Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time

2007

So tonight I'm gonna party like it's nineteen ninety-nine!

NEW YORK CITY

"You know the party is inside, right?"

His words had clearly startled her, but that melted away once she realized who it was and she gave him small smile that never quite reached her eyes; the running trend with every single emotion she'd ever expressed. He'd once tried to figure out how a lively person like himself could produce a daughter with such permanent melancholy, but he'd pushed those thoughts away before they could reveal the uncomfortable truth.

"It's not really a party," she pointed out, turning back to her previous position with her hands on the balcony rail "It's just a rehearsal dinner."

"There's dancing and booze. It's a party," her father replied, taking the few steps to stand next to her; the pair quiet for a moment before he spoke again "You're nervous."

"I guess," she replied, shrugging slightly as if tomorrow wasn't one of the biggest days of her life "It doesn't feel real."

"How do you think I feel? I'm way too young to have a daughter who's getting married," he said, his voice split between serious and joking. The lack of vocal response from the woman next to him was expected, but he didn't notice the way her eyes changed from looking out at the expanse of the city in front of them to a sharp upward motion of annoyance.

Again, it was quiet between the two of them as they both opted to focus on the glowing skyscrapers instead of each other; neither of them were quite sure what to say, but that wasn't anything special. They'd been that way with one another for a very long time.

"Can I come out here?"

The pair turned to look at the much smaller person that stood in the doorway as she looked apprehensively out at the balcony. Almost simultaneously, the two adults softened into their own versions of sweet smiles for the child who stood in front of them; they were two very different people, but the one thing they always had in common was how deeply they loved the youngest member of their little family.

"Course, Munchkin," her father said, scooting so she could stand between the two adults "Don't have to ask. We're too rich to ask if we can do things or not. We just do it."

"Don't listen to him," the woman replied, her annoyance relaxing back into a smile for her younger sister, but not before it was received by her father "What's up?"

"It's loud in there," she said with a shrug "And I don't know anybody."

"Well, don't worry; there will be more people you know tomorrow."

Maybe it was the slight pause before it, or the wobbly way it came out, but something in the last word of the sentence inspired the younger sister to voice the question that seemed to be on everyone's minds.

"Are you nervous?"

The father made a sound around the sip he was taking from his glass of scotch and he spoke before his daughter could answer the question that had been directed at her.

"See? Even she noticed."

"Nerves are normal," the eldest replied, a slight edge to her voice now "Everybody gets them before their wedding."

"Sure, sure," he replied incredulously before silence fell over the small family, but not in a way that inspired awkwardness; their attentions were too captivated for them to feel weird about the fact they were all standing there without saying anything. But, what they had no way of knowing was that none of them were interested in the same thing.

The father was looking at the city below them; all of the sparkling lights catching his half-drunk fancy. But, it wasn't just the expansive city landscape that interested him, no, he was looking at something far more specific than that. His eyes focused in on a familiar building that wasn't the tallest in the city, but also wasn't your average high-rise either. If you knew nothing about him, you would wonder why that particular structure held his attention, but most people did know at least something about him and they knew that building was his own.

The younger sister who was barely peeping over the edge of the rail, on the other hand, wasn't focusing on any part of the city. Seemingly the shine of New York didn't grab her attention the way it did for so many others. Maybe this was because she'd lived here for a while or she was used to decadence. But, maybe it was because there was something that was far more interesting to her. Her eyes were cast out as far as she could see, out to the place where the bright city met the dark sky. The horizon had a tendency to pull her in, no matter the circumstances, and tonight was no exception.

Finally, the eldest daughter, whose eyes were on something completely unlike that of her father's and sister's fixations.

"You know," Tony Stark said suddenly, his words far more contemplative than they had been before "You could say you don't feel good and we could just take off. Forget all these people and pretend like you aren't supposed to get married tomorrow."

"That would be fun," Maria Stark said with a small smile "We could drive away like they do in movies."

"Please," Theresa Stark replied, a sarcastic tinge to her words as her eyes never left the stars that shined above them "Where would we go?"

