A/n: I only own Ellie, Grant, Beckie and Kasie, and Sarah; all other characters that you recognize are property of Marvel.
I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this
There's only one thing you should know
I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end it doesn't even matter
~ In the End by Linkin Park
*~*~* May 4, 2012- New York, New York *~*~*
When Steve's feet hit the ground, a Chitauri ship flew directly over their heads. Walking out to the street to evaluate the field, he looked up and down to see the original six of them one block away.
"All right, we all have our assignments. Two Stones uptown, one Stone, down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock," Steve said as he looked back at them as they heard a growl.
Suddenly the Hulk in all his glory appeared, lifted a car, and smashed it down on a Chitauri alien multiple times, before jumping onto the car and then running off.
Steve looked back at Bruce, who put his hand on his face in embarrassment.
"Feel free to smash a few things along the way," Steve told him.
"I think it's gratuitous, but whatever," Bruce stated as he ripped off his shirt and then walked past them growling flakily as he flexed his muscles.
He walked over to a cab and hit it with his fist then picked up a motorcycle and threw it into the alley next to them with a weak roar.
"We get it, Bruce," Tony said shaking his head.
"I'm not him anymore but I'll do my best on the way to Bleecker," Bruce told them as he started running.
Tony sighed, "We're going to blow this. He isn't the Hulk anymore and we are a bunch of old guys now," He said as he looked at Scott, "Well at least we got you, Tiny."
*~*~* 2014- Morag *~*~*
As Natasha's legs hit the surface of Morag, the adrenaline made them buckle and she hit the ground.
"You okay?" Clint asked as he helped her up.
"Yeah," Natasha said as she took in the planet that was dark, dank, and dreary all at the same time.
Clint took the Benatar out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. They all moved back as he threw the disc and enlarged it.
"Good thing you have good aim, Clint," Rhodey stated as Nebula climbed up inside so they could extract the secondary ship.
"At least I still have one thing," Clint mumbled as Nebula started the Benatar and flew it up to hover in midair. The cargo doors opened and the secondary ship started descending.
"Okay bring it down Blue. Right on that line. That's it. Down, down," Rhodey directed as Nebula brought the ship down.
Natasha looked as a weird tiny dinosaur-like creature came up towards her and Clint.
"Careful, it might bite," Clint remarked.
Natasha kicked it and it flew away from them, hit the ground rolling then ran off with a hiss.
She sighed and Clint looked at Rhodey, "Hey, can we hurry it up?" Clint asked.
"Guys, chop-chop. Come on. We're on the clock," Natasha remarked.
Rhodey looked back at them, "All that is really helpful."
Natasha just smiled as she looked around at one of the last places she would ever see.
After the secondary ship landed, Nebula landed the Benatar next to it and then climbed out.
"You guys be safe," Rhodey told them as Clint and Natasha walked over to him.
Natasha pulled him into a hug, "Take care, okay?"
"Yeah," Rhodey said as he hugged her back Clint stood by surprised at the hug, "Get that stone and come back. No messing around."
"Hey," Clint said as he walked over to Natasha walked away.
"We got this," Rhodey told him.
"Let's get it done," Clint stated seriously.
"Yes, sir," Rhodey replied.
Clint patted his arm, "I'll see you back."
Natasha and Clint walked up the stairs as Rhodey yelled, "You guys watch your six!"
Natasha flashed him a smile and Clint waved a, "Yeah" as the doors shut behind them.
Climbing into the cockpit, both she and Clint fastened in.
"Coordinates should be all set," Natasha told Clint as they hit the button and they started to climb in midair.
Pushing up the throttle they exited the atmosphere and a box appeared in front of them with a portal.
Clint looked over at Natasha and cracked a smile as they entered the warp, "We're a long way from Budapest."
All Natasha could do was grin as a wave of anxiousness washed over her as she looked ahead and took in a one-in-a-lifetime, her last-in-a-lifetime experience.
*~*~* May 4, 2012- New York, New York *~*~*
Steve ran to the doors of Stark Industries to find it surprisingly full of people. Thankfully they were all distracted by the events outside the shattered glass windows to pay him any attention as Tony came over to the earpiece.
"Better hustle Cap. Things look like they're just about wrapped up here," Tony stated.
Steve hit the button for the elevator and looked around, "Got it. I'm approaching the elevator now."
The moment the elevator opened, he jumped in and hit the door close button. Riding up to the middle of the building, he got out and the elevator immediately went down.
"That was close," Steve thought out loud as he looked out at the battle below.
"Uh, Mr. Rogers. I almost forgot that that suit did nothing for your ass," Tony stated through the earpiece.
Steve rolled his eyes, "No one asked you to look, Tony."
"It's ridiculous," Tony whispered.
"I think you look great, Cap. As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass," Scott stated.
Steve rolled his eyes, but caught his reflection in a window. He took a quick look, then shook his head, as he went back to watching the battle below.
"Who are these guys?" Scott's voice asked over comms.
"They are SHIELD...well, Hydra. But, we didn't know that yet," Tony told him.
"Seriously, you didn't? I mean...they look like bad guys," Scott retorted.
"You're small, but you're talking loud," Tony replied.
There was a bit of radio silence, and then Steve saw a car go through a building,and flinched because he couldn't help.
"All right, you're up, little buddy. There's our stone," Tony radioed.
"Alright. Flick me," Scott replied.
"Ant has landed and all right, Cap. I got our scepter in the elevator just passing the 80th floor," Tony radioed.
Steve walked over then looked back at the battle behind him, "On it. Head to the lobby."
"Alright. I'll see you there," Tony replied.
The elevator opened and Sitwell, Rumwell, and many other STRIKE agents that they knew had been tied to HYDRA were suddenly in front of him.
"Captain. I thought you were coordinating search and rescue?" Sitwell asked as Steve entered the elevator.
"Change of plans," Steve stated as he hit the button to go down.
"Hey, Cap," Rumlow said.
"Rumlow," Steve replied trying to erase the contempt from his voice as he saw one agent reach for his gun, "I just got a call from the Secretary. I'm gonna be running point on the scepter."
"Sir? I don't understand," Sitwell said confused as he looked back at him.
