We stood around Vision's body as Shuri had begun trying to extract the Mind Stone. Wanda was close at his side, but most of us had our eyes on the visitors and ships just parked it right outside the forcefield. I crossed my arms in a worried state and looked to Steve. He was usually the one to call the shots and it wasn't settling seeing him worried.
"How much time do you need?" He asked Shuri who was solely focused on her work.
"As much time as you can give me." She said not even looking up.
"Alright," Steve said looking to Nat, T'Challa, Bucky, and myself. "I guess it's time to go meet our guests."
I looked and saw three or four ships that were big enough to be buildings. I could however only make out two figures waiting at the edge of the forcefield. They clearly were waiting for us and I could only imagine what they would want.
I followed Steve down the stairs and out of the building. Nat nudged me and gave me a look to see if I was okay. I nodded and gave her a small smile. Ever since I was allowed back, I wasn't exactly able to slowly get back into things. I was quite literally thrown into a fight for the Infinity Stones less than a month back in the real world.
We were met outside with Wakandan Forces who seemingly came out of no where. They weren't out here nearly an hour ago so it's clear no one was prepared for this. We made it to the front of the field and Steve turned back to us.
"You three stay back, we're going to try and reason with them." Steve said to Bucky, Nat, and I.
We nodded and he walked out with T'Challa towards the two people waiting. I felt nervous, but the idea of Steve and T'Challa trying reason with them almost seemed laughable. I stood next to Nat and Bucky and watched them as they made it to the edge. They just stood and talked and no fights broke out, but it was still nerving to watch.
I looked down at my gun and it was fully loaded and ready to go. I looked to the Wakandans and they didn't seem to have any modern weapons. They held spears and bows and seemingly no shields. I had heard great things about the Wakandans so I tried to not question it too much. Especially not if they were on our side.
The wind was blowing which made this hot dry air a little more tolerable. I felt my hair whip around on my back. Bucky looked to me and gave me a small nod. Steve and T'Challa came back towards us and I saw the two they were speaking to headed back towards there ship. I however didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"They standing down?" Bucky asked Steve and I saw Steve press on a fake smile.
"Don't think so." Steve said.
I looked to Bucky and he just flipped his gun off it's safety. He took a deep breath and looked forward. I followed his gaze and I saw a large mass of creatures exiting the ships heading straight towards us. There was a barrier between us and them and they weren't slowing down as they neared. They slammed into the barrier and I could see it literally killing the creatures. I could see the confusion on everyone else's faces.
"They're killing themselves." Nat said flatly.
"Are they going to get through?" I asked looking to Steve. Steve however just turned to T'Challa and he stood tall, but I could see he was worried.
"They will not get far if they do." He said confidently.
We all stood there prepared and ready for whatever, but the animals clawed almost through the barrier. They were literally just trying to pry themselves in and dying in the process. I wanted to feel better, but the long lines of them still exiting the ship seemed endless.
There had to have been thousands of them from what I could see and I had no idea how many more were on their way. As they clawed through a few slipped through the barrier and were headed towards up. Bucky and I lifted up our guns, but they were shot down before they came with in a quarter mile of us. I sent off a shot every few seconds, but as more and more came my shots were sent off almost continuously.
I looked to Bucky and he was complete focused and stolid. I was worried, but now was no time to let myself get caught slacking. I just stood firmly and focused on shooting those bastards down. They were slowly getting closer to us as more and more got through but thousands were still yet to come in.
"They're trying to go around to find a way in!" A woman from behind us said speaking up. "If they get behind us there's nothing between them and Vision."
"We can't let that happen." T'Challa said.
"What are we going to do?" The woman asked.
I kept shooting trying to not lessen my focus, but I finally looked when he didn't answer. We had all now been looking to him and he was clearly unsure of that to do. I exchanged quick eye contact with Bucky before he answered.
"We let them in." He said finally.
"Are you insane?" Bucky asked with an almost angry expression.
"Open gate 17." He said watching Bucky with a careful eye as he held up his wrist to his mouth. A quiet moment passed as we all looked at him like he was crazy. "Yes, do it."
