So in the end, they all wound up in the library again. It had become the Headquarters for the Thanos operation. Katya didn't mind, she loved the room and leaned with her back against the side of the bookcase, arms crossed and head dropped back as everyone waited for Nebula to explain.
The blue woman was... weird, to say the least. Traumatized from childhood by Thanos, mistreated and used as his personal spy. It was sad, but it had turned her into a powerful woman who had finally managed to get out of his grasp.
Katya made sure to stay out of her way. An enhanced alien wasn't someone she liked to pick a fight with. She had no energy to fight anyway.
Nebula gathered her thoughts, leaning against the wall opposite the Russian. They let her and waited patiently. ''Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. And when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask "where would we go once his plan was complete?". His answer was always the same.''
She pushed herself away from the wall and towards the round table in the middle of the room. It pained her to think back to those years, and she had to force the answer out.
''"To the Garden."''
''That's cute, Thanos has a retirement plan,'' Rhodey scoffed from Katya's left. She sent him a little glare for mocking Nebula. The woman clearly struggled with her past and the alien who had used her. They were lucky she helped them in the first place.
''So where is he?'' she quickly asked, keeping her voice gentle to put Nebula at ease. ''The Garden'' didn't mean anything to her, but she admired Nebula's help. It mustn't been easy to betray Thanos like this, even if he mistreated her. He was still family and that was always hard to betray.
Rocket, who stood atop the table since he was so small, swiped his hand and the Hologram from Earth appeared again. ''When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it... Until two days ago.'' The image shifted and Katya joined the small circle formed around the table so she could see it better. ''On this planet.''
A different planet came into view. It didn't have a name. Only ''Planet 0259-S''. From the outside, it looked a lot like Earth. Blue for water and green for land. Perfect living conditions for someone who wanted to escape.
''Thanos is there,'' Nebula confirmed.
Katya had a hard time wrapping her head about space travel, but this planet didn't look too bad. But even if it had been pitch black or poisonous, they would have found a way to go, to get revenge, to turn it all back. Because their only lead was this.
Natasha took an even closer look at the shockwave of power traveling over the surface of the planet. It had the same signature as the one from Earth. These had to be the Stones. Had to be Thanos. ''He used the Stones again,'' she muttered hopefully. She glanced back at Katya, who saw the glimmer in her green eyes return. Katya couldn't help but reach out and give her hand a squeeze.
Bruce sensed the general plan already and started to protest. ''Hey, hey, hey. We'd be going in short-handed, you know.'' It was a bit different to go against Thanos with only a couple people instead of a whole Wakandan army.
''Look, he's still got the stones, so...'' Rhodey started. He was in favor of the plan. Go there, get the Stones, use them to bring everyone back. Sounded simple enough, but Bruce was right, they were short-handed. However, the second the strange planet came into view, Katya had known she was in. They had to make this right, whatever it took.
''So let's get them,'' Carol shrugged like it was no big deal. It was the first time she spoke up. ''Use them to bring everyone back.''
''Just like that?'' Rhodey asked skeptically. He didn't hold her confidence and saw the dangers of going in and fighting him again. It sounded way too easy.
Steve nodded slowly. ''Yeah, just like that.'' He and Carol shared an understanding look. Both of them ready for this.
Natasha straightened up, determination in her voice as she spoke louder towards everyone in this room. Katya hadn't seen her so fiery in weeks. It reminded her of the woman she married. ''Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this... I mean we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try.'' She gave the hesitating people a wakeup call, asking them why they were even hesitating. There was no debate here.
Katya joined her wife in this display of confidence. ''I agree. We need to fix this. Whatever it takes.'' Natasha nodded and smiled at her. It was one of the few times that had happened after everything.
''If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?'' Bruce questioned. They were slowly winning him over.
His words spread fear through everyone, because he was right. Why would the odds be in their favor now? But it wasn't like it could end any worse than last time. It wasn't like Thanos could snap half the Universe away again.
