Okay, so two things happen in this chapter. There's a snip-it from an Agents of SHIELD episode and then a tiny part from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Now, I'm currently working my way through Daredevil: Season 2. So, progress! However, my mind keeps skipping ahead to Infinity War and what I'm can to do with Diana. There are really two choices: 1) She stays and speeds up the process by telling all the Avengers about time travel immediately. 2) Thanos uses the Time/Space/Reality stones and sends her to another universe or dimension where one year there makes it five years in the MCU, and Diana only returns because of Dr. Strange coming back. I flip-flop back and forth because I have so many ideas for both choices.
Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
*FMttM*
"Hello, Diana Larson?" A voice on her cell phone asked.
"Yes, this is she. Who is this? How did you get this number?"
"This is Skye." Came the answer and Diana's eyebrows went up, "I got your number from Phil."
"Hey, Skye. How are things with the Agents of SHIELD?" Diana sat on her couch in her apartment.
"Not that good. Ward ended up being HYDRA and Jemma's now undercover with them. We've had to retreat to a secret location." There was a pause, "I don't know if I'm even supposed to be telling you this."
"You're not telling me anything I don't already know."
"Really? I didn't think the Avengers were that far in the loop. Not high enough clearance or something."
"My situation is a bit different and complicated." Diana explained.
"So, you know where we are?"
"Vaguely. I know the name and general location."
"Well, I've been stuck here for over a month trying to find an Enhanced called Donnie Gill, codenamed Blizzard. HYDRA's been searching for him, and we just want to get him out of their hands and to safety."
"Okay, what's this got to do with me?"
"Well, Gill's in Morocco with HYDRA closing in. We need a bit of extra help to get him out of there without casualties. Jemma's already heading there with HYDRA."
"I see." Diana's mind raced.
"I mean, you can create the portals and stuff and could get there before their plane touches down. They did just leave their HYDRA base about thirty minutes ago."
"Alright, I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks." Skye paused, "I saw the trial for the Winter Soldier. Gill's file says he was tortured by HYDRA. Maybe you could bring him along if he's field ready."
"I'll ask him." Diana replied, "If you send me a picture from Gill's location, I'll be able to get a portal closer to him."
"I can do that. Give me a sec." Moments later, Diana's phone dinged and she saw two photos had been sent to her - one of Donnie Gill himself and another zoomed out further to show the surrounding area.
"Thanks. I'll go talk to Bucky. Steve might want to come along too. He's always had this 'saving people' thing going on."
"Great! We'll be there too, but I don't know how much we can do without blowing her cover."
"We can handle it, but I wouldn't mind the back up."
"Awesome. Later!"
Diana hung up and created a portal to Avengers Tower where Steve and Bucky were still staying.
"Welcome back Miss Larson. Would you like me to alert anyone to your presence?" JARVIS asked as she swiped the portal closed.
"Sure. Anyone who's available."
"Very well." There was a pause, "Sergeant Barnes is on his way up."
"Thanks JAR."
A few moments later the elevator dinged and a very sweaty looking Bucky stepped out.
"Looks like you were sparring."
"Steve wanted to see if I was field ready, and Romanoff wanted to make sure that I wouldn't revert to the Winter Soldier in the midst of a fight." He replied and ran his hand through his very messy hair.
"And?"
Bucky smiled and sidled closer, "I'm ready."
"Okay, good. I have news for you guys about an Enhanced metahuman called Blizzard that HYDRA's hunting."
The Soldier's expression turned serious, "Then we'll have to get to him before they do."
She quickly kissed him on the lips. Before he could respond, she drew back and made a face, "Now go take a shower. You stink."
He laughed and stole another kiss from her. He paused before pushing the button on the elevator, "You want me to tell Steve?"
"Sure. I don't know how many HYDRA Agents will be there to capture him, so the more the merrier."
"Stark? Romanoff?"
"JARVIS can tell them to come here in a bit." Diana informed him.
Bucky nodded, "I'll be back."
"Okay, Terminator." The reference was lost on the Soldier, but he'd get it eventually.
