Chapter Nine: Soul Stone
Dust billowed up in large puffs. The sandy ground shifted with the wind. The orange sky was clear, except for the occasional cloud. It was around noon, and the air was blistering hot.
Peter Parker woke up to someone gently shaking him. He suddenly bolted upright, almost hitting heads with a dark-haired man.
Peter squinted at the man; he looked familiar. The long hair, the beard...
"Jesus?" Peter asked, emitting a chuckle from the man. "Am I dead? Is this heaven? Wow, it's a lot different than I imagined. Where are all the angels? Why's the sky orange? Why does heaven look like a desert?" Peter gasped. "Am I in hell? This has to be hell!"
The man fully laughed this time. "It's not hell, but it's pretty darn close."
"What does that mean?" Peter asked.
The man extended a hand, which Peter gladly took and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
"You're quite talkative, aren't you kiddo?" the man stated.
Peter took in his surroundings. The ground was flat where he was standing and had trees scattered around, but there were mountains to the east. There was a small stream that gurgled past the two, but that was the only source of water in sight. He could see nothing but miles of endless sand everywhere else.
He blinked sand out of his eyes and ran a hand through his tangled mess of hair. Something seemed off about the whole scenario. Maybe it was the orange sky and sand. Or maybe it was the fact that the man he was with was wearing green pants, a navy blue jacket, and army boots in place of what Peter assumed people in heaven would wear: togas and sandals. Instead of a regular arm, the man's left arm was made purely out of some kind of metal. Vibranium, maybe?
"You're not…"
"I'm James Barnes, but you can call me Bucky. We've met before. At the airport in Germany. You're Spider-Boy?"
"Spider-Man and I'm an Avenger now, thanks to Mr. Stark!" Peter proudly announced and put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest.
Bucky laughed. "Alright, kid. Why would Tony Stark allow a twelve-year-old on a team of super-powered adults?"
"I'm fifteen!" Peter pouted. "Nobody knows how old I am unless I tell them. Besides, nobody can see my face. They can't tell what my age is."
Bucky raised an eyebrow. "I can clearly see your face..."
"What?!" Peter shouted and started panicking. He tried to pull his helmet on, but it was stuck inside the suit. "Well, at least you don't know that my name is Peter Parker; so there!" Peter gasped and clamped both hands tightly over his mouth. "Did I just tell you my secret identity?"
"I'm afraid so," Bucky said.
"Dang it!" Peter shouted.
"Relax, kid. I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me."
Peter relaxed a bit. Bucky seemed like a trustworthy guy. "So, where are we?"
Bucky shrugged. "I don't know. The others are down in the valley if you want to join. Actually, you should join us. It's not safe being by yourself. Come on."
Bucky started walking down the hill and motioned for Peter to follow. Peter jogged to catch up.
"There are others?" Peter asked.
"Yeah. Sam, Wanda, Vision, T'Challa…"
"Oh! What are they doing here?"
"The same thing as you and me: stuck. We haven't found a way out or any other sign of human life. You're lucky I found you. It's not safe after dark. We've been attacked by several different creatures already."
"But I felt like I was dying! I saw flakes of dirt come off me! How am I alive?"
"Like before, I don't know. The same thing happened to all of us. Nobody has an explanation. Plus, there's no way to contact Steve or Tony for help. We might just be on our own."
"Oh," Peter kicked a rock out of his way. He started to tear up. "Are we getting out? Are we going home? What about Aunt May? Or Ned? I have a life! I can't die out here! I should have listened to Mr. Stark and never boarded that ship…"
"Whoa, don't give up just yet. There's still a chance," Bucky stopped and looked Peter directly in the eyes. "If there's one thing I learned from my time in the army, is that you should never give up. Always keep fighting. Because if you quit, you're putting other people's lives at risk. Heroes don't quit. They keep fighting to find a way and then stick to the plan. We're going to make it out alive. I promise that I'll fight to get you home safely, even if it costs me my life," Bucky said firmly, determination blazing in his light blue eyes.
