Not dead! :D And I'm giving you all a nice, long chapter to make up for my absence! I swear I don't think the next update won't take so long. I think I've gotten through my major writer's block for this portion of the story.
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"Absolutely not," said Steve. "We're not using Sutton as bait."
Sutton blinked slowly as she processed the idea. It made sense. Thanos clearly wanted her as much as he wanted to destroy the earth. He even brought an entire, horrible machine to tear his way into other universes. Because destroying one wasn't enough.
"Wait, wait." Sutton cut in. "This might be a good idea."
Steve cut his eyes down at her and frowned, looking less than amused.
"I know you'd do anything if you thought it'd help, but we don't need to risk your life."
"Steve, all of our lives are already at risk."
His jaw tightened at that, and Sutton turned her attention back to Natasha. Despite being the one to suggest it, she looked just as grim as Steve.
"I'm not suggesting we leave her out in the open alone, but it would have to be convincing. We only have one chance to get this right."
"He's not going to believe that we'd let her get hurt," Steve cut back in, voice tight. "Same as Khan, it wouldn't work."
"No," Bruce said. He gave Steve a level look. "But he'd probably believe that she'd give herself up. And Loki can shapeshift, can't he? We can send him out looking like Sutton; she doesn't have to be the one that goes."
Steve brightened at that suggestion, but his hope was quickly dashed by a shake of Loki's head.
"That wouldn't work," Loki told them. "Your dear Sutton has a particular… aura about her that is quite distinct. He would know it wasn't her immediately, if He even deigned to check out the imposter in the first place."
Sutton winced. Because of course she would. Loki already mentioned being able to feel her using her powers back in the Stark Tower elevator. Of course something that distinct would cling to her. Would force their hand in this plan.
The muscle in Steve's jaw clenched tighter and he tilted his head to the side in a sort of unhappy acquiescence.
"It's too dangerous." He argued. "If we make a mistake, he can destroy a lot more worlds than just ours."
Nat ignored Steve and looked straight at Sutton.
"What are you willing to do?"
Sutton hoped Steve understood that she didn't want to die. She didn't want to put herself in terrifying, life or death situations and have to fight for every breath with the weight of universes on her shoulders. Her body, her will, felt stretched thin. There wasn't a single part of her that didn't wish this entire, horrible, series of events could be over. Erased.
But not even a superhero world operated on wishes.
Sutton maintained eye contact with Nat and cleared her throat.
"Whatever it takes."
[][][]
Despite Steve's severe disapproval, they continued on planning as if they'd go through with using Sutton as bait.
They decided to hang back and wait while Sutton pretended that she had slipped away from the group to look for Thanos on her own. Thor would cover the rear while Steve would charge in from the front. The idea was that Thor's strength would be most advantageous as a surprise, but Sutton had a feeling Steve wanted to be in a position closer to her anyway. The rest of the team would create a perimeter and attack from all sides before Thanos or his goons could actually get a hold of her.
"It's simple," Rhodey said. He eyed the plan lines they drew in the dirt with a solemn gaze. "But simplicity is often the best course. It gives less opportunities for this to go wrong."
"Third act," Sutton mumbled, her head between her knees. "This is the third act."
Nat clicked her tongue and thumped Sutton lightly on the side of her head.
"Don't decide what act we're in when you can't see the future."
"Good guys always win," Sutton argued back. "And there was already- we already lost- It's just time for this to end."
A sharp tapping drew everyone's attention to Clint. He sat up straighter once he saw everyone's attention.
"One little problem." He said a smidge too quiet. "How is Sutton going to convincingly lie to this guy? The entire plan hinges on the element of surprise."
Silence stretched as the group processed his question; Sutton's face heated.
"I can do it," she insisted. "He doesn't know how I usually speak."
No one looked like they were entirely convinced by her argument.
"Maybe," said Bruce, "maybe you don't exactly have to lie."