*FMttM*
"So, what's the what, Hermione?" Tony asked.
"I've been in contact with one of Coulson's team who's hiding out in a place called The Playground." Diana explained to the team who was sitting around her table, "They've been dealing with the small time HYDRA stuff and mapping out their bases. Right now, the main team seems to be looking into the hunt for an Enhanced metahuman Donnie Gill, Codenamed Blizzard, who's hiding in Morocco." She paused, "Tony, can you get these two pictures off my phone to show to everyone."
"Sure thing." The billionaire genius took her phone and did… something to it and a light shone from the camera flash, projecting the image of Donnie Gill on her phone. Stark looked a bit surprised, "He's just a kid."
"From what I know, he was a part of SHIELD Academy." She told them, "Kind of reclusive and quiet, but very smart. He created a weather machine. Unfortunately, it was more powerful than he thought and he and his friend created a super storm that nearly destroyed SHIELD Academy. A lightning bolt struck the boys and the machine, and while it did kill Gill's friend, Gill received powers to create snow and ice."
"Poor kid." Steve looked at the photo with compassion, "He probably had no idea what was happening to him."
"Yeah, and to make things worse, HYDRA captured him and brainwashed him." Diana glanced at Bucky, whose gaze hardened with anger, "Gill broke free of the brainwashing and escaped HYDRA custody."
"Good for him." Bucky gave a nod of approval.
"So we're to go in and extract him before HYDRA gets there." Natasha concluded.
"Any idea how many HYDRA agents we'll be dealing with?" Steve asked.
"I don't know, but there is going to be a HYDRA ship in a harbor nearby. My guess is that they're going to try to use the ship to contain Gill."
"So, a lot." Tony stood, approached the image and waved his hand. More pictures of Gill's location, Marrakech, Morocco, which was a two and a half hour drive away from Casablanca, Morocco, "Of all the evil Nazi societies in all the world, that kid had to get on HYDRA's list." The billionaire muttered.
"Coulson's team will be there. They'll provide back up in order to keep their agent undercover." She paused, "So, who's coming with me to save him?" Diana asked.
"It's HYDRA. I'm going." Bucky answered immediately.
"Same." Captain America nodded at his two friends.
"Tony? Natasha?"
"I'm going. I got a new suit to test out." Tony replied, "I'll also be able to stop that ship from leaving if HYDRA gets the kid."
"I can't." Natasha told them, "Brock Rumlow escaped custody late last night. I'm being sent out to track him."
"That's important too." Diana nodded, "Okay, so it'll be the four of us. Do we want to contact Sam for more air support?"
"I don't want to involve him." Steve replied, "He got out of the military for a reason. I don't want to drag him back into the fight again."
"Okay. Then I guess we should suit up and head to Morocco."
*FMttM*
Diana made a portal to Casablanca and Tony flew up into the sky to begin an analysis of the city to try to find Gill. Bucky, Steve, and Diana headed to the harbor to lead a pre-emptive strike against the HYDRA ship.
"Welp, looks like the kid locked the ship into the shipyard." Tony reported from above.
"We're almost there." Steve replied as they rounded a corner to the shipyard.
"There's a petite woman and a guy in a suit going inside. They've got some guys in black with guns on their six. Four more are staying outside"
"The woman is Jemma Simmons. She's the undercover SHIELD agent." Diana told her fellow Avengers.
The three of them boarded the ship and the HYDRA agents who'd been guarding the escape turned to face them.
"The Winter Soldier!" One exclaimed.
At the same time, another cried, "Captain America!"
Then they began shooting. Three shields and a metal arm came up for an impenetrable defense. Steve threw his shield and knocked over two of the HYDRA soldiers, allowing Bucky to lunge forward and destroy the other two, knocking them unconscious with a single punch to the temple.
"These guys are highly equipped." Bucky told them, a look of anger and disgust on his face, "There's a handler here."
"Do I even need to go inside with you two super soldiers?" Diana asked, "I'm starting to think my presence here might be obsolete."
"You brought this mission to us, Diana." Steve told her, "You're point. We're back up."
