A second chance (Platonic)
Summary: Kate Bishop, now the new Hawkeye, struggles with her new legacy and loneliness given her exepritse. However, a multiverse event changes her and a newfound friend's trajectory.
Note: A multiverse story idea that came into my head today.
Another successful patrol, and another quiet evening.
Kate loved the hero life. Being able to actually help people and make a difference in the world…it felt right.
Still, aside from one visit from Kamala Khan, she didn't know any - active - heroes for her to talk to.
But, bows were her thing. That made her unique.
Still, a team would be nice.
Lucky greeted her when she entered her apartment.
"Hey, buddy," she said, giving him scratches behind his ears.
Lucky was always happy. She wanted to be as happy as him. Content.
She got changed and sat down on the couch with Lucky, turnjnng the TV on to see the local news and her latest patrol.
Every hero had something unique to them, but to her it also meant isolation. No one else got it. Everyone mocked Clint, but she looked up to him.
Now, it was just her.
Lucky growled. He never growled.
"What is it?" Kate asked.
He didn't answer, instead just jumping off the couch and going towards the window, barking.
Kate felt it then, the vibrations.
They grew. And grew. The building started to rumble. She barely kept herself up.
The, it stopped…
She heard the trash bin slam from somethjng, then a groan.
She rushed down.
She reached it, bow in hand.
A hand slammed onto the top of the bin. She stopped, silent.
A figure slowly appeared, panting and still in shock.
She looked at you, seeing you still trying to gather yourself.
She kept her bow lowered, but ready all the same. Just in case.
Then, something shocked her.
A bow was thrown from the bin to the ground.
She cocked her head.
You climbed out, grumbling under your breath and looking up to the sky.
"Shit," you said, before looking down and stopping.
You cocked your head, and Kate saw memories fly by internally in a second. She saw your eyes change from shock, to warmth, to guilt, before stopping on grief.
"…Kate?" you asked softly.
She nodded, guard still up: "that's me," she confirmed, "who - who are you?"
You smiled, but it fell quick. You even stuttered a few times. Once again, Kate saw the flicker in your eyes.
"I, uh, I'm guessing you… Is it just you in this world?"
This world, that stuck with her.
"Do you know me in…your world?"
She saw your face fall, eyes going cold.
"I did."
She'd heard of the multiverse before, and given the fact that aliens existed, the multiverse wasn't that far off.
"Your bow string is gonna snap," she said, guard being lowered a bit.
You looked at your bow, chuckling, "yeah...good point."
"Who was I to you?"
"My sister," you said bluntly.
She gulped. That as why you were grieving. A version of her she didn't know. What made it worse, to her, as that you were someone she didn't recognise.
"i'll, uh, I'll -- I'll do what I can to get out of your hair as soon as possible. I don't -- I don't want to mess anything up in your world."
She had so many things that she wanted to say. So manyt questions that she had to ask.
However, she also remembered the day that she had gone through, and judged by your look that you had a much worse one -- or days, to be more specific.
"You can stay in my apartment tonight," you looked at her with wide eyes, "get your barings. I have a spare room. I don't want to judge, but when was the last time you actually had a comfy place to sleep?"
You scoffed, "yeah...a while."
She nodded, shouldering her bow and gesturing for you to pick your one up.
"Let's go," she said, leading the way to her house.
You followed.
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Lucky was excited to have someone new. He bounded up to you, sniffing you.
"Lucky, calm," Kate said.
Your breath shook, and you crouched down. You looked to Kate, who nodded.
"Hey, buddy," you said, voice shaking as you scratched the dog's ears.
He ate up all the attention.
Lucky then went up to his owner, giving you a chance to stand up.
"Are you ok?" Kate asked softly.
You sniffled, nodding, "uh, the room?"
She nodded. You'd talk about that tomorrow.
"Just down the hall on the left."
Kate didn't sleep too well that night. She had the dream again of losing her dad.
She woke up, checking the clock: 2am.
Lucky was still asleep, curled up next to her.
She heard a door close in the hallway, then a slight bump.
She got up, making sure not to wake Lucky up, and entered the living room herself.
You were there, sat by the window, watching the world go by.
"Sorry," you said, sensing that she was there, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"You're good," Kate said, "I'm a light sleeper, anyway."
"Are you the hawkeye of this world?"
She sat on the sofa, curling up a bit, mirroring how you were sat by the window, "Clint Barton was for a while. He retired after a...mixup, with his darker side that came out during the blip."
She gave you a moment to take in the news, before asking one of the burning questions that she had.
"What happened in your world?"