[][][]
They rested the rest of the evening. Or, at least, Sutton thought it could be evening; it was hard to discern what time it was in the dark underground. All of them took turns sleeping and keeping watch until morning.
Time helped a little, only in that she adjusted to moving around her pain. Her back wouldn't stop throbbing but she could move. She worked on ignoring the pulls and the aches; she probably needed to be as agile as possible for her part in their plan, if she didn't want Thanos to actually get ahold of her.
Steve was adamant that wouldn't be allowed to happen.
The trudge back through the subway tunnel was aided by the reactor from Rhodey's suit, but the glowing blue light only stoked the aching riptide of grief that still threatened to drag her out to sea.
That was the reactor Tony created. The suit he built. His fingerprints left on a world he no longer existed in.
But that's why she had to do this, wasn't it?
For him.
For him and for everyone that was still alive.
Loki stopped them before they emerged on ground level. He approached Sutton and gestured to her suit.
"You'll need to turn that back on. So, he can find you. Else we may be waiting awhile for him to show up."
Sutton frowned and gripped her wrist.
"It's broken."
Loki rolled his eyes.
"I can fix it."
An impulse shot through her: to keep it away from him. Tony broke it, and now Loki would erase that evidence of his existence. It wasn't his to fix.
But Tony wasn't there to fix it.
Sutton swallowed thickly and slowly extended her arm toward him. Loki held a cupped hand over the broken switch and green light flashed between them. When Sutton pulled her arm back the switch was whole and unbent. She didn't say thank you.
Nothing much had changed since they'd last been on ground level the previous day. None of the destruction had been cleared since the attack started. There was no one to clean it up; no one to send in to offer help or protection, and no reason to try when the destruction was still ongoing.
There was a horror to unnaturally quiet desolation that movies couldn't capture and images couldn't do justice. Sutton wasn't sure she ever wanted to watch a movie ever again.
The team stayed at the subway entrance while Sutton readied herself for her journey alone. There wasn't a choice. She had to do it; and she would. She would be brave to bring the fighting to an end. But she still cast one last look back at Steve, and some of the terror slipped into her eyes.
He followed her out and grabbed her hand.
"You don't have to do this." He said. "You shouldn't do this."
His brow furrowed deeply and Sutton could feel the frustration rolling off him in waves. Could see it in the rigid pull of his shoulders and the tenseness of his fingertips. She placed her hand over his and chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought. He was tempting her without meaning to, and it wasn't fair.
"I don't think we have any other options, Steve."
"Any one of us could get that guy's attention."
"But I'm the only one he won't immediately kill."
He couldn't argue against that. Steve cupped her face and ran his thumbs over her cheekbones, his jaw tense.
"Stay alive."
Sutton gave him a watery smile and tipped her face further into his hand.
"Aye, aye, Captain."
[][][]
Sutton limped through the streets on her way to the location they agreed would be their best option for the confrontation. Familiar energy rippled under her skin. She'd flipped the switch back on, but the victory rang hollow. She couldn't even muster up the energy to fully believe she felt fine. Given the fact that she was still determinedly walking a straight line, she figured she was believing in movie logic just enough to get the mission done.
Her destination was a city park a few blocks away. Far enough away that if any of Thanos' lackeys saw her it'd look like she was truly traveling alone, but close enough that the team could follow behind to intervene if need be. Open enough for a battle.
The blood rushed through her veins.
Last fight, last fight, last fight.
No, wait! She had to be careful. Her dampener was off now and Nat was right, she shouldn't interfere without knowing what would happen.
Her legs ached and her back still burned, but she finally made it to the park before late afternoon.
It was desolate; not even the coo of pigeons filled the silence. No one walked the trails or sat on the benches. Sutton stumbled over and carefully sat herself down on an abandoned bench to catch her breath.
Now that her dampener was no longer blocking her abilities, she could feel energy buzzing faintly under her skin. It made her injuries burn slightly, but at least now she could do something if she had to. She just needed to replenish her stamina a little first. Sutton took another breath and slumped in her seat, but her back flared in pain; the air caught in her lungs and she stopped moving.
