WARNING! MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

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twenty-one

(—hand in hand)

JAMES PULLED MAEV to her feet, the fond smile on his face still lingering. His eyes glance over her shoulder and the smile fades slightly, his eyebrows pulling together. "James, what is it?" Maev asks, but the soldier doesn't respond, still fixated on the figure coming towards them.

Maev turns around, her stomach dropping as she comes face to face with her sister. Adaire Barebone looks as if she's seen a ghost, her skin drained of color but her dark eyes glimmering with hope. She's older and looks tired, shoulders curled forward and bags visible underneath her eyes. Adaire opens her mouth but no words come out as she takes a hesitant step towards Maev, hand reaching up to curl around the necklace dangling around her neck.

Maev's eyes follow the movement, catching on the two glistening stones nestled against each other. One is obsidian with the barest shimmer of crimson visible, the other a bright red that is filled with veins of yellow and orange. Witch stones, Maev realizes, one for her and the other...

"Narcissa?" Maev asks softly.

"You both were gone," Adaire replied, sorrow flickering in her eyes and she glances down at the ground, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry," the Bone Witch tells her sister, "for not listening to you when I should have."

"You're here now," is all Maev says, holding her hand out. Adaire drags her gaze from the ground to Maev's outstretched hand before reaching out, the two sisters clasping forearms for a moment before dropping.

"I will fight with you," Adaire says, "this time and any time after that until the earth claims me."

Maev tilts her head slightly, "This time?"

"Cap needs our help." Maev looks over her shoulder at Sam as he approaches, "he and the other survivors brought us back but I'm afraid they bit off more than they can chew."

James and Maev share a look before the soldier replies, "Lead the way."

It didn't take them long to regroup with the others, a man in unique clothing waving his arms and a portal appearing. Maev squeezes James's hand tightly as they follow the others through the portal, a war-torn landscape greeting them.

Maev turns slowly in a circle, watching as more portals appear, people from all around the world and even in space joining the original Avengers in their fight. She turns to James, "After all of this I feel like we should go on vacation."

"Oh yeah?" He asks, looking down at her, "where would we go?"

"Anywhere you want."

"And what about you? What do you want?"

Maev smiles, "As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we go."

"Aw isn't this cute, miss creepy crawly and her tin man making vacation plans." A voice coos and Maev looks down, a raccoon staring up at her with his arms crossed, "Why don't you save the honeymoon planning until after we defeat the giant alien army?"

Maev laughs slightly, about to respond when Steve's voice catches her attention. "Avengers...." she rolls her head in a slow circle, loosening her muscles and she closes her eyes, feeling her magic whisper to her, "Assemble!"

Maev opens her eyes and winks at James before letting the shadows consume her. She flashes across the field, slamming down into the ground and letting her magic rip through the earth, a resounding crack! echoing in the air as the earth recoils, buckling and splintering, dozens of aliens falling into the deep chasm she created. With a snap the earth slams back together, leaving behind a large hole in the middle of the alien's army.

Maev straightens up and grins as her earpiece crackles, "You don't waste any time do you?"

"Not in my nature Steve." She palms a knife, "by the way, nice hammer. The shield wasn't enough for you?" Blood drips onto the earth as her eyes are consumed by darkness.

"Thought it was time to change things up."

Maev breaks into a sprint, bloodied fingers curling around the hilt of her sword. She jumps up and slices an alien in half, her blade humming with magic and aiding her as she twirled around, pure magic blasting outwards and decapitating the aliens closest to her. Chaos reigns around her and she fights her way towards James, ending up back to back with her ranju, the two fighting as one.

The witch curses as bolts of light starting raining down upon them, the gigantic ship overhead firing at the fighting mass below. James tackles her to the side, an explosion echoing in her ears as Maev stares at the destroyed earth where she had stood seconds before. She looks up at James who is still hovering over her, his back tense as earth shatters around them.

Without warning the ship ceases fire before the guns are rotating. James helps Maev to her feet and the two stare up as a bright light slams into the ship, tearing clean through it.

Her blood hums softly and her attention is drawn to a worn looking teenager across the field who stares up in wonder as the bright light lands, a woman appearing. Shadows twisted and curl and Maev appears next to Peter Parker, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Hey kid." He jumps, whirling around with his fists raised only to lower them slowly, a wide grin appearing on his face.

"Hey! How are you? Did you get all dusty too?"