I kept firing off my gun trying to take out as many as possible. He was absolutely insane for doing this. I get what he was thinking, but this wasn't going to be a good idea.
"If they want in, we'll give them a way in." He said.
My eyes trained to Bucky and he looked angry.
"I'm going to need another mag." He said shaking his head.
The gate opened and they flooded in exactly like I thought they would. We pushed forward to really try and push back this wave of animals, but I knew we were vastly out numbered. I wasn't confident, but then again this would be a quite humbling experience if I made it out alive.
We had started to get overwhelmed by the number of these creatures. Bucky and I had stayed shoulder to shoulder and it worked out nicely. He was right handed and I was left handed so we didn't have any issues. I could here his curses every time he'd miss and I know he was getting worried.
One creature managed to slip through our lines and came flying at us. I came at me and I hit the ground and flipped over shooting it as it landed behind me. It went limp after a few shots and I had Bucky's arm literally wrap around my waist and just about threw me to my feet. I was shocked when I looked to him and and I could see his hand come to my cheek.
"You okay?" He asked me yelling over the loud yelling and weapon fire.
I saw another creature get close to us and my hand literally came around his neck and threw him to the side. I held up my gun and unloaded my gun into the creature and barley made it out of the way before it firmly hit the ground. I looked to Bucky and helped him up back to his feet. He stopped and looked at me for a moment nearly in shock.
"That hurt." He said almost sounding surprised.
"I just saved your life!" I said shaking my head.
"Still!" He said firmly.
"Are we arguing about this right now?" I asked because he was being unbelievable.
"Is this our first argument?" He asked in a sarcastic voice.
"Not our first, but maybe our last if you don't start shooting." I said shoving his shoulder so he'd turn around. We started pushing forward again shoulder to shoulder. "God, you're ridiculous."
"All yours sweetheart." He said I just shook my head.
We were on the verge of being overrun and I was breathing heavily. I had to take out several of those monsters or whatever they were with my gun and even my hands. I could hear everyone around us struggling and I saw something up in the sky, but it wasn't until I saw a giant flash of lighting did I realize who it was.
Thor had knocked out a few hundred of them and was starting to fight along side us. I had so many questions, but I didn't have time to even think of an answer. I saw a raccoon and a wood like creature fighting along side him and I definitely didn't recognize them. Once again, a lot of questions not a lot of answers.
I somehow had gotten distracted by the other crowds of them and I felt craws come across my arm. I was sent flying backwards and I had the wind knocked out of me. I kicked at it, but it was on me like glue I saw gun shots hit it's side and I turned to see Bucky. He rushed towards my side and got me sat up.
"I told you to stay by me!" He shouted at me looking at my arm. "You're bleeding."
"I'm fine Bucky." I said firmly getting to my feet. I was in pain and I knew it was bad, but I was just going to have to deal with this later. I was gushing blood but didn't have the time to actually do anything about it.
"Valerie your arm." He said frustratedly.
"Bucky I'm fine, we need to get back into the fight!" I said panicked.
"No we have to- who's that?" He asked and I rose to my feet to look and see who he was talking about.
I large bulky man with skin a dark purple color stood on the other side of the field. I was confused and I could see several others stop and look. I saw a glove on his hand and glowing stones on his hand. I knew instantly who this was and how bad this got.
"He's heading towards the forest." Bucky said and I looked and saw something even worse.
"Why is Vision out of the lab?" I asked angrily and Bucky and I exchanged a worried look. Steve was soon at our sides and seeing what we had been looking at.
"Guess we follow." Steve said booking it into a run.
We followed suit and soon enough almost every Avenger evacuated the main field and followed the group into the trees. Hopeful the forces would be able to handle the creatures because we needed to get control of Thanos. I had only hoped that they had gotten that Mind Stone from his head.
We rushed in to see Bruce, Don, and Sam already fighting one of his minions, but he was no where else in sight. I had no idea how they had gotten here but I wasn't complaining. However, my eyes trained on a family red body. I saw once of Thanos's minions sending a giant scythe into Vision's abdomen. Steve launched forward and knocked the man over sending him flying back.