''Because before, you didn't have me,'' Carol spoke like it was no big deal, her hands on her hips. Everyone turned to her and Katya smiled at her spirit. Finally a woman who knew her worth and how powerful she was. Who didn't need outside assurance on her strength, but who simply knew from herself.
''Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?'' Rhodey asked offended. Ouch, his fragile masculinity got hurt. He knew Fury would only call Carol if he thought the Avengers couldn't handle the threat. So getting mad at her for not being here while she didn't know there was a threat, was kind of mean.
Katya couldn't help but smirk as Carol gave no shits about his tone. ''There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys.''
Rhodey nodded but still looked offended, while the other half of the team smirked. It was funny to have someone shut him up instead of him doing that to others.
Silently, the plan had been agreed on. People had doubts, but also knew this was the only way to do this. And hadn't the Avengers always half-assed things and succeeded anyway? They didn't do many things with full security.
Thor, who had been sitting behind Carol, eating and saying nothing, stood up. His chair scraped loudly on the ground as he sighed. He tried to intimidate her by slowly walking into her personal space and towering over her.
Katya rolled her eyes at his display of power. Carol had already proved herself and this was just mean.
But she simply stared at him as he held out his right hand and waited for his axe to fly into his hand. With a little woosh, it skimmed right past her left cheek, the wind blowing her hair forwards. She didn't flinch so much as blink.
Thor sighed, leaning on his weapon while examining the woman in front of him. She gave him a small smirk and narrowed her eyes. Not even the God of Thunder scared her.
He finally looked up at the others and said casually, ''I like this one.'' Damn they could become one powerful duo. Both glowing and able to crush enemies with their pinkies.
Steve stared at the Holo of the alien planet, everyone waiting for him to give the go-ahead. He was the captain after all. Setting his jaw, he declared loudly, ''Let's go get this son of a bitch.''
~~~~~
Hope is such a funny thing. It could get even the most broken souls to flare up again. After months, years, centuries without hope, there had to be the smallest spark and it spread like wildfire.
Think about protests for good causes. Democracy, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, black lives matter, and so on. It was always hope that drove these people. Hope they could change the current situation into something better.
That is also why Katya could force herself to put on her suit, the thing she didn't want to touch ever again after failing to beat Thanos in it. It was a silly thing to hate a suit for that, but it brought bad memories. That's also why she cut her hair short again. It had grown long during the two years they had been on the run and it had been long in Wakanda, but she needed a fresh start and had cut it all off again.
She felt a little more like herself this way. The color, she couldn't do anything about that. The difference between black and dark brown was minimal, so the outgrowth wouldn't be as noticeable as with Natasha, who was starting to get red roots again.
Katya couldn't wait until it was all red again. She missed that reassuring color.
Confused by the seatbelts of the space ship, Katya grunted in annoyance until she had figured it out, glaring at anyone who offered to help her. She knew she acted ridiculous and didn't mean to be so mean, but nerves got the better of her. Instead of focusing on the unaccustomed Avengers around her, Katya kept looking at Carol, who sat a little in front of her, on the right side of the jet.
Carol was so calm and confident in the ship's strength that Katya trusted it would be fine. But nothing about going to space felt right. She was only there to get to Thanos, but preferred keeping both feet on the Earth.
Bruce had the time of his life in the cockpit next to Nebula, steering the ship through the atmosphere. He got to fly an actual spaceship. And although he had informed them about the years he had gone missing and had been on spaceships before, he never got to fly one.
Nothing changed after the ship left Earth's gravity and arrived in the vastness of space. The artificial gravity that had been turned on at exactly the right time. So there were no floating people or objects.
Rocket, who sat in front of Katya, peeked around his chair. ''Okay, who here hasn't been to space?''
Katya slowly raised her hand like a schoolkid, knowing Natasha, Steve and Rhodey were doing the same thing behind her. She had to admit, the raccoon was annoying and could be mean, but also funny at times. Like Tony in animal form.