"We got word there may be an attempt to steal it," Steve stated.
"Sorry, Cap. We can't give you the scepter," Rumlow told him.
"I'm gonna have to call the Director," Sitwell told him.
"That's okay. Trust me," Steve told him as he leaned over and stated words he had never wanted to say ever, "Hail Hydra."
Sitwell looked at him surprised as heads turned towards him confused.
The elevator stopped and Sitwell glanced at Rumlow, who sighed and then handed Steve the Scepter. The doors opened and with the shield in one hand and the case in the other, he walked off smiling.
"Thumbelina do you copy? I have eyes on the prize. It is go time," Tony radioed.
"Bombs away," Scott replied as Steve hurried through a secondary staircase.
"Is that Axe body spray?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, I had a can in the desk for emergencies. Relax," Tony replied as Steve tried not to laugh out loud, "Can we focus please?"
"I'm going inside you," Scott radioed.
Steve hurried down the stairs a few floors then opened the door to the walkway that connected the two lab areas.
"Do it, Lang, windows closing. Pull my pin," Tony mumbled over the radio.
"Here it goes," Scott replied.
"Medic, medic! Give these guys some help!" Tony stated.
"Are you sure you'll be safe Tony?" Steve asked going through another set of doors.
"Uh huh," Tony replied, "Good job. Meet me in the alley. I'm gonna grab a quick slice."
Steve walked down a hallway and Steve suddenly heard alarms going off through the comms.
"Tony, what's going on? Tell me you found that cube," Steve asked as he looked behind him then looked in front as he reached the bridge and groaned as he saw himself, "Oh, you gotta be shitting me."
"I have eyes on Loki. 14th floor," He heard himself radio over the SHIELD comms.
"I'm not Loki," Steve told himself as he set the Scepter's case down, "And I don't wanna hurt you."
The younger him took a breath and charged forward. Shield hit shield and suddenly he was flying backward.
"I can do this all day," His younger self-stated.
Mentally he groaned as he got up, "Yeah, I know. I know."
Steve threw his shield at his younger self and that ricocheted off each other falling off the bridge down to the floors below. Hand to hand, they traded blows until he picked up his former self and body-slammed him onto the ground. He got right back up and during the brawl; the case accidentally got knocked off their level and fell below. He hooked his foot under his younger self's foot and they both inadvertently fell going through the glass on multiple levels and slamming into sets of stairs before falling to the courtyard below.
Steve groaned as his body hadn't taken this kind of toll since Thanos. Pushing himself up, he saw his younger self grab his compass.
"Where did you get this?" Younger Steve asked as Steve finally stood up straight.
Steve leaped forward for the Scepter and his younger self grabbed onto him, placing him into a headlock. Throwing them both back, he put Steve into a chokehold then rolled them restraining him.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm going to kill myself,' Steve thought as he had a sudden thought.
"Bucky... is... alive!" He croaked out.
His younger self let go in confusion, "What?" He asked as Steve gasped and coughed.
He reached back and quickly punched his younger self, then grabbed the scepter and touched his chest, knocking him out with the mind stone. He finally had a chance to catch his breath as his younger self fell face down. Steve took some breaths as he grabbed his compass and stood up with the scepter in the other hand. Slowly straightening up his sudden aching back, he looked down at his younger self.
He grinned then looked around, "That is America's ass." Reaching up to his ear he found that his comm had fallen out. Thankfully he could see it a few feet away and walked over to it grabbing it. Placing it back in his ear, he went through the stairs that would take him down to the parking garage. Looking down below once he was in the parking garage, he saw Scott and Tony nowhere to be seen.
Jumping down to the alley below, he heard, "Cap."
Steve turned around to see a beat-up car with Tony and a full-sized Scott inside.
"Sorry, buddy. We got a problem," Tony said from the front seat.
"Huh. Yeah, we do," Scott said bitterly with a scoff.
Tony looked back in disbelief as Scott got out of the car and started pacing. Scott and Tony started telling him how their plan was now worthless. The panic in his chest grew with every sentence that came from their mouths.
'Remain calm, Steve. You are the Captain. You are the leader,' He mentally told himself.
"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Steve asked forcing the lump in his throat away.
"You know what? Give me a break, Steve. I just got hit in the head with the Hulk," Tony told him angrily.
"You said that we had one shot. This, this was our shot. We shot it. It's shot. Six stones or nothing. Six stones or nothing!" Scott said manically.
"You're repeating yourself, you know that? You're repeating yourself," Tony said snarling back at him.
"You're repeating yourself. You're repeating yourself. You know what. No!" Scott replied.
"Dude, come on," Tony said exhausted as Steve looked around trying to formulate a plan.
"You never wanted a time heist, you went on board with the time heist," Scott ranted.
"I dropped the ball," Tony admitted.
"You ruined the time heist," Scott told him.
"Is that what I did?" Tony quipped back.
"Yeah!" Scott replied.
"Are there any other options with the Tesseract?" Steve asked calmly.
"No, no, no. There's no other option," Scott said hitting the car door shut, "There's no do-overs. We're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left. Each. That's it, alright? We use that, Bye, bye. You're not going home."
Steve swallowed when he realized he was probably not going home so that everyone else could return.
"Yeah, well if we don't try, then no one else is going home, either," Steve told him.
"I got it," Tony said as he got out of the car, "There's another way. To retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles. We'll stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State."
Steve felt his stomach drop, "When were they both there?" Steve asked him as Tony walked up to him
"They were there at, I have a vaguely exact idea," Tony told him.
Steve swallowed as he looked at Tony annoyed, "How vague?" Steve asked.
"What are you talking about? Where are we going?" Scott asked confused.
"I know for a fact they were there," Tony told him.
"Who's they? What are we doing?" Scott asked.
"And I know how I know," Tony told him.
Steve thought about it for a moment. He had no clue when the Camp had been decommissioned. It was a gamble either way. One way, they went home empty-handed and no one would return. On the other, it may be a dead end and he would never return home himself, or they would fulfill their mission.
"Guys, what's up? What is it?" Scott asked.
Steve looked around then looked at Tony, "Well, it looks like we're improvising," He told him.
