Warnings: Its the final battle so HEAVY ANGST! Canon Typical Violence! Vomiting! Description of Injury! Major Character Death (I'm sorry)!
The next morning after dropping JJ and scout around at Roberta's, making sure to give JJ a big hug and a promise that he'd be right back, Steve made his way back to the compound. Opting to take his bike which rarely got used nowadays, but would be handy in beating any traffic that stood between him and the compound.
Walking inside he instantly bumped into Tony "hey cap, how you doing?" he asked patting Steve on the shoulder.
Steve let out a long sigh "last night was rough... JJ was devasted" he muttered shaking his head, Tony gave him a small sympathetic hum "but I'm ready for today, to get everyone back" Steve says with a determined nod.
"Good, we have a few small adjustments to make on the gauntlet but we should be ready by midday, maybe just before," Tony says as the two of them walk through the compound corridors.
"good is everyone here?" Steve asks glancing around.
"yeah except for nebula, I think yesterday dragged up a lot about her sister" Tony hummed pushing his hands deep in his pockets.
"understandable... I'll uh go see the others, make sure they're okay," Steve says nodding in the direction of the common room.
"before you go, I have something to show you," Tony says gesturing for Steve to follow.
Steve follows Tony into one of the smaller labs, watching as Tony walked over to one of the large cabinets opening it up to reveal a brand new Captain America suit inside. Steve's eyebrows rose in surprise as he took in the new suit. The colouring was darker than his previous suit and he could see how reinforced the Kevlar elements were, especially the fish scale sections across his chest and shoulders.
"I'd started working on it a few years ago, before... you know" Tony says clearing his throat "and I know you've retired and everything but this gauntlet we're making is gonna be different to the one Thanos used and I don't really know how it'll handle the power of the stones, so I wanted you to have this just in case... help protect you in case it goes south" he explained.
Steve nodded "thank you Tony, it looks impressive and very protective," Steve says reaching out to run his fingers over the seams.
"yeah well here's hoping you won't need it more than for a Halloween costume" Tony shrugs "I better get back to work, I'll see you later," he says giving Steve a small salute before stepping back out of the labs.
Once Steve was alone he pulled the suit out of the cabinet so he could take a closer look. He had to admit it might be his favourite out of them all, with the exception of his stealth suit, he'd always preferred the dark more muted look. It was the necessary step away from his USO show monkey costume he was forced to wear.
Reaching back into the cabinet to grab the helmet something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Opening up the next cabinet door along his breath caught when he saw the new suit Tony must have been working on for you. Like all your previous suits the colour matched Steve's, despite being sleek in design it was clearly built for battle, with multiple guards and reinforced plates over the suit. What Steve knew you'd love the most was the intricate design etched into the material, all up the arms and legs were Asgardian knots and swirls, all grouping together to create an intricate knot right over your heart.
Steve couldn't help but trace his fingers over the patterns, you had confided in him that you felt that you'd stepped away from your Asgardian heritage and the guilt you felt because of that. This suit would have been perfect, it was the best amalgamation between the two worlds possible. He felt a lump growing in his throat as he blinked back the tears, he knew even if this last mission was a success you'd never wear this suit, but maybe it would be enough to show you that you were never far from your heritage.
Taking a step back from the cabinet, steve collected his suit from the side ready to put on "I'll see you soon Princess" he whispers looking back at your suit before stepping out of the lab.
Just like he promised the gauntlet was ready just before midday, Rocket and Tony put the finishing touches on as everyone bar Nebula gathered in the labs.
"all right, the glove's ready" Rocket sighs "question is, who's gonna snap their freakin' fingers?" he asks glancing up at everyone.
Thor raises his hand and starts walking over "I'll do it" he mutters.
"excuse me?" Tony asks turning to face him.
"It's okay," Thor says waving Tony off.
"whoa, whoa, whoa," Steve says putting his hand out to stop thor.
"stop, stop slow down," Tony tells him, putting his hand on Thor's chest.
"Thor just wait," Steve said calmly, hoping their recent reconciliation wasn't about to be ruined "we haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet"
Thor scoffs lightly "I'm sorry, what, we're all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"
"we should at least discuss it" Scott reasons.
"look sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everyone back," Thor says looking around at everyone "I'm the strongest avenger, so this responsibility falls upon me"
"Normally you're right" Tony reasons.
"it's my duty" Thor states.
"It's not about that, it's not that" Tony shushes him gently.
"stop it! just let me-" Thor argues pressing back against Tony.
"Thor please" Steve sighs trying to reason with him.
Thor stops his fighting, tears in his eyes as he glances over at Steve and begs "just let me do it... just let me do something good, something right"
"you've done that already thor," Steve tells him gently.
"look it's not just the fact that that glove is channelling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition," Tony says.
"what do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor questions looking back at Tony.
"cheez whiz?" Rhodey offers flatly, making Thor point over at him and Steve give him an unimpressed 'not helpful' look.
"lightning" Thor finishes.
"lightning won't help you pal," Bruce says from across the lab "it's gotta be me," he says, thor shaking his head as he stepped away from Tony "you saw what those stones did to Thanos, they almost killed him... none of you could survive," Bruce says walking over towards the gauntlet.
"how do we know you will?" Steve questions, watching Bruce carefully.
"we don't... but the radiations mostly gamma... it's like... like I was made for this" Bruce mutters.
