CHAPTER THIRTY ONE: SHE WAS CALM
I clenched my hands into fists as I looked far ahead of me in attempt to see any movement from the enemy. The atmosphere was eerily silent, no one dared to move a muscle.
By my side was everyone who intended on saving the world. T'Challa definitely helped by requesting some backup, this was not going to be an easy fight.
I watched as Steve, Nat and T'Challa walked over to the barrier, attempting to talk the creatures out of the fight.
Bucky nudged my shoulder softly, giving me a small nod. I knew it was to help calm me down, even if I could feel the nerves coming off of him in waves.
I whipped my head back ahead of me, seeing the large spaceships beginning to move. The sound they made was deafening-it was metal grinding against metal. I felt the need to cover my ears, but I didn't. I kept my hands by my sides, stiff.
Steve, Natasha and T'Challa took that as a sign to walk back over in line. We watched as the spaceships slowly raised, Bucky turning his head to Steve. "They surrender?"
Steve sighed, "not exactly."
T'Challa chanted something in Xhosa, the people behind us doing the same. The creatures ahead of us took it as a threat, one of them lowering their sword.
Immediately after, vicious creatures began to pour out of the forrest ahead like a liquid, many of them running over each other. "What the hell?" Bucky muttered.
Natasha sighed, "looks like we pissed her off."
The creatures began to crash into the barrier that protected Wakanda, recklessly attempting to rip a hole in it. Some of them split in half, some losing limbs. Not one managed to get through the barrier in one piece.
Okoye's eyes widened, "they're killing themselves."
Eventually, a few of the creatures managed to squeeze through the barrier. Somehow. They screeched in triumph, almost as if they were laughing at our shocked faces.
The Wakandan's held up blue shields that were made from high tech. They looked exactly like the barrier that surrounded Wakanda. T'Challa shouted something in Xhosa, and the Wakandan's immediately complied by firing at the creatures with their high tech spears.
Not long after, everyone else got involved. The sound of Bucky's gun to my left was incredibly loud, causing my ear to ring. I focused on the creatures ahead, holding my hands out to fire light beams at them.
"Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us... there's nothing between them and Vision." Bruce panicked over the comms, watching as the creatures began to circle Wakanda.
"Then we better keep 'em in front of us." Steve replied, glaring at each alien that he saw.
"How do we do that?" Okoye questioned.
T'Challa frowned softly, "we open the barrier." He raised a hand up to his ear, speaking to someone else in the building that was behind us. "On my signal, open north-west section seventeen." He paused, "on my signal."
"This will be the end of Wakanda." M'Baku sighed.
"Then it will be the noblest ending in history." Okoye stated, her eyes as slits.
T'Challa shouted something in Xhosa, and the Wakandan's lowered their shields. He slowly walked to the front of the crowd, pausing to look at the creatures ahead. "Wakanda forever!" He held his hands over his chest in an 'X' before letting his helmet form over his face.
And with that, everyone began to charge forward with battle cries. While running, I watched as the barrier was opened, and the creatures came running in at full force.
The creatures were more vicious and reckless than I would've ever expected them to be, but they definitely didn't take my powers well. I grimaced at the sight of their melted faces, due to the heat I created.
I felt myself growing tired, and my legs began to burn from standing, but the fight continued. My side was screaming at me to stop, my wound begging for me to let it heal in peace. I groaned in pain, blasting a beam towards a few of the creatures.
My eyes grew wide when suddenly, a large beam of light appeared ahead of me. The beam was all kinds of different colours, that seemed to melt into one another. The familiarity of it made me smile, it was something that Thor had called the Bifrost.
I furrowed my brows as a weapon surrounded by blue lightning exited the Bifrost, knocking down multiple creatures that stood in its path.
The weapon circled around, landing directly into Thor's hand. My smile widened at the sight of him-his hair was now shorter and he no longer held Mjölnir, which was surprising.
By his side stood a creature, who was seemingly made out of wood. Another creature jumped off of his shoulder with a gun in hand, who looked exactly like a raccoon.
Bruce laughed loudly over the comms, "you guys are so screwed now!"
Thor slowly walked forward, revenge burning in his eyes. "Bring me Thanos!" His voice boomed across the battlefield, and he broke out into a sprint.
