Bucky watched Ward and Skye collapse into unconsciousness. "How long do you think this is going to take?" he asked Beckett.
"As long as it takes," Beckett replied.
Tripp sighed, clearly not satisfied with that answer. "Cryptic. Why the hell do all you superhero types have to be so goddamn cryptic…" He let his comment trail off when almost every other conscious member of their team broke into a fit of barely suppressed giggles. The former SHIELD agent turned to the former HYDRA weapon…who was one of the few beings that wasn't laughing. "What? What did I say?"
Bucky could only shrug. "I have no idea," he agreed.
Any further conversation was interrupted by a deafening crack of thunder. The group turned to see six columns of light appear behind them. Steve frowned, surprised and concerned by the presence of the new arrivals. "What are you doing here, Thor? I thought you were going after Loki…"
"I believed that to be the case as well…" Thor agreed. "Heimdall sent us here…"
A second thunderous roar cut off any further conversation. The sky went from day to night in an instant; it was more than enough to make the hairs on the back of Beckett's neck stand on end. "The fog's broken free," she warned the group.
"How?!" Fallon exclaimed, stunned by the idea.
A portal of red energy opened above Steve's head. The super-soldier rolled out of the way only a split second before the portal would have dropped its contents onto Steve's head.
Thor's eyes went wide as he recognized the fallen being…but only barely. "Loki?!"
Sif and Fallon each drew their swords and pointed them in the direction of the Asgardian threat. The two warriors relaxed only for a second when they saw the condition of their most persistent enemy. "Is he conscious?" asked Sif.
"I don't think so," Fallon replied.
The two warriors tightened their grips on their swords when Loki's eyes flew open. Fallon tensed when he recognized the red glow that surrounded the Asgardian's pupils…and the tendrils of black smoke that were slowly wrapping around Loki's wrists and ankles. The fog lifted Loki's still-unconscious into the air and tightened its grip around him. "Merlin…" Fallon called over to the group's shaman.
Blair's hands were already glowing with pure white light. "On it," he declared.
Castle and Ryan appeared at the shaman's side a second later. "Beckett thought you might need a hand," said Castle.
"Yeah," Blair grunted out in agreement. "Good call."
The two Guardians slowly shifted their attention away from their friend and toward Loki's predicament. Ryan opened a wide channel of energy for the use of the wizard and the shaman. "Is he alive?" he asked Blair.
Blair shrugged a noncommittal response, not wanting to waste any of his energy on answering the question.
Castle pulled from Ryan's energy channel and flung it at the darkness with all of his might. The wave crashed against the mixture of black and red…and knocked everyone in the group flat on their backs. "That…should have worked," Castle grunted out as he pulled himself back to a standing position. "Can Ward…" It was then that the Guardian noticed which members of the group were not regaining consciousness. "Are they okay?"
"No idea," Beckett replied. Her attention was clearly not focused on the unconscious couple. "But we've got bigger problems."
"Bigger problems?!" Trip asked warily. A chorus of groans emerged from the field around them…and Trip's eyes went wide. "How could we…"
The fog swirled around the corpses of the HYDRA solders, lifting each one of them to a standing position. The groans intensified until they were silenced when the fog entered each of the corpses. Their vacant eyes disappeared. A sword appeared in each soldier's hands. The reanimated corpses then let out an unearthly roar and attacked.
Beckett was the first to be attacked and the first to dodge her attacker successfully. "Protect Ward and Skye!" Beckett announced to the group. "We lose them, we lose the carrier!"
A cyclone formed in the center of the group as the combined power of the fog and the Aether fought against the energy that the wizards were using to contain it. Steve tensed as he watched one of the reanimated soldiers attack the cyclone…and the white energy flickered from the assault. "Work quick, you two," Steve muttered under his breath as he charged into the fray.
#
Ward stumbled in the howling winds. He tried to open his eyes and get his bearings...and immediately wished that he hadn't. Are we in a sandstorm or a hurricane? he asked Skye through their bond-link. I don't think I can tell...
It's the fog, Skye replied. Or at least what the fog's doing to her mind. She pushed back against the winds, only to find that taking even the smallest step was a Herculean task. Guess you're up...
Not yet, argued Ward. The last time I tried this I was in my own head pushing out. If we don't find Raina in...this...I'm afraid we could push her out of her own mind.
And if we did that there wouldn't be a carrier to control the power of the stone...
Ward sent a quick nod through the bond-link. Leaving Loki in control of the Aether.
Can't have that, Skye agreed. You got a plan?
You have the mind stone in your head, Ward replied. You trying to tell me you can't...
No, countered Skye, I can find her. But sending that much power through her head...
She's a carrier, too, Skye. Trust her.
Skye was clearly hesitant. Trust her, she repeated, Easy for you to say…
Then trust that…thing in your head, Ward insisted. If you can handle it, so can she.
Ward felt like the winds seemed to howl even louder as Skye fell silent. He then noticed how those winds seemed to stop, for just the briefest of moments…before his soulmate's mind-voice roared through their world. Raina?
"HELLO?!"
The couple gasped in unison. That didn't sound like Raina, Skye mused. It sounded like…
A little girl, agreed Ward.
Skye noticed the slight change in her partner's demeanor. You think you can find her? The winds around them died down in response to her question…even though the deafening roar never stopped. I'll take that as a yes… Skye stretched her arm out to test the limits of the calm space that now surrounded them. Surprised to find that the 'bubble' extended out further than her arm's length, Skye looked up…and could just make out a small figure in the distance.
Ward shrugged in response to his soulmate's unspoken question. Shortest distance between two points, he explained.
The pair jogged through the tunnel of calm air until the end of the tunnel of energy was close enough to touch. Skye and Ward then turned and knelt down to make contact with the trembling little girl that was now huddled between them. The mass of unruly curls atop the girl's head confirmed all of Skye's suspicions. "Raina?"
Raina looked up at Skye with wide, frightened eyes. "Who are you?"
Ward frowned at the question. She doesn't…
Skye shook her head, answering Ward's unfinished question. "My name's Skye," she told Raina. "This is my friend Grant. We're…we're here to help."
The girl perked up immediately at the idea. "You can get us out of here?" Skye looked up at Ward, unsure of how to answer the question.
Ward smiled, but his expression seemed forced. Skye could feel her soulmate's nervousness echoing through their bond. Ward, though, pushed through with false confidence. "Absolutely," he declared.
Skye frowned. Her concern flowed through their bond. Grant…
Trust me, Ward sent back. I got this.
Skye's eyes widened just slightly as she tried to process everything that she was feeling from both sides of their link. Finally, she decided to take a leap of faith and nodded.
Ward gently smiled as he felt his soulmate's reaction to his request. He knelt down until he was low enough to have to tilt his head up to look at Raina. "Close your eyes, Raina," he instructed the girl. "And when you open them, I promise this will all be over."
Raina chewed on her bottom lip hesitantly. "You promise?"
"Absolutely," Ward replied.
Raina studied Ward's features carefully, looking for any sign that the older man was untrustworthy. Finally, the young girl decided to take her own leap of faith. Raina moved over to Skye, closed her eyes, and buried her face in Skye's embrace.
Ward's gaze never left the wary eyes of his soulmate. He let love and gratefulness flow through their bond. "Thank you," he mouthed. Skye nodded, wrapping her arms around Raina as Ward wrapped his arms around them both.
A moment later, the world around the trio exploded in a blinding flash of light.