A few minutes passed in unsettling silence; Sutton's mind remained blank. Until it didn't. Until she wondered how long it would take for Thanos to sense her power, or to find her, or if they would be able to get the Power Stone from him before anyone got hurt.
It only took fifteen minutes.
The air around her turned thick with an unnatural static and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Sutton stood quickly as her eyes scanned the skies. Her heart dropped down, down, down, down to her toes. Dropped so quickly that she felt faint.
He'd come in person this time. First thing. If her heart could jackrabbit it would have.
Thanos stepped into the clearing and Sutton reminded herself that she wasn't supposed to run away. Regardless of whether it was the truth or the lie, she was looking for him on purpose. He still wore the gauntlet on his left hand and Sutton's gaze flickered to the lone shining purple gem in the index finger.
Thanos eyed her as he approached, his gaze only breaking away to scan the grounds for her friends, and Sutton made sure to maintain a certain distance between them.
"I find it hard to believe that your warriors would leave you all alone, Little Door." He said. Gooseflesh rose up Sutton's arms.
"They wouldn't," Sutton managed to say. Her voice cracked slightly and she swallowed to regain her balance. "W-which is why I left when they weren't paying attention. I don't want them to get hurt."
Thanos looked her up and down.
"You expect me to believe they didn't notice your absence? Their best chance against me?"
Sutton scowled as her arc reactor hummed.
"They don't know what my plan is," she said. Not a lie. She didn't tell them which part of the park she would stop in. "It wasn't hard to slip away in the dark and the chaos."
It wasn't clear if he believed her, but it was enough that he was humoring her.
A panicked thrill ran down Sutton's back as the seconds ticked on. His followers still hadn't shown themselves. Where were they?
Thanos let a grin slip across his face.
"Did you come here to bargain, Little Door? What could you possibly have to sway me away from destroying any threat against me?"
How was the team supposed to enact a surprise attack, splitting up Thanos' forces, when his followers were nowhere in sight? How long could Sutton stall him, distract him, before he grew tired and simply reached down and grabbed her?
"They- they're not-" Sutton shook her head. She had to focus her responses. Steer it the direction she needed it to go. "I'm offering myself. You get me and you let my friends live."
Thanos let out a short mockery of a laugh.
"Do you think you're securing your friends a mercy? Do you think they'd want to live in the world I leave behind?"
A shudder ran down Sutton's spine, sending sharp pangs of pain through her limbs, and
Thanos' grin grew all the more cruel.
"No matter how powerful you are, you don't have the power to strip life of its worth." Her voice trembled but she forced herself to remain still, running would do her no good anyway. "No one will ever find more satisfaction in death."
Thanos' expression shifted into a snarl at her statement, clearly not missing her double meaning.
"Spoken boldly for one who is at my mercy."
Sutton swallowed.
"I'm here to make a deal. Do- do we have one or not?"
"You are naive," Thanos said, almost contemplative. "Naive to think there is any possibility of leaving without my permission." He adjusted his gauntlet and pinned her with another searing stare.
"Give me the Time Stone and perhaps I will let some of your friends live to mourn."
Sutton froze. Loki still had it, in whatever magical pocket he was keeping it; he hadn't given it back to her for this meeting for obvious reasons.
She shifted back slightly and clenched her hands into fists.
"You actually think I have it?"
His horrible grin was back.
"No."
Her gut plummeted and Sutton put more distance between them. Thanos took one giant step towards her and all she could see were golden fingers reaching out for her.
Then a red and blue blur shot across her vision and smashed into the side of Thanos' face.
Thanos' head snapped back and his hesitation allowed Sutton a necessary moment to run further out of range. Steve sprinted in the opposite direction, towards Thanos, his eyes stormy and intense. She desperately wanted to grab his arm and drag him away with her.
