*Peeks out to see if anyone is still there*

Another chapter! :D If you're sticking with the story, thank you! I swear it'll be worth it. (Or at least, I hope.)

Anon. Reviews

Narylfiel: I'm sorry! You're right! Stark was the start of it all! The MCU is indebted to him, and I love him!

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Sutton was lead away, even if she wasn't fully aware of it. She knew her legs were moving, because she could feel the pressure and sharp pains, but the world was hazy. Shapes were blurry and tilting in the distance. There was a loud, high ringing in her ears. She couldn't focus on any one thing.

Tony.

Tony.

She choked on another sob and Steve squeezed her shoulder tighter.

"Come on; just a bit farther."

Sutton didn't even notice the change in environment until it was so dark that she couldn't see at all. Blinking, she stumbled and fell further into Steve's side.

"Careful," he said lowly; gently. "We're underground now. In the subway tunnels."

She swallowed in an attempt to speak. Her voice was hoarse and gritty.

"Why?"
"The team is pulling back for the night. At this point we're just doing more harm than good. And we could use the break. All of us."

They stopped along a wall and Sutton slid down it, sinking to her knees as she continued to hiccup.

"How?" She croaked. "How did you keep going?"

Steve sat down next to her but remained silent. He put an arm around her shoulder and tugged her close. Sutton wrapped her arms around his waist and curled her fingers into his back as she broke out in more heaving tears.

The ringing in her ears had died down enough that she could hear her own crying as it echoed down the tunnel. It was haunting in the darkness. She felt eviscerated. Empty.

"Will I wake up from this one too," she asked, voice muffled by his suit. "Please. Please tell me this is just another warning. Another nightmare."

Steve breathed into her hair and held her closer. A couple of wet drops hit her hair and sank down to her scalp.

"I wish…. I wish."

Time was meaningless as it passed. Sutton felt none of it. All she knew was that her chest hurt, her stomach was in knots, and her eyes burned. But she'd take all of that forever if it took away the horrid jumble in her mind. She'd gladly live in misery if it meant undoing what had been done.

At some point there was a multitude of footsteps that bounced off the concrete walls and let them know people were coming. Steve loosened his hold, but Sutton didn't flinch. Her eyes were stuck unblinking and staring into the darkness.

If she didn't move, didn't think, then she couldn't feel.

"Well, this has been a crappy day," Clint announced. His voice reverberated loudly from the walls; his hearing aids must not have been working. A faint light flickered through the space, illuminating a small circle where the incoming group was. A glow stick or something.

Steve stiffened then gave her shoulder one last squeeze before standing.

"Where's Tony?" Rhodey's voice rose up as he stepped out of his suit and Sutton flinched. She couldn't look. She shouldn't leave Steve to tell them on his own, but she couldn't get up. There was a thick, stifling silence and she could hear Steve take in a ragged breath.

"He-he didn't-"
"No." Rhodey cut him off. "No, man, no."

That set the group off. Sutton couldn't see Steve's face, but it must have said all they needed to know. She curled further around her knees as the cries rang out. It hurt too much. It made it too real.

Shock and disbelief and pain.

They were a team. A family. And now they'd lost one of their own.

The chatter that had echoed in the tunnel died with a stinging ferocity. There were murmurs and choked noises. Rhodey walked further into the darkness of the tunnel by himself. Sutton watched him go through a curtain of curls that hid her face.

Tony died saving her.

Tony died saving her.

Why. Why would he do that to her. He knew. He knew she'd hold onto that forever and-

A hand on her shoulder ripped her from her thoughts. Sutton looked up to find Nat kneeling next to her. Nat's own face was ashen and tight, her lips pressed together and jaw tense, as she looked Sutton in the eyes. Sutton had only seen a flash of that face before. Earlier, in the truck when they'd told her about Fury.

Sutton shook and held onto Nat's hand; Nat pressed her lips more tightly together, if that were possible.

"You've lost two people now," Sutton managed to say. "I'm-I'm sorry."

Her face twisted, as if what Sutton said only hurt her more, and she shook her head.

"I know you want to grieve, we all do, but we have to get through this first. Avenge him."