''Why?'' Rhodey whispered concerned, thinking you needed experience to survive it.
''You better not throw up on my ship.''
Katya glared at Carol, who chuckled at the nervous faces around her. ''I'm not promising anything.''
They had no time to adjust and accept the fact that they were in space, because Nebula yelled from the front. ''Approaching jump in three... two... one!''
You know in some rollercoasters when you get pulled forward at once, like you're being sucked into a black hole at the speed of light? G-forces pressing you back into your chair while a weight settles on your chest, making it hard to breathe? Yeah that is exactly what it felt like when they got sucked into the ''jump'' as Nebula called it.
An aurora of lights, mostly purple, pink and blue, flashed outside the window. Katya could only describe it as racing through a disco tunnel at a million miles an hour, making everything blurry. A hexagon shaped opening waited for them at the end of it, bathed in a yellow color. It spat them out on the other side and everything slammed on the brakes.
The rollercoaster was at its end.
Katya got flung forwards, the seatbelts digging into her chest and throwing her back into the chair. She gasped for air and squeezed her eyes shut to push the nausea down. She did not want to puke in front of everyone.
''Oh, Jesus Christ we're never doing that again,'' she said between heaves, gripping the armrests.
''We still need to go back,'' Carol joked, enjoying how green Katya saw as she unbuckled her own seatbelt.
''Nat, I'm sorry, I'm leaving and staying on this planet I'm afraid,'' Katya teased with a straight face. ''This planet'' was exactly the one they had seen on the Hologram, with rings like Saturn. Only these were smaller and blue.
If there was any planet Katya thought humanity might see one day, it was Mars, not this weird planet they didn't know the existence of on the other side of the Universe.
Natasha shook her head, her lips curled into a small smile. ''Not an option. I'll knock you out if I have to.''
Katya groaned, daring to sit up and leaning her head against the headrest. She did not feel good but had to force it away. She had to fight Thanos after all. ''Hold that thought.''
Carol disappeared into the back and reappeared outside, hoovering in front of the window with that cool light surrounding her. Katya dared to open one eye at this point. ''I'll head down for recon.'' And away she went.
Rocket hopped out of his seat and went through some drawers as they waited for Carol to come back. He came up with a small vile, the liquid a clear, light purple. Katya raised her eyebrows in surprise when he stopped in front of her and offered it.
The Avengers' eyes were on her as they waited to see what she would do. And while she appreciated Rocket's help with her nausea, she shook her head. ''Yeah no, I'm not drinking that.''
''Come on,'' he pressed, ''this is human-safe, I promise. It will help with the nausea and give you a little energy. You're not the first guest we've had that wasn't used to space travel.''
Katya wished Carol was here to tell her if it was really safe, since she did not trust the raccoon at all. Hesitantly, she accepted the potion and glanced around at her friends, looking for help, anything at all. ''Great, thanks guys,'' she said sarcastically as they all simply stared.
Slowly, Katya uncorked it and lifted it to her lips. It smelled good. How bad could it be, right?
But before she could swallow it, Rhodey interrupted her. ''Katya, wait. If you die, can I get your car?''
It was obviously meant to mess with her, but she kept a straight face while she answered. ''I want to be buried with it.'' Then, without warning, she downed the drink.
The effect was insane. It was a drug the second it flowed down her throat, warming her insides. She felt incredible, but not in some space-y, drug-y way. But like she had slept for days, eaten the most energized meal ever and all her muscles tensed up and got ready to fight. Like someone had thrown water into her face and shocked her body awake.
''And?'' Natasha asked carefully. She wasn't the biggest supporter of this action, but her wife looked more energized than ever.
Katya kept her face unreadable on purpose, to leave the others in suspense. Until a wide smile formed on her face. ''Can I buy the recipe off of you? I'll steal Tony's credit card and buy you whatever you want.''