"The Avengers failed the first time. Loki won. Then Thanos came. Then earth was left alone to those of us who were left.
"Dad died in the original attack, mum joined Loki in an attempt to save herself -- it didn't work..."
You paused, looking at her with tearful eyes, "you tried to stand up to Thanos, said that the hero life --"
"Is for anyone who's brave enough to do what's right, no matter the cost..." Kate joined you in finishing her quote.
It made her shiver, the fact that her quote survived the multiverse. Something she said to inspire Clint, were her seemingly last words to you.
"It as just me in this one. Dad...mum's in jail, she got involved with shady people. Jack -- Jack wasn't half bad."
You sat in silence for a bit longer, before she heard your breathing even out.
She grabbed a blanket, putting it over you.
"Sleep well," she said, before going back to bed.
The next morning, you were still asleep. Dead to the world.
She wondered about when you last got to sleep properly.
Wandering alone in a world with nothing left going for it, and from what she guessed, with no one else there for company, it was your own personal hell.
At least she had Kamala reach out. At least she had Clint who offered her a part in his family.
You had a family, then nothing.
At least the Avengers undid the blip.
They weren't around due to failing with Loki.
Still, you weren't dark or brooding. You were hurt, sure, grieving in a constant loop, but she saw how you were with Lucky the previous night.
Hell, she saw how you respected her boundaries.
She heard police cars go by. You ran to the window. When did you wake up?
"They ain't robots, right?"
"Uh...no?"
You nodded, "alright. It'll be easy then --"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa --" she said, hands out as she moved to block the door, "what does that mean?"
"Right. Sorry. I'm not gonna hurt the coppers, ok? Just, some things never change. Where they go with those sounds and shrieks, bad shit happens.
"But, that's what you and everyone like that are here for, right? Build trust with communities and offer some sort of alternative."
She never thought of it that way before. Some mayors did get angry at heroes existing, instead of the tried and apparent true in blue.
"You want to come help?" she asked.
You looked at her, seeing herself with vulnerability in her eyes.
She'd been alone for a while in this job, and now was offering you a place, at least for a temporary one.
"May as well be a hero rather than a survivor."
She softened, "you were a hero to yourself."
You nodded, "maybe."
She suited up, you just got your bow ready.
Kate threw you a spare string, "I have plenty of spare ones. May as well make use of them."
You were quick with the string change, before you both headed up.
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Kate drove you, using a police tracker to keep their whereabouts knokn to you both.
It was a warehouse, with gunfire coming from inside, along with screams.
They ended quickly.
You both entered, arrows ready.
Kate put a hand up to stop you, a faint yellow glow coming from the room next to you.
"Spring ring."
"What the fuck is a Spin Ring?"
"One of the things Doctor Strange has. Lets him do magic stuff."
"Where the hell was he in my world?"
"To be blunt, dead."
She didn't like your silence at the comment: "sorry."
You just hummed.
You moved forward, looking at the technique of them. Spinning their hands in a set motion and...another location showing up.
"You think I could use that to get home?"
You didn't get an answer, "Kate?"
You looked back, she wasn't there.
For a moment, for a genuine moment, you thought you'd hallucinated her. Maybe you'd wake up in a moment, alone again...
Then you heard her call your name.
A blast hit the floor near you, sending you flying.
You rolled, being able to recover fast and realise that this was indeed real.
Kate was quick with her bow.
You were, too, even if the new string needed getting used to.
Arrows flew, but they only helped you get closer and engage one-on-one with the person closest to you.
The people in your world weren't hostlie, just tired people waiting for the end.
Still, hold habbits form the few self defence lessons you remembered from Kate and your family growing up before it all went to hell kicked in.
It didn't take long for you to be overpowered, though. Even a low life thug with no ring got the better of you. No wonder you lost everything.
The person then went for Kate. She didn't see him. She didn't see him...
You got up, running as fast as you could, tackling them to the floor.
You heard Kate shout out a "no!" before you were you were flung from a point blank shot from something.
You felt burns. You felt sick. There was a rinning sound in your ear.
Your brain tried to comfort you, giving you moments from the past before everything. But that soon ran out, then your reality came into vision. Endless barren wastelands. People who didn't talk or fight, just waited for the invevitable.
You didn't know how many were left alive on your earth. But you knew you weren't the last.
You felt hands grab your shoulders, you heard the low vibrations of a voice talking to you.
You were in that state between life and death, sort of floating.
You'd felt like that in your world, then the flash occured and you ended up here.
You didn't win with your second chance, but maybe you brought Kate time to live in your place.
So, as darkeness took you, you accepted that.
