2HOLLOWED BE THY NAME
A/N: Okay, It occurred to me that not everyone knows the terms they use in Bleach so here's a brief reference list before we get into the story. Please note, Some of these are pulled from the Wiki, others are from memory, and some have had liberties taken with them such as Reishi.
Sōsuke Aizen is the former captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13. He later leaves Soul Society with his followers, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen. His lieutenant was Momo Hinamori. He formerly served as the lieutenant of the 5th Division under Shinji Hirako. After waging war against Soul Society with an army of Arrancar, Aizen was defeated by Loki after slighting the god.
Adjuntias: The third stage of Hollow evolution, Hollows at this stage tend to resemble animals. In Lila/Apacci's case, her animal is a deer. Hollows at this stage are always hungry, but are capable of maintaining their sense of self.
Arrancar: An artifcial stage of Hollow Evolution. It requires the usage of the Hōgyoku on a Hollow of Adjuntas rank or higher. Hollows of this class are considered to be the most dangerous and powerful in existence. Shiginami that encounter these Hollows are to use extreme caution when doing so.
Chain of Fate: A chain bonding a soul to their mortal body, the breaking of it results in the death of the person it is attached to. Once broken it begins to degrade and eat itself. If the chain vanishes entirely a hole forms where it made contact with the soul and Hollow is created.
Ceivra: Means blue doe in spanish. Apacci's Zanpokto. In this universe it started out as a normal recurve bow, but due to it being destroyed with Lila's body during the Decimation, it became a part of her soul. When the Hōgyokuwas used to turn Apacci into an Arrancar, it gained a soul and became her Chackarms. Fast forward to the Restoration, and it becomes a recurve bow once more, but it retains it's bladed edges on its outward facing edges. Along with the bladed edges, it also possesses six spikes, three on each end of the bow. It also retains the ability to return to it's Chakarm form.
Gillan: The second stage of Hollow evolution. Hollows at this stage resemble six story tall hooded humanoids. They are almost identical to one another, garbbed in black robes with a ring of spikes around their neck. The only way to tell one gillian apart from another is their unique mask, and even this is not guaranteed. This stage is the most dangerous stage for a hollow, where they are vulnerable to loosing their sense of self to the millions of souls that they have consumeed. If this occurs then their mask looses any unique features that it possessed. This is the fate that awaits most hollows.
Gigai: A false body that can be used by a Shinigami or Arrancar to interact with the mortal realm. Natasha and her two normal Fraccion acquired theirs from Salzayapporo prior to leaving Los Noches
Gotei 13: The primary military branch of Soul Society and the main military organization most Shinigami join after leaving the academy.
Hollows: A soul that has lost their heart. These spirits consume other souls in order to fill the gaping hole in their souls, usually starting those that they were close to in life.
Hōgyoku: a small, bluish-purple orb composed of a unique substance thought to have been capable of dissolving the boundaries between Shinigami and Hollow, allowing one race to attain the powers of the other. However, its true power lies in its ability to sense the hearts of those around it and materialize their deepest desire.
Hueco Mundo: The Hollow World. A vast wasteland of dominated by an endless desert of white sand, and a never ending night.
Los Noches: One of the few structures that exist in Hueco Mundo. This is the only hub of civilization in Hueco Mundo. Once controlled by the Vasto Lord Barriagan, it was conquered by the Shinigami Aizen Souske, prior to it destruction at
Menos: Lowest tier of Hollow evolution. It is the first stage after Hollowfication.
Pluses: A normal soul just after death. Vulnerable to hollows, and Hollowfication.
Reishi: A type of spirit particle. Can be used to enhance foods for Hollows or Shinamgi consumption.
Reiryoku: (Spiritual Power) is a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and willpower of the user. It is used by Shinigami and other spiritual beings to provide power for their various abilities.
Shinigami: (Viz "Soul Reaper(s)") are guardians of the souls who are going through the circle of transmigration. In ancient times, they were known as Balancers They purify Hollows who do evil in the World of the Living and ensure the safe crossing of souls - the Pluses who have lost their way after death - by giving them a soul burial.
Sereitei: The Soul Society. This is where the Gotei 13 call home. It is were souls who have had a soul burial preformed go to. There are said to be over 150 separate districts.
Tier Harribel: The Third most powerful Arrancar in Aizen's army, she was given the title of Tres Espada. She later revealed herself to be the soul of Natasha Romanoff.
Zanpakutō: The Spirit weapon of a Shinigami or Arrancar. They usually require their weilder to learn their true name in order to unleash their true potential.
Okay I think that should cover the basics for those unfamiliar with the Bleach universe.
