_____________________________________________

had to tell Steve why Tony was now in space. She greeted Happy on the main level of the compound, who was surprised that Tony was absent. After brief small talk, she used the elevator to go to the restricted level. Up there, the Avenger training rooms and the coveted suitroom could be found.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., Tony told me to ask you about my new suit?" Alex spoke aloud.

"Yes, Miss Clark. Your new suit is programmed with Mr. Stark's new creation: T.E.S.S.A."

"Tessa?"

"T.E.S.S.A. is your personal artificial intelligence device within your suit to assist you when you use it. She can now be activated. Would you like to activate T.E.S.S.A.?"

"Um, fuck yes." Alex grinned. "Activate T.E.S.S.A.,"

"Activating T.E.S.S.A.," F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s automated voice spoke. "She can now be used at your leisure. Mr. Stark left you a note in the case your new suit was kept in. Can I assist you with anything else, Miss Clark?"

"No, F.R.I.D.A.Y., thank you."

"You're welcome, Miss Clark."

Alex entered the suitroom, looking around. Many models of Tony's old suits were displayed in glass cases, purely to look at. Tony would never wear the old models, as he was constantly making changes to them. She saw an empty case, and walked over to it. A small card sat in the display case, and she picked it up.

Sparky, enjoy the new A.I. I think you'll find her to be very helpful. Be careful, she's sassy.

Alex smiled at the note, and took a deep breath.

"Hey, Tessa?" She spoke, feeling a little silly at first.

"Hello, Miss Clark,"

"Call me Alex."

"Okay, Alex."

Alex was stunned. She never expected Tony to create an A.I. just for her suit, but she guessed that she earned it. It definitely took her mind off her current situation. She messed around with the new development for a bit, testing out different combat settings and commands.

Alex grinned. "Actually, can you call me The Baddest Avenger?"

"No, that's quite stupid."

"Thank you, Tony," Alex laughed to herself. "I have my own personal Siri."

"I am much smarter than Siri."

"Alright, Tessa, well, we need to figure out a way to contact Steve."

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Alex had tried her best to send out for Steve's energy, using the stone around her neck to teleport to him. She was extremely surprised it actually worked. He damn near shit himself when she appeared in front of him. They caught up a little bit, but they mostly focused on their task at hand, which was to find Vision.

"I found Vision in Scotland," Steve finally said. "We'll head out in the morning. Romanoff and Sam will come as well. We've got no idea what he's doing there, but what we do know is that we're not the only ones after him."

"Cool."

"What's going on, kid? You're not listening to me at all."

"I was betrayed by Loki. Head's been cloudy recently."

"What?"

"I don't want to talk about it, just know that he's dead to me." She waved off. "My total focus is on defeating that son of a bitch and everyone on that side."

"I just want to make sure you're doing okay," Steve tried.

"I'm fine."

Steve looked at her, trying to detect any anomaly in her behavior. She did a good job of hiding her pain, but he knew better. He could see the emptiness in her stare, and the light in her was almost absent. However, she was right. Something huge was coming, and they needed to be on task.

"Get some sleep, kid."

The next morning, they geared up in silence. Alex was careful in slipping on her new suit, excitement surging through her. The design was similar, yet refurbished. The cracks where her veins were now glowed black, instead of white. The rest of the suit was a matte black to match, and she no longer had an eyepiece. It was almost like Tony thought she was confident enough without one.

They made their way to Scotland by Quinjet, accompanied by Sam and Natasha. The ride over was filled with senseless small talk, catching up with each other and cracking jokes. There was a noticeable difference in Alex, as if she had lost a part of her. Yet, she insisted she was fine.

They came across a train station when they heard a noise. A train passed by, making it hard to view what was happening on the other side of the track. Once the train passed, Alex and Steve stood side by side, staring at the scene.

Wanda was fighting the same creature Alex had encountered when Thanos attacked their ship. Her blue hair and smug look was instantly recognizable to Alex. Other minions of Thanos also were there, ganging up on Vision, who was on the ground.

The minions were all shocked to see the Avenger pair, and were taken so off guard they didn't even notice Sam swoop in. He kicked one of them right over, then sent explosives from his suit at another. Steve threw his shield while Alex froze one of the minions. Natasha ran over with her weapon, sliding under a minion who tried to hit her.

Steve fought the female minion, who seemed to be the leader of the rest of them. Alex occupied herself with one of the other minions while everyone worked to protect Vision.

