A/N: Enjoy
The end was coming. It was in the air of every planet, every star. It was the chill that crept up through the spine, and yet only a few knew the reason why.
Thor sat on a spaceship being flown by an odd looking rabbit, and a Groot. They were in route to Nivadellir where he hope to receive a new weapon he planned to use against his newest enemy, Thanos. His eyes were locked out the back view port as the stars they passed blurred together in the warp speed. His mind couldn't be torn from the image of his brother.
Thor's eyes were locked on his brothers'. With all the strength he had, he couldn't even move from the metal trap Thanos had wrapped around him. He seemed to know what was about to happen, before it actually occurred, and he wanted to shut his eyes. To pretend that it wasn't, but there was his brother. Dangling by the neck moments away from death. He attempted to play a trick, because he was Loki, and he thought he could get himself out of anything with a carefully planned trick. He underestimated Thanos' intelligence. Loki's eyes turned back to the beast currently cutting off the circulation to his lungs. He felt death's breath on the back of his neck, and decided he wasn't going out without his final words.
"You will... never be... a god." Loki gasped as the bones in this throat slowly crushed. Thanos looked amused into the God of Mischief's eyes, and with one simple grip of his hand, the bones in Loki's neck shattered, and life behind his eyes was no more. Thor screamed his brother's name, but it came out muffled against the metal gag. Thanos lifted his eyes to the man before walking over, still holding on to the dangling body of his brother which he carelessly let drop in front of him. Thor looked down to the unmoving body of his brother, waiting for him to get back up, or for him to appear somewhere else. That's what Loki did. He faked his death, and made a surprise entrance, but this time nothing happened.
"No resurrections this time." Thanos said with a smile before looking down to his gauntlet and it's new addition.
"So, dead brother, huh?" a voice spoke pulling Thor from the memory. He turned, and looked down to Rocket who stood next to him. "Yeah, that can be annoying."
"Well, he's been dead before, but this time I think it really might be true." Thor said glancing back out through the view port.
"And you said your sister and your dad?"
"Both dead." Rocket eyes widened a bit because he wasn't sure what this guy had left to fight for.
"Still got a mom, though?"
" Killed by a dark elf."
"A best friend?"
"Stabbed through the heart." Thor says, his mind traveling to Heimdall. His most trusted friend. This line of questioning only reminded him of how very alone he truly was.
"I am Groot," a small voice spoke, that caused Thor and Rocket to turn to the now teenage Groot.
"What do you mean he has her?" Rocket asked in confusion. "Who is her?" Groot turned his eyes back to the two and smiled.
"I am Groot."
"The heart." Thor said with a furrowed brow, and Groot just simply turned back around.
"Sometimes he just doesn't make sense." Rocket said turning back to Thor whose eyes looked pensive. "What's wrong?" For some reason Thor remembers the vision from the mystical pool he had so long ago. He'd seen the infinity stones, seen the destruction they would bring, and then he saw her. The impossibility in the center of it all.
"I think Groot is right." Thor turns back to the odd little rabbit. "I don't think I'm alone."
It had become an instinct now. Second nature actually. There was a connection, something Katie thinks was always there, something she ignored or suppressed. It was a tether that linked her to something even she didn't understand. Maybe that's why she ran? She was looking for something. Something she didn't even know she was searching for. That search brought her into SHIELD's cross-hairs, entangled her heart with an archer, twisted her her life with a billionaire Iron man. And yet she knew there was more. Something was there that she needed to find, and she thinks she was close. She closed her eyes, and once again focused on the infinity stone she was trying to find. She imagined the Mind Stone, saw it as clear as day in her mind, and before she knew it, she felt the wind on her skin.
The smell of fresh rain assaulted her nose, but it was old as if she'd just missed the storm. There was a crack of thunder signaling that it wasn't over. There was a grunt from behind her, and Katie turned only now realizing the fight happening just a couple of feet away. She tilted her head.
"Proxima Midnight and Corvus," she mutters to herself. She frowns a bit because that's the second time it happened. Her knowing the names of aliens she's only seen in long ago dreams. They weren't supposed to be real. They weren't supposed to be engaged in a fight with Steve, Natasha and Sam at the moment either. She turns away from the fight, because at the moment that's not why she's here. Her head turns and she spots Wanda hovering over an injured Vision. His eyes looks up and sees her. When Wanda turns following his gaze she turns, her eyes widening.
"Wait-" a gravelly voice says, and the clashing of metal and painful grunting stops. "That's-" Katie turns, only to realize all eyes are on her, even the two alien beings from a different plant. "It can't be-" It's Corvus whose speaking. He's on the ground, cradling his aching ribs as Proxima stands by his side.
"You should be leaving now." Katie says, and Proxima takes a hold of Corvus' shoulder. "Tell him this is not a fight he's going to win,"
"And yet he will." Proxima replies before a beam of light suddenly appears above them, and in an instant they're beamed up to their ship, along with their weapons.
The moment they're gone, unanswered questions linger as eyes turn back to Katie who is expected to give them what they want, and in this moment she just can't. She shakes her head and rushes over to Vision, crouching in front of him beside Wanda.
"I knew you were coming." Vision said with a weak smile.
"I get the feeling you know a lot of things." she reaches her hand taking Vision's hand and closing her eyes.
