The Captain's Husband

59. Shadow of an Aura (Ana)

"He okay?" Carol asks as I walk back over to her, pulling my hair up into a ponytail along the way.

"No, but he's better," I tell her.

She nods.

"When you went outside, your mom went upstairs," she tells me as I sit down across from her. "She went up to the shooting range, said she needed to shut her brain off for a while."

"What about you?" I ask her.

She shrugs, "I'm doing okay. My best friend and her daughter are safe. They're waiting for me to tell them everything is all right, that the world isn't in danger. The thing is, I don't know when that will be. I've fought monsters like Thanos before, and they were easy to bring to their knees, but Thanos? He's cautious, cold, and calculated. He's mad, sure, but he's also brilliant, and somewhere in that head of his, he's convinced himself that wiping out half of existing life in the universe is the answer to his problems. He's egotistic, far from utilitarian, and believes that he has the power of God. I don't know if God is real, but I do know that fucking up the fabric of life and ultimately reality is unwise, and it certainly isn't God's will if there even is one."

"I was raised to believe that there's a higher power, and that even though they've designed my path for me, they haven't given me the handbook to life's greatest decisions," I tell her softly. "I have to allow others the freedom of their choice, and I have to believe in myself. Without that belief, I'm nothing, and I'm powerless. I can't do anything if I don't have faith in myself, and it never hurts to try if I believe that what I'm doing is the best option for all of us."

"You sound like your father," she smiles.

I nod, smiling as I say, "That's what Mom and Dot tell me all the time. Pops said I reminded him of Dad when he was younger - recklessly uninhibited by the doubters, radiating a profound sense of justice, always fighting, never stopping to breathe."

"I grew up hearing and reading stories about your fathers," Carol tells me. "I'm far from disappointed. The men live up to the legends. But, I am disappointed that I only had the chance to meet one. Granted, he's Captain America, but there's something about Bucky Barnes, Captain America's right-hand man turned Winter Soldier, that is hard to walk away from. He's got more spirit and more fight than your dad."

I grin, "That's hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Not to me, it isn't," Uncle Tony says as he walks over, resting his hands on my shoulders. "Your Dad's more vocal, more direct actually. Your Pops is more reserved, calculated, exact. You Dad will hit where it hurts, sure, but your Pops will make every single attack one of the hardest to overcome. Put them together in combat, or even in an argument, and they're unstoppable. They feed off of each other."

"They're quite remarkable on their own," Carol says, "But like your Uncle Tony said - together they're unstoppable."

A chill runs down my spine.

I wonder...

"So, Carol," Uncle Tony says, "Do you have any idea what we can do to take this war to Thanos? Or if there's a way we can bring everyone home?"

...did Thanos Take Papa Bear and Dot and my siblings away because our family is that much stronger when we're together?

"Master Stark, I hate to interrupt your conversation, but you have an incoming call from Agent Barton," Jarvis chirps.

The thought leaves my mind, and it goes right into a box to be dealt with later on.

We all jump to our feet, and Uncle Tony runs back to his workstation in the lab, saying, "Answer, Jarvis! Answer, answer, answer!"

"Stark?" Uncle Clint asks.

"Here," Uncle Tony says.

"I'm on my way back to the compound," Uncle Clint tells him. "Laura and the kids are gone. Can't believe that bastard took my sister and her kids from me. One good thing out of all of this bullshit, though, is that a few of our pals from the Guardians of the Galaxy managed to make contact with me. Not sure why they didn't call you, but they're on their way to Earth. Thanos wiped out most of them and the Ravagers, and they're pissed."

"They can get in line," Mom sighs, casually spinning a knife between her fingers.

That thought from a moment ago comes back to me, and I find myself standing up and turning to leave.

"Everything okay?" Carol asks softly.

"Yeah, I just, I need a moment," I tell her.

A moment later, I find myself standing in the middle of the lawn outside of the compound, looking up at the sky.

There must be another reason.

Thanos wants my head.

Jarvis said I'll be able to overpower and defeat Thanos with the help of my parents, siblings, and the other Avengers - my family.

Taking them away has to mean something.

I feel like I can defeat Thanos without them...but, I feel stronger when they're with me.

He has to know that I'm capable of killing him, especially now that Carol is here.

She's moved entire planets, liberated trillions, and fought literal gods and won.

And Adam?

He's Warlock - a cosmic being with superhuman strength, speed, durability, stamina, agility, the ability to manipulate cosmic energy for energy projection, flight, regeneration, immortality, quantum magic, quantum energy manipulation, teleportation, can travel faster than light, the ability to resurrect himself and others via transmutation, supreme cosmic awareness, and is an astral outsider.

Adam also possessed the soul gem, before Thanos took it from him.

He's mentioned some strange place before.

Maybe it's the Soul World?

Sounds familiar.

Maybe that's what it is.

Strange would be able to help me, and so would Adam, but he's busy talking Dad down from a panic attack, so I'm on my own for the time being.

God, why the hell is this so frustrating?

My family is gone, and I've been told since birth that I'm the key to defeating Thanos.

I don't know what that means.

I don't know what I need to do.

There isn't a handbook, just my training and my life experiences.

I'm supposed to have all of these powers, do all of these things, but I'm lost.

My powers were triggered my trauma.

If anything, what happened today should have triggered the rest of my abilities and they should have surfaced by now.

But they haven't.

I take a deep breath and sit down on the grass, closing my eyes as the breeze passes over me.

Like Pops said - just keep breathing, just keep fighting.

I relax my body, letting my mind wander as I tap into the energy of the world around me.

I can feel Mom, Dad, Uncle Tony, Uncle Bruce, Carol, Brookie, Uncle Rhodey, and Uncle Thor's auras.

I push past the compound, expanding my range out into the world, searching for another familiar aura or energy signature.

If I want answers, then that means that I need to find Thanos or find my family.

Let's get to work.