"Tell you what, after all this over we can go get burgers again and catch up, but for now I think it might be a better idea to fight, you know, the alien army charging at us." Maev drawls, amused.

He nods quickly and Maev drops her hand, turning to look at the churning mass of aliens. Peter frowns and looks around, the hair on his arms rising in warning. The temperature drops quickly, a chill running down Peter's spine, and Maev sheathes her sword, keeping her eyes on the enemy.

"Took you two long enough."

Peter Parker watches in confusion as two women make their way to stand next to Maev. All three have obsidian hair and wearing similar armor, though like how Maev's armor is rimmed in red, the woman on her left has white rimmed armor and the woman on her right has orange rimmed armor.

"Maybe you should stop running so much," Narcissa says, rolling her shoulders back.

Maev smirks and looks to her right, finding her expression mirrored on her sister's face. She then looks to her left, "You know, you're going to be breaking every single one of your precious rules if we do this."

"I know," Adaire replied, "and I don't care."

Maev looks straight ahead once more and holds her hands out to the sides. Both her sisters take her offered hands and move so they can clasp the others hand. The three stand in a triangle heads bowed down, and then they begin to murmur.

The air grows heavy, pressing down and making it hard to breathe. The Sister Three chant in unity, eyes pressed firmly closed as they draw forth their power, electricity crackling, and the ground shuddering. Their voices rise and they lift their heads, tilting their faces to the sky as the foreign words ring in the air.

The pressure disappears without warning, almost as if it had never been there in the first place, an eerie silence temporarily blocking out the sounds of battle. It was unnatural and unnerving causing worry to crash through many of the fighters. And then the sky seemed to scream, a loud piercing sound echoing through the air as a mass of darkness appears, pulsating and twisting high above in the sky as thousands upon thousands of spikes form from the pure magic.

Three pairs of eyes snap open: gold, silver, black.

And the spikes shoot through the air, piercing through the aliens with alarming accuracy, slicing through shields and killing hundreds within seconds.

The Sister Three break apart, breathing heavily. Maev reaches up, wiping the blood running from her nose away. She stumbles back slightly only to find a familiar metal hand steadying her.

Thunder rumbles and the hair on her arms stand up. She goes to grab her sword as an alien lunges at her and James, only for it to turn into dust. She drops her hand slowly, watching with wide eyes as the army disappears into thin air.

"We won?" She asks quietly, almost afraid at how quickly it had ended as if there might be another alien force waiting for them.

"We won," James tells her firmly, before saying it once again, to reassure both himself and Maev that this was real.

We won, Maev thinks as she feels her blood warn her of the injuries she'd sustained and the injuries littering the rest of the standing Avengers, but at what cost?

Maev had thought long and hard about what element Tony Stark would have aligned with had he been born a witch. Her first instinct was to label him as a fire alignment, but the more she thought it about it, the less likely it seemed. A witch's alignment relied on their core principles, on who they were and what they believed in and what drove them to keep going.

Fire witches tended to have strong emotions, to be passionate and hard-headed and act on impulse. All of these were traits Maev had discerned Tony to have, but she knew that there was always more to humans then what they presented.

She'd never been one to shy away from asking things of people, but the witch had decided to observe for once. She'd watched the way people had acted around Tony, she watched the way his death affected them, she watched the way his life had impacted them. She watched and watched and watched before coming to her conclusion.

So now, the witch stood next to her ranju, wearing a black dress that skimmed above her knee, her hands cradling an object hidden from sight. There were differences between witches and humans, and one of those differences were funerals.

Tony Stark's funeral was the first one Maev had ever attended, and she hoped it would be the last.

It was hard to see the quiet pain engraved on everyone's face who was present, some more outwardly expressing their grief than others. Her magic shifted underneath her skin, the urge to ease their pain rising, but Maev knew this wasn't a wound she could heal with a few minutes. This was a wound that would always linger, a shadow of what they once had and what had been taken from them.

The witch resisted the urge to fidget, instead, closing her fingers tighter over the smooth stone in her hands. She hadn't had an interaction with Tony, she had barely even acknowledged him, so she felt as if she was imposing on this deeply personal event. So, instead of watching Pepper Pots lower the garland into the lake, she cast her gaze over the crowd.

Tony Stark had touched the lives of many people, and she felt sorrowful that he hadn't stuck around to see the impact he had.