It felt like her throat pinched shut as cold seeped through her. Sutton clenched her hands into fists at her sides; her tongue rolled around behind her teeth as she worked to speak.

"Get me out of this suit," she said, "and I'll finish it right here."

"You know that's not an option right now."

"It could be our only option! I can do it. Right now I feel like- like-"

Nat's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Like you could burn it all down? Rip the world apart if someone just gave you the go-ahead? Maybe you actually could. But we still need this planet and you said he can track you without the suit on. We can't afford to make mistakes in this fight."

The anger was freezing. It iced over her limbs and insides and made her skin prickle with gooseflesh. She placed her hand on the arc reactor over her heart. Felt the hum and the small bit of warmth that the core produced.

"He wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt on his behalf," Steve spoke up. Sutton's fingers dug around the reactor ring.

Of course he wouldn't.

She still wanted to rage.

Instead she fell back against the wall and bit her tongue.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

The tunnel went quiet again, except Sutton thought she could hear muffled crying from the direction Rhodey had gone.

She looked back into the darkness and watched as the shadows flickered and leapt up from the corners where her mind tried to fill in the void. There was more shuffling from the group. Then Thor's somber voice.

"Where should I put him?"

Her head snapped back around.

Thor stood with the Doctor in his arms, the Doctor's limbs spilling out of Thor's hold. He was clearly unconscious and his hair was standing on end in some places, but his chest was expanding as he breathed. Sutton felt another stab of anxiety.

"Here," Clint said with a gesture towards the wall, a few feet from Sutton. "Still hasn't woken up?"

"No," said Thor. Sutton signed the response without thinking, touching her first two fingers to her thumb. Clint was busy reading Thor's lips.

"Not a good sign."

Thor laid the Doctor in the designated spot. Sutton kept her eyes on him. The Doctor wasn't untouchable either.

Some of the ice inside her thawed, only to her coat her with a crawling guilt.

How many people would be hurt on her behalf? How many before Thanos stopped being a threat?

Granola bars and water were passed around. Sutton didn't know where they'd come from and didn't ask. She sipped at the water but picked at the oats, flicked bits of the bar and a few raisins out into the darkness.

"You can't do this again."

Steve was sat next to her once more. It eased some of the tension in her; filled her with some comfort. Some small measure of false safety. But she'd take it.

"I don't like raisins," she said dully. Steve's hand covered hers as he stopped her from throwing another another bit of her meal.

"Yes you do. And I know you're not hungry, but eat anyway. If you want to keep fighting, you have to be strong enough to move."

There was no fight in her. She was tired. She ate the rest of the bar without argument. It tasted like ash.

Thor took the first watch while the rest tried to sleep. Sutton didn't want to close her eyes. All of her nightmares were at the forefront of her mind. She knew what she'd see if she slept and she couldn't handle that.

Steve's army days were evident as he immediately fell asleep, quite literally, at the end of a sentence. He ended up sinking down until his head was effectively in her lap. Sutton ran her fingers through his hair absently as she zoned out. She could feel the grit and sweat clinging to his hair, but she wasn't any better off.

Water dripped onto the concrete in dull, rhythmic thips. A skittering sounded briefly, small claws on the hard ground; there was quiet, sometimes hitching, breathing. But otherwise it was silent. Sutton focused on Steve's breaths and the drops of water to stave off the oppressing silence. Her eyes burned and her body ached sharply. Every time she blinked she saw Tony's face. The determination that made his expression grim and hard, the flickering grimace of acceptance.

She whimpered quietly but quickly swallowed it down. Thor turned his head in her direction and his jaw ticked as he took a deep breath.

"Tony was an admirable man," he said. "I know that he was especially fond of you."

Sutton pressed her lips together and nodded, but she couldn't quite force herself to respond.

"I wish that I could say the pain leaves you," he continued. "But I've found it only dulls at best."

It was still too fresh. Sutton bit her lip and nodded again. Her fingers curled through Steve's hair again as she scratched at his scalp. They needed to talk about something else.

"I- Loki- He's alive, you know."

Thor stiffened, his shoulders going rigid, as he looked at her directly.

