It was early evening as T'Challa and Nakia poured over several tablets discussing the plan for the night at the site with the rest of the group.
"I think we should wait until the dead hours tomorrow morning when everyone's left," suggested Sam.
"The site will not be completely cleared; rescue attempts will continue around the clock." Said T'Challa.
"The box has been abandoned for the most part. Everyone is focussed on finding the lost team." Said Nakia, panning through several aerial surveillance shots on the tablet in the middle of the table to prove her point.
"That's perfect," said Jane, "we need to focus on the box tonight and to find the vial, it's the key to knowing what we're up against."
"I sure hope you're right about that..." said Bucky.
"Have you been able to figure out how deep the hole is, or find any sign that the lost team may be alive?" Asked Nat.
"My finest tech can't penetrate the strange electromagnetic field around it. We don't know any more than the people on the ground at this point," answered Shuri, dejected.
"We need to try and get those people out," said Steve.
"I don't think anyone here disagrees with you, but Li liweyo is right. We need to know what we're up against before we go in there," said T'Challa. "Besides that, I don't need to tell you that alerting Hydra to our presence here is not advisable."
"Let's hope they're still alive," said Nat.
"Have your people seen anything out of the ordinary around the site?" asked Steve.
"Define out of the ordinary," said Shuri.
"Hydra." Said Steve.
Everyone looked up at T'Challa.
"There have been reports of people who only worked on the site for a day or two; background checks have come up with nothing." T'Challa talked as he navigated to the results of the background checks on another tablet. Nat picked it up once he'd found it.
Steve and Bucky exchanged a glance.
"That's gotta be them," muttered Nat, staring at the screen.
An hour later, T'Challa stepped back from the table. "We leave in three hours, get something to eat and some rest." Taking Nakia's hand, he strode out of Shuri and Bucky's suite.
"Come on Romanoff, I'm starving," said Sam to Nat. She was staring at Steve, who hadn't left the table yet.
Bucky caught her eye, and with a nod, let her know that he's got this one. She answered with a small nod of her own to show she understood before she turned to follow Sam. Shuri didn't miss the exchange.
"Come, Li liweyo, let's go get some food," said Shuri as she motioned for Jane to follow her. Jane shot a worried glance over her shoulder at Steve, who hadn't looked up yet but followed her friend dutifully, knowing that the best person to talk to him right now, was Bucky.
Dog got up from the rug where he'd been napping and trotted after Jane. He'd arrived with Nakia and T'Challa.
Bucky put his hand on Steve's shoulder.
"Hey pal, you still with me?"
Steve's head snapped up, and he looked around, noticing that everyone had left.
"Yeah," muttered Steve.
"She has to do this," said Bucky.
"Does she?" Questioned Steve.
"You know the answer to that," replied Bucky.
Steve's eyes roamed over the tablets with their plans on the table.
"I still wish she didn't."
"We're not going to let anything happen to her," Bucky tried to comfort his friend.
Steve hung his head as his jaw clenched before he turned and looked Bucky in the eye.
"I can't lose her," he said, his voice growing faint.
"Hey," began Bucky, putting his hand on Steve's shoulder the way he used to before the war. "We've faced worse things than a vial and a hole in the ground. Look at us, a pair of one-hundred-year-old codgers, and we're still kickin'," a grin twitched at the corner of his mouth, "I'm tellin' you that we're not going to let anything happen to her."
Steve was still frowning, but his best friend's words soothed the worry in his belly a little, and a sigh escaped him.
Bucky took that as a small victory and squeezed Steve's shoulder before letting go and motioned to the door, "come on, you're making me nervous."
Jane hadn't been all that hungry and put down her knife and fork, pushing her plate away. The runes down her back kept reminding her of their presence, and as the minutes ticked past, they seemed to grow more urgent. The wind picked up around the restaurant, and she couldn't take the pretence of the dinner anymore. She got up, "I'll see you guys a bit later," and made her way back to the suite as the last light of the day faded behind the horizon.
Steve excused himself and went after her. As he came down the hill, he caught a gossamer curtain playing on the chilling wind through the open door of the suite.
"Jane?" he spoke her name into the darkness of the room. He could see her form outlined against the white linen of the bed, she was hunched over, supporting her weight on her hands on the mattress.
"Are you okay?"
She pulled back as her breath caught at the searing pain down her back and thunder rolled in the distance.
"Jane?" his voice was thick with desperation as he closed the distance between them.
She reached for his hand and placed it on her back, and he felt the heat from the runes through her shirt.
He pulled her to the bathroom and flicked on the light, turning her, so she had her back to him and lifted her shirt. The marks that looked like red ink tattoos that morning looked like fresh brands now. She turned in his arms and caught the horror in his eyes. Without a word, he pulled her into the open shower and turned on the cold water. He pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it across the room and gently moved her hair off her back. She held on to him as the water brought profound relief. Steve looked down her back over her shoulder and watched as the runes went dark. A few minutes passed before she pulled back, blinking at the water and reached for the tap to turn it off.
The of the water bubbled down the drain until the only sound was the wind outside and the water dripping from them onto the floor.
Steve took her face in his hands. "Tell me..." he began, before closing his eyes to blink the wrong words away. "Just say the word darlin', and I'll take you away from here."
Her fingers traced the line of his jaw, catching the water that collected there as she searched his eyes. They were wild with worry, with love and with the promises that he'd keep.
