Thank you to Aragorn II Elessar for his help with this chapter.

Los Angeles

Late afternoon

In an airfield owned by Wolfram and Hart, Spike walked over to a plane where a group of people were standing outside, waiting for them. Immediately, Spike was able to realize that half of them were vampires. Made sense, having a kill squad of vampires Spike mused. They thought they were going up against Angel after all.

"Sir," one of the vampires stepped forward, holding out his hand to Spike. "It's a privilege. My name is-"

"Yeah, really don't care. Just get on the plane," Spike ordered.

"Of course sir," the vampire said, lowering his hand and turning back to the rest of the squad, not seeming to be offended by Spike's rudeness. "You heard the man, get on the plane."

Spike watched as they all boarded the plane before silently following after them. He knew what he had to do. But that didn't make it any easier.

Avengers Compound

Same time

At the shooting range, Bucky fired, easily hitting his mark on the target. After it was made apparent that their services were no longer needed, Hank had dismissed everyone but Fred, Janet and Shuri from the hanger as they got to work on the tunnel. So Bucky had decided to blow off some steam at the shooting range.

"Nice shot," Faith said from where she lingered by the doorway.

"Thanks," Bucky said as he lowered his gun, having heard her approach.

"That something you learned as...well, you know," Faith suddenly trailed off, losing her nerve.

"As the Winter Soldier? You can say it ya know, it's not taboo or anything. And no, I didn't," Bucky said as he looked back at her, not having taken offense. "I was a top marksman in my unit, before Hydra captured me. That's one thing they couldn't take from me."

Faith nodded, getting it. Slaying was the only thing the Mayor or Buffy or anyone else hadn't been able to take from her. She honestly didn't know what she'd do if someone did.

"You wanna take a turn?" Bucky asked as he held the gun out to her.

"Never really used a gun before," Faith admitted, to Bucky's surprise.

"Really? All that time you've been fighting demons and you never used one?" Bucky asked in surprise.

"They don't work on vamps and B doesn't like them. Something about how they kill her friends. Didn't feel like bringing it up," Faith said and it was silent for a moment.

"You wanna learn?" Bucky asked and Faith was silent.

"Sure," Faith said with a shrug finally, seeing no harm in it. "How does it work? I mean, I know how it works-"

"Very simple process, come here," Bucky said as he gestured her over.

Faith nodded, walking over and he handed her the pistol. It was lighter than she imagined was Faith's first thought as she held in in her hands. For a moment, Faith was taken back to when The Mayor had given her the knife, like it was a special weapon made for her. Then Bucky placed a hand on her shoulder and she was brought back to the present.

"It's not like a stake or knife. You're off by even a little, you could kill someone. You gotta be careful with it," Bucky said, directing her towards the target, helping her maneuver her hands just right. "You gotta be certain of your target. Don't second guess yourself. Just breathe."

Faith nodded, keenly aware of his hands on hers. For a moment, she just stared at the target before pulling the trigger. The sound of thunder echoed through the room as the bullet left the gun, hitting the target in the chest. Not quite the heart, but close.

"Not bad for a first try," Bucky said as he released her, stepping.

"We live through this, maybe you can give me some private lessons," Faith said as she shot him a smirk.

Bucky nodded, not missing her heated look as she passed the pistol back to him. It had been a while, but Bucky wasn't oblivious. He knew what it looked like when a woman was flirting with him. And he certainly wasn't opposed to it.

"Maybe," Bucky said with a smirk.

In the longue, Willow sat at on the couch, looking through a book when Angel walked in, a cup in his hand.

"Shouldn't you be getting some rest? It sounds like you'll need it," Angel noted as he sat down in a chair across from Willow.

"I have to make sure I understand the spell to locate the stones. We've got one shot at this, I don't wanna mess up," Willow said not looking up from her book.

"I get not wanting to mess up Willow, I do. But you're no use to us if you can't keep your eyes open. Go get some sleep," Angel told her gently.

Willow looked like she wanted to argue but seemed to realize Angel was right. With a sigh, she closed the book and got to her feet. With a tight smile at Angel, Willow walked out of the room. Angel smiled slightly at her retreating figure before taking a sip of blood.

New York, next day

Morning

As the plane docked in the airfield, Spike let out a slight breath. It was time.

"Sir?" the vampire that had greeted Spike back in Los Angeles called out to Spike as the others were starting to gear up. "Are you alright?"