Steve nods gently "as long as you're 100% sure you're okay to do this" he presses.
"I'm sure Steve, there's no doubt in my mind what I need to do," Bruce says picking up the gauntlet.
"good to go yeah?" Tony asks walking behind Bruce.
Bruce nods "let's do it"
"Okay remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago you're just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything in the last five years" Tony says glancing over to Steve as he said the last bit.
"got it" Bruce confirms.
Steve grabs his helmet from the side, pulling it on before tightening the straps on his shield. Everyone else got themselves ready, suiting up and calling on any protection they had.
"Friday do me a favour and activate barn door protocol will ya?" Tony asks as he summons a shield to protect him and Clint.
Steve looked up as large metal covering closed off the entire lab, shutting them in from the outside world.
"Everyone comes home" Bruce mutters as he slowly slides on the gauntlet, the metal expanding to accommodate his large hand.
There was a hum of energy before Bruce crumpled to his knees groaning in pain as electricity shot up his arm.
"take it off! Take it off!" Thor says panicking.
Steve held up his hand to stop Thor, they'd gotten so close they couldn't just stop now "no wait! Bruce are you okay?" he asked only getting a groan in response.
"talk to me banner" Tony called out.
"I'm okay" Bruce grunted through the pain, his yelling intensifying before he finally managed to snap his fingers, collapsing on the floor soon after.
"Bruce!" Steve shouted rushing over and crouching by his side.
"don't move him" Tony ordered before spraying cooling gel on Bruce's arm.
Bruce grips hold of Steve's arm as Tony applies the gel, Steve trying not to wince at the tight grip Bruce had on him.
"did it work" Bruce muttered through the pain.
"we're not sure, it's okay" Thor reassured him.
Steve continued to make sure Bruce was okay but he was acutely aware of his surrounding, the noise of birds outside suddenly louder, Clint walking over to his vibrating phone. It was all an indication that they'd done it, the confirmation coming though when Clint answered the phone to Laura.
They'd done it.
You were back.
Steve had to go find you. He had to get to Wakanda. You were going to be disorientated and confused. He needed to be there beside you, hold you, tell you it was all okay, everything was okay.
Steve was just making a move to stand up when the room exploded around him and everything went black.
*******
You woke gasping for air, your lungs burnt as if they hadn't received oxygen in years. Your mouth was dry and it felt like you'd swallowed sand and ash. You pushed yourself up onto all fours and suddenly you started coughing before your stomach flipped and you began retching. It felt like you were suffocating, barely able to breathe, your head screaming in agony.
Through the pain you felt someone put their hand on your back, glancing up you expected to see Steve but you saw Bucky instead, looking down at you in concern. He held back your hair as you emptied the last of your stomach contents, wiping the back of your hand across your mouth as you sat back on your ankles.
"you okay?" Bucky asked gently rubbing your back.
"I dunno" you mutter glancing around "what happened?"
"i-I don't know... I just remember falling and then I woke back up..." Bucky says shaking his head as he swallowed nervously.
You took a couple of deep breaths as you tried to recall what happened "it was all a blur... I felt strange... and weak... I found- I found Steve and-" you say glancing around, Steve had been right in front of you, holding you, but now he was gone "where's steve? where is he?" you mutter beginning to panic.
"I don't know..." Bucky muttered wrapping his arm around you and pulling you close.
Your chest was heaving as you tried to piece together what happened, only one thing made sense no matter how terrifying it was "he did it... Thanos did it..." you muttered looking up at Bucky, the look on his face telling you that he'd come to the same conclusion to "he snapped us away..."
"How are we back then?" Bucky asks shaking his head.
"i- I don't know" you whisper.
"Buck! Y/N! there you are!" Sam shouts as he runs through the trees towards you "what happened?"
"We don't know," Bucky says as he helps you stand up.
"We need to find everyone, I need to find Steve and- and JJ" you mutter your voice catching as you thought of your tiny baby boy, praying that he was safe wherever Steve was.
You glanced around as you spotted everyone slowly gathering nearby, everyone looking just as lost and disorientated as you. The sound of horns in the distance caught everyone's attention, turning to look towards the fields where the sound of people approaching increased.
A large group of Wakandan warriors burst through the trees led by Okoye who had a look of shock on her face as she looked at everyone. Her eyes fell on T'Challa and she rushed forward hugging him tightly.
"my king you are back" she wept.
"yes, we are, but we don't know what happened," T'challa tells her.
She takes a step back as she looks around at everyone "they managed it, they brought you all back, reversed the snap" she mutters.
"Thanos won then? He snapped half the universe away" Sam says shaking his head.
"yes... the Avengers they've been working to undo it all, I wanted to help but I could not leave Wakanda," Okoye says shaking her head as she looked over at T'Challa.
"where are they?" Bucky asks.
"back in New York" Okoye answers.
"what about JJ?" you ask your voice hoarse.
"he is safe, with his father" Okoye nods letting you breathe out a sigh of relief as you leant back against a nearby tree.
JJ was safe, he hadn't been one of the ones snapped away, he was safe with Steve back in New York.
"my king it has been so long, we have missed you dearly," Okoye says turning back to T'challa.
Her phrasing made you frown slightly, looking up and over you could tell how much pure happiness she felt as if she'd been reunited with someone gone for a long time. You felt your stomach churning once more, but you swallowed it down needing confirmation first.
