Marvel Universe Imagines and One Shots Book Two

In the dark - Part 1 - Sam x Reader

The glow from Tony's arc reactor and the repulsor ray at his hand, were the only things that seemed to light the way, as the billionaire and the rest of the team made their way deeper and deeper into the caves. The torches that the others had brought with them, all seeming to give off less light than a firefly's butt, as the darkness seemed to envelop them. Not one of them was sure what they were really looking for. But whatever it was, the majority of them were hoping that they wouldn't find it. The only one appearing to be enjoying this strange little excursion, was (Y/n).

As far as they were concerned, Fury had sent them on another wild goose chase for yet another one of his supposed mythical beings. S.H.I.E.L.D seeming to have taken quite an interesting in finding out if there could be more supposedly legendary creatures that may or may not exist in this world, given the fact that the likes of Thor and Loki were real. But never before had they been sent into the heart of a very deep and exceptionally dark cave system that had only just been discovered. All of the heroes having to admit that they were beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. And if it wasn't for the reassuring hum from the devise at Tony's hand, the incessant drip from the mineral deposits above their heads would be making them go a little crazy. Their minds racing, as ghostly pale structures appeared from the gloom, structures that resembled the bones of the earth. The world's greatest heroes wondering if in fact, they had been sent into the skeleton of the planet. Some wouldn't even have been surprised if at any moment, as they rounded the next corner, they might just find a river with a waiting ferryman. Either that, or a creature calling a ring 'my precious'.

As they made their way even deeper, the whole thing was beginning to get a little eerie. Scary even. The Avengers able to face all manner of horrors and opponents in the world above, but down here, it was a completely different matter. The team feeling as though they were being watched by a million eyes.

"Okay! I always forget which is which. Do stalactites hang or stand?" A voice called out from the gloom. The others rolling their eyes, knowing that sooner or later it would be the Falcon that would have to break the silence. His too loud voice seeming to bounce off every surface around them and return to the team with force.

"Stalactites hang from the ceiling. Stalagmites form up from the ground. When the two meet, they call the formations Stalagnate. Either that or columns, and pillars. The really fine stalactites are called straws, because they're hollow. And given that these things only grow approximately 0.0051 inches a year, we are walking through something very ancient." Another, much quieter voice replied. It now Sam's turn to roll his eyes.

"Trust you to know that. I swear that you go out of your way just to make me look dumb..............."

"I don't need to go out of my way to make you look dumb, you do it all by yourself. You don't need any help from me, fly boy." (Y/n) bit back. Sam turning to look at the woman behind him. Just able to pick out her sarcastic grin in the dim light of his torch. The Falcon not only having had enough of the team's resident know it all, but also of the cave that seemed to be closing in on him.

"Alright you two. I've had it! It's bad enough being down here, without you going for one another's throats. Now, lets just get this over with." Nat chastised, the widow wanting to make sure that she did what the director had asked, so that she could definitively tell Nick that there was nothing down there, before they all turned around and made their way back to the surface.

"Look. I don't think that we need to go any further. If we haven't found anything by now, I doubt a few hundred more yards is gonna change anything. I mean, there can't actually be any kind of humanoid lifeform down here........."

"That's not necessarily true. There are lots of myths from across the world about humanoid beings that live in and protect caves and mines. Things like goblins and gnome like creatures, to nymphs and cryptids. And I would say trolls too, but we in fact bought our own with us. Isn't that right, Sam." (Y/n) chuckled. Her laugh getting a little louder as she heard Bucky let out an amused snort.

"Oh look. The love child of Google and Wikipedia is giving us her opinion again.............."

"Look, troll king. Just because I happen to know more than you do about........well, about everything, don't blame me! If you read a book once in a while, you might learn there is more to appreciate in this world. You know, things like art and culture. And I'm not talking about the "art" that you appreciate on your laptop at night, or the culture that grows between your toes either........."

"That's it! We are outta here. I am not listening to you two complain at one another down here. I can do that in the comfort of my own compound. And at least there I can escape to the labs. This was the biggest waste of time ever. There is nothing down here, and if there was, I don't want to meet it. Next time Fury wants someone to go creature hunting, he can send his own agents." Tony interrupted. Turning on his heels and making his way back towards the entrance, the others happily following.

"Oh, come on. Its amazing down here. The only thing to be scared of might be a few cave spiders and crickets. There aren't even bats this far down. We could actually find something that no one has ever seen before. There could be all manner of undiscovered creatures............" (Y/n) called out, as she watched the others disappear back up the rather dubious path that they had made their way down.

"Ya weird, you know that don't ya? If you ask me, I would say that you belong down here with ya goblins and gremlins............."

"Fortunately, no one did ask you. And gremlins don't live in caves, dummy. Gremlins are invisible little creatures that cause issues in aircraft and other machinery. The concept of which was polarised by the UK's RAF in World War Two. You should really know that." (Y/n) quickly interjected. Neither she nor Sam seeming to notice that they were in the dark on their own. That the rest of the team were happily making their way back up to the entrance of the newly discovered cave.

Suddenly a noise filled the chamber. (Y/n) and Sam looking at one another wide eyed, as the rock around them began to move. The pair jumping out of the way, as the roof began to crumble, sending rocks and boulders crashing to the floor.