Disclaimer I do not own any of the following franchises and Arana is based off of Ryuugi's story.
HOLLOWED BE THY NAME
PART II
New Avengers HQ Battlefield Ten hours later
Since waking up from the ice Steve Rodgers had seen a lot of things. Watching the recently resurrected fourteen year old daughter of one of his friends brutally decapitate Thanos and then devour his soul? Well, that was something that threw everyone off guard. That wasn't even counting the fact that the girl had arrived with some seriously overpowered friends of her own. Such as the blonde haired woman that was standing not five feet away from him looking like the cat that ate the canary. Even stranger was the fact that Clint seemed to know her somehow, despite only just meeting her during the battle.
A battle that was finally wrapping up as the last remnants of Thanos's army were destroyed. The death of Thanos had caused the enemy forces to rout in spectacular fasion. With some trying to get back to their dropships, and scrambling to get off the ground, and others making a run for the countryside. Needless to say, neither escape vector worked, with the blonde woman in front of him being the one that literally wiped out over half of the fleeing army in one attack. When Steve had asked her about what kind of attack that was, she simply said "A Cero". Needless to say, with the enemy force in tatters, and the United States Armed Forces finally entering fight, there were wasn't much left for the Avengers to do. So Steve decided some proper reunions were in order. Along with passing along the hard news that one of their number didn't make it back from the time heist.
So there, in the shadow of Thanos's ruined ship, the Avengers gathered, with a celebratory joy filling the air. After a few minutes Steve decided that it would best to honor their fallen friends. So raising his voice so all could hear, he spoke. "Five years ago I thought we had been beaten in way that there was no way to recover from. Many of us lost friends and family alike, and many of you were lost as well. But today, we were able to bring back all that was lost and it was partially due to sacrifice of Natasha Romanoff. Who traded her life for the soul stone." He said pausing as Tier made her way towards him, and then she spoke. "Sacrifice is but one aspect of death Captain Rodgers, and though my body did die on Vormir, I didn't stop protecting those I cared about in life."
The people nearest her nervously moved back from her as murmurers spread through the crowd. Tony grumbled and cursed before looking the woman dead in the eyes. "You know when FRIDAY told me that she had 98% match for you Natasha, I assumed it was a glitch caused by the bombing. but I guess Banner was able to bring you back." Nat gave Tony a sad smile and shook her head, and many in the crowd paled. "Technically I'm still dead. Give me a few minutes of your time and I will tell you all how the Dead walk among you." Murmurers and hushed whispers filled the crowd and eventually It was Dr. Strange who spoke. "Natasha Romanoff, I foresaw millions of versions of our battle with Thanos. However I only saw one chance at succsess. In none of those potental futures did you or the three girls appear as you are now. In order to determine whether or not we have successfully defeated Thanos, I believe we should listen to her story."
Natasha smiled at Strange and nodded, "Very well then I shall start with what happend after Vormir. When I died in 2014, the soul stone showed me the truth of things and gave me a choice. I could become a Hollow and seek redemption, or I could go to hell. Naturally I chose a chance for redemption and found myself in place with endless sands and an eternal night."
"You speak of the Hollowed lands Ms. Romanoff. Does that mean you, yourself are a Hollow?" Steven Strange asked. He had heard of the creatures and even fought a few, but he had never seen one that looked so human before. And today he had seen four such creatures.
Tier nodded, "Yes Dr. Strange I am a Hollow, but a Hollow of the rarest sort. Myself and my three companions, are what are called Arrancar. We are a fusion of shinigami and hollow. The one that killed Thanos was resurrected by the Gauntlet in a way that made her half human, half Arrancar." Before anything else could be said, there was a commotion in the back of the crowd. Pushing his way forward Peter Quill had one question on his mind, "You said you died on Vormir right?"
Nat nodded "That is correct." She said.
Rubbing the back of his head Starlord asked her if she had seen HIS Gamora. She gave him a sad shake of her head. "As I said, I did not stay on Vormir, as such I am unsure where her soul may have went. I myself spent the four years before the Decimation preparing a safe haven within Hueco Mundo in the event I encountered any of the Decimated. Fortunately time moves differently in Hueco Mundo. For every year here was equal to one hundred years there. Four hundred years is a long time, plenty of time to build a small refuge. One that I hoped would never have to be used by anyone that I knew in life."
She sent a sad glance in Clint's direction. "Sadly, as many of you have probably figured out by now, I did come across one such person. The girl that killed Thanos is none other than Lila Barton, daughter of Clint Barton. She along with most of the Bartons were among the Decimated. Clint survived but the rest of his family did not." Murmurers once again filled the air, but Natasha continued her story. "By the time I came across her, I had already found myself with a pair of followers, Franscisa Mila-Rose and Cyan Sung-sun. Both of whom played a part in defeating Thanos today." She looked at the gathering around her. "I must admit, I actually visited each and everyone of those that I knew would die that day so that I could identify their spiritual signatures should I ever come across them."