"how long?" you whisper "how long were we gone?" you were praying it was no more than a few weeks, a couple of months at most. Steve wouldn't have stopped until he got you back, it couldn't have taken them too long to bring everyone back.
Okoye glances over at you and you see the nervous expression on her face "over five years" she finally said "it's October 2023"
If you hadn't already been leaning against a tree you would have simply collapsed, you just about held yourself steady as you turned and began to retch once more. You had been gone 5 years, you'd been gone for 5 years of JJ's life, you'd missed so much. He wouldn't be your little boy anymore he'd- he'd be 6 by now, at school, running around with his friends.
Bucky was by your side once more holding onto you as you completely broke down. Grieving the years you'd lost, the years that had been cruelly taken away from you by Thanos.
"hey it's okay, we're back and everyone's safe that's all that matters," Bucky tells you quietly, letting you weep into his chest.
"but- but- it's been- I've missed-" you stutter unable to even bring yourself to say it.
"I know, I know and I'm so sorry," Bucky says with a small sniffle as he pressed a small comforting kiss to the top of your head "I wish I could change it but I can't and I'm sorry"
You shake your head as you look back up at him, despite the intense anguish you felt you know you couldn't let Bucky harbour any of the blame for this "no Buck, you have nothing to apologise for"
"I know but-" he starts but you hold your hand up to stop him.
"nothing" you repeat before taking a deep breath "we need to get home, I need to see JJ and Steve" you breathe out shaking your head, Bucky nodding in agreement "and I swear to god if that big purple bastard isn't already dead I'll rip him to shreds" you add with a quiet growl.
Bucky smirks slightly, squeezing your shoulder "there's the Y/N I know and love"
Bucky helps you back up to your feet, keeping his arm around your waist to keep you steady since your legs still felt like they could give out at any moment. Turning to Okoye you wiped away your tears and held your head as high as you could, even if you wanted to crumble at the sympathetic look on her face.
"will you be able to organise a jet to New York for us?" you ask her your voice still thick with emotion.
"of course, we'll have one immediately I can-" Okoye nods before she is interrupted by sparks flying nearby.
Instantly everyone went on guard, weapons raised, you had a fireball ready to go as the circular sparks grew wider. A man you didn't recognise came into view, stepping through the portal.
"Good I found you, I hope you've all had a happy reunion but we need to go," the man said glancing around at everyone.
"Who are you? what do you want?" Bucky demanded his gun trained on the guy.
The man rolls his eyes with a groan "urgh not this again, I'm Dr Strange"
"yeah we ain't a phone book, we're gonna need more than that" Sam states, his two guns also pointed at the stranger.
"hey wait I know them!" you then hear a familiar voice call out behind the stranger.
You frown in confusion before your jaw drops as you watch Peter appear from behind Dr Strange.
"Peter? What the hell are you doing?" you gasp in surprise.
"it's um- it's a long story, these aliens appear in New York and um Mr Stark told me to stay on earth but I didn't so we all ended up fighting Thanos on his home planet" Peter explains gesturing to the others who were slowly walking through the portal to join everyone.
"I am Groot!" Groot calls out quickly running over to the others who seemed equally happy to see the living tree.
With the confirmation that Dr Strange and the others were friendlies, everyone dropped their weapons and fighting stances.
"so what's happening? You said we needed to go?" Sam asks crossing his arms over his chest.
"yes, the remaining Avengers need our help, they're currently facing Thanos as we speak, we need to gather reinforcements immediately and join them so they have a chance of winning this battle" Dr Strange explains.
Your stomach dropped at the thought of Steve facing Thanos, not knowing how many reinforcements they already had, or if it was just him and a few others. Your mind then went to JJ wondering whether he was safe and away from harm, or if he was potentially caught in the crossfire.
"They will have every Wakandan warrior fighting beside them" T'Challa agrees, Okoye nodding along with him before calling out to others to organise troops.
"Good I already have Wong gathering all the sorcerors, are there any more allies we could call on?" Dr Strange asks glancing around at everyone.
"Asgardians, I don't know how many remain but they never shy away from a fight," you say thinking out loud.
"I believe they have a small army in New Asgard, Norway" Okoye says looking over at you.
"Good I can create a portal to transport you there to rally the troops," Dr Strange says instantly creating a portal.
As it opens you see a small fishing town ahead of you, a town full of life and you feel a lump in your throat form as you watched your people go about their day.
"do you want me to come with you?" Bucky asks you quietly.
You look back at him, gently shaking your head "no" you say before clearing your throat "I'm okay, I can do this" you nod recalling all the battles of faced with these people before you even arrived on earth, a smile tugging at your lips "it'll be like old times"
Bucky nods giving you a subtle smile as he steps back away from you to allow you to walk towards the portal. Once you reached it you paused turning back to face your friends, knowing the next time you saw them again it would be on the battlefield, one where maybe not everyone got out of alive.
"see you on the battlefield," you say before stepping through the portal.
Taking a deep breath your surveyed your surroundings hoping to spot someone you instantly recognised, even if it was just an old guard or warrior you fought beside, but you were coming up empty. Spotting a lady walking out of a nearby store you jog over to ask her where to find Thor.
"excuse me can you tell me where Thor is?" you ask her, not missing the shock on her face as she saw you as if she'd seen a ghost, and you guessed in some way she was.
"he-he- he's away, I- I thought you were dead" the lady stutters still in shock.
