(song above dedicated to Loki and Esther)
CLINT BARTON:
"We have no allies in Asgard with the Bifrost gone. Heimdall used what magic he had to get me to earth in order to stop Loki but there is no way to get an army here without the Rainbow Bridge," Thor tells us (Tony, the Maximoff kid, and I).
"And there's no one else out there we can get a word out to?" I ask him.
"Our allies have no way of knowing what is happening on Midgard. No. And the only way would be with the Tesseract."
"So Earth is stuck here in the middle of an invasion and we are all just waiting to die?" Quicksilver asks with disbelief, wanting to help and above all, wanting hope.
"If your realm was more advanced we would have a chance at getting aid from other planets but... what we have to work with is ancient," Thor sighs with his fists leaning against the table.
"This coming from the guy who argued with a mechanical pencil?" Tony mutters.
Thor looks offended and I roll my eyes, Maximoff snickering.
"That was one time..." Thor grumbles.
We have given up and everyone only wants to argue. I have left and gone to the bottom level of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters to speak with my wife. The first floor is serving as a shelter of food, clothing, water, and more for the homeless, orphaned, and injured vets. Since the hospitals were so full (the ones that are still standing) the second floor which was already the base's medical center, is now another hospital for those fighting against the aliens and anyone else we can help.
I spot Darcy Lewis sitting in the corner reading to some small orphaned kids, one of them with a tight bandage wrapped around his small head. She smiles as one of the children touches a picture in the book and says something to her.
I walk by some injured and recovering soldiers, eyeing me for a moment with loss and despair in their eyes. I've been there too many times and I turn away from their gaze. I look across all of the faces and see Laura there in the food area, using a ladle to pour soup into bowls.
I walk around the back of the table up to her when she's finished and take her hand while she's gently wiping both with a hand towel.
"I talked to Sargent Harris. He says he can get a place set up for you and the kids to be safe."
"I like being here," she argues, as I knew she would.
"Laura..."
"These people have lost everything... No matter what has happened to me... they've been through worse... And I will help where I can."
"If they find out everyone is here I may not be able to..." I sigh and look away, always worried about her especially since Hydra has infiltrated everything.
She squeezes my hands and smiles at me. "Everything is going to be okay..."
I look back into those brown eyes I love so much. "You should get some rest."
"When I'm finished, maybe," she replies. That's the best offer I will probably get. She has always one to do all she can to help others even if she's exhausted. Selflessness... it's her best quality.
She furrows her brows. "Have you heard from Nat and Banner yet? Or Steve?"
I breathe through my nose in thought, my eyes downcast. "No... not yet... But I'll find them don't worry. We just got a disturbance at the gate to get inside that I need to check out first."
"Be careful," she lifts her brows.
"I always am," I smile and leave her after placing a kiss in her head.
I walk to the room that basically serves as a headquarters for all security in the building. We had to wipe all fingerprints, retinal scans, facial recognition, and other stored data for agents. Since we don't know which ones are Hydra, we can't afford to let a Trojan Horse slip through our net. For now we only let in those we know.
I click on the com that connects to the door inside. "Who are you and how did you get past security for the garage?" I demand.
There is a pause... And then a voice I wasn't expecting to hear says, "And here I was thinking you'd recognize my voice."
My heart immediately is relieved and I think my expression shows that. I smile and let the door open before rushing down to where they are.
Nat walks in with Banner at her side and she gives me a hug as soon as our eyes meet.
We hold tightly to one another, both relieved we made it this far. You honestly don't realize how much you cherish the people in your lives until times like this when you think they could be dead. When we part I breathe. "You look like shit," I joke but just happy they are okay.
"You look too clean," she says back. She is dressed in black skinny jeans and a grey zip up hoodie. And Bruce is in a t-shirt and jacket as well.
I'm not wearing my gear anymore either, just a long sleeve black shirt and pants, the sleeves pulled almost to my elbows. But I still keep a gun handy on my person.
"Thor, Stark, and Quicksilver are here but have you heard from the others?" I ask.
"They're on their way. They're alive," she answers.
"Seems like you made good use of the base..." Banner says when we step in further.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has dissolved. Every agent has scattered even Hydra. All of them only caring about their own loved ones right now... And with the leaders all dead there isn't much to bring them together. We can't really trust anyone right now."
"Well our allies may have scattered but Hydra intercepted us on the way here... They're still around," Natasha says to me.
"Well we will have to keep on our toes I guess..." I sigh.
"They're using the apocalypse as leverage to kill us," Bruce says. "With all of this going on they know they can do it."
"Not the worst plan," Nat says regretfully.
"...War doesn't ever shut us down. It wakes us up," I say as I watch all of these people who have lost so much. I'm going to keep this from happening as much as possible. I know we can't save everyone but we are as sure as hell gonna try.