He pushed off of the ground, lightning surrounding him as he crashed back down, knocking out all of the creatures that surrounded him. The ground was left cracked and burnt.
Even with Thor here, the fight was still difficult. My muscles continued to ache, and my head pounded. Steve panted, glancing at Thor, "new haircut?"
Thor smiled at him, "noticed you've copied my beard." He gestured to his own beard, causing me to laugh, even during a fight like this.
I smiled, "oh, I love you guys."
Thor opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the wooden creature stabbing its arm through multiple of the alien dogs. "Oh, by the way, this is a friend of mine, Tree." Thor pointed to him.
He looked back at us, "I am Groot." He held multiple creatures on his arm.
My mouth dropped wide open in shock as I looked at the dead aliens that he held up with no problem, "hi, Groot..."
Steve inhaled as he continued to attempt to catch his breath, pointing a finger to his chest, "I am Steve Rogers."
Our conversation was suddenly cut short when large mechanic wheels rolled into the barrier, cutting through everything in their path.
I almost ran forwards to help Natasha and Okoye, but the wheels stopped moving when they were lifted by a scarlet coloured energy.
Wanda.
I gasped softly as the wheels were thrown backwards into hundreds of aliens, killing them instantly. "Oh, wow..." I mumbled. "Well, it looks like she's doing just fine." I felt a hint of pride at the sight of my girlfriend being able to hold her own.
"Guys, we got a Vision situation here." Sam yelled into the comms, causing fear to course through my veins.
I continued to blast energy beams towards the creatures, glancing around me to see if anyone needed help, every few seconds.
"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve shouted.
"I got him!" Bruce answered.
"On my way." Wanda replied as well, I sighed as I got back to fighting.
"Guys! Vision needs backup, now!" Bruce's voice came through the comms, he sounded panicked. Steve turned to me with a frown.
"Let's go!" He waved me over, and motioned for me to follow him. The two of us immediately began running to where we saw Vision go last. When we arrived, we saw one of the aliens drop Vision to the ground, a large blade in hand. My eyes widened at the sight of a fresh wound in Vision's side. "Hey!" I screamed, the creature whipped his head into my direction.
His eyes widened at the sight of Steve and I running towards him at full speed, Steve being much farther ahead due to the Super Soldier Serum. Steve managed to knock him down as he charged into him, I skidded to a stop next to Vision.
"Get him outta here!" Steve shouted, waving a shielded hand in the air.
"I can't go without you!" I yelled back.
"Go!" He stood up, sending a large punch to the alien, and I groaned as a frown reached my face.
"Dumbass." I grumbled, helping Vision stand. My eyes widened as his legs gave out and he landed on his knees. "No, no, no, no, no! Get up. Come on."
Steve knocked the spear out of the alien's hands, sending it flying over to Vision and I. The alien managed to pin Steve to the ground, choking him in an attempt to kill him on the spot.
"Steve!" I tried to run over, but Vision held out a hand and grabbed the spear that belonged to the alien. I watched as Vision stabbed him, the spear going straight through his chest.
Vision dropped the alien to the ground, his own legs giving out once more and I ran to catch him before he fell.
Steve helped me lift Vision, "I thought I told you to go."
Vision panted as he stood to his feet, "we don't trade lives, Captain."
Wanda flew down, landing next to Vision and I who were by a log. Vision laid against the log for support while I kneeled next to him. "Are you okay?" Wanda asked as she ran over. Vision opened his mouth to speak, but was struck with pain as the mind stone glowed brightly. "What? What is it?"
Vision looked around anxiously, breathing heavily. "He's here."
Silence washed over us. I glanced over to Steve who stood still as he listened to the sound of the wind blowing. He held a hand up to his ear, "everyone, on my position. We have incoming."
I looked around to see the others nearby in the woods, all looking around to catch sight of where Thanos would appear.
The wind blew harshly, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned my head slowly, glancing back at the sight of a dark cloud forming in the middle of the woods. A large figure stepped out of the cloud, his eyes glazing over each of us. Thanos.
Wanda quickly stood up, a ball of energy forming between her hands as she glared at the Titan, her bottom lip trembling slightly.
"Cap." Bruce sighed softly, "that's him."
Steve readied his shields, his face holding a stoic expression. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."
Thanos slowly walked forward, practically beaming at the sight of another fight. His eyes were trained on the mind stone that sat in Vision's forehead-he would do anything to get that stone.