"In other words, dollface, we're here to protect you." Bucky added.
"Oh. Okay." She turned toward the door leading to the interior of the ship, "Ready?"
"When you are, doll."
The three of them entered the ship and made their way down the metal stairs. With Steve going first, Diana next, and Bucky behind them.
The Captain stopped short, his shield coming up before he took a step back, "He's frozen solid."
"That would be Gill." Diana said.
Steve was shocked, "He can freeze a person like that?"
"I can see why HYDRA wants him." Bucky said.
There was an echo of voices not far away.
"I'm tired of being used!" A young male voice shouted.
There was a pause.
Then, "Take a deep breath." Came a woman's accented voice, "Clear your mind."
The Soldier grit his teeth recognizing the word patterns, "This has to stop. Now."
The three of them approached the voices.
"Surrender and you will find meaning. Surrender and you will find release."
"No, he won't." Diana spoke when they came upon Simmons and Gill.
Simmons turned around, her eyes wide, "What?" She saw the Captain and the Soldier behind Diana and took a step back, "It's... "
"Shieldmaiden, Captain America, and the Winter Soldier." Diana answered for her, "I think you should leave."
The young scientist paled, "But-"
"Leave." Bucky growled.
"But I…" Her eyes darted to the Soldier's metal arm and she swallowed. Simmons then looked over her shoulder at Gill, "I'm sorry, Donnie." Then she ran.
Diana turned to the young man before her, "Hi, Donnie Gill. I'm Diana Larson. This is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes."
"What do you want?" The young man asked defensively.
Diana glanced at Bucky, who stepped forward, "HYDRA won't stop hunting you. No matter where you hide, they'll find you."
"How would you know?"
"I was under HYDRA's control for almost seventy years. I escaped once. They found me months later." The Soldier explained, "I was brainwashed, memories erased. I didn't even know my own name until Steve and Diana came along. I've only just started coming back to myself, breaking down everything they'd done to me."
Steve stepped forward, "We can help you and protect you."
Gill stared hard at Captain America, "I can take care of myself."
"I know, but sometimes it's nice to have people to rely on, people who understand you."
Tony's voice came over the coms, "There's a firefight going on out here between SHIELD and HYDRA. I'm going in. Oh, and don't forget to tell the kid he's got a place in my company if he comes with us."
"Tony Stark's with us." Diana told Gill, "He's just offered you a place in his company if you want it."
Gill's eyes went wide, "Tony Stark? Ironman? He - he wants me to work with him? At his company?"
"He'll probably have to run it by Pepper, but I doubt she'll say no." Shieldmaiden nodded.
Gill's eyes darted from Diana to Steve to Bucky, "And I'll be left alone?"
"I can't promise that. Tony'll probably want to experiment with your powers and maybe even build you a suit to go out in the field if you're needed." She told him, "But it will be entirely your choice."
"We'll also work to undo the brainwashing." Steve added, "Just like we're doing with Bucky."
"Can I have my own lab?" Gill asked.
"You'll have to take that up with Tony." Diana replied.
The young man nodded, "Okay. I'll come with you."
*FMttM*
The four of them emerged from the ship and saw Ironman touch down on the deck. His suit retracted from his body and turned into a suitcase, "So, you're Donnie Gill." Tony held out a hand for the young man to shake.
"Yeah." Gill shook Stark's hand, starstruck.
"Heard you made a weather machine that created a super storm while a cadet in the SHIELD Academy."
"Y-yeah." The young man looked a bit guilty, "It was a failure, though."
"Pfft. You learn best from your failures." Tony waved off the comment, "With a creative mind like yours, you'd do well on the team. I'd also like to take a look at your freezing powers. They're amazing!"
"Let him be, Tony." Steve admonished.
"Fine. We'll talk about that tomorrow."
"Tony."
"Oh come on!"
"It's okay." Gill said, "I'd like to know what I can do too."
"See!" Tony sent Steve a triumphantly petulant look.
"Only if you're okay with it, Mr. Gill." Steve told the young man.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's fine." Gill's eyes darted to Bucky, "And you can help me get what HYDRA put in my head out?"
