Traveling to New York wasn't something that Marci had anticipated -- hell, she hadn't even considered stepping foot anywhere in the United States for the past two years. Yet here she is, pulling up to the newly established Avengers Compound in upstate New York as a high-profile fugitive.  

As the building came into view, it dawned on her that she was way in over her head. It hadn't ever processed within her mind that if she had been on the other side of the Accords, she would have spent a majority of her time here. 

Movement behind her assisted in returning herself to the present instead of being fully immersed in her thoughts. As they continued to descend, the landing pad came into view. With a steady hand, she lowered the jet and landed directly center of the pad. Sam stood from the co-pilot seat beside her and rushed to Visions side, assisting him in walking into the building so Wanda didn't have to do it herself. Marci quickly completed the necessary functions of closing up the jet, before she too stood from her seat and began to make her way outside. 

It had been a long flight, both the fresh air and the means to stand and stretch felt nice on her body. Despite that calming nature that surrounded the compound, she still felt stressed. She was incredibly anxious to see what waited for them inside the building; she prayed whatever happened would go down without a physical fight. 

Steve took the lead, everyone following behind him as he led them through the building. The hallway they had taken soon began to open into a conference room, at the center of it was James Rhodes along with a projected version of Thaddeus Ross. Just seeing him, even if it was not in the flesh, made Marci want to vomit. 

To her surprise, Rhodes didn't seem surprised. Which then made Marci realize he must be the reason that Steve knew of the attack on Vision and his infinity stone. 

Marci was glad to be hiding behind the two original avengers when the confrontation began, "Mr. Secretary," Steve addressed Ross. 

"You got some nerve, I'll give you that," Ross snarked as he took a few steps towards the group, eyeing them all up and down. 

"You could use some of that right now," Natasha quipped without hesitation. 

Ross went from glaring at Natasha to standing directly in front of Steve, "The world is on fire, and you all think your forgiven?" He asked, a combination of disbelief and hostility present within the tone of his voice. 

"I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking for permission," Steve took a few confident steps towards Ross's projection, "Earth just lost their best defender. So, we are here to fight and if you want to stand in our way, we'll fight you too," he concluded. 

Marci watched as Ross's expression turned into a scowl as her turned to face Rhodes, "Arrest them," he demanded, his voice oozing with authority. 

Rhodes gave him a look before responding, "All over it," as he closed down the program that allowed Ross to communicate with them. Rhodes looked to the group and shrugged, unbothered by the fact he just disobeyed direct orders from the secretary of state. 

"It's good to see you," he said, directly his attention to Steve and Natasha. Marci smiled at their reunion, though her eyes couldn't help but concentrate on the contraption that encased his lower extremities. Marci vividly remembered watching him fall from the sky as herself, Steve and Bucky fled Germany. 

"Wow," Rhodey said after giving Natasha a quick hug, "You guys look like crap," Marci couldn't help but laugh at his bluntness. 

"It's been a rough couple of years," Marci commented, glancing to Sam who stood at her side. 

"The hotels haven't exactly been five stars," he added. 

Suddenly Marci's eyes caught movement behind them, and a voice spoke, "Well, I think you look great," a nervous chuckle escaped the man's lips, "Yeah, I'm back," he said rather unnecessarily. 

The man needed no introduction, Marci knew who he was even before Natasha greeted him by name. Bruce Banner, the brilliant scientist and the other half to the incredible hulk stood before them. 

"Hi, Nat," he responded after a long pause, the two not taking their eye contact away from one another. 

Marci leaved over to Sam, "Is it just me, or is this super awkward?" 

Vision gave her a look before changing the conversation within the newly expanded group. "We need to figure out what to do about our predicament," he spoke calmly. 

"So we have to assume their coming back, right?" Rhodey asked, although it was directed at no one in particular.

"And they can clearly find us," Wanda added. 

"Yes, we need all hands on deck," Bruce said, finally pulling his attention away from Natasha. He began to walk out of the room they had resided in, and into a space that was much more inviting. The lighting was much warmer and the space was decorated with lounge chairs, book shelfs, and other more comfortable looking work spaces. "Where's Clint?" He questioned, turning to look to Natasha.

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. They're on house arrest," Natasha explained. 

Bruce gave her a look, "Who's Scott?" 

"Antman," Marci said quickly, fond memories coming to her mind of the man. He was a strange fellow, but she absolutely adored him. 

"There's an Antman and Spiderman?" He questioned. His attention remained on Marci though and he quickly asked another, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Marci couldn't help but chuckle, "No worries," she said with a small smile, "I'm Marci Cramer, I kind of helped destroy S.H.I.E.L.D," she said as she took a few steps towards him and offered her hand. He took it, a ghost of smile on his face as he attempted to be kind in such a stressful situation. 

"Anyway, look, Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he is not going to stop until he gets..." he paused with a loss of words, "Vision's stone," he finished quietly. 

Natasha stepped forward, "Well, we have to protect it."

"No, we have to destroy it," Vision said, all heads turned to look at him, unable to comprehend what they had just heard him say. "I've been giving a good amount of thought to this entity in my head," he motioned toward the stone, "I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something similar to its own, perhaps..." he moved towards Wanda, "It's molecular integrity could fail." 

Marci knew what he meant instantly. He wanted Wanda to destroy the stone, which would destroy him right along with it. 

Wanda's face grimaced at the thought of it, "We are not having this conversation," Marci turned her gaze away, it felt wrong for her to witness such a vulnerable conversation. 

Bruce looked deep in thought, "Your mind is made up of complex overlays; a combination of Jarvis, Ultron, Tony,  me, the stone. All of them mixed together," he explained. 

Wanda's head perked up at that explanation, "You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" she asked hopefully. 

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone...," Bruce paused looking from Wanda back to Vision, "There's a whole lot of Vision left, perhaps the best parts," he added. 

Natasha looked baffled, "Can we do that?" she asked a very realistic question in Marci's mind. Over the past few years, she had seen a lot of things she had never believed to be possible, perhaps this was just another?

"Not me," Bruce said quickly, "Not here,"

Marci knew of the intellect Banner kept within his mind, for a moment she was discouraged by his answer. But then she began thinking of the people she had worked directly with in some of the most revolutionary moments of her life and one specific person came to mind. A smile graced her delicate features, "I know someone," she said, turning to make eye contact with Steve. 

_______________

A little bit of a short chapter, but it felt like a good place to leave this off. 

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