"Steve-"
"Get out of here," Steve ordered.
Sam and Rhodey descended from the sky with a hail of gunfire and laser beams; Thor brought down a bolt of lightning so bright that it blinded Sutton from where she froze at the edge of the lawn.
The others joined from behind Thanos, Hulk and Nat and Clint. Everyone swarmed around him and Thanos snarled as he shook off Thor's lightning.
Hulk lunged forward and grappled with him, grunting and straining as he reached for the gauntlet. Thanos elbowed him in the face and sent him staggering back.
More gunfire. More blasts of energy.
The team was relentless in their attack. When one person had to stop to reload, recharge, or readjust someone else was there.
Thanos raised his fist and aimed it at the ground. Sutton's gut clenched in dread as the purple stone in his knuckle lit up. Steve stepped forward and Sutton couldn't breathe.
He caught Thanos' fist with both hands, his feet digging into the dirt as he strained to keep his footing. Thanos blinked and something shifted in his eyes. Like a begrudging respect.
Rhodey blasted Thanos in the back at the same time that Thor struck with more lightning which caused Thanos to take one unstable step forward to keep his balance. Steve twisted Thanos' wrist and stepped to the side.
The gauntlet shifted on Thanos' hand.
Hulk grabbed his other hand to keep Thanos from striking and Thor got him in a choke hold around his head.
Cold hands gripped around Sutton's shoulders and she shrieked as she attempted to turn. She threw one elbow back and one hand left her shoulder to stop her.
"Stop it; it's me."
Loki. Sutton grit her teeth.
"Of course you would be sitting out this fight," she snapped.
"I'm making sure you live," he snapped back. "You need to get out of here now."
Sutton turned enough to glare at him.
"I can't leave them and go hide. Not when I'm part of the reason they have to fight in the first place!"
"You can do nothing for them in your state," Loki hissed. "And he isn't-"
Thanos shoved Steve back with one hand and Sutton jerked towards where he went skidding into the grass, but Loki held her back. Thanos looked directly at her and sent her a scathing grin.
"I never believed you would come alone."
Light exploded above them. The earth shook.
Two figures slammed into the group from above, cutting through Sam and Rhodey's defenses like wet paper. Proxima and Corvis.
Proxima shot another blast of light towards Hulk and knocked him away from Thanos. Corvus swung his scythe and Thor flew back just in time to dodge its blade.
"Hold ground!" Steve shouted through the din. "Don't let them get our backs!"
Sutton's body hummed and her vision split. Her friends fought Thanos in the park in front of her, but now there were two Thanos'. The new one, on the right, was backdropped by some craggy landscape filled with metal debris. There were other people there too. People she didn't recognize. Except for one. Some model of Iron Man armor flew around the other Thanos. He grabbed the gauntlet.
Sutton's heart pulsed painfully and her arc reactor hummed.
"Tony? Tony!" She twisted in Loki's hold and failed to break away. "Do you see that? Let me go; he's right there!"
"There's nothing there." Loki insisted. "You're seeing something that might've been. Now, do I have to drag you away myself?"
"To go where? Where? Where could I possibly go where I'd actually be safer?"
He didn't have an answer for that. She blinked and the second fight disappeared back into nothingness.
A tree flew over the battlefield and one of Clint's arrows rose to meet it. The trunk exploded into chunks of wood, but it was stopped from crushing anyone. Another figure emerged from where the tree came from. A thin, sickly figure stepped out onto the edge of the fight. He was pale and inhuman looking, with a flat nose-less face and beady eyes. Wisps of stringy white hair blew in the breeze as he lifted a long, thin hand and another tree ripped from the ground and went flying.
This one was aimed right at her.
Another earthquake shook Sutton off her feet and Loki dropped into a kneel to cover her. He raised his hands and threw a blast of magic up to knock the tree away. The new henchman looked down at Loki in disdain.
