Everly's legs burned as she hurled herself forward, slamming into T'Challa just before he could sink his claws into Bucky's throat. She watched as he effortlessly sprung to his feet, his chest heaving as he turned to face her. Though she couldn't see his face through the panther mask, she could picture the anger engraved into his features. She stepped sideways, planting herself between he and Bucky, who was hauling himself off of the ground.
T'Challa leapt into the air and spun around, kicking her square in the chest. She stumbled backward and moved toward him once more when he was suddenly tossed across the runway, smashing into a trailer. Everly groaned and blew a bit of hair from her face as she looked to Wanda, who seemed to be saving all of their bacon.
"I had it." Bucky breathed as she helped him to his feet.
"I know." She scoffed, shaking her head before hurrying off to the next person.
As her feet pounded against the concrete, a blast landed directly before her. She skidded to a stop and looked into the sky just as Tony clattered to the ground. He held out a palm to her, but hesitated to fire a second time.
"Please, stop this." He said, his tone laced with a heartbreaking desperation. She stood a bit straighter and uncurled her fists as she stared at the glowing eye-slits of his mask. She wished there was some way to make him understand.
"I can't." She whispered. To her surprise, he lowered his arm back at his side and stood there a few moments more, as if instead waiting for her to make a move. She looked at him oddly, her face scrunched up in confusion as he slowly stepped away. Her eyes grew wide when she heard the repulsers firing up, though he quickly aimed into the sky above her. He flew into the air once again as Sam soared by overhead and she let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
Everly quickly ducked behind cover when a few stray blasts whizzed by her head. She flinched as Steve appeared beside her, Bucky sliding up on her opposite side.
"We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now." Bucky hurried, his chest heaving. Everly glanced back at Steve who looked into the sky.
"We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision, you get to the jet." She frowned.
"No, you get to the jet." Sam returned through their earpieces. "Both of you!" Steve met Everly's eyes and his brow creased with worry. "The rest of us aren't getting out of here."
"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it." Clint added. Steve couldn't peel his eyes away from the woman before him, who smiled sadly.
"This isn't the real fight, Steve." She said quietly. He shook his head in retaliation.
"You're coming too."
"Steve, you-"
"I wasn't asking." He interrupted. She paused and rose a challenging brow, peeking at Bucky behind her. He directed his gaze back to the fighting and she sighed.
"All right, Sam. What's the plan?" She asked, her eyes still locked onto Steve's. His face softened in the slightest as she spoke.
"We need a diversion. Something big."
"I got something kinda big." Scott added. "But I can't hold it very long." Steve and Bucky exchanged a look and Everly shifted in place, readying herself to run. "On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."
"I'm sorry. What?" Everly questioned, blinking a few times.
Bucky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "He's gonna tear himself in half?"
"You sure about this, Scott?" Steve asked.
"I do it all the time." Lang answered simply. "I mean, once." Everly ran a nervous hand through her hair. "In a lab. Then I passed out."
She turned around and poked her head over the top of her cover, waiting anxiously for the signal. A few seconds of nothing passed before her mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide. Scott had become huge, gigantic. He latched onto Rhodey's foot as he flew by and held him in place with ease. Rhodes looked like a toy in comparison to the giant man.
"Holy shit." She gaped in amazement.
"I guess that's the signal." Steve said slowly, staring up at Scott in awe.
"Way to go, Tic Tac." Sam exclaimed. Scott tossed Rhodey aside and Spider-Man jumped into the air to stop him.
Steve, Bucky, and Everly took off toward the quinjet while everyone else was preoccupied with Scott. His slow footsteps echoed through the airport as if he were godzilla. She peeked over her shoulder to see him position himself between them and T'Challa. She was suddenly even happier to have him on their side.
"You wanna get to them, you gotta go through me." Scott's menacing voice carried through the air and T'Challa skidded to a stop. Clint hurried over and started firing arrows at the black panther. Everly finally looked ahead of her once again, though she was overcome with the guilt of leaving their teammates behind.
"Something just flew in me!" Scott shouted. Everly's eyes widened as the tower beside the hangar began to crumble, a cloud of dust filling the air as it slowly fell. She pushed herself harder, her claves burning as her feet somehow sped up a bit more. Just before it reached the ground, a wave of red magic slipped beneath it, catching the building in the air. They spun around to see Wanda, cringing as she struggled to hold it in place. A pain-filled cry rang out as they continued running and the building continued its descent once more.
Crumbling pieces clattered to the concrete ground, Steve and Bucky just slipping through on time before the entrance was blocked. Everly dove forward, barely rolling to safety on the other side. She coughed through the dust as she dragged herself off the ground. She stumbled over to Steve and looked up to see Natasha standing before them, the quinjet so painfully close.
"You're not going to stop." She sighed. Steve shook his head lightly and a deep breath slipped past Everly's lips.
"You know I can't." He replied. Natasha shifted her weight from hip to hip and raised her fist toward them.
"I'm gonna regret this." She mumbled. Everly watched with wide eyes, flinching when the pulse of electricity whizzed straight past all of them. She frowned, spinning around to see T'Challa on the ground as he fought the shock. "Go."
The trio hesitated only a second before running for the quinjet. Natasha fired another pulse at T'Challa once he'd finally scraped himself off of the ground.
They all climbed inside and Steve slipped into the driver's seat. Everly stood by the window, watching as the ground grew further away, the fight a distant memory. She cocked a hip and frowned as a gray figure appeared between the clouds.
"Steve..." She called.