"Right. What are we improvising?" Scott asked.
Steve walked around Tony and handed Scott the Scepter, "Scott, get this back to the compound."
"Suit up," Tony told Steve as he walked back over to him and they expanded the holoscreen in the time GPS.
"What's in New Jersey?" Scott asked confused.
"0-4," Tony told Steve.
"0-4," Steve said as he entered the digits.
"Uhh, 0-7," Tony stated.
"0-7," Steve recited.
"Excuse me," Scott stated.
"1-9-7-0," Tony told Steve.
Steve looked up at him confused, "Are you sure?"
"Cap. Captain. Steve," Scott said as Steve put the final digits in.
"Sorry, America. Rogers. Look, if you do this, and this doesn't work, you're not coming back," Scott told them both.
"Thanks for the pep talk, puissant," Tony told Scott as he looked at Steve, "Do you trust me?"
Steve briefly thought of the years of hostility then erased it from his mind, "I do."
"Your call," Tony told him.
"Here we go," Steve said as they activated their GPSes and shrunk back into the quantum realm.
*~*~* April 7, 1970- Camp Lehigh, New Jersey *~*~*
The moment their feet hit the ground, they ran for cover.
Steve looked around from behind the truck they were behind, "Well it's sure active."
"We need to find clothes," Tony told him.
Steve glanced around to the parking lot, "Maybe we can get lucky and someone has an extra outfit in their car?"
"Worth the try," Tony agreed as they ran off towards the parking lot.
Straightening out his tie in the mirror of a truck, they walked towards one of the buildings trying not to be noticed.
"Clearly, you weren't actually born here, right?" Tony asked noticing the sign.
"The idea of me was," Steve told him looking around.
"Right. Well, imagine you're SHIELD, running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization," Tony stated as he looked in various windows, "Where do you hide it?"
"In plain sight," Steve told him nodding towards a similar ammunition bunker that he and Natasha had broken into years before, or later depending on how you think about it.
Tony touched his glasses, scanned the building, then nodded at Steve.
Walking to building E47, they went through the lead door and walked inside. A woman walked over to the building behind them carrying a file and Steve opened the door for her, "After you ma'am."
"Thank you," She stated as she walked inside and called for the elevator.
Once inside the elevator, the woman opened up the file and started looking over it glancing at the two of them standing against the wall next to her. Tony, suspicious that she may recognize Steve, stepped forward.
With a ding, the elevator stopped.
"Good luck on your mission, Captain," Tony said as he got off on the floor that he remembered the Tesseract supposedly being on.
"Good luck on your project, doctor," Steve said with a slight moment of hesitation on calling Tony, doctor.
"You're new here?" The lady asked him as the elevator started moving again.
"Not exactly," Steve replied.
The lady nodded suspiciously at him.
On the next floor, he got off as Tony had instructed him.
Finding the first empty office, he walked in and shut the door behind him. Picking up the phone, he called the operator, "Put me through to Dr. Pym please."
"Hello," He answered.
"Dr. Pym?" Steve asked.
"That would be the number that you called. Yes," He replied.
"This is Captain Stevens from shipping. We have a package for you," Steve told him looking to make sure no one was coming in.
"Bring it up," Pym told him on the other line.
"Well, that's the thing, sir. We can't," Steve said trying to sound confused.
"I'm confused. I thought that was your job," Pym said.
"Well, it's jus. Sir, the box is glowing and, to be honest, some of our mail guys aren't feeling that great," Steve said coming up with something on the fly.
"They didn't open it, did they?" Pym asked.
"Yeah, they did. You better get down here," Steve told him as he heard him hang up and he walked over to open the door to the office. Pym ran past him and he came out of an office marked Stovall.
Hurrying down to Pym's office, he went inside and into the lab. Looking around, he finally saw little red vials at the far side of the lab. Reaching into the incubator, he grabbed four vials of Pym particles to be safe. Two to make it home and two if they had to go somewhere else.
Closing up the incubator, Steve hurried out of the lab. Walking down the hall, he saw the woman from the elevator come out of a hallway with two military police officers.
"No, I've got an eye for this. The two of them looked fishy," He heard her say.
Steve pulled his hat down and quickly tucked into the office marked Amethyst.
"Yeah, this is Chesler. I need every available MPson sub-level 6. We have a potential breach," Steve heard someone say as he shut the door and hid behind the wall.
Taking a breath, he took in his surroundings. In front of him was a desk with pictures on it. A glance and he started to turn away but froze when he saw a familiar face in one of the pictures. His own. Walking over to it slowly, he picked up the frame. Glancing back at the door, he read the backward letters, MARGARET CARTER. DIRECTOR.
Then he heard her voice and his stomach rose into his throat.
"I said bring them in," Peggy said with her authoritative voice.
"They're trying ma'am, but Braddock's unit has been stopped by lightning strikes," The man with Peggy on the other side of the glass answered.
She groaned throwing her head back in disgust, "Oh, for the love of…I'll look at the weather projections."
Steve heard nothing but the sudden buzzing in his ears as she walked closer to her side of the glass in front of him. He couldn't help moving closer to the glass, so that suddenly after all these years only blinds and glass separated them. If she only glanced up, she may have seen him, but his heart hurt at how close she was. Her looks remained mostly unchanged, albeit the slight silver streaks that ran through her hair.
"Not the lightning strikes we're looking at," She said as she walked away out of the room on the other side of the glass.
Steve sighed and was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of longing. Looking down at his picture, he turned around and set it back on her desk in the same spot. With a glance back, he left the office and went back to the surface to collect himself.
Thankfully the elevator was empty on the ride up and he was able to lose himself in the masses above as his brain went over thinking everything he knew. Did she love him, after all, that time? Before she had died and her memory had gone, she had said she missed him. His ears were buzzing until he saw Tony standing with none other than Howard.
"Shit Tony," Steve mumbled hiding deeper in the shadows.
"Did you feel qualified? Like you had any idea how to successfully operate that thing?" Steve heard Howard ask Tony.
"I literally pieced it together as I went along. I thought about what my Dad did, and uh," Tony told him as he saw Steve and Steve gave him a thumbs up.
"My old man, he never met a problem he couldn't solve with a belt," Howard told him.