It was because of that impact that Maev had come to the funeral after spending the night far away from the others, completing one of the oldest spells witches had. The crowd shifted, starting to break apart, but Maev stood still staring out at the lake. She broke out of her trance after James nudged her and cast a soft smile in his direction before moving.

The witch walked up the wooden stairs and hesitated, staring at the bench where a little girl sat, her feet swinging absentmindedly, eyes still glistening with the aftermath of tears. She slowly approached, biting her lower lip before asking, "Is it alright if I sit down?"

Morgan looked up, tiny eyebrows furrowing and lips puckering slightly in confusion at the strange woman. She was different then anyone the girl had met, tattoos curling around her forearm and peeking out from the neckline of her dress, and for a second the little girl thought she smelled of summer— of warm grass and flowers blooming and the rich scent of soil.

Morgan nodded and Maev sat down, perching carefully on the edge of the bench, facing the girl. "My name is Maev," she said, her voice soft "do you believe in magic?"

The little girl perked up and nodded, "Yes, do you?"

Maev smiled, "Of course, after all, I am a witch."

Her eyes grew wide and her mouth gaped open slightly as she leaned forward, "Really?"

"Really." Maev said, "I'd like to show you something"

Morgan glanced down at the witch's closed hands and slowly held out her own hands. Maev uncurled her fingers from the stone and placed it gently in the little girl's hand, the witch stone flaring from the new contact. Morgan held it up to her face, eyes wide with wonder, sadness temporarily forgotten.

The stone was a little bigger than a cotton ball and perfectly smooth. It was a myriad of deep red and rich brown, flecks of gold swimming in whorls of tan and cream. It pulsated with warmth and even in the daylight glowed slightly.

"What is it?" She asked curiously, tracing a prominent vein of gold.

"A witch stone," Maev said, "and I'd like you to have it."

"I can keep it?" Her excitement was palpable and Maev nodded slightly, an invisible weight on her chest easing. Morgan smiled widely and threw her arms around the witch. Maev blinked in surprise before putting her arms around the child, hugging her lightly in fear of crushing the small human.

Once she had let go, Maev stood up and bid her goodbye, walking over to a small group who had been watching the interaction with blatant curiosity. James immediately sought out her hand, locking their pinkies together. She waited, glancing between Sam and Steve until the former finally broke.

"Okay, what was that?"

"A witch stone," she said, amused with the annoyance that flashed across his face, "it's one of our oldest traditions." She paused, choosing her next words carefully so not to confuse them, "We don't have funerals because witches revert back to their natural elements upon dying. So instead, a witch close to the family will craft a witch stone, an embodiment of the passed that takes the form of a stone crafted from the element they aligned with. A good memory is typically tied to it and the witch who crafts it will also bless it to bring something such as peace to the family."

Maev gave them a moment to absorb the information before continuing, "I tried to find a witch who may have known him better than I but..." she sighed, "well it didn't turn out. So I asked a human close to him to offer up a memory for me to craft the witch stone, which I then blessed with love and protection."

"Who helped you make it?"

"I meant for only one to give me a memory," Maev told Steve, "but in the end both Peter Parker and Harley Keener helped me."

It was quiet for a moment before Sam spoke up, "What element was he?"

"Earth," Maev replied.

"Like you." James murmured and Maev nodded in confirmation.

Yes, she thought, because Tony Stark was loyal and fierce and reliable no matter the situation, and I am honored to have the same alignment as a human as brave as him.

Her eyes caught on a figure standing away from the majority of the people, staring out at the water and only a few feet away from the small group. She gently unlocked her pinkie from James' and touched his arm lightly, "I'll be back." Shadows curl around her palm before vanishing, leaving behind a light weight. She stepped onto the rocky ground, coming to a stop next to the assassin.

Clint slowly drags his attention from the calm water to the witch standing next to him. He opens his mouth to ask her a question but finds he still can't speak, that he still feels too hollow to even think of forming words.

Maev looks back at him, holding out her hand. He raises an eyebrow but stretches out his own hand, watching as she gingerly places a stone on his hand. For a second he swears he sees red hair out of the corner of his eyes and he whips his head to the left, disappointment and sadness shooting through him when he couldn't find his old partner.

He looks back down at the witch stone, tilting his head slightly as he brought it closer to his eyes. It seemed to be simply white at first, but as the light caught the witch stone, a multitude of colors flared to life, dancing across the surface in a luminescent pattern.

