A/N: Hello faithful readers! We are back! And I'm super sad to say that this is almost over. It's been a journey, and I've seen my own writing improve since the beginning. I hope you like this one! I will be posting another chapter later tonight. And the Epilogue next week!
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC, Fox or the Avengers.
Elijah POV
We all watched in horror from our camp as the forest ignited in flame, Dad and Dad trying to get away from the Hulkbuster suits hold on them, crying and yelling in protest profusely. Callie stared unseeing, as the wave washed over our protective dome.
I felt oddly numb, knowing that I helped Mom accomplish her suicide mission. Callie had been distraught when Peter and her landed, hitting him with everything she had as she screamed and cried. Aunt Natasha was holding Wanda and Daisy, unsure if they just witnessed what happened. Uncle Pietro was standing beside Uncle Brock, who was on his knees. He just lost his last living family member.
Kitty was sobbing, crying into Logan's shoulder, as Aunt Hope cried in anguish against Scott. Coulson and Grandpa stood, eyes watering, but no tears falling.
One by one, we all realized what just happened. It was over.
She did it.
"Let me go Peter," Gamora said to Quill, shaking out of his hold and walking over to Callie. She didn't need to say anything aloud, because in an instant she ripped herself from Peter's arms, and dashed both of them through a portal.
"Callie no!" I yelled, but it was too late. Rocket took the dome down, and silently we all got up. I was running as fast as I could, uncaring of the tears I cried, or that Dad and Dad were on my tail and gaining on me fast. I heard Callie's agonizing cry first, watching as Gamora held her up. We walked up slowly, first taking in Thanos's body, and the discarded gauntlet, the stones glowing menacingly.
And then I heard Dad cry out Mom's name, leaning on Dad's metal arm, as we looked at the mangled body of my mother. Her skin was blackened, and where it wasn't, there were grueling burns, her skin still bubbling as we looked down on her corpse. I was the only one brave enough to kneel next to her, gently placing my fingers on her throat, unsure of what I would find.
"I'm sorry Mom," I whispered to her, before pulling back quickly in shock.
"LUCY, vital signs," I commanded my watch; starting to hope it wasn't my own pulse I had felt.
"BPM is 31, holding," LUCY's voice said, and suddenly Dad straightened up from Dad's shoulder, in full Captain mode.
"Callie, jump back and get-"
She was jumping into action before he even finished, crying in relief as she made another portal. I looked up at Dad, whose eyes remained unchanged as he said, "That's three."
"Oh my god," Helen said, as she appeared, Callie keeping the portal open behind them, as Helen's assistants gently came over to lift Mom. I had to look away, as the part of her face that had been hidden was revealed. To say the least, she looked like Two Face. One black, the other… basically gone, revealing ligament, cartilage and bone.
Everyone finally caught up to us, as Pietro helped run the stragglers back quickly.
"Oh god, it's like lookin' in a mirror… After a fight with the unholy bastard of a wood chipper and flamethrower," A sarcastic voice said, and I saw red.
"Shut up Wade! She could have died!" I said, after punching him across the jaw. Dad pulled me back and taking my place, glaring at Wade, "Watch your mouth or I will make good on Sera's threat."
Dad pulled him back by his metal arm, as Logan pulled Wade away by his ear, Wade whining the whole time.
"Hypobaric chamber, now!" I heard Aunt Jemma's voice say as Mom was finally through the portal.
"We leave from here. We will grab our camp later," Dad said, before stalking off, leaving everyone staring after his shield. Grandpa picked up the gauntlet, taking care not to put it on, or set it off. Vision's body was taken back through by a few Wakandan warriors, with Shuri reassuring us she can bring him back. Dr. Strange took back the Time Stone, and Thor the Tesseract's Space Stone, and the Mind Stone until Vision was revived.
"The Power Stone, we will deal with after we figure out how to take them off without killing someone," Rocket said.
"Guys, can't keep this open forever," Callie said loudly enough that the group all moved.
As I walked back through Callie's portal to the hangar of our base, I yanked Callie through to make sure she made it. She glared at me, before waiting patiently for the last of the team to follow us through. Dad was pacing the floor outside the medical bay doors, while Shuri looked at Dad's arm for damage. Everyone found a spot to sit on the floor, the adrenaline from our battle wearing off. Grandpa's armor sinking back into his skin slowly as Pepper ran up to hug him.
Aunt Hope was crying silently against Uncle Scott's shoulder, while Uncle T'Challa was holding up Shuri as she cried.
Half an hour came and went, everyone waiting in silence for news. Callie couldn't sit still, running upstairs to bring down a flat of water bottles and a tray of hot towels, so everyone felt less grimy. An hour passed since we found Mom, and finally someone came out, speaking to Dad lowly. He had shed the top of his uniform, so everyone could see the relief in his shoulders as he turned to us.
"She's alive. But… she isn't waking up. They are keeping her in the Hypobaric chamber for now. The cradle can't fix anything until the radiation is dealt with."
"I volunteer," I said, standing up.
"For what?" Grandpa said, confused, "To treat the radiation?"
"No, he's right. Her blood needs to be filtered to allow a faster healing process. He wants to act as the filter," Uncle Bruce said, as Aunt Nat held his hand tightly. She looked angry, and frightened about Mom.
"The serum would allow me to heal from the sickness in her blood," I said.
"So would mine," Callie said. I shook my head at my twin, "No, one of us needs to be at full strength."
"Eli, I am doing it. I can make a portal for the gathering of our camp, and then I'm taking a damn turn helping Mom," She snarled at me.
"I am doing this, because this is my fault!" I yelled, realizing that everyone had gone silent at my confession.
"What?" Callie asked in a whisper.
