"So how does this work again?" Rhodey asked curiously. Pietro spun the soccer ball on the end of his foot, bouncing it across to the other then back as he began doing kick-ups.
"Simple. Me and (Y/N) get that net," Pietro pointed at the goal behind him, "You and Sam get that one." He pointed behind Rhodey.
"Two on two? That doesn't seem very fair. How's that gonna work?" Sam squinted at the speedster.
"Who else do you expect to play? Tony would complain. Steve wouldn't know what he was doing," Pietro nodded his head over to the "benches" where the rest of the team were watching. "Vision is... Vision. Natasha and Wanda are terrified of a little jog."
"Excuse me?" Natasha exclaimed from her seat on the grass.
"Jesus Christ. Man, are you trying to dig yourself an early grave?" (Y/N) looked at him with wide eyes. Natasha huffed, standing to her feet and looking at Wanda who was next to her.
"Come on." She motioned towards the other four, eliciting a very confused look from Wanda.
"I'm sorry... what?" Wanda asked as if Nat had misspoken.
"We're gonna go join so I can injure your brother."
"Oh, for God's sake." Pietro mumbled as he saw the two women now approaching.
"You bite the widow, the widow bites back." Rhodey laughed. Both him and Sam took a step back while (Y/N) kept his stance with Pietro, keen to watch what would happen. Natasha stormed over with an awkward faced Wanda beside her.
"Okay, here you go. Me and Wanda. Let's do three on three." Natasha shot a threatening glare at the speedster, taking him aback as he didn't expect to get a rise out of her. Wanda scooted away from Natasha to stand in front of (Y/N).
"Sir, I'm not here of my own free will." Wanda joked as she wanted no part in the sport.
"Ma'am, I'm afraid that's unfortunate. Play the damn game." (Y/N) responded as Natasha walked over to Sam and Rhodey. Great. Two teams of three.
"I'm not athletic. I'm gonna get screwed over." She pouted.
"Right, let's make some rules. No pushing, no shoving, no kicking the ball out of play." Pietro stood in the middle of everyone, kicking the ball up to his arms.
"No hurting poor Wanda." Wanda coughed into her hand.
"Unless you want poor (Y/N) to shatter your ankles after." (Y/N) said nonchalantly. Pietro held up the ball, deciding he would throw it in the air to start off.
"Alright. Go!"
The back of the truck was near silent. Coats rustled and the sound of the vehicle traversing could be heard, but that was all.
"So... who are you guys?" Jane unconsciously tapped her legs as she waited for someone to say something. Her and the other three passengers were told to stay quiet during the ride, but she couldn't take it any longer.
"We were told not to talk." Another woman told her. Jane slowly looked to her side, before remembering who was with her.
"Jane, you know who I am." Ian mumbled as he hesitantly looked at the two strangers on the other side of the truck. Jane sighed and composed herself before trying again to get a conversation from someone.
"I'm Jane Foster. I'm an astrophysicist."
"Huh, what a coincidence. I am, too." The second man said. The other woman rolled her eyes at the fact they were speaking, but she gave in and joined.
"Me, too."
"Four astrophysicists? Just what is it these guys are dealing with?" Ian asked in confusion.
The four jumped out of the truck as they reached their destination. They were at a Sword camp stationed just outside the "anomaly" as it was being called. An enormous blue field of energy that seemed to be hiding something inside.
The team were directed into separate tents, finding equipment set up for them already. Jane walked over to her station, examining everything on and under the desk. An agent stood behind her to make sure she got settled in and her equipment worked.
"Does anyone know what's going on in there?" Jane asked as she plugged in her devices, running a series of tests on the anomaly outside.
"That's what you're here for." The agent told her. She looked at him questioningly, then turned back to her work.
"Oh- okay. That is..." She stared at the results in fascination.
"What? What is it?"
"It's as if reality just... cuts off once it reaches the anomaly. My equipment is picking up absolutely nothing from it except..."
"Except what?"
"Radio frequencies."
"So this is the anomaly?" Ian stood just a few feet away from the blue wall. Another agent stood with him, showing it off. "Why's it blue?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." The woman said. Ian's hand slowly began to inch towards the wall, curious as to how it worked. The agent exclaimed in disapproval, but the man's hand had already come into contact with the energy.
At first, nothing happened. It felt like energised rubber, but there wasn't much time for Ian to think about it. The energy shot out and grappled around his hands, starting to pull him in.
"What the hel-" His shouts were muffled as he was dragged into the pocket reality. The agent stood in shock at what had happened, then turned and ran back to the tents.
Jane looked at the screen in front of her with keen eyes. It was as if she was watching a movie, or show. She watched what resembled live footage of the Avengers compound. The footage would switch between people as if it was a film.
"What..." Her voice fell into the silent atmosphere. Behind her other agents had gathered to view what was happening on the screen. The two major things that caught her eye were in the cast of whatever this was. Two people who were thought to be dead. Two people she was listening to as they argued.
"Are you out of your mind?" Pietro's voice came through the speaker. How was he alive? The camera panned towards the other male. And how was he alive?
