MY TRIUMPHANT RETURN!

Let's just say the Captain America: Civil War trailer kickstarted my brain into Avengers fanfiction territory, and after putting this stupid story off for MONTHS, it's HERE!

Enjoy the successor to All Hallow's Eve, and if you see Midwinter's Eve, remember: No longer canon. This is the official canon sequel to All Hallow's.

Stephanie stared up at the sky, drearily watching as the rain pounded down around the tent. It was a less-than-pleasing sight, if she was completely honest; none of them had truly counted on the 10% chance of rain in the forecast to hit them square on.

"This sucks," Tasha said flatly, as she huddled in her blankets and stared at the rain as well. "Like, seriously sucks."

"You think we don't know that?" Nathan pointed out tartly.

"I'm just saying," Tasha said. "And this tent can only hold off so much of the moisture. It's gonna have to get through at some point. I knew we should've bought a new tent-"

"This one is perfectly fine and you know it!" Claire said, voice rising slightly. "We patched any holes with duct tape already! It's just fine!"

"Guys, quit arguing," Stephanie said finally. "Honestly. Acting like children again."

"Yes, Mom," the three chorused in ragged unison. She rolled her eyes and tugged her jacket closer. Was it just her, or had it shrunk in the wash recently?

"Look, we can't stay here," Brenda said finally. "We have to go find shelter. I can already feel rain hitting my shoulder."

"Seriously?" Claire sounded surprised now. The tent rustled a bit as she stood up and felt around the tent roof. "Huh. Will you look at that? We missed a spot."

"I told you so," Tasha said.

"Will you shaddap?"

"Guys! Enough! Stop arguing with each other!" Stephanie said, raising her voice slightly. "Let's just get our gear and hike out to find help. We're in farm country. We drove past one on our way in. Lori and Lena are at the car- they can hold it while we go get help. Now, c'mon."

They pulled on shoes and rain jackets in mostly silence. Someone said something to someone else, as was usual, that resulted in much punching and smacking of arms. She had to break that up; in the dark, it was impossible to tell who was doing what, so she settled for two stern shakes. "Knock it off," she ordered, as she stood up and stepped out of the tent.

The others followed. Brenda clicked on her flashlight and swept it over the forest. They were alone in the small clearing. It wasn't a comfortable feeling. Stephanie quickly lead the way back towards the farm she'd seen on their way in.

The trek was long, and cold. It was close to midnight, by Claire's watch; she despaired momentarily that no one would be awake. Then she brushed it aside. If no one was awake, they'd wake the owners up. Mean, but a necessity.

They emerged from the woods, all 5 of them, and stared at the picturesque farmhouse. "That is so adorable I want to vomit," Tasha said after a moment, sounding revolted. Nathan socked her in the arm.

Stephanie rolled her eyes, smiling, and pulled her hood up higher. It stretched- it really must've shrunk in the dryer, she thought briefly- and covered her face more. The humidity was still wreaking havoc on her straight blonde hair, though.

She reached the porch, and the others huddled behind her as she knocked. In the meantime, she pulled her hood down and tied her waist-length hair out of her face with a spare ponytail holder.

The door opened as she finished, and she dropped her hands back to her sides hastily. It was a woman at the door, hair brown and slightly curly, wearing a loose shirt and pants, barefoot. Voices drifted from the kitchen behind her.

"I'm sorry, are we interrupting something?" Stephanie asked in alarm.

"Oh, no, it's nothing. How can I help you?" the woman asked.

"I'm sorry," she said again, "but my friends and I were out camping, and the rain hit and the tent started leaking, so we tried to leave but the car's refusing to start. Could you possibly get us a jump so we can leave? I promise we won't take up too much of your time-"

"No, no, come in," the woman said kindly. "You're welcome to stay here and warm up. Let me get my husband- I'll be right back."

"Thank you," Brenda said gratefully as they shuffled in and huddled near the front door like ducklings.