You mutter a curse under your breath "Okay, who else is in charge?" you question.
"Valkyrie, she's probably in a tavern by now" she explains pointing over to the tavern across the street.
"thank you," you tell her quickly before running across the street.
As you burst into the tavern, conversations fall silent as everybody turned to look at you. you guessed in normal situations it would be quiet a shock, since you were still dirty and bloodied from battle, your Asgardian armour in place. But you knew that these people believed you to be dead, so the shock was at least doubled.
"This better not be a cruel joke, Thor has gone through enough hell the past years, he does not need a shapeshifting elf causing havoc" a woman growls walking over to you, a long blade appearing in her hand which she promptly pointed at you.
"I promise this is no joke, I truly am Y/N, Daughter of Odin," you say holding your hands up in surrender.
"I don't believe you" the woman growls the blade inching towards your neck.
"brother forgive me" you mutter under your breath looking upwards before returning your sights back on the woman in front of you "you need proof, fine... once Loki transformed himself into a snake for Thor to admire before promptly returning back and stabbing Thor" you recount.
The woman blinks a couple of times in shock, taking a small step back, the crowd murmuring around you "you are her... how- how are you alive?" she mutters.
"that is an answer I don't currently possess, but my brother, my husband and the rest of the Avengers are in danger and they need our help, I need to find Valkyrie and ask her to gather anyone who can fight" you explain looking around.
"I am her," the Valkyrie says shaking your hand "and I promise you'll have all of Asgard fighting beside you"
"thank you, I don't know how long we have to prepare but gather as many as you can," you tell her glancing around at everyone.
"Korg, start spreading the word, anyone we can spare is to meet us in the town centre," Valkyrie says to the large rock man behind the bar.
"of course, come on Miek," Korg says grabbing a worm-like creature and walking out from behind the bar, he pauses by you on his way out "it's an honour to meet you Y/N, Thor mentioned you a lot," he says before making his way outside.
You swallow the lump in your throat as you look back over at Valkyrie "how is Thor?" you ask her.
"he's struggled, losing everyone close to him... he blamed himself for it all" she sighed "but hopefully things are looking up now that you're back"
You only nodded stiffly swallowing the lump in your throat "let's get ready for battle" you muttered quickly turning and leaving the tavern.
In only a short period of time, an overwhelming number of Asgardians were ready for battle, all gathered in the town centre ready to be transported to New York. You were close to tears as you looked out at the troops, some of which were old retired guards who dug out their old armour. You couldn't quite believe how many had come out to support and fight beside you against Thanos.
"the troops are ready for your orders," Valkyrie says from her Pegasus.
You blink a couple of times looking up at her in surprise "they're your army, not mine" you mutter.
Valkyrie gives you a lopsided smile "I'm merely a general, you, Princess of Asgard, are our leader, we're all here fighting for you, you can leave Asgard, but Asgard never leaves you"
You take a shaky breath before turning to face your small army "I wish I could tell you what lies ahead, I can't tell you the number of enemies we shall face, but I can tell you that this is the worst battle you shall every face, but it's a worthy battle and Valhalla will welcome our fallen with open arms" you tell them, working hard to keep your voice level "however I will not blame anyone who wishes to step away now"
You wait a moment expecting people to disband but they don't, every single warrior remains, steady as a rock.
"We charge on my mark, and send our enemies to hell" you finish, the army letting out a cheer in response making a smile grow on your face.
You turn, holding your chin high, hand resting on the sword you'd borrowed from the armoury. Preparing yourself for battle as you see the sparks of a portal appear in front of you.
******
Steve could only hear a loud ringing in his ears as he woke back up with a loud gasp, his eyes wide as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. The ache in his body told him he was still alive, but he didn't know how long he'd been out or what had even knocked him out.
"that's my man" he hears Tony say above him.
Blinking a couple of times his vision cleared to see Tony standing above him, before crouching down beside him and holding his shield "you lose this again, I'm keeping it" he states.
Steve groans quickly as he looks around and sees the destruction around him, he couldn't even recognise where he was, it was all just rubble "what happened?" he pants.
"you mess with time it tends to mess back" Tony states with a grave tone, "you'll see" he mutters as he helps Steve to his feet
Steve swallows nervously, instantly understanding what Tony meant. Thanos was here, he didn't know how or why, but he was here. Steve swallowed nervously as he took back his shield and strapped it onto his arm. Glancing around he didn't know where everybody else was, or if they were even okay.
He slowly followed Tony through the rubble knowing that he was about to face off with Thanos once again, this time there were no reinforcements, it was just them. They had to stop Thanos, prevent him from getting the stones and undoing their hard work. This was going to be the last battle Steve ever fought, and he knew deep down he probably wasn't going to make it home.
He could only pray to every god out there that he could do enough to stop Thanos so that JJ would still be around, and he'd have you, his mom back. Even if it meant losing his father.
Stepping out from the rubble he saw Thor standing there staring off into the distance, following his gaze Steve spotted Thanos in the distance. Sat there, just waiting for him. He was alone but Steve knew the spaceship above was full of his army just waiting to strike.
"what's he been doing?" Tony asks.
"absolutely nothing" Thor mutters with a small shake of his head.
"Where are the stones?" Steve questions not taking his eyes off Thanos.
"somewhere under all this" Tony sighs gesturing to the destruction all around "all I know is he doesn't have 'em"
Steve gives a small nod of the head "so we keep it that way" he states in determination.