"Katie-" Steve says as he, Natasha and Sam walk over. "Where did you come from?" It was just one of many questions she didn't have the mental capacity to answer quite yet. She wasn't ready for them to see this person she'd seemed to become overnight. She wasn't ready for the looks, and the suspicions. Right now the entire universe was in the balance, and they were running out of time.
"He can't phase." Katie says opening her eyes and meeting his. He's staring at her, gripping the hand still holding onto his. "How do I fix this?"
"You don't." he says without hesitation. "I'm alive, and the stone is still secure. Anything you do will only make you weaker which I don't think we can afford right now."
"Katie-" it was Steve again, quite annoyed about not know exactly what was happening right now. "You need to tell us what's going on?"
"Bruce told you everything you needed to know." Katie says stepping forward and bringing Vision's arm around her shoulder. "We're standing." the being groans slightly as he's pulled to his feet. She turns finally seeing the hard stares from Steve and Natasha. "He needs to be taken somewhere safe."
"I know a place, but—" Steve stops when Katie turns away, bring a hand to her head. "Katie?"
"I'm fine, I just—" she lifts her eyes to Sam. "Sam, come help him." as she slips from Vision's grasps, Sam's slips in to hold him up. "I have go." she turns back to Vision, with a silent look he completely understands. He simply gives a nod, before the woman turns and starts to walk away. She's only able to take a couple of steps before a hand grabs her arm and tugs her back. To no surprise at all, when she turns, she sees Natasha. The one silent since her arrival, but probably with the most to say. Katie jerks out of the woman's grasp.
"What's going on?" Natasha asks, and Katie shrugs her shoulders.
"Later, I will explain everything later." Katie says backing away from the woman. "Right now you need to get Vision completely off the grid. Keeping him alive and that stone safe is your mission Agent Romanoff." she glances back to Vision once more, trying to ignore that tension in her stomach. She'd felt it earlier, moments before leaving the ship. It was the stone. For some reason the connection they had to her was getting stronger, and leaving them was getting more and more unbearable. But she had to make sure they were safe. For some reason, she felt that was true with every fiber in her soul. She had to keep them safe, and she was failing. She knew it. She ignored the truth for so long and it gave Thanos the upper hand. Gave him a head start, and now he has two..no..wait! Katie's eyes widen, and she turns her back, and in an instant her feet is standing on debris, and now the stench of death and burnt flesh tickles her nostrils.
Katie stares wide eyed, her mouth agape as she watches a planet burn.
"Knowhere" she whispered. This was getting beyond bizarre because this was a place she distinctly remembers. She was here when she was pregnant. Plopped on Peter Quills' ship and forced to venture with him and his team of misfits. She spins around in search of life, but she doesn't see any. This was his trademark. This was what happens when Thanos leaves a planet. He destroys everything and leaves nothing behind. How does she know that? How does she know so much and yet nothing at all? She snaps her eyes shut and growls angrily though her teeth. The Reality Stone is gone. She felt it the moment her foot stepped on the planet. Why didn't she get the feeling? That feeling she had when Vision was in trouble? "What's the point of this?!" she screams, and her voice echos through the nothingness that surrounds her. She doesn't get a response. Only the sound of the crackling of flames as the planet literally crumbles in front of her eyes. "Why couldn't I stop this?!"
"Is it sadness I sense in you, daughter?" A deep familiar voice speaks and Katie whips around, her eyes widening at the sight of Thanos and there standing in front of him is Gamora. Katie wants to take a moment to question what was happening, but then she realizes that no one notices her, even though she's just a couple of feet away.
"This is an echo." she mutters, unsure how she knows that either, but she does. This moment isn't happening, but has happened.
"In my heart, I knew you still cared. But one never knows for sure. Reality is often disappointing." Thanos takes a step toward Gamora, giving her a glimpse of the new jewel in his gauntlet. Katie takes a step forward, frowning the moment she sees the Reality stone affixed in place on the glove.
"You knew I would come." Gamora says, and Thanos seems to smirk at her words. He's amused that she thought she could surprise him.
"I counted on it." Thanos replies. "There's something we need to discuss, little one." Katie notices as Gamora's eyes glance over. Katie follows her eyes to a broken sword that the woman attempts to dive for, but Thanos quickly grabs her by the back of the neck and swings her around in front of him.
"Thanos!" Drax growls before running toward the monster who killed his family. Thanos simply lifts the glove, and with a pulse of the Reality Stone, both Drax just shatters into pieces as if he were blocks that were knocked down. Mantis takes a step, and Thanos does the same to her, her body becoming stretched as if she we
Quill moves in, lifting his blaster right at Thanos.
"Let her go, Grimace!" he orders.
"Stop!" Katie yells, and for some reason everything stops. All movement, all conversation just stops as if she'd just hit some sort of pause button. Katie took a deep breath before moving around, taking the place beside Quill. Her eyes lift to Thanos, and a chill creeps up her spine. He was every bit of the monster she dreamed of.
She stares at him for a moment, hoping to see something, a weakness, a point of attack they could use later, but she sees nothing. Why was she seeing this moment in particular? She asked herself the question over and over again, until she noticed something.
"Gamora," she says her eyes looking to the woman, and the grasp he held on her neck. "Why didn't he kill you? Why-" suddenly the scene begins to move rapidly as if someone had pressed fast-forward, and when it finally stops the blaster in Peter's hand is now pointed at Gamora, but his hand twitches.
"Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him." Thanos looks amused toward Peter. "She's asked, hasn't she? Do it." There is a pause as Peter's eyes go back to Gamora obviously fighting an internal battle with himself. Suddenly Thanos shoves Gamora forward, making Peter jump a bit. He was trying to egg the man on, clearly interested in if he truly had it in him. "Do it!"
Peter, with tears in his eyes, looks at Gamora. "I told you to go right."
"I love you, more than anything." she says, and in that moment you could see Quill's heart literally breaking.
"I love you, too." he replies, before Quill screws his eyes shut and just pulls the trigger. Even Katie jumps expecting to witness a death, and yet instead of a laser, bubbles come out. Peter opens his eyes, and he stares in disbelief before looking up to Thanos whose still wearing that cocky smile.
"I like you." Thanos says, and in the next moment he and Gamora teleport away. Quill stands there stunned for a moment before turning and picking up Gamora's sword, just as Drax and Mantis seem to re-assemble themselves.
Suddenly they disappear, and Katie is left standing there to take in what she saw, and figure out why she saw it.
"You needed Gamora alive." Katie mutters to herself. "Why did you-" It hits her, right there like a ton of bricks."The Soul stone." Katie lifts her eyes, turning, and appearing yet another different place with a different smell. Actually a different kind of air seeps through her lungs as she spins around and looks to the purple tinted sky, and thick clouds that hung above her. She lifts her eyes as the specks of white particles that fall from the sky, and they resemble falling snow. Katie opens her palm to catch some, but what falls to her hand isn't cold, or wet. This isn't snow. Katie turns, letting her eyes scan. The Soul stone is here. She can feel it, like it's some sort of homing beacon that's beeping in the distance. She begins walking, holding on to the connection and following it wherever it takes her. She doesn't expect for her steps to falter the moment she finds life...or even the exact opposite. There's a being standing in front of her, a hooded cloak covering his face.
"Welcome Katherine—" his voice echos off the mountains, and she feels the vibration on her skin. "Child of the cosmos." Katie doesn't know how to respond, as she looks around to see if there is anyone else on the planet, but there isn't. She suddenly knows this, suddenly know who he is. She turns back to him with confusion, because it happened again. "I am-"
"The Stonekeeper." Katie says taking a step forward, hoping to get a peek under his hood. "I know who you are. How do I know who you are?" he suddenly touches down to the ground, and steps from the shadows finally revealing a face Katie had only seen in SHEILD files. "Red Skull."
"A name I no longer possess." he say stepping closer to the woman, his eyes raking over her, and it makes her uneasy. "You were meant to be here sooner, but you continued to run from the truth."
"And what truth is that?" she asks hoping for some insight. She felt like she was looking through everything through fogged glasses.
"The truth of who you are." the Red Skull says, leaning in a bit toward her, but she didn't recoil from his closeness. No, she stood firm, as he expected.
"And who am I?" she asked clearly frustrated with having to pull information she knows he's aware she wants.
"You are the first." he says his eyes searching hers, and the look on his face is an undeniable shade of awe. "And you shall be the last." his words touch something inside of her. They make her insides recoil and tighten, and it's as if something flicked inside of her. She takes a step back and turns her back to him. "You're refusing to see that the path you're traveling has already been written, and you know where it leads." Katie clenches her jaw and turned back to the stonekeeper.
"Give me the Stone!" she commands taking a step forward, and his unbothered by the move.
"You know I can't do that. That the Soul only appears to those who can provide it's sacrifice."
"I do know that, but I also know that if I call it, it will appear."
"And are you prepared for what would follow?" he asks, his blistering red skin, and dark eyes stare back at her. Katie never turns away from him, even as she lets his words sink in. She knows it's true. Knows that it's not the time now...but there will be. "Everything happens as they have destined them. Preventing the inevitable is-"
"What we do." Katie replies taking a step back. "We will fight even if we will lose." she turns away, because she knows what happens next. Thanos appears with Gamora, sacrifices' her because she is who he truly loves...but not more than power. It's why he will sacrifice her and be given the Soul stone. Leaving only Mind Stone, and Time Stone. "Why do I feel like I should be stopping this?" she turns back to Red Skull. "Why do I feel like I'm supposed to stop him and yet he's winning. He has the Stones and I could-" she closes her eyes, and she can seem them. Right now, this moment, she can see them in the gauntlet, and if she focused hard enough she could appear in front of Thanos right now, but she doesn't. She looks back to Red Skull who still stand their studying her. "What am I?" his earlier answer wasn't good enough. It didn't explain enough, it didn't fill the hold inside of her.
"You are the beginning." he simply says again. It's the only thing he's been instructed to say to the question. The only thing the stones will allow him to reveal at this moment. And him, being the servant that he was, could only comply. "And you shall be the last." she narrowed her eyes at him and just shook his head.
"Make sure you warn him about me when he comes." Katie says, and in an instant she's gone.
There's frown transfixed on Natasha's face as she sits on the quinjet, her eyes staring over to Wanda who sits beside a weak Vision. Natasha doesn't seem to notice the moment Steve takes the seat beside her.
"Sam says we should be arriving at HQ in a few." Steve says. He doesn't get a response, and he turns to the woman beside him, and the far away look on her face. "Natasha?" she snaps out of her thoughts and turns back to the captain.
"Did you say something?" he looks at her for a moment, and he just knows what has her so deep in thought.
"You're thinking about Katie." Steve sighs letting his back fall back against the seat. He'd been thinking about her too, and the whole exchange and how none of it made sense, up into the moment she just disappeared. "Any luck making any sense of it?"
