Silence.
A heartbeat.
The noise of the world flooded back in and Betty stared at her hands in shock as they reformed from the ashes.
She gasped.
Her head flew up and she looked around desperately, searching... She let out a sigh of relief as she saw Bucky, looking just as disorientated as she felt, and she stumbled towards him on unsteady legs.
"Buck!" she cried, almost sobbing.
His eyes flew up, finding hers, and he met her halfway, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly to his chest.
"Betty," he breathed against her hair. "What's happened? Thanos...he...snapped his fingers. I saw it."
"I...I don't know. Y-you turned to dust! Disappeared! Then I did too. But we came back." She looked up at him, eyes watery. "I thought I'd lost you again."
"Never," he said, bending his head to kiss her, soft and reassuring.
His lips grounded her, allaying her rising panic somewhat, and giving her back the capacity to look around at take in their surroundings. The vegetation seemed denser than before; the tree cover thicker, and the atmosphere was eerily silent. An unnatural calm lay across the land.
Sam stumbled towards them, looking every bit as disorientated as they felt. "What's going on?" He mumbled.
"I'm not sure," came T'Challa's shaky voice.
"Is anyone else here?" Sam asked.
"Where's Steve?" Bucky followed with his own question.
The walking tree that had been with Thor sidled up to them, eyes looking lost.
"I am groot?" He spoke, obviously a question from his tone.
"Hi, I'm Betty, this is Bucky," Betty said, trying for a reassuring smile.
"I am Groot," the tree replied.
"Your name is Groot?" Betty asked for confirmation and he nodded somewhat sadly.
"I am groot?"
"I don't know what's happened Groot, or where anyone else is but we're gonna find out. Stick close to me and Buck, OK?"
"I am groot," he nodded again.
Bucky was looking at his wife in awe. "How do you know what he's sayin'?"
"I don't, but I figured he's got the same questions as the rest of us." Betty shrugged.
"Good point. You got any weapons? All mine have gone."
Betty shook her head as she felt for the knives she'd stashed but finding them all gone.
"Same," Sam confirmed, although he still had his wings. "I'll fly around, assess the situation." He took to the skies.
"We must head for the palace." T'Challa suggested. "I can't hear any battle sounds. White Wolf, can you hear anything?"
"No. No fightin', no aliens, nothin' that shouldn't already be here." Bucky stated, his head tilted to the side.
"White Wolf?" Betty asked, curious. It was the first time she'd heard the King refer to Bucky by that name.
"It is an honoured title," T'Challa smiled warmly at them. "It means Protector of Wakanda."
Bucky was beaming with pride, his shoulders straighter than Betty had seen them in years. She couldn't help but feel emotional at the expression on his face.
"Did you know about that?" she asked her husband.
"Well yeah, but I never thought I'd ever..."
"We should head back to the palace, regroup, and figure out what's going on." T'Challa said again. "If Thanos did snap are we the ones left?"
A rustling noise sounded from the brush to the right of them and they turned to find Wanda appearing through the tree line. Betty ran over to give her a hug but stopped dead at the emotionless expression on her face.
"Wanda, what happened?" she asked gently.
"He did it. Thanos got the stone from...Vis and he...he did it. I stopped him...I...I...I killed VISION!" She wailed. "But it was pointless. Thanos used the time stone to reverse time and took the mind stone from Vision anyway. He's...gone. I've lost...everything."
Betty wrapped her arms around her friend, and she broke down, sobbing, but not for long. Betty could almost feel how she turned her pain inwards, recognising it as she'd done the same thing herself.
"We dusted," Wanda confirmed, "and I was happy to go, but something has brought us back. We need to find out what and why."
Their small band exchanged nods and turned towards the plain. With one hand in Bucky's she turned and held out her other.
"Come on Groot," she encouraged, and smiled warmly as the young tree slipped his gnarled hand into hers.
Sam's voice sounded through their comms devices which, to their relief, were still active. "There's some transports heading this way full of Dora. Okoye and Shuri are with them."
"Thanks be to Bast!" T'Challa exclaimed, picking up the pace a little in his haste to reach his sister and friend.
When they reached the plain it didn't take long for the transports to catch up to them. Shuri and Okoye were off the vehicles before they'd even stopped, launching themselves at T'Challa with undisguised emotion. It was Okoye who explained to the group what had happened.
"I know that it seems mere moments for you but for us, the snap happened five years ago."
"Five years?" Betty exclaimed, and Okoye nodded sadly.
She shared a horrified look with Bucky. They were both thinking about Steve.
"After half of all life on the planet disintegrated into dust, the Avengers worked tirelessly to find Thanos. They located him on a distant planet but when they reached him he had already destroyed the stones. We lost all hope of ever being reunited with our loved ones." Okoye bowed her head in sadness for a moment before finding the strength to continue. "Some of us continued to police the world as it fell apart, but it was a never-ending and thankless task. It was only with the reappearance of a Mr Scott Lang that things started to change."
