Sue remembered everything when she woke up. Her brain felt heavy in her skull as her eyes peeled open, the sheer curtains releasing spurts of sunlight through its holes. The mattress was firm and aided her aching bones, but it wasn't enough for her to sit up without difficulty. The smell of pine and home cooking graced her nose, the only pleasant thing about her awakening.
She turned her head from side to side, observing the room that was shadowed in its corners, but bright in the sun's beam. A groan left her throat as she touched the side of her head where there were smudges of dried blood. Strands of her hair were matted from the cut that was held together by a strip of medical tape. She felt the tacky swirls of red that was left on her skin and assumed that someone attempted to clean her cheek and jaw.
After forcing her legs to swing around to the edge of the bed, Sue was haunted by her memories. She remembered being with Bruce in the quinjet, only to be plagued by Wanda Maximoff's crimson mist. Her actions against Steve and Johnny were her own but was powered from fear and disorientation. She remembered feeling like she was being attacked mercilessly. But now, she knew her attackers were acting in defence. She was the assailant, Johnny and Steve were only trying to help.
Her sulking came to an end when the sound of pans clanked together from somewhere in the house. Footsteps creaked against the floorboards and commotion echoed, proving that life was in the surrounding rooms. Sue spotted the clothes that sat folded on the nightstand and looked down at her suit that was damaged and stained.
She wasted no time in stripping and pulled on the clothes that consisted of a grey t-shirt, a white cardigan and some light green, cotton pants. They weren't her style, but they were comfy and clean. A pair of slippers were perched by her feet, and she slipped into them to avoid the rougly nailed togther wooden floorboards.
Downstairs, Johnny sat with Lila and Cooper at the kitchen table. Laura stood over a tray to place tater tots and sausage rolls in the oven for the grown adults that would appreciate them after what they had been through. Sue descended the stairs and peaked into the kitchen, seeing Johnny colouring with crayons.
'I'm drawing you fighting an octopus,' Lila announced and held her paper up to show Johnny drawn in red crayon fighting a purple blob with eight legs.
'Woah! That's so cool!' Johnny cheered with a grin and held up his paper. 'I drew you as a bunny!'
Lila giggled and Cooper showed his picture of The Avengers, his father in the middle with a bow and arrow aimed to the sky. Steve was drawn with abnormally short legs and Johnny said he liked Cooper's interpretation of Captain America.
Sue cleared her throat to make her presence known, and Laura looked up from her tray of sausage rolls. The mother walked around the kitchen's island and her movement made Johnny look up from his drawings. His chair scarped against the wooden floor as he stood and Sue saw that he wore a black t-shirt with blue jeans, all belonging to Clint.
'Susie. How are you feeling?' Johnny said, him and Laura stopping in front of Sue. She glanced at the two children that sat at the table, papers and crayons littering its top. She was confused, but she was far from afraid.
'I'm okay,' she lowered her head into a nod, pressing her lips together in a smile. 'This is certainly not where I thought I would be waking up after... you know...'
'I'm Laura. Clint's told me all about you,' the woman warmly smiled back at Sue. 'I'm a big fan, if you don't mind me saying. Lila has all your action figures.'
'I have action figures?'
'I have them too,' Johnny grabbed the miniature him off the sofa. He held up the plastic figure that was one thirteenth of his size, its hair blonde and its hands holding balls of fire. Its face tried to replicate the male Storm's, but one eye was painted wonky, and its charming grin was off centre.
'We have to get in touch with the manufacturer about that one.'
Laura chuckled at Sue's wit and introduced herself as Clint's wife, the children behind them being theirs. Sue raised her eyebrows but was polite in saying how beautiful Lila and Cooper were. Clint's personal life wasn't talked about, neither was Natasha's. The two were an anomaly to the team, but Sue supposed it was right to assume that the man would have a family.
'Steve really packs a punch, you know,' Sue groaned, a twinge of pain shooting from her head.
'Yeah, sorry about,' Johnny mumbled, Laura walking away at the siblings' personal conversation.
'No, I'm sorry. I wasn't myself and...'
'I know. But you didn't hurt anyone. Steve and I had it under wraps.'
'No, I remember I kicked both of your asses, actually.'
'I hoped you wouldn't remember that part.'