"No," Natasha sighs turning away from the man.
"I just don't understand. How was she able to-" Steve shakes his head. He hadn't seen her since she and Clint left from Wakanda that day. They were supposed to be in hiding. In his mind, he imagined it would work out for them. That they would find a life away from the craziness that came in the world they lived in. "Have you had any contact with Barton?" he turns to the woman who doesn't meet his gaze. "Natasha-"
"No," she says looking back over to the man. "Haven't spoken to him in two years." she turns away, hoping the lie was convincing.
"Do you have a way of contacting him?" Steve asks. "Maybe he could shed some light on what's going on with his wife." Natasha doesn't respond to the question, and Steve is sure she probably won't. He knows that even though they're no longer agents of SHEILD, that the loyalty between the Hawkeye and the Black Widow was something that couldn't be broken. "Well we need to know something. With what I think is coming, I'd like as many secrets out in the open as possible." soon they felt the jet lowering. Once fully landed, the door opened, and they all took in a breath. It had been a while since they most of them were there. A few never thought they would be back.
They all pile onto one of the elevators, and before anyone could press a button, it begins moving.
"Greetings, Captain Rogers, Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Wilson, Ms. Maximoff, and Vision." FRIDAY greets, and they all lift their heads. "Colonel Rhodes is in the conference room."
"Thanks FRIDAY," Natasha says looking over to Steve and just shrugging. She turns, when suddenly she has another question for the AI. "FRIDAY, do you know where Tony is?"
"I am unsure of Mr. Stark's current location. I went offline when he ventured too far into space. I tried to hold on for as long as I could, but the amount of power that was being utilized-"
"You lost power." Natasha said with a furrowed brow. "How are you here then?"
"Oh, Mrs. Barton restored my system to it's full capacity." FRIDAY replied just as the doors opened. No one moved for a moment, but Steve stalked out first, and then the other's followed. They heard the distant voices before they arrived.
Rhodes stood in the middle of the conference room, staring at the holographic image of Secretary Thaddeus Ross.
"Still no word on Vision?" Ross asked.
"Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh." Rhodes replied. This was the second call in two hours. He wasn't sure what the the Secretary expected to occur in those two hours, but he would humor him and give him his status report.
"On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world's most wanted criminals."
"You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir?" Rhodes asked, and Ross sneered.
"My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own." Ross said with a slight shake of his head.
"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here."
"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel."
"That's right." The bitterness in his tone completely obvious. " And I'm pretty sure I've paid for that." he glances down to the brace on his leg.
"You have second thoughts?" Ross asks, and Rhodes looks back up the Secretary and just shakes his head.
"Not anymore." Both turn when the "fugitives" as Ross has deemed them enter the room. Steve's eyes glance around for a moment looking for someone whose obviously not there. His eyes turned back to Ross. "Mr. Secretary."
"You got some nerve. I'll give you that!" Ross glares at Steve.
"You could use some of that right now." Natasha says looking over to the man who cuts his glare to her as well.
"The world's on fire. And you think, all is forgiven?" Ross replies. "I'm surprised Banks isn't here to rub it in my face that she was able to escape my prison. This changes nothing."
"I'm not looking for forgiveness." Steve says , and it was a new attitude the Captain had acquired. For so long he held a high level of respect for his commanding officers, and to some extent he still does. It's just now, after years in this new world he's learned that not everyone deserves that level of respect. "And I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight." Steve takes a step toward the holograph, wanting the Secretary to see him, to pay attention and takes his next words with the utmost seriousness. "And if you wanna stand in our way... we'll fight you, too." the glare in Ross' eyes turn to Rhodes.
"Arrest them!" he orders, and Rhodes takes a step forward.
"All over it," Rhodes replies before swiping off the holograp. "That's a court-martial." he turns back to Steve. "It's great to see you, Cap." and the greeting is met with a hug.
"You too, Rhodey." Steve says. Rhodes turns to Natasha who he hugs as well.
"Well. You guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years." Rhodes says looking between his friends. He really couldn't believe the time that has gone past since he last saw them.
"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star." Sam joked.
"Uh, I think you look great." it was a new voice that spoke. A voice that they hadn't heard in quite some time. Their eyes turn to the other side of the room to see Bruce walk in. "Uh... heh... Yeah. I'm back." the room is silent for a moment, because he was definitely a face they didn't expect to see. He'd been missing for years, and they had no idea where he could've been.
"Hey Bruce," Natasha says, and his eyes turn to her, and suddenly that thing they had. That small moment of something, was there and yet it wasn't.
"Nat." Bruce says, and he too isn't quite sure what to say to her. He doesn't even know how to begin a conversation to explain how he disappeared before they could even begin. He opened his mouth about to attempt a semblance of an explanation, but footsteps behind him caused him to turn, and he just shook his head. "Matt—" Matthew currently had his head tilted back with a potato chip bag to his lips as he let the last remnants of his chips fall in his mouth. He turned to Bruce's voice, suddenly aware of the newcomers, and he pulls the bag from his face, that's now covered in crumbs.
"I didn't hear the Secretary's voice, so I thought it was safe to enter." Matthew said looking between the faces of Steve, Natasha, Sam, Vision and Wanda. "It's been a long time."
"That it has." Steve says walking over to the man and holding out a hand. Matthew smiles before taking his hand, and pulling the man into a hug.