ESTHER:
It's sunset when we finally arrive at Plymouth; the first sight of land in days. We have slept most of the time to save up as much strength as we could. Other than that and game plan discussing there wasn't much talking.
"It will be dark by the time we reach London," I say as I load up ammunition into my rifle, looking out the window.
"Oh that's convenient," he sighs.
I shrug. "We've been through worse."
"Not for how many of those would be crowded around the brain protecting it. We don't know what conditions we are heading into." He comes to my side and looks out to where I do.
"Well bringing this massive thing wouldn't help us. Those creatures are drawn to loud noises like zombies."
"So you're saying we have to be on foot?" he lifts a brow and looks at me.
"When I saw the vision of the hole under the London Eye it looked big enough for us to get through but not a massive ship like this. And luckily the brain isn't directly below it either so we can't just drop the bomb and get out."
"Luckily," he sasses back.
I give him a look that agrees with his annoyed behavior. "Our best option is stealth."
"Sneak in? That's not exactly your strength."
"Well it's a good thing I have the god of deceit with me then," I give him a look with raised brows.
He smirks and looks away.
TONY STARK:
I gasp and my body flies forward, heat taking my senses as I stare into the darkness. Images fade from my mind as I blink and catch my breath...
Slowly the world comes about again, my heart rate too intense. The room comes back into view and I look beside me... She's still asleep. Which is good.
I shut my eyes again and wipe my damp forehead. I stand up and pull the covers off me, careful to not disturb her as I climb out of bed and walk to the balcony of our base apartment.
It's not really cold out but the air is cool at night. And it feels nice since I am so hot.
I just put my hands on the railing and catch my breath for a long moment.
"Captivity nightmare again?" Pepper's gentle voice asks behind me.
Damn. I hoped I didn't wake her. But it's like she can just sense when something is wrong.
"...No... This one was worse."
"What was it?"
I look out into the distance at the city buildings covered in light from the moon. The images flood back as I try to remember... six gems... a wicked smile... and complete destruction. "I don't know..." is what I answer with. To be honest it's true...
She walks to my side. "I know you've never been the same since you were taken and then... all of these superheroes and aliens... Trust me it's even harder for me to believe than you... But it's where we are now..."
"What if we can't get through this? What if this really is the end of the world?"
She swallows and is scared too but I also think that when I'm full of doubt, it makes her react the opposite. "That doesn't sound like the Tony I know..."
I sigh and look down.
"Normally I don't know how to interpret these situations at all... but... I know this isn't the end. And if the Earth is gone then we can just live on Asgard and get married there," she shrugs.
I snicker. "With that supermodel as our neighbor and his psychotic brother?"
"That's true and they don't have Netflix in Asgard either."
"Or Scotch," I make a face.
"Or shampoo."
"I don't know about that, Thor's hair smells pretty nice."
She giggles. "Now you sound like you."
I smirk at her, my eyes soft but vacant...
She is about to speak but then someone else cuts her off.
"Sir I have incoming message from a number that was left in the hands of one of our companions," Jarvis states.
"That says?"
"'Help'..."
My brows furrow and I take my phone from my pocket I left it in, looking at the new message. A pin was dropped near the outside of the city not far from here... the number belongs to the phone I left with Wanda and Rogers.
ESTHER:
"We'll go out once we are sure we aren't surrounded. You can go in front of me since you have a lighter step and keener eyes," I say to Loki as I pack up everything we need. We have landed now in the dark of downtown London.
I attach silencers on all our weapons. "We'll need to make as little sound as possible and attack as little mimics as possible. If we make too much noise an alpha will be bound to find us."
"Which means no explosives," he says.
"And no shouting." I hand him a communicator.
He puts it in his ear as I do the same with mine.
"And make sure no one blows this up," I lift the chain of grenades before packing it away in the backpack and slipping my arms through the straps.
We stand at the door after the ship is completely off, nervous to get out there and making sure our plan is solid.
"The sinkhole is straight ahead..." I say.
"Right..."
But we stop talking when we hear a distance snarling and even more distant howling of these monsters in the black of night. We don't know how many are out there and to be honest I'm terrified. "...If this works... we may not be getting out of here."
He looks at me. "I will not let you die today."
I return his gaze with a serious one. "...You may not have a choice."
He looks affected by that fact and worried, hesitant to reply.
"But if we finish the job I don't care. I'd die for this world."
"You should stay here. I'll go on and plant the bomb and get out―"
"Absolutely not―"
"You'll be safe―"
"Listen to me," I take his shoulder and make him look at me as I stare straight back into his eyes with a stern look. "You and I are a team..."
His brows are tensed as his eyes lock with mine...
"...You die, I die..." I remind him.
He breathes through his nose and his head understands my words but his heart doesn't want anything to go wrong. He doesn't want to watch me die again and this time having no hope of coming back. If that brain is destroyed and we die afterwards we're dead for good.
