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Chapter Text

Wanda had hated having to leave for work. But she'd trusted Peter and Darcy would make sure Daisy napped while she was gone. It was painfully clear Daisy was exhausted to a concerning degree. And thanks to the Asgardian evacuation she'd called out of work too much already. So here she was tying on her apron and clocking on. As she stepped out into the shop she easily fell into her role of making the coffee. Her accent meant Amanda had quickly moved her away from the ordering station to avoid assholes taking issue with it. It'd been a good call. For the survival of the customers.

"Wanda! You never came back for your books. They're heavy bitch!" Amanda passed her a cup with the next order. The customer was doing something on his phone while he waited.

She twitched slightly, the fact Amanda hadn't put together her friend Wanda vanishing only for Avenger Wanda showing up was...how?! But well it wasn't like it was the end of the world if her friend realized she was dating Quake now. It wasn't like it would ruin a media strategy at this point. "Sorry."

"What happened? You missed the biggest story of the decade!" Amanda sighed, the excitement sliding off of her.

Wanda frowned, glancing at her friend as the espresso shots filled. "Why are you depressed?" She paused "No, embarrassed?"

"Spiderquake are siblings." Amanda let out an actual groan. "I want to crawl under a rock and die."

Their customer snorted. He looked up over his phone. "They sold the relationship thing pretty well."

"Right!?" Amanda exclaimed. "I shouldn't have to feel bad about the photo files, or that video edit I did, or the fanfic. Like they hugged! There was forehead touching!"

He gave a solome nod. "Right? I try not to be too interested in the celebrity stuff, but Quake saved me from a mugging. She was really nice, hung out till the police got there. I'll tell you I'd have taken a swing at Spiderman for her if I'd run into him. Definitely a good thing I never ran into him."

"You got to meet her?" Amanda leaned forward, practically vibrating with excitement.

He eagerly nodded. "I did! She's even prettier in person too! It was like so fast too. One minute the guy had a gun on me and the next he was flying into a brick wall."

"Did you get her to sign anything?" Amada asked, her emotions were practically sparking with her excitement.

The guy groaned, his shoulders slumping. "No, I didn't even think about it. And this was months ago when she was first around. I barely even was aware she existed then."

"Yeah, she's in the big leagues now. I mean Avenger big." Amanda sighed. "Do you think she'll even bother with New York anymore?"

He seemed to ponder it. "I think so?"

"Definitely." Wanda couldn't help but add. Because honestly. "Spiderman lives in New York, I'm pretty sure if aliens can't keep her away for more than three months nothing is." And if it tried Wanda would personally murder it. With extreme prejudice. Extreme.

Amanda beamed at her. "I knew you cared! But you're right. If she'll fight a duel against an evil alien for him I think you're right."

"Which did you see how close that was? She actually let that one sword hit her so she could stab him!" Coffee guy let out a whistle. "Super badass."

Amanda tapped her face with the cap of her pen. "You know I've got siblings and I wouldn't fight a terrifying alien to the death with swords for 'em. Like I love them, but no."

"I don't know, you might surprise yourself." Wanda started steaming the milk as she spoke. Honestly she could feel the thread of familial affection in Amanda and a surprising violent streak. She was fairly sure if New York got attacked again, Amanda would happily take a tire iron and whack some aliens.

Amanda smiled softly, pleased in the belief in her. She still giggled and brushed it off though. "Oh stop."

"I mean everyone knows Quake was in foster care. They probably got separated as kids or something. I wouldn't be surprised they're clingier than regular siblings." Coffee guy offered. "I mean getting seperated like that's got to mess with you."

Amanda hummed in agreement. "Do you think they're twins? I mean Spiderman can't be more than a year, maybe two younger than her if they're not twins."

"The therapist they interviewed on the news thought they were twins. They're about the same height." Coffee guy barely even reacted as Wanda passed him his latte.

Amanda leaned against the counter. "Right? I know everyone is going with twins, but I think he's probably a year or something younger than her. But it's so tragic! Separated by the system, but then she finds him when he gets powers! Like it's a damn movie is what it is."

"I can tell you I feel safer knowing they're here in New York. Them and that devil guy, and I've heard good things about that detective lady. Oh and that Cage fellow."

Amanda certainly agreed with that. "Yeah, like the Avengers are kinda...eh? I mean it's great they're around to help the military with this Thanos character. But I don't feel safer having them around really."

"I don't know, the Maximoff twins seem alright. Everyone knows that for all of a shit show it was in Lagos it'd have been worse if the Witch hadn't of been there. And Quicksilver's been helping out around the city pretty regularly." Coffee guy pointed out.

Wanda was...actually kind of touched by how she could sense he felt about her and her brother. Not totally sold, but fairly positive. It was...rather novel really. She didn't say anything though. Amanda realizing she was an Avenger was one thing, random Coffee Guy was another.

