Summers' Purpose

Steve froze. A deep frown was etched on his face as he stared at the screen quietly for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just been told.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He looked down at the table before him as he went through all the possibilities or explanations that would explain what happened. Some were worrying, at least one was absurd beyond his logic, which meant that he didn't like the odds of any of them.

"Are you absolutely sure?" He crossed his arms, his pointer finger tapping on his arm as he looked at an equally worried-looking Shuri.

"Again, yes, we are. I know how absurd this sounds and looks. We've begun investigating but so far, we have nothing. Apologies for the nature of the news at this point in time. Please know that we are working on finding out what happened. We will keep you posted on any updates we have."

Steve massaged his brows as he nodded. "Please do. I'll still be arriving as planned, and I'll see how I can help if that's okay."

"We understand that you'd want to see for yourself, and you're most welcome to do so. We'll be expecting you," Shuri says before ending the video call.

Steve took a deep breath, his eyes pressed shut as he thought of how to convey the news to the rest of them. He turned just in time to see Clint walking up to him.

"So, you ready to go? I just got done talking to the funeral director, said he'd be on standby to take her in. Oh, Nat wants to see us before we leave. Apparently, she received some not-so-good news." Clint said, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

"Yeah, her and I both, though I hope hers is better. I don't know how it could be worse," Steve shook his head as he moved toward Clint, signaling him to come along as they started to walk along the hallway together.

"What do you mean?" Clint inquired, looking confused as Steve sighed.

"I think it's best that I break the news to you both at the same time."

"Uh, I don't like where this is going," Clint replied.

Steve looked regretfully at him before continuing to walk in silence.

"Fine, I'll play along. I still don't like where this is going. All this unnecessary stalling is making me anxious," Clint shook his head.

They finally walked into a room where Natasha was leaning back in her chair, looking unmistakably stressed out as she cross-checked the screens ahead of her.

"I got news of something concerning," Natasha quickly said, calling over both men to see what she had pulled up on one of the screens. Clint gave Steve a quick look but Steve ignored him, still hoping Natasha had better news.

"Something fishy is going on in a small town. Unusually high readings in terms of energy, especially for such a location," she explained, zooming in to an area on the on-screen map which slowly revealed a small town some distance from them. "Heard of Westview?" Both men shook their heads in response.

"How'd you know?" Clint asked.

"Someone from SWORD. Agent Monica Rambeau. If you remember, she was—"

"An ex-colleague and good friend of Y/n's," Steve added.

"Yes. I called to inform her about the funeral," Natasha sighed, "and she reached out again to see if we'd heard of anything suspicious that might help."

"Did she say anything else? Any more leads or clues to follow?"

"Nope, not yet. They're still looking into things. My instincts tell me this might be bigger than we think. I'll keep an eye on things in case it blows over—better safe than sorry after what just happened with Thanos. Also, still no news on Wanda. I'm starting to wonder if this is related, though I sure hope that's not the case." Natasha sat back in her chair exasperatedly, quickly noticing that Steve and Clint stood there in awkward silence. The subtle uncomfortable look on both of the men's faces stood out to her. "What is it?"

Clint looked over at Steve and Natasha followed. "I know you both were supposed to be on the way to Wakanda by now, sorry I held you guys back. You managed to reach Mr. Mortis, Clint?"

"Yep, he's on standby. I think Steve had news to tell us too." Clint kept his eyes on Steve which made Natasha wonder what was going on between them.

"Steve? Care to explain?" She turned her chair to him, her brow raised.

"Yeah, about Mr. Mortis. I'm thinking that we tell him to not expect us anytime soon."

"What do you mean?" Natasha questioned as Clint waited for the explanation he didn't get earlier.

"Got a call from Shuri just minutes ago. They were about to prep Y/n for us to take her to Mr. Mortis," Steve paused temporarily, wondering how to say it aloud. "They can't find her. Y/n's body is missing."

Natasha stared at Steve while Clint did a double-take at what he said.

"This...this must be some sort of cruel joke, right?" Natasha asked, her head reeling with a mixture of disbelief and worry. "What? How can she just disappear?! What else did they tell you?"

Steve shook his head, remembering the way Shuri looked earlier when she broke the news. "Not much. They seem pretty upset and stumped with what happened as well. They're investigating as we speak. They're still expecting me, so I'll do a little digging around while I'm there. See what I can find out."

Natasha quickly stood up from her chair. "I'm coming along."

Clint stepped in to calm her down. "I understand you're very upset but I think you should stay here." Natasha wanted to argue but he quickly continued. "You need the rest. All those weeks of late or sleepless nights are catching up with you and I'm worried you're gonna keel over anytime now," he tried to reason. "I know you feel like you need to do more but you've put in your hours all these while. More than you think. It's okay to step away for a bit; come back when you feel better."

"How can I sit around when you just told me Y/n's body had somehow disappeared?" Natasha retorted.

"I'm not telling you to stay away completely, I'm just saying... Take a breather. I don't know what happened, but I know it's best to approach things with a clear mind. Hell, you can start tomorrow if you really want. Maybe even look into things from here in the meantime and see what other angles we can approach this from. Just...take some time for yourself too. Please," Clint gently coaxed her.

Natasha was quiet, her eyes glassy with tears as she looked down, watching a few of her teardrops fall to the floor. "Fine." She started to think of what leads she could start with. "Fine, I'll stay. For now."

"Thank you," Clint replied, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

Steve nodded, giving her a reassuring look. "We'll be in touch, don't worry. We'll get Y/n back too, Nat. I promise."

Natasha nodded at him, wiping the tears from her face as she sat back down. Steve and Clint left for Wakanda while Natasha sat in silence, still unable to fathom what just happened. She poured a new cup of coffee for herself and started to see what info she could gather. Y/n and Wanda—both missing. She sat down, elbows on the desk as she held her head in her hands. "Что за чертовщина здесь творится?"

See you in the next one 😘