Lullaby For A Soldier

Dream

Violet

Time is a Construct

For the first time in a long time, Violet was dreaming.

Snow was falling, flakes landing on dead tree limbs, on the soft grass, on the gravestones, and on the rocky path that led through the cemetery. Violet followed the path without fear, without doubts, without suspicion. She looked at the gravestones as she passed them by, but there were no names etched into the stone. The snow melted on her skin, but it left not bite. Violet was warm and she was happy.

Before long she saw footsteps on the path, straying from the snow-covered rock to the piles of snow in the distance. She followed the footsteps without question. As she followed, a voice sang through the air. It was beautiful. Ethereal and soft. At first Violet thought the voice was just humming, but the longer she followed it, the more she could hear the words, though she still couldn't distinguish them. The voice led her somewhere bright, somewhere that made her heart soar, though the sight didn't match it.

In the distance stood the biggest grave of all, mountainous in comparison to the rest of the bunch. Violet smiled at it, surging forward until she stood right in front of it. In the back of her mind, she wondered why she was so happy to see it, but answer arrived in the nick of time. The name on the grave was her father's, and out of the shadows he appeared with a big, bold smile.

Violet ran into his arms, melting in his embrace as he picked her up and swung her around with glee.

"Hey Little Fox," he whispered in her ear, holding her tightly.

She squeezed back, tucking her head in the crook of his neck, breathing him in deeply. It's been so long since she's smelled whisky and enjoyed the scent of it. Scott always had a glass of it right before he went to bed, she never missed it when he tucked her into bed at night, it was always on his breath. Since he died, the smell only ever reminded her of him, and before long it was too much to bear.

She missed him so much.

"No sad faces," he laughed, leaning back slightly to look into Violet's eyes, "we don't have long before you have to go back."

Violet's lip quivered, eyes watering dangerously fast, "but I miss you so much. It's been so hard without you around."

"I know," he kissed her temple, carrying her towards a bench where he set her down, taking the spot next to her so he could look at her properly. "You've been through much, seen so many horrible things, and yet you're still my little fox after all this time."

"I'm not so little anymore," Violet grumbled, and Scott.

"True, I suppose. You must have grown a whole foot since I last saw you. And blue hair." His hand ruffled the hair in question, and Violet smiled.

"It's a temporary thing. Just thought it'd be cool to have." Violet shrugged, eyes studying every inch of her Dad's face.

"Do you like it though?" He asked, and she nodded eagerly, never wanting this to end. "Then you should keep it. Makes you like an animated character in a superhero movie."

Violet snorted, "and my superpower would be what? Antagonism, with a mastery in annoying people to death?"

Her Dad frowned at that, shaking his head, "no sweetie. You'd be the real hero."

"How do you figure that?"

"While all the supers are taking down the bad guy and destroying everything while they do, you're the one who would run from building to building, street to street, and save as many people as you can before either one of the falling debris crushes you, or the Supers finally defeat the villain. The real hero."

"I'm not that person anymore," Violet trembled, "I hurt somebody."

"To protect your friend," he confirmed with a nod, "but it hurts knowing you had to do that, right?"

Violet nodded, her lip quivering as she awaited his reaction.

There was nothing but warmth in his blue eyes. His hand tangled in her hair. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"It's said that there are three types of people everyone is destined to meet in life. One to love, one to hate, and one to lose. The one you lose teaches you what you need to know, skills to use and lessons to pass onto others you meet throughout life."

"I'm guessing that one's you?" Violet smiled sadly, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Yeah," he whispered, brushing the tear away with his thumb. "The one you'll love will show you the best of this world, the best parts of yourself, and care for you so deeply it'll make you scream and cry at the same time."

"I thought you were talking about you again until the last part."

He laughed, "I might be the best dad in the world-"

"-more like the universe," Violet interrupted, winking at him.

He winked back, "okay, the universe, but even I can only fit the bill on one of the options."

"Sacrilege," Violet responded.

Her Dad rolled his eyes, "and that leaves the one you hate."