But I'm not backing down.
"Let's go," I say.
He nods and we both turn back into game mode before stepping into the dark.
Loki takes the lead, walking in front of me with careful steps, his rifle held up and ready, dodging rubble on the ground as he makes his way behind the broken brick wall. I follow close behind in the same form as him, trying my best to be as quiet as possible but also not too slow.
I almost cringe every time my foot touches the ground, hoping nothing would hear me.
We head around the toppled down buildings and metal supports that have been blown up and fallen over, pieces of concrete everywhere and things scattered across the ground. I look up to my right when lightning flashes across the sky, lighting up the silhouette of WestminsterBridge and behind it the London Eye, its face cracked and broken. Everything has been made into dust...
"Esther!" Loki whispers and I gasp, looking ahead to where he is crouched next to another building. He thought I was still following him.
I swallow and clutch my weapon tighter, looking everywhere before gently tiptoeing to the edge of the street and checking around the corner for signs of mimics. When I see that it's all clear I dash ahead as quietly as possible, not making a sound until I stop at Loki's side.
Before I continue he stops me, hearing a rustling that's just too close.
It's coming from somewhere behind us in whatever is left of this building.
He is thinking about what to do, because that mimic is going to see us if we head anywhere further towards our target.
"Let's go this way," I whisper and nod in the other direction.
He hesitates and I look around the corner―
"Shit!" I whisper and duck back. There's a mimic standing there idly where it once was clear.
I stay next to Loki and panic. "I can teleport us to that next building but it has to be somewhere I can see. But that means they'd see us too."
He is looking over his shoulder at the second mimic. "Teleport us there when I say," he whispers.
"What? Why?"
"Just do it."
I shut my mouth and wait for this glorious signal of his. But I have no idea what he plans to―
A grenade explodes somewhere far behind us after he throws it. The creatures roar and leap in the direction that they heard it and I take that as my cue to grab Loki's hand and I zap us to the next building closer to where we are headed.
We stumble on the ground and stop ourselves, holding our breath to make sure we didn't attract any of them to us. I think we're okay.
"I thought you said 'no explosives'," I say to him.
"I thought you called me the god of lies," he retaliates.
"I said 'deceit'," I correct.
He smirks and is about to continue walking but he stops and so do I. There are two mimics directly ahead of us but they haven't seen us yet. Loki and I stagger back into the ruins of the college.
"Perhaps the bomb wasn't a good idea," he whispers with regret now.
"You think?" I sass.
We hear something behind us and we freeze.
Oh gods.
We're completely surrounded.
WANDA:
My breathing is ragged and my heart is in panic mode as I hear monsters stabbing their tentacles at our vehicle that is now lodged in a ditch surrounded by rubble.
I look over at Steve as blood drips from my hands. "Steve wake up! Dammit!" I cry, tears staining my eyes as I clutch his large shoulder, his head tilted to the side as blood comes from his forehead.
"Oh God. Help us, God please," I beg in thick breaths as I panic. My stomach is throbbing from the injury that has shown itself again from the crash.
There are snarls and roars all around us as they bang on the vehicle, eager for our blood. Honestly I don't know how we've lasted this long. Once the bomb hit out of nowhere and sent us into the rubble tumbling off the side of the road I thought we were both dead.
Another tentacle smashes against the glass on Steve's side and I jump, my heart rate tripling. I put my hands to the glass and walls to conjure a forcefield around us but there's no way I can kill them if I'm stuck in here and the moment I open anything we're both done for. We are completely surrounded.
My whole body is aching and my lungs are gasping as I try to hold them off.
"Please wake up, Steve," I pant desperately, eyes still stinging.
TONY:
I run through the room and grab my bracelet after putting on my shoes.
"Where are you going?" Pepper asks with worry as I sprint back to the balcony.
I toss her my phone and command Jarvis to bring me my suit. "Tell the others where I've gone but I have to hurry. I may be too late," I say frantically before running to the edge as my armor lunges from its place to my body, connecting together just in time for me to jump off and ignite my repulsor engines, rocketing through the sky with the pin placed on my vision.
WANDA:
I cry out and push against the wall, my telekinesis shoving them back in a wave of crimson but it's not long before they just lunge right back at the vehicle, jabbing their massive tentacles at our Humvee until dents are smashed into the metal walls. If this was a normal car we would be dead already. I thank God for that.
Another blood curdling roar occurs overhead and something crashes down on top of us, my heart skipping five beats and forcing tears from my eyes as I realize our death is near.
If there was a way... any way I could fight back without an open door or window...
I slam my hands to the floor of the car, mist spreading into the ground and freezing the monsters solid, taking all the strength I have to prolong our lives until hopefully someone comes.
It hurts and I have to hold it for as long as I can. I can feel them fighting me, roaring out to be set free as they try to murder us. Oh Stark please make it. Pietro. Anyone.
