Hey guys, sorry this took forever. I hit a snag writing this and just didn't feel motivated even though it was almost finished. And then I had to put my dog down which made everything worse. Finally here it is. Let's go. Let me give a shout out to those who favorited or reviewed: Kaia(guest), nturfitt, SissyBlue23, and another Guest with no name.
UPDATE5/31/21: Chapter six was originally finished a few months after posting five back in May of last year. Exactly a year in fact. As such I want to point out that I created these fics long before Wandavision and TFAWS came out so my version will obviously not match. I might try and add some of what was in the shows into these fics this point going forward but who knows. I do have some spin offs that will need tweaking because of the timelines regarding those shows but I deal with it when I get there
"Shit." Standing upright made the ringing in his head harsher but thanks to his serum it was quickly clearing up along with the aches and possible bruises that were trying to bloom across his body.
It was dark around him, very little light seeping in from the cracks in the destroyed walls but with his enhanced eyes the absence of light wasn't a hindrance. He could hear a loud rush of water somewhere, the excess trickling under his feet.
A thrumming in his mind pulsed, hinted with concern.
His breath hitched. He still couldn't believe it had worked.
Mere moments ago Banner had used the Stark-made gauntlet. There'd been the snapping of fingers, a bright light, and then the large man had fallen, right arm burnt from the output of energy from the stones. While they had recreated the snap, he wasn't sure it had even worked. Not until Bucky had felt it.
The voids in his mind, where the four tethers had been severed for five years, had suddenly reattached.
Pietro and himself had gasped, Bucky falling to his knees as he'd felt the anchors vibrate with life and grow stronger by the second. And then it'd happened.
A pulse had echoed in his mind.
There had been no words, which was to be expected seeing as they were separated so distantly, but he'd still felt it clear as day.
The feeling had been hesitant and slightly fearful, instinct triggering him to send back as much love and reassurance as he could, but Bucky had known immediately who it was. Wanda. His wife, the mother of his children, the cornerstone to his very existence. She was back. And judging by the rapid thrumming from the other three tethers, his children were also back.
And then it had gone FUBAR.
"Does anybody copy? We're on sublevel three. We're taking on water. Bruce is stuck. Anybody copy?"
The words were in stereo, crackling over his ear piece and yet he could hear the actual words from somewhere nearby to his right.
"Wait, I copy. I'm on my way. I'm coming." That was from Lang. But Bucky wasn't sure how close he was.
"On my way to you Rhodes." The brunet maneuvered his way through the rubble, the roaring of water kicking up in volume and water sloshing about with every step he took.
Finally he turned a corner and immediately ran forward, rushing past the Colonel, hopping over the discarded metal suit and tucking himself next to Bruce, pushing up against the large slab of concrete with as much serum enhanced strength as he could.
"Get out of here! Go get a suit!" He could see the indecision on Rhodey's face, even as Rocket tugged at him from his perch on the man's shoulder. Bucky let out a grunt at the pressure, scolding cold water bearing down on him and the scientist, the water level growing rapidly. He shouted at the pair. "Go! There's no use if we all die here! Go!"
Finally the pair turned and headed out the same way Bucky had snuck in, leaving the two alone. The water was rising too quickly, hitting the super soldier across his waist.
"Go, Barnes!" Banner yelled, grunting in pain along with Bucky as a rumble from somewhere above forced more weight down on them.
"And…leave..you here? No thanks…rather not..give..Stark…another reason..to hate me." Bucky grunted, pushing up as much as he could even with the strain on his arms, the water rising mid-chest. "Lang! Where are you?!"
"I'm coming, hold on! I'm coming!"
The water was reaching his collar bones and Bucky had a flash of panic. It was possible he could actually drown down here. Even if he could normally hold his breath for roughly twenty to thirty minutes, having this much pressure on him would cause him to gasp, taking in water. Shit.
The thrumming in his head was fluttering quickly, a hint of fear bleeding through. Wanda was picking up on his situation. He managed a blast of love through their bond before he sealed it off. He did the same for Jamie, Alec, and Stephanie, giving his love then cutting them off from his circumstances. This way they wouldn't feel him die.
Shit, he really was planning for his death. Just one more thing.
"Pietro…"
~~~Lighthouse~~~
"Come on old man, up we go." Pietro heaved Clint to his feet, trying to use the glow from the red emergency lights to see if the archer's eyes were dilated. "How you feeling? Any headaches, ringing, blurriness, maybe nausea?"
Out of the others, Clint and Rocket were the most vulnerable, which was why when the bombing had started the speedster had grabbed the closest of the two, being Clint, and had planned on attempting to outrun the bombing. It hadn't worked as well as he wanted.
Physically Pietro was fine but his comm was broken so he wasn't sure what was going on but he thought he'd heard thunder so at least he knew Thor was still alive.
"I'm getting too old for this shit." Clint dusted himself off, groaning as he squinted up at the large chasm they'd fallen through. "What the hell was that?"
"Homicidal alien seems like a good guess." Pietro muttered as he studied the catacomb they'd found themselves in. It looked like maintenance tunnels. Thank God it wasn't the sewers
"Fuck."