"What does that one do?"

His expression darkened considerably, "push you until you break. Make you doubt yourself, doubt everyone else, and use your darkest parts to turn you into something you never wanted to be."

Violet's jaw tensed, "I think I've already met them."

"Not them, little fox, him."

Violet frowned, realizing what he was getting at. Shoulders sinking, spine hunching forward, "I could have killed him."

"You didn't though," his lips quirked into a smile, "you had every opportunity too, but you didn't. Why?"

"He had Peter," Violet shrugged.

"But not for long. He let Peter go, left himself completely open to you and you didn't pull the trigger. Why?" He was smiling.

Violet bit her lip, pondering the answer.

Why didn't she shoot? Was she too weak to do it? Did she pass out before she could? Was he already dead? She thought back to that moment, appraising the situation. He did let Peter go, some woman grabbed him and pulled him away. He had turned to face Violet, eyes widening at the sight of her. She remembered saying something and taking her finger off the trigger when his eyes changed to something more . . . fearful.

"He was scared," Violet mumbled, remembering with clarity, "he was scared of me."

"And?"

"Defenseless," Violet surmised, remembering with assertive forms of the Avengers surging towards him, "he was defenseless."

Her Dad kissed her forehead one more time, "if you had truly changed, you would have killed him without hesitation, without a thought. You wouldn't care how scared he was. You would have pulled the trigger and left him to rot." He ruffled her hair again, pulling away to grin at her, "see? You still are my little fox after all."

Violet smiled at him, taking his hand and walking back to the giant gravestone with him.

"Do you have to go already?" She squeezed his hand tighter, "it's been so long since I've seen you. Cooked dinner with you, complained about school with you, and huddled on the couch with you while you explained a rated-r movie to me." Her eyes watered, and soon she was sobbing, "Dad I've been so alone, please don't leave me alone again."

He pulled her back into his strong, warm embrace, but this time she did not feel the same comfort as before. He was leaving again, and she knew she couldn't stop it. Still, she squeezed him as tight as she could, and sobbed into his chest.

"Please don't leave me, Dad. Please don't leave me."

"I'm never leaving you, sweetie." He pleaded, his warm breath on her scalp. "How could I? I live on through you."

"It's not the same!" She sobbed into his chest.

"I know it's not. If it were up to me we'd be living in the Beast's castle where you can jump from tower to tower and read in the library, or in Halloween Land where you can make devilish plans with Jack Skellington and trick or treat with those awful kids. It's not up to me though, and at the end of the day it's not up to you either."

"Life doesn't grant favors," Violet finished, remembering this speech from years ago.

"That's right, we can only work with what we get." He chuckled, "how often have I given you this speech?"

"Not enough, you should stick around and give it to me again."

He kissed her hair, "I would if I could."

Finally, he released her. Grasping her by the shoulders and leaning forward.

"Will you do one thing before I go?" He asked gently, wiping her tears away.

"Anything, Dad."

He smiled gently at her, cupping her face with his course hand. "Stay strong, Little Fox, remember I'm always here," he pointed to her heart, "and sing that song I love so much."

Violet laughed, "that's three things."

He had the nerve to pout at her, and she busted up laughing at him.

"You're despicable."

"And you're my angel, little fox."

Violet took a deep breath, calming her nerves and loosening her voice.

May your dreams bring you peace in the darkness.

May you always rise over the rain.

May the light from above always lead you to love.

May you stay in the arms of the angels.

Violet pulled her Dad in for another hug and held him tight as she continued. The voice that led her here joined in, humming the melody along with Violet. She sang through the tears. She sang as her father pulled away. She sang as he turned away. She sang as he disappeared in the snow. She sang until the song ended.

Then she was alone.

A bright light shone from above, and voices suddenly started talking from all around her. The snowfall increased in speed, the wind blew harder, the flakes started swirling all around her. Violet fought to stay standing, but the snow swept her up and brought her to the light. Up and up she went until all she felt was pain.