She grimaced a bit. "After the Decimation I spent over one hundred twenty years searching Hueco Mundo for any familiar signatures, before I encountered Lila." The grimace was replaced by a grin. "I found her by chance, fighting for her soul against a much more powerful hollow. She was brash and her skills were lacking. But she was someone I knew and that was a good enough reason for me to interfere. So I stepped in and ran the Hollow off, before taking Lila under my protection. Of course I ended up encountering the other hollow all over again." She said with a scowl. "I found myself being bested in combat only to be saved by a Reaper with delusions of grandeur, In the end, Lila, Mila-Rose, and Sung-sun, along with myself, found ourselves conscripted into his army. In exchange for our services we were made into Arrancar, and gifted with power beyond what we would have naturally achieved."
By this point, Clint looked ready to murder somebody. "You let my daughter get conscripted into an army?" Natasha held her hands up in a calming position. "In my defense he didn't give me very many options. He was considered to be the most powerful being in Hueco Mundo, and his swordsmanship, along with his skills as a commander, cemented that title." She looked down, unable to meet Clint's gaze. "He gave us a choice join and be rewarded or perish. I do not know if there is an afterlife after the afterlife, and I didn't want Lila to come back brain dead because of my pride." Clint backed down, but his fist were still clinched in rage. Still he understood and respected Natasha's decision. He still got his little girl back after all. So she did do something right he supposed.
With Clint's anger diffused, Natasha looked at the crowd around her, which had grown slightly bigger since she started telling all. "Of course after joining Aizen's army we discovered that not all was as it seemed. There were many others like ourselves with in it. But as it turned out Aizen wanted to overthrow the current ruler of Sereitei, and claimed god was dead." She snorted. "I could have told him that. What god creates a place like Hueco Mundo?" She shook her head in disgust. "He said he would use the spiritual equivalent of the Infinity stones to become a new god. In fact when Banner undid the Decimation, we were preparing an invasion on soul society. Nice timing on that by the way. Got me out of that meeting in a hurry."
Bruce blushed a darker shade of green, "Ah, you give me too much credit Nat. Besides you said your still dead, so obviously I didn't effect you." Natasha gave him a look of incrudlidly. "Lila was also present at that meeting. The sight of her turning into spiritual dust was enough to send half of Los Noches into panic, and gave me the excuse I needed to acquire false bodies for my followers and myself. If anything Loki's the one with even better timing."
The Asgardians in the crowd suddenly went stiff, as Thor ran up to Natasha. "Loki lives?!" Nat nodded her head, "If what Yamamoto, the head of the Gotei 13 says is true. Then yes, not only does Loki live, but he has also slain Aizen, along with many of the Espada within Los Noches. He apparently attacked not long after I left. Which in Hueco Mundo time was a week ago."
She looked around at the the rest of the crowd, "So any other questions?" The crowd suddenly drowned her in questions. As she answered every question the best she could, and denied request after request. During all this she couldn't help but wonder how her Fraccion were doing now that one of their own was half human.
Barton Family Farmhouse After the battle...
Laura Barton was usually a very patient woman. But after having discovered that she had lost five years with her husband and five hundred more with her daughter, her patience was practically nonexistent at this point. Particularly since her daughter had taken it upon herself to kill the being that had apparently killed Laura and her children in the first place. Fortunately, her daughter had already returned from the battlefield, along with her two, friends? Teammates? Sisters? Laura wasn't sure how to categorize the two other girls that her daughter was apparently very close to. And that wasn't even counting the strange and enigmatic Tier Harribel. (The woman knew her way around the house as though she had been there multiple times. Hell, she even knew where they kept the inflatable mattresses at, which was saying something. Seeing as how half the time Laura had trouble finding them!) But the one person she wanted to see the most had yet to come home. She wanted her husband back home damn it!
So there she sat in her living room, waiting, and praying for her husband to come home. It was around 10 o'clock at night when her prayers were answered. Her sons already having gone to bed, and the three girls having silently made their way to her daughter's room after they came home. The sound of a shower going for a third time made her wonder if the girls would turn in for the night. Laura listened to the soft voices coming down from her daughter's room, and a smile crossed her face. Tomorrow would be very interesting if she had any say about.
The sound of static filling the air got Laura's attention. Getting up, she made her way to the front door just in time to be greeted by her husband's warm embrace. "God, I've missed you so much. So very much." He said as held her tight. Looking up at him, she couldn't help but notice his roguish looking haircut, the scars she didn't recall him having, and the haunted look in his eyes. "Clint, what happened to you while we were gone?"