He turned around and his jaw clenched when he spotted the incoming metal man. Tony appeared beside Rhodes, and the pair were slowly but surely gaining on the quinjet. Sam slipped between the clouds next, shooting a few small missiles at Rhodey. A yellow beam pierced the sky and Sam rolled aside to dodge, though Rhodes wasn't so lucky. Everly gasped, pressing her hands to the cold glass as the beam struck the glowing arc-reactor on his chest. She watched in horror as he went limp and began to fall from the sky. He spiraled out of control, a trail of smoke following him toward the ever approaching ground. Stark immediately changed course, now speeding after his helpless friend. Her stomach dropped as he did and she flinched when he slammed into the ground, a cloud of dust encircling him.
"No." She whispered as they slowly disappeared from view.
What must have been an hour had passed and Everly peered down at her hands, unable to pry the image of a motionless Rhodey from her mind. The mountains sprawled across the landscape before them were sprinkled with snow. A few snowflakes melted against the windshield of the quinjet, the wind blowing the water droplets away
"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asked quietly from his seat beside her. Steve still sat in the driver's seat before them and he visibly stiffened. He remained silent for a moment and Everly's eyes flicked up to him, awaiting his answer.
He sighed. "Whatever it is, I'll deal with it." Everly scoffed and shook her head lightly.
"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve." Bucky added. She switched her gaze to him and her heart sunk as he hung his head.
"What you did all those years, it wasn't you." She replied sadly, wishing with everything she had that she could take away his pain. "You didn't have a choice."
"I know." He continued staring out the window until he finally brought himself to look her in the eye. "But I did it."
~~~
Finally, they'd landed. Everly pressed a hand against the freezing window and a chill ran down her spine. She stepped away and spun around to see Bucky holding an assault rifle out to her. She hesitated, looking between him and the gun before taking it from his grasp and managing the smallest of smiles, unable to force a 'thank you' from her lips.
He moved to stand beside Steve, waiting as the back of the jet slowly fell open. Everly lingered just behind them, cringing at the icy wind that raked through her hair. None of them moved an inch, it was as if the cold had frozen their feet in place. Steve smiled and peered down at his shoes.
"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" He asked, turning to Bucky. Everly let out a small laugh as she glanced between the two.
"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Buck returned, a smile spilling across his lips. Though she had no idea what they were talking about, Everly couldn't help but smile as well. Seeing them both happy warmed her heart despite the freezing air that nipped at her cheeks.
"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead." Steve chuckled. Bucky's smile only grew and he nodded.
"What was her name again?"
"Dolores." Steve answered, staring straight out into the snow. "You called her Dot."
"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now." Bucky said, shaking his head lightly.
"So are we, pal." Steve smirked, patting Buck on the shoulder. Everly snickered.
She wished the moment would never end. She wished that they weren't about to walk into that base with a bunch of killing machines. She wished the Avengers were still a team and that everything was fine. But that fact was, things were about as far from fine as possible.
They walked down the ramp of the jet and slowly approached the metal doors hidden in the icy mountainside. Everly shivered as the wind blew through her hair, a few snowflakes landing on her eyelashes. Her fingers tightened around the gun in her hands and her jaw clenched at the sight of the doors which were left open. A single set of fresh footprints lead up to the doors, but none came back out.
"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve said over the howling wind.
"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky returned as they headed inside.
The three made their way through the compound and took the elevator all the way down. Everly's heart raced as she scanned her surroundings, her chest feeling heavy. Everything was so horrifyingly familiar. She could almost sense Bucky's uneasiness as well. Steve glanced over to her and frowned at her visibly uncomfortable state. The lights on the ceiling reflected off of the concrete walls of the narrow corridors, making her feel as though she was trapped. Bucky lead the way, and Steve was between them as they slowly started up a short staircase. Her stomach leapt to her throat at a loud noise from behind them. They all spun around and Steve dragged her behind his shield which he held out in front of them. Bucky remained on the step above, aiming in the direction of the noise. The heavy metal doors at the end of the hallway cried out at the pressure pulling them apart.
"You ready?" Steve asked quietly, tightening his grip on the shield.
"Yeah." Bucky returned as he stared down the sights of his gun.
The creaking doors grew louder until finally they were pried apart. Everly frowned at the Iron Man suit on the opposite side. His fingers were wrapped around the doors and the glowing eyes pierced through darkness of the dimly lit room. She didn't know whether to be relieved or worried as he slowly stepped into the hall. Steve lowered his shield a bit and Tony's helmet folded itself away.
"You seem a little defensive." He said as he drew nearer, the soft whirring of his suit and the clanking of his boots being the only sound to flood the corridor. Everly stood up straight and Steve moved toward Stark, though Bucky kept his gun trained on the new arrival.
"It's been a long day." Steve replied suspiciously.
"At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you." Tony peered at Bucky annoyedly, his voice bouncing off the cold walls.
"Then why are you here?" Everly asked, raising a questioning brow.
"Could be your story's not so crazy." Stark said, his eyes exploring the corridor. Her face softened and she watched as he gradually closed the gap between them. It took a lot for Tony Stark to admit he was wrong.
"Maybe." Steve hurried, still not sure whether or not Tony was to be trusted.
"Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way." Everly smirked, folding her arms over her chest. "Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."
"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." Steve retorted. Tony scoffed and Steve finally lowered the shield to his side. "It's good to see you, Tony."
"You too, Cap." He looked to the top of the staircase once again to see Bucky still aiming at him. "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me." He groaned. "There's a truce here. You can drop..." Steve held a hand out to his friend. Bucky looked between them oddly and slowly lowered his rifle.