Peter smiled. "Thanks."
"It's my job, kid. Besides, you are too young to be dying just yet."
The rest of the walk was silent, except for the crunch of the sand under their feet. They reached the valley late in the afternoon. Peter could see makeshift tents built out of tree leaves and branches. They didn't look too sturdy, but at least it was some cover from the heat and sand.
A young woman strode from behind one of the tents. She smiled and waved at the two. Bucky raised his right hand in a salute and motioned for Peter to follow him.
They ducked under the first tent, and immediately the air felt cooler. Peter started to take his armour off, but Bucky stopped him.
"You might want to leave that on. We never know when we might be attacked. It's safer this way," Bucky said. Peter nodded and plopped down on the sandy floor.
The young woman from before peeked her head inside the tent. She had bruises hidden underneath her brown hair, and her face was covered in dirt.
"There's water and food if you want some," she said. She seemed rather tired for such a young person.
"Thanks, Wanda," Bucky said.
Wanda backed out of the tent, only to re-enter a second later.
"Oh, T'Challa said he wants everyone to meet an hour before sundown to discuss our situation. He's thinking that it might be safer if we find a different location to set up a more permanent camp," Wanda explained.
"Understood," Bucky said.
Wanda smiled and left.
Bucky dropped down to the ground and took off his boots. He turned one upside down and shook sand from it. He did the same with the other before putting them back on and unhooking his pistol from his belt. He started taking the gun apart to clean it while Peter crawled closer to the older man.
"Are we for sure stuck?" Peter asked.
Bucky hesitated. He didn't want to scare the kid with the truth. "Not for sure. There's always a way."
Peter looked over Bucky's shoulder. Bucky flinched a bit when he felt Peter's chin touch his shoulder, but he stayed silent. "Why are you taking it apart? Don't you need it?"
Bucky wiped the gun down with his sleeve and loaded the magazine clip. "I'm cleaning it. You don't want a gun to misfire because it's dirty," Bucky explained. He turned to look at Peter. "Always keep your things clean and organized. It helps to know where things are during an emergency."
"Cool," Peter said. He stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm hungry. Where's the food?"
"In the biggest tent," Bucky pointed out of the entrance. Peter went off to find some food, leaving Bucky alone in thought. It was tough being here without a safe way out. He didn't want to be stuck here forever; he had just gotten the mind control that Hydra had put in his head cleared out. He was free from one evil, only to be captured by another.
The pistol was clean by the time Peter came back. The teenager was carrying two makeshift plates made out of bark piled with food. There wasn't much, just some water and a cooked animal that looked like a squirrel.
The two were just about ready to dig in when Sam Wilson burst into the tent. He seemed anxious.
"T'Challa said we've got to get moving," Sam announced.
Bucky set down his food. "I thought we were leaving tomorrow."
"We were, but there is a group of creatures heading in our direction. The same creatures that attacked us last night. We barely won last time, remember? We're leaving now," Sam ordered and left immediately.
Bucky quickly stood up without a word, grabbed his gun, and helped Peter up. The two dashed out if the tent to where the rest of the group was waiting. Once everyone was accounted for, the victims of the Snap took off for a safer place.
It was tough trudging through the sand. Once in a while, someone would trip from exhaustion, but a teammate always helped him or her up.
The rain came around midnight. At first, it felt nice to have the dust rinsed off, but after a while, it was getting hard to see. The group was out in the open; they had left the cover of trees a few hours back, so everyone was soaked to the bone.
Peter stopped suddenly. He was tired, wet, cold, and hungry. He couldn't find the strength to continue. Bucky had walked a few paces forward before he realized that Peter wasn't at his side.
The rain was so heavy that Bucky could barely make out where Peter was, even though they were only a few feet apart.
"Are you okay?" Bucky asked as he ran to Peter's side.
"I'm tired," Peter complained.
Bucky looked over his shoulder; he couldn't see the rest of the team. "We can't stop. It's too dangerous out here."
"I know, but even with my powers, it's too tiring."
"I'm not leaving you out here alone and we can't get separated from the group. We have to keep pushing on." Peter's expression caused Bucky to continue. "Remember what I said earlier about heroes never quitting?"
Peter nodded.
"Well, this is one of those times. It might be tough, but it will make you stronger in the end," Bucky said. "How many kids your age can say that they fought aliens?"
"Not many," Peter muttered.
"That's right. Not many kids your age can say that they are an Avenger. You were born for this. You were made to be an Avenger. And that is something special."
A smile slowly etched itself onto Peter's face. "Thanks."
"No problem. Come on, we've got to catch the others before they go too far ahead. I can give you a ride if you're tired," Bucky offered. "You're probably too old for that, but if you can't walk…"
"Aren't you tired?" Peter asked.
"A little, but I can handle it. They don't have you carry eighty-pound bags and hike fifty miles in the army for nothing."
Bucky knelt down and let Peter climb onto his back. Peter wrapped his legs around Bucky's waist and buried his head in Bucky's hair. Almost immediately, Peter drifted off to sleep.
Bucky adjusted Peter's weight to a more comfortable position and pushed on through the rain.
The rain didn't seem to be letting up and it was hard to see, but Bucky managed to catch up with the rest of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sam caught sight of Bucky and Peter and dropped back to wait for them.
"Is he alright?" Sam asked, concerned for the young Avenger.
"He's tired," Bucky answered.
"Are you sure you can carry him and defend yourself from an attack at the same time?"
"I'll manage." Bucky brushed past Sam and joined the big group. Sam rolled his eyes and trailed closely behind. He glanced back; suspicious of something. It felt like they were being watched.
Suddenly, a huge creature with blazing red eyes lunged out of the curtain of rain. It had razor-sharp claws and at least a ton of muscle. It growled, letting saliva drip from its mouth. Sam shouted and fell down, crushed beneath its weight.
Both teams of heroes turned to help their comrades. Peter Quill shot the creature, and it crumbled in a dirty heap. T'Challa helped Sam up and stared off into the rain. Dozens of red eyes stared back.
"Everybody, fall into position!" T'Challa shouted.
Everyone fell into a circle, their weapons facing outward.
More and more of the bear-like creatures burst through the rain in a wave of fur and claws.
The heroes fought for their lives. Bucky had set Peter down in the middle of the circle and stood protectively of him. He had tried and failed to wake him; the poor kid was exhausted. Sam managed to get his mechanical wings to work and was flying around shooting the beasts, but the bullets just bounced off. Wanda and Vision were working together and had their side of the circle under control, but they were tiring. The heat and the battle against Thanos' army had tired everyone out. They had nothing left.
A large rumble suddenly shook the ground. The heroes barely had time to register before a flash of black and green appeared out of nowhere. The impact knocked both the heroes and the beasts alike off their feet. The rain stopped as well, and the heroes welcomed the warmth of the world's sun to dry them off.
A figure wearing tight, black with green accented armour stood up. Its cape of dark greenish-gray billowed out behind it. A sword glinted from the sunlight, showing off how sharp it was.
The beasts stumbled back to their feet and growled savagely at the newcomer. The figure raised its sword. Black fire engulfed the weapon. The figure paused a moment before plunging the sword into the ground.
A shockwave of black magic obliterated the beasts and left the heroes unscathed.
Everyone got shakily to their feet. Bucky helped a now awake Peter to his feet. He still remained in front of the boy, in a stance of protection.
The figure turned; its smile was friendly and inviting. The figure was that of a girl? young lady? a woman? It was hard to tell her age, but she was both strikingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She had high cheekbones set in a pale face. Her greenish-gray eyes shone brightly. Her jet-black hair blew gently in the breeze.
A small twist from her hand caused her sword to disappear. She raised her hands in an act of peace and smiled gently at Peter Parker.
"Who are you?" T'Challa questioned.
"I'm Hela, the Goddess of Death, Queen of Valhalla, and Ruler of Helheim. And I'm here to take you home.