PEPPER:
Almost immediately after Tony is gone the Maximoff kid flashes into the hallway and spots me. "Where is my sister?!" he demands.
"I don't know―Tony just left to find her. He wanted me to tell the others."
The phone disappears from my hands in a stretch of silver and my hair flies back, him reappearing where Tony was before he left. He observes the pin location with a worried look before dashing out the doorway completely gone.
It's only a moment of not being sure what to do that Natasha runs out in a sloppy ponytail, t-shirt, and shorts, a confused look on her face. "Who left already?"
"Tony and Pietro," I answer quickly.
"What, are they not even going to get any kind of vehicle? Does Stark think he can carry Rogers back in his arms?" she takes her phone and quickly messes with something.
"I don't think they thought about that," I answer honestly.
"Shocker," she sasses and takes off towards the garage.
ESTHER:
Loki and I are holding our breath, hearing aliens behind us, to the left, to the right, and ahead...
We have been keeping completely still so they won't see but frankly I'm not sure how the two in front of us haven's spotted us yet as they stand there, sifting through some rubble with their ever changing tentacle limbs, glowing orange mouths always open.
"What do we do?" I ask so quietly only he can just barely hear me.
He doesn't have an answer, his mind trying to weigh out every option like I am. "...We're not making it out of this unseen..." he replies at the same volume.
"Can't you try an illusion of some sort?"
"Doesn't work on these things. I've tried. They don't have a singular brain so there's nothing to tap into."
"So we're stuck?"
"We'll have to make a run for it."
"We won't make it ten feet."
"Well we have no other option―"
"Shh," I stop him as those things freeze up and listen to us.
My heart is pounding in my chest. He's right. We have to make a choice. And if those get closer we really won't have a chance at all. It's now or never.
I am about to ask him what our plan is that's when I hear something truly terrifying. That sound that they all make that is a constant breathing but resembles boiling metal occurs above our heads.
My back is stuck to the wall as I slowly turn my head to look up and to the right, the head of one of these creatures only two feet from my own as it gazes straight ahead, standing on the wall I am leaning against... It's so close that I can see the electric neurons firing over the silver tentacles like it's being controlled by an outside source.
Oh gods... that's an alpha.
WANDA:
Trying to keep these monsters frozen is a mistake because as soon as my concentration is broken by a firebomb landing right next to us it cracks our windows and those things are flinging themselves at us again.
In a panic I look around me and back at Steve who is unconscious. With determination I grunt and slam my hands to his shoulder and chest, using my powers to wake him up instantly.
His eyes flash open and he gasps, looking in front of him in confusion for a moment before blinking and his head turns to look at me in alarm. He finally is caught up with reality and he is frantic. "Shit!" he curses and leans up, but that's when the pain comes back to his head and he cringes, too weak to do anything.
"You need medical attention―what do we do?" I ask in a worried tone, my hand on his shoulder as he tries to breathe.
"What happened?" he asks through thick breaths.
"I-I don't know a bomb hit us while we were driving and next thing I know we were here," I say quickly but those creatures stabbing our vehicle all around us, trying to get to us makes my heart race.
He is looking around now, as panicked as I am but more smart about it. "We need evac―"
"I left an emergency message with the others but I don't know if anyone can get here in time―"
That's when the window on my left is shattered and glass scatters through the inside of the car, my hands coming to the level of my eyes that shut immediately.
Tentacles are flying in all directions trying to stab us and Steve has leapt from his seat to cover me with his shield. He gives me enough time to come back and I have frozen it to allow for Cap to get back and grab his rifle, letting bullets loose into the monster as I shield myself from its acidic blood. It screeches and flies back and I grab a grenade from where we stashed them, unplug it, and toss it out the window, putting up a forcefield as it blows and clears some from our vehicle in a fiery explosion.
I breathe and look over at Cap who is doing the same thing, catching his breath as he exchanges a look with me. It's quiet before the glass behind him finally gives way, the glass throwing into the vehicle as a limb comes through and I hear Rogers cry out.
"Steve!" I shout and put my hands forward, throwing a bolt of energy through the beast and then grabbing him, yanking him back through the air along with others in a wave of scarlet.
I lunge forward in alarm as Steve holds his side in pain. I grab at his hands with trembling fingers to find blood... and lots of it.
ESTHER:
We can't speak... we can't move. These things would kill us instantly... but we also cannot just stay here.
I look at my partner who is thinking hard about what to do.
That alpha will find us and we can't kill it either.
But then I remember when Loki and I were training and I tried to use ice on the mimics...
I get an idea and reach down as slow as I can, plucking a grenade from my belt and handing it to him without moving another muscle.
He looks down with his brow raised and I stare back, telling him my plan through my mind.
He nods just barely...
I clutch my gun and he does the same, preparing...
Three...
Two...
One...