"I guess it's nothing like an alien attack to bring the band back together." Matthew says pulling from the hug and turning to Natasha. "Spider Ninja, you're blonde, and I love it." he says and despite herself she smiles before walking over to him and surprisingly giving him a hug as well.
"And you're not supposed to be here." Natasha says before pulling from the hug and looking up to the man. "She would've told you that." Matthew didn't say anything before turning back to Steve. "Where is she?" Matthew looks over to Bruce who shrugs.
"She's right here." their eyes turn. They all watch as Katie walks from the hall and into the room. She first turns to Vision, and he simply gives her a silent nod. It's his way of telling her he's ok, even though she knows it's a lie. Katie turns back to the awaiting eyes on her, and she sees the questions in their eyes, and in their expressions and she knows there's no more running. "We should talk."
Given who they were, and the things they've seen, the story told to them about a woman they've known, a woman they fought side by side with, who suddenly had unexplained abilities, and an unexplainable connection to the objects Thanos seeks. Katie's eyes study the sky out of the window of one of the offices. She'd finished her story, answered their questions as best she could. Questions she'd already asked her self.
"Are you alright?
"How did this happen?
"When did you know?"
"Where is Clint?" It was Steve's question that made her turn away. It was an expected question seeing as the last time many of them seen her, she was happily married, with an adorable daughter, and now she was someone else. "Katie?"
"I don't know." she replies turning back to Steve and shrugging her shoulders. They all see the emotion that attempts to tug at her features, but she fights them. Buries them back in their box before taking a deep breath. "When this all started happening to me, when I needed to understand it, I-" she shook her head. She turned to Natasha, and the woman stared at her for a moment before turning away from her eyes. "The closer I got to the truth, the more dangerous I became. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that, and we have rule." she dropped her eyes, and swallowed that little bit of emotion she could never just bury. "Natalia and danger don't breathe the same air." she lifted her eyes to them. "So he took her, and he left. And he was right. It was for the best."
"Katie—" she turned to Steve and just shook her head.
"But right now, this moment, this is why I'm here." she says turning to Vision and nods. "Thanos has three infinity stones, and will soon have four." she bit the inside of her cheek trying not to show how the fact was tearing her up inside. "There's two more. One we have here, and one that's somewhere in space with Tony and Stephen."
"Stephen?" Sam asks, and she turns to him.
"Doctor Stephen Strange. He's—" she shakes her head. "He's my friend. I think. We never really put a title on what we were to each other. He found me, helped me find a direction. He was my compass in a way." she sighs. "But yeah, he and Tony, and Peter are going to attempt to bring the fight to Thanos before he makes it here."
"And how do you know that?" Steve asks, and Katie turns to him. They were too focused on her, and how she knew what she did, but right now that wasn't important.
"It's how you told us where to find Wanda and Vision." Natasha says, and Katie turns to her. "It's the infinity stone." Katie simply gives a nod.
"Stephen Strange is the protector of the Time stone. He has it, and wherever he and that stone is, I can find it and go to him." more questions were written over their faces and she shook her head. "How, why, who, what, when, where, none of it matters right now."
"If he has three of these stones, and you can find them wherever they are-" it was Matthew who asked the question. She turns to her brother wondering if one of them would ask her the question.
"Yes, I could hoodini myself in front Thanos right now, and I would if I had next move. Right now my abilities are limited to the whole mystical transportation, and my weird neurological GPS with these infinity stones. I don't know how to beat him, I don't know how I would take the stones back." well that was a lie, but the truth would bring about more questions. "Right now, all I know is that while Tony, Strange and Peter come at this with offense, we are going to have to be defense."
"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodes asked, and Katie was glad he was bringing the focus back to the fight.
"And they can clearly find us." Wanda adds.
"We need all hands on deck." Bruce says looking around. "Who else can we get?" no one said a word.
"Well there's Scott, but after the whole Accords situation, he took a deal. It was too tough on his family, he's on house arrest." Natasha says, and Bruce looks totally confused.
"Who's Scott?" he asks.
"Ant-Man." Steve replies and Bruce turns to him with more confusion.
"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man?" Bruce says realizing his time away has caused him to miss so much. "Okay, look… Thanos has the biggest army in the universe. And he is not gonna stop until he... he gets...Vision's Stone." they turn to Vision who stands by the glass door that leads outside.
"Well then, we have to protect it." Natasha says as if it was simple.
"No, we have to destroy it." Vision turns to them but then his eyes turned to Katie and he sees the look in her eyes and know she's the one he really has to convince. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps… its molecular integrity could fail." he turns to Wanda and sees the look in her eyes, and see that his explanation isn't going to stop her opposition.
"And you, with it." Wanda says as Vision walks over to her and places his hands on the sides of her face. "We're not having this conversation."
"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."
"That's too high a price." Wanda replies.
"Only you have the power to pay it." Vision says and Wanda pulls away from him and walks away. "Thanos threatens half the Universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him."
"But it should." Steve says, and he looks up to Vision. "We don't trade lives, Vision." Vision walks over to him.
"Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?" Vision asks, and Steve pauses for a moment, but takes a breath about to answer.
"The situation is different." Katie says and Vision turns to her. "Because destroying the stone would cause a fate worse than whatever Thanos has planned."
"You don't know that." Vision says and Katie looks at him with a scoff, because of everyone in this room, he should know that she does know what she's talking about.
"You might have a choice." Bruce says walking over to Vision. "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, Katie, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another.
"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asks, and Bruce turns to her.
"I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts."
"Can we do that?" Natasha asks, and Bruce's eyes turn to Katie who looks right back to him. They turn to her and she bites the corner of her lip as she turns from Bruce to Vision. She walks over to the being, her eyes looking from his eyes to the Mind Stone. Her eyes tilt to the side, and for a moment she loses herself. It's the stone. And it's strange because it's like it's speaking to her. When she drops her eyes back to Vision she stands up straight before turning back to Bruce.
"Way beyond my skill set." she says with a shrug.
"Mine too." Bruce says.
"You better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back." Rhodes replies, and the room falls silent until Steve speaks.
"I know somewhere." they all turn to him. "A place that may have the skill set we're looking for. I have to make a call, and then wheels up in fifteen." he says and without another word, he hurries from the room. Katie turns back to Vision, and places a hand on his arm.
"Let's exhaust all of our options before we hop on the lets sacrifice Vision train." she says with a smile before turning and heading for the door. Before she left, she stopped and turned to Matthew who glanced over to her before turning away. She walked over to him, and placed herself right in front of him. "I told you to play this one safe."
"Yeah, well maybe I didn't want to play it safe." he replied looking down to her. "And good thing I didn't, because if I did, I probably wouldn't have found out that you're some kind of infinity stone jedi or something." she shook her head turning away. "Rinny,-" she turned back to him. "Are you alright?" It was the second time he asked the question. Honestly despite all the craziness she explained to them, that question was the one he wanted answered the most. He didn't quite believe her earlier response about being fine. Katie placed a hand on her brother's cheek.
"I'm fine Mattie, " she replied with a small smile. "I'm going to be even better when you get in your car and drive to the nice safe offices of the CIA." he smiled and placed a kiss to her forehead. She always hated when he did it, because it was a constant reminder that even though she was older, he was the taller one.
"Oh, not on your life Rinny. You see I don't believe you. You're still hiding something, and I just get the feeling that you need someone there to make sure you don't do something stupid."
"And that person's you?"
"Well obviously." he replies, and she chuckles lightly.
"I need some air." she replies before walking around him. Matthew turned watching her as she disappeared into the hall. He frowned as he remembers the story from Martin, and how he didn't quite believe it until this moment. Matthew pulled out his cell phone and decided it was time he had another chat with Mr. Chambers.
She finds herself alone on the balcony of the office just across from the one she was just in. But this moment, she was alone, with a bit of silence she really needed. But that silence and solitude wouldn't last long.
"I have nothing to say to you." Katie spoke, and soon Natasha walked over, and leaned a bit over the railing to look out to the compound.
"Yeah, well you're hiding something."
"I'm not the only one." Katie says turning to the woman who brings her eyes to Katie as well. "When did he call you?" Natasha doesn't say anything. "Bart, when did he call you and tell you that he left me?" still no response. "Oh, I get it. You're partners. You're the Widow, Hawkeye dynamic duo. Of course you won't say anything." Katie shakes her head before turning to leave.
"You think he left you because he thought you were dangerous." Natasha says knowing she shouldn't. It was one phone call from Clint. Just a few days ago. She thinks he was a bit drunk. But he was more than a bit sad, angry, and lost. Katie heard her and stopped, glancing back to the woman who didn't turn to her.
"Well it's what he told me. And then he packed up his things and he took my daughter." Katie turned away from the woman. "Didn't even let me say goodbye." Natasha glanced back to the woman who turned meeting her eyes. "I really don't care what his reasons are. I'll never forgive him for doing the one thing he promised me he wouldn't." Katie shook her head before glancing down to her clothes. "I'm going to get cleaned up and changed. It shouldn't take me long." and with that Katie turned and walked away.
Natasha lets out a deep breath before pulling out her cell phone. This wasn't the moment she was supposed to call him. He gave her specific qualifications for reasons she should press this button, and none of them had been met, and yet she remembers that phone call. How defeated he sounded, and how the only thing he wanted was to know that his wife was safe. Her finger hovered over his name, unsure if she should help him breathe a bit easier.
Clint's eyes were fixed on the target painted on the tree in front if him. The arrow was pressed against the bow, his breathing momentarily slowed. After a moment, he released the arrow, and watched as it punctured the tree just an inch outside the bullseye.
"Nice shot." a voice spoke, but Clint didn't turn to her. He'd left the house an effort to get away her and her husband. Clint didn't say anything, and Cynthia sighed. "Clint, I know—"
"You don't know anything." he says, still refusing to turn to her. It was her face. He couldn't just look at her face, because when he did, he saw his wife. And he was reminded of what he did, and how he questioned it everyday since he left. "And that shot-" he pointed to the arrow that protruded from the tree. "Is bullshit." he turned and stalked toward the house. He stopped half way there when he felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and saw Natasha's name, and he felt his heart stop beating. He dropped his bow and quickly answered his phone.
"Nat? Is she-"
"No." Nat quickly answered and Clint let out a relieved sigh.
"Nat, you're not supposed to call this number. I told you-"
"I know what you told me. If your wife finds herself in serious danger, call you so you can swoop in to save her. I know." Natasha said.
"Then why are you calling me."
"Because I'm at the Avengers compound and so is your wife." Natasha replied and Clint's eyes widen as he turned to Cynthia who stood watching him in confusion.