"Stay..." she whispered, "do this with me."
Steve closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against her temple as he held her. He'd wished with all his heart that she wouldn't say those words, but she did, and he didn't hesitate to accept her decision. This was happening. He would do it with her; he would keep her safe if it killed him.
"We have to go," she said as she pulled back.
"I know," He conceded before claiming her mouth.
The Royal Talon Fighter was waiting at the rendezvous point as the party of eight, and a leashed Dog arrived under cover of night in full combat gear. Three thunderstorms were circling the horizon as the ramp opened and they all boarded in silence.
The flight seemed to pass in the blink of an eye and Jane could start to feel the runes burning again. Steve stood just behind her, and her suit glowed like molten iron over them. Tension was coming off him in waves. None of the others missed it and exchanged worried glances behind them.
Shuri put the fighter down, still in stealth mode, out of sight of the people on the ground at the site. The box was closest to them, with the sinkhole furthest away. There was a lone floodlight on the box; all the other equipment had been moved to aid the rescue operation.
The ramp lowered and fresh night air rushed in, the smell of rain crisp in the air.
"Comms check", said T'Challa in his mask.
"Loud and clear," answered Nat.
"You know what to do," commanded Steve and the team sprang into action, running out around the box to form a perimeter. Steve ran with Jane by his side, straight to the box. As they drew closer, the pain down her back grew in intensity, and a line of runes on the side of the box started to glow brighter and brighter. By the time they reached it, she was struggling with the pain.
"You okay?" Steve asked desperately as she sank to one knee.
She steeled herself. She had to be strong, if for nothing and nobody but him. She blinked away tears and looked up, "I'm okay," and pushed herself up. Her eyes examined the runes up the side of the box, and she touched them with the tips of her fingers, only to whip them away as they burned her.
"Don't touch that," she said to Steve as she took hold of the edge of the box with both hands and pushed herself up and over. She landed with a soft thud on the inside, much deeper than it looked from on the outside. She felt Steve land beside her.
She blinked at the unnatural darkness and looked up to find the light of the stars, suddenly overcome with an all too familiar claustrophobia and choking feeling in her throat.
"Was it like this when you found me?" she asked Steve.
"Yeah."
She turned and saw a path of runes light up down the inside of the box and make a ninety-degree turn midway down to the right and continue around the box until it circled a dark spot about the size of Steve's open hand.
"That it?" he asked.
"Must be," she answered, moving closer.
"You guys still good?" Sam checked in.
"Still good," replied Steve.
Jane came up to the dark spot and reached out to touch it. She felt an indentation that immediately reminded her of the rune Shuri pulled from her throat. She touched the compartment on her wrist and retrieved the stone. Turning it in her fingers so it matched the shape in the wall, she fit it into the slot. The second it made contact with the box, the pain flared down her back and brought her to her knees. Try as she might, she couldn't get her hand off the surface off the wall, she was stuck. It turned to an unearthly substance, in appearance, almost like liquid and her hand started disappearing into it.
Steve was there, but before he could grab her, she stopped him. "Steve, don't!" She struggled through ragged breaths and tears. Then she felt it. It was cool and smooth in the surrounding liquid stone, and she wiggled her fingers around the long slender part that she could feel at the top of the object and began pulling back. It came out easier than she expected and she landed on her back with the vial in her hand.
Both Steve and Jane's eyes were fixed on the vial, the pain suddenly gone from her and all the runes were fading into the darkness. They watched as the contents of the vial slowly began to light up with a soft golden glow. Steve swallowed and pressed his comms unit, not taking his eyes off it. "We've got the vial."
"Get out of there," came T'Challa's voice in return.
Steve helped Jane to her feet, and she clipped the vial to her belt. He gave her a boost up, and she jumped out, landing with a crunch on the ground. She quickly wiped the leftover tears from her eyes just as Steve landed next to her.
"Come on," he whispered, and they ran straight for the Fighter.
"Perimeter secure," they heard Bucky's voice over the comms line as the others returned.
The ramp of the Fighter opened, and they all ran aboard.
"Everyone okay?" asked Nat.
They all turned to do a quick check of each other and found Jane standing with the vial held up to her eyes, examining the contents.
"What are you going to do with that?" asked Shuri.
"I have to drink it," answered Jane, as if in a trance.
"You're not drinking that on the ship." Said Nakia.
Everyone looked at her, puzzled.
"What if it makes her sick?" she shrugged. "We'll never get the smell out."
Steve walked up to Jane. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It doesn't matter. I just know I have to drink it," she replied.
Steve looked at T'Challa who'd deactivated his mask and nodded.
"You're not seriously going to let her drink that?" Shuri questioned their exchange.
No-one answered.
Jane started walking back out of the ship with everyone on her heels.
Once she was a reasonable distance away from the Fighter, she stopped, lifting the vial again. Steve came to a stop in front of her.
"Jane," he implored, "are you sure?" He took a step closer. "Once you drink that you can't go back."
The glow from the vial lit her face with a soft, warm light. She looked into his eyes. "If I don't drink this, I can't go forward."
She'd made up her mind. The others formed a circle around her as she pulled the top off the vial. The wind whipped her hair around her face. She lowered it to just below her chin before she looked up at Steve again.
"I love you," she said and tipped the glowing contents into her mouth.