"What?"
"I've seen him. He's-he's scared, I think." She sniffed and shook her head. "Sorry, I just- I thought you should know."

Thor's fist went almost white as he gripped the handle of Mjolnir.

"He's here," he asked.

"I don't know. He's been popping in and out."

He seemed like he was about to ask more questions, but studied her face and stopped himself. Instead he nodded and loosened his clenched hand.

"Thank you for telling me." His gaze shifted and landed on the bag glued at her side. "You have it still?"

Sutton nodded and moved to reach for it but Thor waved for her to stop.

"Keep it with you for now. It is safer away from the fighting."

It made some sense, though it just meant that they really did expect her to stay out of the way.

Her gaze fluttered over the Doctor as the conversation pittered out. His skin was ashy even in the dim light with some patches of red, most likely from burns. His clothes, too, were worse for wear. The jacket was torn at one sleeve and some seams were fraying.

How long had it been since the event at the ring?

I don't need him. Just his ship.

Sutton winced as Khan's words floated back. She hated that she'd even remembered them. But could they really do this without the Doctor? He seemed to understand the process more than anyone else. Regardless, he needed to be ok. No one else-

She halted her train of thought and rested her head against the cold wall. Her mind felt like it was swimming as she fought to stay awake. A wave of dizziness would rush through her every time she blinked rapidly and shook her head. Her fingers in Steve's hair slowed to a stop as she waged war against unconsciousness. Just once, she made the mistake of blinking too slowly.

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Smoke, concrete, booming laughter. Sutton felt heat. A force pressed down around her. From the darkness a shadow emerged, wide and shifting. Her legs twitched but she couldn't move, her feet were glued to the floor. The shadow lurched forwards until it was right in front of her. Towering over her; she saw teeth as it smiled.

The shadow thrust its hand into her chest and ripped out her heart. It beat, bright red against dark fingers, and Sutton spluttered.

"It was dead. It was dead."

The shadow closed its fist and the heart crumbled to ash. Sutton choked as the air left her lungs.

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"Wa-how! That was something!"

Sutton lurched where she sat and Steve quickly swiveled to his feet as the amplified cry rang through the tunnels.

She blinked, her eyes feeling gritty and dry, as she turned towards the noise. Her skin was clammy and the pain and pull in her muscles was worse than it had been before she accidentally fell asleep. Sutton winced with the effort of sitting up straighter.

The Doctor was awake. He was sitting up feeling around his face and limbs as if to make sure they were all still there and whole. His yell had woken everyone up and there were some collective, relieved murmurings that he had pulled through.

Steve put a supportive hand at her back as she groaned and tried to shift to her knees. Her legs were on fire and her back screamed. Still, she made eye contact with the Doctor and pressed her lips together in relief.

"You're ok."

The Doctor smiled.

"I-"

His expression flickered before he could finish and his pupils dilated and constricted in quick succession.

"Doctor?" The group moved in at Sutton's wary tone and the Doctor blinked. His eyes roved around the still dark tunnel, growing wider and more concerned the more he took in.

"Doctor," Steve said, his tone even, "you were unconscious. We retreated underground to rest."

"Wh-I was unconscious," the Doctor said, "and you dragged me down to the tubes? Not the hospital? Who are you people?"

An icy chill raced down Sutton's back. She cut her eyes to Steve and he wore a tight expression.

Nat and Clint moved closer, uneasily curious, and the Doctor scooted back as he saw the group forming. Sutton reached out a hand.

"Hey, Doctor, what's wrong?"

The Doctor grimaced, a flash of irritation crossing his features.

"Is now really the time for that," he asked. "My name is Matt and I'd like to know what I'm doing here."

Sutton frowned and pulled back her hand; the blood pooled in her stomach.

"Matt," she questioned. She squinted in confusion before ice shards raced through her limbs. "Matt...Smith?"

"Yes. Of course. Is this," his voice rose higher, "is this a kidnapping?"

"A what," asked Clint. Nat shifted.

"Kidnapping," she said slowly. Clint huffed.

"If we were kidnapping him he'd be tied up, wouldn't he?"