"I thought my dad was tough on me. And now, looking back, I just remember the good stuff, you know. He did drop the odd pearl," Tony told Howard.
"Yeah? Like what?" Howard asked.
"No amount of money ever bought a second of time," Tony told him.
"Smart guy," Howard said.
"He did his best," Tony informed him.
"Let me tell you. That kid's not even here yet, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him," Howard informed Tony as he walked away to his car, Steve saw years of resentment wash away from Tony's face as he looked at him and Steve nodded at him.
Tony pointed to the case in his hand and looked at Steve in disbelief.
"Good to meet you, Potts," Howard said walking back over to him and shaking his hand.
"Yeah, Howard, everything's gonna be all right," Tony told him as Steve saw him lean in for an awkward hug, "Thank you, for everything; you've done for this country."
Howard walked away shaking his head and walked up to his driver, "Jarvis, have we ever met that guy?" Howard asked.
"Oh my God," Steve said in disbelief as Tony walked over to him.
"You meet a lot of people, sir," The man told him.
Steve started walking and Tony came up next to him, "That was risky."
"Yeah, I know," Tony said as they went around the corner to the more deserted area of the base, "But he caught me trying to get this. Get this; my Mom is pregnant with me right now."
Steve looked at him as they went behind the building, "Do you have some relief?"
Tony nodded, "You know what? Yeah. All those years of resentment, he didn't know how to be a parent. He was just doing his best, same as I am."
*~*~* 2014- Vormir*~*~*
As the Benatar flew closer to the alien planet, Natasha couldn't help but stare at the darkness of the planet and the eeriness of the clouds.
Clint walked over to her as the aircraft slowed and hovered just outside its gravity.
"Wow, under different circumstances this would be totally awesome," Clint said as they climbed into the pilot chairs and Clint slowly landed on the planet's surface.
"Where do we go?" Natasha asked.
"Not a clue. There is nothing but the vastness and that mountain. So it's either in that watery liquid on the planet, buried somewhere, or at the top of the mountain," Clint stated.
"Let's go with the mountain," Natasha suggested.
After 30 minutes of walking up the mountain, which proved to be treacherous and very intense, they stopped for a brief breather, "I bet the Raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain," Natasha said as Clint stretched his back.
"Technically he's not a raccoon, you know?" Clint informed her.
Natasha looked at him, "Oh, whatever. He eats garbage."
Suddenly Natasha felt her blood go cold as a voice surrounded them in the vast quiet.
"Welcome."
Clint pulled his sword as she pulled her gun and they pivoted toward the voice.
A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness behind them, covered in a flowing demonic gown that moved in the still wind around him.
"Natasha. Daughter of Ivan. Clint. Son of Edith," It stated.
Natasha felt her stomach drop as she heard her supposed father's name.
The creature moved no closer, and Clint took the first step and Natasha followed weapons out in suspicion.
"Who are you?" Natasha asked.
"Consider me a guide… to you… and to all that seek the soul stone."
"Oh, good. You tell us where it is and we'll be on our way," Natasha said still not lowering her gun as the creature started moving closer to them.
"Oooh liebchen, if only it were that easy," He said as he came close enough that they could see his face.
Natasha's breath caught in her throat as the German he spoke and the face before her came together with the images that Steve drew when working out his nightmares in his journal.
"The Red Skull," Natasha whispered.
"I'm glad to see my presence is still felt on Earth," The Red Skull stated, "I was banished to this existence as a protector. Do you wish to seek the stone?"
"Yes," Clint told him.
"Follow me."
"Who is this guy?" Clint asked her as they followed him farther up the mountain.
"The Red Skull, Hydra's leader that Steve fought and he thought he killed when he went down with the Valkyrie," Natasha told him quietly but the Red Skull glanced back as if he heard her words.
They came to a cliff with an inscription carved out of the floor. The Red Skull walked out to the edge and Natasha was able to see the smoke coming off the dark and twisted flowing robes of the former man in front of her, "What you seek lies in front of you," He informed them as Natasha looked down below at the rocks, "As does what you fear."
"The stone is down there," Natasha stated knowing what she had to do.
"For one of you," The Red Skull stated, "For the other... In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul."
Natasha glanced over at Clint, who was staring down below.
Clint started pacing and walked over to the divide in the cliffs as he started mumbling to himself.
Natasha heard her heartbeat through her ears as she thought about what lied in front of her and had to sit on a log that lay on the surface of the cliff.
Clint waved at the Red Skull, "How's it going?" Clint chuckled as he walked over to her, "Jesus...Maybe he's making this shit up.
Natasha had her elbows to her knees and her hands clasped together in front of her trying to calm herself down, "No. I don't think so."
"Why, 'cause he knows your Daddy's name?" Clint asked walking away from her.
Natasha swallowed hard as she stared at the cold stone in front of her, "I didn't. Thanos left here with the stone without his daughter. It's not a coincidence."
"Yeah," Clint said softly.
"Whatever it takes," Natasha stated.
"Whatever it takes," Clint repeated staring down the Red Skull.
Natasha looked at him and then stood up, "If we don't get that stone, billions of people stay dead. Bucky, Laura, the kids, everyone."
"Yeah," Clint said as he looked away, "Then I guess we both know who it's gotta be."
"I guess we do," Natasha said.
Clint reached for her hand and she grabbed it then took his hand in both of hers. Slowly they both looked into each other's eyes.
"I'm starting to think we mean different people here, Natasha," Clint told her as he smiled at her.
"For the last five years I've been trying to do one thing: Get to right here. That's all it's been about. Bringing everybody back," Natasha told him calmly.
"Oh, don't you get all decent on me now," Clint told her.
"What, you think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your life, you idiot. I have a daughter at home," Natasha told him.
"Yeah, well, I don't want you to, how's that? Natasha, you know what I've done. You know what I've become," Clint told her trying not to become emotional, "They don't deserve this."
"I don't judge people on their worst mistakes," Natasha whispered.
"Maybe you should," Clint told her.
"You didn't," Natasha told him as she felt tears start to well in her eyes.
"You're a pain in my ass, you know that?" Clint told her.