Rocket scoffed and climbed back in his seat. ''I don't want your useless Earth money. But you're welcome.''
Enthusiastic, Katya turned to Natasha. ''This is amazing, we need a stash of this at the Compound.''
Natasha swiftly shook her head, seeing how this could go completely wrong. Katya couldn't get used to this. ''No, we're not getting you addicted to this stuff. One time thing, all right?''
Katya pouted but gave in without protest. ''Yes ma'am.'' She finally dared to really take in the planet. It wasn't as beautiful as on the Holo, having more of a rusty and purple glow over it, but still, it was an alien planet, she couldn't be picky.
All during her youth, they had told Katya how she would never achieve anything. How she was simply means to an end. But this, this had exceeded everything she wanted in life. Everything she wished to see and do.
Peace and freedom. Those two things had been the focus point of her quest. And while the Sokovia Accords had messed with her freedom for a while, she had been free ever since leaving HYDRA. Peace wasn't necessarily found in her surroundings because Earth would never have peace as long as people didn't get over their differences. But she had found peace within herself.
Well, at least until Thanos happened.
''This is gonna work, Steve,'' Katya suddenly heard from behind her. She turned in her seat and saw the man stare at the compass he had never gotten rid of. The one with the picture of Peggy. Seventy years and he had never gotten over her.
''I know it will,'' Steve answered Natasha, the one who had been with him through almost everything, from New York to Sokovia to Wakanda. ''Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't.''
Katya swallowed thickly, averting her eyes back to her lap. Everyone could find themselves in that sentence. Katya didn't know how she could go on, knowing she had failed to protect half the Universe. How did the Avengers continue when nobody trusted them anymore? How did they get out of bed in the morning with all those deaths?
This was all or nothing.
Carol appeared in the window, a confused frown on her face. ''No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him.''
Everyone glanced at each other. The fact that Thanos was hella smart and didn't have any kind of defense at the ready, made everyone uneasy. He didn't care if they found him. Something was wrong, and Katya got that uneasy feeling again.
But Nebula, clearly looking for some revenge at the man that had tortured her for years, looked satisfied it was just the Titan. ''And that's enough.''
She landed the jet slowly, everyone spilling out. Katya had to stop and stare for only a second.
The planet was stunning. It looked a lot like Earth, which made everyone a little uneasy. Thanos' small, wooden cabin stood in the middle of a large field, the mountains rising up behind it. Sounds of a jungle came from the trees, the climate hot like it was in the Amazon. But above all, it was peaceful, not at all what everyone associated with the giant.
All the flyers could get to the cabin much quicker, so the Russian followed the runners through the field. Some weird fruit or vegetable on a stick, kind of like corn, kept hitting her hips and hands. The things were purple and looked eatable. Probably what Thanos had been surviving off of.
In front of his house stood a huge pole, his armor displayed like a trophy, showing his power. Or maybe it was just a scarecrow. No matter the purpose though, it was intimidating.
When she finally did reach the cabin, Thanos had been tightly restrained by Carol, Rhodey and Bruce, and he did not look good. The whole left side of his body was burned, all the way from his face to his leg. Using the Stones had done that to him, the power burning through his veins. Literally.
Katya almost stumbled over the gauntlet on the floor as she stepped in, only it wasn't just that. Thanos' whole arm had been cut off by Thor, who was about to get redemption for failing the first time.
Thanos groaned heavily from the pain while Rocket flipped the gauntlet over and froze. His shoulders sunk as he muttered, ''Oh no.''
The slots for the Stones were empty. They were gone.
The mood fell, like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over their fiery souls. Everyone lost for a second, all hope leaving their bodies.
It was over. This was it. They were too late. No Stones meant no bringing everyone back. No Stones meant it was the end.
Katya couldn't rip her eyes away from the empty and burnt glove. Such a stupid thing to have a mental breakdown over. Six goddamn Stones could destroy half the Universe. Who had ever decided one man could have that much power?