"Who gave the memory?" He finally asked, having heard her conversation with the others.

"I did," Maev said softly.

Clint looked up at her in surprise, fingers curling tightly around the witch stone, "...what was it?"

Maev's eyes darkened slightly and she looked back out at the water. She didn't speak for a moment and Clint frowned at the lack of response, wondering if he'd crossed a line he didn't know about.

"About a year or so before the battle in Wakanda," Maev finally said, interlacing her fingers together as she watched a dragonfly skim across the water, "I found myself in a situation that I didn't want to be in. I felt," she pursed her lips slightly as she mulled over the right words, "lost in a sense. I was in a tiny city in far Eastern Russia when we crossed paths—"

Maev didn't know quite how she found herself being mugged, but what she did know is that her head was spinning and she was too tired to really care. The man with the gun spoke again and she just stared at him blankly, not sober enough understanding a word he was saying other than 'money' and 'purse'.

She swayed on her feet slightly and blinked lethargically as the man dropped to the floor without warning. She snorted, amused, and nudged his arm with her boot.

"You look terrible."

The witch looked up, stumbling forward as a grin encased her lips, "Natasha," she drawled, dragging out the woman's name as she slung her arm over her shoulder, "wanna have a drink with me?"

Natasha hooked her arm around the witch's side, "I think you've had enough to drink for the both of us."

Maev laughs, "Probably."

She willing lets Natasha guide her through the streets, starting to sober up slightly by the time they get to a dingy hotel. She trips over her own feet and laughs at herself, falling backward onto the small couch. She sinks into it, watching as Natasha locks the door and double checks that room.

"You dyed your hair," Maev says, motioning towards the now blonde strands pulled back into a ponytail, "I like it."

"Thanks." The assassin says, offering her a glass of water. The witch takes it and drains it in one go, leaning her head back and staring up at the multitude of cracks in the ceiling. It's silent for a while as the alcohol starts to leave Maev's system, and then Natasha finally breaks it, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Maev sighs, keeping her gaze trained on the ceiling, "I did some bad things."

"Bad like you gambled and lost a few bucks or bad as in you did something more permanent?"

"I killed nearly two hundred witches," Maev whispers, feeling her throat constrict, "by the end I didn't... I didn't even remember my own name."

Natasha is quiet as she absorbs the information, waiting to see if the witch had any more to say. Once it was evident she was done talking the assassin stands up and walks over, sitting next to the witch, "We've all done things we're not proud of, the most important thing you can do is acknowledge them and then learn to live with them. Don't let it consume you."

Maev lets her head flop to the side, looking at Natasha, "Has anyone ever told you that you're really fucking wise sometimes?"

Natasha laughs, "You'd be the first." She gets to her feet, stretching her arms overhead, "I'm going to get dinner, you staying the night?"

"You don't mind if I crash on your shitty couch?"

"You can stay as many nights as your back can handle."

Maev smiled slightly, rolling her head back upright, "Good luck getting rid of me then."

The witch ended up staying with the black widow for nearly a week before the two finally parted ways, Maev determined to take her advice to heart.

James finds her soon after she's finished talking to Clint and leads her along the shoreline of the small lake. It doesn't take long for their hands to interlock, the two finding it hard to keep apart for very long. While James didn't remember anything between the snap and now, Maev still felt the lingering hollowness in her chest from wherever she was in that time, resulting in her seeking out skin to skin contact to assure herself this was all real.

Not that James minded at all.

"Steve wants to talk to you." He finally says and Maev nods slightly, letting him lead her further away from the cabin to where a lone figure stands. "I'll wait here," he murmurs, "I already talked to him."

Maev frowns slightly but lets go of his hand, walking over to Steve Rogers. She comes to a stop next to him, looking him up and down, noticing the newly cleaned uniform, shield and hammer resting by his feet. "You're looking very patriotic, as always." She says as a greeting, clasping her hands in front of her.

"I'm getting ready to return the stones to their proper times."

Maev narrows her eyes slightly, taking in the tenseness of his set jaw, the way he refused to look at her and instead stared ahead as if he was searching for an answer. She then thought of James and the quiet acceptance that had been radiating from him as he encouraged her to go talk to his best friend and realization struck her. "And you're thinking of staying."

"I am."

Maev shifted her weight to her left leg, propping her left hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow, "And what's stopping you?"