Stephanie took a minute to look around. The house was cozy, inviting. The front door opened straight onto the stairs, with a doorway into what she guessed was the formal dining room to her left and the living room slash kitchen on her right. There were Legos on the floor and pictures in water colors decorating the walls. She admired them silently for a moment.

The woman returned, with a man behind her, looking over his shoulder so they couldn't see his face. "Honey, these kids were out camping and their car won't start- think you could give them a jump start?"

"Sure. Heck, I can give you a lift to your car," the man said as he turned.

Stephanie lost all the breath in her lungs.

Claire separated from the back of the group at the familiar voice and stepped around Stephanie. Her eyes were wide, her face pale. Her hands shook as she pulled her raincoat hood back.

Clint looked like he'd been hit with a 2-by-4.

"Claire?" he whispered, voice cracking.

Stephanie had two seconds to hear, "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk", quickly followed by, "You know, Romanoff-" and she was off.

Her feet pounded as she sprinted the 10 feet to the wall dividing the kitchen from the breakfast nook. Her heart was in her throat, ponytail swinging as she halted just at the corner. Someone had caught her footsteps, because it was silent, before a man called, "Clint? Everything all right?"

She swallowed, took a deep breath, and stepped solidly around the corner.

"Yeah," she said. "Better than all right."

Her eyes swept over the stunned faces. Natasha Romanoff sat at the table; Bruce Banner leaned against the wall behind her. Tony Stark stood in a doorway opposite her, mouth comically half open. Nicholas Fury sat at the head of the table.

And Steve Rogers stared as he leaned against the doorframe, just to Stephanie's left.

There was a flurry of movement behind her. Brenda skidded to a halt just to her right and behind her, a huge smile growing on her face. Tasha wasn't far behind.

"We're home," Stephanie whispered to the silent air, and the dam broke.

She found herself swept up in a bear hug, and hung on as tight as she could. Steve hugged her back hard enough to make her ribs creak; she didn't protest, only let her tears of joy run over and soak his shoulder as she sobbed.

He didn't let her go; it took him a full minute just to let her feet touch the ground again. She buried her head into his shoulder and refused to loosen her own grip on him.

To her right, Brenda had her arms securely wrapped around Bruce's waist and was resting her head on his chest. Her eyes were closed, while tears seeped out from under her lashes and ran down her cheeks. He seemed to be in a similar state to her; his cheek rested on the top of her head, and their hair, almost identically brown and curly, mixed perfectly.

Tasha, on the other hand, was gleefully and unashamedly pounding Tony on the back. He was grinning, too, ear to ear as he hauled her in for a quick squeeze of a hug and released her again. They, besides Nathan and Natasha, were the only ones who started talking right away, babbling a mile a minute.

Nathan and Natasha themselves, however, were a different story. Natasha rested a hand on his arm briefly and, after a low conversation, she smiled slightly. He returned it hesitantly, and she briefly hugged him before releasing and gesturing for him to sit beside her.

Claire came in, grinning ear to ear, one of Clint's arms around her shoulders. "We're BACK!" she yelled gleefully, quieting abruptly when Clint raised an eyebrow and pointed upstairs. She winced, but it was too late. The patter of footsteps caught all of their attention, and Stephanie twisted in Steve's grip just enough to free one eye to watch.

She wasn't expecting the shriek of glee that erupted from the kids when they saw Claire. The young girl threw herself at the older, and Claire scooped her up quickly, grinning widely as the boy hugged her waist.

"Daddy, look, Claire's home!" the girl crowed, unnecessarily.

"I know, sweetheart," Clint said with a wide grin.

Claire turned and spied Laura. She opened her other arm and gave the woman a half hug, since the girl was still clinging to her. "It's good to see you, Claire," she said warmly.

"Same to you," Claire said, and wiped her eyes briefly. "Geez it's good to be home..."

"Wait, you knew about this place?" Tasha asked in confusion.

Claire nodded. "Last time- after we sent those four back home- we went straight here." She grinned. "Didn't expect you to remember me, though, squirt. You were tiny last time I saw you!" -this to the girl in her arms.