''Where are they?'' Steve's voice toneless and without force. He had no energy left in his body, only emptiness and loss.
Carol tightened her chokehold around the giant's neck, hissing in his ear venomously. ''Answer the question!''
Katya couldn't stop staring at the ground, zoned out from reality. Only their voices pierced her mind, but other than that, she tried not to implode and sink to the floor. Rocket's potion stopped working instantly, all energy sucked from her body as she started shivering.
Thanos took a few shallow breaths, trying to get air into his lungs. ''The Universe required correction. After that, the Stones served no purpose beyond temptation.''
''You murdered trillions!'' Bruce yelled and pushed the Titan over in his Hulkbuster armor he had managed to fix. Carol could jump from his back just in time not to get crushed under his weight while Katya jumped from the sudden explosion. She should not be here, it was not good for her.
''You should be grateful,'' Thanos spat at the scientist as he lay on the ground. He was so convinced he had done the right thing for the Universe. Nothing could ever change his mind. Certainly not a group of people that held no meaning to him whatsoever.
Bruce was the only one acting, socking the alien in the jaw, the rest were just... lost. Seeing their hope go up in smoke.
Natasha shuffled past Katya, clenching her jaw and fists to not cry. ''Where are the Stones?'' she breathed dangerously, but it came out as more of a plea. Begging the Titan to tell her where they were so she could fix this all. She didn't want to think about leaving here without succeeding again.
''Gone. Reduced to atoms,'' Thanos spat at the hopeless woman. Katya knew she should do something, touch her hand, whisper something, but she could only stare at the man who had brought so much despair and pain.
''You used them two days ago!'' Bruce yelled again. He was the only one with the energy to do something. The rest knew it was useless to get wound up.
Thanos was far from impressed, glaring at the people around him. ''I used the Stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be.'' He pushed himself up on his elbow. ''I am... inevitable.''
Something snapped in Katya. It was all too much. The Stones were the only hope they had. The only lead, the only way to fix this. She hadn't realized she had put all her faith in this mission. Now that all hope was lost, her world crumbled.
''I have to-'' She had to swallow and take a breath to stop her voice from breaking. ''I can't listen to this.''
She spun around on her heels and ran down the wooden steps into the ''corn'' fields. She vaguely heard Natasha yell after her, but nobody followed her. The mountains were so tempting and were luring her in, but there was no way in hell she would stay on this weird planet. Earth was her home and she needed her team if she wanted to try and get through this.
Katya's breathing got faster and higher in her throat. Tears blurred her vision until green, purple and brown merged into one. The crops hit her body again and again while she ran towards the Quinjet in a straight line.
She didn't care if the others thought she was being weak, if Thanos thought she was being pathetic. She didn't know herself where this implosion came from. Maybe it finally all caught up to her, all the pain and suffering. Maybe it finally had enough of being suppressed and this was her body's revenge for ignoring its needs.
Whatever it was, it had her sink to the ground in the middle of the field, unable to walk any further. With her arms wrapped around her knees, she stared at the waving crops, not really seeing them. The wind blowing through them was mere background music for her thoughts. There were so many of them, but all of them revolved around one subject: this was the end.
Nothing they could do to reverse what happened. They had failed to protect the Universe. Period.
And Katya already struggled with the deaths from her past. How could she ever recover from the three-and-a-half billion now on her shoulders too? And those were only the confirmed losses from Earth. There were millions of planets out there, all with people who had lost friends and family.
All of it had to come out, so it did. Maybe it was the potion Rocket gave to her before or the fact that everything was lost, but Katya threw up, the tears burning behind her eyes. Her stomach emptied itself until there was nothing left to throw up and water ran down her cheeks because everything hurt.
Her throat, her stomach, her head and most of all, her heart.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: extra chapter because I wrote the Vormir chapter yesterday and I want you to read it soon ;)