"you know it's a trap right?" Thor mutters.
"yeah..." Tony sighs "I don't much care"
Thor nods, swallowing nervously "good... just as long as we're all in agreement"
Thunder and lightning cracked in the sky above, the dark clouds and smoke blocking out the sunlight to the point it seemed like it was nighttime. Steve glances down at thor as lightning travels over his body, Thor's Asgardian armour appearing alongside his hammer and axe.
"let's kill him properly this time" Thor states in determination.
The three of them nod in agreement before making their way down towards Thanos. Steve ignored the feeling of dread that settled in his gut as they walked towards Thanos. All he could do was remind himself that currently, you were alive, you were safe, so was JJ. All Steve had to do was kill this Titan and maybe he'd be alive to see you again, but if he died trying then at least he'd die knowing you were safe.
"you could not live with your own failure," Thanos said as they rounded the corner and faced him "where did that bring you? back to me"
Steve glared at the titan as he approached him face-on, Thor and Tony moving to the side aiming to surround Thanos hoping that attacking him from all angles would give them a better chance.
"I thought that eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive... but you've shown me that's impossible and as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be... they will resist" Thanos states, staring down each avenger.
"yep, we're all kinds of stubborn" Tony chimes back.
"I'm thankful because now I know what I must do," Thanos says before standing up and grabbing his helmet from his blade "I will shred this universe down to its last atom, and then with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one teeming with life that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given"
Steve bit back a growl as he gritted his teeth in determination. That was not going to happen. Steve would not let it. He would not stand for countless of innocent lives to be taken away, especially not his son's. Thor reflected Steve's thoughts in a hard stare of his own, his weapons teeming with lightning ready to strike.
"a grateful universe" Thanos continues.
"born out of blood" Steve states, fist clenched ready to throw the first punch.
"they'll never know it... because you won't be alive to tell them" Thanos states with an evil smirk.
Thor bellows as they all charge, Thor blasts Thanos with lightning and Tony creates a blade with his suit striking downwards at Thanos. Steve throws his shield at Thanos's head hoping to catch him off guard and allow the others to make a hit. Thanos manages to hit Steve's shield back towards him, and as Steve runs to grab it he gets hit with the flat of Thanos' blade sending him crashing back into a pile of rubble.
Steve groaned in pain as he pushes himself back up, it had been years since he'd been in a fight, he was older and more tired and severely out of practice. He just hoped it was enough to stop Thanos. As he stands he watches as Thanos grabs Tony and uses him as a human shield against Thor's hammer. Running over he flips and manages to kick Thanos in the face, landing back on his feet he raised his shield to deflect the punch that was coming but it wasn't enough to stop him from flying back once more.
"fuck" Steve muttered under his breath wiping away the blood from his chin before pushing himself back to his feet.
Turning back towards the fight he first spotted Tony unconscious on the ground before spotting Thor pinned down by Thanos. Thanos held Thor's axe trying to push it into Thor's chest. Thor was pushing back with all his might but Steve knew it wouldn't be enough. He considered throwing his shield but he needed something more powerful, it was then that he spotted Thor's hammer on the ground between him and Thanos.
"time to let the cat out of the bag" Steve muttered thrusting out his hand to summon the hammer.
At first nothing happened, making Steve doubt what he felt all those years ago, but then he felt the tingling in his fingers that spread through the rest of his body like electricity. The hammer then flew straight into Steve's hand and he wasted no time by immediately throwing it at the back of Thanos' head, hard enough to knock the Titan off thor. Steve recalled the hammer easily catching and stepping into a fighting stance.
A surge of confidence was felt deep in his bones, the hammer deemed him worthy, he could possess the power of Thor, and he could defeat Thanos and keep his family safe.
Steve started swinging the hammer like he'd seen Thor do many times in the past and ran towards Thanos, swinging the hammer upwards and using it to land an uppercut that sent the titan sprawling. Steve barely waited for Thanos to get to his feet before throwing his shield, Thanos easily hit that away but Steve used that to his advantage, throwing the hammer at the shield to create shockwaves that cause Thanos to stumble. Steve recalled both the hammer and his shield as he launched at Thanos, his knee crashing into the titan's chest pushing him back. Without hesitation steve used both the shield and hammer to land blow after blow against Thanos, not giving Thanos the opportunity to fight back.
He then called on one last trick, summoning lighting and blasting it straight at Thanos, pushing his down and to the floor. He then leapt over, hoping to land the killing blow to Thanos' head but the titan rolls away in time, grabbing steve around the neck and throwing him to the floor.
Steve gets to his feet in time to dodge out of the way of Thanos' blade, but he was backed into a corner with no way to escape. He managed to hit Thanos with his shield but was unable to block the next strike, the blade slicing through Steve's thigh. Steve retaliated by swinging the hammer but Thanos' blocked the punch sending the hammer flying out of Steve's hand while also knocking Steve back.
Pushing himself back up he raises his shield as Thanos brings down his blade, which slices into Steve's shield. Steve's eyes go wide in shock, something he thought was impossible happened right before his eyes and he suddenly felt more vulnerable. He twists his shield free but Thanos continues to strike, each blow breaking more of steve's weaked shield away, one blow knocking Steve to his knees. Steve looked down in horror at his broken shield, praying it wasn't an omen for his future.