Everyone who tried to attack him, just seemed to fail. With the other stones on the gauntlet, he was practically invincible.
I charged at the being, but he got ahold of my throat and squeezed tightly. I let my hands glow a bright white, I attempted to melt the gauntlet to rip the stones out but it was no use. I would never be that powerful.
A sly smile grew on Thanos' face as he threw me aside carelessly, my head bashing on the ground.
I tried to shake away the dizzy feeling in my head, but it wouldn't stop spinning. My eyes wouldn't focus on the bright flashing of red energy that was ahead of me.
I could faintly see the dark spots on the ground, the unconscious bodies of my friends, I assumed. Before I could even attempt to stand, I felt my vision fade as I slipped into darkness.
I opened my eyes, feeling the haziness of the atmosphere beginning to fade. I looked up, seeing Thor looking at Thanos with wide eyes. "What did you do?" He shouted angrily, fear hinting in his voice. "What'd you do?"
Thanos looked down at his hand, which was severely burned. He seemed to barely notice Thor's axe buried into his chest as he looked around with a smile. With one last glance at Thor, he clenched his fist as the space stone glowed brightly, a dark fog seemed to swallow him whole and he disappeared.
Thor's axe made a loud clang sound as it hit the ground, the sound echoed in my ears in an unpleasant way. "Thor?" I asked, slowly standing up to see him. He looked me in the eyes, a confused expression on his face, his eyes holding regret.
"Where'd he go?" Steve's voice rang in my ears from the left of me, I could hear him panting. "Thor." He paused, "where'd he go?"
"Steve?" I turned to see Bucky looking at his hand, or what should've been his hand. A horrified gasp escaped my lips as his body turned to dust, his gun clanging against the ground.
"Bucky?" I frowned, staring down at the gun that was left behind. It was surrounded by dust, my hands trembled over what was left of him. And suddenly, my skin was made of porcelain. The cracks spread up my arms, I felt a pain deep in my chest. Not my Bucky. Realization dawned on me, and my eyes widened, "Wanda?" I stood to my feet, rushing over to her, "Wanda!"
"Hey." I turned her head away from Vision, whose body was faded into a dark grey as a result of the large hole in his forehead, right where the mind stone used to be. I felt more cracks spread across my body. I began to feel weak again. "Hey... it's gonna be okay..."
"Quinn," she frowned, holding my hand tightly. She held her other hand on Vision's arm, as if waiting for him to come back to life. Her mouth was agape, she was still in shock. Her bottom lip trembled.
Her grip on my hand loosened-no, wait. It faded.
I looked down to our once intertwined hands. Hers began to fade into dust. Ashes, maybe. I felt my heart breaking, a deep pain in my chest followed soon after. My breaths became uneven.
But she was calm.
Wanda sent me a reassuring smile, "it's gonna be okay." She repeated what I said earlier, but the words felt wrong now. How could it be okay with Wanda gone? Bucky? Vision?
There was a bitter taste in my mouth, my hands shook by my sides. Wanda used her remaining hand to rest it against my face. She sighed softly before pulling me into a final kiss, it was short. Once she pulled away, our foreheads rested against each other.
Tears spilled from my eyes, a horrifyingly beautiful contrast to her now dry eyes. They were still red, tear stains were evident on her face, but she was no longer crying. How could she be so calm?
I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to watch her go. But as she faded away, I quickly realized that feeling her fade away into nothing but dust was worse. The dust had piled into my lap, and into my shaky hands. I stared down at it in sorrow.
Silence followed after, I felt a cold breeze against my tear stained cheeks. We had lost the fight.
Steve walked over, putting a hand on my shoulder as he flipped Vision's body over and inspected the damage that was done. A shallow gasp escaped his lips as he dropped to his knees, gripping my hand tightly. The dust on my hands began to float away in the wind.
"What is this?" Rhodey asked as he made his way over, his expression confused and fearful, "what the hell is happening?"
No one answered, and the silence was unbearable. The only sound was the wind blowing softly, as if it was a peaceful day. It felt like anything but that.
Steve panted softly as he tried to catch his breath, "oh, God."
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lizzie speaks...
well... that was uh... depressing
edit: just edited this chapter and i made it even more sad xoxo 💋