( g h o s t )

“I mean— not technically. I guess it would make things worse— which is why it’s a good thing I don’t have it anymore?” Sam replied, tone unsure.

“So, you’d feel worse but you’d feel better.” Ava mused. “Better to have it, even if it hurts. If I’m reading this right, there’s no real easy option for you.”

“You know, I might be underestimating it— but don’t tell Bill that,” he chuckled, the conversation taking a pleasantly casual turn.

“I don’t have to tell Bill. He already knows.” Ava’s tone was cavalier, a small smile playing on her lips as she leaned forward to brace herself on her forearms. “You know, Dr. Pym is quick to take things for himself but Bill has always been further along than Hank wanted to believe.”

Carol bit the inside of her cheek, not really sure how to answer that question. “Does anything?” it was bleak, but she couldn’t lie. “Nothing gets easier, you just…learn.”

“I’d be inclined to say that no, nothing does. The blossoming optimist in me would love to believe otherwise. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I’m fine with learning. I’ll learn anything if it means things are better.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. What did it for you? Lack of human interaction is kinda my schtick.”

“I got tired eventually. I got tired and I almost died and after that... Well, things began to look a little different.”

“I’ve got a team to take care of now, which is good. Things won’t ever go back to the way they were but we can’t stay stuck in the past.”

“That idea is insane. What on Earth are you thinking? You’d get yourself killed.” 

“I’m rather hard to kill. I’ll be fine.”

Remy offered his hand to her. “Wanna learn?”

There was the old flash of fear that had always haunted Ava as she looked at the extended palm and worried she wouldn’t make contact. But that was then. This was now. The pain was minimum as they tried to measure how much Quantum energy she needed to be healthy while still permitting her to use her abilities. When Ava reached out in return her hand connected solidly with his own and she found herself smiling slightly. “I can try.”

“I’m not sad because we won, or because we’re back. Things are just really really different.” 

“The world changed without you, didn’t it? I’d imagine that would be hard to return to.”

“Pizza it is. Thanks brain.” He said absent minded as he tapped his foot trying to think which pizzeria to run by. “I’ll grab some in a few minutes. Want some or what?”

There was a moment where Ava stopped to reflect on the fact that she was about to eat actually, greasy food. Elihas had been strict with his daughter, the scientist in him pushing for healthy diets. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been mostly focused on carbs and protein with their pet. By the time Ava was with Bill she hadn’t much of an appetite at all. Now, she was free to eat whatever she wanted. Realizing she needed to respond, Ava shook her head. “Yes. That sound wonderful. How much is pizza?”

“I suppose there is, however I’m she he felt life was easier while I was wiped from existence. At least based on the few words he offered me over email.”

“Quite a statement to make over a keyboard. See, I’ve never really been one for face to face interaction but it must be more efficient.”

“And some people didn’t.” The funeral was coming up, and out of simple respect he was going to attend, despite having very little contact with either Tony or Natasha. Beyond diplomatic affairs, the mutants and the Avengers kept their distance. “I guess we’re the lucky ones here.”

“No.” She agreed quietly. Ava had met Natasha a few times when she had swung by the Facilities, body crumbling on itself while the pain blurred her vision. The Black Widow hadn’t saved her but she had looked into a few things. Tried to help. It was the most anyone had been able to do. As for Tony, well, Ava had seen him in pictures and on the television but their paths had never crossed. She only knew people who had known him. “I’ve never been able to call myself the lucky one in any situation, so this is most definitely a first.”

It wasnt really the girl but the worlds that made Nathaniel smile and he laughed a little, turning to look at her as she removed her hood “Almost sounds like you’re the breaking and entering kind. And lets be clear, I’m not accepting the blame, but notice no alarms, wow, whoever got in there must be a genius.” he chuckled, and he was.

“I’m the former stealth operative kind.” If that was what you wanted to call the mess that had become Ava’s life. “Again, you’re trying to impress the wrong person. That’s standard, not exceptional.”

“Yeah you’re right. Just get toi eager. Something to work on I guess.” Dante replied with a short laugh before getting a contemplative look on his face. “Us? You’ve got painful powers too?

“They almost ripped me apart from the inside.” Ava tugged her glove off to reveal one non-glitching hand. “Moderation.” She waved it so he could watch it fade from view. “It saved my life.”

Nate appeared exactly where he was when he left, only the year wasn’t the same, time travel was great like that, but while he was trying to save the world, he was also trying to avoid Kang. 

He knew Kang wasn’t going to hurt him, but that didn’t stop him hurting the rest of the world, and many worlds beyond. Which was what brought him to Stark Enterprises. He’d taken everything he needed and was sat on a wall outside welding some now plasma canons on to his own gauntlets when he heard someone coming and slipped off the wall, heading the other way “Nope, wasn’t me.”

She wasn’t trespassing. For the first time in her life ( an exaggeration considering how the past few years had shaped out to be ) Ava was allowed places. Welcome, even. The science to keep her stable was out there and she was free to use it. Phasing through the wall without breaking her stride, it was easier to keep the helmet on and avoid having to talk to people. Even though she was better at it the act of socialization was still tiresome. “If it’s not you,” the words were weighted and heavy after going through the voice modulator they had yet to remove from the hood. “It’d be me. And it’s not.”

“Come on! We saved t’e world, join in! It’s a time for celebration!”

“I’m afraid I’ve never really been one whose known how to party.”

“Looks like we didn’t lose after all.” But the words from of a newly resurrected Peter Quill were loaded. He’d returned to a different world, one without Gamora, his Gamora, and one without two people he’d barely known but knew were too important to lose. 

“It looks like we didn’t. This is a good thing, isn’t it? You seem sad.”