"I always knew you were foolish, Loki." He drawled. "It's a shame that even pain couldn't cure you of it."
"Maw," Loki drolled back, lips tight. He flashed teeth. "I'd hoped I'd never have to see your hideous face again. Clearly we must both suffer the other."
Maw dipped his head down.
"Not for long."
Loki threw a hand out and metal glinted as it soared towards Maw, but the alien deflected the knife away as if it meant nothing.
"Do you have anything better than that?" Sutton asked.
Loki scowled and cut his eyes back to her.
"If you were any less foolish than I am, you would run."
There was venom in his tone, but it felt derived more from frustration and fear than true anger at her. It didn't make sense for Loki to expose himself defending her. Not when he'd worked so hard to stay in the shadows. But perhaps it was foolish to question it at this moment when he seemed to be helping her stay alive.
With mounting dread, Sutton turned her eyes back to the others. The fight was no longer tipped in their favor, if it ever was. Thanos was enough to keep the powered heroes busy, and now- now-
They would win. They had to win.
Sutton stumbled back as another projectile just missed her, thanks to Loki's help.
They were the good guys, and good guys won. There had to be more, right? More people to help? This was an entire universe of super powered people; there had to be more that could come and help. The entire universe was at stake!
Thanos landed a brutal hit on Hulk and Hulk crashed into the bench Sutton had sat on earlier, shattering it. His skin dulled, creeping closer to a normal pink, before it surged back to a vibrant green and Hulk bellowed in rage. Proxima shot another beam down at a limping Clint, and Steve slid in front of him to block the blast with his shield.
The gauntlet struck the ground and grass tore and rock flew as the earth cracked and churned under the force. Everyone was knocked off balance; Sutton landed on her back and the pain burned through her anew. The ground still trembled beneath her. She grunted and rolled to her side as she grit her teeth and struggled to push herself up onto her knees.
The ground still trembled; concrete sidewalk and dirt mixed in messy heaps and upturned roots angled towards the sky. And now a growling rose above the cacophony.
Her head snapped up, regardless of the pain, and a dark shape burst out of the bushes that lined the lawn. Cold seared through her veins.
The space dogs.
They flooded into the battlefield and shouts rose up amongst the group.
"We're overrun! We need to fall back!"
"You got an exit strategy?"
Sutton couldn't breathe anymore. The air clung to the insides of her lungs and her chest was too tight.
Hulk, Thor, Sam- where was Rhodey? No. No, she wasn't counting right. Hulk, Thor, Steve-
There were too many people, beings, on the field and everyone moved too quickly for her to get a tally on the group. She needed a tally on the group.
She needed to do something.
Sutton gripped the edges of her arc reactor and wheezed. She could fix this; she could help. They-they just- she needed to think-
Red invaded her vision and Sutton blinked as Nat's face came into focus.
"We have to get you out of here," Nat said in a rush.
"I can't leave all of you-"
Nat's expression was stern.
"If Thanos gets ahold of you, there won't be anyone anywhere to be stubborn for. Now get up."
Nat pulled her by the elbow in a bid to get her to hurry, and Sutton staggered to her feet.
"Just give me some ideas and I can help," Sutton cried. Her face was wet and her eyes burned. Nat visibly swallowed as her top lip thinned.
"I don't think we have the time for that."
As if to confirm her statement a black mass launched itself directly at them; all Sutton saw were fangs and too many limbs. Nat spun in front of her and fired off several shots before her gun clicked, empty, and she threw it at the creature instead. It did nothing to deter the beast. She activated her Widow's bite at the same moment that the creature swung a clawed arm at her. The creature snarled as electricity coursed through its body and Nat cried out as its claws raked down her arm.
"Natasha!"
More of the space dogs were closing in and Sutton realized none of the others on the team would reach them in time.
Teeth. Claws. Death.