The soft explicit from the other man had Pietro rushing over, the archer standing over the stone-embedded gauntlet tucked under some debris.
"Well, shit." Pietro huffed, sharing a glance with Clint. No doubt whoever had bombed the compound would be after this thing. They needed to get in contact with the others.
Pietro went to grab it when Clint snatched his elbow. "Wait."
The archer's wary voice froze the Sokovian, ears straining.
It was silent for a heartbeat. Then he heard it.
The footfalls, the clicks of nails, and of course, the low rumbling growls that reverberated off the walls.
In one smooth motion, both Pietro and Clint turned to face the tunnel that had been at their back, the older male ready with an arrow drawn. There was only the faintest of movement, the red emergency lights not helping to distinguish much. Clint lit up his arrowhead and sent it sailing straight through the middle of the passageway.
The bodies clinging to the floor, walls, and ceiling were pitch black, hulking masses of muscle with snapping, growling maws.
The two Avengers shared a glance before the pair jumped into action; Clint grabbing the gauntlet while Pietro tugged the other man's sword free.
"Go!" Pietro shouted before he charged the creatures. He was sure he'd be able to get them all but on the slim chance he didn't give one quite the killing blow he intended, he wanted Clint to be as far away as possible.
He made sure to pierce the brain or lop off their heads, breezing by so quickly that he hardly got any blood on himself.
"Shit." Pietro muttered when he paused after running roughly a mile through the tunnels, seeing the gaping hole and creatures spilling into the tunnels. New plan then. He killed the new additions before heading back to Clint.
Clint gave a flinch when the white-haired Sokovian appeared in front of him mid-escape. "Don't do that."
"You got any explosives?" Pietro asked, eyeing Clint's quiver, ears tuned to the distant snarls echoing in the tunnels. "There's a hole where they're coming in at."
Clint handed over five arrows. "They're pressure triggered. Press down hard enough on the tip and you got about five seconds before they blow."
Pietro smirked, "Plenty of time."
He blurred away, running back down the tunnel and slashing at the new creatures that trampled over their dead brethren. Reaching the breach, Pietro activated three of the arrows and left them at the aliens' entry point, adding the last two a few feet into the tunnel before disappearing.
He was back at Clint's side when the explosions went off. The archer ducked at the booming sound echoing in the metal hallways, both men looking back and seeing the faint orange glow of flames in the far distance.
"Nice." Clint smiled before he started walking. All too soon they reached a large vertical shaft. There was a ladder on the left, reaching the top but the element of unknown bothered Pietro.
"Think there are any evil aliens up there?" The Sokovian asked.
The blond let out a weary groan. "God I hope not."
He chuckled. "I could go up first and find out?"
With that agreement, Pietro blurred up the walls, reaching the top in a blink. The red emergency lights were on but there were a handful of normal fixtures that glowed a soft yellow. It was also empty of alien creatures.
Pietro looked down and waved his arms. "Alien-free!"
"What are you doing?"
Pietro gave a jolt and small shout at the unexpected voice. Behind him stood Nebula, an eyebrow raised as Clint asked what was wrong.
He let out a laugh. "Not alien-free but it's okay Clint, it's Nebula." Turning to the stoic woman he shook his head. "You need a bell." Not that he had any room to talk.
She said nothing, standing stiffly but he wasn't offended. That was kinda her thing. He looked down at Clint. "Alright Grandpa, start climbing."
"Shuddup." The archer grumbled, eying the ladder with a slightly curled lip before smirking. "Or I can use a grappling hook and hoist myself up. It'd be faster and I wouldn't have to do anything."
"You and your gadgets. You're going to become flabby if you get any lazier." Pietro joked, backing up to give the older man some room. He turned to the blue-skinned woman. "You might want to back up a little."
She didn't say anything but did comply, easing back behind Pietro while he waited. Nothing happened for a moment but then he watched as the metal hook and line came shooting up and imbed itself into the ceiling of the shaft. A soft whirling started up and Clint appeared quickly, swinging himself up and landing with a huff.
Pietro drew near, helping to detach his friend from the line and to his feet. "You are getting old. Should have just had me bring up you."
Clint smacked at his hands. "I'm middle age, not dead."
"That can be arranged."
The whine of a gun paired with the voice caused the hairs on Pietro's neck to rise. The bewildered expression on Clint's face had the Sokovian tensing, turning around to see Nebula with some type of gun pointed at them.
"Nebula, what-"
"Give me the gauntlet."
"Nebula what the hell?" Clint bit out, causing the woman's aim to focus on him.
Pietro shuffled slightly to the side, covering more of the older man. Granted he was faster than bullets but this was some kind of space gun; it probably didn't even use bullets. Likely some type of energy in a concentrated form. Could he dodge it? Probably. Could he or Clint survive a direct hit? Probably not. He wasn't gonna push his luck.
"Stop."
All three heads turned to the stern voice and out of the gloom came a green skinned, magenta-haired woman, who could be no one else but Gamora, her own gun raised and locked on the other woman. Didn't Rocket say she was dead?
