T A N S Y

When you hear people talking about being blind, you never hear about the little things. And quite frankly, it was the little things that bothered Elena the most. After she had been checked out of the hospital, she returned to Avengers Tower. It was hard to adjust to a new daily routine, and Elena found that having her disability was more irritating than heartbreaking.

She wasn't sad for herself. Optic nerves couldn't regenerate, and that was final. That was the difference between total blindness and seeing cells. With seeing cells, there was still a tiny chance she would be able to see again.

Elena had lost track on how many times she crashed into a wall or knocked over something fragile. Her nerves probably hated her. If she slammed into enough things, who knew what would go next. She could've lost her smell or taste, or even worse, her hearing. The others never complained when she broke anything, but Elena did. She felt bad that they had to clean up for her messes. It was hers, after all. She caused it, so it was her duty to fix it.

What bothered her the most was that Natasha had to come in her room every morning to affirm that she had dressed properly and if her hair was done right. It was such a simple task and yet she couldn't do it herself. Then again, dreaming with vision was pretty bad. She always woke up in disappointment, thinking that maybe her blindness was a nightmare. And obviously, it never was.

Sighing, Elena had a hand stretched out in front of her as she stumbled down the hallway. Bruce had called for her through Jarvis, and she had refused the help of the others. She needed to figure out how to live with herself. She couldn't live her whole life relying on someone else. Besides, they had already done so much for her already.

It's time for change.

She bit down, rubbing her wrist. Change was easier said than done. It had already been too late anyway. She couldn't just turn back and ask for help right after she had rejected it. There was a line between what she should be able to do alone and what she needed help with.

Elena cursed under her breath when she realized she had no idea where she had wandered off to. She blinked. Why did the tower have to be so big?

"Jarvis?" She finally relented. "Where am I?"

"You are in the games room, miss. Dr. Banner is waiting for you in the labs. Would you like me to find the quickest route?"

"Yes, thank you."

It took much difficulty, but Elena eventually made it to the lab. Stumbling, Elena almost yelped as she hit the glass door. Bruce was at her side immediately.

"Careful," he said, drawing her away from the glass and leading her inside. "You don't want to hurt yourself even more."

"Right," she sighed. "Why did you need me?"

"Tony and I have been working," he said, taking her hand.

Elena furrowed her eyebrows when he strapped something around both of her wrists. It felt like leather, but she felt metal when she touched the top of it. There was a strange design, and it was like a foreign language.

"What is this?" she asked.

"A pair of vambraces," Bruce said. "We wanted to help with your condition, so we tried replicating electroreception."

Elena frowned. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Basically, it's the ability to comprehend electrical fields to get a better sense of your surroundings."

"Does it work?"

Bruce reached down to her wrists and pushed down a button. A whirring sound began buzzing, and Elena closed her eyes. She gasped when her fingertips began to tingle. She was able to imagine her surroundings. Elena couldn't quite describe the sensation, but she was able to "see" the outline of things.

She was able to "see" again. Or at least, the closest to seeing she would ever get.

Opening her eyes, she turned to Bruce. A smile spread on her face, and she pulled him into a hug. "Thank you!" she cried, a frog caught in her throat. "Thank you so much. Bruce, I... I don't know what else to say."

He laughed and began to respond, but it was cut short when Tony burst into the room. His eyes were wide, and his breath was hard. Elena had never seen him so frazzled.

"Dumpling! Banner!" He waved an envelope. "You might want to see this."

Groaning, Elena already knew what was coming. She had been expecting it, and it had already been enough time for her arm to heal. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought Lieselotte had forgotten everything. Her face still fell though, and the happiness faded away. Ignorant bliss may not have been a good thing, but it was still bliss. "Lieselotte?" she guessed. "Where did she say to meet?"

"How did you know?"

Elena shrugged and crossed her arms. Her eyes hardened. "I happen to know my enemies very well. Now, where did she want to meet?"

"The old lab," Tony said, reading off the letter. "Tomorrow morning."

That didn't surprise her either.

Elena slouched down, rubbing her wrist. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. Of course, she had to choose the one place she couldn't physically stand. Swallowing, she nodded. "I should prepare."

Tony stopped her before she could leave. "We're not even going to talk about this?" he asked.

"I have to go," she whispered. "Will... I need to—I need to make sure he didn't die in vain."

"We're going with you."

"No you're not."

Tony wasn't having any of it. "Dumpling, have you learned nothing? Every single time you go off on your own, you end up half dead. The cycle's only going to keep on going. That or you're going to end up dead for real."

Elena looked down, biting on her lip. The penny in her pocket seemed to weigh a ton, burning through her clothes. She reached in her pocket to touch it, twirling it around her fingers. Change, she reminded herself. She needed to change.

Sucking in a breath, she nodded slowly. "Okay," she whispered. "But this is my war. Lieselotte is mine."

Tony chuckled, shaking his head. He punched her in the shoulder. "Already done."

"Good."

...

ONE MORE CHAPTER, FOLKS. THEN, THE EPILOGUE. THEN, WE DONE HEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH