Road trip! Let's see what we can see. Or what could go wrong. Thank you to Kaia, my lovely guest reviewer. Means a lot to me. Now onward.
When picking teams to retrieve the stone, there had been only one option for Bucky. New York had been a close second but it was too much of a risk. Either someone from Hydra would see Bucky, which he really didn't want, or Steve would see Bucky. Again, not something they wanted to happen.
So, considering the simplicity of the other places the only stop that made sense for Bucky was Asgard.
The Brooklynite was built like an Asgardian and his serum-enhanced physical abilities would help if they had to fight any of Thor's people.
Pietro had originally been assigned to Clint and Natasha's team but the others had worried about sending Thor back to Asgard so the Sokovian had been switched to Bucky's team, though New York had also been a close second. But that was scrapped for the same reason they couldn't send Bucky.
While the American-based Hydra agents might not recognize the speedster, the Avengers sure would, especially since they would be meeting that timeline's Pietro in three years.
Besides, Pietro was such an unknown that he'd be a forgotten face to the Asgardians, as long as they stayed away from that timeline's Thor.
It should have been easy.
Travel within the quantum realm was something Bucky would never forget. The anticipation on the platform, the adrenaline picking up, and then the floor disappearing under his feet. He let the GPS' do their job, disciplining his body to not flail about lest he get lost or spit out somewhere else.
Yeah, arriving was the easy part. Everything else was a downhill sprint.
"How the hell did we lose Thor? The man's huge." Pietro was pissed and looking anxious at the turn of events.
He wasn't the only one. Bucky knew this had been a bad idea, sending Thor, depressed and unstable, back to Asgard.
To an Asgard that was still there, that still had its people, had his family. But they'd had no choice, he was the only one who knew how to traverse the palace, using shortcuts and keeping to shadows.
And then the man had seen his mother and started to spiral. Even though Bucky knew what it was like to have panic attacks, understood the man's mental state, he wanted to shake him. They were here, so close to getting everyone back, his family back, it drove him crazy.
Then Rocket had slapped the man and seemed to talk him down. But then they'd turned their backs and the former Prince was gone. But this was also the reason they had sent Bucky and Pietro to Asgard with the original pair.
"I'll go find him. Here." Bucky gave the canister to Pietro. The brunet had asked Bruce to whip it up in this event. "Get in, get out. I'll find you afterward."
Leaving his brother-in-law and Rocket to their task, Bucky moved through the palace, looking down each hallway for the wayward king. He'd had to hide once from the guards but they'd moved on quickly and he was able to keep going.
The sudden pair of screams that echoed were far away enough that if it hadn't been for his advanced hearing he wouldn't have heard them and he followed the source to Thor but also the man's mother.
"Queen Frigga. Prince Thor." Bucky greeted in an English accent, placing a closed fist over his heart and bowing. "I heard the screams and came to investigate. Is all well?" God he hoped that was how they talked here. When he'd asked Thor during the planning stages he hadn't been all that helpful considering how much alcohol he'd drunk.
Bucky at least knew he looked the part, having stopped by the Guard's stock room to collect the armor, knew he sounded like he belonged, but it was the words that confused him.
Thor gave a shake of his head but the Queen only smiled at him, in a way that reminded Bucky of his Ma when she saw right through his lies.
"Life has not been kind to you either, has it?" Her smile turned sad for a moment before she beckoned to the two men. "Come, we'll head to my study."
Bucky wanted to lashed out. They didn't have time for this! But he went along with Thor and his mom to her suite, keeping to the door as look out. He almost did lash out when he realized Thor was telling her everything. But he could see the change in Thor, the calm overtaking him and Bucky bit his tongue.
The Brooklyn native had had his therapy, had been able to work through everything with the doctors in Wakanda. He couldn't very well begrudge the man for wanting to talk to his mom, especially if it pulled him from the void he was spiraling into.
For the sake of privacy he zoned out a bit, his focus on the corridors outside the room and the mental bond he'd forged with his brother-in-law by way of Wanda's scarlet. So far it was quiet so either everything had gone well or they still hadn't gotten the stone yet.
"And you, you've had quite the life as well." The woman's words brought him back, turning to see her watching him, a certain glint in her eyes. "You've been wronged. So very wronged."
His immediate reaction was to deny but he stopped himself. That was something he'd learn during his time in Wakanda, to not deny what happened to him. "I have been wronged. Tortured and brainwashed, made to hurt or kill people. But I fought back, I survived. I flourished."
"And now you are here, helping to bring back the lost souls. To bring back your family." Her smile was soft and it made Bucky look down at his feet.
"James, we got it! We're heading your way."
Pietro's voice had his head snapping toward the door. "Alright. See you in a bit. And just to let you know, Thor got busted by his mom. We're in her study."
He glanced at the other two people in the room, Thor looking back questioningly while Queen Frigga only nodded, giving off a serene smile. Bucky suddenly felt his stomach drop. Thor had said she'd die today. Shit.
~~~Lighthouse~~~
"I can't believe he fucking left. What the hell?!" Pietro hissed. This was suppose to be simple. Get Thor to charm Foster, stab her with the containment vial, and leave. But no, the man had had to run off. And Pietro understood, he did but-fuck they were so close to getting everyone back. Wanda, his nephew and nieces. Luka would know his aunt and cousins in person and not just from stories and pictures on the wall.
He'd be able to introduce Luka to Clint's kids, reunite Jamie with the Barton clan while also bringing Stephanie and Alec into the fold. All three families together for a barbeque on a Sunday. Hell, the whole Avengers, both former and current together peacefully.
But then Thor had to fuck it up.
"God damn it," muttered Pietro, watching as James disappeared around a corner, leaving him and Rocket to sneak into the scientist's room. He waved sharply at the raccoon. "Come on."
"You got a new plan now that we lost Tubby?"
"Maybe." Going left down the hallway, following along the same wall that shared most of Jane's suite, Pietro paused when finding a large window. Taking a look around he poked his head out slightly, seeing no one. Deeming the coast clear the Sokovian leaned further out and turned his head to the right. Perfect. Foster's room came with a balcony.
"Alright, I'm gonna pick you up." Rocket protested immediately to his manhandling but Pietro didn't have time to explain. He did say one last thing to him though. "Don't tense up."
The world blurred and Pietro did a quick circuit around some pillars to pick up more speed before he leapt out the window, catching the lip with one hand and throwing himself sideways. He was surprised he didn't damage the palace wall when he ran across it but he made it to the balcony easily, hiding in the curtains next to the opened archway.
Luckily Rocket still had enough control to not yell at him, taking deep, steadying breaths all the while growling and grumbling under his breath.
Once he put the raccoon down Pietro peeked into the room, seeing the petite brunette resting on a blue couch. She looked like she was sleeping but her breaths weren't quite deep enough.
Taking the canister James had given him, the speedster flicked the nozzle open, keeping a finger on the opening to keep the fumes inside. Rocket caught on, pointing at the can and then mimicking sleep. With a nod, Pietro flashed through the room, placing the container underneath the couch, the gas silently wafting around the resting woman.
He was back outside with Rocket in the same second and they watched as Jane seemed to furrow her eyebrows, possibly detecting something was wrong but soon her face slackened and her body went limp. They waited another minute more to be sure before Pietro ran back in to seal and take away the canister.
The Sokovian had them wait a little bit longer, letting any lingering fumes dissipate before they moved in.
"Where'd Barnes get the gas from?" Rocket asked, hopping on the back of the couch.
Pietro tilted his head, studying the sleeping woman. Her breaths were deep and slow, indicating heavy slumber. He tapped at the skin in the inner corner of her eyes. No reaction. "James had Bruce make it. It was his back-up plan if Thor couldn't get us close."
Rocket raised his eyebrow. "Smart guy. We'd be screwed otherwise. How's Pretty Pants?"
Pietro nodded. "She's out. We should be good."
From his pouch Rocket pulled out the extractor that Tony had made, a small foil-sealed alcohol wipe, and a tube of lidocaine.
Pietro spread the anesthetic on the back of Jane's upper arm, not sure what the drug would do to his animal teammate, making sure to sanitize the area with the alcohol pad just as Bruce had told them. Finally Rocket held up the extractor and its concentrated cluster of needles.
It had been quite the argument about the needles used to pull the reality stone from Jane. There had been talk of using a three prong system, the needle size maybe less than a six gauge. James had been for the option of using possibly a thirty-two gauge, going as low as twenty-two, and using a lot more then just three needles.
The argument had gone to James once he brought up the fact that the liquid gem wouldn't take kindly to its host being in pain, caused by such a large gauge. More of the thin needles had been added to the design to lessen the strain of the extraction process and then been approved by the team.
"Ready?" Rocket asked, hovering over Jane's form.
The Sokovian nodded, tense with anticipation and ready to pull the small creature out of harm's way should the stone react.
The needles were inserted and they watched as the red swirls underneath the woman's skin gathered at the injection site. But seeing as Jane had hardly flinched, there was no violent response like the ones Thor had reported.
Pietro held his breath as one wispy reality tendril reached out to where the needles were buried, to investigate he was sure, and suddenly the canister came to life, filling rapidly with the red miasma as it was steadily drained from the sleeping woman.
A click sounded and Pietro gently removed the containment tube, eyes on Jane and the floating liquid. Neither stirred.
Wide-eyed he shared a look with Rocket whose bewildered smile swiftly changed into a grin. "We got it."
Not wasting a second, the pair took off toward the door, peeking out to make sure it was clear before they left the room and slinked off to hide in a dark corner of the corridor.
"Can't believe we got it." Rocket said, gripping at the fur of his head. His smile dimmed. "Well shit. Now we gotta find Barnes and Tubby."
Pietro handed the metal tube to the raccoon for safe keeping. "That's the easy part."
Dipping into his own mind, the white-haired man felt for the familiar presence, tugging at it when he found it.
"James, we got it! We're heading your way."
It took a second for the reply to come through. "Alright. See you in a bit. And just to let you know, Thor got busted by his mom. We're in her study."
Pietro nudged Rocket as he honed in on the mental trail that would lead them to his brother-in-law. "This way. And apparently they got busted by Thor's mother."
His furry companion made a snarky remark about Thor's sneaking abilities that had Pietro chuckling, light-hearted at the fact that they were that much closer to getting everyone back.
Their plan was working.
Yeah I know it's short. I haven't started the next chapter yet but I feel like its gonna be hard to type up. And yes I did change the design of the extractor thing they made. The needles were like the size of a freaking straw! Also I wonder if the reality stone becomes solid when in the presence of the other stones? That's my headcanon. Let me know how you feel about this chapter. See you later. Peace out. -Mez