You didn't expect to hear birds, nor light snoring next to you.
Kate was next to you. She was in new clothes, a robe.
She woke up, blinking her eyes.
She softened when she saw you.
"Thank god.*
"What happened with - -"
"They got away. But," she looked around, "We are in the perfect place to find them."
You looked around. It was a temple. Ancient. Power hummed through the walls.
"Are there any heroes on your world at all?"
You shook your head, "just people. If they're powered, they don't flaunt it."
You paused, eyes looking at your bow, "people are more shocked if you're good with that thing than any power."
"Must have a lot of friends then," she said, voice soft with a sense of yearning.
"Most people just ignored each other. I tried a few times... But, just stopped after a while."
"What did you do instead?"
You shrugged, "just walked. Nothing to fight for. You know...the groups I saw, I was jealous. Brain got so desperate I started hallucinating you guys."
She gulped, eyes tearing up, "I almost got you killed. I should have waited."
"I didn't exactly move."
She hesitated, then reached her hand out, covering yours.
*We'll stop them. I swear. If their ring doesn't work, I have a contact who might be able to. I might not be your sister, but I can get you back to your world with this Kate being alive.
"You're not a bad person. You're not a failure. You're a hero, and a survivor of a broken world. My world isn't completely broken yet, even with the rising fascism. There's still hope. There's still people."
You squeezed her hand.
"Let's go save your world."
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Kate suited back up, and a man gave you some new clothes, "you smell," was the reason he told you.
"Looking like you belong," Kate countered with.
The man had also given Kate a different tracker. A map.
It pinged. Same city. Different location.
"It's always your little area. Some things really don't change."
"They love fucking up America first."
"No comment," was all you said.
Kate laughed.
You made it.
"It's always something shooting up into the sky," Kate lemented with more circles appearing in the air.
You heard a noise, seeing a man in a cape flying above you.
"Don't worry," Kate said, "they'll handle the main lot. You and me will handle the one who hurt you."
You liked at her, eyebrows furrowing.
"I don't have a sibling here. But, you lost yours. I can't imagine that. When that bastard hurt you it...it cracked something in me that I haven't felt when dad died."
You tilted your head. You were used to people being cold or neutral to you. But here Kate was, being open that your near death scared her.
"Thank you," you said.
"You're family. From another universe, which is so fucking cool in concept, but you're someone who deserves a happy ending."
With that, and a final nod, you went to confront your would-be killer, and maybe your ticket home.
He was there, with the person who took you down.
The building rumbled. More circles. A rift was occurring.
"Ok, what are you thinking?"
"Me? You know this world better than me!"
"But I can see how you're looking at it. A plan is formulating. You're alive, not just wandering anymore."
Before, you would have denied it. But no, the gears were turning. Sure, it was to fight someone - - someone bad, to be clear - - but still, you were thinking about survival and how to fight back, not just haunting thoughts about your end and failures.
You nodded, looking to your sister.
She smirked, listening.
You told her the plan.
You stayed back, using your bow and arrow, aiming surprisingly well for only your use being the odd animal in your world.
The one who defeated you before turned to you.
They walked towards you. Meanwhile the one with the ring was about to blast Kate.
So, you did what you had to do. You fired an arrow at the ring bearer. His blast missed Kate. Kate, meanwhile, used her flash arrow to find the one running after you.
Using their blindness, you used a one two combo on them. They went down.
You and Kate then aimed your arrows at the ring bearer. The building rumbled again. The man's persona had changed. No longer cicky, but instead defeated.
"I can get you home!" he said, looking at you, "my ring can get you home."
Kate stilled, looking at you from the corner of her eye.
The building rumbled again.
"If this rift shuts. If you let Strange stop me, you won't be able to go home either."
His face changed to a demonic look. Home was a bad place where he was from, it seemed, only for other people.
You heard screeches above. His people.
You were quick in your actions. His demonic finger came off in a moment.
"There's nothing for me there. And there's nothing here for you but pain for others. We're not letting that happen."
Kate smirked: damn right.
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Strange was kind, if a bit full of himself. America was bubbly, extra excited that you'd come from an alternate dimension.
"I'm sorry about your world," she said, "but I'm glad you found this one."
You smiled, looking to your sister, who nodded, going back to talk to Kamala, "Same."
Kate came over to you, "you doing ok?"
You nodded, "you?"
She let out a sigh of content, looking around at the people around her. They didn't judge her for her bow. They cared about her.
Kamala's offer wasn't nothing. It was an offer for connections. Friendships.
She wasn't alone. Now, neither were you.
Not fully healed. But, moving in a good direction.
