The students, Clint and Pietro watched as Hank, now 10 feet tall, gingerly loaded the casket with Tigra’s remains into the back compartment of the Quinjet.  Jan was standing near Jenny, who was being held, containment suit and all, by Mettle.  Ken wished he could hold her more closely, but even he didn’t dare.

Jan sighed.  “I wish I could stay,” she said to Jenny and Ken.  “But it was Greer’s wish that Hank and I take custody of her son, William, and I guess I have to make the trip to do that, according to her people’s custom.”

“It’ll be OK, Wasp,” said Julie Power.  “Pietro and Hawkeye can handle things for a few hours.  This is traumatic, but we’ll get through.  All of us have been through rough times before, after all.”

“Some rougher than others,” muttered Jenny.

Hank stood by the steps into the flight compartment of the Quinjet.  “Um, I know we’re going to have a service, but I think a few words now are appropriate,” he said.

“The reality is, every one of us here has faced death before,” Hank said.  “It’s hit some of us harder than others.  For a few of us, we’ve been lucky enough to get someone back.” He smiled glancingly at Jan and Clint.

“But everyone dies,” Hank continued.  “The question isn’t if you will die.  The question is, how did you live, and was your death one that gave your life meaning?

“Tigra lived as a heroine and died in an action to save the lives of everyone here.  She fought for others, and gave her life for them.  That’s a meaningful life, and a meaningful death.

“The Wasp and I are on our way to see, and possibly bring here, Tigra’s son, William Nelson,“ Hank said. “He’s a little younger than most of you, but he’s also just lost his mom.  Remember her when you see him.  Treat him with the consideration someone who’s just lost a loved  deserves.  And, if your so inclined, take a lesson from Tigra.  Live a life with meaning.”

Hank gestured to Jan.  They entered the Quinjet in silence as the students, Clint and Pietro watched.

Once they were on their way, Jan said, “That was really beautiful, Hank.”

Hank smiled sadly.  “I had to do a better job than I did at your memorial service,” he said.  “Besides, it was a rotten time to have to leave as headmaster; I had to say something.”

“You owe Greer this,” Jan said.  “We owe her this.”

Hank nodded.  They flew for awhile in silence.

“Jan,” Hank said, “What was it like to die?”

Jan shuddered involuntarily.  “In my case, it was hell,” she said.  “I was toxic, killing everyone around me -- not just the aliens who were killing us, but my friends.  Then Thor threw me out of this world, and I felt -- something.  An awful, hideous pain and a tugging.”

There was a pause before Hank asked, “Do you remember anything about being dead?”

Jan shook her head.  “No … at least, I don’t think I do.  I’ve got this kind of vague image of … well, this is going to sound stupid, but I have a faint reminiscence of seeing … Hercules before Ultron revived me.”

Hank looked at Jan out of the corner of his eye.  “Hercules?!”

“Yeah,” Jan said.  “I think I saw him twice, which is why I remember it.  But that can’t be right, can it?”

Hank shrugged.  “Well, he IS a Greek god,” he said.

There was another silence.  “How old is William now?” Jan asked.

“If he were human, he’d be a toddler,” Hank said.  “But he’s part cat-person, so he’s maturing faster than humans.  He’s about the equivalent of an early elementary school kid now, and he’ll probably be around the age of the academy’s students within a year.”

There was a pause.  “Does he know … about his father?” Jan asked.

“No,” Hank said.  “I don’t see much point in telling him now.  If it matters when he’s older, then I will.”

Jan put a hand on Hank’s thigh, not out of passion, but compassion.  “It must be hard on you, treating him as your son when he isn’t,” she said.

“He is genetically,” Hank said.  “That’s the part that gets to me.  There are two constant reminders to me of what the Skrulls did here, of what they stole from me.  One is William.  The other changed when you came back.”  He looked at Jan.  “It used to be your death due to their trickery.  Now it’s your size, that we can’t get you back to your old height.”

“I’m OK with that,” Jan said.  “I’m alive, and I’m home, and I can still interact with normal humans … including the man I love.”

Hank smiled.  “Don’t get me wrong, Honey,” he said.  “I’m glad you’re back, and your condition is a minor issue, not a major one.  I’d much rather have you at any size than not have you.  And William is actually a joy to me.  He isn’t my son, but he is, and he loves me and calls me Papa.  He needs me … especially now.”

They completed the trip saying little, but glad of each other’s company.  Each was a comfort to the other.

When they arrived among the cat people, they quickly took custody of Tigra’s remains.  After some words, they took Hank and Jan to William.  The cat-boy had fur and markings similar to his mother.

William bounded over to Hank.  “Papa!” he shouted as he hugged Hank.

Hank tousled the boy’s mane.  “It’s good to see you William,” the man said, “but I really wish it was for almost any other reason.”

“Me, too,” said William.  Now he was clearly sad.

Then he looked up at Jan, all 8 feet of her.  He beamed.  “You must be Jan,” he said.

“That’s right,” Jan said.  “How did you know?”

“Mama told me about you,” William said.  “She said you were really tall, and really pretty, and that you were Papa’s alpha female, and always had been until you were gone for awhile.  She said she knew when you came back she’d have to give him up, but she loved you both so much she said that was easy, ‘cause she knew you’d be way happier together than apart.”

Jan could feel tears welling up.  “Well, she was pretty special to know that.”

“I know she was special, silly,” William said.  “She was the Tigra.  The Tigra is the most special of us all.”

Jan smiled again.

“They told me somebody stopped the bad guy who killed Mama, and killed him when they did it,” William said.  “Is that true?”

Jan looked to Hank.  “Yes, William,” Hank said.  “Jan stopped him, and killed him, and your Mama’s sacrifice saved other kids at the school where I teach.”

William looked seriously up at Jan.  “You took him out.  He was a threat.  That’s good.  It’s what cat people would do.”

Jan shrugged.  “Well, I’m an Avenger,” Jan said.  “It’s what we do.”

“You avenged my Mama,” William said.  “Thank you.”  He hugged her.

Jan’s heart melted as she felt the furry child’s embrace.  She stroked his mane.

William looked back up at her.  “You’re soft and warm,” he said.  “I can smell how you and Papa feel about each other.  And I think I smell you liking me.”

Jan nodded.  “I think I might more than like you.”

“That’s good,” William said, “because I like you.  Since you love my Papa and you‘re his mate, can I call you my Mama Jan?”

Jan was smiling and fighting back tears at the same time.  “If you’d like to, I would love that,” Jan said.

“Good.  Then  you’re Mama Jan,” he said.

A cat-person Jan and Hank didn’t know came up to them.  “William, we need to get ready for the ceremony,” she said.

“Oh,” said the cat-boy sadly.  “OK.”

“May we come?” asked Hank.

“We usually don’t allow humans,.” the cat-person, “but, as William’s father and the Tigra’s most recent mate, you are welcome -- and allowed to bring your current alpha female.”

“We’ll see you there, William,” Jan said.

William smiled sadly as he followed the other cat person out.

“Wow,” Jan said, “His mood’s shift in a hurry,” she said.

“That’s partly being a cat-person and partly being about the equivalent of a 6-year-old child in grief,” Hank said.  “He really likes you.”

Tears were running down Jan’s cheek.  “I really like him, too,.” she said.

Hank smiled up at his ex-wife/fiancee.  “Well, you said you wanted to have children.”

“This isn’t quite what I meant, but I think I’d like to be his Mama, or at least  Mama Jan.”

Hank patted her arm.  “You’ll do great,” he said.

Jan stared at the ground as they walked.  Something about the situation, about William, still bothered her, but she put it out of her mind for now.