"Was not," she countered.

"Was too," Claire said, and copied the way her nose scrunched up in distaste.

"Speaking of those four, where'd Lori and Lena go?" Stephanie said suddenly in alarm. She was still wrapped up in Steve's arms; neither of them seemed to want to let go.

"Good question," Nathan said briskly, folding his arms. "Anyone got a clue?"

Lena was absolutely confused.

Last she'd checked, she'd been in the woods near their car, in the dark and rain, and Lori had been just a few feet behind her. Now the rain was gone and, if she wasn't mistaken, the sun was out ahead. Moreover, Lori- when she checked- was gone.

She broke clear of the tree cover and came to a complete halt, absolutely gobsmacked. This was NOT the parking lot they'd parked in.

No. This was a university campus... and the sign nearest her read 'CAMBRIDGE' in big letters.

Her heart went double-time abruptly. On reflex, she checked behind her- no Lori in sight. She didn't expect to see the other girl, though- if she was where she thought she was.

She started walking on the sidewalk nearest her location, watching for pedestrians and cars alike. The campus was large, beautiful, and lively; she admired her surroundings as she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and kept her head on a swivel.

A building nearby caught her attention; she almost tripped and fell. It was the building- the one from the movie.

Heart racing, she changed courses and made her way towards it. Her vision tunneled- that's probably why she didn't see the pair of boys that jostled her and spun her around.

"Watch where you're going!" one called angrily.

"Sorry!" she called back, and almost choked. The accent was back- "Shakespeare in the park".

She took two more steps backwards and thumped her back into someone. Whoever it was didn't stagger an inch. The two turned at the same time, an apology already bubbling out of her lips-

It died, inches from her tongue. Her mouth went dry.

Thor stared at her, from under his black hoodie, as if he could see deep into her soul. "Are you all right?" he asked.

He didn't recognize her, she realized.

Both hands came up and flung her hood back as hard as she could. Blonde hair- more brown than Stephanie's golden- spilled over her shoulders.

Thor looked like he'd been poleaxed.

She flung her arms around him at the same moment that he hauled her in for a bone-crushing hug. "Lena," he murmured softly, "you're back?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"I believe we all are," she whispered into his hoodie. "We were camping- Lori and I went to see about the car, because it would not start. I walked out of the woods and found myself here."

A bell rang in the distance, signaling the end of classes. Thor quickly looked around and released her. "Do you know what is going on?" he asked, voice rumbling low in his chest.

She started. So he remembered that they knew the plotline of the movie they were in.

"Yeeeees," she said slowly. "You are here to speak to Eric Selvig. About the things you saw- with the Maximoff girl." She would have said Wanda, but she knew the plotline and he didn't. She didn't want to give anything away.

"Aye," he said. "I have reason to believe that Eric knows where the Water of Sight is. If he does indeed know, it should return me to my vision to see what I viewed once more."

"It is dangerous," she said quietly, looking at him calmly as she pulled her hood back up to rest on the crown of her head.

"But it is necessary," he returned. "And you shall not join me."

She opened her mouth to protest, then paused and closed it again. "You are right," she said finally. "I did not see what you saw. There is no predicting what I could see."

A smile quirked across his face as he nodded. "You are wise," he said, and turned as Eric Selvig walked down the steps to the building.

"I like the look. If you're going for inconspicuous, though, near miss." Eric called once he was in earshot.

Thor smiled slightly. "I need your help," he said, as he opened the car door and got in the front passenger seat. Lena opened the back and swung in first, waiting as Thor got in and Eric took the wheel. He looked in the back and started.

"You're Lena, aren't you? The girl who takes after Thor. I thought you vanished completely, a few weeks after the battle of New York." To his credit, he didn't flinch.

"I did," she said calmly. "It is a rather lengthy story. One that I do not believe we have time for as of late."

"Ah, of course," Eric said, and turned the car on. "What do you need to know?"