"Bucky, Sam, the kid Tony was so torn up about, god his actual kid—"

Maev held up a hand, "I'm going to stop you right there. Peter has his aunt and I'm sure loads of friends willing to look out for him. Morgan is protected by not only her mother, who is a force to be reckoned with, but also by everybody else Tony managed to reach. James is a grown man who has clearly given you his go-ahead, and Sam isn't one to hold you accountable if you're wishing to seek out some happiness. So in my opinion, not that you asked for it but apparently you need to hear it, no one is stopping you but yourself.

I get that since you were given that serum an untold amount of pressure was put on you to be selfless, to put everyone before you, to save the other guy and lay your life down. And you've done all of those things, time and time again, so if you think you have a shot at real happiness, whether that's here or in the past, be selfish for once and live goddamnit."

He turned his head to look at her, a smile appearing, "Buck told me you'd give me a real talking to but I didn't realize you had it in you."

Maev glared at him mockingly, "I am more than happen to impart wisdom on boneheaded idiots like yourself."

Steve laughed sharply before turning to face her, "Do me a favor?"

"Depends on what that favor is."

"Look out for him, for all of them." He asks her, eyes searching her face for something.

"I will, I promise." She held out her hand and he shook it, a teasing grin appearing on his face as he glanced over at James who was lingering in the distance.

"One more thing?" The witch tilts her head curiously, "when he finally drags up the nerve to ask you, say yes... or let him down easy, either one."

"Ask me what?"

Steve leans down to pick up the shield and hammer, "It's a human thing, not sure if you'll be able to understand quite yet."

Maev rolls her eyes, "Whatever old man."

"Hey," he says, pointing a finger at her, "your boyfriend happens to be an old man."

"Yeah, yeah, get a move on. You're probably late for a date or something." She meant it as a joke but was surprised to see the shock flash across his face.

But then he just smiles slightly and moves to walk past her, "By the way, I never said congratulations."

"For what?"

"For joining the team, aren't you excited to be an Avenger?"

Maev inhales sharply and wheezes, a cough sputtering out of her mouth. "Wait what? Steve," the man keeps walking and she shouts after him, "Steve! Steve, you can't be serious!"

He tosses something over his shoulder at her and she catches the thin plastic rectangle, staring down at the keycard in confusion. "You don't have to go right away, but when you're ready, they'll take you. I'm sure Queens would be rather excited to see you."

Maev stares down at the card, the silver Avengers logo catching the light. She flips the keycard over and laughs slightly. In the upper left corner is a small picture of her, one that she knew someone must've dug up from ages ago, past her looking rather annoyed at having to get her picture taken. And there, underneath her picture were a few lines of text.

AVENGERS ID ISSUE 013

BLOOD WITCH

Underneath her supposed title, was words scribbled in permanent marker, the handwriting barely legible. Maev laughs softly as she reads the words voodoo girl, knowing Sam had likely gotten a hold of the card before Steve had given it to her.

Grass rustles slightly and she looks over at James, still smiling.

"How was your talk with Steve, doll?"

"It was good, though he did give me a curious piece of advice."

James slings his human arm over her shoulders, pressing his lips lightly against her head. "And what was it?"

"I'll tell you one day."

"Aw c'mon now doll, that's not fair."

Maev just smiled, leaning into his side and placing her arm around his waist, "You should know by now I rarely play fair."

James laughs, "You ready to get out of here?"

"Where are we going?" Maev asked, looking up at him.

James looks down at her, stormy gray eyes bright, "I have a few places in mind."

Maev moved so she was standing in front of him, reaching up to gently place her hands on the sides of his face, tilting his head down, "If you think of one really, really hard, I could take us there."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

James thinks for a moment before leaning down, their faces a few inches apart, "Okay, I have one."

Maev closes the gap between their lips and as they kiss shadows enclose the couple, leaving behind nothing more than grassy footsteps as the witch and the assassin begin their next journey... together.

And in the distance an old man smiles, knowing that for once, everything was going to be alright. 

i hope you guys enjoyed the super long chapter! the next chapter will be the epilogue so expect some fluff hehe. let me know what you think :) 

also, in case you guys were curious, i imagined each of the witch stones as the following:

Natasha's (air)  — White Opal

Tony's (earth) — Tiger's Eye

Maev's (earth) — Black Star Diopside

Narcissa's (fire) — Red Agate