𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎 || 𝘉𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦
STEVE AND MOST OF THE OTHERS KEPT A CLOSE EYE ON CARTER. Having not said a word since capturing Strucker and reclaiming the Sceptre. The man had sat at the back of the Quinjet, a bird made of his powers sitting on his shoulder as he allowed his head to hang low and sleep. They still hadn't gotten any response as to if he found the Extinction Entity or anything involving the being. But it was definite that they had come into contact with the woman, primarily Steve. It was a matter of figuring out who the two enhanced were and what information was relevant to their current predicament.
So, that was what he was at their current point in time; an informant. After that, they weren't sure of what to do with him. Tony didn't like Carter and the others were skeptical of his reasoning for being here. But Natasha seemed more interested in him and his motives. Jumping from universe to universe had to have some alternate goal for him and she was trying to pinpoint what it could be. She trusted him. But she needed more info to be completely sure he wasn't going to be a liability to the mission. Perhaps out of curiosity or a desire to stay one step ahead, she enjoyed learning about such things.
It didn't let her into his thoughts though.
The scraping of metal filled the air. Explosions caused the surface of the Earth to wail in agony as Carter panted. Blood soaked his mouth, staining his teeth as he grunted. Tugging Tony towards the edge of the Avengers tower. He fell to a knee as he gave one final pull and had Tony rest near the edge of the large window that was shattered.
What was once a peaceful day was now chaotic. People in the streets of New York were screaming for help, hoping their saviours to stop this apocalypse. But they were dwindling one by one. Innocents were being turned to hollow, rotting shells from the devouring essence that radiated from Wanda. The blue sky was now a crimson red and the sun was blocked out by the impurity of the Witch's powers.
Carter couldn't help but laugh, standing up to his feet and stumbling back slightly. He placed a hand over his face, running it down and shaking his head. "You stupid fuck." The barely conscious man blinked tiredly up at him, the power of his suit sucked straight from Carter's powers, leaving him defenceless. Carter crouched down and forced Tony up onto his knees and sneered, "Look at what your actions have cost."
The world was on fire. Just above the water was Wanda, powers shooting out from her figure and repeating the cycle that once more will return. The world would go into darkness, people would die, and the world would be destroyed leaving the Extinction Entity to thrive.
"Carter!"
The man in question flinched, hands tightening around his rifle as he looked up. Natasha's worried eyes stared down at him, hand resting on his shoulder. "Where are you at?"
He blinked under the lens of his mask, gripping his rifle tighter to hide the tremble in his hands. Glancing around to see the rest of the team offloading on the landing pad of the Avengers tower with the last 5 being Tony, Steve, Nova, Natasha, and himself. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he hummed. "Here. I'm right here."
Although his reassurances were sound, it still wasn't enough to convince Natasha. But she wouldn't poke and prod. Instead glancing at Nova and then back at the man. "Can you get him in one of the spare rooms?"
"Of course-" Nova went to lead, but Tony was already on his feet.
"Nope! Not happening," he announced. "He can sleep in the holding chamber until then."
"And do you expect him to help us if we do that? As of right now, he's an asset to our target," Natasha explained. "Unless you have an ulterior plan."
"Yeah. Here's one; let the professionals handle this," Tony replied with an emphasis on his words. "We can't trust him. For all we know, he could be another target..."
Their argument carried on and Carter sat silently until Nova grabbed his arm. A smile on her lips as she said, "Let's slip out before they notice."
They made their way inside and Carter immediately felt a sense of familiarity forged in his skull. The truth is that every Avengers tower was the same with the rare exception of ones abandoned and scraped for a far more hidden base. Nothing about how it was mapped out was different. There were always key differences in the decorations judging by how each person's past was different compared to the parallel universes. But this felt almost too familiar. It held far too many similarities with his destroyed universe.
From the black tiled floors to the faint humming of the lights, it all cried echoes of somewhere buried deep within his subconscious best left alone. A life that was best forgotten for the quo.
Walking down the halls of rooms for training, bedrooms, and firing range, Carter felt his eyes flicker to a glass display. His pace faltered with his entire attention being diverted to the item. Nova, noticing her footsteps being the only one heard in the hallway, stopped and turned to find Carter resting his hand on the glass. Her heart clenched with her feet carrying her toward the man.
"It's been close to a year." Carter looked at the girl as she stared at the familiar helmet. "He didn't give me a chance to save him. Tried to kill me and I had to choose whether I wanted to live or take my best friend's life."
Still, the pain continued to swim adrift in the center of Carter's chest. Eyes felt heavier with a stab of venom appearing behind them.
"How'd he go in yours?" Nova inquired.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he turned to her. "He fought against the Extinction Entity." He turned to her, a shaky smile on his lips. "You two died in one another's arms."
He left it at that, muttering that he knew where he was going and walking past the girl. Unable to see the broken look in her eyes as she stared at the helmet.
So many times, so many alternate outcomes, yet it still hurt hearing his friend died. At certain points, he was numb to it. If this universe ended up being a dud, he knew his pain wouldn't be as terrible as it'd been the first two times. But this time around, Cooper was long gone before he even met Wanda. His death under circumstances he wished he could've changed, not only for himself but for Nova. Yet, Carter was gladdened to know Coop wouldn't suffer like so many times before.