"The guy that can change size?" asked Bucky, and Betty nodded.
"Using his technology, Stark and Banner developed a way to travel back in time, and retrieved the stones when they emerged at various points in history. I'm assuming from your blessed reappearance that they have succeeded in their mission."
"I am groot?" Groot asked, a somewhat hopeful expression on his face as he wrung his hands together.
"What did he say?" Okoye asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I think he's asking about his friend," Betty answered, hoping she was right.
"Oh, the talking civet?"
"I am groot," he grumbled.
"Sorry," Okoye smiled graciously, "I meant Rocket. Yes, he's fine. I saw him via hologram just last week."
"I am groot!" he exclaimed with excitement and Betty smiled, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder.
The group immediately went on the defensive as a fizzing orange light appeared in mid air and the Dora flocked around their newly-returned King. Betty recognised the distinctive sight and sound of a portal opening and when its creator stepped through she moved to the front of the group. The smile on her face quickly dissipated when she took in the sorcerer's grave expression.
"Master Wong?!" She asked.
"We don't have much time," he rushed, not bothering to introduce himself. "Thanos is attacking...again...and we need...everyone!"
There was a burst of action as the Dora bustled around with Okoye sending messages to the other fighters with her kimoyo beads.
"Okoye, send a transport to the armoury to get weapons," T'Challa commanded
"Already done, my King."
"Where's the fight?" Bucky asked, pressing closer to Betty.
"New York." Wong replied.
"How are we gonna get there in time?" Sam asked as he landed next to the group.
Wong looked at him incredulously. "Did you not just see the glowing orange portal I stepped through?"
"Get everyone who can fight assembled near the palace. We need to make ready." T'Challa ordered.
When the weapons arrived, Betty and Bucky head over to one of the transports to load up with guns and knives. Ayo walked up to them, a second Wakandan spear in her hand.
"I thought you might like this," she said, handing it to Betty.
They shared a smile and then embraced tightly, with Ayo then turning to Bucky and embracing him too.
"I am so thankful that you have all returned to us. The years have been hard." She admitted.
It took them almost an hour to assemble the Troops on the plain. Okoye handed out ear pieces for team to communicate and Sam took to the skies.
"Hey Cap, you read me?" he tried. "Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me? On your left."
Wong started to open the portal. The fiery circle of sparks grew larger, bigger than any portal Betty had seen before. T'Challa, Shuri, and Okoye stepped towards the opening and walked through, followed by Sam, who swept through with his wings outstretched. Betty and Bucky stepped up to the portal and took in the scene of utter devastation.
"This was the compound?" Betty whispered and then she saw the lone figure standing before the growing ranks of the alien army, his battered face showing joyous disbelief as it glowed orange in the light from the hundreds of portals.
Steve.
"Yibambe!"
Thousands of bright orange Tao mandalas appeared as the sorcerers readied themselves for defence. Scott Lang appeared as a giant, with Hulk, Clint, and Rocket in his hand.
"Yibambe!"
"I am groot?" Groot asked
"Yeah, I see him too," Betty reassured.
"Yibambe!"
Steve turned back to Thanos, an icy determination on his face.
"Avengers..."
Betty looked around at their growing army and pulled her guns from her thigh holsters and then gasped in shock as Steve caught Thor's hammer.
"... assemble!" he finished.
A deafening roar sounded as the charge surged forwards, each person knowing it was their final chance to save Earth. Betty immediately abandoned her guns for the wakandan spear on her back.
The alien onslaught was unending.
Giant chitauri behemoths undulated through the sky. Not these fucks again Betty groaned internally.
At first it felt like they were making headway but, slowly, the tide of the battle began to turn against them. The ground they had gained was eroded and they were being pushed back.
It was hard for Betty to keep a track of what was going on. She was struggling enough to keep her forcefields active around Bucky, Groot, Rocket, and herself, but a scarlet glow from the centre of the battle gave her a hint that Wanda was active and making a difference.
"Thanos is MINE!" Wanda declared with deadly resolve and rose into the air in a scarlet haze disappearing across the battlefield.
From the corner of her eye, Betty noticed the bright scarlet glow of Wanda's power as it wound around the straining figure of Thanos, lifting him into the air. Betty's breath caught in her throat as she realised that this could be it...
She allowed herself to feel a split second of relief before the skies turned to blue flames as Thanos' ship opened fire on the battlefield, even on his own troops. Betty flung up a forcefield as large as she could manage, seeing the sorcerers expanding their own Tao mandalas to protect as many people as possible. They were locked down, unable to form any offensive position at all as they cowered from the enemy fire. They were going to lose this again.