He looks back up at Thanos, only barely blocking the next strike which sliced into his arm and sent him crashing back, hitting trees and rubble as he went. Steve tried to push himself up but he couldn't, he felt weak and like his limbs were made of lead. He just lay there battered and bruise staring up at the sky.
It was at that moment his mind began playing tricks as he could have sworn he heard JJ's laughter. But it didn't matter because it gave Steve the strength to carry on, he may be down but he wasn't out and he wasn't going to stop now.
Rolling onto his front with a loud groan, he pushed himself slowly to his knees "in all my hears of conquest... violence... slaughter it was never personal... but I'll tell you now what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm going to enjoy it, very, very much" Thanos says, fueling Steve's determination.
Steve watched as Thanos' army was beamed down from the ship above, it was much larger than the army they faced in Wakanda, with more terrifying beasts. Steve knew then that he wasn't going to make it out of here, he'd die on this battlefield. He just hoped that the others, wherever they were, were getting the stones the hell out of here. Steve's only role to play now was to delay Thanos as long as possible.
So he pushes himself to his feet, gazing down at the large gash on his arm, blood oozing out. With shaking hands he tightened the straps to his shield to keep the wound closed and keep his shield close. It was broken but it would offer some protection. He held his head high as he limped towards the army ready to make his last stand.
The sound of static and a broken voice made him freeze, his heart hammering in his chest as he heard Sam once more "cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" Steve raised his hand to his ear to try and get a clearer connection "on your left"
Steve swallowed as he turned around to see sparks behind him which quickly turned into a portal, the kind he'd seen Wong use. Sun streamed in from the portal making it seem like a heavenly glow. Silence fell on the battlefield as three people stepped through the portal, Steve instantly recognised them as T'Challa, Shuri and Okoye. Steve could hardly catch his breath as he saw the T'Challa and asked a silent question 'were you okay?' he got his answer from the subtle nod the king gave him.
Sam then soared through the portal and over steve's head, a laugh escaping Steve's lips as he saw his friend. Steve watched as more and more portals appeared, allies streaming through all of them. He saw Wakandans, he saw sorcerors, but his breath caught when he saw the Asgardians being led onto the battlefield by you. He bit his lips hard to stop himself from crying as he watched you say something to Valkyrie before walking over towards him.
He wanted to break down, scoop you into his arms and never let you go but he held himself back, now wasn't the time. Instead, he stood there watching as you stood by his side, hoping all he was feeling was being conveyed in his eyes. Going by the look in your eyes he could tell you heard the message loud and clear, your own feelings echoing back to him. Looking out he surveyed the growing army of allies, his friends and family standing by his side ready to fight against Thanos.
And for the first time in this entire battle, Steve felt hope.
Tony and Thor joined Steve at his side, despite the seriousness of the battle a small smile tugged at Steve's lips when he saw your eyes widen slightly at Thor's new appearance, your nose scrunching as you caught a whiff of booze.
Looking back over towards Thanos confidence surged through him as he noticed the wary look on Thanos' face "Avengers!" Steve called out before summoning Thor's hammer, sending a wink down towards you as he caught it "assemble"
Upon hearing that you raised your sword and both you and Thor let out a battle cry before everyone charged into battle ready to take Thanos out for good.
The clash of weapons echoed through the battlefield as the two armies met and the true battle commenced. Despite it being years since he fought by your side, you and Steve easily found your rhythm, fighting back to back, your movements in tune with each other as if you were one being.
You'd just frozen one alien before slicing him in half with your sword when Thor landed beside you, swinging his axe. Steve at the same time threw the hammer in a circle knocking down multiple aliens in one go, and you used your powers to create roots that dragged them down into the earth. As the hammer continued its path back to Steve you reached out your free hand and caught it, your eyes met Steve's a smirk growing on his face when the axe landed in his hand a few seconds later.
"you too?" Thor gasped making both you and Steve look over at him.
You just gave him an innocent shrug of the shoulders, tossing the hammer into the air and catching it. Thor just scowled at you before his attention shifted to Steve, spotting his axe in his hands.
"no, no give me that," Thor says holding out his hand "you can have the little one" he adds pointing to the hammer in your hand.
Steve arched a brow, while you just rolled your eyes, tossing Steve the hammer once he'd given Thor his axe back. Once thor had his axe back he leapt away to go join the fight elsewhere.
"I see he's still the same despite the appearance then?" you mutter glancing over at Steve.
Despite the grave battle that raged around Steve laughed and nodded his head "wanna give me a lift?" he asks holding out his hand.
You bite back a smile placing your hand in his, as soon as his fingers wrapped around yours you took off barely giving him a chance to prepare himself. You flew a short distance to where you saw a large group of aliens approaching, Steve squeezing your hand to signal to drop him. You let go of his hand and watched as he landed, bringing the hammer down to the ground, lighting and shockwaves flying and taking out an entire portion of the alien army.
As you flew you spotted Thanos in the distance and your blood instantly boiled. You didn't even think for a second before you created a giant icicle and sent it hurtling towards him. To your annoyance, he swiped it away with his blade before it could kill him. Landing just a few feet away, you felt your rage coursing through your body, flames dancing between your fingers as you stared him down.
"you took me from my son" you growl, your eyes blazing with fury.
Thanos just studied you "I did what had to be done" he states.