Laser fire erupted behind them and Sutton ducked as she cried out in alarm. But the sudden attack aimed over their heads and into the coming wave of monsters. Both women turned to find a spaceship hovering overhead. It took out a few more of the space dogs before Maw launched debris at it and it was forced to circle away. Sutton watched it loop around, peppering more laser fire at Thanos and his henchmen before it returned to the area behind them and lowered enough that a ramp could extend and a few people rushed out.
Well. At least humanoid beings.
Sutton got a better look at the first person to exit the ship, some man with curly auburn hair and a strange outfit, but attention was quickly diverted back to her friends.
"If they're against Thanos, they're with us, right?" Nat said, her voice breathy. She cradled her arm against her torso and Sutton rushed to her side to see the damage. Her entire arm was covered in blood, from shoulder to fingertips, and there was no way to see just where the injury started and ended.
"Oh my gosh, Nat, we need to- we need to get pressure on that."
Nat forced out an empty laugh.
"You have a belt?"
"No, no- I- you do! Here!"
Sutton fumbled to unclasp Nat's belt even as Nat sank down to one knee.
"Don't tell Steve," she rasped.
Sutton blinked back tears.
"Shut up. You're not allowed to make jokes until we stop this bleeding."
"Cinch it at the shoulder," Nat said.
Sutton pulled the belt tight, wrapped it around, then tucked it in. She couldn't see anyone on the team anymore. It was just piles of debris and writhing monstrous bodies. Lighting crashed down and cleared a patch, and Sutton was able to make out the team huddled in a defensive circle. A disaster in terms of battle tactics, like fish in a barrel. It felt like razors shredded Sutton's stomach.
"Steve!"
Between the new group and their lasers, and Thor's lighting, enough of the enemy forces were diverted for the group to retreat from the fray. Corvus swung his scythe at the stragglers but his weapon was stopped, a faint ripple expanded from where he struck, like a force field.
Perhaps Loki wasn't completely useless.
"Full offense," the auburn haired man shouted above the din, "but your father is a complete as-"
He was cut off as a space dog threw itself at him and he was forced to dodge with a parting blast. A dark haired woman with green skin grimaced as she felled the beast.
"You say this as if I am not already aware."
There were others. A blue-ish man covered in alien markings let out a battle cry as he spun into more space dogs, though it was clear his aim was to plow through them.
"Drax!" The green woman shouted. "Don't try it; there's too many!"
Sutton stared upwards, mind uncomprehending, as the first man drew nearer. She propped Nat up as best she could, though her strength wasn't much more reliable.
"Who are all of you?"
The man looked baffled.
"Who are we? We're The Guardians of the Galaxy." At her lack of response he gestured to himself with his laser guns. "I'm Starlord. You had to have heard of me."
The green woman rolled her eyes.
"Not this again."
"He's going to kill my friends," Sutton forced out. "Please. Help us."
That stopped any banter and both their expressions shuttered.
"Even with just one stone he's stronger than all of us." The green woman said. "He has destroyed planets with more defenses than yours."
"Then why did you come here?" Nat asked. "If you don't think you can beat him."
"We got a distress signal." Starlord said. "From some ship called the Tar Dice. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this is why it was sent."
Surprise ran through Sutton but it was short lived. Her attention directed back to her friends and their plight. With the addition of the Drax character, they were able to break through the main skirmish and to the outskirts. Red and blue flashed against a sea of black and gray.
"Steve!"
Steve broke through and made it to them. He was bruised and bleeding in several places; his suit was filthy and scorched. His breathing was labored and he still checked over Sutton and Nat's state before addressing the newcomers.
"Given you haven't shot me, I'm assuming you're on our side."
"We're on the side of living," Starlord scoffed. "And, with all due respect, I'm not sure how well you're doing with that."
"How many are you?"
"Including or excluding the toddler and the guy who's three feet tall?"
"Who can fight," Steve ground out.
"Us," the green woman spoke up. "And him."
She gestured towards Drax, still yelling and fighting, and Steve's expression flickered. His gaze darted from them, to their ship, then settled on Sutton. The look in his eyes made her insides twist.
"Can you get her out of here?"
Starlord cast a confused look at her.
"You want us to leave?"
"If Thanos gets ahold of her, he'll be able to expand his reach beyond just this universe. We can't let that happen."
"Steve, no." Sutton reached for him, though Nat's weight kept her from being able to fully move. "I'm not leaving. You all have to come."
"There's no way that ship is getting out of here without cover."
"No!" Her insides were hot, sharp. Her chest hurt, everything hurt. "No, that's not how this goes. We have to find another way."
"We don't have time."
Loki all but appeared from the aether; his expression shrewd and solemn. He gave Steve a pitying look then set his sights back on Sutton.
"She needs to live. You know she won't go willingly," Loki said.
"Shut up! I'm right here!"
Steve swallowed and addressed Starlord.
"Will you get her out?"
Starlord seemed to defer to the green woman, as if silently asking some question and she shook her head once, shallowly. Starlord's jaw clenched.
"You stop that crazy chick from exploding my ship and we'll get her out."
"Nat, go with her. There's nothing more you can do here."
Nat's eyes shone the brightest blue as tears ran down her pale face. The muscles in her jaw spasmed and her lips twisted in a vain effort to keep her emotions tamped down. She managed a nod and stepped away from Sutton at a look from Loki. The green woman stepped forward to help her instead.
"We need to leave now if we want a chance."
Sutton practically fell forward into Steve and she gripped his arms as tightly as she was able.
"Please don't do this to me, Steve. Please don't do this-"
His hands cupped the sides of her face and he stared at her like it was the last time. Then he pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that said goodbye.
"Stay alive."
"No!"
Steve pushed her away and Sutton struggled to counter it. Hands gripped her around the waist and lifted her off the ground; she recognized the cold grasp, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Steve.
"You can't do this to me again!" She shrieked. "I can help! Please, I swear I can help!"
Steve shuddered and his face crumpled. He turned away and rushed back into the fight as Loki dragged Sutton to the ship and up the ramp. Even though she screamed the entire way, he didn't look back.
"The Guardians" closed the ship's ramp just as their friend Drax jumped on and then lifted off. Attacks were made on the ship, but, true to his word, Steve and the others kept any from destroying them.
And then the earth disappeared into a little blue dot and Sutton was once again swallowed by stars.
Loki held Sutton in place in the belly of the ship until she stopped screaming. She hiccuped and sobbed, unable to fully take a breath, as the reality of the situation sank its claws in.
"Turn that thing off," he murmured, tone uncomfortable, when she calmed. He shifted his grip to her wrist and switched her dampener back on.
Sutton croaked, voice hollow.
"I hate you."
"I'm well aware."
Nat sat a few feet away, curled against a metal panel and faced away from them. Her shoulders shook. Sutton shoved at Loki's arm and he let go of her; she joined Nat against the panel and sat shoulder to shoulder, though neither of them spoke. For a few minutes it was silent, save for the hum and low beeping of the ship's mechanics.
Sutton hated it.
Luckily for her, the quiet only lasted a short while. The Guardians were a vocal group and they all came out to take a look at their new passengers after they were a safe distance from earth.
There were more of them, besides the three. Starlord leaned against a wall and actively avoided looking at them while the green woman looked sympathetic. Drax was hard to read. But there was another, what looked like a woman with large bug-like eyes and two antennas sticking out of the top of her forehand. And- and a raccoon. A raccoon walking on two legs in a little jumpsuit? Some sort of wooden doll sat perched on its shoulder.
"And what are you all supposed to be?" Loki spoke for the three of them. He gave the others a disdainful once over. "Space port security?"
"We're the ones that just saved your as****," Starlord snapped.
"I would not secure a space port," Drax said. "Likely my friends would be there to rob it and it is against my honor to turn them in."
"He's insulting us, idiot." The raccoon said. "It's derogatory. You know that word?"
"I am Groot." Said the wooden doll.
Sutton suddenly wasn't sure if the noise was any better than the silence.
The green woman stepped forward.
"Enough," she chided her team. She turned her sights back on them and seemed to size them up. "My name is Gamora. I'm…sorry about your friends. What did he mean Thanos could expand his reach with you?"
Sutton looked at Nat's arm.
"Can-can we get her medical attention first? Do you have a first aid kit?"
Gamora nodded at the woman with the antennas.
"Mantis, get the med kit."
"Yes! Of course!"
Only when they started cleaning up Nat's arm and Gamora gave her an expectant look did Sutton clear her throat.
"The short version is that I'm from a different earth and I have powers. Thanos could use me to get to every other universe out there. Now, when can we go back? Is more help coming?"
Starlord snorted and crossed his arms as he glared.
"We're not going back there."
"We have to," Sutton bit back. "My friends are still there!"
"Your friends sent you away as a last ditch Hail Mary pass. You want to be captured by that maniac?"
Her blood boiled because that couldn't be the answer. It wasn't acceptable. Thanos wasn't going to win in the movies so he couldn't win now. There was a way to beat him, they just needed reinforcements.
"If you're all aliens, there's other planets, right? Other militaries? Call everyone! He has to be breaking so many interstellar laws, he's trying to commit genocides."
"I'm not an alien," Starlord said, offended.
"Thanos has more power t-" Gamora started.
Sutton interrupted her.
"He only has one stone; one. It's the same number we have, so regardless-"
The raccoon, who'd been busy supervising Mantis cleaning up Nat's arm, snapped to attention.
"Whoa, whoa. You tellin' me you all got one of them stones too?"
Loki folded his arms behind his back.
"It's not for you to worry about."
"If a trust fund looking kid like you has something that powerful, everyone should be worried," the raccoon countered.
"Good luck trying to take it from me," Loki taunted.
A ping of possessiveness shot through Sutton at Loki's claim over the Tesseract. He'd taken it from her while she was unconscious; it wasn't his to keep, but she shoved the impulsive reaction aside for the moment, there were other concerns that took precedence first.
She would get the Tesseract back later.
Mantis looked up from Nat's arm, her large eyes worried as she held up some bloody gauze.
"I do not think this med kit will be enough for our new friend. She has lost a lot of blood and is very tired."
Sutton snapped to attention and her heart rose into her throat.
"Nat?"
"I'm fine. I've had worse."
Her statement didn't fill Sutton with comfort. There wasn't a safe part of Nat's arm to grasp that wouldn't likely cause her pain and Sutton fought off rising panic.
Not Natasha.
"You have to have something else. You have a spaceship and lasers, so you have to have a healing ray or- or something!"
Loki sighed and crouched next to her.
"Calm yourself and move out of my way."
He nudged her back and reached towards Nat's arm, his hands glowing bright green. His hands hovered over the length of her arm, from shoulder to wrist, and they all watched in awe as the gashes roughly stitched themselves together. The open wounds were now pink, puckered scars. Nat let out a puff of air in relief. She looked down at her arm and gave it an experimental twist, her face unreadable.
"Well," she said flatly. "I guess tank tops are out of the picture now too."
"You're going to live," Sutton emphasized. "That's what's important."
Nat still looked more pale than usual from the blood loss, but at least her blood was staying inside her body.
"Did you heal her internally?" Sutton looked at Loki critically, her eyes narrowed.
Loki's nostrils flared.
"Of course I did; I'm not one to waste my magic. You'll have to live with the scarring," he said to Nat. "With Sutton hobbling around with her injuries, I need to ration my effort between the two of you."
"I am Groot," said the wooden creature. Sutton was going to go out on a limb and assume its name was Groot.
The raccoon snorted and grinned.
"Yeah, I don't think he could do it either."
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Haha, wasn't that a funny, charming end to the chapter? Right guys? We feel good? :)