13 | UNVEILED WORLD

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May 2018

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May 2018

Avengers Compound, New York

"You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir?" Rose caught Rhodey's jab.

"My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own." Ross, she realised.

"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here."

"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel."

"That's right. And I'm pretty sure I've paid for that."

As the group got closer to the room, Rhodey's leg braces that helped support his body were visible to them.

"You have second thoughts?"

The Colonel turned to look at the people he hadn't seen in almost two years, most of them at least. "Not anymore."

"Mr Secretary," Steve greeted at the hologram which moved towards them.

"You got some nerve. I'll give you that."

Nat, standing at one side of Steve whilst Rose stood on the other, lifted her chin slightly. "You could use some of that right now."

"The world's on fire. And you think, all is forgiven?" Ross questioned, mostly to Steve and Rose.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness," the man answered formally. "And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender," he remarked, Rose's shoulders straightened ever so lightly. "So we're here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way..."

"We'll fight you, too," she finished boldly.

Ross' hologram turned to Rhodey. "Arrest them."

"All over it," he replied nonchalantly swiping his hand through the air turning off the image. He faced the group of current criminals. "That's a court-martial," he said to them when they were glancing at his legs. With the atmosphere less awkward around them. "It's great to see you, Rose," he greeted with a pitiful and sad smile.

"Likewise," she mirrored the expression as she gripped his shoulder gently before nodding at him surely, a way of saying that they would find Tony one way or another.

"Cap, nice to see you as well."

Steve shook his hand, "You too, Rhodey."

"Oh my god," another voice came in happily. Beth's figure stepped into the room with a big smile, lines forming around her eyes, resembling Finnegan Turner. "I wasn't quite sure you guys were really coming," she said. It had been so long. She hadn't been able to see them at all, except for Rose, but even that was seldom.

First Bruce showed up after being missing and then she gets notified that they were coming to the compound, she hadn't believed it. Despite the circumstances, she was extremely happy to have them back.

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"Well, the possibility of being arrested became less important," Rose commented with a small albeit genuinely fond grin as she reciprocated the hug Beth. The woman had gone straight towards her and practically jumped at her.

One by one, she effusively greeted the rest of the group and did the best she could with Vision who was being carried on Sam and Wanda's shoulders.

Rhodey observed them carefully. "Well. You guys, really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years."

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star," Sam mentioned, Rose didn't bother to inform where she had been really at all this time.

"Uh, I think you look great." The group turned again to greet yet another lost friend, though this one had been out of the map, world really, for a longer while. Bruce was standing by the threshold somewhat shyly. "Yeah. I'm back."

"Hi, Bruce," Nat send a faint smile at him, a clear emotion on her expression that everyone distinguished.

There was an unspoken conversation between them, hidden emotions and concealed dreams rushing through their minds. Everyone else was left out of their moment.

Steve and Rose stood staring with some affection at their exchange albeit feeling as they were interrupting them, embarrassment rousing on them at witnessing it, awkwardness too.

"Nat," Bruce nodded not able to say anything else for he couldn't decide on anything suitable.

"This is awkward," Sam muttered voicing their current feelings, including Steve's and Rose's.

Unknowingly to the out-of-time duo, that's how everyone else pretty much felt when being in the same room as them.

"Anyone hungry?" Beth perked up with wide eyes, flustered. "Yeah? Ok, I'll go get some food then." Then she dashed out of the room, away from the awkward atmosphere.

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With a quick check up to all of the incomers and Vision more recovered, everyone gathered in one of the meeting rooms to discuss the pressing matters. Bruce caught up with what had been happening on the planet. He'd heard some from Tony, then from Beth and now he had gotten an even bigger picture.

Now, he narrated with more detail what had recently happened to him after having disappeared after Sokovia.

He told them he had been in another planet as Hulk and was found by Thor. He quickly went over the destruction of Asgard, Thor's home, and how they had managed to save the people by boarding them into a spaceship. Loki had been there too, more stable and altruistic than he had been when he came to Earth.

Rose's drawings had been right after all.

The people had been in route to Earth when they were attacked. Thanos and his squad massacred most of the Asgardians, only very few remained alive. They had tried fighting him, but the Titan already had a stone and was getting another one, not even the Hulk beat him. Everyone was surprised to know that the Tesseract had harbored one of the stones.

Rose had gotten her powers from its essence, they made the math in their heads.

Though, unlike the rest of them, Rose had something else on her mind. The coincidence that the time Bruce informed them the attack was happening was around the same time she felt that jab of pain whilst gardening.

Not a coincidence, a thought popped into her mind without her will.

Anyhow, Bruce had been sent to Earth by Heimdall, the man who watched over the Bifrost that used to transport Thor to Earth, where he landed in New York and met Dr Strange and another colleague named Wong, and eventually reunited with Tony, for a small while. He didn't know what was of Thor nor Loki.

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