Bucky, Steve, and Nat all ran forward and went for the man, but I rushed to Vision's side. He was definitely in pain, if he could even feel pain. I helped him up to his feet and my eyes trained on his forehead and saw the stone still stuck in its spot.
"What are you doing down here?" I asked with worried eyes.
"It was going to take hours." He said shaking his head.
"Vision you need to get back up there and let Shuri finish!" I said.
"Not when my allies are getting slaughtered down here." He said shaking his head looking down to me. "My life cannot be traded for others."
Wanda was soon at my side helping get Vision to his feet sturdily. I felt a wave of uneasiness as things around us got quiet. Vision was dead set looking to Wanda as she worried over his wounds. I saw Bucky and the others coming back this way as well as most of the others.
It was then Thanos came into our sights. He walked towards us slowly and Wanda and I instinctively walked backwards. We exchanged a small moment of eye contact knowing what he was here for. My heart dropped seeing a bright glowing green stone on his hand. Tony was supposed to be protecting that stone along with the others who stayed back.
Bucky and the others walked in front of us and they immediately started going for the man. I got Vision and Wanda and we started booking it in the opposite direction. I looked back at Bucky and he looked at me with wild eyes, but we both new we had two different jobs right now and we were going to have to break our promise.
I kept running off and finally we got him to a spot where we could comfortably set him down to figure out what's going on. Wanda and I grunted to get him down to sit and I felt a tearing in my arm where I had gotten clawed at.
"He can't be out here, we need to get him out of Wakanda." I said breathing heavily.
"How, we're completely surrounded?" Wanda asked clearly distressed.
She loved him. She cared about him dearly and there was nothing we could do to get him out of this. Unless the others were able to stop him he was going to get his hands on him. There was a moment where we could only hear the others in the distance and nothing else.
"Wanda." Vision said causing us both to look at him. "It's time."
"No." She said firmly and I just watched the two.
"They can't stop him, Wanda, but we can." He said insistingly. "Wanda look at me, you have the power to destroy the stone."
"I don't." She said looking away and at the others.
"You must do it. Wanda, please." He said grabbing her hand and my focus painfully switched between them and the others getting absolutely trampled. "We are out of time."
"I can't." She said and I saw a tear fall from her eyes.
"Yes, you can." He said holding her hand in both of his looking up to her. "If he gets the stone half the universe dies."
Her face filled with pain. I saw her bottom lip quiver in fear. Her eyes were filling with tears. Meanwhile my gut was filling with a sick feeling. Things were not going to end well in any scenario.
"It's not fair. It shouldn't have been you, but it is." He said in voice that sounded calm.
I had to look away for a moment because even my own eyes were watering. I hardly knew these two people other than a creation of Tony and a girl who had lost her brother in Sokovia. However, I could only begin to imagine what this felt like. She was going to have to kill the very thing she loved to save everyone else. I could never and would never, but even here I was conflicted on what she should do.
"It's all right." He said and I could see the pain in his eyes. "You could never hurt me."
He face was filled with pain and fear all in one. Her lower lip shook and I had to start shooting at more of his minions. The fight was moving closer and closer to us and their time truly was running out. She needed to decide quick before she didn't have a choice.
"I just feel you." He said finally and I saw her red magic come from her hand and start to destroy the stone he wore.
I was having to shoot at Thanos himself and everyone else around us was going at him, but he was fighting off every bit of us. He was making us look like ants at his feet. I saw Steve go flying backwards and I had then realized Bucky and the others were no where in sight. Everything started to shake and I realized I was the only thing standing between Thanos and them. I let loose every bullet I had but I knew it wasn't going to be enough. His eye contact made me shrivel back into my own skin like a raisin.
"I'll hold him off Wanda, but it won't be enough, not unless you're quick." I said loudly.
I pushed forward and held my finger down letting every bullet I had go flying. I felt tears running down my face for every reason imaginable. He was now right in front of me and I felt his fist go flying into my side sending me flying away from them. I hit a tree knowing I was going to be completely broken if not dead once he got that stone.