He didn't answer her at first, but a sad smile soon crossed his face. "I lost her Laura, I lost Nat. She died trying to help bring you four back." Laura suddenly wished he hadn't said anything at all, and buried her face into Clint's ruined shirt, sobbing for her lost friend. Clint was about to say something when Tier spoke up. "But death didn't stop me from protecting Lila."
Laura's head shot up. "What?" She squawked as she looked at the other woman. "Natasha? is that you?" Tier, or rather Natasha, gave her a sheepish wave, and in an even more sheepish tone said. "Surprise! I'm back! Well sort of. I'm still quite dead though. As are Mila and Sung-sun. Lila's the only one out of four of us that isn't dead." Laura pried herself from her husband's embrace, wiping the tears from her eyes, and glaring at the two of them as she did so. "You awful bastards. That wasn't even funny!"
Clint sighed, "It wasn't a joke, Nat is dead, and yet at the same time she isn't. Like she said, it's the same deal with those two girls that came home with Lila." Laura gave Natasha a questioning look at that remark. "So your telling me the dead still take showers? Because this is third time I've heard the shower going since they got back."
Walking into the blonde shrugged. "What can I say? After a battle like that a shower sounds wonderful to me as well. And thanks to the fact I have physical body I can call upon, I intend to take one myself. If they haven't used all of the hot water that is." she said with glance toward the ceiling. "But not until after I've replenish some of the energy I burned in that fight. The girl's already restored their reiatsu when they ate Thanos's soul." She said as she grabbed a bowl from one of the cabinets and started pouring herself a bowl of cereal. Then she noticed that Laura had gone pale and Clint had turned a shade of green.
"Sh-she ate someone's soul? My daughter eats souls?" Laura choked out in shock. As Natasha sprinkled some reishi powder on it, she sighed, and gestured to the bowl in front of her. "The dead also need to eat Laura. Hollows in particular are notorious for being constantly hungry. And seeing as that is what the four of us are, I am not surprised that she indulged herself in such a way. Such is the way of revenge for Hollows." Her she said with a shrug as she willed her mask jaw to open, revealing her human looking mouth behind it. As she sat down she sighed. "Fortunately Lila, Mila-Rose, Sung-sun, and myself are well past such baser needs. Still can do it, but it isn't a necessity." But we still require substance, well at least these false bodies we are using do." She gave her friends a grin. "And Lila is just going to be the proverbial eating machine, due to being both dead and alive at the same time."
Shaking his head as he removed his boots Clint laughed. "I think that's called being a teenager Nat." Natasha having already taken a bite, snorted her cereal before coughing. "Oh joy. Hormones and hollow powers. Soul King have mercy on us when starts having periods." Clint blanched, is mind going back to the battle earlier. "Yeah, hey Nat, seeing as you still have your apartment..."
Natasha and Laura shot the Ronin a withering glare, and Natasha growled. "If you think that your just going to foist her on me every time her visitor comes, think again."
Raising his hands up in defense, Clint shook his head. "Actually I was wondering if you intended on moving the other two in with you or if they were staying here for a while."
The women relaxed at that, but knew that wasn't what he was originally asking about. Still the question he did ask was a valid one. Natasha slipped back into being the Tres Espada. "If it is not too much trouble, I would like keep Sung-sun and Mila-Rose here. At least, until we are sure that Lila has adjusted to being mortal again."
The sound of running water stopped, and was followed by the sounds of light feet moving around upstairs. A flash of dark green hair appeared briefly at the top of the staircase before disappearing. To both Clint's and Laura's surprise, Natasha started counting down from ten. By the time she hit seven the sound of feet could be heard. By five the girls were racing down the stairs. At the moment she hit one, all three of her Fraccion were at the table. Clint whistled. "Wow Nat, your good."
The blonde grinned at him. "I had a pair of good teachers." It was Laura's turn to laugh. "That's at least one thing about Lila that didn't change."
Natasha turned her attention to her three Fraccion and gesture for them to sit at the table. Once they were seated, Natasha went full on Tres Espada. "You girls did good today. But it's late, even by our standards, it's late. So here's the deal, seeing as Los Noches and Aizen are gone, you three will be staying here for a few days. At least until I get a bigger apartment than the one I have right now." She gave Mila-Rose and Sung-sun a pointed look. "You two are staying here to help Apacci transition back into a mortal life. If any of the Barton's ask for help doing something that is within reason, I expect you to do it. If you are asked not to do something, you listen to them." She said as she stirred her cereal with her spoon. Her gaze hardend, "I sacrificed my mortal life for the lives of this family, Apacci included. I expect you two to respect my sacrifice. Do not cause any harm to any of the Bartons, unless you desire to feel my wrath."