"No, no I'm not," Spike admitted. "I'm about to do something I really don't want to."

Spike then got up and, before any of the squad could respond, he pulled out a stake and drove it through the heart of the vampire. Spike yanked it out a second before the vampire turned to dust as one of the other vamps rushed him. Spike dodged the vampire's strike before tossing aside the stake, beginning to trade blows with the other vampire.

As the humans moved to intercept, a shot rang out. One of them fell to the floor, blood seeping from a bullet wound in his head. The other humans turned around, seeing Lindsey holding a gun. He then pulled out a sword from his back and rushed them, swinging wildly.

Spike grabbed the vampire he was fighting by his neck and twisted. A sickening crack was heard as Spike let go just before the vamp turned to dust. Grabbing the stake he had discarded earlier, Spike whirled around, driving into the heart of the last vampire that was rushing him from behind. It turned to dust and Spike lowered the stake to his side. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Lindsey standing over the lifeless bodies of the humans, his sword dripping with their blood.

"Well, that was fun," Lindsey said as Spike stared at the dead humans for a moment.

"The Pilot?" he finally asked as he looked up at Lindsey.

"Out cold, stuffed somewhere no one will find him. You don't need to worry, too much killing will draw too much attention," Lindsey said with a grin at Spike, who stared at him impassively. "Now, what next?"

Avengers Compound

Later in the morning

Hank, Janet, Fred and Shuri stood in the hanger, doing some final checks on the Tunnel. It had taken all of yesterday and most of the morning, but construction was finally complete.

"All systems are good to go," Shuri said.

"Well then the only thing left to do is test it," Hank said grimly.

In the workshop, Scott was being fitted with a Quantum suit as Hope helped with Peter, Sam and Angel watching.

"You have to be careful with these Scott," Hope told him as she placed the Pym particles in his suit.

"I know, I know," Scott said, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready…I am so not ready for this."

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned around, seeing Spike and Lindsey standing in the doorway.

"I'll do it," Spike repeated.

"Spike," Angel said before scowling. "Lindsey."

"Hey Angel," Lindsey said with a smirk. "No hug?"

Angel didn't rise to Lindsey's bait, simply turning back to Spike.

"You sure about this?"

"If he won't do it, I'm game," Spike said with a shrug.

Angel eyed Spike, knowing it was more than that. He could see how deeply Spike was affected by what he'd done while undercover. But ultimately, it was Spike's choice. He was a grown man after all.

Not long after, Spike was being fitted with a Quantum Suit.

"Okay, Spike, you'll likely feel a little disorientated when you do this, don't worry. It'll pass," Hope said as she prepped his suit.

"Spike, after you arrive there, don't try and shift. It won't end well," Angel advised him as he remembered his own incident.

"Why, you couldn't handle it?" Spike joked and Angel shot him a look.

"The rules for magic are different there than over here. Just don't take any chances," Angel warned him and Spike nodded.

"Fine, noted," Spike grumbled as Bucky walked in.

"Hey, Pym wants to know ho-"

Bucky trailed off as he saw Spike, who stared at him in shock.

"You!" the two shouted in sync as everyone else looked confused.

"You two know each other?" Sam asked.

"We met in 1958, in Spain," Spike explained.

"If by 'met', you mean I kicked your ass," Bucky said as he stepped over. "Last time I saw you, you were limping out."

"The Winter Soldier huh? Who knew," Spike said with a smirk. "Care for a rematch when this is over?"

"Name the time and the place," Bucky said with a matching smirk.

"You wanted something Bucky?" Hope asked, bringing Bucky back to why he had come here.

"Yeah, your dad wants to get this test on the road," Bucky said and she nodded.

"Tell him it'll be a few more minutes, then we'll be ready," Hope said before turning back to Spike. "You ready for this Spike?"

"I was born ready," Spike smirked.

Not long after, everyone stood in the hanger, getting ready for the test run. Spike stood up on the Quantum Tunnel while everyone else stood by, ready.

"Okay Spike, we're gonna send you to this….what was it called again?" Janet asked as she looked over at Lorne.

"Pylea," Lorne said.

"Plyea for a minute and if everything goes well, we'll bring you right back," Janet said as she turned back to Spike.