Natasha nodded as they both leaned forward so their foreheads touched.
Clint pulled away and looked at her, "Okay."
Natasha took a breath as the tears fell from her eyes and nodded.
"You win," Clint told her as he smiled then pushed her then swept her feet out from under her.
Natasha felt her back hit hard against the cold ground as Clint held her down.
"Tell my family I love them," Clint told her.
Natasha hit him and kicked him rolling him to the ground. Holding her arm out with her blood thumping in her ears she pointed a widow's bite at him, "You tell them yourself."
Natasha shot him, sending electrical impulses all over his body. She took off in a run towards the cliff.
"This is for my family," She whispered as she got nearer to the edge and heard Clint draw his bow.
A blast in front of her threw her back to the ground and she groaned at the pain in her stomach as she felt ribs break on impact. Rolling on the ground in pain, she looked up to see Clint running for the cliff as he tossed his bow to the side. She pushed herself up on pure adrenaline as he jumped and jumped with him. With a quick decision, she pulled the tether bite from her belt and shot it towards the cliff's side, it caught as they fell and she threw the other end on his body biting into his armored back. As the stack caught, she felt herself slipping past his body, falling to her death, and then he caught her by her arm. She dangled looking up at him.
Clint looked at his belt where the bite was hooked into him, "Damn you!"
He reached for her and she couldn't resist trying to grab his hand, "Wait," He cried.
Natasha swallowed hard then looked down below, "Let me go."
"No. Please, no," Clint said distraught shaking his head.
Natasha felt a wave of peace wash over her, "it's okay. She is going to be okay. They are all going to be okay," She whispered.
"Please," Clint choked out.
With a deep breath, Natasha kicked out from the wall.
"No!" Clint screamed as her hand through his as she closed her eyes and was weightless as she gave in as she fell through the air.
For a few moments, nothing but the air rushing past her and her heartbeat in her ears was all she could hear.
"I love you," Natasha whispered.
Then she hit. For a brief moment, it was intense pain, then nothing. No pain. No sound. Nothingness. She had a brief out-of-body experience where she was staring down at her bloody body. Then light enveloped her.
"It's okay," She quietly heard as she gasped in a breath again.
*~*~* September 18, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
Steve hurdled next to Tony through the Quantum Realm and saw the patterning of the Quantum Base as the others joined them. Suddenly they were blasted on the base and caught their bearings.
They all rescinded their suits and looked around. Tony held the briefcase with the Tesseract, and Bruce with the Time Stone next to them, "Did we get them all?" Bruce asked.
Steve looked over at Nebula and Rhodey, who held an orb containing the power stone.
"You telling me this'll actually work?" Rhodey asked.
A thud made them all look over at Clint, and the empty space next to him and Steve felt his stomach drop.
Clint stared at him, wrecked.
"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asked.
Next to him, Bruce gasped as Clint looked down at the base dejectedly as a tear slid from his eye and he looked Steve straight in the eyes.
Steve felt as if his heart was breaking into a million, tiny pieces as he stared at Clint. He swallowed hard as he looked away at the base of the tunnel. Bruce fell to his knees and hit the floor with his fist and he heard Ellie's sob for the first time.
Steve looked over and saw her look at him, "Oh God, you knew?"
Ellie pushed herself up from the ground, "Steve," Ellie sobbed out.
"How could you?" Steve yelled as he threw his shield to the ground and ran over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders, "How could you let us do this if you knew?"
Ellie sobbed as he shook her and Rhodey walked over to pull him off her, "Steve, enough."
Ellie's knees hit the ground again and Scott came over, setting handing the scepter to Thor as he pulled her off the ground.
"Come on," Scott said.
Ellie numbly followed Scott as he aided her out of the hangar. Ellie barely felt her feet on the ground as he led her to the kitchen. She felt like her body was made of jelly as she sat at the bar. Scott opened the refrigerator and pulled out berries.
Scott looked at Ellie as she wiped her eyes, "It won't exactly be Baskin Robbins but I can make a smoothie."
Ellie looked over as Bruce walked in, "I'm sorry Bruce."
"Did you know?" Bruce asked.
"Yes, and so did she," Ellie told him sadly.
Bruce stared, "She knew before she went?"
Ellie nodded, "We found evidence, from the future."
"What evidence?" Bruce asked.
"I can't tell you, Bruce. History hasn't written itself yet," Ellie said sadly.
*~*~* September 19, 2023- Irvington, New York *~*~*
Ellie cleared her throat as she knocked on Sarah's bedroom door, "Sweetheart, are you ready for lunch?"
When she didn't receive a reply, she opened the bedroom door and walked inside to see her curled up with her favorite bear.
"Do you want to talk?" Ellie asked as she saw Natasha's video on pause on the TV.
"I don't think I have any tears left," Sarah told her sadly.
Ellie sat down on her bed next to her, "It's perfectly okay and normal to be sad."
Sarah took her blanket and wiped her eyes, "I don't understand, why did Mommy not return?"
Ellie sighed as she took her hand, "There is a mission going on that could bring back Uncle Bucky and all the rest of the Avengers back. The only way the last piece of what they needed could be given was for your Momma to be left behind. She did it for you, for all those souls that were lost. Your," Ellie swallowed down the tears, "Your mommy was an actual superhero and there will never be another like her, but because of her, we have a chance to bring back her sister. That neither, you nor I, knew about."
"Aunt Yelena?" Sarah asked.
Ellie looked at her, "She told her about her?"
Sarah nodded, "She said that I reminded her of Yelena but she was gone. She could come back?"
"Yes, if you're Daddy and the rest of the Avengers can do it, they all will come back," Ellie told her as she pulled her into a hug.
Sarah sniffed, "Where is Daddy?"
Ellie sighed as she kissed the top of Sarah's head, "I assume at the compound. We will go see him if you feel up to it."
Steve looked up as Clint came down the dock.
"You know, I'm ashamed of you right now," Clint told Steve as he stood on the other side of the dock looking out at the water.
"I'm ashamed of me too," Steve told him sadly.
Clint turned around and marched to him putting his finger in his face, "You have a daughter. You have a daughter still and she just lost her Mother, where are you? Here, and not with her. I'm ashamed and so would Nat."