The two Fraccion swallowed nervously, and Sung-sun spoke. "Lady Harribel, I will respect and obey your wishes." Mila-Rose nodded in affirmation. "As will I, but why isn't Flat-chested here being included?" The amazon said pointing at Lila.
Natasha sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Apacci's parents are more than capable of disciplining her, seeing as she is now half-human." A thought suddenly struck Natasha and she gave Lila a once over. "Tell me Apacci, aside from the Reiatsu from Thanos, have you eaten anything since you were resurrected?"
Lila shook her head, and Natasha sighed. Only to be caught by surprise as three paper plates landed in front of each of the girls. Laura placed a pizza delivery box in middle of the table. "It's just a pepperoni pizza, but it's a whole pizza, and it's should be still warm."
Natasha looked at the other woman in surprise, then at her bowl. "Where did you have that hidden?" Laura laughed and pointed at the counter next to microwave, where two more pizza boxes sat. The blonde face-faulted, much to Clint's amusement as he snatched a piece for himself. "Don't feel bad Natasha I almost overlooked them myself." Shaking her head she spoke, "It's not just that I didn't see them, I didn't smell them either!" Clint gave her a funny look, "Aren't you on a diet? I hear pizza is bad for you." Natasha threw her spoon at him which he side-stepped. "Traitor!"
Clint just laughed, and Laura chided him for teasing Natasha. All the while Lila and her fellow fraccion dug into the pizza. Upstairs, a young man peered down at the two girls that appeared with his aunt. He couldn't help but find the young Amazon like hollow to be attractive. Particularly since she looked exactly like the girl he had been dating before he vanished. He had found out earlier that day that she had died in one of the many car accidents that day. Killed when the driver of a semi truck vanished along with her sister Vicky, who was driving the car she was in. His beautiful 'Milia was found crushed to death in the wreckage. He shook his head, sure Auntie Nat, Lila, Nathan, and himself along with half of all life, had died and came back in various ways. But what were the odds that his now long dead girlfriend, had come back in the same way Auntie Nat had? Headed back to his room, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head of things that were no more. Even as a rebellious though in the back of his mind said there was still hope.
Mila-Rose P.O.V.
Downstairs in the dinning room, as Mila-Rose dug into the marvelous invention called a pepperoni pizza, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, as though she were being stalked. She turned around and looked back up the stairs. Seeing nothing she started to turn back around, but as she did so her eyes landed on a single photograph on the wall and she froze. It was a photo of the eldest Barton son with his arms wrapped around a girl with a deep tan and dark curly hair, and the girl was herself! Her eyes widened and so many memories came rushing back. Oh, god. She knew this family, this house. Hell she knew Lila before she was Apacci! She remembered her true name as well, along with her entire life right up to the day she died. Amilia Marquis forced her way back to the surface of her soul. Her mind screaming as she did so.
The next thing Amilia knew she was being lifted from the floor having fell out of her chair. Tier-sama and Laura-san carrying her over to the couch. As they laid her on it Tier-sama asked her. "Mila-Rose what happened? I have known you for four hundred thirty years, and never, in all that time have you ever screamed like that." Amilia pointed at the photo knowing that Tier-sama would see it.
When the blonde's eyes landed on the photo her eyes widend. Laura-san followed her friend's gaze and did a double take. She looked at the photo, then she looked at Amilia, then back at the photo again. "Clint! You need to see this!"
Clint-san rushed into the room, and Laura-san pointed at the photo. Clint-san's jaw dropped. "That's not possible is it?"
Laura-san nodded sadly. "Cooper called her house almost immediately after Natasha and the girls went to battle. Her parents told him she was dead, and that she died on the day of the Decimation. Apparently she wasn't killed by the Decimation so much as she was killed by the side-effects. She was crushed by an out of control semi when the truck driver and her sister vanished. Cooper didn't take the news so well."
Clint looked at the photo and then at Amilia. 'Could it be?' He wondered to himself. By this time the other two Fraccion were also looking at the photo in shock, and Cooper and Nathan were making their way downstairs, "What's going on? Why is everyone looking like they've seen a ghost?" Cooper asked.
Amilia pointed to the photo, then at Cooper-kun and then to herself. "I think I'm dead Flash Cooper." It was a stupid nickname she came up with when they first met, because at the time Cooper thought he was Flash Gordon. The usage of her nickname for him had it's desired effect. The teen's eyes grew wide in shock. "'Milia?" She nodded sadly. The boy's eyes lit up and smile crossed his face. He practically ran over to the couch, scooping up the dark skinned girl into his arms. "Does it really count as being dead if I can hold you in my arms?" he asked.