"Piece of advice Spike: if you see my people, run in the other direction. You don't wanna get mixed up with them. And they'll probably kill you on sight," Lorne warned him.

"They wouldn't be the first to try," Spike said with a smirk.

"Okay, here we go," Hope said as they all got ready. "Three, two-"

Hope pressed the button and Spike's helmet came up around his face before he vanished.

Afterwards, Spike tried to describe what it was like. He couldn't.

He appeared in a forest, the helmet retracting as he fell to his knees, disoriented for a moment. Spike used a nearby tree to support himself, looking up as he took in his surroundings. Seeing the sun, Spike immediately realized he wasn't burning up. He definitely wasn't on earth then.

He began to walk down the path, looking around when he heard movement. Looking ahead, Spike saw some people, all with the same green skin, red eyes and horns as Lorne, step into view.

"Cow," one of them snarled as they saw him.

"Who the bloody hell are you calling cow?" Spike snapped insulted.

One of them gave a battle cry, rushing towards Spike as he tried to behead the vampire with an axe. Spike ducked, grabbing onto the man's axe and delivering a kick to his abdomen. The demon went flying, landing a few feet from Spike with Spike holding the axe. As the demon started to sit up, Spike heard a beeping. Looking down, Spike saw the timer on his wrist was about to reach zero.

"Sorry mates, looks like I have somewhere more important to be," Spike said smugly.

Before the demons could react, the helmet surrounded Spike's head once more and he vanished by shrinking down, leaving the demon's staring at him in bewilderment.

Spike emerged on the Tunnel, letting out a gasp as he fell to his knees; the axe clattered onto the tunnel next him.

"Spike!"

Disoriented, Spike found himself surrounded by several people. As someone placed a hand on his shoulder, his vision cleared and he saw it was Dawn, looking concerned. Behind her were Fred and Willow, also looking concerned. Even Angel had come forward to check that Spike was alright.

"I'm fine Nibblet," Spike said as he looked down, picking up the axe. "It worked. It works. Your turn Red."

A few minutes later, Willow, now dressed in her own Quantum Suit with her hair tied back in a bun, stood on the Tunnel as she waited.

"Okay Willow, get ready," Bruce told her. "Three, two-"

As Bruce pushed the button, Willow's helmet came up and she vanished.

Now inside the Quantum Realm, Willow looked around. It was, in a word, breathtaking. Under normal circumstances, Willow would have taken some time to look around. But she had a job to do.

Willow took a deep breath, raising her hands which began to glow with energy.

"Spread throughout time and space,

Find the stones in their place."

Willow's eyes glowed pure white as she finished the spell and then gasped, her mind flooded with images.

As Willow remerged on the Tunnel, she fell to her knees, letting out short, raspy breaths.

"Will? Willow?" Dawn cried in concern as she, Faith and Fred all rushed over to Willow, Angel, Lorne and Spike not far behind.

"I'm alright, I'm alright," Willow said breathlessly as Dawn reached her, a hand on the younger girl's shoulder to reassure her of this. "The spell, it just took more energy than I thought."

"The spell. Did it work?" Scott asked hopefully as the others approached.

"Yeah. Yeah, it worked," Willow said as Faith helped her to her feet. "I know where the stones are."

That afternoon, everyone assembled in the conference room. Willow was standing in front of everyone, operating the digital screens.

"Okay, first, the Reality Stone," Willow said as a digital copy of said stone appeared. "Anyone ever hear of a place called K'un-Lun?"

"Bloody Hell. Its real? I thought it was just a myth," Spike said in shock.

"What is that exactly?" Scott asked as they all looked lost.

"It's a city, in another dimension. It used to be the home of the Iron Fist, its proctor. But he abandoned the city to return home and it was attacked by a terrorist group known as the Hand. The Hand slaughtered them and, as a last defense mechanism, the city retreated to prevent the Hand from claiming its powers," Willow explained. "Unfortunately, this allowed the Senior Partners to take command of it."

"And this is where the Reality Stone is?" T'Challa asked and Willow nodded.

"Yeah. And it's going to be one of the easier stones to find," Willow said, to the shock of the others.

"And the more difficult stones?" Bruce asked uneasily.

"Well, take the Power Stone for example," Willow said as the 3D model of the Reality Stone was replaced by its purple counterpart.

"And where is that?" Wanda asked.