"I can't face her, Clint," Steve told him sadly.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You are a coward, I never thought you would be a coward," Clint said as he saw Bruce leading the rest of the Avengers down to the water and turned away.
Bruce came to the end of the dock and looked out at the water, "Water has such a calming presence. A new leaf is like time, that flows and ebbs. It evaporates condensates and comes back again."
Tony put one leg up on the chair next to Steve and leaned down on his thigh looking at Steve, "Do we know if she had family?"
Steve scoffed and swallowed hard, "Yeah. Us."
"I mean other than us," Tony told him as Thor walked over.
"What?" Thor asked confused.
Tony stood up straight and looked at him, "Huh?"
"What are you doing?" Thor asked.
"I just asked him a question," Tony told Thor.
Steve looked at the wood panels of the dock as Thor grew visibly agitated, "Yeah, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right?"
Steve hung his head in shame as the pain he had been trying to push down boiled over.
"So stop this shit," Thor growled, "We're the Avengers, get it together."
"We can't get her back," Clint said simply.
"Wh… What?" Thor asked confused.
"It can't be undone. It can't," Clint told him sadly.
Thor forced a laugh, "I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And "can't" seems very definitive don't you think?"
Steve looked up to see Clint let down his guard and look at Thor, "Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"
"No, that's my point," Thor told him.
"It can't be undone," Clint said emotionally, "Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? GO GRAB YOUR HAMMER, AND YOU GO FLY AND TALK TO HIM!" Clint yelled.
Steve closed his eyes as tears started to well up in them,
"It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it," Clint admitted.
Steve jumped sitting up as Bruce yelled out and picked up the bench next to him and threw it across the lake. He turned and looked at them all, "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to. For her sake and Sarah's."
Steve took a breath and stood up, 'Time to be Captain America. To be the father I should be. The friend, I should be.'
"We will," Steve said stoned faced.
"Rocket is working on the stones right now. I say we use nanotechnology, I have a way to channel the energy and damper it on the user. We take my technology, make our glove and bring them all back. If we work on it all day, I think we could do it tomorrow," Tony told them.
"Let's do it," Thor said as he led the way.
Steve walked up next to Tony as they walked through the woods next to the compound, "Do you think this will work?"
"What other choices do we have Steve? Just holding onto the damn stones?" Tony asked him, "Do I want to take the chance to be next? Hell no, I have a daughter too but we are the Avengers. We have to Avenge. Oh shit, you are in trouble."
"What?" Steve asked as he saw Ellie and Sarah standing at the top of the hill, "Oh shit I am."
Bruce gave Ellie a light hug and then looked at Ellie, who nodded, "Hey short stuff, let's go get you an ice cream float. What about that?"
"With chocolate?" Sarah asked.
"Of course!" Bruce said as he picked Sarah up.
Thor pulled Ellie into a hug and she held onto him, "I do not know what you know, but do you know if we succeed?"
"I don't know, but we have to don't we?" Ellie asked.
Thor nodded and walked off to the compound.
Tony gave her a quick hug and then wordlessly followed Thor.
Clint walked over to her, "Are you sure?"
"Positive. She knew she made peace. We hoped that the future would change, but," Ellie took a shaky breath and Clint nodded then followed the rest.
Ellie wiped her tears as she looked at Steve, "I'm so mad at you right now."
"Not as much as I am at myself I bet," Steve told her as he looked towards the house, "Does she know?"
"Of course she does. Natasha had that covered," Ellie told him bitterly, "Somehow she knew that you would be a chicken shit."
Steve put his hands in his pockets and toed the ground, "I'm sorry. Call me weak but I thought she would be there and she wasn't. We were in New York, and I saw her. I forgot the way she carried herself back then. Cold and broken. Self repaired it because she had to be self-reliant. Then we screwed everything up, Tony and I had to go to Camp Lehigh to try to fix things."
Ellie looked at him confused, "Lehigh?"
"Yeah, in 1970. We didn't have the Tesseract, Loki ran off with it. So we had to get the Tesseract and more particles to get home. Tony remembered Pym was at Lehigh when the Tesseract was there in the 70s," Steve told her as he looked down, "I saw Peggy."
Ellie's breath caught in her throat, "You did?"
"Yeah," Steve swallowed hard, "You know, she kept a picture of me on her desk? Not Captain America, not me all… super soldiered up, but me as what I was."
Ellie sighed, "Because she loved you, Steve. She saw you as you before the serum."
Steve sighed, "What would my life have been like if I hadn't crashed in the Valkyrie?"
Ellie bit her lip, "We will never know Steve."
Steve looked at her, "I'm sorry for blowing up yesterday. I just, she was there, and then she was gone. I had just seen Peggy and I was a basket case."
"I understand," Ellie told him with a shrug.
"How did you guys know?" Steve asked.
Ellie shook her head, "The future is still writing itself, but we had a visitor. They knew if she didn't know, too much would be unresolved. She left some videos. Things will make sense shortly."
"Talking about the future, Tony thinks he can make his gauntlet tonight. We may have everyone back tomorrow," Steve told her.
Ellie looked at him surprised, "Seriously?"
"Yeah, and please don't take offense to this. I don't want you anywhere near it; I don't want the kids near it either. I need you to stay home. Don't even go into New York. We don't know what will happen when they come back if we can get everyone back. Wasn't there a member of the Dora-"
"Yeah, one of Mother's guards," Ellie told him, "She disappeared at the house."
"Okay, I need you to be home then, not just for her but so I know you and all the kids are safe if it goes south, okay?" Steve asked.
"I will," Ellie told him nodding, "Just be careful okay? I know when Bruce was talking about the stones he said the energy was nasty."
"Will do," Steve said as he hugged her and she pulled him to her tightly, "I loved her, really I did."
"I know you did, and she loved you in her way," Ellie told him, "Now, let's go see Sarah. If tomorrow does go south, she needs to spend some time with you. Not that it will, they are all going to come back and we are going to have one big celebration after."
*~*~* September 20, 2023- Irvington, New York *~*~*
Ellie stood on the back balcony of her house looking out at the changing leaves and if she stared long enough, she could focus to see a leaf fall into the Hudson.