"Mom told me that it might need to happen. If I hadn't froze up and helped Vision… I could have spared us all."
"Eli, you knew your mother was planning that? How long?" Dad asked, coming to take me by the shoulders, metal fingers squeezing a bit tighter than his flesh hand.
"Since Oliver was born, she realized her power had… not mutated, but changed. Or it was always there and she just learned how to tap into it. She was absorbing energy from everything, not just fire."
"I too also knew of this power. She confided in us," Erik Lensherr spoke up from beside Professor Xavier, who nodded, "But she never spoke of her plan."
"It was theoretical. She knew from Dr. Selvig that the Tesseract gave off gamma radiation. Her theory was that each stone gave off radiation, and that by absorbing them, she could attempt Lagos again."
"But that was an IED. This was enough…" Bruce said, calculating it quickly in his head.
"Enough to be the equivalent of Hiroshima," I finished.
"She blew herself up," Grandpa said, face hard. I know everyone was asking himself or herself how I could be okay with helping my mother commit suicide like this.
"She swore me to secrecy. It was only an in case of emergency option. We didn't know that Black Bolt would be taken out so quickly, or that Thanos's doppleganger would fail. We hoped, we all did. None more than me," I said, looking down.
"The Valkyrie," Dad said, softly from in front of the med bay doors, still no looking at me. Val looked over in confusion, and Thor shook his head at her, "It was a plane Steve crashed a long time ago."
"She called it, "Pulling a Steve." She meant it as a compliment though. You put that plane in the water to save thousands of people."
"She did it to save the universe," Dad said, releasing my shoulders.
"To save us all," Crystal said, from her spot beside Medusa, Black Bolt coming to in her arms. She had dropped him off here Thanos had taken him out, before coming back to help us.
"I have no words, except we all owe her a debt that can never be repaid," Commander Dey said, reminding us all of the forces from Xandar.
"Can I go in now?" I asked Dad, whose back was still to everyone. I knew he was angry at me, but I needed to help her.
"Go," Dad said, pushing me gently along. I walked into the lab, seeing Aunt Jemma first and pulling off my uniform jacket, "I've got a filter for you."
"Actually, we already have one," She said, moving to show Wade lounging on a table next to Mom's chamber, reading a Hustler magazine.
"Sup small fry?" He smirked. I rolled my eyes and looked at Aunt Jemma, "How did he get in? We were all watching the door."
"I didn't ask that question. More important than that, he offered. His blood will heal her, just like last time. Except no one has to force him this time," She said, guiding me to sit by Mom's chamber, "It's already working."
Her skin was healing, slowly, but it was better than nothing. We all watched as her skin, muscles and ligaments reformed around her finger bones and her face.
"When will she wake up?"
"Hard to say. When she is healed of the radiation, we will take her out of the chamber. And when she is ready, she will wake up. Her body is in shock. She hasn't done this, on this scale with her power. Even if she was practicing in secret to blow herself up," Jemma said annoyed, brushing away a tear from her cheek.
"The kids okay?" I asked, changing the subject, trying to cheer her up.
"Oliver was crying for awhile. Only settled down a bit when Callie came through to grab Helen. Maria has him now. And while Helen is watching your Mom, I'm going to go check on Samuel and Elena," She said, forcing a smile, "Excuse me."
As she left, I watched Wade carefully, humming to himself and reading his porn rag.
"Is that entirely appropriate reading material?" I said, looking back at Mom's face as sinew and cartilage reformed. My punishment for allowing her to do this to herself will be not eating for the rest of my life. She would joke and say I couldn't last two hours.
"Just like your Dad, it's fucking ridiculous how uptight you both are," Wade sighed, "I know what it's like to put the ones you love before yourself, leaving them to have a better life without you."
"She said it wouldn't happen, but that in case it did, for what was left of her to be buried next to her Mom, under the Willow in the meadow."
"Why don't you just say it? You feel guilty. It's not that hard to say," Wade shrugged.
"So what if I do? It's not going to help her," I said, gritting my teeth.
"Ah, you wanted to be the blood bank. Sorry kid, your Mom needs a little more juice that super soldier serum, and it's not like I have anything better to do now. She killed everything back on that planet, and I was having fun killing those fuckers. Now I have to find something else to do, like annoy the fuck out of Logan. It is just so much fun to rile him up," Wade babbled.
"How about you shut up before I sew your mouth shut?" Helen growled, as she came over to check on Mom's progress.
"Man, you guys know how to pick women around here. You can tie me up too sexy," Wade teased.
"Vanessa," I said, looking past Wade, "Nice to see you again."
"Where?" Wade said, scared. He realized I was joking and said, "Dick move."
"Better to have the moves than actually be one," I countered.
Oddly enough, Wade shut up after that. One by one, her injuries faded, skin returning to normal color and pinking up. Her eyebrows filled in, fingernails growing back, and finally I saw her chest rise with a deep breath.
"It might be a couple hours before she is able to come out of the chamber. Why don't you get some rest Elijah. I will call everyone if she shows signs of waking."
"Are you sure? I want to be here when she does. I don't want her to be alone," I said quietly.
"She won't be, I'm here," Wade smiled.
"He won't be for much longer," Helen said whispered threateningly, rolling her eyes, "And you all need to make sure you are okay. My door will be revolving with the amount of small injuries, so lots of people might be around when she does."
"Okay," I said, getting up and laying a hand on the glass. Before I lost my nerve to leave, I turned and made my way for the door. Everyone was still outside, getting triaged by Darcy and Fitz, with Jeremy in a sling across Darcy's chest.
I bypassed the mass of people, going back to my room in the SHIELD building quietly. As I opened my door, I felt the weight of the last few hours on my body. I collapsed onto my bed, uniform still half on, and succumbing to sleep.