He breaks the plug on the grenade and tosses it ahead at the two mimics closest to us as I turn just in time, throwing my hands up to freeze the alpha standing above us in its place just as its tentacles stick out in defense mode.
As Loki fires at the others running from the shadows, I grab his arm and zap us a ways ahead, further towards the Thames River which is now completely drained of moisture.
That gives us some distance on them and I pull out my own firearm, running these bastards down with bullets as fast as my gun will allow as we back up steadily. These beasts are getting torn apart but they still coming from the alleyways and throw their bodies over cars and rubble to get to us.
He throws his rifle around, slinging it onto his back as he casts an ice wall of spikes in front of us, catching two of them and impaling them, staining the white with black blood. And he grabs my hand, turning us back on our course before the alpha can break free of the ice.
We charge ahead over the concrete but that's when he's tackled by a mimic that came from nowhere.
"Loki!" I raise my weapon to shoot it as it fights in top of him and he fights back, his teeth bared. But I can't fire without catching Loki in it. "Ah dammit!"
He grunts with determination and lodges a throwing blade into the thing's skull from under its mouth.
I look to where we were coming from and see some mimics that made it over the wall. I fire at them but they're too fast to be shot more than once.
Loki has thrown the body of the mimic aside and he stands up, sprinting with me towards our goal again as I let earthy explosions catch the mimics behind us.
"Well I think we can leave stealth out of this then!" I shout over the noise.
"Never works with us anyway!" he sighs.
WANDA:
I am almost hyperventilating at this point and that's when an alarm starts blaring at my feet. In panic I pick up the cell phone to see the warning of a missile headed straight for us. Hydra. They know where we are. And we're dead.
"What is that?" Steve asks through ragged breathing.
"...A missile," I manage to speak but...
Cap and I look at each other, the knowing of death coming near. There's sadness in his eyes; devastation. This is it?
I just stare back as we both realize there's nowhere to go and my forcefields can only do so much. So he pulls me into his embrace and I shut my eyes tightly and wrap my arms around him...
The sound get's louder and suddenly the noise of an explosion catches our ears and shakes the foundation we're on, everything so loud for longer than I thought that when it's over everything is completely still... and silent.
I am shaking and breathing with quivering breaths and that's all I can hear; my breath and Steve's as his hands that were clinging to me relax a touch and allows me to pull back with confusion, the same look reflected in his eyes.
I hesitate and try to get myself to stop trembling but I can't help but feel confused―
That's when the door is yanked open on my side and I look over at―
"Pietro!" I say in relief and throw myself from the vehicle and into him, my arms coiled around him with desperation.
He is grasping me right back, my face buried in his large shoulder. He kisses the side of my head and I just tremble in his arms. I am so glad to see him... just as I thought my life was ending a miracle came forth.
"Are you alright?" he asks me frantically.
"The missile―h-how did you stop―?" I get back to look at him.
"What missile?"
"On the radar there was something headed straight for us from the sky I even heard it―" I stop and follow his gaze that's on top of the car.
Stark stands there in his Iron Man suit. "It must have thought I was a bomb again... It's a bug that we really need to get fixed," he says plainly.
I almost laugh with complete and utter relief when I let out a breath, not believing that at all but so glad to hear it that I am almost in awe.
"Maximoff, let's get this Hummer out of the mud."
Pietro nods at once and moves to help him.
ESTHER:
I charge forward with Loki just ahead of me, teleporting through rubble when we encounter some knocked over pillars. Mimics are leaping from the shadows, swarming us in massive groups like tiny orange lights that shoot around in a dark blue canvas, and slowly converging from all around us.
"Just run!" Loki says to me.
I try my best to do just that―one of those beasts leaps out of nowhere right in front of us and my eyes instantly grow as wide as they can, my legs stumbling back to a stop as my heart does the same thing. Loki grabs my arm and urges me to the side before it can swallow me whole but my foot slips and I hit the ground with a grunt.
I don't count how many almost tackle me but I quickly zap away from them and cast ice spikes to impale them, missing most except one as I stagger back to my feet and Loki mows them down with his rifle.
I grab the rough ground with my hands and yank my body back up, catching Loki's arm before sprinting hard in the opposite direction we need to be heading.
I am just trying to get some distance on these monsters but the further we go the more they come for us, as if they knew we would be hear.
It's a miracle they haven't started firing down balls of flames onto our heads at this point. I look ahead of us as eight of them climb over the walls of the school that are still standing and I cast out my hand, crying out in anger as I let a massive explosion of earth and fire knock the wall down and crush them all to smithereens. But unfortunately that gives more of these demon's a path to crash into our path.
Loki tosses a throwing blade into the mouth of a mimic that had almost tackled me and I turn to hold my rifle ready against my shoulder as I clutch the trigger, the gun lighting up the dark with a bright yellow strobe light, the bullet shells piling from my weapon as I watch the front fodder of mimics get buried in bullets.