"Hello Mrs. Barnes, sorry to put you on hold," The secretary, Mrs. Bennett said as she came back on the other end of her phone call.
"It's alright; I know it's probably busy this time of the morning. I was just calling to inform the school that Sarah and Grant both will not be in today. We had a death in the family," Ellie informed her.
"I'm so sorry to hear about the death in the family. Will Sarah and Grant be returning to school throughout the remainder of the week?" Mrs. Bennett asked.
Ellie cleared her throat, "I wish I knew Mrs. Bennett, we will have to play it by ear depending on arrangements. It was so sudden and I'm not sure what the funeral arrangements will look like. I'll call in tomorrow."
"Well if there is anything that we can do for you, Mr. Rogers, and Ms. Romanoff please let us know," Mrs. Bennett said.
Tears welled up in her eyes, "Thank you," Ellie choked out as she hung up the phone.
Throwing herself back into one of the Adirondack chairs, she wiped her eyes. With a shaky breath, she called Mother.
"Hello Ellie, how are you today my child?" Ramonda asked.
Ellie cleared her throat, "I've been better. Mother, I need you to prepare yourself. Hopefully, something big will be happening today. Steve, Natasha, and the other remaining Avengers did something yesterday, and… we hope that it will change everything for the better. Maybe bring them all back home?"
Ramonda gasped, "What happened?"
"I'm sorry I haven't called in so long, but remember how I said that a man named Scott Lang, who everyone thought had been snapped away, had returned?" Ellie asked.
"Yes, I do remember you mentioning that," Ramonda told her.
"He had been stuck in the Quantum Realm. He had a theory that because to him, the five years had only been five hours, maybe we could control time. We could go back; well they could go back and get the stones, before Thanos. Then use them to bring them all back," Ellie told her as she watched a boat float into her view, "It worked Mom. I tested it first and I went back to see my Momma. As for me, my strong and healthy body, and was amazing. I came back, they knew it worked so they," Ellie sighed, "They made a plan and went to find the stones in the past. They found them, but we lost Nat, Mom."
"Oh Bast, how is Sarah taking it?" Ramonda asked.
"About as well as any of us honestly," Ellie said sadly, "I knew it was happening, I hoped it would change, but she sacrificed herself for Bucky, for Shuri and T'Challa, for everyone including her sister. Why I'm calling though," Ellie swallowed hard, "At some point today, they are going to try to bring everyone back. We don't know how or if it will work. If it does work, where will everyone come back where they left? Will they all return? We don't know anything for sure."
Ramonda was silent for a moment, "So they may all be home tonight?"
"We don't know if it will be successful, but I hope it will be," Ellie told her as she heard a scream upstairs, "I better go, it sounds like Grant and Beckie are getting into it."
"You kept them home today?" Ramonda asked.
"Yeah, yesterday too. Even without everything going on, losing Natasha has been hard on everyone," Ellie told her as she walked inside the house, "Anyways love you, Mother. I'll call you first thing in the morning, hopefully with a more joyful call."
"Love you as well," Ramonda said as Ellie hurried up the stairs to see what Grant and Beckie were fussing about.
*~*~* September 20, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
Steve stood watching Tony and Rocket going over the data from the glove that Tony had made overnight.
"Everything looks good," Bruce told them as he walked over with his tablet in his hand.
Tony took a large breath, "I think we are ready."
Steve watched as Tony activated his digital interface, and his fingers started to control the robotic arms that held the stones. One by one, Tony angled each stone's robotic arm so that there was no risk of them touching.
"Here goes nothing," Tony mumbled as he rubbed his face and then made the motion for the stones to slowly go into place.
Steve watched in the background of the lab with bated breath as the arms slowly moved the stones into place inside the created gauntlet. Once the stone were placed inside they seemed to glow.
"Boom!" Rocket yelled making everyone jump.
Tony turned around giving Rocket a look, and then looked at Steve, "Well, we have it. Now, what do we do with it?"
"We suit up," Steve told him, "Just to be safe. Protect ourselves."
After everyone had the chance to get their chosen protective wear on and Rhodey had flown in from being in DC. Everyone gathered together in the lab. Slowly Tony and Rocket pulled the glove and the arc reactor that Tony had monitoring it from its protective room. Rolling the cradle into the middle of the floor, Tony and Rocket tentatively touched it.
"Alright, the glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked.
Thor walked over at more of a waddle as he limped slightly, " I'll do it."
"Excuse me?" Tony asked in disbelief.
"It's okay," Thor reassured them.
Tony held his arm up blocking Thor, "Now wait. Stop, stop. Slow down."
"Wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet," Steve told him gently placing his hand on Thor's chest.
"I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asked.
"We should at least discuss it," Scott told him.
"Look, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me," Thor told them.
"Normally, you're right," Tony told him.
"It's my duty," Thor informed them waving his hand.
"It's not about that," Tony said getting in front of him eye to eye.
Thor shushed them, "Stop it! Just let me!"
"Hey, Buddy," Tony said trying to calm him down.
Thor had tears in his eyes and the room got silent for a minute as Tony and Thor looked at each other eye to eye, and Thor took Tony's hands in his, "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right," He said quietly.
"Look, it's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition," Tony told Thor matter-of-factly.
"What do you, what do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked Tony.
"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey interjected.
Thor glared at him then took Tony by the shoulders, "Lightning."
"Yeah," Tony nodded looking away.
"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me," Bruce informed them.
Thor and Tony shook their heads dejectedly and Tony looked at Bruce after patting Thor's shoulder.
Bruce walked over to them, "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."
"How do we know you will?" Steve asked him.
"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma," Bruce said looking at the gauntlet, "It's like...I was made for this."
Steve looked around to see everyone but Nebula move in closer, "Should we wait for Nebula?"
"The Blue Meany has nothing to add to this. We will help her coordinate getting back with the rest of the Guardians when everyone returns," Tony told him as he looked around, "Everyone armed and prepared? We don't know what kind of energy it will put out so be prepared. FRIDAY inform Pepper and Ellie to get inside their houses if they are not already."
"Pepper and Ellie, as well as all of the kids are within their prospective houses," FRIDAY informed him.