2018

SPACE

"Where are we going?"

The question that broke the silence was asked by the timid (but growing more confident every day) young woman who sat in one of the seats in the front. The response was varied throughout the cockpit; it ranged from cluelessness (the other woman in the front seats and the man that sat in the very back), sheepish (one of the men in the center piloting seats), irritation (the other one in the center), and complete disinterest (the woman and the teenager in the back).

"Oh, you know, somewhere that has a job, a-a good paying one too! Lots of units coming our way once we get there." And, in a second, those words made it stunningly clear why the man in the center had seemed sheepish.

"You have no idea where we're going, do ya, Quill?"

"No, of course I do, it's just not that interesting of a name and-." Before he could even finish that obvious lie, everyone else in the cockpit interrupted him in one way or another; some with groans, other with mutters, but all equally disparaging "Well, I don't see the rest of you coming up with any jobs!"

"I said we oughta go to Contraxia! But, noooo. Since Peter Quill thinks we should head in the opposite direction, we head in the opposite direction, even though there ain't no paying job to be had this way!"

"I'm the Captain, Rocket! This is my ship! I get to decide where we go!" Peter replied, getting riled now too.

"Well, then maybe we need a new captain. How does a mutiny sound to the rest of you?" Rocket exploded back, his eyes never leaving Peter as he glared.

"We're not having a mutiny, Rocket," the only voice of reason stated, her eyes flicking up to the ceiling as if some god would appear and explain to her why she put up with these people.

"Well, then we'll jettison you too, Gamora," Rocket replied with a snarl, finally moving to look at someone else "Drax, you in?"

"There is a lack of honor in so quickly turning on our friends even though they have been by our sides for many years," Drax replied sagely.

"I'll give you some of my Krylorian beer stash."

"Your tyranny cannot be suffered any longer, Quill."

As Peter scoffed in outrage at how easily Drax was bought, the young woman who had started this whole conversation spoke up again.

"What is mutiny?"

"It's where we rise up and take what's ours," Rocket replied, Peter sputtering in indignation.

"No, no, that's not what mutiny is, Mantis," he said "It's where you turn on your dear friend because you're a little bitch who's in a bad mood. It's being a traitor."

"That sounds fun," Mantis giggled "I would like to be a little bitch traitor."

"That's a bad thing!" Peter exclaimed as he watched the situation get more and more out of hand.

"Groot, how about you?" Rocket asked, the teenager not even raising his eyes from the gaming device in his hands.

"I am Groot."

"Well, stop playing that thing and pay attention!" Peter replied hysterically "Rocket is trying to start a mutiny against me, like a complete jerk."

"I am Groot?"

"Yes, Groot, you can have a viewing pad in your room if we overthrow Quill," Rocket said with a smug smile at Peter, who once again sputtered before getting himself together enough to form a coherent response.

"I-I was not the only one who said he couldn't have that!" He said, his eyes never leaving Rocket as he called to the woman who sat behind the not-raccoon "Tessa, back me up!"

…

"Tessa?!"

…

Both Peter and Rocket broke at the same time to look back at the woman who almost always had a snappy retort ready, but instead of finding her laughing or scoffing like she always did at all the ridiculous arguments the ragtag group got into, her brow was furrowed as she slumped in her seat. In fact, it became clear she hadn't been listening to anything that had been said; her eyes focusing on nothing as she listened to whatever was playing through her personal speakers.

"Tess?" Rocket asked, taking a complete 180 from not a minute ago as he recognized the serious expression on her face as being completely genuine (and very worrying because of it). The normally jovial woman looked downright somber as she pulled the speakers from her ears and mussed her bobbed blonde hair in the process, although she made no move to fix it. It was clear that whatever was going on took precedence over her physical appearance "Tessa, what's wrong?"

"It was hard to clear up the static and stuff, but…" Tessa mumbled before she cleared her throat, for the first time indicating that she could hear what they were saying "Listen to this."

She tapped a few times on her display and before anyone could ask what she was doing, a message played for all of them to hear.