"I mean they seem ok. Just...the Avengers seem so...larger than life you know?" Amanda replied. "Like if I met Quake or Spiderman I'd totally fangirl like a crazy person. But it'd be fine cause they're like one of us right? But Captain America or Ironman like...it'd be awful."

Coffee guy sipped his drink. "Yeah, I can see that. I mean Quake or Spiderman'd just laugh with you while the Avengers, crowd to see them would trample you before you could even untongue tie yourself."

"Exactly!" Amanda agreed. "And the Avengers only really handle the world ending stuff. I mean you're not going to ask Captain America to walk you home from the bar."

Wanda couldn't help herself. "He probably would." She stilled as both of their attentions turned on her. "I mean he seems like the kind of guy who'd do that."

"He is from the forties." Amanda agreed with a sigh. "And so dreamy looking. Think Quake is dating him?"

Coffee guy scoffed. "No way, she's like way too anti-establishment to date the Captain. It's Bucky or Sam."

"No way! She can do better than the trauma bucket of issues Barnes and Sam's too old." Amanda argued while crossing her arms.

Wanda felt herself dissociating as they argued over who they thought her girlfriend was dating….neither of them suggested her. It was...come on. She was obviously a better choice than most of the team. Honestly, most of the team was between thirty and fifty! Her name should at least be in the running damn it….also she might be taking this one a tad too personally.

She looked at the clock. It was going to be a long shift...and how was Daisy's dating life a bigger story to the average New Yorker than an alien invasion? How?!

////

Darcy mourned for her baby as she disassembled the time machine. "I'm sorry baby, you didn't even get to be turned all the way on."

"Should I be concerned you're talking to the possible reality eating device?" Daisy asked from the wheelie computer chair she'd been consigned to with her protein shake.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you know how much science went into this? How groundbreaking it is? I mean this baby is one of its kind. Hours were put into making her."

"Her? Does she have a name?" Daisy teased as she stirred her shake with a straw. To be fair Daisy had not been excited by Dr Cho's demands she drink the thing.

Darcy refused to be embarrassed. "Poprocks and I have been calling her Dorloros."

"That have anything to do with that sounding similar to a certain model of car?" Daisy was definitely amused.

She huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." It was totally a reference to the delorean from Back to the Future. But Darcy wasn't going to admit that for anything.

"Sure." Daisy sounded far too smug. She fell slightly more serious. "Ok, so what's with the Asgardians?"

Darcy hummed as she unattached one of the arms and laid it carefully down. "So ya know the whole Norse legend Ragnorok. Like the whole end of Asgard thing from like the movies and games and shit? Turns out actually a thing."

"Huh...so does that mean all of Asgard is on earth?" Daisy actually looked fairly alarmed at the idea. Probably from a logistics point of view considering she liked Asgardians.

Darcy swallowed back her horror at just...Asgard. "No, Sif got a few over three thousand out using Jane's and my portals. But we haven't been able to contact any of the other groups that should have made it out. No one's heard anything from Thor since weeks before it all happened either."

"Hey, the big guy can take care of himself." Daisy leaned forward and only stayed in her chair due to Darcy glaring at her. She held up her hands in peace. "I mean it, if you got that many Asgardians out some of the others had to have as well. And they've got the rainbow bridge proper. Not to mention it's Asgard. You did good."

"I just…" Darcy blew some of her hair out of her face. It had been a sick feeling in her gut since Daisy was kidnapped, then Asgard being destroyed. "Something bad is coming."

Daisy's face turned into her agent face. The sharp focus, emotion gone. "Yes it is."

"That's not comforting. You do know that right?" Darcy stared at her sister in disbelief, ignoring the shiver that'd gone down her spine at the unflinching certainty in her sister's voice.

Daisy raised a brow. "Really? I wasn't trying to be comforting. You're right to be worried. But there's always something bad coming."

"Really not helping." Darcy pointed her wrench at her. "This is how you give a girl a heart attack."

Daisy leaned back in the chair and sipped at her shake judgmentally. "Do you know how many end of the world, success of the fascists, we're all going to die situations happen? Just all the time? It's everyone doing their bit when it's their turn to handle the thing that keeps the world spinning."

"Not comforting." Darcy rocked back on her heels.

Daisy hummed, her face softening ever so slightly. "When Hydra came out do you think it was my team stopping the Centipede program and Garrett that stopped Hydra? Or was it Natasha and Steve taking down Project Insight?"

"Pieces of a puzzle speech?" Darcy huffed, but it weirdly enough was helping.