You felt your anger get the better of you letting out a loud bellow of rage as you began pelting him with fireballs. The first few he dodged but when you made the earth grow around his feet he began to struggle. You saw the flicker of fear in his eyes as your fireballs burnt his skin. You were preparing yourself for the killer blow when he raised his arm and pointed it towards you. you heard a bellow as a hoard of aliens swarmed before you, forcing you to retreat.
Steve was closer to the front lines when he heard the loud bellow from the aliens, looking in the direction it came from he spotted you shooting into the sky. He saw you land a short distance away and watched in awe as you slayed enemy after enemy. He'd seen you fight in battles before but this was different, you had an aura around you as you cut down aliens, froze them, burnt them and ripped them to shreds. You looked like the goddess of war.
He watched as a whole legion approached you but they didn't even get close as you caused a massive sinkhole to appear, swallowing all of them. The screams of the aliens echoed through the battlefield as you suffocated them all. Your chest was heaving as you turned to look over your shoulder at Steve, an unreadable expression on your face.
Steve cleared his throat, blinking away his stupor, raising his shield in time to block an attack. Once he kicked the alien away he looked back to where you stood but you were gone. Steve fought back the intrusive thoughts in his head, trying not to read too much into what that expression on your face could have meant.
"cap!" Clint called into the comms grabbing Steve's attention "what do you want me to do with this damn thing?"
"get those stones as far away as possible!" Steve shouted as he blocked another attack, using the hammer to hit the alien away.
"No!" Bruce shouted from a short distance away "we need to get 'em back where they came from"
"no way to get 'em back, Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel," Tony said with a grave tone.
"hold on!" Scott shouted "that wasn't our only time machine"
Steve turns as he hears the sound of La Cucaracha blasting through the battlefield, he runs to higher ground hoping to spot it "anyone see an ugly brown van out there?" he calls out.
"rude" he hears you mutter behind him.
He quickly turns to see you standing there, his eyes scanning your face as he searched for injuries or for any sign of what was wrong. All he could see was that strange look in your eyes as they darted around surveying the battle, barely looking anywhere for long.
"Are you alright?" he asks quietly, reaching out to take your hand.
Your eyes meet his and he watches you swallow before nodding "yeah" you mutter your voice hoarse but Steve spotted the streak of dried tears through the ash and dust on your face.
"I see it! but you're not gonna like where it's parked!" Steve hears Valkyrie call out, stopping him from questioning your further.
"Scott, how long do you need to get that thing working?" Tony asks.
"uh, maybe 10 minutes?" Scott answers.
"get it started, we'll get the stones to you" Steve orders, glancing back at you and squeezing your hand.
The two of you run back into battle together, you running a couple of steps behind Steve. it wasn't long until aliens found and attacked you. One hellhound-like creature leapt at you but you used the wind to blow it away, impaling it on a shaft of metal sticking out from the debris. As you continued to fight your sword felt heavier and heavier in your arms with each strike, one alien even managing to knock it out of your hands.
You managed to push the alien back with the wind when blasts from the spaceship above rained down around you. The ground shook making you stumble as you tried to avoid the blasts. Steve was by your side in an instant, his arm wrapped around your waist as he held up his broken shield. You knew it wouldn't be enough, you needed something bigger, something like the shield you'd created at Camp Leigh all those years ago. You still weren't entirely sure how you did that but you took a deep breath and held up your hands, the air thickening around you.
"help somebody help!" you heard Peter scream through the comms.
You and Steve exchanged a glance, nodding in agreement as you lowered the shield enough for him to throw the hammer "hey queens heads up!" he shouted.
You rethickened the shields around you as the blasts got more intense, the ground shaking beneath you, making you stumble to keep your footing. You were straining under the intensity of the blasts, a groan escaping as your knees began to buckle. Just as you were about to crumble everything stopped and the battlefield fell silent. You dropped the shield, falling to your knees in exhaustion.
Steve knelt beside you, his arm around your shoulder "are you okay?" he asks.
You take a couple of deep breaths, nodding slowly "yeah... what- what's going on?" you ask sitting back on your ankles.
Steve helps you to your feet as you both look up to see the spaceship now blasting up into the sky. You both watch in confusion until what appears to be a meteor strike appears through the clouds, blasting straight into the spaceship. You watch as it goes for another pass, completely destroying the ship.
"Who is that?" you mutter in disbelief.
"Carol Danvers, Fury knew her back in the 90s" Steve explains glancing down at you before looking back up at the sky "hey Danvers we need an assist here"
"on it" you hear Carol respond.
"go, they're gonna need you for backup," Steve says turning to you, he watches as you swallow nervously before nodding, taking off before he has a chance to say anything about it.
You landed just by Carol and peter as he was handing her the gauntlet "I don't know how you're gonna get through all that" he says.
"don't worry," Wanda says as she lands next to Carol.
"she's got help," Okoye says swinging her spear.
You watch as the rest of the female avengers join you, a small smile playing on your lips when you remember a similar scene from Wakanda. You glance around trying to spot Nat to see if she was thinking the same but you don't see her, you realise with a start you hadn't seen her at all yet. Despite desperately wishing differently, you knew deep down in your gut what the reason for her absence was. You swallowed back the wave of emotion trying to turn it into anger, using it to make Thanos pay.
You help blast a path through the army for Carol to fly through, even going as far as creating a large fireball explosion that wiped out a large section in one go. When you saw Thanos running towards Carol you leapt forward, joined by Pepper, Shuri and Hope, the four of you using your powers and weapons to blast Thanos back. The four of you manage to blast him to the ground but he throws his blade towards the time machine causing it to explode the blast throwing you back across the battlefield.