She smiled and kissed him, "Sure doesn't feel like it does it?" Lila pretended to gag, but kept smiling. "Get a room you two." she said playfully as the adults in the room laughed. In the middle of this sat a very confused Nathan, who only really wanted to be able to sleep sometime that night.
Two Days Later...
"YEEAOUCH!" *Boom!* *Crash!* *Crunch!* "GIRLS!" A man's voice yelled from the farmhouse. "Shit." Lila said under her breath, as she looked at the busted radiator of her dad's pickup truck. They were so screwed, especially since her dad and herself had just got it running again the day before. Amilia leaned over beside her and watched as the radiator leaked it's fluids onto the ground. "Uh,that's bad isn't it?"
The sound of the screen door being swinging open, and slamming shut furthered that feeling of impending doom. Lila couldn't help but wince. "Yeah, 'Mila that's very bad. Maannn! We're sooo screwed!" She shot Amilia a glare. "This is your fault you know."
The dark skinned girl gave Lila an accusing glare, as she placed her hands on her hips. "My Fault?! You shot me with one of those damn arrows of yours first! How is this my fault?"
Standing up, Lila pointed a finger at her childhood friend, "First of all, that was an accident! Secondly, your the one who threw a Bala at me! So it's your... Fault? Eh heh. Hey dad. Uh, this is so totally not what it looks like." She said nervously as a shadow appeared next Amilia. "Uh, huh. Because it looks like someone went through the radiator of my truck." Clint stated. Amilia paled, Mr. Barton may be just a regular human. But he was human who had a lot of control over her unlife at the moment.
You see, she had spent the entirety of the day before trying to convince her own mortal parents that she had returned from the dead. Unfortunately for her, they thought she was a scammer trying to steal from them. Not that she could blame them for that. Throw in the little fact that unlike her sister, who got Dusted, she left a mangled corpse behind and had a proper grave. So she really couldn't blame them for not believing her. The fact that they had moved to another state didn't help matters much. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that Victoria was being escorted by Tier back to the Barton farmhouse. So for the time being she was completely at the mercy of Clint and Laura Barton.
Turning to face the man she swallowed nervously. "We were practicing, and things got a little crazy." She thumbed at Lila, "She shot me in the ass with an arrow."
Lila's face turned red and Clint could practicaly see the steam erupt from her ears. Her eyebrows twitched. "Yes, I hit you with an arrow. But you threw a bala at ME!" She tackled the other girl, her hands wrapping around Amilia's neck. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME ALL OVER AGAIN YOU BIG TITTED COW!" She screamed as she attempted to choke the other girl.
In an effort to get the angry halfa off of her, Amilia pressed her hands against the other girl's stomach and pushed. "GET OFF OF ME YOU CRAZY TOMBOY!" Amilia yelled, which was promptly followed by a response of, "NEVER! I JUST GOT MY LIFE BACK AND YOU ALMOST SCREWED IT UP! ALL OVER A STRAY ARROW!"
Watching the two girls Clint couldn't help but wonder as to how he was going to separate the two, when he heard a sigh beside him. "Oh how typical. Leave those two alone for five minutes and they try to kill each other." Looking beside him, Clint was somehow not surprised to see Sung-sun standing there, and chuckled. "I take it this is the norm for those two?" Sung-sun nodded. "Yes it is. And all it does is prove that they're both idiots."
That one little remark caused the two quarreling girls to suddenly freeze and slowly turn to face Sung-Sun. "What was that?" Lila said with a growl. Sung-sun stared impassively. "You are both idiots and an embarrassment to all Arrancar." she said in slow, mocking tone. As Lila released her grip on Amilia, and went to tackle Sung-sun, Clint had had enough.
"Enough!" Clint yelled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He pointed at Amilia and Lila "I don't care who did it! Your both in trouble!" The two girls ducked their heads in shame. "Lila your on manure duty for a week!" He said, pointing at his daughter. "But dad!" Lila tried to argue, only for her dad to shut her down. "No buts. Or do you want to shovel manure for two weeks?" Lila ducked her head in defeat. "Alright."
As the man turned to Amilia. "Since I don't want the barn to burn down due to you two fighting. Your going to clean out the chicken coop till it's spotless." Lila suddenly gave Amilia a look of pity. "Damn, that sucks." Clint cleared his throat to get their attention. "I wasn't finished. No video games or internet for a month, and I'm sure Nat will be more than happy to help enforce it." "NO FAIR!" "WHAT!" The girls yelled out in anger. Clint just pointed towards the house, "This isn't the time to push your luck. Just go to your room right now. I need to figure out how badly you two broke my truck."