"They're supposed to be dead, right? Like... properly dead." Jane looked behind her in confusion. The other agents seemed just as bemused as she was, not sure what black magic had done this.
"Sir! Sir!" A woman ran into the room, catching the top agent's attention. He stepped back from the group as he looked over at his colleague.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Boothby... the anomaly pulled him in." She said breathlessly. The man gritted his teeth, not expecting the anomaly itself to do such a thing. He quickly caught their attention.
"Alright, everyone. Five meter distance from that thing at all times. Nobody goes further than that. Nobody touches the singularity." He ordered, looking out through the window at the blue glow.
"Guys..." Jane said. The men and women looked at Jane and the screen again. "I think I found Ian."
The image of Ian at the door to the compound popped up. (Y/N) answered it, while Jane's friend explained he was an intern for Tony Stark.
"That's impossible. He only disappeared a minute ago." The other woman called out from the crowd. Even if he was now in there, he should've only gotten as far as the lawn.
"What's wrong with him?" Jane whispered. Why has he suddenly become part of the charade? What even was the charade? It was just the Avengers living normal lives. But in that case, why was the camera only being focused around (Y/N)?
"Is he pretending?" The lead agent stepped further forward as he could get a better look. It could've been possible, but it also couldn't have. Ian was let into the compound and went to sit down.
"Ian isn't exactly that... bright. I doubt he'd be able to fake it so well. Not just that, but it seems like he's become part of the plot." Jane watched as her coworker sat and talked with a dead man walking.
"It's like the anomaly rewrote his existence." She said. The agents dispersed as the leader moved out to go deliver the news to headquarters. "I need to tell Darcy about this..."
"What's the first thing you remember?" Hayward stood beside Monica's medical bed. Apparently she'd gotten a little too real in a conversation with Wanda, ending with her being thrown from the hex.
"Pain. Emotionally." Monica recounted. "And then, Wanda's voice in my head."
"Did you try to resist?" Hayward questioned.
"There was this feeling keeping me down. This hopeless feeling. Like drowning. It was grief."
"You can sit up now, captain." The doctor told her.
"Am I clear?" Monica sat forward, watching the woman walk in the other direction.
"Once I get a look at these." The doc said. The door creaked open, allowing Woo and Darcy to enter.
"Glad to have you back, captain." Woo smiled at her. Darcy hung just by his shoulder, waiting to say something. "How are you feeling?"
"Like myself." Monica answered as she was happy to be out of the spell she had been under.
"Well, thank heavens for that."
"What's the latest?" Monica looked between the two. Darcy stepped forward as she decided to take part in the conversation.
"There's a briefing in ten. Pants are encouraged." Darcy gave her some clothes to wear, earning a thanks in response.
"This is Dr. Darcy Lewis. She's the one who discovered the broadcast." Woo introduced her.
"Look, we need to ask you some things." Darcy for straight to the point. Monica slowly nodded in agreement and Darcy coughed as she prepared to start speaking.
"Did you have any run-ins with (Y/N) while you were inside the hex?" She asked curiously. Monica looked at Woo in confusion, but he simply watched her and waited for an answer.
"No, not really. Why?" Monica was puzzled as to why their attention was being shifted to him and not Wanda.
"Take a look at this." Darcy retrieved her phone. She pressed a few things on the screen before handing it to the captain. Monica looked over the image she had in front of her. The Avengers compound from sort sort of camera. Both (Y/N) and Wanda sat comfortably on a couch.
"What is this? Why are you showing me old pictures?" Monica's eyes drifted between the phone and Darcy.
"That's the thing. That picture is from just a few hours ago in New York. My friend is working there."
"The second anomaly?" Monica's bemused expression was clear to the other two.
"If Wanda is here controlling this hex. Who's controlling the other one?" Woo said.
"The only other being that is capable of rewriting physics like this would be (Y/N). But he's dead... Wanda revived his body." Rambeau whispered as she handed the phone back.
"Then it's a really big coincidence how the camera seems to follow him and Wanda, while the anomaly itself is also bright blue." Darcy said like it was suddenly obvious. The three seemingly accepted this running theory for a moment. The only thing that was leading to disproving it was the fact that his body was currently walking around inside Wanda's fantasy.
"If that's the case then we need to go break him out of it. If he's alive, we can use him to snap Wanda out of it." Monica slowly got onto her feet.
"Uh, yeah. That's gonna be an issue." Darcy bit her tongue as the two looked at her. "The anomaly kind of dragged in another friend of mine. He took it the same way you did. I don't think anyone can get in there without their mind being messed with."
"So the energy is what rewrites everything?" Woo thought aloud, gaining a nod from Darcy. "If that's the case, wouldn't someone with a similar power be able to walk on through lickity split?"
"You think (Y/N) could get into the hex without any issues?" Darcy looked at Woo. The two didn't notice the expression of thought that suddenly dawned on Monica.
"It's our best shot. We need someone over there to get him out."
"But who? If nobody can go in there either, and the only two people in the universe with the power to enter these anomalies are both inside them." Darcy sighed as she went back to the drawing board. Monica shook her head and caught their attention.
"I think I know someone who could get into the other anomaly."