The statement didn't seem to bring the Doctor any comfort. He attempted to shuffle back further until he noticed Thor behind him, blocking the tunnel exit.

"What is wrong with him," Thor asked. The Doctor gaped.

"Wait a second. I recognize all of you. What's-"

He stopped again and blinked, his pupils spasming. They were all silent as he shifted on the balls of his feet and looked once more around the dim tunnel.

"Oh dear," he finally said. "That's a bit not good isn't it."

Sutton put a shaking hand over her mouth as she tried to figure out what had happened. He looked lucid, he sounded like himself again, but, oh lord, he hadn't been.

"What just happened," asked Nat. She eased back now that the Doctor had settled and angled herself next to Clint.

"I would like to know that as well," said Thor.

The Doctor took a moment to fully come back to himself. He noted the poor condition of his suit and flexed his fingers at his side.

"The universal barriers are starting to collide," the Doctor said. He paused as if to collect his thoughts. It was bad, growing worse, given the seriousness with which he spoke. A few more drops of water fell against the concrete in the background. Sutton slid her face into her hand and clenched her eyes shut.

"As the walls continue to smash into one another and universes meld, parallel doppelgangers may possibly connect. It was only a theory I had until, well, just now."

Sutton let her face rest in her hand a moment longer. Her mind was blank and the others were quiet as they too processed this new development. She finally lifted her gaze and leveled it at the Doctor.

"How long do we have," she asked. Her voice was still rough and gravelly. "How long until it's beyond fixing?"

The Doctor looked unsure, he wobbled his head side to side as he mentally deliberated.

"Not long. Certainly not months. Even if the boundaries aren't exasperated further, I doubt there'd be more than a month at most. That dimensional rift he has, I'm not sure he fully understands what it would do. If he'd popped you in there instead, well, it'd be game over as you all say."

"Are you telling me," said Nat, "that the only thing that kept the world from ending yesterday was a misunderstanding?" The Doctor grinned.

"Funny how those work to an advantage sometimes."

"And Tony," Sutton mumbled, a broken bitterness seeping into her tone. A beat of silence pulsed through the space.

There was a sinking in her chest. He was gone. She'd fallen asleep and woken up and it was still real. Everything in her shattered all over again. It was almost worse.

"So sealing those walls is a top priority."

She stiffened at Rhodey's voice. It was the first time he'd spoken since he'd- he'd been told. She knew enough to recognize someone distracting themselves with a mission. Channeling grief into a dogged determination.

She should be doing the same. If no one else got a chance to- If not even Rhodey- well, then why should she?

She swallowed and attempted to shove all her emotions down. Deep down and pressed into a tight ball in her chest.

There were universes falling apart.

There was work to do.

"Wait a moment," the Doctor said. "Where is-"

Thor placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder and shook his head and Sutton turned away. Both Steve and Nat were eyeing her with a melancholy wariness. She clenched her teeth.

"Do we have a way to get back to the airport without being seen?"

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The team decided to try and use the tunnels to move a bit further through the city unseen. However, it wasn't a walk in the park. The glow stick had finally faded out and it was pitch black. All of the power for the city must have been knocked out, or at least large chunks of it. Even the emergency lights weren't working. They had to keep along the wall and feel for the dropping edge. At least they didn't have to worry about the subway running.

They made it a few blocks before Rhodey shot open a maintenance door and they crawled their way back to the surface. The subway station was dark, eerily empty, and hauntingly quiet. Sutton hadn't ever seen a subway station actually vacant before. If there were people hiding underground, they were hidden behind corners and in shadows. They probably didn't want anything to do with the Avengers.

Once back on street level, Sutton lost her breath all over again. The city was practically leveled. There was still smoke rising into the pale morning sky and the faint sound of sirens in the distance. Emergency vehicles wouldn't have any luck getting through, however. There was so much rubble and debris on the roads that they were inaccessible. Perhaps some military grade tank could push through, but there were none around.

Without many tall buildings to obstruct the view, the ring could still be easily seen, floating and waiting for another chance to run. Not seen was Thanos and his cronies. Perhaps that should have been a relief, but Sutton's skin crawled all the same. It felt like when you lose a spider in your room. Not knowing where it was only made it worse. Only in this case the spider was an abnormally large, murderous abomination that was probably waiting in your bed for you to go to sleep.