Daisy's lips twitched into a grin. "What, it works." She chuckled. "And it's true. Hydra fell because hundreds of agents around the world did their part to shut down the slimy fascist tentacle in front of them. And dozens of world intelligence agencies followed the intel in the data dump to cleanse themselves. So aliens are coming. We and whoever else is ready and willing to do their part and it's all we can do."

"And if we lose?" Darcy found herself asking.

Daisy sighed. "Then the survivors stage a resistance movement against alien control."

"Cheery." Darcy sighed. "You do realize it's going to be me helping with this resistance movement right? Cause I'm not one of the Yahoos who's gonna be trying to murdernate the aliens."

She slurped at her shake. "True, but neither is over 99% of the world's militaries. This big battle everyone's all panicked about? It's an opening move. If Thanos comes personally we might end it at the first fight. If he doesn't it's just another invasion to fend off. If the aliens win the fight it'll turn into a land battle. Most wars aren't decided in a first fight. But if we win, it leaves us in a better position. Which is why it's important."

"He's after the infinity stone. He only needs one battle." Darcy pointed out, she felt her mind running through and slotting actions inside the larger narrative Daisy was painting.

Daisy snorted outright. "Please, that stone is in Visions head. Vision who doesn't need to eat, and can move through matter. If the fight goes poorly he can just sink through the earth's crust and hide like an impossible to remove mole."

"That is...oh." Darcy blinked. If there was an Avenger practically designed for running from evil aliens it would be Vision. "So what you're saying is this fight isn't going to be the end of the world regardless of what happens?"

"Yup." Daisy chucked a candybar at her. "I'm sure you'll be on evac if we lose too. Take a breath. 'Sides, worst case of worst cases well, you did apparently invent time travel." Daisy stared at the machine with the oddest expression on her face.

Darcy brandished the wrench. "June 10th."

"What's that?" Daisy asked, her brow furrowing ever so slightly.

She rolled her eyes. "When we were going to take the risk and rescue you from the future. Which like 80% chance of success, 20% chance of unraveling reality as we know it. But we were going to do it."

"You...you shouldn't have done that. I'm not worth that." Daisy's voice was soft.

Darcy straightened up to her feet. "Would you have done any different if it was me or Peter?"

The lab was completely silent.

"That's what I thought." Darcy huffed. "And finish that disgusting shake so we can get something that doesn't taste like mush for lunch before you take a nap."

////

Daisy wasn't surprised it was Aunt May who'd followed her out onto the balcony. "Hey."

"Too much?" Aunt May asked as she leaned against the balcony railing besides her.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the constant wind that blew through New York this high up. "No, I'm still not used to family, but it was being inside. I needed to be outside."

"Claustrophobia now?" Aunt May asked, her voice free of judgement.

Daisy considered that. "I don't think so. At least not debilitatingly anyways. I've spent too long living in enclosed spaces for that I think. But in the future...I don't know. I just needed to feel the air."

"If that changes we can figure it out. Peter still sleeps with a nightlight. Whatever you need sweetie." Aunt May quietly stayed there.

It was nice. She wasn't sure how long they stood out there. Daisy felt the tickle of Wanda's power in the back of her mind. It was funny, she found it oddly comforting to know her girlfriend was checking on her. The tickle faded as easily as it'd come. She opened her eyes, the city laid out below the tower. "They used Jemma to keep me in line. I had to do what they told me or they'd hurt her."

"You don't have to talk about it." Aunt May's voice was soft as she laid a hand over Daisy's forearm.

She let out a slow breath. "There was an inhuman, his name was Ben. He tried to help, they killed him like he was nothing and I couldn't do anything to stop it. They'd chipped every human like a dog. For fucks sake they fed them pellets." Her teeth clenched.

There was nothing except for the sounds of the city below them. Finally Daisy kept going. "The blue bitch who killed Ben, she was my opponent in the showcase deathmatch I was in. I could have...I've been working on my powers here. So much time to learn control, how to fly with them, how to raise and lower the temperature, how to quake a specific thing at a distance." Daisy paused before biting the bullet. "I turned every internal organ inside her body into paste. It wasn't dramatic, it wasn't the only way. I just did it."

"You're an agent." Aunt May offered, understanding that she didn't deserve in her voice.

Daisy shook her head. "They called me The Destroyer of Worlds. I can see the math, the proof the timeline has changed, know that we'll need my powers. But...in that reality something went wrong and I killed seven billion people. How can I let them take the chip out? If I can become a monster worse than anything else on this planet how can I allow that risk to exist? I saw what happens, the misery and barbarity of it. Monstrosity I'm capable of, and becoming more capable of."

"You're not a monster." Aunt May squeezed her shoulder, pulling her ever so slightly to face her. It was painful how kind her gaze was. "You're dangerous if you want to be. You've been through horrible things and you're capable of doing horrible things." Her hand on her shoulder shifted till it was flat over Daisy's heart. "But I know you and what's in you. I don't care what anyone said in the future. Or what any prophet or even you say. You are a good person and the world will be poorer for it if you hold yourself back."