"Kat's there?" he asks and Cynthia takes a step forward.
"Yeah, she is and she had a hell of a story to tell everyone." Natasha says. "One I think you may know more about than I do."
"So she's alright? She's safe."
"Right now she's here, she safe. Or as safe as any of us are right now."
"What does that mean?" and Natasha doesn't say anything. The last time they spoke he mentioned a moment like this. When there was fight happening, a battle that could possibly put the universe in the balance. A fight that if he knew about it, he'd feel obligated to help. He told her that if that ever happened, that she wasn't supposed to tell him. That if the world was truly in peril, that she and rest of the team would fight the good fight and win. And he'd stay with his daughter and not feel guilty.
"It's nothing, look-" she cleared her throat. "She knows I've spoken to you." she heard him sigh. "I didn't tell her, but you know her. She's one of a few people who can read me a bit."
"What did she say?" Clint asked, and Natasha didn't say anything at first. "Nat, just tell me."
"She said she won't forgive for leaving. For taking Tai, and not even giving her the chance to say goodbye. She said you did the one thing you promised her you wouldn't." Clint closed his eyes and dropped his head. He expected the reaction. Anticipated it even, and yet knowing it just hit him unexpectedly. He turned and dropped down to sit in the steps of the porch. "Barton, can you just tell me why?" Clint didn't say anything for a moment and for a moment she thought he had hung up. "Barton?"
"Nat, keep an eye on my wife. Make sure—" he felt a sudden surge of emotion that planted itself in his throat. "Make sure she sticks around long enough for me to beg for her forgiveness." he ended the call, and dropped his face in his palms.
"Clint-"
Oh, Clint really didn't need to hear Cynthia's voice right now. He heard the audible squeak of the screen door opening followed by the heavy footsteps of Martin.
"Everything alright?" Martin asked, and Cynthia looked up to him.
"She's safe." Cynthia says. "He got a call from Romanoff, and Katherine is with her and their team." Martin lets out a relieved breath. They'd gone out of their mind with worry over not knowing what was happening with their daughter. Clint shook his head before standing to his feet and stalking away.
"Clint!" Martin called after the man. "I know you're having doubts, but you know deep down that this was what needed to happen." Clint stopped walking and turned around to his parents in law, and couldn't help but think that if they never showed up that day, if they never told him this out of the world story, and never showed him that picture, he'd be with his wife right now. She wouldn't be alone, and she wouldn't think that he would ever leave her.
"You told me my wife has a great destiny. That I believed. That I knew after a week knowing her." Clint says. "You told me my wife was special, but I figured that out after about a couple of months of working with her and the entire length of our marriage." he took a step forward. "You told me my wife was the creation of powers beyond the realm of belief, and you know I believed that too, because that woman—" Clint shook his head, as the emotion was starting to spread throughout his body. "That woman was beyond my realm of belief, but she found me, and I fell in love with her, and she fell in love with me, and we were happy. We were wanted fugitives on the run with our daughter, but were happy." he looked between the couple and sighed. "You told me that I had to leave my wife, and take my daughter, because if we stayed the entire universe would suffer. That was the part where I thought you were crazy. That's the part where I should've kicked you out of my my house." he turned away from them.
"But you didn't, because you knew. Deep down somewhere you knew there was something about her. Something you just couldn't explain. How does she get tangled with aliens, or Norse gods? How does she end up going to Asgard?" Clint turned as he listened to Cynthia's words. They were questions he'd asked himself so many times. "How is she the one who finds a mild mannered doctor who also secretly harbors a giant green rage monster inside of him? How did she become the invisible link that unknowingly brought a team of superheroes together?" Cynthia placed herself right in front of her son in law and she could see the pain in his eyes he desperately wanted to hide. "It was destined from the beginning. I thought—" she dropped her head. "It was impossible, that I was just in the middle of this random field, trying to see a rare meteor shower. I didn't expect—" she looked back over to Clint and his eyes were still on her. "I thought I was dreaming when I saw a bright white light flying from the sky and heading right toward me. I should've ran for help, or even just to save my life, but I didn't."
"You have to understand how unbelievable this is right?" Clint asked as he looked between Cynthia and Martin. "This woman is my life, and I left her, and now she hates me because I broke a promise I vowed I would keep."
"Then why did you leave, son?" Martin asked and Clint turned to him for a moment before turning away. "Trust me, I was standing where you are just a couple of months ago. She was my baby girl. She was the best part of me, and deep down I always knew there was some special about her." Clint turned back to the man who took a step forward. "I saw it in how quickly she learned self defense, how naturally she picked up weaponry."
"I thought it was a dream." Cynthia said again with a shake of her head as she went back to that moment. "One minute I was watching a meteor shower, and the next, I'm lying flat on my back as some kind of being hidden by a bright white light stands above me. It said that I had been chosen to bear the protector."
"Protector of what?" Clint asked.
"I don't know. I never got a chance to ask it. I couldn't really speak. I just remember one moment I watching this thing, and then the next moment I waking up in the SHIELD infirmary with test results saying I was pregnant." she looked over to Martin who reached forward and took her hand. "The entire encounter was bizarre so I truly thought I'd just passed out and had some weird dream...until the day she was born." Clint lifted his head toward the house, his ears picking up the faint sound of his daughter's voice calling out for him. Clint looked back to the couple before stalking back toward the house.
When he walked inside, he found Natalia standing up in her play pen awake from her nap.