"This is the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman. We are under assault. I repeat, we are under assault Engines are dead. Life support failing. Requesting aid from any vessel within range. Our crew is made up of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here. This is not a warcraft. I repeat, this is NOT a warcraft."

IRELAND

If anyone was to look, she would've appeared like any other person in the city or, at least, that was the hope. There wasn't much she could do about her facial features short of actual plastic surgery (which wasn't something she would ever even consider) and a change of hair color could only alter so much about her features. It had been necessary for her to take up a different look, just as everyone else had, but she'd found that the red hair was actually kind of nice even if she hadn't had much of a choice in the matter.

Given the fact that the streets were empty and the darkness allowed her some shroud, she wasn't that worried about being recognized right now. But, that didn't stop herself from checking her flip phone for what felt like the 100th time in ten minutes. He wasn't late, it was just that, well… she just couldn't help but be jumpy.

She did another quick cursory look around the square she stood in. They'd scoped out the place weeks in advance and there was nothing to be worry about in terms of cameras, it was just something she'd become accustomed to doing. A few years ago (and what felt like lifetimes) she'd been told that looking over her shoulder needed to become a second nature. Well, for better or worse, it had and she found herself acting like the very spy that had said that to her.

She sensed the familiar energy before she saw him and when he spoke, she wasn't startled at all, even though she was facing away.

"Wanda?"

She turned with familiar but wary eyes and gave him a small smile as a greeting. He looked very different from the last time she'd seen him, but it wasn't hard to recognize him, even if she was just going off of the connection between the power at her fingertips and their source in his head.

"Hello, Viz."

For a moment it was quiet between the pair. It had taken two years for Vision to decide to reach out and find a way to communicate to the members of the Avengers that he wished to see them. Even then, it had taken time for them to accept the fact that he just wanted to know how they were doing and meant no harm. But, all of that work had culminated on this day and now it seemed that neither of them knew what to say.

"You look well," Vision finally managed hesitantly, Wanda nodding slightly.

"You too," she said before smiling a bit wider "If a little different."

Vision chuckled slightly at the comment and lifted his hands slightly as recognition of his current physical appearance. The device that hid his true form behind the veil of a human man was likely not created for him to have secret meetings with fugitives, but he used it now anyway.

"I thought some discretion was necessary," he said simply, Wanda nodding in agreement.

"Good thought," she said before turning her body slightly "Would you like to sit down?"

"Ah, yes," Vision said, only stumbling over his words for a moment before he agreed; the pair taking a seat at the closed café's outdoor tables and allowing the silence to go on just a little bit too long. It wasn't either of their faults, honestly; after everything that had happened two years ago and all of the time that had past, what was there to say now? What could they say?

"How—." Vision only stuttered slightly on the word "How is everyone?

"They are—." This time, there was a truly noticeable pause before Wanda gathered her thoughts enough to give an answer, although it was not exactly comprehensive "Well. They are all well."

"That's good," Vision said, just as awkward in his delivery as she was "I… I heard some whispers when I was trying to find you all. That attempted attack in Johannesburg…"

The question went unasked, but it was clear in his voice that he was wondering. Wanda weighed her options for a moment before deciding there was no real threat in allowing him this information.

"Yes, that was us," she confirmed "We are just trying to help."

"You are," Vision replied, clearly trying to show his stance more than assure her of the good in their actions; she already knew what they were doing was right "You saved many people's lives."

"It's our job," Wanda said simply, no room for adjustment or arguing; just the facts.

Vision nodded even though she wasn't looking for any response in particular before they both fell to silence again.

"How…?" He stumbled over his own question before he attempted to push onwards "How are Pietro and—?"

"They are good," Wanda finally said, cutting his statement short "They are both doing very well. We… We are happy, Viz."

"That is very good," Vision said, his voice and expression genuine enough for Wanda to relax slightly. Although they had all been suspicious behind the reasons he'd gotten into contact with them (how could they not? This was the perfect setup for a trap), his actual interactions with her felt very real, like he truly wanted to know how they were fairing. It seemed that their decision to trust him (somewhat) and send Wanda to meet with him had been the right one.