"A dimension called Erimos. In Greek, it means desert. The dimension is populated by a bunch of human-lizard hybrids. They walk like men, but their appearance is like lizards. They're very smart, but savage and ruthless. They won't hesitate to kill anyone who tries to take the stone," Willow said and there was a brief pause.

"Not it," Scott said and they all shot him looks.

"What about the Soul Stone?" Nebula inquired and Willow changed the 3D model to the Soul Stone.

"That one's a little trickier. The place it's held has no real name," Willow said, to their shock. "It's a kind of swampy dimension. There's lots of grassy plains but no real water."

"And the population?" Bucky inquired.

"That's the thing. From what I saw, there is no population. Or if there was, it was wiped out a long time ago," Willow said, sounding as confused as the rest of them.

"The Senior Partners wouldn't let something as valuable as an Infinity Stone unguarded. Whoever goes there, we'll have to be careful," Angel pointed out.

"Tell us something we don't know," Bucky said lowly.

"Okay, the Time stone," Willow said as she changed the image to the green stone. "Angel, you're not gonna like this. It's in Acathla's Dimension."

As Angel stiffened at this news, Lindsey burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help but find the irony hilarious," Lindsey said as he laughed, not sounding sorry at all.

"Um, am I the only one confused?" Scott asked.

"For once, no," Hope said.

"I am Groot," Groot said sounding annoyed.

"Yes, explain," Nebula added.

"Acathla is a demon that once tried to destroy the world. It was defeated and cast into its home dimension. I was…trapped there a few years ago. Time moves differently there. Acathla torments his victims until they lose all sanity," Angel said, still haunted by his experiences there.

Even Spike looked at Angel with sympathy here. You'd have to be stone cold not to feel for Angel.

Which explained why Lindsey looked unmoved.

"And you're gonna like this even less," Willow said as the digital image changed to the Space Stone. "The Space Stone is in Quor'toth."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Angel growled as Connor stiffened and Lindsey laughed once more.

"Wow, the Senior Partners really don't like you," Lindsey mocked him.

"Let me guess, another dimension you were trapped in," Sam said gently.

"No, I was," Connor said to their shock. "I grew up there. It's…not a nice place."

"Next you're gonna tell me that the last Stone is in Glory's home dimension," Dawn muttered and saw the look on Willow's face. "Oh tell me you're kidding."

"Sorry Dawnie. The Senior Partners on occasion did business with the other two Deities from Glory's Dimension," Willow explained, watching sadly as Dawn put her head in her hands. "They decided the safest place for the Mind Stone was there, where no one sane would ever go."

"Of course. Because what would be the worst people on earth without working with them," Dawn muttered to herself.

"So that's the place Glory came from?" Peter asked, having gotten the whole story from Dawn yesterday and she nodded silently.

"So what is this place anyway?" Bucky asked.

"It's a hell dimension. One of the worst ones. It's ruled by two hell gods. Getting the stone out will not be easy," Willow said with a sigh.

"We all knew this wasn't gonna be easy when we signed up for this," Sam reminded them as he looked around. "We've come this far, we're so close. It's worth the risk."

"I think you need to reexamine that Sam," Angel said with a sigh as they all looked at him.

"What, you're having second thoughts Angelcakes?" Lorne asked surprised.

"No, I am as determined as ever. But I don't think our friends are really grasping the risk," Angel said as he looked around at the Avengers. "The Senior Partners aren't like Thanos or Loki. They've existed almost since the dawn of time and they'll exist long after in one way or another. This isn't a case of just beating them. We do this, even if we pull it off, they'll unleash their full wrath on us. We don't walk away from that. Ten to one, we're gone when the smoke clears. They will do everything in their power to destroy us."

"You mean they'll kill us if we pull this off," Peter said as a numb feeling spread through.

"Exactly," Angel said as he looked around at all of them. "So I need you all to think real hard about what we're asking. So I want you to do something for me, for yourselves: take the rest of the day off."

"I'm sorry?" Scott asked in confusion.

"I want you to really think if you actually want to do this. If you do, we'll all meet back here tonight. But in any case, go out, live. Live this day like it's your last. Because it just might be," Angel said ominously.

I know I said the Heist would begin this chapter, but the planning stage of this chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought. It will begin next chapter for sure.

I couldn't resist the idea of Bucky and Spike having met and fought before LOL!

Hope you all liked my choices for where the stones are.