But unfortunately the hoard isn't slowed so I cast out a wall of fire and let ice form on the ground behind us, hoping it will force them to slip maybe. I teleport us further ahead but that makes my head spin. I need to conserve energy and be careful. I don't know how many more clips of ammo we have and I know we only have one grenade left that we can afford to use.
We are running along the sides of the river now that is just a slight cliff and then slope to our right that leads into the bottom of the river.
"Esther!" Loki warns as he spots a whole crowd of mimics up ahead.
Now is the time. We are completely surrounded and the sinkhole is up ahead.
We stop in our tracks as there is no where else to go, switching to new clips of ammunition.
"Let's raise hell," I say to him.
Loki and I let our bullets loose, standing back to back as we begin to take these beasts down in a steady rain of fire. We let these demons have it as I aim for the closest to us, watching the life and light leave the beasts the more I hold the trigger, the pressure hard against my shoulder but I focus on nothing except ending these as fast as my gun can allow. Their tangled bodies of silver limbs are shot back into the concrete with each bullet that buries in its flesh, black blood spewing into the air around them and landing on each other and burning them like acid. When my rifle is finally out of bullets I toss it, grabbing our grenade and biting it free before tossing it to the closest ones as the converge.
I grab Loki's arm and we jump off the edge of the cliff as he sends two throwing blades back into the crowd, burying into two mimics that had leapt after us, their bodies falling into the river where we are about to land.
I am about to teleport us down but my hand is free from his arm and I watch the ground get closer until I have fallen onto the dirt hard, tumbling down the hill over rubble and soil, my body falling over itself on repeat as I try to stop it, but I fall over the edge of the hole, my hand trying to grab the metal rods that stick out from the edges but failing as I am yanked into the darkness, my back landing on the cement with a grunt of pain and the god of mischief lands beside me.
I let out a breath and look down at my leg that got caught on something and is now bleeding. But I can still walk fine. My bones are stiff from falling twice but I'm strong. I use my palms to push against the ground that's covered in pieces of rubble, and my head lifts to look at the hole we fell through.
"Freeze it," I choke.
I can hear mimics coming down towards it now.
"Loki freeze the hole!" I shout.
He stands up and shoots ice from his palms, letting it form from the edges and reach out towards the center as fast as he can get it.
I grunt and sit up on my knees, taking out my pistol from my dirty and bloody hands as I ready it. I know my face is as dirty as my hands and when I look at Loki his own proves it.
He is panting and his hands fall, using up all the strength he had inside him for that as there is now a thick layer of ice blocking the mimics from us. But I won't hold forever.
He looks over at me, his eyes looking as worn inside as his body does.
I just manage a smirk as I feel the same way and cock my gun. "We've been through worse."
He lets out a breath and almost shakes his head but ends up nodding in agreement and picks up his rifle, running from the room with me so we can go further underground.
WANDA:
"Steve," I say in sympathy as he leans against a large piece of rubble that was once a chunk of the road, half sitting, half standing. He is clutching his wound at his gut as his face and right arm don't look any better. As injured as I am he is far worse. I put my trembling hands on his arm to lift it from his stomach and he resists at first but then lets me, probably wondering what I am doing. But I put my small hands there against his wound and use my powers to paralyze his blood that rushes out, keeping any more from escaping his body.
He is breathing hard and cringes when I do that, his face as pale as a sheet and eyes red in a sickening way. I feel my expression show complete sadness at his pain and I feel every thick breath he takes under my hands.
"Just stay awake," I tell him.
He nods, knowing that's important already but letting me know that he intends to not black out again. Because this time it would be fatal.
A large sound gets my attention and I look behind me at the others. They've gotten our vehicle from where it was jammed but...
"Stop!" I warn them. "Stark those things are attracted to―"
A firebomb smashes onto the top of the car and knocks Iron Man back completely off his feet before another hits the ground way too close to my back and I am pressed against Steve's body, his arm that is looped through his shield around my back, absorbing most of the blow.
I pant and push myself off him slowly, even in a state like this he was able to protect me. "Bodyguard... remember?" he makes a joke through short and shallow breathing, trying to stay strong.
My face shows horror as I look over his shoulder and aliens begin to come flooding towards us.
"Stark!" I shout in warning.
"You two! Get inside now!" he says and rips the door open, Pietro coming to help Rogers in much quicker than I could have.
But I hesitate.
"Go now!" Pietro says to me.
"I can hold them off! You need to get Rogers to our base before he bleeds out―"
"Get in that car now, Wanda!" he yells at me.
"You can't fight these things with nothing but―!" I am thrown to the ground when they've tackled me and I shriek, my hands grabbing at the ground until I flip over and send a shockwave of red to cast them all back, almost knocking my brother over in the process.