As the two girls slowly made their way back to the house, Clint looked at Sung-sun. "Do you think I made the right call?" He wondered. Sung-sun just tilted her her head. "It seems tame compared to what would have happend to them in Los Noches for doing something similar. But that was because we were considered expendable there." Clint blanched, wishing the greenette hadn't brought that up. But the girl wasn't finished. "As far as punishments go. Yes, I believe it was fair. Harribel-sama couldn't have done better herself in my opinion."
Clint smiled and nodded. "Thank you Cyan." He looked at her and then at the truck. "Say, what do you know about fixing cars?" Sung-sun cocked her head, curious as to where he was going with this. "Not very much, They didn't have very many of them where I came from." Clint gave her a funny look. "And where was that?" he asked. Sung-sun looked him in the eyes. "North Korea. I lived and died in a detention center." Clint suddenly felt very self conscious, "Sorry for asking." Sung-Sun just shook her head. "Don't be. Unless they are Harrible-sama, not very many choose how they die." She nodded at the truck. "So what was it you wanted to show me?" Clint just smiled and popped the hood and motioned her over. "Okay come over here. Oh, and your going to need both hands if your going to help." Sung-sun nodded and moved her right hand to her side before leaning over the damaged engine compartment. Clint smiled, despite the amount of property damage the Arrancar could cause, they were good kids. He started to point to the various parts of the engine and Sung-Sun watched with growing interest.
It was around sunset when a Garganta opened up announcing Natasha's return to the farm house with Amilia's sister in tow. As they approached the house Natasha studied the young woman beside her, and could see the family resemblance between Amilia and Vicky. While Vicky was about a year older than Amilia had been, the two shared many facial features. Like Amilia she was exceptionally tall, almost as tall as Natasha's Arrancar form. Her skin had a deep tan to it, which went well with dirty blonde hair. One thing that threw Natasha off though was the fact that the girl was even more muscular than her sister. Her muscles weren't excessively bulging like some of the muscle heads she had seen over the years, but the girl wasn't what Natasha would call normal.
While the pair made their way up the steps Vicky pointed to the person shaped dent in the pickup's grill. "What caused that?" She asked. Natasha paused and studied the damage. "Not so much a what as a who." She sighed. "Figures I leave them alone for a few hours and mayhem ensues." She shook her head and motioned Vicky forward. "Come on, lets get inside and find out the damage."
As the pair entered the house they came across a surprising sight. There in the living room, were four very dirty teens. Lila was passed out on the floor, with streaks of grime and mud covering her face and bone armor. Amilia and Cooper were sitting on the couch, both of them covered in grime and feathers, but happily holding on to each other. But biggest surprise for Natasha was the sight of Sung-Sun covered in motor oil and grease, all while flipping through a Haynes Manual.
Watching her sister, a wide grin crossed Vicky's face. "Well sis I see you haven't changed a bit." Amilia's eyes widened in surprise. Turning to face Vicky, a large grin crossed Amilia's face. "Vicky! Your back!" She yelled as she got up and went to go hug her sister, but she stopped short. Looking at her arms, she groaned. "Damn, look at me, covered in chicken shit and feathers. Ugh."
Her sister laughed. "It's all right I can wait for that hug." Natasha tilted her head. "So, anyone want to tell me who damaged the truck outside?" Amilia gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, about that. Lila and me were practicing outside and things got a little crazy."
Natasha's eyes narrowed. "How crazy?" But Amilia didn't answer right away having found a spot on the carpet to be very interesting. "Amilia-Rose how crazy are we talking?" A brief mumble could be heard from the Amazon, and Natasha got even more annoyed. "Could you repeat that again, I don't speak mumble."
This time Amilia did speak up, through gritted teeth. "I said, Lila shot me in the ass with an Arrow and I hit her with a Bala, and she flew into the truck. Happy?!" Natasha sighed, "I take it Clint has already assigned punishments then?" Cyan peered over the top of her Manual. "Yes, Lady Harribel. And they were rather amusing ones as well. Although I'm not exactly certain how much work Amilia got done given the fact that Cooper and her seemed to get very distracted with each other."
Amilia and Cooper blushed together, and Cooper grinned sheepishly. "What can I say? Dad didn't say no could help her, and we made up for lost time."
Vicky gave her sister a grin. "So when can I expect nieces and nephews?"
Natasha laughed as the couple face-faulted, and Amilia sputtered. "I'm not sure if I can even get pregnant. Technically I'm still dead. This body is just a suit that can be used to interact with the living. Granted it's going to be seeing a lot of usage for a while." She explained with a blush.