Sue learnt that Thor had left to pursue a vision Wanda had shown him back in the salvage yard. Steve had tried to follow him, but the Asgardian left without much information. Bruce was recovering from his rampage, Natasha doing a good job at helping him. Steve and Tony were outside chopping wood for the house's fireplace and Sue thought about going out to talk to the two. She hadn't seen Tony since they were at the Stark tower, and an apology to Steve was in order for the incident in the city.
But before she could head out the door, Tony walked through with Nick Fury behind him. Sue and Johnny straightened up at the sight of the director, his clothes ordinary and unlike his SHIELD uniform.
'Storms,' Fury nodded at the two, his eye focusing more on Johnny. 'Glad to see you're alive despite the lack of status updates.'
'Count this as all of them compiled into one. It's me in the flesh!' Johnny held his arms out beside him with a sheepish grin. Nick sent a disapproving 'hm' in response.
Tony stepped to be beside Sue. He brushed his hand against hers that hung by her side, making her divert her gaze up to him. She liked the plaid flannel that hung over his simple t-shirt, and the casual jeans that covered his legs. The bags under his eyes were deep, and a scabbed over cut on his cheekbone alluded to the showdown he had with Bruce. He was in better shape than her, but her eyes were free from the scarlet trickery, and that relieved Tony.
'You look horrible,' Tony mentioned and reach up to cup the bruise on her face. 'I can have Rogers assassinated. No questions asked. I know people.'
'He did what you wouldn't have been able to be do,' Sue reached up and took hold of Tony's wrist. His palm was rough, but his thumb pad stroked her tender bruise, soothing it and making Sue want to hum in delight. Tony's eyes twinkled at the sight of Sue's content expression, wishing that he could take away all that had happened. Ultron was his mess, yet Sue was hurt from it. It was like clockwork. Tony created something, it came back to haunt him, dragging Sue down in the process.
Nick called for the team to gather in the living room. With Thor absent, they spread across the sofa and dining table. Laura ushered the kids upstairs and Clint made sure they were out of earshot before Nick started his debrief.
'Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing,' Nick looked to each of them with his one eye.
'What about Ultron himself?' Steve asked.
'Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.'
'Do we have an ally?' Natasha tried.
'Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is.'
As the team discussed the nuclear codes that Ultron was after, Sue felt a tug on the white cardigan that hung past her waist. She looked down, seeing Clint's daughter, Lila, waiting by her side. The girl's large eyes looked up at her with wonder and admiration, her hero in the flesh. Sue's heart melted and she crouched down, Tony glancing down at the absence of her hand that was once entwined with his.
'Hi, Lila,' Sue cooed. 'You're supposed to be upstairs.'
'Mommy told me that I should show you my drawing,' Lila's little voice reached Sue's ear, Nick's babble fading into the background. The little Barton held the paper against her mouth, shy and nervous around the super. It was strange for her to see the life-sized version of her countless action figures. She had every edition, from the first release of brunette Susan Storms, to the most recent blonde ones.
'Your drawing? Let me see,' Sue gently gripped the edge of the paper and pulled it away from Lila's face. She strained her neck to look at the artwork.
Sue was drawn with her red suit and long, flowing, blonde hair. Her brown eyes were dots on a round face, her mouth a curved line to show a smile. Her stick-like hands were above her head to hold a circle outlined in blue. A forcefield, Sue thought. A sun was coloured yellow in the corner of the page and lumpy clouds were dotted through the sky in the background.
'This is beautiful, Lila,' Sue smiled at the little girl, and Lila let her long hair fall in front of her face from the compliment. 'Can I keep this?'
Lila nodded vigorously before running off into the hall to climb the stairs. She took two at a time and called for her Mum to grab her other pictures. She enthused that she wanted to give ones to Captain America and Iron Man.
Sue stood up straight, the picture in her hands and settled deep in her heart. The thought of children had been difficult for her, as recent years have been full of things that were too dangerous for kids. Russians with electric whips, alien invasions, Extremis, Sue's world wasn't meant for something as innocent and delicate as a child. But she approached her forties and soon, her opportunity would be lost forever. Seeing Lila and Cooper run around Laura and Clint reminded Sue that she wanted a family. She wanted to be normal with children and a husband. A husband who would retire from his hero days and show his soft side that Sue knew he had.