Avengers Tower

Natasha

It's been three days since the storm hit, and Violet has yet to wake up.

It was absolute hell getting the Omegas back to the Tower. What with one in heat, the other shot and bleeding to death, and the full force of the storm working against them. It was by sheer will and determination that they were able to make it back at all. Sharon and Happy took care of Peter, and restrained him when necessary, in one truck with Clint driving. In the other, Natasha and James worked on Violet with Steve driving like a madman back to the Tower. Happy's men stayed behind with at the warehouse with a bound, gagged, and unconscious Kilgrave.

He would be dealt with later.

Tony and FRIDAY were able to find them the quickest and safest routes back to the tower, and within 3 minutes James and Natasha jointly carried in their very pale, very unconscious Omega. Bruce was not particularly happy with Violet after her earlier stint, but with the on-sight Doctor, Dr. Helen Cho, the pair were able to get her patched up in the med bay in almost no time at all.

Over the next three days, life at the Tower went about as smoothly as it could. Thanks to the work of Steve's team, HYDRA was officially no more. They were done, all rings and outposts discovered and outed, the heads of the monstrous organization cut off (literally), and all members left in the wind and quickly apprehended by Phil and his men. They were then taken into custody and scheduled be slaughtered in Gen Pop at the most available prisons.

Peter was able to finish his heat in peace with Tony's help. He kept his promise and did not take advantage of the Omega, only helping with certain aspects that they discussed beforehand. Sadly, Peter has been extremely distant since he came back to his senses, opting to keep to himself and hide away in his room. The only thing he's asked is whether he could see Violet, and if she was okay.

Apart from Bruce and Dr. Cho, only Natasha and James were allowed to visit Violet.

Since she got out of surgery both James and Natasha have stayed with Violet, holding her hand and keeping her warm. If a situation arose that needed their attention, one would leave while the other would stay, giving their darling a kiss on the forehead whenever they were forced to do so. Natasha was with her now, and for the first time she could think, she wished she knew how to draw.

Her darling looked so innocent like this, so precious and small and untroubled. Natasha studied her face like an art critique would study the Mona Lisa. The crease that seemed like a permanent mark between her brows was smoothed out. The blue hair Natasha lovingly washed just hours ago was now dry and wispy, giving her darling an almost elfish look about her if it wasn't for those lovely curls. Violet's mouth was open slightly, the red lips twitching occasionally. James and Natasha found it extremely adorable until she started talking, then the two were in heaven.

Until she realized what she was saying.

Most of it was pleading, "Please don't go! Don't leave me, Dad!" which broke their cold, jaded hearts. Some mumblings about being alone, and how nothing was the same. James and Natasha just wanted to hold her. So, they did. There was nothing stopping them except themselves. That's where Natasha currently was, curled up on the hospital bed next to her Omega, loving and doting on her as she always will be from now on.

She still hasn't woken up.

She'd lost a lot of blood, and was prone to sleeplessness to avoid nightmares, or so her friends claimed. Bruce assured Natasha and James that Violet would be just fine, and she would wake up in her own time. Natasha thought about coaxing her from sleep but decided against it. Her darling has been through enough to last a lifetime. Waking up in the company of those she's been running from for the past 5 years was going to be quite the shock to her. Let her sleep for a little bit longer, let her have a few more moments of peace.

Speaking of her friends, most of them were gone now. Karen Page and Foggy Nelson were now back at their law firm, continuing the good work they started only now with the Avengers backing. Matthew Murdock had emerged from the shadows and was back to fighting the good fight with his coworkers once more with the small caveat of being under constant surveillance, along with owing the Avengers a favor after they spared his life for helping Violet escape. Jessica Jones was back at Alias investigations drinking away her sorrows and breaking everything in her apartment FRIDAY reported back. Sam Wilson was back on the force, but he wasn't the same easy-going man he used to be. Now he was bitter and irritable, and earned his first citation in his entire career for unnecessary roughness towards a suspect. Pietro Maximoff returned to his job and the Omega house, but Wanda remained at the tower. She claimed it was because she wanted to stay near Violet, but Natasha and everyone else knew better.