"Tessa, activate Energized Combat." She smirked at the minion, who looked confused.

"Right away," Tessa chirped.

Her suit vibrated, and she was given a sudden burst of energy. She ran at the minion, jumping on top of him to fully drain him of his energy. Her sheer anger and the boost made her unstoppable. She was motivated by her hatred, inspired by her rage.

The fight didn't last long, for the minions weren't as strong as their leader. They managed to fatally wound one of them, while the one Alex dealt with was passed out. The female minion, Proxima Midnight, crawled over to her wounded friend. The group took this opportunity to corner them, weapons still cocked.

"We don't want to kill you, but we will." Natasha smoothly said.

"You'll never the get chance again," She simply said before beaming herself and her ally up into their circular-shaped ship.

Steve looked to Alex, who shrugged. They decided to worry about the ship later, and go tend to Vision. Wanda was already crouched next to him where he weakly sat.

"Can you stand?" Sam asked. He hoisted Vision up along with Wanda.

"Let's get you to the jet,"

The group boarded the jet in silence, focused on Vision's health. Once it was up and running, Alex sat next to Wanda, whom she hadn't seen since Germany.

"I thought we had a deal. Stay close, check in. Don't take any chances," Nat rose her eyebrow.

"I'm sorry." Wanda spoke. "We just wanted time."

"I get it," Alex gave Wanda a soft smile.

"Where to, Cap?"

"Home."

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Their Quinjet soared through the sky, hastily making it back to the compound. Alex took this time to sleep, as sleeping was proving to become hard for her. Once back in New York, Nat softly shook her awake.

Once they walked into the compound, they found Rhodey virtually speaking to Secretary Ross. Alex made a face, to which Rhodey stifled a laugh.

"You've got some nerve. I'll give you that." Ross' hologram walked over to the group.

"You could use it." Alex replied sassily.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness. And I'm way past asking for permission." Steve said. "Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way... We'll fight you, too."

"Arrest them." Ross said to Rhodey.

"All over it." Rhodey responded before Ross' hologram switched off. His demeanor immediately changed. "It's great to see you, Cap."

Rhodey looked over at Alex who was helping Wanda keep Vision steady, with Sam behind in case he collapsed.

"Wow, you guys look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years."

Alex suddenly wondered once again how much time had passed.

"Uh, I think you look great. I'm back," Bruce awkwardly walked into the room.

"Hi, Bruce."

"Nat."

Alex looked between the two. "I am uncomfortable."

After a short while, the group conversed in another room of the compound.

"So, we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodey asked.

"And they can clearly find us." Alex agreed.

"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?" Bruce asked.

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest."

"Who's Scott?"

"Ant-Man." Alex said to Bruce.

"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man--Okay, look... Thanos has the biggest army in the Universe. And he is not gonna stop until he gets...Vision's stone...or Alex's."

"Well then, we have to protect them." Nat simple said.

"No, we have to destroy it. I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature." Vision explained, chiming into the conversation. "But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps... its molecular integrity could fail."

"And you, with it. We're not having this conversation." Wanda spoke.

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."

"That's too high a price."

Vision placed his hands on the sides of her head. "Only you, have the power to pay it. Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."

"But it should. We don't trade lives, Vision." Steve entered their moment.

"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?"

"Because you might have a choice." Bruce chimed in. "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asked.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts."

"Can we do that?" Natasha asked.

"Not me. Not here."

"What about the stone I'm carrying?" Alex quietly spoke up from being silent almost the entire conversation.

"How'd you even get that?" Natasha asked.

"Long story."

"First order of business is to take care of Vision, simply because it's wedged in his head. Once we figure out the technology to destroy the stone, we'll destroy yours. But, it is imperative that you're hidden from Thanos, as he needs your stone just as much as Vision's. She'll need a bodyguard, essentially."

"I don't need a bodyguard. I can take care of myself."

"Alex, please, let us keep you safe." Steve pled.

She and Steve shared a long look, both not looking to relent. Steve knew she'd be stubborn, and also knew this was entirely about Loki. She was beginning to act like she had something to prove to everyone.

"Fine."

" You better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back." Rhodey added.

Steve paused, like he had an idea.

"I know somewhere."

____________________________________________

𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑 𝚏𝚞𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 !

𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚠 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚔𝚒 :/

𝚝𝚑𝚡 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜!!!