you," Steve said to her.

"We need you," Natasha stepped forward and grabbed Marlena's hand. "We're all very capable combatants, and you know we will do whatever we can to protect this planet and its people, but we need you, Marlena—you, Wanda, and Vision."

"Yeah, so c'mon, Claire."

Sam smirked and held out the dull blue fabric she knew to be her suit.

Marlena shook her head and slowly reached out to grab it, her gaze falling upon her teammates, the teammates she had been denying for years. "We won't win this because of me, Wanda, and Vision; it doesn't matter if we have no idea what we're up against; it doesn't even matter what we're up against; all that matters is that we're together, and we'll win this together. We're the Avengers. There's nothing we can't do as long as we're together."

Steve couldn't help but smile at Marlena. She'd never once referred to herself as an Avenger, despite the years she'd spent fighting alongside the team, so to hear the words finally come out of her mouth made him exceedingly happy. "There's never been a time where I knew we couldn't count on you."

"You're my family," Marlena smiled softly, "and I'll never turn my back on my family."

The Avengers were without a doubt Marlena's family, regardless of how discombobulated they all were. They'd been some of the most important people in her life for years, but there were several more that had been added to the equation. Her children, her brother, and the man she called her stepdad—they were all she had left of the family she'd lost so long ago, and there was nothing she wouldn't do to protect a single one of them. She would fight for them if it meant they couldn't fight for themselves, and she would do so no matter the outcome.