Nebula maneuvered around, her back against the walls and keeping both parties in her sights, her gun still firmly trained on Pietro and Clint while glaring at the jade-toned woman. "You're betraying us?"
Another form took shape in the darkness and out came a second Nebula, this one with her hands up and open, the left arm completely mechanical. Pietro ground his teeth together. Such a rookie mistake. He should have noticed.
The humanoid immediately took her gun off them and switched to aiming at their Nebula. Pietro tugged Clint further back, crouching a few feet away from the ladder that lead downward. He was sure he could get them to safety if a firefight erupted.
"You don't have to do this."
Pietro could see how much the first Nebula was thrown off by the newcomers, looking quickly between her adopted sister and other self, seeming unsure before speaking. "I am this."
The speedster wondered if she was trying to convince herself more than them.
"No, you're not." Gamora took a subtle step closer.
Their Nebula gently tapped at her temple. "You've seen what we become."
Those words meant something as Pietro watched Other Nebula's aim waver for a moment, her black eyes locked on Gamora.
"Nebula, listen to her." Pietro could hear the slight plea in the woman's voice.
"You can change." The real Nebula took another small step forward.
And then Gamora lowered her weapon causing Pietro to tense, muscles coiled and at the ready.
Other Nebula looked back and forth between her counterpart and adopted sibling, "He won't let me."
Right there. Everything slowed to a near eighth of a second as Pietro's mind speed up, taking in the information and analyzing. The locking of her jaw. The tightening of her grip on the gun. The way her eyes slowly turned away from their Nebula to her sister.
Pietro moved, blurring and grabbing the intended victim just as Other Nebula's aim started switching from her future self to where Gamora had been. But nobody else knew that yet.
He stopped blurring, hiding with a woozy Gamora in the shadows several feet behind their Nebula while she swiftly pulled her own gun and fired before the other blue-skinned woman could shoot at nothing.
Once the other one was down Nebula looked to her left for her sister but found emptiness. "Gamora?!"
"Back here." The Sokovian announced, shuffling forward with the aforementioned woman. He could see how relieved Nebula was and Pietro gave her a small nod before going over to Clint, still holding the gauntlet tightly.
"Don't you fucking do that again." The archer growled. "That's twice now. You know she'd lose it if you died."
"But I didn't." Pietro downplayed it but he knew Wanda would be heartbroken if something happened to him.
The older man gave a huff but turned to the two other women. "What the hell is going on?"
Something huge must have happened when they went back. That was the only thing that made sense to Pietro.
"As you know, I'm made up of quite a bit of machinery. Being in the past caused our networks to link and Thanos managed to gain access to my memory files. He saw that he'd gathered the stones. Saw that he'd won. He also saw our plans." Nebula pointed down to the cooling corpse. "She was desperate to prove herself. So she took my place and went back while I was held prisoner on Thanos' ship. And she used the quantum realm to bring him and his army here."
Pietro let out a Sokovian curse. They had to fight him again?! They just got everyone back and now they had to deal with the being who'd torn the others away in the first place. The people who hadn't actually been dead when they'd been taken, could very well die this time around.
Above them more thunder rang out, several rumbles, and the booms of explosions. Sounded like someone was fighting back.
"Nebula." Gamora glanced at her sister who nodded, both of their faces grim, and they started back through the shadows of the tunnels.
"Well?" Clint asked him, doing a cursory check of his arrows.
Pietro's smirk was sharp. "Race you?" He hadn't taken more than two steps before he heard something else.
"Pietro…"
He halted immediately. That had been James. And he didn't sound good. "James? What's wrong? Where are you?"
"Promise me you'll take care of them for me. Wanda and the kids?"
"Pietro?"
He could hear Clint trying to talk to him but he tried to focus, trying to pin point James. The super soldier was somewhere northeast of where he was but Pietro also felt panic through the connection.
"James?"
"Promise. Me?"
He sounded tired, strained. The Sokovian ground his teeth together in frustration. "Yes, I promise. Now whe-! James?!"
The connection with his American brother-in-law suddenly disappeared and the shock had Pietro rushing back to the present.
"Shit, shit, shit." The speedster gripped at his hair for a moment, mind racing with the implications of James' last wish. The sharp bark of his name from Clint got his attention and he stared wide eyed at the other man.
"Pietro, what happened?"
The fear disappeared then, adrenaline pumping through him. He needed to find James. Something was wrong.
"I have to go." He didn't wait for a reply, just blurred away, speeding past the two women and racing for an exit. While he knew that Wanda would be incredibly heartbroken if something happened to him, it was worse with her husband, especially with her abilities.
If something happened to James or the children, she'd completely fall apart, inconsolable and, without meaning to, she could very well take the world down with her.
So how was it? The next chapter should be the battle. Not sure how long that one will be. I was having trouble with how the end of the battle should go. I had a few options. And then I talked it out with my brother and we came up with something. So I predict maybe…three chapters left, possibly four. We'll have to see how the battle chapters play out. Peace out. -Mez