With a tilt of her head Natasha gave the couple a questioning look. "So you didn't use protection?" Cooper wanted to crawl in a hole and die, and Amilia wished she could die all over again. There room filled with laughter, causing a very tired Lila to wake up and wonder just what the fuck was so damn funny. A question she did not hesitate to ask, and Sung-Sun filled her in. A malicious grin crossed the brunette's face as she cackled with glee. "Wow, I knew 'Milia had it bad but I didn't realize how bad! You going to jump Ichigo while your at it?"
While Cooper wondered who Ichigo was, Sung-Sun facepalmed, and Amilia turned around so slowly you could hear bones creaking. "Why in the hell did you bring up that orange haired idiot? You got a crush on him or something?"
This time Lila sputtered but before she could make a witty comeback, her parents walked down the stairs. "Shower is free." Clint said as he led his wife downstairs, spotting Natasha and Vicky. "Oh, hey Nat. I see you found Amilia's sister, any chance of getting those two reunited with their family?"
Lila got up off the floor, and claimed her turn for the shower with an, "I'm next!" As she made her way to the stairs she glared at Amilia. "This isn't over." The Amazon blew her raspberry, as Lila made her way past her parents and up the stairs. As she did so she gave Amilia the bird.
Natasha turned to Clint and answered his question about the Marquis girls. "No such luck. They know that the Vanished have returned but refuse to acknowledge that either of their daughters are alive. I even did a video conference from my temporary office and they still refused to believe me. Granted they aren't the only ones who either have extreme doubts about the vanished or are in complete denial. So this isn't an isolated incident I'm afraid. I'm just glad everyone who vanished reappeared in safe locations."
Vicky looked like she had eaten a lemon, having been reminded of that disastrous video call with her parents. She motioned to her sister and her sister's boyfriend. "Yeah, you know what I'm going to excuse my self from this conversation. I hear Amilia has an interesting story to tell." With that she made her way over to the young couple, before sitting next to Amilia on the opposite side from Cooper.
Laura shook her head at the young woman's antics and in disbelief as she sat down at the dining room table. "Is it really that bad?"
Natasha nodded her head. "A lot of survivors claimed the life insurance policy on their loved ones. The Marquis included, particularly since one daughter vanished and the other was buried. Plus it's hard to revoke a death certificate, as those are usually quite permanent." She nodded to Clint who had sat down beside Sung-Sun. "He didn't give up hope entirely though. Your family never received death certificates."
Laura got up from the chair and hugged the other woman. "No, he did give up hope, but he refused to believe we couldn't be saved. There's a difference." she started to sob. "I lost five years damn years with my husband, and I lost over five hundred years with my daughter. I feel like I'm grasping at straws trying to put people back together."
Natasha wrapped her arms around her friend a little tighter than she did before. "One day at a time. You focus on what they need, one day at a time. It's how I worked threw losing you and your kids, I just focused on what I had in front of me, and not what I lost." She relaxed her hug and looked down at the other woman. "Don't focus on the moments you missed, instead make new memories."
She nodded at the sight of Clint teaching Sung-sun about mechanics. "Kind of like that." she giggled slightly. "I never pictured Sung-sun to be interested in cars." Laura released the hug and smiled. "You should of seen them earlier. Those two were spent hours replacing as many of damaged parts as they could." Laughing slightly Laura continued. "Clint practically has enough car parts to rebuild that truck twice over. Which considering how destructive those girls can be, that's probably a good thing."
Natasha smiled under her mask. "Yes it is. But remember what I said about making new memories? It looks like there are quite a few new ones being made already."
Seeing what the blond meant, Laura nodded. "Your right." She admitted with a smile. Natasha smiled as Nathan came in a tackled his brother, much to the chagrin of all in the room.
Outside, looking down at the Bartons' slice of heaven a Drider like vasto lord watched. Khepri narrowed her eight eyes at the house. She didn't like the idea of being the villain all over again, but as long as HE had her friends hostage she would do as HE said. She sighed and clacked her mandibles as the evening sky filled with millions of insects.
And Cut! Wow, I don't think I've ever written a chapter this long before. And Yes I did just throw in Taylor Hebert from Worm as Arana. And Amilia and Vicky both are and are not the Dallion sisters. In this MCU they are Marquis's daughters. So Amilia is Panacea's MCU counterpart and Vicky is the adopted sibling. Blame Carrol if you wish. Seeing those two are certain to throw Taylor for a loop. So The next chapter ought to be fun to write. Do note I will try to finish this story. There's so much room for hi-jinks. It will probably take a few weeks to get the next one out though. Remember, Read and Review!