"I…" Daisy's eyes widened as she stared at Aunt May.

Aunt May just smiled at her. "Now you don't owe the world anything. If you want to do whatever computer wizardry you do, get an actual full time job somewhere. Fuck, go to clown school. You should do that. But I think we both know that's not you, and that you would never be happy without being a hero. Because being a hero is who you are."

Her eyes burned, it was...god she'd never had...this. Not even Coulson. Darcy and Tony had been willing to risk reality itself to rescue her. May was standing there, her faith in her so unshakable it was humbling.

"Oh honey." Aunt May cupped the side of her face. "I promise you're a good person."

Daisy didn't know how to explain it wasn't that. Her throat felt tight, her chest ached with the emotion of it. She jolted forward hugging the May tightly. Tears falling for the first time since she'd returned home. "Thank you."

One of Aunt May's arms pressed gently between her shoulder blades. It felt like what Daisy had always imagined being hugged by a mother was like. It cracked something inside of her. And Daisy cried.

////

Peter shifted awkwardly as he waited for Daisy and May to get back from outside. He groaned and settled some after Wanda shot him a look, her eyes red. "She's ok?"

"I try not to make it a habit to read her mind." The red faded from her eyes as she spoke. "I nudged her, she knows we're here and isn't panicking."

He grumbled, slouching further into his corner of the couch.

"Good god, my son is a mother hen. How did this happen? I'm horrified." Tony snapped a rubber band at his face.

Peter swatted the band out of the way. "Like you're not worried."

"Calling out the old man, I see how it is." Tony knocked back his tumbler of something disgusting and full of alcohol.

Darcy groaned, and then grabbed a controller. "Come on, we're setting who the Queen of Mario Kart is in this family."

"Excuse me, I think you mean King." Exhaustion seemed to fall off of Tony.

Darcy's brow rose as she tossed a controller to Tony before passing one to Peter. "I don't know old man, you're getting old. And you've got an early morning with the generals tomorrow. Sure it's not past your bedtime?"

"Rude." Tony's eyes were bright. "I've been playing longer than you've been alive whippersnapper."

Darcy elbowed Peter in the side as she teased their dad right back. "So you're a dinosaur? Do we need to find a retirement home or some jello for you?"

Peter let himself smile and be drawn in. "I hear rich people old people homes have views."

"Cruel, bring it spawn." Tony sniffed theatrically.

He looked at Darcy. "He totally plays Mario doesn't he?"

"Totally, the red, main character, and been around since the cretaceous age." Darcy nodded solemnly.

Tony laughed. "Please, Yoshi all the way. Take note."

"I'll enjoy crushing you." Darcy actually looked genuinely vicious. Which was fair. She was horrifically violent with Bowser.

There was a blur, and then Pietro was on the couch next to Darcy. "Peach is mine."

Peter sniped Toad before anyone else could go for him. He may prefer Donkey Kong, but never when playing with Darcy. Speed was survival.

Tony gave Pietro a look out of the corner of his eye.

Peter looked at Darcy. They both understood in that moment. It was going to be between them. If Tony went for Pietro he'd be too busy to win and Pietro would be too busy trying to avoid murder by Tony. Which meant unless a lethal blue shell hit them both it was gonna be between them. Peter grinned. "You're going down."

Wanda laughed as she looked at them over her textbooks. "My money's on Peter."

"Shouldn't you be rooting for me?" Pietro looked at his sister indignantly.

Wanda looked at Pietro, her eyes flicking to Tony and then back to her twin. "Do you want me to lie to you?"

Darcy let out a frightening cackle. Full on super villain. They all leaned away from her.

"You're very scary sometimes." Peter muttered.

The comment seemed to fuel her. It was...oh he was so dead.

Peter grinned as he looked up at Daisy. "Here to save Poprocks from the humiliation?"

"I don't know, I think he looks pretty satisfied with whatever he's been doing." Daisy replied as she carefully slid into an armchair, ever so gingerly.

He pretended he didn't notice the thickness in her voice, or the redness around her eyes. Peter did frown at how she was moving. "Did you break some of your stitches?"

"Naw, just haven't stretched much out today." She smiled at him fondly. "I'm all bruise, but I've been good. Stitches all where they should be."

Peter knew he was being silly, but he felt relief. "Sorry."

"Pretty sure I was just as bad after the werewolf." Daisy's lips stayed up in a soft smile.

He beamed, it was forgiveness and understanding for being so worried. "So, taking down Darcy?"

"She running you off the road?" Daisy teased.

Peter groaned. "Her banana game is lethal."