"Dah," she whined, and he picked her up into his arms and she simply laid her head on his chest still a bit tired. Her eyes closed as she grabbed a small fist of his shirt as if to prevent him from leaving her again. Clint sighed, placing a kiss to the top of her head before heading up the stairs to his room. The little girl had fallen back asleep before they even reached the room. Clint walked inside, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, his arms still firmly around his daughter. At this point, she was the only thing keeping his head from exploding right now. The only thing keeping him from going totally crazy. He glanced over to the desk near the window, and he stood to his feet and walked over and looked down the photos splayed across it. He picked up one with his free hand, and once again analyzed it as best he could. He'd seen the type of doctored photos that came out of SHIELD, saw how they could get anyone to believe anything with a carefully altered photo. Maybe the picture in this hand was fake, even though his gut was telling him that it wasn't. This single photo was the reason he left his wife. Why he believed that he needed to leave for her to accept who she was meant to be, and be this protector she apparently was. Clint couldn't tear his eyes from the picture. Still not quite able to believe what he was seeing. The sight of a little baby girl, crying as an ominous glow emits from her skin at the place of her heart as if there was a tiny flashlight inside of her.
"This is your mommy, bud," Clint whispered to his sleeping daughter. "Apparently, she's important to more than just us."
Katie's breath hitched the moment she felt Thanos' hand touched Soul stone. She stumbled back a bit the moment she felt it being implanted with the other stones into the gauntlet. The power that emitted blew into her face, and she sighed and dropped her head.
"Hey," a hand touched her shoulder, and when she turned she saw the concerned face of Steve. "You alright?" she wanted to tell the truth, but at the moment they were all looking at her as if she were a bomb, and so she decided to lie.
"I'm good," she replied, she saw the crease in his forehead. "Are we ready to go?" she began walking around him, back inside the building.
"You know I see you." Steve said suddenly, and Katie stopped and turned back to him. "I've known you for quite some time, and I think it's getting easier to pin point your tells." he looked over to her. "I'm sorry about what happened with Clint, I know-"
"I don't want to talk about that." she said with a shake of her head as she dragged her fingers through her hair. "I literally am physically incapable of having that conversation right now, because I'd die." she turned back to Steve and he saw that flash of pain. "There's a crazy alien whose going to do some very bad things if we don't stop him. He has another stone, so that means all that's left is the Mind Stone and the Time stone." she turned once again to head inside.
"How does this end?" he asks suddenly and Katie stops, but doesn't turn to him. "I just, even after your explanation, I'm not quite sure what's happening with you, and I'm worried." she finally turned back to him. "Because I have a bad feeling, and I'm trying to ignore it, and to have hope and keep the strength to keep going, but I'm really worried." he walked over to her, placing himself right in front of her so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "Back in Scotland, those two aliens, when they saw you, they paused. They stopped trying to get the stone from Vision because they saw you and then they left." Katie didn't say anything because she knew that the truth was once again not the best option in this situation. Not with Steve. She knew what his reaction would be to the truth. "How does this all end?" he asked once again, and she lightly smiled.
"We either win or we lose, but do you know how we do it?"
"Together." Steve said and Katie gave a nod.
"Exactly." she nudged her head back to the building. "We should-"
"I can't lead a team when my soldiers have their own missions I'm not aware of. I need to know when I should be watching your back." Katie smiled before taking a step forward and bringing her arms around the man in a hug that he returns. "Katie-"
"Do you remember the day we met?" she asked, her cheek pressed against his chest not ready to pull from the hug yet.
"I think it was a day I will never forget. I stopped a mugger, and then we went out for pizza, but we were being followed. You grabbed some guy off the street and gave him a pretty hard jab to the gut." Steve chuckled at the memory.
"That part was entertaining, but I meant the moment when I realized who you were and why SHIELD had sent me to find you."
"You were supposed to be a SHIELD promoter, but you were the opposite. You were the first person I'd met since waking up that I actually believed."
"Helping find you was my first official job when I started with SHEILD. Then seeing you in that park that day, I just-" she pulled back from the hug and looked up to him. "I remembered."
"What?"
"Sometimes good things can come out of a crappy situation even when you don't know it at the time." she took a step back. "We win or we lose. Together, that's how this ends." she gave him a nudge to his shoulder. "And grow beards." she chuckled before turning and heading back inside. It didn't get passed him that she was evading the truth, which only made him more nervous, but he'd keep an eye on her.
"Do you like it?!" He asked as he followed after her, and she glance over her shoulder to him.
"You'll blush if I answer that question, Captain." she said with a laugh.
He couldn't shake the image. Thanos stood on the edge of the cliff glancing down to the fallen body of his daughter Then suddenly he's lying in a pond of water, the Soul stone now in his hand. He holds it above his gauntlet, and watch as it finds it's place. He lifted his gauntlet, admiring the new stone now affixed in it's place. Soon he'd have them all, and no being on this planet will be more powerful than him. There was no time to pause, to grieve or doubt and so he stood and headed for his ship.
"Have you heard the saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely?" the Stonekeeper asks and Thanos stops and glances over to him.
"You are a pet." Thanos sneers. "And I don't have time to talk philosophy with pets." he turned once again.
"I am to deliver a warning." The Stonekeeper said, but Thanos never stopped walking. "Ego is here." Thanos only chuckles at the words.
"I know. I'll be seeing her real soon."