They kept silent as they moved through the city. Compared to the previous day everything was still and quiet. Sutton fell to the back of the group, her legs threatening to give out conditioned or not. Climbing over the destruction was a strain on already sore limbs and her entire body felt like a giant bruise. She kept one hand on the satchel at her side. There was an underlying fear that if she wasn't in contact with it, if she stopped remembering it for more than a minute, it might somehow disappear.

"There's a problem," Nat murmured from the front of the group. She placed a hand on Clint's shoulder and repeated herself. Her hands moved as she used, what wasn't ASL, but probably some military hand signals that Clint would understand the gist of.

"We've got almost thirty miles to cover. That's a lot of space for a potential ambush."

"We need a vehicle," said Steve. "I'm not sure everyone is up for walking that."

Nat half-heartedly smirked. The look only made Sutton feel emptier.

"At least we know someone who can hotwire a car."

"Good luck finding one that runs," said Sam.

With roads uprooted and some sections collapsed, it didn't look promising. Which seemed an odd notion given how many cars Sutton had thought there were on the roads before. But then again, that was before.

Steve glanced back at her and the Doctor and grimaced.

"We don't have a choice."

Sutton eyed the sky as anxiety continued to fester. She touched the satchel at her side again.

"Where'd they go? They wouldn't just… stop looking for us."

Everyone's eyes swept up momentarily and Rhodey's lip twitched in a snarl.

"Probably terrorizing another city, thinking we got out of dodge."

"We can't count on that," said Nat. "The sooner we get under cover the better."

"The sooner," the Doctor panted, "we get those walls repaired, the better."

Sutton reached behind her neck and blindly groped for the zipper pull. Tony had designed the suit so it almost melded to a smooth finish and the opening was hard to locate. She found it just as they reached a pile of concrete they'd be forced to climb over, and her breathing hitched.

The rest of the group attempted to start scaling the obstacle and Steve stopped at the base to see if she was coming. Her feet were frozen and her shoulders and jaw ached with tense pains.

"Sutton, we have to go."

It wasn't the same spot. It wasn't the same building. But she still couldn't tear her eyes away from it.

"Sutton, come on. You can do this."

She shook her head and turned away, her lungs catching.

"We just- we just left him," she said. "We just left him there all alone. How- how am I supposed to- to tell Pepper?"

"We didn't have a choice," Steve said. He approached her again like she some wounded animal, capable to lash out at the smallest provocation. "We have to keep going. We need you."

"There was concrete in my dream too," she said. "I should have known. I had- like this." She gestured towards the rubble. "I climbed over it and- and at the bottom-"

The team: dead. Bloodied with pale faces. What if it was an ambush? What if every move they made was a mistake?

He reached out a hand, and Sutton grabbed it, pulling herself closer instead of running away. Steve held the back of her head as she took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.

"His- the last thing he told me, was to- to tell Pepper-"

"I know," he said. He smelled like sweat and smoke. Sutton swallowed back the bitter taste of bile and listened to his heartbeat. He'd been fighting all day yesterday. Taking hits and probably falling more than she had. And Tony was his friend too.

She knew he was hurting. She also knew he never put himself first. He would internalize it, push it away, until the job was done. And probably for longer after.

She couldn't be so weak. She couldn't let him be so much of a crutch. It was selfish.

Sutton managed to straighten and tugged at the high collar of her suit.

"I'm sorry," she said. "He's- he was your friend too. And I- I know I'm not- I'm not going to be even alright for awhile. But, I'm also here for you. Ok?"

Steve was quiet a moment, his jaw twisting as he rolled his tongue around his mouth.

"Yeah," he said.

Sutton looked back at the concrete pile and her stomach dropped out again. She stiffened her upper lip.

"Will you walk with me?"

He took her hand.

"Let's go."

They made their way up and over together.

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Alright.. had to slow it down a bit. Let some breath in there... Still not sure it was all realistic... but...

They got stuff to do, ya know?