Arriving at the spare room, Nova stopped and turned to him. "You'll be bunking here for however long you'd like. Steve and I will go out to get you clothes if need be and if you need food, I'm sure you know where the kitchen is."
"I think I should stay away from the tower or the team for the next few hours. Tony might try and kill me," he quipped half-heartedly.
Nova wasn't sure if he was joking or not considering the man had been to so many different universes, that seemed like a possible outcome. Nonetheless, she snickered. "He'll keep his mouth shut as long as I tell him to. Don't gotta sleep with one eye open."
Forecfully smiling, Carter turned to step away but was surprised by Nova's hand grabbing his wrist, compelling him to turn to her. "I need to ask. What's the difference here compared to the others you've been to? Universes, I mean."
Inhaling deeply, Carter smiled. "You guys spared me a room."
When she smiled faintly Carter took that as his chance to slip away. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, softly shutting the door behind him and locking it. The rifle holstered on his back fell to his side as he placed the weapon on the bed. Peeling his hood back and pulling off his mask.
No need for a mask. No need to disfigure how he felt in this moment of partial shock. The bird still on his shoulder croaked, head tilting as it stared at its creator. Carter huffed a breath, smiling at the bird and holding the back of his hand out for it. To which the animal brushed the side of its head against it. A deep hum vibrates through the creature's chest in contentment, shifting closer to the warmth.
"Love, Carter." The croaking voice made Carter smile.
He lifted the bird from her perched position on his shoulder to his lap. Gently stroking the creature's beak. "Love you too, Judge."
Out of everyone and everything, his creatures were the only ones to have been permanent or comforting in these travels between universes. His two hellhounds, Rex and Vash, and Judge, his raven. There were many others but none were as reliable as the big three. Each holding a special place in his heart for the many years of them supporting one another.
But neither Rex nor Vash could speak like Judge. Maybe it was because Judge required less of his powers or how often Carter called upon the company of the raven. Still, Judge provided a company Carter never had often.
The moment was cut short by a voice that only filtered the room. "Mr. Locke, you're needed in the meeting room. Mr. Stark's orders," Jarvis announced.
Carter sighed. "Couldn't even have a shower," he muttered, lifting Judge to rest on his shoulder. "Thank you, Jarvis."
Relinquishing his cloak, mask, and rifle, he made his way to the meeting room. The glass dividing him from the conversation inside did very little to leave him guessing what they were talking about. Him.
Pushing open the glass door, his presence was acknowledged by the collective's eyes. Nova was the only one offering a smile as he took a seat beside her, clasping his hands together and looking amongst the team.
"After a lengthy discussion, Tony has agreed to form an "alliance" until the targets are identified and in custody." Steve placed his hand on the table, sighing. "Carter, we need some more insight on what the Extinction Entity is. Who Wanda Maximoff is."
"Is she made from a source like the Sceptre? Or maybe the Tesseract?" Banner then inquired, pushing the arc of his glasses up and staring at the man intently.
Carter sighed, leaning back in his chair. "The Extinction Entity is not made but born. A woman of unimaginable powers that as of now, have only scratched the surface," he explained. "Steve encountered her. Her powers, I'm sure you experienced, are mind manipulation along with telekinesis. But these are simply minor features to the power harnessed inside of her-"
"Motive." Everyone turned to Tony, who glanced at them before waving the wrench in his hand. "What is your motive?" He reiterated. "I mean, we know some inkling as to what she loses before she goes nuclear, but what is it that you lost that made you try and save other universes from this event? What is keeping you going?"
Carter stared at him, lips parted with the corners tilting into a smile. But he laughed, bowing his head. Natasha saw his arms flex, fingers digging into his triceps as the man exhaled heavily.
"I lost her." His voice was just barely above a mere murmur. Forcing everyone to frown as he lifted his gaze, a distant look in his eyes. "When my Earth fell, I was forced to kill the only one left that I loved." He nodded, looking at the billionaire. "And it was her."
"So, this entire plan, your entire reason for coming here and being a pain in my ass, is to get your girl back?" Tony questioned, scoffing. "There are many other fish in the sea, buddy. Maybe try something new instead of going for some psycho."
"Tony, I killed 3 others like you," Carter said in a low rumbling tone. "I have no problem making it 4 if you give me a reason."
"Then why don't you, huh?" Tony challenged. "I mean, if you believe we're all too incapable of stopping this event from happening, why not do it yourself?"
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the photo and slammed it on the table. "Because, when I found her private quarters, I saw this."
Natasha, seeing that Tony wasn't going to move from his position, took the liberty to grab the paper and unfold it. Finding the drawing of Carter, his mask and all. "In no other timeline has she ever remembered me or had any sort of inkling of who I was. But here, in this one, she knows about me. Not by knowledge, but by her dreams."
He then turned back to Tony. "So, that's why I won't kill you, Tony. Not if it jeopardizes my chance of finally fulfilling the promise I made to her. Because this-" He tapped his finger on the paper, shaking his head, "-means more to me than you'll ever understand."