I stagger to my feet as lasers finish them off before us. I don't want to argue with my brother since it would go nowhere and I leap into the Humvee, taking the driver's side as Cap tries to stay conscious.
I look at the controls in front of me and start the vehicle while Iron Man is mowing down demons with his missiles and lasers. Once it's started I slam my foot onto the gas and yank the vehicle forward as fast as I can. It rolls over rubble but steadies out as Pietro knocks an alien from where it was right in front of our windshield. I drive us over the road with much less skill than Rogers but it gets the job done, keeping us on a straight path on the road across the bridge.
Stark is flying around us, shooting down all of these monsters that try to slam into our car as Pietro takes out any leftover. I think we are running at full speed now but I swerve to the left when a firebomb explodes on the right side of our path.
There's a whole group of them headed straight for us and my hands clutch the wheel tighter.
ESTHER:
Loki and I are in the London sewers now, holding our firearms ready for anything as we tiptoe through the corridors, the only thing lighting our way being my own flashlight that I keep pointed at the ground so that we don't accidentally blow our cover.
It's musky down here and moisture settles on our skin and clothes as we try to keep the smell from overcoming us. But honestly things like that don't really come across me at all. I think my aching bones, sore muscles, and bleeding leg are far more distracting.
But I'm here to finish this...
It's too quiet down here as we wander through the sewers. That makes my heartbeat the loudest thing I can hear besides our gentle footsteps and the occasional dripping.
He stops me for a moment, his hand at my chest barely. "Turn that off," he whispers.
I look at him but obey...
It takes a second before I see it. In the distance the hallway is lit blue... just barely a hint of light.
"The Omega?" I question.
"It's our best bet," he replies.
I nod but then listen as another sound catches my attention...
It's that familiar shuffling sound that's coming from behind us and it's getting louder.
"Go!" I whisper and we dart in the direction of the light.
WANDA:
I cover my face and stop the car when fire and pressure strikes me, Stark blowing those demons to hell best he can but one of their bodies slams back into the windshield of our vehicle, the wheels skidding across the road until we come to a halt. I try as hard as I can but the vehicle won't budge.
Steve is fully awake now and breathing hard, clutching his stomach as the smoke clears. I don't hear anything outside and immediately I worry about both Pietro and Stark. I huff and feel warm blood drip from my temple. But I throw open the door and leap out, looking around me as small fires consume what's left of the aliens; pieces of their limbs and bodies scattered across the concrete along with broken cars and rubble... But no signs of life.
The air is thick with smoke ahead and finally I see someone stumbling to stand up.
"Pietro!" I shout.
But it's too late.
Something more terrifying emerges from the fog. It's like these creatures but it's larger... and instead of an orange glow it gives off a blue one, its body a dark silver than the rest. In its constant open mouth and glowing eyes there's only death.
It looks at my brother. And I don't wait to charge forward as Steve shouts my name behind me in horror.
ESTHER:
"Keep moving!" I shout as the sound of enemies behind us multiplies.
We come to a halt suddenly when one appears in front of us but I leap over its body, casting ice behind Loki to slow the others as he throws a blade deep into the creature's mouth just at the right moment to kill it. He rushed forward to continue right behind me.
Up ahead we spot one more on the balcony before it can leap to us. I raise my pistol to fire at it while it roars at us and Loki tackles another to our left, stabbing it with his knife until its light goes out.
"Over here!" I say and zap us ahead to continue running through a tunnel up ahead. I am losing energy and breath as we chase the light but we have to be getting close, our feet stomping on the damp ground and splashing what little water there is beneath them. When four mimics appear ahead of my I use what power I have left to cry out and send a flaming throwing blade through each of them like a curving bullet that is controlled by my telekinesis.
I step my foot against the wall to leap over their bodies and continue sprinting, turning the corner to find the end of our tunnel blocked by bars. But I don't slow down. Instead I take Loki's hand and miraculously manage to teleport one last time, slipping through the blockade and appearing on the other side only to drop a few feet and slam into the mesh walkway made of metal rods.
WANDA:
I run forward with all the power in my legs that I can conjure, reaching out to do something, anything, to stop that creature from killing him.
The monsters spots me and spikes appear off its body in an attack position when its head flashes my direction.
"Wanda stop!" Pietro warns in a cry but he is immobilized and can't get to me.
So I continue when I see my life almost flash before my eyes and I put out my hand when it lunges for me, ready to stab me to death, trying to stop it in any way possible as this all seems to happen in slow motion in my head. All I remember is touching it; connecting my hand to one of its metallic tentacles, before my vision disappears and is replaced with a massive collection of memories, thoughts, and schemes that go beyond me as if I have captured the enemies entire brain in a single thought.
Everything is shown before me: days I spent in a different dimension and conversations with Steve that I had in them, every day lived yet not... because of two beings resetting it each time...
ESTHER:
It's still and we hear the mimics smash into the bars only to bend them just barely, snarling at us and gnawing them to try and get to us.