"We'll do our best," the Soldier told him.
"Okay, kiddies, let's head home." Tony grinned, "We have a lab to set up and experiments to do!"
*FMttM*
Later that night Diana got a call from the number Skye had left with her, "Hey, Skye. What can I do for you?"
"Miss Larson." It was Agent Coulson's voice on the other side.
"Agent Coulson. Good to hear from you again. How are things at the Playground?"
"Things are going just fine, and it's Director now."
"Director? Is this because Fury is in hiding-slash-retired?"
"Mostly. He pops back in once in a while, but I haven't heard from him since the Fall." Coulson replied, "I'm curious about how you knew about the Playground. It's one of the most top secret facilities SHIELD still has."
"You know how there's just some things I know without being told?"
"I've heard of that happening with you before."
"This is one of those things. I'd explain more, but I'd rather do that in person." She paused, "And it's not like I'm going to share that knowledge with anyone nefarious. I keep a lot of what I know to myself. Some of it might even be moot now."
"Alright, but if anything happens to this facility, you're the first person I'm going to confront."
"If I tell the bad guys my secrets, I'll just get myself killed for being too dangerous." Diana replied, "Although I doubt that would make Captain America, the Winter Soldier, Daredevil, or any of the other Avengers very happy if I got hurt."
"I'll keep that in mind." Coulson paused, "I haven't heard of Daredevil. Is he what you're going to be calling Mr. Gill?"
She smiled in amusement, "Oh, no. We're probably going to keep his original code name of Blizzard. It matches his powers. No, Daredevil is a street level hero only. He micromanages Hell's Kitchen."
"I see. Well, speaking of Mr. Gill, I'm glad the Avengers got to him before HYDRA could activate his brainwashing. You'll be good for him."
"I'm sure working with SHIELD would've been just as good."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Mr. Gill will be able to learn a lot more about his powers from you guys than we could ever teach him, and Mr. Stark has state-of-the-art labs that Mr. Gill can use to his heart's content. No, I think it's good that he's joined your team."
"Hopefully he won't have to go out into the field very soon."
"Keep us posted on his progress. He's a good kid, if a bit socially awkward."
"I'll try."
"You take care of yourself. And-" Coulson paused for a moment, "tell Captain America and Sergeant Barnes I said 'hi.'"
Diana laughed, "I will, Director Coulson. Take care of your team."
"Goodbye, Diana."
"Bye!"
She hung up her phone and leaned back in her bed. Diana has only seen the Agents of SHIELD episodes once each, so she had no idea what was in store for them from the early seasons. She remembered that they did eventually go into space and there was something about Skrulls and Skye finding her true parentage and discovering her metahuman powers and little bits and pieces here and there. She'd have to meditate on those episodes to remember more.
*FMttM*
Donnie Gill fit in very well in Avengers Tower. Tony was starting to think that he needed another facility to house the new and old members, a place where he could build more and spread out to accommodate their expanding team.
Tony and Gill experimented with his powers, finding out that he was basically creating liquid nitrogen level temperatures with his touch. The young man could, however, control the temperature of his touch with a thought. He could also use the molecules in the air to create weapons for himself by freezing the air around his hand and letting that power flow up to create a sword, an axe, or another hand-held weapon. This could then freeze anything it touched.
Steve and Bucky had also started training him to fight without his powers just in case HYDRA or someone else figured out how to nullify them. Diana had periodically visited the New York Sanctum to keep her combat magic up to snuff.
It was about a month later when she arrived to a very worried Daniel Drumm pacing in the training room, "Ah, you're here. There have been odd stirrings of some sort of non-terrestrial energy in Missouri since early this morning. I have this sense of foreboding about these stirrings, and I was hoping that we could travel there to see what this business is all about."
"Of course, Master Daniel. I think I have a guess as to what this might be."
"Oh?"
"A few decades ago an ancient alien called a Celestial took human form and came to Earth to plant seeds." She explained, "I think this is one of them."
"How many seeds did this… Celestial plant here?"