You land with a heavy thud, groaning in pain, Steve was by your side in a flash but you waved him away "no, go after the stones" you tell him "go!" you shout pushing him back with a blast of wind when he hesitated.
You push yourself to your feet, your hand clutching your side. When you pulled it away you saw blood on your hand, glancing down you saw the large gash in your side through your armour. It wasn't bad enough to kill you but you were weakened, already exhausted from the fight in Wakanda.
Wincing you get to your feet just as you see Thor and Steve working together to try and kill Thanos. They were nearly there when Thanos managed to punch the axe away, head-butting Thor. You watched as he threw Steve over his shoulder and to the ground followed by a direct punch to the face.
"Steve!" you screamed before you could stop yourself, Thanos turned towards you but he didn't get the chance to attack as Carol swooped in.
Using the distraction you ran over to Steve, falling to your knees beside him, your shaking hands moving to cup his cheeks "no, no, no" you muttered when he lay just a little too limp in your arms.
You pressed your fingers to his pulse, letting out a shaky sigh of relief when you felt his pulse. He was alive, he was okay.
"Steve c'mon sweetheart wake up," you say trying to rouse him.
After what felt like an eternity his eyes snapped open, wild and panicked before they finally settled on you "oh thank the gods" you muttered crashing your lips down onto his.
"Hey, hey it's okay, I'm okay" Steve mutters wrapping his arms around you, and cradling the back of your head with his hands "what happened? Where- where are the stones?" he asks.
The both of you turn to look towards where Thanos stood, watching on in horror as he raised his hand to click his fingers. There was nothing you could do, the both of you were too weak to get up, you didn't even think you could summon a fireball. You'd lost, he was about to wipe you all out.
You looked back at each other, tears in your eyes as you held onto each other tightly, whispering I love you's back and forth to each other. You both flinched as you heard the snap of metal, seconds ticked by and nothing happened.
You look at each other in confusion before glancing back over at Thanos, only now seeing he didn't have the stones... Tony did.
"no" Steve muttered under his breath.
"And I am Iron Man" Tony gritted through his tears as he snapped his fingers.
You heard a sharp ringing in your ears that made you wince, followed by the sounds of screams echoing in your head before it went silent. Steve helped you to your feet as you both looked around to see your enemy turning into ash around you. You felt a sudden wave of nausea as you watched, knowing this is what happened to you.
Your knees were about to buckle when Steve's arm wrapped around your waist holding you steady. You glanced up at him, your vision blurry with tears. He pulled you closer, cupping your cheek as he kissed your forehead.
"you're okay, it's over we won" he whispered against your skin.
You clung onto his wrist, his forehead pressed against yours as you nodded letting out a choked sob. Hearing someone shift to your side you both looked to see Thanos sitting down before finally turning to dust.
Once he was gone you spotted Tony stumbling before falling to the ground, you patted Steve on the chest to get his attention and nodded in the direction of Tony. You hear Steve mutter under his breath. The both of you limped over towards Tony, the closer you got the more you realised there was nothing that could be done to save him.
Thor came to stand beside you, putting a hand on your shoulder as you watch Pepper talking to Tony, her hand over his arc reactor. Any tears you were holding back broke free when you watched Tony take his last breath and the arc reactor dim. Steve held onto you as you sobbed into his chest, which was shuddering as he failed to hold back his own tears.
The battlefield was silent as everyone slowly began to take the knee to honour Tony, the man that when you first met him was arrogant and snarky, had made plenty of mistakes in the years you have known him, but at the end of the day was the one to save the whole universe.
You weren't sure how many minutes had passed when everyone slowly got back to their feet. Steve sniffled back some tears, wiping some away as he looked around seeing all the injured and fallen. He looked back down at you, there was nothing he wanted more than to go home and just hold you and JJ, but there was still work to be done.
"We uh-" he says clearing his throat before trying to speak again "we need to set up a triage, treat any wounded, bring the..." he says unable to find the right word as he glanced at Tony "bring the others home for a proper funeral and ah-" he tries to continue but he couldn't, in all the years of fighting he'd never felt so lost.
"Cap" Sam says putting a hand on his shoulder "it's okay, we've got this," he tells him.
"but-" Steve says going to argue.
"you've done enough, we can take over," Bucky says walking over "both of you go get patched up and get home"
Steve bits his lip nodding, feeling a wave of relief crash over him and a massive weight off his shoulder. Looking back towards Tony he watched as Rhodey helped Pepper to her feet, holding onto her as she took a few steps back and looked over at Steve.
"could- could you take him please Steve?" Pepper choked out.
Steve could only nod, he glanced down at you pressing a shaky kiss to your forehead before leaving you to stand with Thor. Your brother put an arm around your shoulder as you held onto him for support. Steve approached Tony, taking a deep steadying breath as he bent down and lifted Tony.
He kept his focus on putting one foot in front of the other, he tried to keep his face stoic as he carried his fallen friend off the battlefield but he couldn't stop the tears that slipped down his cheek.
It was over he reminded himself, they'd won but also lost so much.
He spared a glance over his shoulder, seeing you and thor following only a few steps behind him. He'd regained his future with you, and there wouldn't be a day that he'd be eternally grateful to Tony for giving that to him.