And, sure, it was a little awkward right now. How could it not be after everything that had happened two years ago? It was an honest shock that Vision wanted to see them again and he was undoubtedly surprised that they were willing after what they'd been through because of the Accords he'd fought for. But, all of that didn't seem unfixable now and it slowly seemed to be repairing itself. There were many questions still to be asked— how each member of their team was doing for one— and issues to deal with, but they would get to that. It would just take some time. They just needed to give it time.

But, it seemed that time wasn't on their side.

Wanda felt it in her bones before anything else. She felt the shift in the air and the crackle in her fingertips as it sensed something new. Something completely alien.

Before she could truly quantify this or say anything, Vision cried out in pain; a signal that it wasn't all in her head. She stood as both her eyes and other senses searched the area to find the source of whatever was happening right now. Whatever was causing the stone in Vision's head—the one that had given her the abilities that hissed at her nails currently—to sear in his mind couldn't be anything good.

"Are you alright?" She asked, holding her hand out towards him without looking as her eyes danced around the dark square in search of the cause "Vis—?"

Now, it was Wanda's turn to cry out of pain, but also in shock as a hard force rammed against her side and sent her flying into one of the buildings that surrounded them. The softest of whimpers left her mouth as she raised her head and, through her fuzzy and double perspective, she saw how Vision was being attacked by two people that didn't look human at all.

Although the side that had been thrown into the brick screamed at her, Wanda pushed herself up and raised her hand; the red around her fingers suddenly shooting outwards and flinging the unknown away from where they'd had Vision pinned with something digging into his head. Then she sent a powerful blast into the other and sent them backwards into a building. The young woman staggered to her feet and grabbed Vision by the arm; hefting him up so the two of them could begin to stumble away.

Whatever had been done to Vision had caused his disguise to drop and was clearly taking a real toll on him. As the pair entered a train terminal, he fell to the ground.

"Wanda," he said through labored breathing "Go."

"No," she replied, conviction to stay and hurt that he'd even suggested it in her tone in equal measure "I'm not leaving you here."

"You have to," Vision replied, Wanda shaking her head vehemently as the red energy began to appear around her fingertips "Wanda, there are two of them, you—."

Before he could finish the sentence, the attackers appeared again, and now that she had a clear head she could fully take in how they looked. They were undoubtedly otherworldly and although she didn't know what they could do, she steeled herself for a fight. She couldn't just leave Vision behind; she would never do that to somebody and, even if she could, she wouldn't let whoever these people were get their hands on the power in his head.

For a moment, all of them were tense as they sensed that none of the others were willing to back down; the only sound interrupting their standoff was that of a train that rattled across the track behind Wanda and Vision and only once it was gone did any of them move.

For a moment, Wanda wondered if the way the two aliens had turned their eyes to something behind her was a childish distraction tactic, but then she felt it. The softest of brushes against her mind.

She knew she wasn't alone.

She didn't even attempt to stop the spear that flew past her and Vision, she knew she didn't have to. She knew it would be caught.

It seemed that from every dark corner of the terminal appeared an ally; behind them, Steve Rogers stalked out of the shadows, above, Sam Wilson swooped down to land a kick on one of their attackers, and in front of them seemed to materialize Natasha Romanov with death in her eyes. The aliens didn't stand a chance.

Especially when the last two appeared.

The arrival of one was heralded by wind rustling Wanda's hair and blue streaks of light surrounding one of the foes until he was completely thrown off his balance, something that was used to the advantage of the last member of their team to arrive.

If it was anyone else, Wanda would've been gripped with fear at the small frame that charged the alien more than double her size, but instead, all she felt was love.

With one hit, she sent him flying backwards and before Wanda and Vision could fully comprehend what was happening, their assailants were down.

"We don't want to kill you," Natasha said, her glare enough of a threat on its own "But we will."