"Just two. This one and his son, Peter Quill." Diana told him, "Quill's no longer on Earth, though. If my guess is right, he's going to fight his father and stop the other seed's terraforming of Earth."
"Is there a way to stop this seed from activating?"
"I suspect that if we put it in the Mirror Dimension, it might stop it from terraforming the actual Earth." She paused, "But I'm not one hundred percent sure about that. Ego's Celestial power is immense, and at least a portion of that power would probably transfer to his seeds. Our magic might not be enough to hold it back."
"Well, we can certainly try." Master Daniel put a Sling ring on his finger, "Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
Master Daniel formed the portal and the two of them stepped through into a back alley near a dumpster behind a Dairy Queen.
"Now, we need to find this seed and contain it before it becomes active." Master Daniel instructed, "If we cannot do that, then we must attempt to contain its spread as much as possible."
"If I remember right, I think the seed was in the woods somewhere near here." Diana told him.
"Then we should find it and see if we can destroy or contain it before it grows."
The two sorcerers began a search of the woods behind the Dairy Queen to try and find Ego's seed.
"I heard that you recently picked up a stray."
"A stray?"
"A young man with concentrated mystical powers."
That made Diana stop, "What? Are you talking about Donnie Gill?"
Master Daniel paused, "Yes. His powers came from nature. Struck by lightning, yes?"
"Yeah, he was struck while touching a weather making machine."
"Hmmm." Master Daniel nodded, "That would make sense."
"Okay, I'm confused. How exactly does lightning give someone mystical powers?"
"Lightning is one of the few elements in the Mystic Arts that can unlock the potential in a person who is struck. Most of these gifts manifest as something more normal - new musical talent or mathematical talent." Master Daniel explained, "It depends on the environment, the individual's thoughts, and recent past."
"Gill has the power to freeze things with a touch." Diana told her teacher, "Like liquid nitrogen freeze things."
"It marks his abilities as elemental in nature. Although his powers originate from the mystical, they are now embedded in his DNA and can be scientifically analyzed."
"That's what Tony's doing right now, testing Gill's abilities and making a record of them."
"Good. Elemental powers can get out of control is not monitored." Master Daniel nodded in approval.
"Do you... " Diana hesitated, "Do you want me to bring him in for mystical evaluation?"
"Now there's an idea. Elemental sorcerers are rare. I think perhaps the Ancient One might like to meet this young man. We must make sure the mystical alterations to his physical self haven't gone further."
"Okay. I'll probably bring him by soon."
There was a short pause before Master Daniel spoke again, "How are things with your Soldier?"
Diana ducked her head with a small smile on her face, "They're good. We've gone of a date and spent a few nights watching movies and Netflix."
Her teacher looked over at her with an arched eyebrow, "Ah, the Netflix and Chill I've heard about."
"Oh no! No, no. No chill. We haven't… Nothing like that has happened. It's… I don't know if he's even ready for… He's just gotten away from HYDRA. The codes are still in his head. I just… I don't want to push him." Diana was about to continue when her foot got stuck in something and she stumbled, "What the hell?" She looked down and saw that her boot was covered in violet iridescent goo, "Master Daniel!"
He was at her side in an instant, crouching to look at her foot, "It looks like you found something."
"Yeah." She took a step back and started wiping her foot in the grass.
Master Daniel frowned, "It's already bloomed. We need to contain it before it grows anymore." He stood and faced her, "Watch my hands and we can create a shield around this seed." He made a few hand motions and a thin dome tao mandala spread over the purple goo.
Diana followed his hand motions, but couldn't get the fingers right. Master Daniel's dome shattered as the goo grew to double its size. The two sorcerers stepped back, "Try again." Master Daniel told her and recast his dome.
"Will just the two of us even be enough?" Diana asked as she attempted to cast once again, "I mean, this is the seed of a Celestial after all." Her dome tao mandala failed again.
The purple goo oozed through Master Daniel's shield and it shattered once again. The sorcerer frowned, "Perhaps you're right. We must bring it to the Mirror Dimension."