I think the air was almost knocked out of me but I pant and get it back, lifting my head enough to see the blue light brighter then before just through one last short tunnel.
I catch my breath and look at Loki who is on his knees with his hands planted on the ground, pushing his body back to a standing position slowly.
I look up at him with tiresome eyes and thoughts of my warm bed back home filling my brain... until I stop them.
"We're not dead yet," he breathes and puts a hand out to me.
I swallow and push myself to take it, remembering all of the people I am going to save when we take this Omega out. That's what keeps me going.
"This is it," I say as we exchange a look and then head into the tunnel. I know this is the room. My vision comes back to me; the memories. This is where I saw the brain was through this doorway and down at the bottom of the circular room we step into.
WANDA:
Someone is saying my name as my brain processes both my memories and the things happening far away; the enemy's thoughts. As if this entire hoard of aliens is controlled by one single brain. And it is... Everything makes sense now.
It's black behind my sight and distant, as if my name is being shouted miles away from me...
Yet it comes closer... and closer...
Until...
My eyes open to two frantic blue ones staring right back.
"Pietro," I mutter―well I think I do... but I am not sure a sound escapes my lips.
My back is against the edge of the bridge as the whole world seems to run slowly, the smoke around us coming from the fires of the recent fight... most of everything a blue haze.
My brother is crouched over me―which makes me relieved he is okay―as he tries to make sure I am still alive. Slowly events come back to me and I can finally move, my limbs feeling like they were paralyzed as if a massive electric shock went through my body.
"Steve―Tony..."
"They're okay. Listen to me," he puts his palm to my cheek, his touch not as warm as I expected it to be. "Are you alright?" he asks sternly.
My eyes are dancing in his as my thoughts try to form words and that's when I realize something horrifying. "They're... they're doomed..."
His brows furrow. "What?"
"They're heading into a trap..."
"Who?"
ESTHER:
Loki and I inch to the edge of the walkway, the massive room darkened but lit enough to see what we came here for. My foot touches the edge as I lean over to see the―
Nothing...
It's not here...
There's nothing here.
What?!
My eyes widen in horror. "Shit!"
WANDA:
"Loki and Esther... they've found them... they want their power back..." I am saying to Pietro but he has no clue what I am talking about until he remembers what Esther had written in that note...
ESTHER:
"What?" Loki demands.
"It's not here," I say to him.
"What do you mean 'it's not here'?" he sounds as frantic as I am now.
"What the hell do you think I mean?!"
"Then where was that light coming from?!"
I am about to answer with just as much confusion he is showing but instead I hear a bang and slowly emerges from the dark: an alpha facing us down with evil in its eyes.
Another mimic comes from the doorway across from us and stands there...
We are completely surrounded and there's no way out...
I don't even have enough energy in me to teleport.
But I have enough for this.
I pull out my pistol before cocking it and pointing it at Loki's head―a tentacle is shot straight at me and my hand is lit on fire―no it just feels like it―but I let out a painful cry and my firearm is shot from my grasp and I hear it banging against the side of the wall as it plummets into the abyss beside me.
I reach for my other―and it's not there...
My eyes show panic and Loki and I only have a moment to exchange a look before something slams into my stomach and I fly through the air, my back hitting the concrete hard and my head doing the same. Suddenly everything is blurry and my ears are ringing.
Loki calls out to me and then flings a throwing blade to the mimic that had joined us but now he's run out and another two have just taken the alien's place.
"Finish it!" he commands the alpha in hatred.
Why are they stopping?
WANDA:
"What are you talking about, Wanda? What did you see? Did you read that alien's mind or something?"
"I connected to all of them at once... she's right... and they're in trouble..." I pant.
"Do you know where they are?"
I stare back into his eyes...
ESTHER:
I don't even have enough strength to move but I watch Loki get shot back and lands close to be, cringing in pain. When I look down at his arm... I see it bleeding as badly as I am...
Let them kill us then we'll be okay...
I shut my eyes and relax but death doesn't come.
I open them to look at the alpha and mimics there standing there... hesitating while they watch us bleed out slowly.
Why won't they kill us?!
"L-Loki..." I mutter just barely.
He looks over at me with pain in his eyes.
"G...grenades..." I whisper.
His gaze intensifies and he looks at my backpack. His left arm is bleeding so he reaches over with his right one―his wrist is shot with the alpha's front limb and he recoils, crying out in pain before the creature shoves him aside, his head hitting the concrete.
I want to scream his name in horror but I don't even have enough in me to make one sound...
So I just watch him bleed from his wrist and arm... as I do from my stomach and hand...
I can't move... I can hardly keep my eyes from drifting as the world deafens and slows, everything coming to a blur and passing as a fleeting moment, as if I cannot remember anything anymore... just darkness...
...Until everything is gone...
__________________________
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