Tony looked around as Bruce took the glove in his bare hands, "Good to go, yeah?" Tony asked walking around him.
"Let's do it," Bruce informed him.
"Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years," Tony told him, "Think hard about just that."
"Got it," Bruce said.
Everyone came closer. Steve gripped his shield tighter in his hand. Scott put his helmet on his suit. Rhodey put his helmet on, Rocket put his goggles on and Thor stood in front of him protecting him. Tony activated his suit and it spread over his body. A shield appeared in his hand, similar to the shields of the border tribe in Wakanda, which he used to cover Clint next to him.
Bruce looked up at Tony and nodded, "F.R.I.D.A.Y., do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol. Will you? At all three properties."
"Yes, boss," FRIDAY replied.
Steve looked up as all around them; thick metal doors covered all the windows that he could see. Turning around he saw the same thick metal doors come down quarantining the lab.
"Everybody comes home," Bruce stated as he moved his right hand closer to the glove and it grew to fit his hand.
Once it was on his hand, he made a fist to check the fit and groaned out in pain, falling to one knee. Steve watched as the stones came alive sending bolts of energy up Bruce's arm seemingly burning off the material of his shirt.
"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor yelled.
Steve swallowed hard, "No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?"
"Talk to me, Banner," Tony requested.
"I'm okay. I'm okay," Bruce told them.
Thor gave him a double thumbs-up as Bruce screamed panting through the pain. Pushing himself, he snapped his fingers and then fainted on the ground. The gauntlet dropped to the ground and Clint kicked it away.
"Bruce!" Steve yelled kneeling next to him.
"Don't move him," Tony stated as Clint and Thor rushed over to Bruce.
Tony held out his hand and healing nano-particles came out covering the surface of his arm.
Bruce groaned then grabbed Steve's arm with his left one, "Did it work?"
Above them, the metal doors opened.
"We're not sure. It's over. It's okay," Thor told him.
*~*~* September 20, 2023- Irvington, New York *~*~*
Ellie laid her head back against the couch as all three kids sat and watched the Paw Patrol Show that all the kids enjoyed so much.
"Barn Door protocol activated," FRIDAY informed her.
Ellie sat up as something suddenly covered all her windows.
"What's happening, Mom?" Grant asked.
"I don't know, FRIDAY what is this?" Ellie asked as she looked at the kids, "Stay here in this room. Grant, watch over them."
Grant nodded.
"Boss activated the protocol at the compound and said to be precautionary to activate it here and at the cabin," FRIDAY told her.
Ellie went from room to room to see every single window and door to the outside was covered in a metal door, "Oh God, they are trying it."
Grant yelled out and Ellie ran back into the TV room as the doors started to be removed from the windows, feet skidding on the carpet as she saw Abebi, Mother's guard standing in front of her.
"What is going on? Princess Ellie?" Abebi asked in Wakandan confused.
Ellie choked back a sob, "Abebi, I know you are confused. It's been five years since the battle with Thanos. You were part of the group that disappeared. You are back, communicate with the Queen…oh my god! The communicator. Abebi, these are my children. This is Prince Grant," Ellie said as she looked at Grant, "I need to go upstairs and get my communicator."
Faster than she had ever run before, she ran up the stairs, not even trusting her powers to get her to the bedroom. She ran into her bedroom door, splintering the wood as she ran into her door. Grabbing her jewelry box, she opened it and grabbed her communicator. Placing it behind her ear, she took a breath.
"I don't want you to say anything just yet, but if you can hear me. I'm here and I love you. We are here waiting for you," Ellie told him, "I'll see you at home."
She choked back a sob as a buzz came back as a reply.
Wiping her eyes, she heard the doorbell ring.
"Shit the Amazon guy," Ellie said as she ran back downstairs and opened the door to see the Amazon guy confused talking to Steve, "Steve, he's back."
"I know, I'm informing this gentleman what has gone on for the last five years. Can he use a phone?" Steve asked.
"Come on in," Ellie said to them both.
*~*~* September 20, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
As Thor, Tony and Steve took care of Bruce, Scott walked through the 'barn doors' as they opened to look out the windows.
Steve looked up as he heard a buzzing sound and Clint looked back as it continued. Clint walked off to the table where his phone sat and look at it in disbelief. He picked it up and his voice broke, "Honey? Honey?"
"Guys, I think it worked!" Scott said from the windows.
Steve frowned as Bruce was suddenly covered in a shadow. Steve looked up and barely had time to put his shield over his head before a missile blew up the room that they were in.
*~*~* September 20, 2023- Irvington, New York *~*~*
Steve and the Amazon guy both yelled out as Dr. Strange's projection appeared in front of her after the Amazon guy had ended his call.
"Stay here! Do not leave this house," It informed her, "Tell Bucky through the communicator to rally the troops together."
Ellie frowned, "What is happening?"
"He's back," Strange told her as the ground started to shake, "Stay here!"
Ellie looked at Steve, "What's happening?"
Steve looked at the Amazon driver, "Go ahead into the kitchen and find something to eat. Just help yourself."
Ellie frowned as she looked at Steve, "What are you not telling me?"
Steve sighed, "Nebula that came back from our adventure, wasn't our Nebula. It was the Nebula from 2014; Thanos knew what we were doing. She brought him back when we were distracted. Those shakes? Were from the compound being blown up. It's all gone but somehow we all lived. There is about to be a battle bigger than Wakanda. We have to stay here, where it is safe."
a/n: The battle has begun. Next chapter is nearly finished. We are nearing the end. Thank you everyone who has continued to read and review! Thank you Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for reading and reviewing last chapter.
Here is a preview of Chapter 121- Radioactive
The television droned on in the background talking about people reemerging all over the world. Loved ones reunited.
She pivoted to look as she heard about the growing smoke.
"Jenny, it appears to be coming from the former Avengers compound. Our helicopter cannot get close because of all the smoke and debris, but from what we can see, it appears there is some sort of battle going on. Catastrophic damage to the buildings there as well," The reporter announced, "We cannot get any closer at this time. Police have blocked off the area, but as we are reporting, traffic is at a standstill as everyone is trying to find out if their loved ones have returned."