Then, as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

For a moment it was quiet and then the others turned to face Wanda; the ones she cared about the most sending her wry smiles. The taller of the two, the man, reached up to pull the tie out of his hair and allowed his brown curls to bounce free around his face. He didn't even have to say anything for Wanda to know exactly what he was thinking.

Of course, the small woman didn't have to either, but nevertheless she did as she ran her hand through her light brown hair that was slowly growing back from where it had been shorn close to her head.

"We left you alone for half an hour," Maria, her soulmate, said simply.

NEW YORK CITY

He liked to think he'd made the healthy choice and moved on.

He reconnected with the one that got away and got her down the aisle, although everyone had felt the absences. He worked to build up what remained of the team to get it like it once was, but it was pretty clear it never could be anything close to what it had been. He even made new modifications to suits in case anything were to happen, but it seemed that the world had fallen silent.

Maybe that was a good thing: the rest of the world seemed to think so. But, he didn't like the fact there was nothing to distract him from the truth. No matter how he tried to fill the void inside of him with teaching a thing or two to the kid (who clearly didn't appreciate his tactics, as he quickly went from calling Happy every day to practically avoiding him) or ignore the ever nagging questions in his mind by cranking the music up and focusing on the mechanics in front of him, he still found himself wondering the same thing.

What had he done?

He was two for two on driving away the people he was supposed to look after and, not only that, there was no way for him to make it up to them now. He didn't even know where they were. In fact, he was pretty certain that his eldest daughter was dead, so how could he try to make amends with her? And as for the youngest, well… She'd made her choice and he'd made his. They'd both have to live with that now.

But, it was hard to live with, and even on nice summer days like this one, he couldn't help but think about it. He thought about what he could've done differently. He asked himself where on Earth they could be. He wondered if they would, or even if they could, ever come back.

Bruce Banner did.

That's all that was ringing in his ears right now; Bruce was alive and standing right in front of him. The fact that this guy in a cloak was there too hardly even registered to him, all he could think about was how Bruce had disappeared before his youngest had and had dropped off the grid just as much as his eldest and yet here he was; alive and seemingly well.

But, before he could ask one of the million questions he had, Bruce spoke.

"I know I have a lot to explain," he said before exchanging a look with the apparent magician "But, we need your help, Tony."

Then, before he knew it, he was standing in an old looking building filled with antiquities that Pepper would probably be able to date, but just appeared like old junk to him. The man, Strange, swept around the room in a way that let Tony know that he was familiar with the place, but he could hardly bring himself to care. Something was happening and Bruce was a part of it, that much was clear.

"What is going on?" He finally managed, turning his body to completely face Bruce and blanking everything else around him "Bruce, where have you been? I don't know if you noticed, but we could've used you about two years ago."

"I'm sorry, Tony, it's complicated and— wait, two years ago?" Bruce exchanged a quick look with the man that stood behind Tony "What happened two years ago?"

"Where have you been?" Tony repeated, now out of complete disbelief; what rock could he have been under to not know about what had gone down between the Avengers?

"If we could put a hold on all questions until the others get here, that would be great," Strange said, Tony whirling around to face him.

"What 'others?'" He asked, unable to keep the intention behind his question out of his voice, which Strange picked up on and scoffed slightly about before he answered.

"Relax, I'm not bringing in your exes," he said simply before sighing "This situation… We're going to need the strongest we've got. They're reclusive, though; they don't care for the spotlight the way you and your pals do. So, I'm not even sure if they'll—."

Before Strange could finish his sentence, a portal opened between the two Avengers and the master of the mystical arts. From this angle, Bruce and Tony could just barely see how Strange respectfully tipped his head before he spoke.

"Thank you for joining us. I know this isn't what you usually deal with, but trust me, this is something you'll want to be a part of."

"I've learned better than to ignore the dimension sorcerer when he shows up in my living room."

Before he even saw her, Tony felt his insides curdle at the familiar voice, and it was clear when she laid her eyes on him that the feeling was mutual.

"Jesus, Strange," The Black Sky said, tearing her mask and hood off to reveal the annoyed expression of Noriko Temple "Warn me about any Avengers next time."