"I can do that." Diana easily created a wall to the Mirror Dimension.
"We must bring the door to it and make sure it is completely within the realm."
"Right." She took hold of the magical door and brought it forward. She made her way around the goo until the Dimension had completely swallowed it.
As soon as she let go, Diana was suddenly grabbed by the goo, "Holy shit!" She tried to brush off the ooze, but it took form of a hand. From that hand an arm which slowly formed a purple ooze man.
"Let her go!" Master Daniel demanded of the ooze and used magic to hurl earth and stone at it.
The magic was simply swallowed by the violet ooze. It turned to the sorcerer and gurgled a laugh, "You really think your measly little Mirror Dimension tricks can harm me? I am a Celestial! I am Ego! And this planet will join me and my son as a part of my will."
"Starlord will not let that happen." Diana growled out and used the sparks of her Eldritch magic on the ooze, hoping it would work.
The ooze Ego scoffed and simply brushed it off, "Your magic will not work on me. Now watch as I shatter your pitiful dimensional door and swallow your world whole!"
The Mirror Dimension seemed to crack before it broke completely and the humanoid form the ooze had taken was back to its blobby form. The hand that had grabbed her was no longer there, although it had left a black mark on her robes.
Master Daniel had gone pale, "I have never seen such power before." He looked to his student, "Are you alright?"
"I think so." She rubbed at the black mark on the forearm of her robe, "What're we going to do?"
"We need to get as many people as far away from here as we can and hope that this Starlord you mentioned will be able to stop the seed's progress before it swallows this town and this planet whole."
The two sorcerers sprinted toward town with the purple ooze not far behind them.
"Everyone needs to get as far away from here as they can!" Master Drumm announced, putting a bit of magic into his voice to make it louder and more persuasive, "Stay and you will die a most painful death!"
This, unfortunately, incited a panic among the people who were walking around the small town and they began running around like ants whose hill had been kicked.
"Well, I don't think this is helping." Diana gave her teacher a side glance.
"I may have miscalculated the amount of magic needed to persuade the people." Master Daniel admitted, "Field work is not something I usually encounter."
"We could try to create a wall and block the ooze's progress."
The older sorcerer nodded, "Do you know the gestures?"
"I've never had to cast it, but yeah, I know them."
"Together."
The two sorcerers spread out and began their casting of the tao mandala wall. Moments after their spell was finished, the purple ooze smashed against the energy. Diana grit her teeth and pushed everything she had into keeping the wall intact. Her arm started to burn, and her hand started to shake.
"Hold it together, Diana!" She heard Master Daniel call out, "Hold!"
Her entire arm felt like it was on fire and she let out a scream as her side of the shield shattered. Diana fell backward onto the cement and looked up to see the ooze looming over her.
She closed her eyes, "Bucky, I'm so sorry."
"No!" Came Master Daniel's voice.
There was a dampness on her face for a moment before it vanished. Startled, Diana looked up and saw that the ooze had turned solid. She shifted her weight backward and shrieked as the solidified ooze tore away a layer of skin from her cheek. There was a new wetness on her face as blood trickled down from the new wound.
"Diana!" Master Daniel knelt next to her and made a few hand symbols, "Hold still." He used his magic to heal her wound, "Is that better?"
"Yeah. Thank you." She stood and glared at the solid blob.
"I believe the crisis has been averted, although the cleanup should be interesting." Master Daniel surveyed the solidified ooze. He produced a bag and a knife and scraped some of it inside, "If this is the seed of a Celestial, the Ancient One might like to analyze it." He paused and produced another bag and repeated the process, "And one for your scientist friends." Master Daniel then handed the second bag to Diana.
"Right." She took the bag, "We should go home before SHIELD or HYDRA or someone else from the government gets here."
Their portal brought them back to the New York Sanctum where Master Daniel stowed his bag with the sample from the Celestial blob. He turned back to Diana who was clasping the arm that Ego's seed had grasped.
"Are you alright?" Master Daniel was concerned and approached his pupil.
"My arm. It still hurts; it burns."