Betty trembled from the effort of maintaining her forcefield, sweat pouring from her brow. The impact of the blasts from the ship were getting harder and harder to absorb and the radius of her forcefield narrowed despite her best efforts to maintain it. She caught Bucky's concerned gaze as tears began to track down her face and she shook her head with gritted teeth. Her hands shook as she stood with her palms outstretched and she let out a desperate sob. Bucky began to edge towards her but her barrier was hit yet again and it crumbled, blasting them away from each other.
She lay on the broken ground, dazed and trembling, ears ringing from the force of the explosion. Feeling a hand on her face she opened her eyes to see the icy blue of Bucky's as he knelt next to her, concern etched across his features. The sound filtered back in through her healing eardrums and she could hear his words.
"Betty, Doll, are you alright?"
She nodded, leaning into his touch and sent a tendril of her healing power, weak as it was, into him. Climbing to her knees in front of him they wrapped their arms around each other, not giving up, never that, but each needing comfort and reassurance. In the warmth of Bucky's arms Betty could let the world disappear and, for that brief moment, even the rain of fire ceased to exist.
"Huh?" Betty heard Rocket exclaim, and she looked over Bucky's shoulder to see him and Groot staring at the sky.
The fiery rain had stopped, with the cannons shifting their aim towards the sky. They started firing again at something unseen and Bucky stood, pulling Betty with him, his arm around her shoulder as they both stared heavenwards. Now that the noises of the battle had ceased somewhat they could hear their comms more clearly.
"What the hell is that?" Sam asked.
"FRIDAY, what are they firing at?" Stark's voice cut in, followed by the soft Irish tones of his A.I.
"Something just entered the upper atmosphere!"
A solar flare broke through the heavy grey clouds, blasting straight through the core of Thanos' ship, immediately putting the cannons out of action.
"Woah, yeah!" Rocket exclaimed with a triumphant grin as the flaming missile turned and exploded its way through the bottom of the ship and out of the top again, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in the spacecraft crashing into the lake.
Betty watched as their unknown ally halted in mid air and she could just make out a humanoid form in the mist of the glowing energy.
"Danvers, we need an assist here," came Steve's voice over the comms.
"Who is that, Rocket?" Betty asked, still staring upwards.
"That's our victory parade," he grinned, not explaining further.
The radiant figure descended rapidly to the ground and Betty lost sight of it as her eyes turned back to the alien army that was getting ready to charge once more. Casting her eyes about for her spear she picked it up from where it lay a few feet away and then turned back to Bucky.
"Ready to do this again?" She grimaced.
"Almost," he replied grabbing her around the waist and pressing his lips to hers. "Now I am," he said, throwing her a wink as he raised his gun towards the oncoming aliens.
Their comms were silent, no-one was giving orders or updates, there was just the seemingly unending struggle to try and prevent the unthinkable from happening a second time.
"Buck!" Betty screamed, throwing her spear towards him.
He caught it with his left hand, ramming through the skull of the alien behind home, before yanking it free and tossing it back to her. With a nod and a smile that was more like a grimace, she turned around to face her latest attacker. Her and Bucky were fighting almost back to back now, and she'd lost sight of Rocket and Groot. The battle was so intense they had no way of knowing which side had the upper hand, it was carnage regardless.
A sudden shockwave of energy blasted across the battlefield, radiating outwards from close to the alien dropships. It forced them to their knees but they staggered back upright as quickly as they could, engaging yet again with the next wave of enemy attackers. Betty was almost sobbing with frustrated exhaustion but she poured it all back into her movements. It was all she had, her powers were completely tapped out. A crackle sounded in her ear as her comms device finally began to broadcast.
"And I..." Stark's voice panted heavily, "...am...Iron Man."
There was thunder without sound. A heartbeat or two of utter silence, and then the alien rushing towards Betty dissolved into ashes. Her head swivelled wildly around as the enemy forces were consumed by the same corruption she'd watch devour her own body just hours before. Her first thought was of Bucky, but he was still there, a solid comforting presence behind her. Sharing a look, communicating without words, they took off at a run towards the epicentre of the battle, wafting their way through the growing cloud as the entire enemy force turned to dust.
The pair slowed as they reached the place where their friends gathered, congregating around an uprooted tree where Stark slumped, the kid in the spider suit sobbing before him. Betty's heart twisted. There was no love lost between her and Stark but no-one deserved this. She reached inside for her healing powers but there wasn't even a spark and she bowed her head in defeat, a tear snaking it's way down her cheek.
Pepper gently guided the boy away and took his place beside her husband. Betty couldn't hear what they said but it was obvious that Bucky could as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked up at him and found that tears streamed unabashedly down his face, prompting her own flood of emotion. Seeing Pepper's head drop on to Tony's chest was all Betty needed to know that he was gone. She caught sight of Steve on the other side of the circle of comrades, standing close to Thor, barely holding back his sobs.
Slowly, silently, like a ripple spreading through a pool, each person present dropped to one knee, bowing their heads as a last gesture of respect for their fallen comrade, whose sacrifice had saved the universe.