The Widow's Daughter ✔︎

Chapter Twenty-Three

Thor flew us back to the Avengers Tower on the Bifrost, a rainbow bridge connecting the Nine Worlds which he could summon by raising his hammer into the air and shouting something. I heckled him with questions as soon as we touched down on the grass of the Avengers lawn. "So, can I do that too? Because I can wield your hammer?" I asked.

Thor looked at me, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Probably not, small mortal," he said. "You're not an Odinsson, or a god, for that matter."

"Hot diggity god, if I can wield your hammer, does that mean I'm worthy to rule Asgard?"

Thor looked horrified for a moment and was about to answer, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by Ben's excited squeal. 

"I'm in the Avengers Tower!" he yelled, running with his arms out and making aeroplane noises around in the lawn, laughing whenever he saw the massive looming structure. "I'm friends with the Avengers! This is the best day of my life!"

Evie laughed and hoisted him up onto her shoulders, Tina joining her and then moving off to talk to Bruce. Tony raised his eyebrows at the two but didn't say anything. The other Avengers started to head inside. Peter grinned at me. "We're home," he said.

I looked at him. "Huh? Where do you even live?"

"Well, when I'm not here, I live with my Aunt May in Forest Hills, Queens."

"Is she nice? Your aunt, I mean," I asked him.

Peter smiled. "She's the best. Every Friday she takes me out for Larb at our favourite Thai restaurant."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Larb? What in the nine hells is Larb?"

Peter grinned and poked me in the arm. "Larb's Larb. It's very Larby."

"OK, weirdo. When this is all over you'll have to take me to that Larb restaurant. I'm curious to see what it is." I laughed, then stopped, realising that I had pretty much just told him to take me out on a date. I blushed and said awkwardly, running my hand through my hair, "I mean, you don't have to. Larb sounds cool... uh, so does May. Um. Yeah, that was a bad idea. Just forget it..."

I began to move off to run to Nat and vent about what had just happened, when Peter grabbed my wrists. Or rather, sprayed them with his weird spider-goo. "I'd love to take you out to eat some Larb," he said. "You'll like May too. You guys are very alike. Also my friend Ned: but he'll probably just try to flirt with you or play Star Wars Lego or something, so that'll probably suck." He flushed.

"I like Lego," I said, smiling positively, trying not to remember the time when Emery had broken my Lego castle when I was eleven and I'd almost thrown him out of the window. "And Star Wars is cool."

"Good!" Peter smiled. "Then, I guess... it's a date?"

I beamed. "Sure. When this is all over, of course. After we've found Holly and the mysterious kidnapping guy and saved the world. Then we'll go and eat Larb and play Star Wars Lego with your flirty friend Ned." I nudged him. "Weirdo."

"British Bombshell." He elbowed me back.

"Hey!" Nat yelled from where she was standing talking to Tony at the steps that led up into the tower. "My daughter doesn't like to be called that! Call her that again and you'll wish you were never born!"

"Her daughter??" Peter looked at me, amazed.

I nodded and ran up to join Nat. She put her arm around me and we started to walk inside. "It's good to have a mum again." I said.

"Good to have a kid," Nat laughed, looking happier I'd ever seen her before. "Even though I have no idea with what to do with you." She looked at my red face and at Peter's and smirked at me. "What happened?"

I blushed and untangled myself from her arms. "Um. I think I just got asked out?"

"By little spider-boy?" She looked amused.

"I'm not a boy, I'm a man!" Peter complained. He high-fived Ben and called out, "Kira, I gotta go give this little guy a tour... See you later?"

"Yep," I called back. "I'll... be in the living room, discussing how to save the world from myself and an evil psychopath."

I watched Peter and Ben leave. "Go figure," Evie said, appearing by my side. She grinned at me. "We're doomed, you know that, right?"

"Not entirely," I said. "You have cool gifts. I have cool gifts. Our sister has cool gifts. We're very much gifted. And very cool."

"And clearly very good at giving motivational speeches," Evie said sarcastically, smiling at Tony, who was striding alongside us. We kept on walking in silence until we reached the living room, which was chock-full with the Avengers in their respective seats at the table. "Woah," Evie remarked, looking around in awe. "Is this where you guys decide how to destroy bad guys?"

"Something like that," Steve chuckled. He glanced at me and then back to Evie. "You girls are really alike. I know you're twins and all, with a mysterious triplet out there somewhere, but seriously. You two are both sides of the same coin."

Evie smiled gently at him and smirked at me. "Kira's the evil triplet, obviously. I'm the angel, and Holly... well, from what we've heard so far, she's got to be the serious, dedicated one, right?"

"Hey! I'm serious and dedicated!" I protested, sinking into my seat next to Nat and Steve. Evie sat down next to Tina opposite me. 

Clint coughed. I scowled at him. We sat there joking around for awhile, Nat teasing me mercilessly about Peter, the argument ending with me giving her puppy-dog eyes and resting my head against her shoulder. Steve and Thor arm-wrestled, resulting with two broken lights and many jam jars thrown. Evie and Wanda played Tic-Tac-Toe and Tina gave motherhood tips to Nat. Bruce had disappeared. I was about to ask where he was until he returned, flanked by S.H.I.E.L.D agents dressed in black, his expression dark and serious.

The table silenced. The quiet was so tense you could have broken it with a knife. The entire Avengers collective held their breath, waiting for Bruce to speak.

When he didn't say anything, Tony spoke up. "What is it, Banner? What happened?"

"It's Tori," he said finally, his dark eyes, usually bright with wisdom and laughter, dull and sunken. He looked at me and Evie for a long moment, finally saying, his voice low and full of sorrow, "She's dead."