"Let me see." He stood in front of her and she rolled up her scorched sleeve. The skin beneath was blackened. Master Daniel touched it gingerly, causing Diana to hiss. The injury turned violet at his touch and on instinct, she tried to wrench her arm away. However, her teacher's grip was strong and firm, "This is not a normal injury." He raised his dark eyes to meet hers, "Obviously."
"How do we heal it?" She asked through gritted teeth, "Will magic even work?"
"I don't know." Master Daniel cast a healing spell and laid it on the injury. Diana screamed and he withdrew the magic immediately, "Are you alright? I'm so sorry."
She gripped her arm, "It felt like you were slicing into my arm with a hot, dulled spoon!" She trembled.
"Let me see it." He ordered and Diana lifted her hand. Master Daniel's expression hardened, "It has spread." He looked up at Diana, "The seed was going to devour the Earth, but since it cannot do that, it's going to attempt to take something else."
She went pale, "I'm going to die…"
"You most certainly will not die. We will figure out how to get rid of this blemish." Master Daniel told her, "Perhaps we should take this to the Ancient One. She might know what to do."
"Okay." Diana nodded in agreement and covered her arm again with her hand, "I should probably tell my friends. They'll worry if I don't."
"Yes, contact them promptly and meet me in the Portal Room. I will first go to Kamar Taj to explain the situation and then return for you." He swept out of the room.
Diana found her phone in her casual clothing belongings and dialed Steve's number.
"Hi Diana." The Captain greeted her.
"Steve, hey. Umm… Listen, I have to go to Kamar Taj." She told him, "Something went wrong on our mission to Missouri and we need to consult with the Ancient One."
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She let out a quiet, "Yes."
"Hang on. Let me put you on speaker. Bucky's here too."
There was a tiny pause, "Diana, what happened?" The Soldier asked.
She told them about the mission and how Ego's seed had grabbed her in the Mirror Dimension and left a strange injury on her arm that would spread when they tried to heal it with magic.
"What about science?" Steve asked, "Tony could take some samples and test it to see if we could figure out how to get rid of it."
"I know he could, but this is the seed of a Celestial. Ego was a living planet! He was going to devour the entire Earth, not giving its inhabitants a second thought! I don't know if science as it is could heal something like that." She paused and then tried to joke, "If worse comes to worst, we could amputate my arm and Bucky and I can have matching arms."
"Don't say stuff like that." Bucky told her, "You don't want to have an arm like mine. It's cumbersome. If I could get my normal arm back, I would in a heartbeat. I wouldn't wish this on anyone."
"I know, Buck. I know. It's just…. I'm scared this thing will devour me like it was meant to devour Earth."
Then she heard a short argument between the two super soldiers in a language she didn't recognize. Diana hadn't known that Steve knew a second language, and it wasn't German, Spanish, French, Russian or Romanian.
"We're on our way to the Sanctum." The Captain announced, "Don't leave without us."
"You don't have to-"
"Diana, we're on our way." Bucky's voice was as commanding as Steve's was when he was in full Captain America mode.
"Okay." She nodded, even though they couldn't see her, "Thank you."
"We'll be there soon." Steve told her and he hung up.
*FMttM*
Diana waited for them in the main hall, pacing back and forth, trying to ignore the pain in her arm. She rubbed at her the wound as she waited for the two super soldiers to arrive at the Sanctum. The wound continued to burn, and her nerves prickled up to her shoulder and down to her fingertips. She kept rolling up her sleeve to see if the damage had expanded again, but nothing had happened since Master Daniel had attempted to heal it with magic. There was a large, circular blackish-purple mark at the edge of her bracelet that hurt so much that at a touch her flesh felt like it was on fire.
The doors to the Sanctum crashed open and the Winter Soldier and Captain America rushed inside. Bucky's panicked eyes sought her out, and as soon as their gazes met, he strode toward her.
Bucky enveloped her in a desperate embrace, "You're still here." He murmured into her hair.
"I wouldn't have left with you guys saying you were coming." She told him, burying her face into the crook of his neck.
His embrace tightened for a moment before he released her, "Let me see it."