She wanted a new Alpha.

Every time Natasha walked by her all she could smell were kicked puppy pheromones of "help me, protect me, love me" and it put her off. She'd die of bliss and shock if Violet ever got to that point, but with everyone else it just irked the Alpha, and James was the same way. Tony, however, was willing to find a suitable Alpha for the Omega due to her consistent help with Peter and Violet, and because he already had an Alpha in mind with his former butler, now current foreign liaison for his company, Edwin Jarvis. Everyone just called him Jarvis though.

The last of her darling's friends still at the tower was Frank Castle, the Punisher.

He helped bring in the rogue agent Dinah Madani, who spat and kicked as she was dragged in by Frank and Phil in unison. Madani yelled about betrayal, how Castle was many things, but a hitman for the Mafia wasn't one of them. In response the large, intense musclebound man stared Madani down and growled, "I'll do anything if it means keeping my kid safe. Besides, if it wasn't for them, I'd never have gotten the bastards who murdered my family."

It was true. Steve, James, and Frank worked a couple of missions together while they served in the military. It's how they met Billy and eventually brought him into the circle. The spot that went to Billy, or would have if he hadn't been a fool, was originally meant for Frank. Steve and James respected the man, and he respected them in return. They bonded through their shared experiences and forged a professional comradery with Frank. Frank declined the offer, not wanting his family to get involved with the backlash that would inevitably ensue with this type of lifestyle. The Avengers respected his decision and ensured him that the door would always be open should he change his mind.

After his family was brutally murdered by rival street gangs, and he finished recovering in the hospital, Frank called Steve and asked him to help find the ones responsible. The Avengers did as he asked, giving him all the names they could find from the gangs that took part in the murder. Frank took it from there.

This is the first time any of them have seen him face to face since the murder. He'd certainly been through the ringer, had his fair share of fights. He didn't really talk to anyone, only shared a few words to Steve before he turned his attention to James and Natasha. Violet was still in surgery when Frank arrived with Madani.

He didn't give them a chance to speak, and he didn't mince words either. "I'm going to keep this short. Violet told me about you two, about your infatuation with her. She said you called her your chosen. Is that true?"

"Yes," James responded with a nod, "and we mean it."

Frank's jaw twitched, body shifting in agitation. "How's that going to work?"

"She has two mate marks, meaning she can have two Alphas, which will be us." Natasha cut in, staring the Punisher down.

He stared back intensely, "and what are you going to do about that?"

"We plan on mating with her, but we will wait until she's comfortable with the idea, or until a situation arises where it's too dangerous to leave her unmated." James spoke, getting Frank's attention back on him.

"Situation like another alpha sneaking in and trying to stake a claim instead?"

"And hurt her in the process. We're not infallible, Frank. You know that. Even we miss things sometimes." James glared at Madani.

Frank nodded, "but you'll get her off the streets? Make sure she sleeps; gets the care she needs?"

Natasha stepped forward, affronted at the comment, "of course we will. She'll be ours just as much as we'll be hers."

"And we won't force ourselves on her." James continued, staring deep into Frank's eyes. "Frank, I promise you that she'll be safe with us."

Frank's jaw twitched again, but he nodded to James. "I know you're a man of your word Barnes but know this. The only reason I'm allowing this is because I owe you a debt, but more importantly she needs help. I can't give that to her, none of us can. If she keeps going this way, she'll end up getting shot again or dead some other way. I can't lose another kid, and if that means handing her over to you then I'm going to do it. She means too much to me to lose to a lone gunman on a half-baked rescue mission."

James stepped forward, holding out his hand, "I give you my word."

Frank stared James down, glancing at Natasha carefully. He walked forward and took James' hand in a tight, bone breaking hold.

"You break it, I'll rip your other arm off."

"If I break it, I'll let you beat me to death with it."

From that point on, Frank's kept to himself in one of the many guest bedrooms. Waiting just like everyone else for Violet to wake up.