I looked over to Wanda and I saw a giant yellow light wave spread around us and I froze unsure if the stone was destroyed or not. I could see Steve and Sam on the ground near me, but I stayed put. Thanos walked towards Wanda who was now on the ground out of breath.
"I understand, my child." He said looking at them on the ground. "Better than anyone."
"You could never." She said in a low growl.
"Today I lost more thank you can know." He said. "But now is no time to mourn. Now is no time at all."
He rose his hand with the Time Stone glowing like a flame. I watched as everything around them almost reversed in time and Vision was now back right where he stood on his knees moments ago. Once Wanda realized what he was doing she cried out, but he only sent her flying backwards. Thanos lifted Vision by his neck and tore the stone from his head.
Silence surrounded us as he placed it on his gauntlet and it took to it's intended spot. I felt my shoulders drop in defeat and I exhaled knowing what was about to happen. My head however snapped to the large lightening strike headed straight for Thanos. Thor came down and his hammer was sent right into his chest.
I watched as this all unfolded in front of me. I held my ribs in pain as I struggled to breath. I was watching Thanos intently, but my eyes still looked for Bucky in this moment. I had lost sight of him and I was worried about him, but even more what could have happened.
"I told you, you'd die for that." Thor said getting in Thanos's face. Thor pushed his hammer deeper into his chest and Thanos cried out in pain.
"You should have..." He strained out in pain. "You should have gone for the head."
Thanos raised his hand and snapped his fingers and everything flashed in a bright white light. The next few seconds were like the most intense flash bang I had ever experienced. I couldn't see or move or even feel for that matter. I knew we had lost and I had wondered if this was it. If this was me dying.
I slowly came to and I was face first in the dirt. I lifted myself up and looked around. Thor now stood where Thanos and he did, just what seemed like a second ago. Steve walked up and I used the tree next to me to get to my feet. I hobbled over and Steve was at my side when he saw me. His eyes however wandered around us.
"Where did he go?" Steve asked out of breath.
Thor looked back at us for a moment and Steve asked again. Thor gave us an off look and I was confused why he wasn't answering.
"Steve?" I heard Sam say and we all looked towards him.
Sam was carrying Bucky who was half limp and I bolted forward ignoring the sharp pains. My arms grabbed him, but I saw Sam change at our side. He quite literally began to evaporate beside us. He turned to dust and Bucky's full weight was now on me. I stood frozen and looked back to Steve.
T'Challa appeared running up to the scene and before he could even speak his body too then turned to ash and seemingly just disappeared. Where Wanda had been thrown she started to dissipate and my focus immediately turned to what looked like ash.
"Val." I heard Bucky said firmly.
"No." I said shaking my head because I didn't know who was going to be next. "Bucky don't you dare."
"Don't you." He said firmly despite looking to be in an immense amount of pain.
My hands gripped onto him tightly and I looked him in the eyes. We stood still just holding onto each other scared to let go. Steve came to our side frantically holding onto the both of us. I heard Nat's voice as she cam running.
"What's happening?" I asked already knowing my answer.
"He did it." Steve said softly hardly sounding like himself.
"Is it done?" Nat asked breathing heavily.
"Anyone else turning to dust?" He asked looking around at Thor and Bruce who stood in a suit I didn't recognize.
We all looked at each other and after a long pause we all exhaled a sigh of relief. I looked to Bucky already having tears in my eyes and my arms wrapped around him tightly. I had to hold him up for the most part, but I was scared to let go.
"Tony." I said in a small voice.
"We'll call him." He said softly as his arm hugged me back. I stepped back and looked at him. His metal arm was missing the lower half. My eyes looked up wildly to him, but clearly someone got the best of him.
"Half of us are a lot worse, don't even say it." He said and I just nodded.
The landscape around us was completely barren and silent. Even the fight on the other side of Wakanda has gone silent. We had lost. We had failed our mission. We had let this happen.
"We tried Steve. We couldn't stop him." I said feeling my voice crack.
"Val we all did." He said shaking his head looking over Visions dead body. "We all did."