Steve came up next to his best friend as Diana rolled up her sleeve to reveal the wound Ego's seed had left on her arm. The Captain hissed, "That looks even worse than the burns we saw during the War."
"I don't know how fast it spreads normally, but using magic on it made it double in size." She told them, "And it fucking hurts."
Steve looked about to admonish her for her bad language before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I'll let it slide, just this once."
"Where is your teacher?" Bucky demanded.
"He went to Kamar Taj to get things prepared." Diana let her sleeve fall back into place. She winced a little as the fabric touched the injury.
"How could he let this happen?" The Soldier's eyes flashed, "He's supposed to keep you safe!"
"Buck, he probably had no idea that this could even happen." Steve tried to console his friend, "I don't think anyone has ever heard of a Celestial before, much less had to deal with one of their seeds."
"Ego was one of a kind. His name describes exactly what he was like. He even killed his son's mother just because he could." Diana explained, "Although his seed plan was simply because he was lonely. I'm not exactly sure why that equates to devouring planets and remaking them in his image, but I'm pretty sure he went a bit insane out there in the black."
"Still, your teacher should've been more careful." Bucky scowled, "He should've kept you out of harm's way."
"If I wanted to stay out of harm's way, I would've just lived the rest of my sad life in the 1940s with Peggy and Luke and Howard." Diana paused, "Then again, I probably would've joined Peggy on her missions for the SSR and then SHIELD, so… there's that."
"Then he should've protected you better." The Soldier crossed his arms, "Or you should have a better uniform."
"I'm pretty sure that's on Tony's short list of things to upgrade." She told him, "Come on. Let's head to the Portal Room. Master Daniel might even be waiting for us - well, me, since he doesn't know you want to come along."
"Actually," Steve spoke, "when Tony heard about what happened, he wanted to see if he could help. You don't happen to have any samples from the seed, do you?"
"Oh. Yeah. Come on. I'll get it." Diana retrieved the small bag with the seed sample from her room where she'd dropped it off upon their discovery of her injury and Master Daniel's departure.
Steve glared at the bag as if it had offended him, "I'll get this to Tony to see if he can figure out something that'll help."
"There's more in Missouri. I'm not sure how long SHIELD'll take to clean up the mess, but the blob was huge by the time Ego was taken care of and the seed stopped growing."
"I'll let him know." Steve nodded and gave her a bear hug, "You take care."
"I will."
"Buck, keep me posted." The Captain told the Sergeant.
Bucky nodded and took out a Starkphone, "I think I have the hang of the new phones. If I do something wrong, I'm sure there's someone who'll be able to help me figure it out."
Steve looked between his two best friends, "See you soon." He went toward the entrance of the Sanctum and left to return to Avengers Tower.
"How're you feeling?" Bucky asked in earnest.
"Other than the constant pain in my arm, I'm doing okay."
The Soldier was about to reply when the two of them could hear footsteps in the hall.
"I'm guessing that's Master Daniel." Diana sighed a little, "We should go meet him."
"This isn't really how I imagined meeting your teacher." Bucky said with a little humor in his voice, although his eyes were still flinty.
"Me neither." Diana gave a small smile.
Master Daniel came around the corner, "Ah, Diana," His eyes travelled to Bucky, "and Sergeant Barnes. It's good to finally meet you, although I wish it was under better circumstances."
The Soldier's lips thinned, and he didn't reply. He stepped slightly in front of Diana, turning his left side toward the master sorcerer.
"Don't mind him." She sent her teacher an apologetic, exasperated look, "He's being overprotective."
"I understand." Master Daniel nodded, "Come, the Ancient One is waiting for you."
He led the two of them to the portal room and opened a gateway to Kamar Taj. Bucky grasped Diana's hand and, after Master Daniel stepped through, they followed.
The reaction was instantaneous. A thousand knives stabbed into her infected arm, and Diana screamed. Bucky caught her as she began to crumble under the pain.
"Diana!" She could vaguely hear Bucky's voice. Then, "Do something!"
There was no more pain. Everything went black.