It was almost time to switch off. James and Natasha have been switching off every two hours so they could each have a turn at dicing up the man responsible for putting their chosen here in the first place.

Kilgrave.

They waited until this morning to begin their slow, grueling torture of the man. Tony used a hammer smash his fingers and toes into pudding. James sawed off his hands and feet at a slow, agonizing pace before cauterizing the wounds. Natasha flayed his skin from what was left of his arms and legs. Bruce was down there monitoring Kilgrave, making sure he felt all the pain they dished out and was awake through it all. He also kept him from dying until they were all satisfied with the state of him. Steve kept an eye on the occupants of the tower with Friday's help. Everyone else was either doing a mission or working damage control with Pepper over the latest FBI scandal that included Agent Madani and the "trading of secrets detrimental to the country."

Everything was being handled, and soon enough things would get back a regular week for the Avengers.

If only Violet would just wake up.

Natasha was petting Violet's hair and breathing in her luscious scent when James returned from the "dungeon" as everyone jokingly called it. His hair was pulled back in his messy bun, the muscles in his arms and chest bulging as he pulled on yet another lean shirt. This one grey over a pair of clean dark grey jeans. He wore no shoes which meant he was taking Natasha's spot on the bed again.

She pouted at him when he stood next to the bed.

"My turn," he smirked, holding out a hand for her to take.

She rolled her eyes before taking his hand, and gingerly extricating herself without jostling their Omega in the slightest.

"I never thought I'd prefer cuddles with an angsty teenager over slicing up a demented psycho."

James smiled, kissing Natasha ardently before quickly and carefully taking her place on the bed.

"What has she said?"

"Mostly the same, but I did hear her say Despicable pretty clearly though. I wonder what she's dreaming about."

"Hopefully nothing animated starring Steve Carrell. I don't think I'd be able to stomach a movie like that."

"I think you're safe there," Natasha winked before gazing down at Violet's innocent face, "I wonder if she's dreaming of her dad."

James nodded, fixing the hospital gown to cover Violet's chest a little better, "that's what I'm guessing."

"He must have meant a lot to her." Natasha surmised, gently grasping Violet's hand.

"Maybe that's why she hasn't woken up." James inquired, "if I saw my Dad in a dream after living without him for ten years, I wouldn't want to wake up either."

His course thumb caressed her chin, barely brushing her chin when her mouth started moving again.

Natasha and James perked up. This was what they were most looking forward too. The best part of their day since she got out of surgery. What would she say this time?

They were pleasantly surprised to hear not mumblings, or simple words that provide no context into what she was experiencing. This time she was singing, clearly and without care. It was beautiful.

Her voice was soft, making the lullaby she sang even more touching and heart wrenching than the pair could have imagined it to be. Natasha knew the song, hearing it once or twice over the radio. Before she could stop herself, she started humming along with her, moving around the hospital bed and leaning in close on the other side of her.

May you always be brave in the shadows

Til the sun shines upon you again.

Hear this prayer in my heart

And we'll ne'er be apart.

May you stay in the arm of the angels.

James smiled at Natasha, his crimson eyes warm and full of love as he took in his Alpha lover, and soon to be their Omega mate. Natasha followed his gaze and was shocked by what she saw.

She was stirring. Violet was moving. She was waking up!

"FRIDAY call Bruce and Dr. Cho. Get them here now!" Natasha ordered, knowing FRIDAY could hear her perfectly well.

James got out of the bed, grabbing Violet's hand and waiting with bated breath to see those Starry eyes again. Natasha couldn't wait either. One hand held Violet's while the other reached out to grab James. This was it; it was finally it. No more running. No more escaping. Violet was finally theirs, and she was about to realize it.

Then, like an angel waking up from battle, those sky blue eyes emerged from beneath those heavy lids, and quickly turned to starry night.

There was a beat of silence as Violet released a pained gasp. Then she took in her surroundings, the concerned faces of the Alphas at her bedside, and did something they were not surprised to see in the slightest.

She screamed and tried to punch them in the face.